Why we're worth it! - Doing it by the book...

Often when customers come to us, they are surprised when we ask for log books and proof of certification. Then their eyes really go wide when we arrange their first dive as a check dive. It seems as though we are in an elite group of centres that really do things by the book.

In return, we are often surprised to see divers with depths logged far beyond their certification should allow and we even have to persuade some people to take their Deep course in order to do dives that others have allowed them to do despite being unqualified.

This might seem very strict, but we believe that not only is it a required standard - its also a massively beneficial action for the center, the divers and for diving as a community.

All divers who are new to us go on a check dive first - whether they are Open Water students or experienced instructors. Far more than judging anyone's skill in the water - we feel check dives are excellent for checking your weighting and thermal protection is sufficient for our local environment. Nobody wants to get to a dive site and find they are too cold to enjoy the views. It is also the customer’s time to check that they are happy with us and make sure their equipment is functioning well. All this is in the aim of all dives after this running smoothly for you because the proper preparation was done.

Not that check dives have to be boring! Our house reef is teeming with life! Octopus, Cuttlefish, bream and morays! I can't think of a nicer place to start your dives!

When we check your log book, it lets us know what kind of diving you are comfortable with, so that we can pick the best sites to suit you during your stay with us. Log books are also a pleasant diary of all your fun experiences in the past. They are scribbled with the emails of new found friends and little tips and hints to make your future diving better - when log books are not kept regularly, you don't do yourself justice of proving your experience - and this could end up limiting the range of sites you might visit. So always remember to enjoy filing in your log.

As far as Deep dives go - the Deep Course is really a must! - Its great to extend your range - but why do it without proper training and knowledge to keep you safe?! The second major issue is that your insurances only cover you to your certification depth - if you have a problem deeper than your cert allows - no insurance! And nobody wants that!

Casualties in diving are no good for anyone - it gives diving a bad reputation which can mean that legal implications drive costs up for you the diver. Keeping our community safe and sound on dives is beneficial to all involved.

Beyond all of that, the Deep course, like so many of our specialties, is fantastic fun and really adds to your enjoyment of your stay here.

When it comes to safety - we believe you're worth doing everything properly!

Making Advances...

Wow, we seem to have so many people coming to us taking the Advanced Open Water course recently. I started to think about why it's so popular... Some people take it straight after their Open Water course (we actually have a combo package price for the two courses together), while others wait a while before stepping up to the next level. It all depends on comfort and personal preference I guess.

Either way, its a great course that really gives a lot back to divers who take it. If you go for it straight after the Open Water, its a great way to continue your diving in the safety of an Instructors watch, seeing new sites and learning new skills. It's also great for taking a taster of different diving courses and skills, finding out which areas will interest and excite you, helping you to choose your path in diving.

For those who come to the course with a bit more experience, it can open up new areas in diving that they might not have thought about before. The Advanced course is really a smorges-board of skills. Your take 5 different Adventure Dives - one must be a Deep Diver Adventure, and one must be a Navigation Adventure. Then you can choose 3 others from a huge list of PADI Specialties. These dives also count as the first dive of the full Specialty if you decide to go for the whole course! Efficient, eh?

Plus there's the added bonus of extending your diving depth to 30m, opening up new sites to you that perhaps you couldn't visit before!

No wonder everyone's taking this course! Its the obvious choice!

Happy Snappers

Sarah is off to Cirkewwa with Wiveca and Lars today, who are taking their Advanced Open Water course this week. Today they are going to be taking their Underwater Photography adventure dive, learning how to dive safely while taking photos and how to get fantastic shots with vivid colours and sharp accuracy underwater - not an easy task when the fish are fast moving and shy!

Luckily, they are in good hands. Sarah and Howard from the Divewise permanent staff make up Shawshot Productions, who produce some of the fantastic shots and video footage that Divewise use to promote the beautiful aquatic world around Malta.

Digital Underwater Photography is the full extended specialty that relates to the adventure that Wiveca and Lars will take today. Although the specialty focuses on underwater shots, its likely to improve a newcomers surface photos too! You can learn theory and practice to frame subjects better, get more natural looking poses out of your models and get just the right light.

If your passion is for diving, then this course is perfect to make sure that your happy memories come back in focus, with plenty of tone and style!

Night Swimming...

Today has a peaceful hush about it. People are taking it easy and conserving their engery. But as the sun starts to slowly set over the bays of St Julians, a quiet buzz will begin. Tonight we are Night Diving and the whole day looks forward to that moment! New divers will kits up in the dusk light, perhaps a little anxious, but also excited. If you thought that going underwater revealed a whole new world, then going underwater at night changes that world yet again.

