Why do I dive a Twinset?

I first tried a twinset in my first year at Scuba Tech when I was a Divemaster Trainee. 

I did a discover twinset dive with my instructor, Peter Crane. I went on to complete my PADI Tec 40 and 45 in the last couple of years, both courses were conducted with a twinset. Since then I haven’t looked back!

A twinset is two scuba tanks manifolded together, with an isolator in the middle of the two valves.

The misconception with twinsets is that they are only reserved for technical diving and exploration. This is wrong; anybody can use a twinset with the right training, whether you are recreationally or technically minded in diving.

The two main reasons for using a twinset are...

One, redundancy – having that extra peace of mind and security underwater as you have two tanks instead of one.

Two, to extend your bottom time. Having two tanks is a great way of increasing your gas supply.

My twinset, without a doubt, is my favourite way to dive. 

I love the balance underwater and the stability of two tanks on your back instead of one. When weighted correctly, this is a very comfortable way of diving as well as a simple, streamlined set-up. 

However, they are very heavy, and do take some getting used to at first.

Furthermore, I want to be self sufficient underwater, I know I will never dive solo and that I will always have a buddy there to help me. However, if it ever comes down to a situation when my gas supply is compromised, I want to be able to have control and to be able to rectify the issue.

Diving a twinset can help me do this, as I can manipulate the valves and breathe off independent regulators.

This is what is known as a shut down – a way to close the valves in order to save your back gas in the event of an emergency.

If you do not know how to work the twinset properly and be able to perform these skills and drills, the twinset will only give you false security. It is so important to learn how to dive a twinset properly in order to receive the benefits!

Once you make the decision to dive a twinset, you know you are committed to diving as it is an expensive investment; you now need two of everything! 

I feel it is an excellent transition in my diving career as I grow as a diver as well as a professional. It may be expensive in the short term but it is worth it in the long run! 

A twinset brings comfort, control and flexibility in your diving whether you are in the shallows one day, or conducting a tech dive another. 

Try Scuba Diving in Cyprus - How to guide

We all had to start somewhere with our Scuba Diving adventures and for many people, the biggest difficulty is knowing where to begin.

How can you Try Scuba Diving for the very first time?

The first step when scuba diving is to make sure you are fit and healthy. Now, this doesn't mean that you have to be able to run marathons but there are certain health conditions that would require you to see a doctor before you can take part in scuba diving. You can access a copy of the Medical Questionnaire for diving here.

Secondly, you need to find a reputable Diving Instructor or Dive Centre that will take you and do the experience properly. You can find them through friend recommendations and online reviews.

At Scuba Tech, we are all qualified PADI diving instructors and we do not operate in big groups, so your diving experience will be a maximum of 2 students to each instructor in the water. This guarantees you will have the full attention of the instructor at all times throughout the dive and you can feel safe in the knowledge that your safety and enjoyment is paramount.

What does the Try Dive involve?

The Discover Scuba Dive is a three part experience where someone with absolutely no prior experience or qualifications can see the underwater world first hand.

Part one will teach you the basic concepts of scuba diving; how our bodies deal with going underwater and how to look after ourselves down there. We also discuss the equipment that we will use and the various controls and also how to communicate with the instructor, since you will not be able to talk down there.

This is just a short briefing but is highly important to make sure you enjoy yourselves.

Part two comes after you have been kitted out with the properly fitted diving equipment and we head down to the local dive site, Green Bay.

During Part 2, you will be in a confined water area of the Bay with swimming pool like conditions. 

Here you get used to breathing underwater and the feeling of weightlessness that you have when scuba diving. You will also practice a number of diving skills that you may or may not need during your dive such as; taking out and replacing the regulator (what you breathe from) and clearing water out of the mask.

Part three is the actual diving part when you move into Open Water and get to really see what scuba diving is all about.

Your instructor will take you out to Fish Rock to see all the fish that gather in this area. The SeaBream, Damsel Fish and Wrasse will gather around to look at this strange bubble blowing creature in their midst and you will be amazed at the array of colours surrounding you.

If you are comfortable, your instructor may then take you deeper to a maximum of 9 metres, where you will find our very own "Atlantis Statues". These are great for playing and posing on and if you have opted to have our Divemaster come with you to take photos, these provide an amazing photo opportunity.

The depth increase is very gradual and there is always a bottom underneath you, so you only go as deep as you are comfortable going. Your instructor will be there at every step of the way to hold your hand (literally, if needed) and make sure your experience is amazing.

Warning!!!

I feel I should warn you though, bubble blowing is addictive and once you start, it is difficult to stop.

Saying that, Scuba Diving is a hobby that you can enjoy for a whole lifetime with so many places to see and so many different branches available. You can dive wrecks or reefs. You may enjoy Underwater Photography or making Underwater Movies.

Diving has something to offer everyone but the first step is to give it a try. Now you know the steps, it is as easy as 1,2,3.

Safe Diving everyone!!

Dive Professionals Zero to Hero- Not for me!!!

