TDI Gas Blender Course Completed
Yesterday Big Blue Tech certified 3 TDI Gas Blenders following a challenging 2 days of practical work and hands on compressor and blending use.
The students, Glen, Rich and Andy learned the following:
Theoretical:
Partial Pressure Blending
Top Up Blending
Bleed Down Top up with different banked mixed
Continuous Flow Blending
Oxygen use and hazards
Compressor design and basic operation
High pressure systems (banks, filling stations)
Rules of compression (high to low , hot and cold)
Working with PSI and BAR.
Practical:
Compressor use (Electric and Petrol powered)
Filter chemicals and their use
Compressor operation (maintenance and checks)
DIN and INT filling whips and valve use
Cylinder Visual Inspection Methods
Twin Cylinder with manifold cleaning and assembly
Partial pressure blending
Continuous flow blending
Oxygen Handling
The course started early on day one with theory and academics covering the various formulas and calculations needed to work in any nitrox facility. After a lunch break we moved into how a compressor works using both electrical and gas powered systems with ample time running each unit independently. The day was finished with home work and a introduction into nitrox filling use and visual inspection.
The final day was a round robin of events. With three students we broke the activities into several parts where one would do the exam, another servicing a cylinder and finally someone filling nitrox.
The majority of the 6 cylinders each had to fill were done with continuous flow making 23,27,32,36,38 percent mixes and finally a 60 percent mix that required partial pressure filling using pure oxygen. Each student had to perform these fills independently including turning on the compressor and oxygen.
The partial pressure part proved difficult with a inaccurate guage but the students got it within 1% which is the standard for the course.
All 3 students walked out confident they had actually learned something useful and not just another item for the CV. The students were awarded the TDI Nitrox Gas Blender certification.
Sail Rock Dive Site – Big Blue Style
Event took place on July 31st
Sail Rock dive site has been described by many as the best scuba diving destination on the entire east coast of Thailand.
There have been many rumors going around as to where the name comes from however we believe it’s because of the famous sail rock in the black sea which looks very very similar. Described here on wiki.
The site is a big granite pinnacle that breaks the surface half way between Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao and as there are no other rocks around it acts as a congregation point for all the fish in the surrounding area.
The pinnacle drops down to 50 meters in the sand and is typically dived in a circular route around the rock, spiraling slowly shallower. If currents are strong however, dive masters will guide customers around the sheltered areas, avoiding hard fining in the currents. There are other outer rocks a little deeper that can be seen from the main pinnacle and are home to reef sharks.
On a clear day, with light filtering down into the crystal blue water, the granite boulder looks stunning. Enormous schools of trevally are all over the dive site and they energetically harass the smaller fish which bunch together and move as one for protection from these darting raids
Because of the distance and the logistics required to reach the dive site very few schools on Koh Tao actually bother to reach this dive site. However Big Blue go there about twice a week with the aid of 3 boats, on board kitchen (galley) and space for 40 – 50 divers.
On this day in particular Big Blue Tech joined the boat for some technical diving, photography and just enjoy a day out on the seas.
The trip was accompanyed with several different courses and activities from Advanced and Dive Master courses to Recreational and Technical Fun Divers.
In the technical diving community it seems to be a common opinion that mixing technical diving and recreational diving on one boat is something of a problem, however we feel it’s a great environment to be in. Many divers have never seen such diving methods and are generally curious and interested which makes it a great chance to educate divers in other styles of fish watching.
Additionally the technical diving team wanted to explore some GPS Marks given to us by the boat captain and his friends with our sea bottom sonar along the way. Some proved promising and we would later return alone to the marks for further exploration.
Although the day was good the weather turned on us quite quickly causing strong current on the dive sites. This left the technical divers with one big dive and resorted to relaxing on the boat while the other divers did 3.
Below are some images from the day.
Historic Lake Erie Shipwreck to be Salvaged
There are many shipwrecks beneath the waters of Lake Erie
But a salvage outfit called Northeast Research LLC believes one sitting in 176 feet of water 20 miles off the coast of Dunkirk to be of significant historical interest.
“If it’s the ship we believe it is, then it was built in 1797,” said
Northeast Research videographer Pat Clyne who has made several dives on what he now believes is the Caledonia, a warship once used by Admiral Perry in the war of 1812, and later refitted as a commercial schooner called the General Wayne.
“Even if it isn’t, it’s still a turn of the century built ship in absolutely perfect shape,” Clyne told 2 On Your Side.
As they continue to pull up artifacts and do research to positively identify the vessel, they are also working on a plan to raise it and display it in a large aquarium on Buffalo’s waterfront.
It would be a monumental task both technically and financially.
“Absolutely. It’s never been done before in North America,” Clyne said.
While he says private funds will cover the millions needed to salvage the ship, he’s been meeting with representatives of the federal, state and local governments to see if they’re interested using grant money from the inner harbor project to bring it here and create what he insists will be an attraction to rival other national treasures like the Alamo and the Liberty Bell.
“We like to call it Buffalo’s missing icon because in the seal of City of Buffalo you have a schooner right in the center of it. This ship belongs to Buffalo, …this is Buffalo’s lost son come home. We believe it’s going to create a tourist destination area here in Buffalo just to see this historical ship,” Clyne said.
Clyne insists most of the remaining legal hurdles, including a federal court’s granting of ownership of the ship to his company, and permission from the state to actually move it, will be cleared by the end of the year.
To see what the shipwreck looks like, be sure and click on the video icon on the upper right hand side of this story.
Scuba Diving in Khao Sok – Fresh Water
Khao Sok National Park is slowly becoming a popular diving destination for those who want an escape form the hustle and bustle of popular destinations and would like to experience something completely unique with fresh water diving with the options of caves and caverns.
Additionally, Khao Sok is the opposit of Koh Tao with respect to weather. When it’s terrible on Koh Tao it’s perfect in Khao Sok. This means we have more options now for training and completing courses with the added benefit of giving our customers more of what they want; diving options!
The recent launch of Big Blue Khao Sok and future developments for a permanent facility, blending station boat and accommodation shows this recent push and interest in the region. Although Big Blue is not the only dive operator traveling to the region, we’re pretty sure we’ll be the only one setting up shop.