The eerie but calm experience of floating in the darkness, viewing only where your torch light extends - its possible to dream you are in space, or maybe even in a horror movie! The shafts of light searching through the black seem like something from an alien space ship. Though we move slowly and breathe in a relaxed manner, no-on can deny the loud thump of their heart beat as they wait for the next surprise to dart under the beam of the lamp...

We will see creatures that hide away in the daytime, now boldly gliding out in the open - Cuttlefish, Octopus and Moray Eels. The fish that we saw in the day will also seem new to us, displaying different behaviours. The lack of sun hides some things from us, but now against the dark, we can easily see the pin-prick reflections of tiny eyes amongst the rocks - shrimp and crabs.

While Paceville thumps with noise and bustle, we will be silent stealthy creatures (except for the sound of bubbles) and go night swimming...

Mellow Monday

So another week begins... although with Divewise open 7 days a week, the days just seem to blur in to one continuous run of fun. Big Al and the Landshark Dive Club are just packing up and say how fast their week in the sun has passed. In the meantime, new students are just signing in and getting ready for Advanced Open Water and specialty courses - (Buy one Get one Free online!).

Nev and Howard are getting busy in their handy-men role, while Sarah is spring cleaning our rental equipment and changing over the suits to match the rising temperatures that Summer brings...

A lot of people are worrying what the world-wide credit crunch will mean to their summer holidays and their spare cash for pleasure activities such as Scuba Diving. Here at Divewise, we have put together lots of special deals like our Advance Payment Discount Scheme to save divers money so that they can continue with their passion for the sport, even if the purse strings are a little tighter. Remember that you can sacrifice the odd beer, or maybe buy less magazines, but never give up the things that bring you happiness in life!

A Wooo A Hoooo!

Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Rob has passed his PADI Instructor Exam! Congratulations Rob! This is a real milestone in any diver's career. Rob has come all the way from entry level diving at Open Water, through the recreational levels and then on to Divemaster and Asisstant Instructor - Now as an Open Water Scuba instructor (OWSI), Rob will be able to introduce people to the wonderful underwater world.

Because Rob is also taking his Specialty Instructor Courses, he can also have the fun of giving specialties and adventures to more advanced divers, giving them new skills and exciting experiences. No doubt he'll achieve his Master Scuba Diver Trainer status in no time!

We're just waiting for all our customers to get back from Dives at Um el Farood (Zurrieq) and the Maori, so we can all get together in celebrating Rob's fantastic achievement!

The Big Catch Up

My how time flies when you're having fishy-style fun. All that time underwater leaves a blog lagging once in a while. So lets get you up to speed on the last week or so of events.

Rob Randal has continued ploughing into his Instructor Development Course under Alan's tutelage, with Danny and Lucy assisting as naughty students and bodies. Its surprising how much a 'bod-deady' can laugh. Robs skills have sharpened perfectly in time for his Instructor Examinations, taking place just as we type this blog out to you all. This week he has also completed his EFR Instructor, now an essential requirement for those wishing to become PADI Open Water Instructors.

The two parties of proudly crazy Dutchmen stayed with us until May 11th and enjoyed all the best sites of the island - The P29, The Rozi, Um el Faroud, Gozo Blue Hole, The Inland Sea and much more, as well as a fantastic night out at Cianco's for kareoke and cake in celebration of Turu's Birthday. Lucy offered her singing talents in return for a rid in Turu's shiny red Triumph - the only way to travel!

With Neville now returned from his trip to Australia and Thailand, his friends Georgie and Leggie visited to complete their Advanced Open Water Course, extending their diving depth to 30m!- well done those people! They treated themselves to PADI's limited edition Project A.W.A.R.E cards for their PICs - what a nice way to celebrate their achievement and also protect the Marine Environment! Later in the week, customers Ozcan and Dominique also started their Advanced Open Water courses and are enjoying those still.

Marco Heibener also joined us for plenty of leisurely afternoon dives once his language classes were over by lunch. He has really impressed us with his skills as a diver. Likely to remembered as the lad with the lamp - as each visit you could hear Marco declare 'My lamp, my Lamp' to remind us that his torch was still in safe storage in the office!

New faces have been dropping in to Discover Scuba Diving on the House reef - we've had newcomers from as far abroad as Lithuania, Ireland and Brazil! Luckily the in house staff speak a variety of languages between them and we can always work a way to teach through any language barrier!

Gary, our Sun-worshiping staff member finally decided that the water was warm enough to get back in for the Summer! Could it be something to do with the fact that his friends from Austria are here to dive?? Today he is out to Gozo with Big Al and crew from Britain, a lively bunch of return customers that we're always happy to see! As are Colm and Owen, the Irish contingent who are considering their Tec Deep Diver Course with our sister company Techwise this week...