This is my first season working as a Divemaster and I absolutely love my job. 

My role involves assisting on courses, which vary between recreational and technical diving. 

I can lead Discover scuba dives and love to see the amazement on people’s faces after they have breathed underwater for the first time. 

I guide certified divers around our local dive sites and handle the logistics, for example filling tanks, washing and sorting kit as well as the general tidying up of the dive centre.

My next step professionally would be to become an instructor, and many people have asked me if I plan to take the course this year. However, this is an area I feel particularly strongly about not rushing into.  

Many candidates go straight into their instructor training after completing their Divemaster certification with not many dives under their belt. Having completed my 300^th dive a few weeks ago, I have more than surpassed the required number of dives to become an open water Scuba Instructor, which demands 60 logged dives. However, I still feel I lack the experience to move up the rankings just yet. I have always told myself I would wait until I had logged at least 500 dives before I even contemplated becoming an instructor.

The reasoning behind this, is that by working as a divemaster for a few seasons, it will allow me to build up my dives, level of experience, confidence and competence in the water. This is vital when the lives of students/customers are in my hands. Just because you carry professional status as a divemaster or an instructor, it does not carry any prestige into the level of diver that you are and your ability in the water. 

Furthermore, I believe that not rushing into anything too quickly will give me a wider knowledge base to begin teaching with in the future,  as I can reflect on my experiences, which will hopefully come to my advantage when sitting my instructor exams.

By working alongside two fantastic instructors, I’m constantly learning new things every day,  It isn’t always dive related, but valuable life skills as well, such as finding out who you are as a person and how to interact with different groups of people. 

It’s also things you can’t necessarily be taught by passing an exam, such as how to read and react to a particular situation as every customer is different. Situations such as a diver panicking underwater or if a student is struggling with a certain skill. 

You can do course after course, but I feel this cannot be substituted for experience. Every dive you do, whether for pleasure or training, you will learn from,

I am in this for the long run as diving is now my career.  The sea will always be there, so why rush into it when I can take my time, enjoy it and grow as a professional along the way.

Diver Ranking and Attitudes

Whatever we do in life, we all have to start somewhere.

Diving is one of those sports where you can begin at any age. There are 8 year olds that can make their Bubblemaker, right through to 80 year olds trying Scuba Diving for the very first time.

Many of these people then proceed to complete the diver training, buy equipment and dive on a
regular basis. As a general rule, diving instructors and those of us with more dive experience try to help those with less experience with patience, advice and assistance when needed.

So, if we look after these divers as they are learning to dive, why does the attitude change completely when training the next generation of professionals. I am talking about Dive Masters and Dive Masters in training (DMTs).

It seems to be pretty commonplace to treat Dive Masters and DMTs like slaves and general dogs-bodies to be used and abused doing the things that the instructors, office workers, managers etc. don't want to do. Equally, if a piece of equipment is forgotten, a tank isn't quite full or has the wrong mix in it, suddenly there is a scapegoat to blame, even if they aren't trained to fill tanks or mix nitrox.

I have seen instructors yelling at their DMTs because they have asked a question when they should know the answer or missed a point on their dive briefings.

This attitude then passes to the Dive Master who may become an instructor and treat their DMTs in the exact same way, creating a lot of instructors with bad attitudes towards their Dive Masters.

As instructors, it is our responsibility to look after and mentor our Dive Masters so that they are proficient in the water AND able to assist divers with any queries and problems they have. Treating them with respect is just as important as teaching them the physics and skill sets because your attitude will become the accepted standard for them.

Yes, sometimes it is necessary for you to leave them washing the dive equipment while you continue instructing but it isn't an excuse for you to pop off, put your feet up and have a coffee.

Kit washing can be a great opportunity for unofficial debriefings and chats to help you find out where your DMTs are struggling, what they enjoy and who they are. All these things will help you to find the best way to teach them as an individual and help them become the best Dive Master they can be.

Remember, when all is said and done, these divers become a reflection of you and the kind of instructor you are.

PADI Advanced Open Water Course-What dives should I choose?

The past few days we have been running a PADI Advanced Open Water Course here at Scuba Tech Diving Centre and it got me to thinking about what this course has to offer to Scuba Divers.

The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course

The Padi Advanced Open Water course comprises five dives at various dive sites where you practice skills related to a range of different diving experiences.

Mandatory dives include a Deep Dive, where you see the effect of increased pressure down to a maximum depth of 30m and an Underwater Navigation Dive with relevant navigational skills practice.

In addition, you can choose another 3 dives to complete. There is a great choice of dives available for the diver including; Boat Diving, Wreck Diving, Fish ID, Underwater Photography or Video and the list goes on.

From our point of view, there are only several of these Adventure dive options that are going to help you to become a better diver. The others can be fun but don't really give much to you in terms of skills that you couldn't pick up from making a regular fun dive. While you are paying for training, you may as well get the most out of it!

Peak Performance Buoyancy

The first optional Dive I would recommend to all divers is the Peak Performance Buoyancy Adventure Dive.

As I have pointed out several times over previous blogs and articles, buoyancy is the most important skill you can have as a Scuba Diver.

Skills involved on this dive include; correct weighting and positioning of weights to achieve good trim in the water, Controlled Descents, Hovering without finning or sculling (using hands), breath control practice to fine tune buoyancy, safety stops and controlled ascents.

We also allow time for a bit of finning techniques practice on this dive, as good finning will assist divers with good buoyancy control.

Sometimes, these skills can be conducted over 2 or 3 dives to ensure the Student Diver is confident and competent with everything and the extra time and effort is definitely worth it when you have mastered the art of buoyancy.

Search & Recovery

Although you aren't likely to go out scuba diving specifically to search and recover an object from underwater, the skills you learn on this Adventure Dive prove extremely useful to divers in other ways.

You will look at search patterns underwater, which are covered again in the PADI Rescue Diver course, putting you one step ahead when you decide to advance your training to this level. Divers have been known to lose items while diving when they haven't been properly secured and so, these search patterns can be useful for retrieving these things.

The training also focuses on the use of lift bags to recover the items that you have found. Under this, you are taught to tie knots that will hold strong under pressure and are easily undone when needed. This proves useful to me in my everyday life not just diving scenarios.

The lift bag itself can prove useful for other diving tasks such as repositioning and recovering a shot line, which is a necessary skill in diving around the world, meaning that the skills you learn in the Search and Recovery Adventure Dive are applicable in other areas and will provide a solid foundation for future diving you may choose to do.

Night Diving

Although, in terms of skills, there is relatively little on the night dive, I have found this Adventure Dive to be the one that greatly improves a Diver's confidence in the water.

Diving into the unknown with a very narrow field of view (what you can see in your own torch beam) can be a bit nerve-wracking for some but all divers I have ever taken on a night dive emerge with a big grin on their faces. You see life you just don't get to see on a day dive and it all seems that much bolder and braver, willing to sit and be admired before taking off into the black.

On an Adventure Night Dive, you learn how to communicate with a buddy using your torches and low-light techniques. Divers acclimatise to the dark and get to put the navigation skills previously learned into practice with, for example, a compass run. It is good experience for scuba diving in darker waters and low visibility, gives confidence and is great fun all combined.

Other Useful Adventure Dives

The other Adventure Dives that will be useful for future diving are not always available everywhere you go, so you will have to ask your instructor if these are dives you fancy doing. These useful experience dives include; Altitude Diving, Drift Diving and Drysuit Diving but their usefulness will depend on where you will continue your diving and other variables.

I enjoy teaching the PADI Advanced Open Water Course and I think most instructors would probably say the same thing. The theory is minimal and so you get to spend more time where it matters... in the water and the range of different diving activities you can conduct are so varied, it is impossible to get bored but before you book on that Advanced Open Water course, just remember there is a serious side to scuba diving and to be prepared for it, you want to build up your skillset as much as possible.

Become a confident, competent diver that other divers want to dive with and the fun will come to you!!

Bubble Bubble...Toil and Trouble- Diving for Kids

This past week, we have had an inordinate amount of children coming through the doors of our Dive Centre wanting to try Scuba Diving.

Generally speaking we do not push for the little ones to come diving with us but occasionally, one of the adult diver's children wants to try or the Diver wants the child to see what the underwater world is like and this is how we come by our BUBBLEMAKERS!

A bubble maker is a program from PADI, designed to allow children as young as 8 years old to experience Scuba Diving in a Controlled Environment.

So...what does a Bubble Maker program involve?

Basically, having completed the apprpriate paperwork, the instructor (or Assistant Instructor) will give the child a quick briefing as to the equipment they will use, how to equalise the air spaces in the body; such as ears and sinuses, mask and lungs and how to clear a mask and regulator.

Once this is complete, the little bubble is then taken to confined water and taken for a scuba dive.

When we refer to confined water, we mean a swimming pool or an open water site that has pool like conditions relative to clarity, calmness and depth.

The maximum depth that a bubble can go to is 2metres. For this reason, when the weather is perfect, we can take bubble makers to a couple of different local dive sites here in Cyprus, with the main one being Green Bay but they remain at all times in the shallows and, although the standards suggest that one instructor can take 4 bubblemakers, we at Scuba Tech Diving Centre will only take the children in on a one to one basis.


This means that any child that dives with us here will have their own instructor with them at all times. The reason for this is simple. Children of 8 years to teenage years all progress at a different rate and quite often the younger children do not understand the concepts of scuba diving but will pretend they do to try and please an adult. We have an instructor with each child to ensure they are always breathing, equalising the ears and, if they get scared at any time they will be at the surface in 0 seconds flat.



Yes, ok, we are never going to be rich by taking one on one dives but safety is paramount and, especially so when it comes to children who are scuba diving.

Although, the smiles on their faces when they surface having swam with the fish life is bigger than any jack-o-lantern smile and the thought of turning another generation into ambassadors for the sea is worth all the effort that diving with kids entails