Dive Timor Lorosae is Timor Leste (East Timor) premier PADI (professional association of diving instructors) 5 star IDC (instructor development centre). Dive Timor was established in 2002 by Mark Mialszygrosz. After exploring and diving the country since 2000 he set up Timor's first PADI dive centre and has strived to set and maintain the standard for dive travel and tourism within country. http://www.divetimor.com Copyright (C) 2010 Divetimor.com http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=267 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=267 Here are some pics of the small critters spotted while on a dive at Tasi Tolu. This site is fantastic for macro specimens. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=266 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=266 It was a sad day on Wednesday when we all said our goodbyes to Till our Divemaster. He was great fun and will be missed by all here at Dive Timor Lorosae. Known as the German, last man standing at most of our parties. He is off to Germany to continue his medical career and we hope to see him back in Timor again. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=265 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=265 Some of the pictures of Jakub taking his Digital Underwater Photography dive for his Advanced Open Water course. Thank you to Ashley for the great pics of the photographer at work. Location of dive was Behau Village Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:14:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=264 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=264 Today Nafy one of our office assistants received her Open Water Certification. We are very proud of her achievement and look forward to having her continue with her diving. The local staff guys had better watch out because she is going to progress quickly. Congratulations Nafy from all the staff of Dive Timor Lorosae. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:04:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=263 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=263 This weekend we had two great days at ATauro with 30plus vis and sightings of hammerheads! Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:56:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=262 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=262 Merry Christmas dives at Black Rock and Bob's Rock. We had so much fun taking underwater pics of everyone in their Santa hats. It was a wonderful day diving with wonderful divers. Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=261 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=261 Happy Holidays from the staff of Dive Timor Lorosae and Castaway Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=260 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=260 Cristo Rei was the dive site to be at this week. A whale shark, eagle ray and a nudi branch were spotted. Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=259 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=259 A nice site for a different kind of diving here in Dili. It is very close, just in the harbour. A good site to do your wreck speciality. Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=258 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=258 We had an awesome group of divers on the boat on Wednesday. Two wonderful dives and finished off the day with pods of Dolphins guiding the boat home. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=255 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=255 Till is now officially a PADI Divemaster. Officially, now that he has completed the "Snorkel Test" He had to complete a complex navigation circuit to retrieve some shots. After the navigation circuit he had to complete the snorkel test. Dive Timor Lorosae would like to congratulate Till on his success. Congratulations Till- great job. He makes a very good "lady boy". Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=256 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=256 More pics Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=257 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=257 more pics Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=254 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=254 A few divers were out on a night dive last week at Tasi Tolu. Till was able to capture some of the night stalkers. Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=253 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=253 Instructor Sato taught Discover Scuba Diving to some of our local staff. Zelia, Afilo and Abau. Of course the other staff were looking on, because their turn will be very soon. Lots of smiles and laughter from all. Our local dive guide Juvi was on hand to show them how it is done. Till our Dive master intern was good enough to photograph the event. Zelia says "so beautiful underwater, so exciting and I want to do Open Water course soon." Abau says "it is wonderful i the sea, I did not want to come up. Can't wait to go again." Afilo says " he likes so much to dive and would like to try again." Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=252 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=252 After a long time we dived at Sandy Bottom again. And there are still a lot of nudibranches and critters around. Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:05:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=251 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=251 Started the dive at what we call "Anenome City", then cruised the wall. "Wow" a photographers dream dive. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 03:01:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=250 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=250 Great dive at Marble Rock with a fantastic bunch of divers. Explored a swim through and found "Nemo" Amazing coral with vibrant colors. And of course Nudi Branches Thank you to our guest Erik Van Amerongen for the pictures Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:51:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=249 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=249 some more picks of yesterdays dive at Dili Rock Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:32:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=248 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=248 Although 'only' our training site, Dili Rock showed again that it is a real good divesite, even for experienced divers. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:27:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=246 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=246 Thank you Ashley Hunt for diving with us the last couple of weeks. Also thanks for the great pics. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=245 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=245 Lynne has been diving with us this week and we were lucky to help her celebrate her birthday. She spent the day up the coast diving and on return we all shared birthday cake. Happy Birthday Lynne! Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:08:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=244 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=244 Great dives the last few days. Wednesday some of our guests saw on their first dive in East Timor a duggong at Christo Rei And Thursday we saw a duggong at Secret Garden. This one really seemd to like divers: he showed up 2 times for more 10 minutes and was plaing around in front of us. Thanks for the photos, Ashley and Chris! Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:05:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=242 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=242 Wishing Manager Wade and Guest Ashley both a happy birthday today. Your not getting older you are getting better!! Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=241 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=241 Here some more pics of Richard Smith, a well know pygmy seahorse researcher, who visited us 2 weeks ago. Have a look to his website: http://www.oceanrealmimages.com/ to see more of his amazing pictures. Thanks Richard! Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:07:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=243 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=243 What a great start to diving here on Timor. Sato was guiding Ashley and Mark on their first dive here with DTL at Cristo Rei when they spotted a large Du-gong, three White Tipped Sharks and a Blue Spotted Ray. Their faces were beaming when they returned from their dive. Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=240 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=240 Dive 2000 Sydney this week are diving with Dive Timor and having a ball. With some great vis, playful dolphins and amazing dives. Jossie and the gang have been fantastic and a pleasure to have. Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:40:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=239 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=239 Dive Timor Lorosae (DTL) would like to make a warm welcome to Wade and Wanda Wurm to East Timor. Wade Wurm is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer with over 400 certifications and has worked in MExico, Thailand, Canada, Africa, the Phillippines, theCaribbean and South Africa. With over 25 years management/operations experience and a licensed Mechanic (auto and marine) Wade will make a great addition to the centre. With both training, skippering and maintaining im sure he will be a busy man! Wanda Wurm has 20 years experience in office administration and has worked and dived as well all over the world. Heading up a active roll within the centre as office manager with key objectives of training and developing the skill sets of our local Timorese's staff. So if you are a regular in Timor come in and introduce your self or if you are traveling through why not come in a say hello and meet the crew. Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:26:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=238 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=238 Last week we had Richard Smith a Pygmy Seahorse specialist and avid muckdiver here as guest. Together we had some incredible dives up the coast and around Dili. Here some of the pics I took during the dives. More pics from Richard to come. Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:56:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=237 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=237 A group from ProDive Brisbane visited us for a week and had fantatstic dives around Ataouro and along the coast. The weather was great and visibility was often exeptional. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:40:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=236 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=236 Tomorrow night Dive Timor's dive club night guest speaker will be Richard, an Pygmy seahorse expert. Come along and see what we can learn about these elusive tiny creatures then get out there and see if we can find them. Club night starts at 7.00pm at Dive Timor Lorosae. See you there. Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:48:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=235 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=235 We have had a great weekend of diving both east of Dili and at Atauro. One Tree had 30+m visibility, K41 we saw Bumphead parrot fish, Dirt track as always was amazing. At Atauro we spotted a beautiful Manta sunning itself on the surface, two turtles and sea snakes. Thanksto all our divers for a great weekend. Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:51:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=234 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=234 An amazing 120 volunteers turned out at Dili Rock to help Dive Timor Lorosae with thier 4th International Beach Clean Up Day. Organistions such as the Quality International School, the Dili International School, the US SeaBees, the GNR, the ISF, the National Red Cross, the American Embassy and UNPOL as well as many individual volunteers collected 89 big bin bags of rubbish and over 500 plastic bottles which will be recycled Thanks must also go to a very generous donation of water, gloves and bags to the Toll Group, Anteater for providing the skips and East Timor Epilepsy Awareness who provide the recycling services A very hot but extremelly productive morning, thanks to all the helping hands, even the very small ones Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:05:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=233 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=233 Today Volker and I (Greg) dived Tasi Tolu in search of the wonderful Nudibranchs that are abundant on this site. A great dive in good conditions, enjoy our photos. Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:23:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=232 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=232 International Beach Clean Up Day is on Saturday the 17th of September this year and Dive Timor Lorosae will be running this event for thr 4th year running It will be held at Dili Rock in Tasi Tolu from 9am - 12noon on the 17th. Water, gloves and bags will be provided. Please bring hats and sunscreen. Divers snorkellers or just helping hands are all welcome. We had over 200 volunteers last year, let's top that figure this year To register, come into the Dive Centre, or log-on to Project Aware http://www.projectaware.org/action/international-beach-clean-day-2011 to register Any organisations or groups that want to be involved either by donating resources or attending this event please contact Marianne on 7237092 or email marianne@divetimor.com See you on the 17th Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:12:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=231 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=231 With Mark and Margaretha visiting from Darwin with some friends we all took the opportunity to get out for a couple of fun dives with them. First was the ever pleasing Fish Tank, if you have not dived this site yet get out there. Then on to Joanna's Giant Clam, a nice sloping coral bank that is full of beautiful little inhabitants. Thanks guys we all had a great day out. Mon, 05 Sep 2011 01:24:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=230 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=230 Some great things spotted this week whilst diving and boating:- Dili Rock - Blue Spotted Stingray & Turtle Franks Crack - Maori Wrasse Cristoe Rae - 30 Bumphead Parrotfish & Turtle Backside of Jesus - Huge Barracuda & Turtle Tasi Tolu - Dugong K57 - Orca Secret Garden - Spinner Dolphins Table Top - Blue spotted stingray, huge Barracuda & Maori Wrasse Atauro - False Killer whales & Dolphins Photos thanks to Greg Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:55:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=229 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=229 Today the group from Prodive Central Coast went diving west of Dili. Our dive sites were Maubarra and sandy Bottom, we had two great dives finding lots of critters and quite a few lobster. Our surface interval was spent having lunch at the old Maubarra Fort. Wed, 31 Aug 2011 02:07:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=228 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=228 After a few Sundowners at Caz Bar Last night and a good nights' sleep, the Prodive group headed off early this morning to dive some two of our wonderful sites east of Dili - Dirt Track and Secret Garden. We were stopped short for a few minutes by a huge truck moving Timor's new Power Station generators to their new home at Hera on our way out and the group took the opportunity to have a quick Photo shoot. We were treated to great conditions at both dive sites and even had spinner dolphins entertaining us during our surface interval drive to secret garden. A wonderful day of diving and fun. Mon, 29 Aug 2011 02:12:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=227 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=227 Today the group from Prodive Central Coast Dived Dili Rock and Tasi Tolu, they were treated to two wonderful dives. Here are some of the creature we saw at Tasi Tolu. Sun, 28 Aug 2011 06:04:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=226 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=226 Yesterday the group from Prodive Central coast had a wonderful day out at Atauro Island. They dived Sharkfin and Manta Cove dive sites and had a beautiful day out. The weather was great, they are looking forward to todays trip out. Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:12:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=225 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=225 Dive Timor Lorosae prides itself with being the most professional diving trainers in East Timor. And its really nice when our customers and PADI agree with this too. Thank you Maria Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:34:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=224 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=224 Fancy trying wreck diving? Want to dive on a new world class wreck? Bob Diaz from Pro Dive Central Coast will be giving a presentation on HMAS Adelaide at the dive centre from 7pm onwards The ex-HMAS Adelaide was scuttled on Wednesday, April 13th at 11:40am. Pro-Dive Central Coast has been granted an exclusive mooring licence to dive the vessel See you there Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:37:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=223 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=223 Dan and I (Greg) found a few interesting nudibranchs at Tasi Tolu today, Have a look. Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:33:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=221 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=221 We have been seeing a lot of big fish this week while diving, but we must not forget the beautiful unspoilt coral that can be found in East Timor's waters Photos thanks to Alex from Singapore Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:34:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=219 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=219 We have been very busy this week at Dive Timor Lorosae, with students everyday from bublemakers through to Dive master training. Below are some photos I took while following Dan on a night dive and Marianne and Dan doing a dive briefing for their 6 open water students.In amongst all of this our Dive Master Katie still finds time for her favourite place...The Hammock. Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:37:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=218 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=218 A great but windy weeks diving in East Timor Photos thanks to Serge Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:40:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=217 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=217 To help with the environment in East Timor, Dive Timor Lorosae and Castaways bar have set up a recycling scheme to recycle paper, plastic bottles and cans Please support us by throwing your rubbish in the right bins in the car park in front of the dive centre Fri, 12 Aug 2011 03:21:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=216 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=216 As Oceanic is such a popular brand of scuba diving equipment in East Timor, many of our customers have the same gear as our hire pool and instructors. To save any confusion we would like to invite you to a beer and gear night on Wednesday the 10th of August after work We have an engraver where you can mark your gear and if you want to store it here, we will give your own hanger tags. Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:49:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=215 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=215 These are some photos Greg took on a dive at Tasi Tolu yesterday afternoon, with stunning nudibranchs, cute crabs and as always the resident Lion fish. Tasi Tolu never fails to provide interesting subjects to photograph. Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:34:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=214 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=214 Some awesome dives this week:- Christoe Rae - 3 Turtle, Wahoo, Sea snake and Bumphead Parrotfish K41 Night Dive - 2 Turtle, Spanish dancer, Bobtail squid and cuttlefish And a brand new dive site today with a 5ft Purple Giant Clam and some awsome coral bommies. We havent decided on a name yet, so for you pioneers that dived it with Bernado today, come up with the the best dive site name and the winner will get a free dive. Photos thanks to Serge Maraval Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=213 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=213 A selection of diving photos from the last few daays thanks to Serge Maraval Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:47:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=212 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=212 Castaway Bar and Restaurant has been serving East Timor since 2004. Offering the coldest beers and best western food in country. Yet get in early if your looking for a seat especially on Fridays when we have live music as there is only standing room!!! So why not make it for the sunset and stay to late dancing the night away... Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:45:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=211 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=211 Aiman was doing a reef check survey at K41, when this curious dugong came to check him out And Paul spotted this very large turtle at Lone Tree Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:53:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=210 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=210 Ever wondered why? You can't give blood before diving? You can't dive while you are pregnant? You can't take Larium while diving? It's not recommended to excercise before diving? It's not recommended to have a hot shower after diving? David Natoli from DAN - Divers Alert Network is going to give a Q&A session on diving related health and recommendations. Should be very interesting Join us at 7pm onwards this Tuesday at the Dive Centre Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:33:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=209 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=209 We had another trip with media representatives from Australia yesterday. Everybody enjoyed snorkelling and diving around Ataouro and between we visited Berry at his Eco Lodge. Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:36:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=207 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=207 Some nice critters this week as well as some big stuff Tasi Tolu - Roughnose Ghost Pipefish and Juvenile Painted Frogfish Lone Tree - Big Hawksbill Turtle K41 - Whitetip Reef Shark, Frogfish and Maori Wrasse Fishtank - 2 Whitetip Reef Shark Photos thanks to Gerado Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:56:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=206 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=206 Finally she did it! Katie passed her Divemaster course yesterday and even got her number through No. 292358. So if you want that in your logbook, give us a call and she can take you diving. In true Dive Timor Lorosae tradition though, she first had to pass the snorkel test....... Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:10:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=205 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=205 Exploratory diving in Timor Leste!! Yesterday we explored a new site, which Greg found on a recent fishing trip with help of our echosounder. Amazing!!! One of the best scuba dives I've ever done in East Timor! We saw huge tunas, different kinds of sharks, mobula ray, Giant travelleys, spanish makrels, turtles, wahoos and, and..... Come and join us on our next trip to dive this site or ask about our exploratory dive schedules... If you are interested in being a part of Dive Timor exploration team and be one of the first to explore a new dive site.. come see one of our staff for more info Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:52:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=204 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=204 Want to learn to Dive? Coming to East Timor for a short break, why not complete the PADI Open Water Elearning before you arrive? Elearning gives you:- Convenient online access to knowledge development course material for one year Unlimited and unrestricted access to an online version of the PADI Open Water Diver Manual The ability to complete knowledge assessments at your own pace This also cuts down your course duration time to three days instead of four. You are not stuck in the classroom for a day of your holiday and it gives you an extra day to get some more world class fun diving in! Log on to www.padi.com to sign up Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:55:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=203 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=203 Sarah, wife of instructor Aiman and a regular diver at Dive Timor Lorosae, completed her 100th dive this weekend at the Backside of Jesus (still love that dive site name!) Congratulations Sarah Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:18:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=202 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=202 For the past 2 days I have had the company of Nathan, John and Murray out fishing, with windy conditions preventing us crossing to the island we headed west and had a very productive time. Fridays catch was 1 GT and a small Wahoo, while today we caught 2 nice wahoo, 1 was about 10kg and the second was about 18 - 20kg. Thanks Guys, I had a great time fishing with you. See you next time. Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:22:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=201 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=201 Sure, you take Oxygen with you every time you dive. And any time you dive with Dive Timor Lorosae you are assured there is either oxygen on the boat or in the car. But in the event of an emergency, would you be able to administer it? Aimon is an Oxygen Provider Instructor and this month he is going to explain about the Oxygen Provider Course and the different types of Oxygen systems we have here. 7pm at the Dive Centre See you there Sun, 26 Jun 2011 23:26:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=200 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=200 All Oceanic Branded Gear in exciting new colours while stocks last Arid Package = Arid Snorkel, Sunset Boots, ION Mask and Viper Fins Ultradry Package = Ultradry Snorkel, Sunset Boots, ION Mask and Viper Fins Both a whopping 20% off Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:55:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=198 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=198 Beautiful clear water this week and some great finds:- The Church - Maori Wraasse, 2 Turtles, Whitetip reef shark and Blue spotted stingrays Pinnacle - Barracuda, Whitetip reef shark and Dugong mother with calf (and DM Kym crying she didn't have her camera) Tasi Tolu - Ornate ghost pipefish and Dugong Photos thanks to Volker Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:35:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=196 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=196 I (Volker) just received, after 2 month waiting my new housing and strobe. Here some of the first pictures. Unfortunately there was a recall from IKELITE and the housing has to be sent back to the States. Another 2 month waiting????? Tue, 14 Jun 2011 03:05:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=197 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=197 I (Volker) just received, after 2 month waiting my new housing and strobe. Here some of the first pictures. Unfortunately there was a recall from IKELITE and the housing has to be sent back to the States. Another 2 month waiting????? Tue, 14 Jun 2011 03:05:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=195 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=195 We have seen some really cool big stuff this week, but lets not forget the cute critters that makes underwater macro photographers wild about East Timor Photos thanks to Rob Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:48:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=194 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=194 What a week for scuba diving, some incredible sightings this week:- The Church - Blue Spotted Stingray Chrisoe Rae - Maori Wrasse Bobs Rock - Bumphead Parrotfish K41 - Bumphead Parrotfish Table Top - Eagle Ray Franks Crack - 4m Nurse Shark Dirt Track - School of Bumphead Parrotfish And out in the channel pilot whales and dolphins and Marlin jumping Photos thanks to Gerardo and Eddy Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:17:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=193 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=193 Our Japanese looking Brazilian instructor, Sato is back for another season, yippeee! I know many friends out there will be happy with this news and he's getting booked up fast. Please pop and say 'Welcome Back' to him. Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:32:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=192 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=192 Franks Crack Atauro - Turtle Big Fish Atauro - Barracuda Shoal Christoe Rae - 26 Bumphead Parrotfish and Turtle K41 - Bumphead Parrotfish and Octopus Tasi Tolu - Dugong Photos thanks Gerardo Mon, 30 May 2011 02:33:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=191 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=191 Dive number one 26 Bumphead Parrot fish, whilst looking for all the macro critters as one tends to do when guiding photographers, nearly missed this beautiful school of parrot fish, was great to see them. Our second dive today,Volker guided Terance and I (Greg) around Dan's Sandy Bottom, my first dive there. It is an amazing site which transitions from a sandy slope with small sponges littered with tiny shrimp and other critters into a wonderful coral garden full of nudibranchs and colourful fish. Thanks to Volker and Terance was great diving today. Thu, 26 May 2011 02:31:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=190 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=190 The long weekend has come and gone, and East Timor has celebrated another year of Independence, Whilst there were festivities ashore, we had 3 days of scuba diving, snorkeling and cruising around the amazing Atauro Island. To begin with, we had a family day out on the boat on friday, where divers spotted a Dugong on outer reef, then a sperm whale surfacing in the distance on the return trip. On Saturday, we ventured to the western side of the island and divemaster Will lead divers to see black tip reef sharks, and beautiful dive sites. Mean while Greg managed to spot Pilot whales on the trip over and a large pod of dolphins on our return. Sunday produced a fantasic day again, with whale watching on the trip over, two beautiful snorkeling sites of Franks Crack and Clam cove and dolphins as far as the eye could see on our return again. Thank you to all our guests, it wast an amazing weekend. Tue, 24 May 2011 04:39:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=189 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=189 Well done to Alfonso, Eugenio, Julio and Luis, all members of Eco Discovery who completed thier Emergency First Response (EFR) course with Dive Timor Lorose this week. Great that Eco Discovery takes thier clients safety so seriously, as these guys drive tourists around to the remotest areas of this beautiful country Congratulations Sat, 21 May 2011 20:18:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=188 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=188 This morning whilst diving at Tasi Tolu I came across a 4mm long nudibranch, not having my camera with me I decided to go back to the shop have lunch and try again this time armed with my camera. Well after 20 minutes of trying to re-find the tiny little slug I gave up and headed to the patch to see what else was around. Needless to say the usual critters were up and about, along with the following few snaps I got whilst looking around. A very illusive mantis shrimp A juvenile angel fish and a little crab decorating itself and a large pair of nudibranchs on my way back up! Al in all although my tiny friend eluded me this time, I will endeavor to chase it down on my next dive. Greg. Wed, 18 May 2011 00:54:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=187 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=187 Tasi Tolu has done it again, an underwater photographers dream. Spot the difference between the Lacy Scorpiofish (rhinopias) and the leafy filefish in the same frame Photo thanks to Hilman Fri, 13 May 2011 00:30:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=186 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=186 It was a great weekend of SCUBA Diving in East Timor, where do we start?? Secret Garden - Maori Wrasse K41 (night dive) - Sleeping white tip shark Tasi Tolu and $10 beach at Com - Barracuda Christo Rei - Squid Atauro produced 2 brilliant dives at Manta Cove with a large stingray and at Sharkfin with a massive school of barracuda, that left Instructor Maarten with the following quote: "Yup, they were right about "shark fin" on Atauro; spent 20 minutes under, in and aside a school of giant yellow-fin barracuda... Only comparable to "barracuda point" in kapelai sipadan... But the barracudas today were far bigger... Oh, and a school of GT's, school of jacks, tuna, napoleon, ray and shark ..." What more can we say...Get out there!!!! Mon, 09 May 2011 02:38:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=185 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=185 Thinking of becoming a PADI SCUBA instructor? Searching for a PADI IDC in Thailand or Indonesia, how about somewhere different in South East Asia? Get away from the large groups and come to East Timor. Dive Timor Lorosae, are running their second Instructor development course (IDC) in July 2011 under the guidance of Matt Bolton a PADI Platinum course Director, Experience excellent training and dive some of the world’s most unexplored reefs at the same time. The course runs for 14 day followed by 2 days where you will sit your Instructor Examinations (IE). Facilities include our own purpose built dive pool Air-conditioned classroom with wide screen TV. Transport to and from dive sites for open water training sessions and also to near-by conference facilities for your examinations. After diving we have our beachfront Castaway Bar located immediately above our dive centre along with accommodation in our own guest house on site at our dive centre. The PADI Instructor Development Course covers dive instructor theory sessions and presentations; skills practice and evaluation, confined water presentations and open water presentations. You will be supported throughout the IDC by experienced PADI IDC staff instructors that are permanently on staff at Dive Timor Lorosae. Please contact us for pricing and details. info@divetimor.com Sat, 07 May 2011 05:03:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=184 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=184 Dive Timor's boat today had her regular hull clean again today ready for what poses to be another great day diving Atauro island tomorrow. Once the work was done Juvi and I descended to our mooring chain for inspection and also had a quick peak at the small wreck our mooring lines are attached to. Juvi's eyes lit up at the sight of the wreck and upon surfacing when I asked him what it was all he could reply was "Broken Boat" a great literal translation for shipwreck. Thanks Juvi for all your help with the cleaning and loading today ready for tomorrow. See you all on the boat soon! Sat, 07 May 2011 02:10:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=183 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=183 Today Dive Timor started english Lessons for our Timorese staff, here they are looking very attentive with their tutor Steve. Good luck to all. Thu, 05 May 2011 22:04:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=182 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=182 Secret Garden - Ornate Ghost Pipefish Tasi Tolu - Turtle Dili Rock - GT's, Barracuda and Tuna Atauro - Sperm Whale, Manta Ray and Marlin Photos thanks to Andrew Tue, 03 May 2011 06:50:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=181 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=181 A great way to end a long week end in Dili, East Timor with a spot of sunset fishing. Beers, wine and a few well picked snacks from the Castaway bar and even a fish! Make sure to ask DTL's staff about sunset fishing trips when you next visit :) Tue, 03 May 2011 00:23:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=180 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=180 We all take oxygen with us when we dive, but in the event of an emergency, do you know how to assemble and use it. Our independent divers have emergency action plans for every dive site in thier oxygen kits. But have you every read it or implemented it. Hopefully you will never have to. With this in mind we have postponed tonight's Dive Club to Saturday afternoon 30th April at 4pm at Dili Rock, where we will be staging a diving emergency. The more divers we can get, the more realistic it will be From the first moment of recognising a problem right through to evacuation. Do you know what to do? We will be bringing tanks and weights with us. See you there. Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:18:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=179 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=179 Eight members of ENI Timor Leste participated in the EFR (Emergency First Response) course yesterday The EFR Course covers Primary Care - Scene Assessment, Barrier Use, Primary Assessment, Rescue Breathing, CPR, Shock Management, Spinal Injury Management and Severe Bleeding The Secondary Care element covers - Injury Assessment, Illness Assessment, bandaging and splinting. The EFR course is Internationally recognised and takes one day or 2 evenings. Call 7237092 to book this course Well done to all the ENI participants Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:24:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=178 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=178 A regular diver with Dive Timor Lorosae, Necesio completed his 100th Scuba Dive on Sunday at the Pinnacle along with buddies Jenny and Marcella, plus barracuda, shark and stingrays. Well done Necesio Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=177 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=177 Photos from this weeks diving, Manta Cove and Shark Fin Photos thanks to Gerado Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:03:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=176 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=176 Dive Timor Lorosae's newly discovered dive site 'Shark Fin' gave us yet another fantastic dive with 7 Grey Reef shark Schooling Barracuda School of trevally School of Dogtooth Tuna ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!! Come and explore the unexplored on the Zara Ann and Dive Timor Photos thanks Hilman Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:31:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=175 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=175 Sentru Treinamentu Vokasional Juventude is an NGO based in Gleno which trains young Timorese in Tourism. Part of thier course is hands on work experience and both Dive Timor Lorosae and Castaways have had several trainees of the last two years. Today Abel, thier trainer wanted to give his class of 15 students a tour of a tourist industry in East Timor, so spent the morning with us here at Dive Timor Juvi and Naffy were both great, explaining the business from buying masks, booking boat trips and the scuba dive training itself. Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:44:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=174 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=174 We have had 25+ meters visabilty this week one some sites (not all) Manta Cove in Atauro pictured below was Crystal Clear. Some great things spotted, here are this weeks highlights:- K41 - Bumphead Parrotfish and Turtle The Pinnacle - White tip reef sharks, baitball of barracuda, eagle ray Behau Village - Barracuda Shark Fin, Atauro - Turtle, Sea snake, Grey reef shark, 100+ Barracuda, Maori Wrasse, Eagle Ray Bobs Rock - Turtle Photos thanks to Volker Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:38:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=173 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=173 For all you great guys, girls and kids that helped with the 3rd International Beach Clean-up day in East Timor, Project Aware have just released the statistics. Follow this link www.projectaware.org/knowledgebase/details.php?pid=86&id=451 Some interesting facts. Dive Timor Lorosae will be running this event again in September, all volunteers welcome. Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:10:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=172 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=172 Here in East Timor we are slowly coming into the dry season with occasional downpours that effect visability because of the rivers. Not in Atauro! No rivers means crystal clear waters and superb diving. We have spaces free for Sunday, but book soon as they are filling fast. Call 7237092 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:34:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=171 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=171 Feedback from our recent trip to Atauro on our new boat with members of the Singapore Media We sailed over to Atauro for some snorkelling, lunch on the boat and then coffee with Barry and a visit to his eco lodge. More snorkelling and a photo opportunity sailing past Jesus Hi Mark and Marianne, On behalf of Air Timor and Island Explorer Holidays, we would like to express our appreciation for your support and sponsorship for the recent Singapore Media Famil. After a day on the water, snorkelling and visiting Atauro there were so many positive feedback from everyone, and we felt proud to have engaged with your company for this event. Each comment included how professional your entire team were and some have even expressed that they will certainly come back to Timor-Leste and spend a few nights on Atauro. This trip would have never been successful without your support, thank you! Please do let me know if you need assistance in the future. With kind regards andisuaridewi Manager Business Planning and Special Projects Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:13:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=170 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=170 Do you know what an SMB is? And can you deploy it? How long is it since you have done a Giant Stride? What's the safest way to get back on a boat? Do you know why the toilet on a boat is called 'The Head'? As we are going to be doing a lot more boat diving this season, the theme of this month's Dive Club is boat safety and interesting nautical facts 7pm onwards at the Dive Centre See you there Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:50:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=169 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=169 Many of you have expressed your excitement about Dive Timor Lorosae's new dive boat. So if you want to dive off of Zara Ann in Atauro on a regular basis then we have come up with a Boat Bucks offer for you Pay for 5 trips to Atauro to be taken within 3 months of purchase and receive a 20% discount Minimum number of 6 for the boat and packages can't be shared Come on board, the diving is awesome, and so is the boat Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:13:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=168 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=168 The water was like a mirror, the vis was 30 meters and we could even see the tank band of the divers 27m down from the boat. The divers came up raving from the dive at the Pinnacle, shark, blue spotted stingrays, eagle ray swimming with the divers 10m away, huge crayfish, a baitball of barracuda and fish everywhere. And for you guys that know Juvi, it was his first boat dive, he came up with a huge grin on his face. The Pinnacle is only 15m boat ride away and one of the best divesites around so call 7237092 or email marianne@divetimor.com Also seen this week, blue spotted stingray at Secret Garden and Turtle, shark and Giaant Trevallies at Big Fish Atauro Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:17:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=166 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=166 Eleven representative from the Singapore media went out on a days snorkelling trip with Dive Timor Lorosae yesterday. We stopped off to have coffee with Barry at the Eco Lodge after lunch on board A good day had by all on our new comfortable spacious boat. Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:09:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=165 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=165 Thinking of becoming a PADI SCUBA instructor? Searching for a PADI IDC in Thailand or Indonesia, how about somewhere different in South East Asia? Get away from the large groups and come to East Timor. Dive Timor Lorosae, are running their second Instructor development course (IDC) in July 2011 under the guidance of Matt Bolton a PADI Platinum course Director, Experience excellent training and dive some of the world’s most unexplored reefs at the same time. The course runs for 14 day followed by 2 days where you will sit your Instructor Examinations (IE). Facilities include our own purpose built dive pool Air-conditioned classroom with wide screen TV. Transport to and from dive sites for open water training sessions and also to near-by conference facilities for your examinations. After diving we have our beachfront Castaway Bar located immediately above our dive centre along with accommodation in our own guest house on site at our dive centre. The PADI Instructor Development Course covers dive instructor theory sessions and presentations; skills practice and evaluation, confined water presentations and open water presentations. You will be supported throughout the IDC by experienced PADI IDC staff instructors that are permanently on staff at Dive Timor Lorosae. Please contact us for pricing and details. info@divetimor.com Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:22:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=164 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=164 After an intrepid journey over from Darwin, East Timor's biggest custom made dive boat is here. Thanks to the crew of Greg, Bevan and Bruce (who all have very tender bums at the moment!) We had to christen her, so this afternoon staff (and big fans) had a little christening on her, she's beautiful We will be taking her out every weekend, so book early as places are filling fast. She is also available for charter, birthday paarties, leaving do's, sunset cruises etc. Ring 7237092 or email marianne@divetimor.com Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:23:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=163 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=163 Dive Tomor Lorosae new charter vessel the Zara Anne has finally made it to Timor and is sitting nicely in Dili Harbor. Thanks to Greg (skipper) Bevan and Bruce for bringing her over from Darwin. The Zara Ann is a 11m Randell fitted out to accommodate mainly divers and for fishing. With padded bench seats (enough for 14 divers including twin tanks per diver) purpose built fin rack, western toilet, full width dive platform, twin purpose built dive ladders, 3 fresh water showers to wash yourself and gear and enough room to pack alot more gear! Not to mention all the safety gear including inflatable life raft, life jackets and all the extras you need to run in Australian survey! not to mention a small tender for land access. Why call Dive Tiimor on 7237092 or emial info@divetimor.com to book your next dive or fishing charter. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:51:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=162 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=162 The viz is getting better and better, so dust off your scuba gear and come diving Dirt Track - Napolean Wrasse Christoe Rae - 3 schools of Bumphead Parrotfish Dili Rock - Sea Snake and big barracuda Sandy Bottom - Dugong Behau Village - Blue Spotted Stingray Tasi Tolu - Octopus Photos thanks to Volker Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:09:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=161 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=161 The Timor Leste Carnival was last weekend, bigger than ever before. And where better to get a good view but our very own Castways bar located above the Dive Timor Guest house and dive centre. Well done to all the participants, it was a very colourful show Photos thanks to Daniel Groshong, more photos can be seen by clicking on the Hummingfish Foundation logo at the bottom of this page. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:34:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=160 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=160 Safe Diving Tips Presented by DAN Asia-Pacific All diving involves a degree of risk, because, after all, we are air-breathing mammals who have no sensible reason to be underwater. If we accept this premise, and admit to ourselves that we are voluntarily entering an alien environment, we are more likely to approach our diving with a sensible degree of caution. We must also acknowledge that we rely totally on our equipment while diving. These safety hints apply to ALL dives, and should be read in addition to those hints for specific types of diving. • Be trained by a recognised agency. Such training will make you aware of the more common problems you will face underwater, and how to reduce the likelihood of these problems occurring. • Be medically assessed by a doctor who has appropriate training in diving medicine. Some medical conditions are not compatible with safe diving, while other conditions may allow you to dive safely with caution. • Thoroughly prepare and check your gear prior to diving. You rely totally on your equipment while underwater. • Choose dives that match your training, experience and confidence. Always dive within your comfort zone. • Listen to your inner voice. If you do not feel right while underwater, or you feel that you have exceeded your comfort level, abort the dive. • When you first reach the bottom, establish neutral buoyancy, ensure your ears are OK, check your air status and your depth, tighten your weightbelt, then signal to your buddy that you are OK. Make these actions a standard part of ALL dives. • Watch your ascent rate on all dives. You should never exceed an ascent rate of 10m/minute when diving shallower than about 30m. An ascent rate of 5-6 metres per minute is recommended in the last 10m of ascent. • Complete safety stops on all dives that exceed 10m depth. Safety stops assist with reduction of excess nitrogen, which reduces the risk of DCI. They also slow your ascent rate, by forcing you to stop for a period of time. The rule of thumb is 3-5 minutes at 5-6 metres. An additional deeper stop of 2-3 minutes at 10-15m appears to be beneficial after deeper dives. • Always dive with a buddy. Your safety and your enjoyment will be enhanced by being with a companion while underwater. • Plan your dive. You and your buddy should agree on depth, time, air cut-off, and safety stops. • Plan your dive so you surface with a minimum of 50bar. Don’t look at it as wasted air, but as insurance against the possibility of some emergency that causes your air consumption to increase. • If you have had a layoff from diving, or you have been unwell, do some easier dives to regain your confidence and skill. • Revise your skills regularly. Practise such survival skills as mask-clearing, regulator removal, and air-sharing regularly. • Log your dives. A record of your diving history may come in very handy should you ever seek higher levels of training. For more Dive Safety Information visit: www.danasiapacific.org/main/diving_safety.php DIVING MEDICAL QUESTIONS Do you have any diving medical related questions? Do you have any concerns about the effects of diving? Follow the link below to find all the answers to many common and some less common questions relating to diving medical issues. Visit: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dandoc/ DIVING EMERGENCIES As divers, we hope to never find ourselves in need of emergency medical assistance as a result of a diving accident. However, statistics highlight that accidents do happen, even to the most experienced divers, so we should all have a plan of action that will prepare us for the unexpected. If you ever find yourself in an emergency situation your first step should be to call the DAN funded Diving Emergency Services Medical Hotline on 1800-088 200 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1800-088 200      end_of_the_skype_highlighting (toll free within Australia) or +61-8-8212 9242 (from outside Australia). As we all know many of the world’s top dive destinations are in remote areas that are difficult to access and often result in significant costs in terms of emergency evacuation and subsequent medical treatment. Therefore, DAN strongly recommended that all divers be adequately covered for such a contingency. And remember, if you are prepared for the unexpected you are free to focus on what’s most important … enjoying your diving! For more information on dive safety and being prepared visit www.danasiapacific.org or call +61-3-9886 9166 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:25:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=159 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=159 The current rotation of the US Navy Seabees are about to end thier tour in East Timor. In between thier fantastic work of renovating schools and building community centres, many of them learned to scuba dive and enjoyed a great weekend snorkelling and diving at Jako Island last November Thanks guys, you were great fun to teach Photos thanks John Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:28:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=158 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=158 For all those customers who know our wonderful Office Manager Zelia. She gave birth to her first child this morning, little Liara weighed in at 3.2k, and both mum and baby are doing fine Mon, 28 Feb 2011 03:03:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=157 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=157 Destination Alor Look out from Dili and you see Atauro and the Indonesian Island of Alor. So close and yet so far, not as easy to get to as Bali but some awesome wall dives, ripping drift dives, cave dives and for the critter fan like me, great muck dives. Alor itself makes Dili look like a heaving metropolis, so dont expect any resorts or night clubs Come to the DTL Dive club tomorrow night at 7pm to find out all the facts about how to get there, where to stay and where to dive. See you there Photos thanks to Kasia Sun, 20 Feb 2011 13:42:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=156 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=156 Dive Timor's new dive boat is currently being fitted out in Darwin and will soon be ready to make the voyage over. Below are a few pic's of the work so far, Thanks to Derek for his help in antifouling. We can't wait to take you all diving on this beautiful boat. See you soon. Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=155 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=155 Some great sightings this week! Korean Beach, Com - Eagle Ray and Honeycomb moray The Jetty, Com - Bumphead Parrotfish Dili Rock - Huge Barracuda, spawning squid and juvenile ribbon eel Jaco - Whitetip and grey reef sharks, turtle and swordfish Black Rock - Blacktip reef sharks, Napolean Wrasse and Turtle K41 - bumphead parrotfish Dirt Track - Maori Wrasse Photos thanks to Volker Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:28:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=154 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=154 Wet but still great Dirt Track - Eagle Ray Dili Rock - Mushroom white pipefish and leaf scorpionfish Tasi Tolu - Turtle Little Beach - Blue Spotted Stingray K41 - Robust Ghost Pipefish Bobs Rock - Maori Wrasse and Turtle Photos thank you Volker Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:32:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=153 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=153 Steven has arrived from Brasil, so we have a full time Portuguese instructor again. Please pop in and Say Bon Dia, Hello or G'Day Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:14:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=152 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=152 Paulo came to Dive Timor Lorosae as an Advanced Diver and completed his EFR and Rescue before starting his Divemaster Teaching Paulo has been a lot of fun and hes also a handy man to have around, fixing compressors, motors and shifting generators, way outside the scope of a normal DM course. Thanks for that Paulo So in normal DTL tradition the course was completed with the snorkel test, in the bar in a bucket of water and a huge amused audience. Cocktail of course chosen by his instructor Greg Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:17:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=151 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=151 Yesterday Dive Master trainee, Paulo and Greg went for a dive at Christo Rei, with limited visibilty, we went searching for all the small critters. Below are a few of the Nudis we found amongst the coral. Always a wonderful dive. Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:12:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=150 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=150 We are always striving to be the best and give great service to our customers, so we are pleased to announce the first ever Assistant Instructor trained in East Timor! Kasia has been a friend of East Timor for many years, taking her first breath underwater during a Discover Scuba Diving experience with Marianne back in 2006 The fiesty mermaid worked really hard for her AI and got great results. Congratulations to Kasia and her Staff Instructor Greg. Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:13:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=149 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=149 It was 4.00pm on the 31st of December 2010 when Marianne, Greg, John Symonds, Christian, Paulo and Jose all jumped in for the last dive of 2010 at Tasi Tolu. Here are a couple of shots from the dive. Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:37:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=148 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=148 One of our long term divers is heading home and selling his 20D camera and ikelite housing for a great price of $1000.00 usd There is also a dome port and few other parts for $500.00 usd. So if anyone is interested in having a great camera for a low price please get in touch with the dive team and we can put you in touch with the seller Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:46:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=147 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=147 2010 saw Dive Timor Lorosae set some new highs for the diving scene in Timor Leste (East Timor). Below are some of the best *Firstly by becoming the first and only PADI 5 star dive training centre and running our first ever Instructor Development Course (IDC) *Timor Leste (East Timor) holding its first ever international underwater photo competition and having one of Dive Timors local staff enter and participate in it as the only Timorese entrant(congrats again Juvi) *The formal opening of our own Timor Hotel and accommodation. Which includes 2 x 3 bedrooms guest houses, 4 studio deluxe rooms, a single 2 bedroom villa (look out of the expansion this year!) *Teaching a total of 334 PADI certifications for the year *Timor largest (Dive Timor organized and run) beach clean up with over 250 participants and 2011 already seems to be starting of on a high note with our new fly bridge 12m dive vessel being fitted out as we speak in Darwin. Look out in the harbour this month and next and you might see a new boat :)!! So to all those divers that have helped be a part of Dive Timor in 2010 we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you and may we see you again this year for some great diving. And to all those that have already booked for this year we look forward to showing you what an amazing dive destination Timor Leste is. All the best and Happy New Year Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:30:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=146 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=146 Diving at Tasi Tolu in Timor this week has been amazing, Marianne sighted the Dugong twice in 25min on one dive along with our favorite friends, Thorny seahorses, leaf scorpion fish, frog fish and of course our old friend Rhinopias. Following this Greg, Juvi, Kasia and Paulo also dived Tasi Tolu and found a little octopus, a beautiful small common sea horse and a pink squat lobster, checkout the photos below. Happy holiday diving from the team at Dive Timor Lorosae Sat, 25 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=145 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=145 Once again the year has past and Christmas day is upon us. Dive Timor Lorosae would like to wish all a Merry Christmas and happy new year. Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:36:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=144 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=144 Bernardo came to us never having dived before, then did his Open Water, Advanced Open Water, EFR, Rescue and Divemester courses. Having completed his Divemaster course there was one final test to go, the DTL Snorkle test. Administered gleefully by his instructor Sato Well done to Bernado Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:16:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=143 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=143 Some Great critter diving this week. Photos thanks to Roger Won from Singapore Mon, 20 Dec 2010 01:53:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=142 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=142 Wow, what a crazy night, the best DTL pool party yet. Held once again at Dive Timor Hotel and Guest House pool - Only expectant mothers were spared from getting wet. A fitting tribute to Sato, Pedro, Bree and Sidar, they will all be missed. Thanks to everyone that made it happen Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:50:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=138 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=138 Who needs and excuse for a pool party, but we have loads! With much sadness we say goodbye to Sato after 2 seasons with Dive Timor Lorosae, but we will be celebrating the fact that he reached 100 certification in 2010, a great achievement. And we thought it only fitting to give Sato (our non Japenese instructor!)a photo tribute. He will be missed We are also saying goodbye to Divemaster Bree, who is moving to the much colder cli...mate of the UK (Good luck with that Bree) and Instructor Pedro who is returning to Portugal after many years here, Pedro was one of DTL's first customers We aresaying hello to a new Divemaster Bernado and in DTL tradition a water related Snorkel test. He passed his DM on Saturday, Congratulations! And if Instructor Marek hasnt departed for Bali shore, then its also his birthday on the 15th AND IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!! We are going to have the BBQ going at the pool so bring something to whack on the Barbie and your swimming togs, do not expect to stay dry. The 13th of December 7pm onwards. See you there Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=141 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=141 Arte Morris is an organisation that consists of local Timorese artists, that did an amazing job producing an exhibition for the Underwater Photo Competition earlier in the year. They create dolphins and turtles out of recycled bottles, huge manta rays out of paper mache as well as a vast array of colourful reef fish, all from referencing books and magazines. So we decided to show them just how beautiful thier country really is under the water. Over the last 2 days, 10 members of Arte Morris did a Discover Scuba Dive with Dive Timor Lorosae. It was a lot of fun, and our local staff diver Juvi was awesome helping us translate and being the underwater cameraman. The best quote was 'It's beautiful, I want to build my house down there' Well done to all the guys and we can't wait to see what thier creativity produces on canvas Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:06:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=140 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=140 This year has seen Dive Timor Lorosae open up their guest house and studio apartments for tourist and short stay clients. Located on the same premises as Dive Timor and the Castaway Bar the Hotel offers guests a modern, spacious and reasonably priced property compared to other Timor Hotels. From rooms as low as 30 usd that included free internet, hot and cold running water and western bathrooms, access to our 2.5m swimming pool, limited off street parking and many more features including a city central location on the beach front - it is no wonder this rooms are booking out fast. For bookings please email info@divetimor.com or info@diliguesthouse.com Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:14:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=139 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=139 Paul Valee came to East Timor in November 2009 and since then has logged over 120 dives here. As he didn't celebrate his dive 100, he decided to mark his last dive in Timor Leste, number 333 with his buddies Hilman and Annette with a little Christmas fun Cheers Paul, it's been great diving with you Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:59:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=137 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=137 Some big stuff this week despite the rain, some great diving:- Manta Cove Atauro - Pilot Whales K41 - Whiptail Ray and Barracuda Christoe Rae - Whale Shark Tasi Tolu - Dugong Outer Reef Atauro - Eagle Ray Secret Garden - Maori Wrasse Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:51:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=136 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=136 Jon Angle recently went diving in the Whitsunday Islands. He's going to give a talk and show photos of what the diving is like there Tuesday night 30th of November from 7pm at the Dive Timor Lorosae Fri, 26 Nov 2010 20:28:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=135 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=135 A big thank you to both pupils and teachers that participated in this years beach clean up. They all received thier certificates today at assembly Thu, 25 Nov 2010 22:41:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=134 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=134 Another early morning dive this morning with Nigel take his new G11 and Ikelite housing out for its' first run underwater. Again Timor Leste put on another show for the divers at Tasi Tolu, with two beautiful cuttlefish, a tiny white pipefish and a lovely little crab on the rope. Checkout the photos from this mornings dive Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:57:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=133 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=133 We have had Great scuba diving this last week in Timor Leste, K41 - Bumphead Parrotfish and squid everywhere Atauro - Bumphead Parrotfish and a Turtle The Jetty - 2 Giant, Giant Trevally, and 3 blue spotted stingrays Tasi Tolu - 2 Indian Walkman (Devil Scorpion fish) and a beautiful cuttlefish. Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:39:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=132 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=132 Dive conditions are so good at the jetty that i'm doing this dive the 3rd morning running. It's teeming with life. Spotted on the dives: 2 Blue spotted stingray, 4 scorpionfish, too many lionfish to count, a 2m Giant Trevally!, 3 juvenile batfish, ornate ghost pipefish, mantis shrimp, nudibranchs, a snowflake moray completely out in the open, juvenile boxfish, juvenile emperor angelfish and a shoal of over 1000 catfish Photos taken at the jetty by Don Silcock Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=131 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=131 Com - Whitetip Reef Sharks and Ramora Jako - Turtle and 3 Mobular Rays Atauro - Pilot Whales Tasi Tolu - Dugong Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:59:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=130 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=130 A great fun rescue course with 4 students and 3 instructors making it realistic as possible. Well done to Diogo, Louis, Paulo and Sonia. The rescue course will get you:- Towing, throwing and wading Searching, dragging and calming Panicing, resusitating and evacuating Its hard work but the most fun course. Come and see us at Dive Timor Lorosae for more details Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:28:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=129 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=129 Secret Garden - Ribbon Eel and Turtle Dili Rock - Juvenile Batfish and puple Leaf Scorpionfish Tasi Tolu - Sea Snake Behau Village - Eagle Ray Photos Thank you Derek Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:20:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=128 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=128 Derek has been on holiday in East Timor again and if you spend enough time with the Dive Timor Crew, you tend to get hooked on Nudibranches. Nice photos Derek Sun, 31 Oct 2010 23:51:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=126 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=126 Here are a few links to some of the photographs from the competition http://www.flickr.com/photos/30283068@N02/sets/72157625042631663/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Timor-Leste-Dive-Photo-Contest/105259899513806?ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=26988&id=105259899513806 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2010/oct/21/timor-leste-scuba-photo-competition?picture=367918720 http://aquapix.smugmug.com/Underwater/Underwater/14263077_9vtAt#1054607798_j8Vba And a photo of Bronze Winner Dave Baxter sporting his medal and his Dive Timor T-Shirt Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:55:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=125 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=125 A Great weeekend of SCUBA diving in Timor Leste, All dive sites showing off amazing creatures, great vis and good conditions. The Jetty: Robust Ghost pipe fish X 2, Blue spotted stingray, Sea snake, Maubara: Green turtle, Sea snake Atauro: Spanish Makeral, Dog tooth Tuna, Giant - Giant Trevally, Green Turtle. Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:32:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=123 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=123 John Symons recently went diving in the Solomon Islands. He's going to give a talk and show photos of what the diving is like there and of course the wrecks. Tomorrow night from 7pm at the Dive Timor Lorosae Sun, 24 Oct 2010 21:22:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=122 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=122 Juvi had never used a camera on land, let alone underwater until last week when he entered the first Internation Underwater Photograhy competition in East Timor. Juvi was the only Timorese diver and showed a natural talent for photography, hopefully inspiring more Timorese entrants next time We at DTL are all very proud of him, and here are a few of his best shots Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:11:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=121 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=121 Pamela an avid diver with Dive Timor Lorosae, made her 100th dive today in Atauro Photos thanks to Abryl, nice winged pipefish Sun, 17 Oct 2010 17:14:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=120 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=120 Our very own Juvi Belo, met the President of Timor Leste on Friday night at the award ceremony for the Timor Leste underwater photo competition. Well Done Juvi, His photos will be posted soon. Sun, 17 Oct 2010 05:52:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=119 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=119 4 very long, hot and sometimes wet days marshalling at Pertamina Pier for East Timors first International Underwater Photography competition. Enthusiastically accompanied by Rolando and Taki from the Maritime college and a few curious onlookers Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:05:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=118 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=118 Juvi is rapidly becoming a star in the first ever Timor Leste underwater photo competition. His photos will be submitted by 7am friday morning to a panel of judges. This is Juvi's first ever time holding an underwater camera and the results (which unfortunately for you - cannot be published just yet) are amazing. I went for a dive with Juvi and Brian Franscisco and got the a few good shots myself see below. Juvi's photos will appear as soon as we are able to release them. We all at DTL wish him the best of luck. Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:47:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=117 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=117 Happy Birthday Sato, Last monday Sato turned 30, Congratulations and we hope that the coming years bring you much happiness. From all at Dive Timor. Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:07:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=116 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=116 Here at Dive Timor Lorosae, not only do we provide the highest quality of dive instruction. Our students can also take their diving memories away with them permanently. Our resident Tattooist Mr Twolights can provide stunning work for our divers to give them memories that last a lifetime. Special discounts will be applied if you get the dive logo :) Mon, 11 Oct 2010 07:01:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=115 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=115 With Timor Leste's first ever underwater dive photo contest only a week away i thought i would post one of our recent guest at Dive Timor Lorosae who took these amazing images - Don Silcock (a section of reef photos)from up and down the coast line of Timor (some of the same sites as the photo contest will be held at)! To see more of Don photos around the Pacific check out http://www.indopacificimages.com/ Macro photos thanks to Brian :) Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:41:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=114 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=114 Matt and his crew from Scuba Munkies in Sydney finished off their dive trip to Timor Leste in wonderful style with a trip to Atauro. Diving Manta cove with 40+ meters vi and then on to Outer Reef with 30+ meters viz, blue waters sea snakes, Maori Wrasse and heaps more. The highlight of the day was seeing the scuba munky fish. just amazing have a look. This followed up with a human sized munky at the night market at Christo Rei. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:47:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=113 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=113 A few snap shots of the Scuba Munkies crew soaking up the sun and enjoying some spectacular diving in Timor Leste. Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:53:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=111 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=111 Big Stuff this week! Dirt Track - Turtle, Barracuda and big tuna Sandy Bottom - Shoal of Bumphead Parrotfish K41 - 25 squid Marble Rock - Barracuda Dili Rock - Turtle and 20 Bumphead Parrotfish Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:46:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=110 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=110 Hurry, it the last 2 days of the September Special. So sign up today or tomoorow to save $65 on your Open Water or Advanced Open Water Course Don't miss out! Tue, 28 Sep 2010 22:19:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=109 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=109 With the success of this years Beach Clean up, we thought we would continue the Project Aware theme with this month's Dive Club Aiman one of our instructors is also a Coral Watch Trainer, so he will be giving a presentation on Coral Watch and what we can do here in East Timor as responsible divers Tomorrow night at 7pm at Dive Timor Lorosae Mon, 27 Sep 2010 01:42:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=108 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=108 What a fantastic turn out this years Beach Clean Up, over 250 people registered for this event in 3 locations, making it the biggest beach clean clean up East Timor has ever seen! Although Dive Timor Lorosae has organised this event for the past 3 years, we had some great help in the organisation this year and would like to thank PDL Toll for water, bags, gloves and great string bags, Anteater for the skips, UNMIT for bags, gloves, water, trash collection and local transport and TVTL for broadcasting the event. We would also like to thank the organisations that took part in the clean up, the QIS School Dili, the US Navy, UNPOL, the Department of the Environment, UNMIT as well as all of DTL's divers and snorkellers that took part And a special thank you to Aleyda Santos who was absolutely amazing at getting support and extended the beach clean up to Dili Rock, Tasi Tolu, Cemetary Beach, Comoro Bridge, Backside of Jesus and Baucau Beach Sat, 25 Sep 2010 15:07:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=107 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=107 The stage looks set for the 3rd annual Dive Timor Lorosae beach clean up this weekend. And its going to be a big one with a huge line up and 9km's of beach to be worked. As normal Dive Timor Lorosae has organized the event and this year the United Nations have joined forces to make it one not to be forgotten. So if your a diver, a snorkeler, a swimmer or just a beach bum make sure you contact Marianne on 7237092 or email marianne@divetimor.com to let her and the crew know your coming. Once again Dive Timor Lorosae will be lending out scuba equipment for free on a first in first grab basic but as always remember to bring your cert card. Do not worry if you cant dive turn up anyway and help the beach crew clean up and maybe chat to one of our resident instructors about becoming certified and maybe you can dive in next years clean up. As always all responsible divers will be involved so do not be left out. Please make sure to bring your own sun care products and enjoy the day Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:42:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=106 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=106 Here are a few of the amazing images Don Silcock took while in Timor. For more amazing images check out http://www.indopacificimages.com/index.php/image-galleries/timor-leste-tasi-tolu-image-gallery/ Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:21:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=105 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=105 Divers, snorkellers and helping hands, we need your help Where: Dili Rock When: Saturday 25th of September Time: 9am onwards Lets make this the biggest clean up ever Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:14:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=104 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=104 Dear all, Project AWARE Foundation is an NGO founded by divers dedicated to conserving underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. On 25th September, they are conducting an action campaign all around the world to clean the sea and the beaches of marine debris, with the purpose of protecting the marine environment. The Dive Timor Lorosae is coordinating the cleaning campaign here in Dili and has requested volunteer participation of divers and non-divers as there will be work for everybody !!! All marine debris data collected will be included in the Global Marine Debris Index to help Project AWARE drive positive change for our oceans. You are all kindly invited to attend this presentation and brainstorm together on ways in which each one of us can contribute, the venue will be at : UNMIT - Headquarters Obrigado Barracks Conference room D at 15:00 Tomorrow, Wednesday 08 September 2010 We will have guests from the Dive Timor Lorosae, representative of Haburas, Dirasaun Ambiente and other NGOs that may be able to participate and promote this activity. Thank your for sharing this information and bringing along more participants... and if you cannot come, please send a representative, :-)) if you want to know more, visit the site: http://www.projectaware.org Together, we can make a difference ! Aleyda Santos Acevedo Joint Green Committee Coordinator Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:55:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=103 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=103 What an amazing week for diving, the water is warm, the vis good and we are seeing some big stuff. Photos please guys! Christoe Rae - 2 turtles and a white tip reef shark K57 - Blue Spotted stingray Dili Rock - Turtle soooooooo close Secret Garden - Curious Dugong Jako - White Tip Reef Shark Black Rock - Bumphead Parrotfish and whiptail Ray K41 - Whitetip reef shark Photos thanks to Fikret Ercan Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:04:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=102 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=102 Freeflow and Big Baracuda Dive Clubs in Singapore recently visited Dive Timor for a week of diving Here are some of their photos. Thanks to Edward Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:55:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=101 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=101 Take the plunge on International Cleanup Day, calling all divers and volunteers. Dear DTL Dive Club. Dive Timor Lorosae needs your help! The dive community is leading the fight against marine debris on International Cleanup Day. We're organising a beach and underwater cleanup in partnership with Project AWARE Foundation. Join teams of volunteer divers worldwide to tackle the problem beneath the surface and collect data for change. Please confirm participation before the day, bring your diver certification card and sign an Underwater Liability Release Form. All marine debris data collected will be included in the Global Marine Debris Index to help Project AWARE drive positive change for our oceans. Thanks for your support and we look forward to seeing you on 25th September 2010. Let's make 2010 the biggest cleanup yet! This years beach clean up on the 25th of September is going to be bigger than ever. This month at the Dive Club we are going to be giving a presentation on Project Aware and how your participation saves our oceans. We are also going to discuss the logistical arrangements for the day, if we get enough people we plan to clean up from Dili Rock all the way to the Comoro Bridge, which will be awesome. See you there, 7pm onwards at the Dive Center. Sat, 28 Aug 2010 04:21:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=100 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=100 Some great photos thanks to Claire Barbaret Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:09:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=99 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=99 DTL staff member Juvi is finally certified Open Water after a lot of hard work and study. Thanks to all the instructors that made this happen and a special thank you to Kym Smithies and Mike and Mel from Singapore with thier help on the translation. He's already started his Advanced Course Congratulations Juvi Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:28:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=98 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=98 Don Silcock's camera is the envy of all the dive shop. But what results. Here's a taster of his photographs Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:40:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=97 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=97 Project AWARE Foundation is calling on all AWARE divers around the globe to take action on International Cleanup Day 25th September 2010 to help make clean water a reality. Please join Dive Timor Lorosae on their 3rd year participating in the International Beach Clean Up Day at Dili Rock on the 25th of September 9am onwards. Divers, snorkellers and helping hands all welcome Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:28:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=96 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=96 Good but a little windy diving this week. Here are the highlights Atauro - Whitetip Reef Shark and sea snake Dili Rock - A really cute little black leaf scorpionfish Tasi Tolu - Warty Black frogfish and a green seahorse Here's a couple of pics taken by Edmund with his new Cannon G11 and Susana Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:34:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=95 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=95 Because Luc finished his Divemaster and went straight on to the Instructor Development Course, he missed out on the Dive Timor tradition of the snorkel test Not for long! Luc completed his snorkel test with a red wine chaser rather than beer (well he is French!) Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:47:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=94 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=94 The Party! A great turn out last night to celebrate all our new instructors. Well done again! And thanks to chef Simon on the BBQ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:52:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=93 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=93 The first ever IDC is over and we have 3 New Staff Instructors, 2 EFRI Instructors and 4 Open Water Scuba Instructors/EFRI Instructors A big Congratulations to Pedro, Marek, Roberto, Alex, John, Marianne, Chris, Luc and Greg Thanks to Matt Bolton our Course Director and Robert Scannell our Examiner who both came over from Thailand for this event Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:34:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=92 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=92 Underwater photography course on Saturday, Well Done, there were some great photos taken at Tasi Tolu. Touzeuma shrimp Flavalina Nudibranch Juvenile Lined triggerfish Oh and we think someone is missing a shoe! Also Seen this weekend, Tasi Tolu - Eagle Ray and a Nurse shark at Secret Garden Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:02:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=91 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=91 After a very entertaining Instructor development course, we decided there were a few 'men of the moment' and Dive Timor Lorosae had to give thier own awards in recognition of this. Chris - Most Pedantic Award with his affected effectiveness Pedro - Most Improved Award - a little gem of an instructor emerged about 3 days into the course Marek - The Marek Moment Award - What can we say! The UFO spotting to distract us when he did something wrong had us all crying with laughter. This was one of many many moments Luc - The Where's Luc? Award - Juggling a busy work life with this IDC was not easy Roberto - Funniest Training Aid Award - A replacement was donated on his certificate Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:18:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=90 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=90 Back in the Pool and the Open Water again for more skills and demonstrations. Everyone completed the course yesterday. The Instructors Exams are on Monday and Tuesday, then PARTY! Photos, thanks Matt Bolton and Brian Francisco Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:52:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=89 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=89 This months dive club coincides with the end of East Timor's first ever Instructor Development Course and Instructor Exams. So we decided to throw a party to celebrate all the new instructors. All our dive club members are welcome. Tuesday 27th of July 7pm onwards at Dive Timor Lorosae We will be back on track next month with a mollusc guest speaker Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:15:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=87 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=87 The guys are working hard refining thier skills on our first Instructor Development Course in preparation for the Instructors Exams on monday and tuesday. The days are long, the schedule is tough, but they are doing really well and having a few laughs and 'Marek Moments' Here are a few action shots in the Open Water Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:03:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=86 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=86 Congratulations Chris on reaching 100 dives, a great effort 2 months in Timor and 40 dives, well done. Good luck to you and all the other candidates for the Instructor Development course. Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:01:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=85 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=85 A wonderful dive with lots of new critters at Tasi Tolu, Tozeuma Shrimp... try and find this one on your next dive at Tasi Tolu, Good luck there are 2 of them. Pipe Fish Psedosimnia Sinenis Cowrie Armina sp. - A nudibranch that eats sea pens. Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:44:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=84 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=84 Thank you Marianne for some great spotting on our dusk dive this week. Here are a few photos of day turning to night. Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:07:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=83 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=83 The Sea Bees are the construction arm of the US Navy and are doing great work in East Timor renovating schools and building community centres. Although they are part of the Navy they couldnt dive, so 12 of them signed up for the PADI Open Water course with Dive Timor Lorosae. Yesterday we certified 8 of this group. The other 4 will complete it later. Congratulations to our Navy guys, it was a fun course Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:43:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=82 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=82 Thanks Greg for a very informative session on scuba diving equipment last night. Very hands-on and animated, makes for a captive audience seen here. Photos thanks to Eddie Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:45:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=81 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=81 Bobs Rock - This cute little Orangatang Crab pictured here (thanks Paul) Dili Rock East - 3 Leaf scorpionfish (2 pink, 1 white), 2 species of pipefish, 3 species of Moray eel Tasi Tolu - Cuttlefish and Pygmy Pipefish K41 - 2m Devil Ray and Turtle Dili Rock West - Mandarin Fish Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:58:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=80 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=80 Here at Dive Timor Lorosae, we strive to achieve the highest quality of service and diving in East Timor. That's why we are really proud to have been awarded PADI's (Professional association of Diving Instructors) 5 star IDC (Instructor Development Centre) status today. The first and only of it's kind in the country. Requirements for this international rating meant we had to certified so many students (from Open Water to assistant instructors), maintain and prove safety and quality requirements and be able to offer a full range of diving services within East Timor (including service centre, equipment rental and purchase centre and modern training centre - including Dive Timor's purpose built 2.5m deep dive training pool on site). Well done to all the team that made it happen (including all the students we have trained and guest we have taken diving since 2000). Its amazing how hard work and love for diving and East Timor can bring you so far). Here is to our first Instructor Development Course on the 14th of July 2010. We still have room for additional students to join this unique course!! Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:45:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=79 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=79 Do you know your DIN from your Diaphram? Or your Purge from your Piston? If not come to the DTL Dive Club on Tuesday night. Greg is giving a Question and Answer session with props on Equipment, how it works, and how to take care of it. See you there 7pm onwards at the Dive Centre Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:58:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=78 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=78 Before coming to East Timor, Chris and Susan checked out the diving on our website. There were two things that persueded Chris to do his Divemaster with Dive Timor, our website and our ritual of the Divemaster snorkel test. Strange guy! Chris has been here for 7 weeks and sailed through his EFR, Rescue and Divemaster courses. Next step PADI Instructor course here at Dive Timor on the 14th of July Congratulations Chris Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:16:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=77 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=77 The kids have been getting in on the diving action in East Timor by completing the Bubblemaker programme then upgrading to Seal Team. Xana and Leticia have even started doing their Seal Team Specialties on the way to be becoming Master Seal Team Members Bubblemakers can start at 8 and its the first experience underwater in the swimming pool on scuba equipment. Seal Team also starts at 8 and over 5 Aquamissions, kids learn the equivalent of the first confined water session for the Open Water course plus fin pivoting, snorkel/regulator exchange and hovering. Once the 5 Aquamissions are completed the Seal Team member can then do specialty missions such as Navigation, Search & Recovery, Buoyancy and a Night Dive! We get one of our Divemasters or Instructors to take photos underwater or the parents, if the parents are divers or snorkellers. Please note that a parent or guardian must be present at all times. Heres some photos of our latest Seal Teamers, Xana, Leticia, Isobella and Saverio Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:27:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=76 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=76 Not often seen in the waters of East Timor. Paul and Hilman spotted this Sicklefin Lemon Shark whilst diving at Behau village. It took us a while to id it. Thanks for the photo guys Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:26:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=75 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=75 Tiger Shrimp Rubescens Nudibranch False Fire Urchin Clark's Anemonefish Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=74 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=74 Congratulations to Abryl who learnt to dive with Dive Timor and is now a Rescue Diver. This weekend she logged her 100th scuba dive Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:59:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=73 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=73 Amazing scuba diving this week with some real gems spotted Behau Village - Black Tip Reef Shark Dili Rock - Dugong and Stonefish Secret Garden - Huge Grouper Tasi Tolu - Frogfish and some really cool Nudibranch Atauro - Blue spotted sting ray, Turtle and Barracuda Sun, 13 Jun 2010 18:53:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=72 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=72 Todays dives up coast at Marble rock and Black rock Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=71 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=71 We had some great dives over the last two days, not just in Dili but also up the coast where the viz was great Christoe Rae - 2 white tip reef shark K41 - 2 white tip reef shark Secret Garden - Stonefish Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:46:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=70 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=70 A great dive at Dili Rock this morning. Nudibranchs feasting, Leaf scorpionfish, cuttlefish, mantis shrip and pipefish were amonst the critters spotted. Photos thanks Rob. Fri, 04 Jun 2010 02:47:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=69 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=69 A good turn out despite the rain. Thanks Marek for the music. Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:14:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=68 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=68 20m vis, no current, whitetip reef shark, bamboo shark, stingrays and more barracudas than you could shake a stick at. Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:09:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=67 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=67 Dive Timor is having a bit of a sausage sizzle tomorrow night 1st June. We don't need an excuse but here is 3:- 1 - We are saying goodbye to DM Petr who is going off travelling East Timor and Indonesia with his girlfriend Eva 2 - We are welcoming PADI Divemaster Roberto from Spain. He's going to be here for a few months and going to be one of the first candidates to do his IDC (Instructor Development Course) here at Dive Timor Lorosae. GO PRO! 3 - Marianne is celebrating her 2 year anniversary at Dive Timor (Time flies when you are having fun!) So feel free to pop in and say Hi, Bye or Cheers! From 7pm onwards. Photos of Petr and his time at DTL Sun, 30 May 2010 20:22:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=66 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=66 Glad to see turtles around this week Christoe Rae, Secret Garden, Dollar Beach and K41. Also Bumphead Parrotfish at Black Rock and a Crockadile fish at Dili Rock. Sun, 30 May 2010 20:15:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=65 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=65 Roberto has recently joined us as a PADI Divemster. He speaks Portugese, Spanish, French and English (with a wonderful accent). He's travelled extensively and his last post was in Byron Bay, Australia. Roberto will be here for a few months and will complete his instructors course with us in July Come in and meet him (he doesnt always look so crazy) Sun, 30 May 2010 20:10:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=64 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=64 Dili Rock - 2 Leaf scorpionfish The Jetty - Short Tailed Pipefish Secret Garden - 2 White Tip Reef Sharks Marble Rock - Turtle Tasi Tolu - 6 big squid Sun, 23 May 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=63 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=63 This month we have Captain Shane Granger visiting us (seas permitting). Captain Shane Granger and companion Margarete Macoun are two outstanding individuals who have dedicated their skills, time and money to extend humanitarian assistance on board the historical 117-year-old Vega Have a look at this article for more details http://www.gaiadiscovery.com/latest-people/captain-shane-granger-on-the-historical-vega-bringing-humani.html However, if the seas do not permit, we will revert to our original plan of an equipment session with Greg. The dive club is on the 25th of May, 7pm onwards here at DTL Fri, 21 May 2010 21:53:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=62 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=62 A sunday night BBQ seemed a fitting way to celebrate Gregs birthday. We also said a final goodbye to Dim who is off travelling on the way back home to Belgium Thanks to 'Superchef' Simon for the delicious food. Sun, 16 May 2010 18:41:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=60 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=60 Its looks like the President has put a stop to the drainage project that was going to destroy one of Timor's best loved Dili sites at Tasi Tulo. Just goes to show that in such a developing country the general "dive community" can be heard and that the government does understand that such an important environmental issue are of concern for the development of the dive industry and tourist industry. Special thanks must go to The Dive Photo Contest Director, Sean Borrell on +670 7382208 / borrellsean@hotmail.com and Dan Groshong (advisor to the photo competition) for passing on our voices to the President and Government. Sean was actually taken to the site by Marianne and shown the extent of what was going on and the effect it would have. Also thanks to Kym Smithies and her team for an informative documentary on the site shown on TVTL (local tv) which featured some of our staff and tourists that have been visiting over the last weeks. It really makes you feel like the community in general can raise an issue and be heard by the government of Timor Leste. Lets now push to have the bay turned into a environmental park and protect it for good. Here are some file shots of this great dive - for more click back through the blog Wed, 12 May 2010 21:06:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=58 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=58 Today Xyanna (11) and Leticia (10) became the first ever East Timorese Seal Team members after completing Aquamissions 1-5 over 3 sessions in the pool. They are now going on to do Aquamission specialities, Skin Diving and Navigation Congratulations to these very aquatic sisters Mon, 10 May 2010 02:20:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=59 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=59 A relaxing morning dive with Brian Franscisco, produced Lacy Scorpion fish, Tiger Shrip and a lovely little Sea Urchin. Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=56 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=56 These photos are from our Digital Underwater Photography course. Great shots guys. Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=57 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=57 Mark on a quick trip even managed to fit in a dive at Tasi Tolu. Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=55 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=55 Smile!! Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:19:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=54 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=54 The Advanced Open Water Course teaches you new skills such as Marine Life Identification, Underwater Photography and to pull silly faces underwater! Nice one Sato (Manic grin) Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:47:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=53 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=53 Back by popular demand, the DTL Dive Club will recommence this Tuesday the 27th of April 7pm onwards. Many divers have left leaving some of our resident divers 'Buddyless'. The Dive Club is a great way to meet new like-minded buddies as the new dive season commences. Many of you have been talking about Timor Leste's first International Underwater Photo Competition which is taking place in October this year. If you haven't heard of it then check out the web site www.underwatertimorleste.com Our guest speaker this month is Sean Ferguson-Borrell from the Office of the President, who are organising this event. See you there Photos: Fatima Martins Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:31:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=52 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=52 Todays photos of Tasi Tolu Banded Boxer shrimp, Sea horses, Moray eel, Yellow margin Triggerfish. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=51 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=51 Discounted Open Water Course. Click on the image for more details... Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:12:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=50 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=50 K41 - Turtle Tasi Tolu - 4 Rhinopious Lone Treee - Turtle Bubble Beach - Family of Blue Spotted Stingray Dili Rock - Big Ramora Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:18:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=49 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=49 Sights of the past week. Thorny Sea Horses - Hippocampus Hystrix Weedy Scorpionfish - Rhinopias Frondosa Nudibranchs - Nembrotha Rutilans Photos by Greg Duncan Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=48 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=48 For the month of April we are giving away the Digital Underwater Phography manual when you sign up for the Speciality Sun, 04 Apr 2010 03:27:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=47 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=47 A (warm) welcome to our new Divemaster Petr from the Czech Republic. Petr will be with DTL for a couple of months after deciding he fancied a sunnier climate. He's already abandoned his 5mm wetsuit in favour of a rash vest and board shorts. As our waters are just a bit warmer than his last dive back home shown here! Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:45:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=46 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=46 'Because the photo you took of me for my Advanced Course is so bad, I'm going to sign up for the Rascue Course so I can get a new picture' - Ben The 'bad' photo Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:27:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=45 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=45 A warm welcome to Greg from Australia to the DTL team. Greg just spent 3 years in Mozambique and after returning to Australia for a brief stint, decided he preferred the developing world to Western Civilization. So thats how he ended up here. Greg is a skipper, Diving Instructor and a very handy man when it comes to equipment maintenance. So if your regs need that annual service, come and see Greg. Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:54:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=44 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=44 Mallika Naguran has worked for the private and public sectors in Singapore ranging from fashion to IT. A former editor of Asian Diver magazine, she provides web communications and editorial services for corporates. She has written for numerous publications and is a regular contributor of Discovery Channel Magazine. Concerned with the alarming rate of tourism development with little regard for the environment, Mal founded the not-for-profit publication Gaia Discovery in March 2008 to promote sustainable living and travel. A year on, Mal has begun greening companies through Gaia Discovery Eco Solutions. By doing so, she hopes that companies will stop giving excuses that it is too difficult or expensive to reduce their environmental footprint. See her latest editorial on Timor Leste http://www.gaiadiscovery.com/scubadiving-latest/ Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:48:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=43 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=43 Congratulations to 'Sweedish' on finishing his Divemaster course. Chris passed the snorkel test with no style or decorum, but did impress the lads when he insisted on adding a can of Guinness (all the way from Ireland)to the already fizzy concoction Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:21:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=42 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=42 Atauro - Pilot Whales Dili Rock - Turtle, Flying gurnard and snowflake moray Tasi Tolu - 2 pregnant seahorses K41 - Huge Barracuda Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:27:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=41 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=41 Congratulations to Aimon who logged his 100th dive today. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 22:54:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=39 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=39 Backside of Jesus - 25 Bumphead Parrotfish Dili Rock - Porcupine Ray Tasi Tolu - Dugong K41 - 2 White Tip Reef Shark Marble Rock - 8 Dolphins Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:00:00 -0600 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=37 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=37 Members of Conoco Philips, SDV and Worley Parsons attended the EFR (Emergency First Response) course this week. The EFR Course teaches you Primary Care such as Rescue Breathing and Chest Compressions as well as Secondary Care, such as bandaging and splinting. The guys had fun with a lot of giggling and some dramatic acting! Congratulations Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:11:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=35 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=35 There is nothing more fun that taking a Bubblemaker course with 2 Timorese young ladies, Leticia (10) and Xyanna (11) Bubblemaker minimum age is 8 and is conducted in the maximum depth of 2 meters of water. Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:20:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=33 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=33 We say a sad farewell to Will who is heading off travelling towards the World Cup in South Africa. And a warm welcome to Aimon from Syria who will be DM'ing with us during March. Aimon is also working on his dissertation, so any of you divers out there work on projects to do with Renewable Energy in East Timor please pop by for a chat with him. Aimon has extensive diving experience in Thailand, Egypt, UAE, Oman, South Africa and now East Timor. Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:52:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=32 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=32 Atauro - Eagle Ray Com - Blacktip Reef Shark Lone Tree - Turtle Tasi Tolu - Bamboo Shark Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:41:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=31 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=31 Just to get to a place for holiday that not everyone else is going to or has been to, we decided to go to Timor Leste for 10 days over the CNY break for some diving and looking around for humanitarian volunteer opportunities. The aid work was definitely available everywhere but the diving was also much better than I should have expected. First finances, because Dili is not a cheap place to visit. Direct flights for two on AustAsia were US$1,714. It is possible to go cheaper via Bali or possibly Jakarta but speed was important to us. If not, we would have taken a budget airline to Bali, domestic flight to Kupang and a 10 hour bus ride to Dili and saved something like 60%. We stayed at Dive Timor Lorosae because we were diving with them. For the convenience and facilities, it was well worth the minor increase in cost over the backpacker type accommodations we were finding. Basic but comfortable apartments were US$25/night/person. No matter where we looked for food (although we didn't look extremely hard), it seemed the best place for reasonable and safe food was also at the Castaway Bar, just above the dive centre. If you are lazy or in holiday mode like us, this is ideal. Main courses (and we never needed more than that) were about US$8-12 but Tiger beer was only US$2.50 a bottle. Dive shop, We dived with Dive Timor Lorosae (DTL) based on a friend's recommendation and I was very happy we did. There only seem to be two dive shops in town and the other one didn't seem to be very active at all. DTL responded to all e-mails (actually Facebook messages) promptly and they were very helpful with pre-trip planning. The shop is Aussie owned but I don't think much if anything gets taken out of the country in profits. It is managed by a British instructor, Marianne Woodward, and it is definitely a professionally run outfit. She was always helpful in taking care of needs and questions as well as suggesting other things to do and see in the country. All the dives we did were with a Will, a new DM but he was equally good and professional. I've dived with several zero-to-hero DM's before who struggled with basic skills but that does not describe Will. He was great looking out for the customers, a good critter spotter and we always felt safe and comfortable with him around. Sadly, he'll likely move on before anyone else from the forum gets there. Dive conditions, Almost all our dives were beach dives and don't underestimate the difference if you only have been diving from jetties or boats before. Despite the small waves, it took us the whole trip before we got very comfortable getting in and out of the water because of the slimy / rocky stuff you climb over at water's edge. Maybe you younger folk will have better luck but with many hundred boat dives, I still didn't feel right until the fins were on at two meters. Normally, you only do two dives a day but I am sure you could do more if you really wanted to. We also did two boat dives at the Pinnacles, about 15 minutes from shore, and two at Atauro Island, about an hour and 15 minutes across the sea. The boat was a 10(?) meter, fiberglass hull, dual engine, canvas covered speedboat but sadly, it sank in the harbor only 30 minutes after returning from our last dive!! I swear I didn't do it. I understand that it has already been re-floated and sent for an overhaul (and, hopefully, a new plug) already. Dive sites, Our first couple of dives were about 1 and half hours drive east of Dili. The dive sites looked the same to me underwater and were all within about 15 minutes of each other. I would rate the dives we did out there, Lone Tree, Bob's Rock, K41 and Dirt Track, as better than Tioman / Aur but not by a huge margin. Highlights there were a wide variety of nudibranchs (about different 20 species on the first two dives alone), garden eels, turtles and more species of lion fish than I have seen on dives before too. The sloping coral reefs and 10-15 meter mini-walls looked very healthy and full of marine life. Viz was only 10 meters because of the recent rainy season but this did not cause me problems. I understand from March-November, viz at these sites is normally more than 20 meters. One the third day, we dived at the "local" dive site near a new drain just 15 minutes from town. Expectations were low at Tasi Tolu and Dili Rock but we definitely had an OH MY GOD day. The more I think of what we saw, the more I am convinced it was my best day of diving ever. At least it ties the day when in two dives at the Seven Skies, I saw my first (second and third) whale shark as well as several mantas who stayed with us the whole dives. On our first dive at Tasi Tolu, we managed to find a paddle-flap scorpionfish (my first), 2 weedy scorpionfish (my first), a leaf scorpionfish, lots of adult and 3-5 cm baby (my first) common scorpion fishes, several seahorses, a Halimeda ghost pipefish (my first), an ornate ghost pipefish, a bamboo shark, a frogfish, dozens of harlequin shrimps of all sizes, as well as lots of shrimp gobies, anemone shrimp, banded coral shrimp, nudibranchs, a school of razor fish, and the UML (usual marine life). To top it off, when we surfaced we heard shouts of "look down". Cool! A dugong (my first), was two meters below me given me the once over. Life does not get better than that. All this in a dive site the size of a badminton court too. "Wow!" is the only thing I could say for the next hour. At nearby Dili Rock, the site appeared to have similar inhabitants but spread out over a wider area. We didn't see any of the Rhinopias there but more banded pipefish and ornate ghost pipefish made up for it. On a later night dive at Tasi Tolu, we saw everything above plus a couple of octopus (one obviously imitating a red crab while trying to escape the light), a clown snake eel (my first), a flat head (my first), cuttlefish, and too many different crabs. Diving at the Pinnacles was very nice and a good deal better than Tioman / Aur pinnacles. With a minimum depth of about 12 meters, there were again lots of lion fish and nudibranchs, schools of barracuda, lone tunas coming through, jacks and other UML. Voz was 15-20 meters and if you made it all the way around the pinnacle in one dive, you moved much too fast. I didn't bother going very deep here but I understand the coral is still healthy down to at least 25 - 30 meters where the sandy slope starts. We also did drift dives at Pulau Atauro. The landscape at Manta Cove and the reef in front of the main town were so stunning, I was slightly disappointed to see only white tip reef shark and one eagle ray. The coral was very healthy and there were good schools of other large fish so I would have thought the dramatic 50 meter, perfectly vertical, walls at Manta Cove would have housed sharks on the sandy ledges but they didn't. Both dives featured a current slow enough to give you time to enjoy the scenery but fast enough that you never needed to fin. This island is too unexplored to say these sample dives defined it. At the end of the day, dive costs worked out to be less than I feared. They were US$40 for the local dives, US$45 for 2 east coast dives, US$55 for the boat dives and US$165 for two dives at Atauro. Night dives are an additional $15 on top of that. At the time I was there, they also had a special deal where you paid US$300 but got US$400 worth of credit. Instructors also got two free local dives but I can not confirm how long either deal will last. Between my wife and I, with a good variety of dives we did and the discounts, we averaged US$40 per dive which is about 20% less than in the Caribbean. A simple lunch is included on all but the local dives. In summary, I would give an enthusiastic two (or maybe three) thumbs up for the trip to Dili. With flights, food, accommodations and diving, it isn't cheap but it was worth it. Most of our dives only included one or two other customers, a DM and a DMT. In fact, there may not have been other divers in the water anywhere else within 100 miles of us. How is that for "off the beaten path"? Finally some random thoughts: * Ignore embassy warnings about Timor Leste. It is safe. * Taxis cost US$2 to go anywhere in town. Air-conditioning is extra. * I understand that it may be possible to get better flight / hotel / dive deals with Island Explorer Holidays. I am not so sure though as their website only has very old and more expensive deals on it. * Take a day off to go to the mountains if your dive schedule allows. The trip to Maubese was priceless. Eco-Discovery in Landmark Plaza was expensive but worth it. Louis was a perfect guide / driver and US$200 gets you a very nice 4 wheel drive and the guide for up to 4 people. * Maybe 80% of the northern coast, Atauro and Jacko island in the east are unexplored. Maybe only 1% of the shoreline ever sees a diver in an average month. Opportunities here are endless. Posted on a Fins blog site by Zippy http://finsonline.com/forum/showthread.php?p=78821 Check out the last few blog post for pictures doing their stay Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:50:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=30 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=30 Another amazing night dive Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:12:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=29 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=29 Come diving in Atauro! Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:31:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=28 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=28 A great week for diving and the vis is getting better! Marble Rock - Whale Shark Marble Rock & Bobs Rock - Over 20 species of Nudibranch in 2 dives. 14 species photographed Cristoe Rae - Bumphead Parrotfish, Turtle and Orangutan Crab Dirt Track - Turtle and Barramundi cod Black Rock - Blue Spotted stingray and Turtle Tasi Tolu - Bamboo Shark, Halimeda Ghost Pipefish and a close encounter with a playful dugong Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:39:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=26 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=26 Dili Rock - Black and White Ornate Ghost pipefish, brown ringed pipefish, banded pipefish and Halimeda Ghost pipefish Com Pier - Roughsnout Ghost pipefish Bobs Rock - Mushroom Coral pipefish K41 - Shark, Maori Wrasse and Painted Frogfish (ok, so no pipefish!) Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:34:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=25 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=25 Lariam (mefloquine) is an anti-malarial drug used in regions of the world where chloroquine resistant falciparum malaria is prevalent. e.g. East Africa, South East Asia. Possible side effects of lariam such as dizziness, blurred vision and a disturbed sense of balance are common and could cause problems for divers. These effects can often imitate or even worsen the symptoms of DCI. There could also be confusion between the side effects of lariam and the symptoms of DCI or nitrogen narcosis resulting in a misleading diagnosis. Therefore, lariam must not be taken by persons intending to take part in scuba diving. The manufacturers of lariam recommend that it should not be taken by persons who carry out tasks demanding fine co-ordination and spatial discrimination, including scuba diving. If barium is taken, these persons should refrain from such activities during and for at least three weeks following use Source: www.traveldoctor.co.uk Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:33:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=24 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=24 The staff at DTL larking around or sleeping on the job! Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=23 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=23 Thinking of doing the rescue course? A prerequisite is current EFR, so we are giving you this for 1/2 price! Click to enlarge Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:41:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=22 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=22 Myth: Ocean is full of sharks and they eat divers. Do not try to deny it; I've seen movies "Jaws" and "Open Sea". Reality: Do not tell this to Hollywood producers, but in reality, statistics "sharks against divers" is very boring. Sharks do not have the habit to attack divers. Moreover, with few exceptions, under certain conditions, sharks usually do not even swim around, when a diver dives into the water. Let's try to look at this situation through the eyes of the sharks. You swim, visiting the space, and suddenly from nowhere dumps substance that looks and moves like no other in the ocean, creating a lot of noise and air bubbles, and the same is beginning to shine on your lights (camera lights). For the Sharks it must be very unpleasant meeting. And what are the first steps of most sharks? Turn and swim away! Previously, a diver could live a whole life, never met the sharks and see the beauty and majesty of this animal up close. There is no better way to understand these amazing creatures, than to see them around, whether in a cage dive with great whites in Australia, or with hand-feeding reef sharks in the Bahamas. In our time, carefully planned dive permits to do so. Still not sure? Then let me give you a really serious cause for concern, your dog. Yes. Behind these lovely eyes is hidden a cold-blooded brain of predator, which, according to the statistics, are far more dangerous than sharks. According to reports of emergency aid for 2008, "the best friends of man" killed 27 people and seriously injured 4.7 million people. And it is only in the USA. And under international archive, registered number of shark attacks reported 58 incidents for the same 12-month period around the world and only 4 people died because of it. Source: www.dailyscubadiving.com Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:45:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=21 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=21 It seems we have an abundance of cute cuttlefish at the moment, seen at neary every site:- Dili Rock - 2 Helmut Gurnards, 3 species of pipefish, baby squid, turtle and 2 cuttlefish Tasi Tolu - The usual suspects and 5 cuttlefish Marble Rock - Flying Gurnard and Cuttlefish Bobs Rock - 2 Ribbon eels Photo - Thanks Paul Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:42:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=8 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=8 The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is an introduction into new types of diving adventures. It's focus is to increase your level of confidence in diving by conducting new skills and mastering old ones. 5 different dives are needed to complete this certifictaion Deep and Navigation are required and then another 3 can be chosen from the vast list. The most popular being Night diver, Naturalist and Under Water Photographer. There is a chapter to be reviewed before each dive and a few questions to be answered. The 5 dives can be spread out over a weekend or a month. Leaving the flexibility of how you complete the course up to you. All dives are conducted with one of our professional trained PADI instructors so why not join in a course today? Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=6 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=6 The common term for nitrogen narcosis used in the scuba diving fraternity is the "raptures of the deep". Another common term is a scuba diver suffering this condition is said to be "narked". What is Nitrogen Narcosis? Nitrogen narcosis is a condition in scuba diving where a scuba diver has feelings of elation and euphoria. It is similar to being slightly intoxicated with alcohol, or from having nitrous oxide when undergoing certain medical procedures such as dental work. Because of this impact of a scuba diver feeling invincible and reduced anxiety underwater, the condition has the potential to be extremely dangerous. Some divers have been known to take their regulator from their mouth; while other have lost all awareness of depth and simply continued swimming down to greater depths and into greater trouble. Nitrogen narcosis usually occurs at depths greater than 30 metres. However, the condition can affect some scuba divers at a lesser depth. The symptoms reduce as the diver ascends to shallower depths. What Causes Nitrogen Narcosis? Nitrogen narcosis is caused by the impact of nitrogen in the body. A scuba diver breathes a normal mix of air from a scuba tank. This air contains around 79% nitrogen. When breathed at depth the partial pressure of the nitrogen results in more nitrogen in the body. However, as nitrogen is an inert gas it doesn't react with the body's blood and tissues. Because the nitrogen doesn't react chemically with the body, it is considered that the nitrogen affects the signals that are sent along the nerve fibres in the body. This results in the impact being mainly related to brain and nerve functions. Signs and Symptoms of Nitrogen Narcosis Nitrogen narcosis affects scuba divers in different ways. The following are some of the reported signs and symptoms impacting the cognitive function of a scuba diver with nitrogen narcosis: General feelings of euphoria Feelings of elation A sense of well-being Over confidence Laughter Light-headedness Loss of decision making ability Memory problems. Physical symptoms of a scuba diver with nitrogen narcosis can be: Vertigo Tunnel vision Impaired coordination and concentration Tingling or numbness in the body's extremities. The biggest problem with these symptoms is that a scuba diver suffering from some of the above symptoms of nitrogen narcosis may not be able to recognise that they have the symptom. For example, a scuba diver suffering with a sensation of over-confidence and euphoria may not be able to think that there is something wrong because these are "good" type sensations. The loss of decision-making ability is obviously a serious problem if a scuba diver has to calculate decompression times underwater. Problems can so easily occur when a scuba diver has these feelings of extreme confidence. They can go off and do things underwater that they wouldn't normally do. Scuba Diving's Martini Law and Nitrogen Narcosis In the diving fraternity, the impact of nitrogen narcosis in relation to depth is known as "Martini's Law". This is roughly based on the analogy that for each 10 metres in depth, the effect is like consuming one martini. At 30 metres, a scuba diver may feel like they have drunk three martinis. This is a very rough guide only and should not be relied on to predict the onset of nitrogen narcosis How Scuba Divers Can Prevent Nitrogen Narcosis The onset of nitrogen narcosis is directly related to depth. The deeper the scuba diver goes, the greater the impact of nitrogen narcosis. It is almost impossible to predict the depth that symptoms may start showing as nitrogen narcosis impacts each scuba diver differently. And the impact can vary from each scuba dive. There are many variable such as cold, stress, fatigue. It is even thought that nitrogen narcosis may be worse depending on the amount of alcohol or some drugs that may have been taken into the body a few days earlier. The best way to prevent nitrogen narcosis is to be aware of the possibility of narcosis occurring, and then if it does the scuba diver should immediately ascend to a shallower depth. Scuba diving buddies should always be on the lookout for signs of nitrogen narcosis; especially on a deep dive over 25 metres. The problem of nitrogen narcosis can best be addressed by the following: using a good scuba dive plan implementing good scuba diving practices keeping mentally and physically healthy a good relationship and understanding between scuba dive buddies keeping in shallow depths. Nitrogen narcosis should not be something that is treated lightly, or considered a scuba diving myth. "Raptures of the Deep" is a true physiological problem that has the potential to be fatal for scuba divers. Source: Bruce Iliff - Suite101.com Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=7 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=7 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=20 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=20 Emergency First Response (EFR) is the fastest-growing international CPR, Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) and First Aid training organization. Dedicated to training the lay rescuer, EFR courses encompasses adult, child and infant CPR skills, provides AED and First Aid training, and feature an outstanding First Aid at Work component. The company's award-winning programs and state-of-the-art training materials make it a favorite among divers around the world. Many divers take the Emergency First Response courses to meet program prerequisites, such as PADI Rescue Diver, or as preparation for becoming a PADI Divemaster. However, most have also found the EFR program to be important in every day life. They have taken a significant step in emergency preparedness, and feel confident that they can provide care should an emergency situation arise. The Emergency First Response program meets requirements for CPR and First Aid in the workplace (OSHA Guideline 29 CFR 1910.151), and incorporates the latest procedures for emergency patient care. Other organizations that recognize EFR as meeting their requirements are United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, and the American Council on Exercise (ACE), to name a few. What do I need to start? No dive certification required No minimum age limit What will I do? The course incorporates independent study to prepare you for a classroom and hands-on skill development session with your instructor. You will learn the same patient care techniques used by medical professionals, but at a lay person level. How long will it take? Depending on the amount of independent study and the class size, the Primary Care and Secondary Care courses may be completed in as little as four hours to six hours What will I need? Participant Manual (can get form DIve Timor) Participant Video (VHS or DVD). (can get form DIve Timor Where can I go from here? Come into Dive Timor's office to register or discuss a shedule or email efr@divetimor.com Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=13 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=13 Having experienced this myself this week, I thought it would make interesting reading. However its not so common in tropics:- Q: I've been told I have surfer's ear. What does this mean and will it affect my diving? A: An exostosis is a narrowing of the inner half or the bony part of the circular outer ear canal by bony swellings. These localized bony swellings grow slowly over a period of years in response to the irritation of cold water on the skin of the outer ear canal. They are called swimmer's nodes and are common in the surfing community. This condition is not related to infection nor is it caused by infection. This blocking of the ear canal, by preventing water from draining out, makes the person more susceptible to outer ear infections. The bony swellings continue to grow while there is a continued exposure to cold water, and the temperature that qualifies as cold, is that found in sea water and outdoor swimming pools in temperate climates. When the medical examination reveals early development of, or there is an established exostosis, it is important that measures are taken to prevent the continued growth of the exostosis. If swimming in non-tropical waters a hood should always be worn, or for surface swimmer's only, some form of ear plug should be used. The narrowed ear canal is more prone to blockage by wax or debris, and more susceptible to otitis externa. An exostosis on the floor of the ear canal can form a sump which retains moisture and predisposes to infection. # Some advise on ear care for divers: 1.If ears have a natural tendency to occlude with wax, have them checked regularly, particularly before a prolonged diving trip. # 2.Do not poke anything into the ears (finger or cotton bud) # 3.After every dive: Rinse both ears out with fresh water to wash out contaminated water and salt, which is hydrophilic. Instill a couple of drops of 5% acetic acid (vinegar) in 60% ethyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol suffices) in to both ears. You may use a commercial solution like Aqua Ear to treat your ears after every dive or exposure to water. If very prone to ear infections, blow warm air into external canal using a hair dryer. There is no specific risk for diving. It is recommended to have surgical removal if there is associated hearing loss or repetitive infections of the outer ear. Source: Divers Alert Network Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=5 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=5 Will completed his Divemaster training yesterday and in the DTL tradition, the last test is the snorkel test. Location chosen by his instructor Guy, in a bucket of water in the bar! DTL run divemaster courses throughout the year. So if your interested in joining the dive team for a month or 6 months contact us at info@divetimor.com and we will package together a great course and stay. Not to mention the great diving and fun you will have... Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=12 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=12 For all those hashers that want to run after diving:- Q: I regularly exercise and want to continue my routine on my vacation. I am worried about diving and exercise. Is there any information that can help me plan for both. A: Timing of Exercise and Diving After accepting the need for regular exercise to maintain physical fitness, the next issue concerns the timing of exercise training and diving. Scheduling outside physical fitness activities can be problematic when an active diving schedule is maintained. While part of this is simply a time management problem, there are other considerations. Conducting intense physical exercise too close to diving activity can be problematic for more fundamental reasons. Bubble formation, while noted earlier as not equivalent to or a guarantee of DCS, can indicate an increased risk for it. Intense physical activity -- generally with substantial muscular forces and joint loading (the application of forces on joints) -- is believed to transiently increase micronuclei activity, the presumed agent of bubble formation. Intense physical activity too close to diving may therefore be problematic. Physical activity after diving may also stimulate additional bubble formation, possibly through a combination of increased micronuclei activity and increased joint forces. Interestingly, some preliminary work has shown that an intense bout of exercise conducted 24 hours prior to diving may reduce bubble presence in humans,3 possibly by inhibiting micronuclei activity. This potentially protective effect was not seen with exercise conducted closer to dive time. While this effect needs to be validated, the preliminary findings may support a simple rule of thumb for scheduling exercise. To reduce the risk, it is a good idea to avoid intense exercise 24 hours before and after diving. The near-dive window will be best for low-intensity activities. Those who participate in cross-training activities may find it easiest to accommodate this schedule. For those who are more single-minded, diving may fit well into training rest days for those who put the priority on exercise, while training may fit best into diving rest days for those who put the priority on diving. Overall, lower training intensities will likely be more appropriate for the latter group, but accommodations can be reached. Source: Divers Alert Network Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=4 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=4 OK so we know its raining and the vis is lower, but it doesnt stop us diving and finding some cool stuff. This pygmy seahorse was as small as the tip of my nail on my little finger! This week highlights:- Dili Rock - Huge Dendedoris tuburculosa, cuttlefish and two ornate ghost pipefish The Pinnacle - Turtle, sea snake and blue spotted stingray Tasi Tolu - The usual suspects, 4 seahorse, 2 cuttlefish, mantis shrimp and an ornate ghost pipefish Secret Garden - Great vis, blue spotted stingray and Maori Wrasse Marble Rock - This wonderful little pygmy seahorse Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=11 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=11 Here's an interesting one from the DAN website. We had a recent diver that donated blood in Baucau then went diving on the way back to Dili Q: If I donate a pint of blood how soon afterward is it safe to dive? A: Immediately following blood donation, the volume of circulating blood is reduced. Provided the donor eats and drinks normally, blood volume returns to normal within 24 hours. Diving within the first few hours after donating blood is not advisable because of the possibility that reduced blood flow could cause impaired inert gas washout after a dive, and thus an increased risk of decompression sickness. We have no reason to believe that it is necessary to wait more than 24 hours after donation before scuba diving. Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=9 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=9 DAN is a not-for-profit 501(C)(3) organization that provides emergency medical advice and assistance for underwater diving injuries, and underwrites a wide range of research, education and training programs that promote safe diving. DAN is supported by more than 200,000 fellow divers with a further 60,000 international divers supporting DAN Europe, DAN Japan, DAN Southeast Asia Pacific and DAN Southern Africa. DAN was the first to initiate insurance for the specialized recompression or other medical or evacuation services required in the event of a dive accident. DAN has trained medical staff on call to assist you in the event of a dive emergency. DAN initiated the use of emergency oxygen first aid programs and is the largest distributor of emergency oxygen equipment for the treatment of dive injuries. To join DAN visit http://www.danseap.org/ or ask one of Dive Timor's instructors Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=18 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=18 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=14 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=14 Go at Sunset Many dive boats will leave for a night dive right before sunset. That way you have light to get your scuba gear ready. It also feels less intimidating (to me anyway) to go out while there is still some light left. Likewise, if you are doing a shore dive, plan on hitting the water right before the sun sets. Even though you will have some light above the water, it will still be pretty dark underneath. And by the time you surface, it will be dark out. Dive a Familiar Site If this is your first time scuba diving at night, try and go to a site you are familiar with. If you are thinking of doing the night dive, sign up to do a dive at the night dive site during the day. This way you will have some idea of what the area is like and may feel less apprehensive. Keep it Shallow A night dive is typically a shallow dive. I would say 20 meter is probably max with 10-15 meters more the norm. Get Some Light You obviously need some dive lights when you are doing a night dive. It's best to have a primary light and a backup light in case the first light fails. The secondary light can be small and could fit into your pocket. You don't need the biggest and brightest light you can find. In fact, it is fun, once you get accustomed to diving at night, to turn your light off and let your eyes adjust to the dark. You'll be amazed at what you can see. Of course, it is up to you and get the light you would feel comfortable with while diving at night. If you don't want to turn your light off underwater (I've never had a problem turning it back on but you never know) you can always face it into your BC so you get the same effect. Attach It You will want some method of attaching that dive light to you. That way if you let go, it won't sink to the bottom, never to be seen again. A lanyard or stretchy cord (or whatever you are comfortable with) work fine. Which reminds me of one of the next night scuba diving tips: Use Reflective Tape One thing I have seen which I think is a good idea is to mark your lights or other paraphernalia with reflective tape. That way if you drop something, you be able to spot it once the light shines on it. I've seen people put an X on their BC or tank so their dive buddy can tell it's them. Something worth considering. Take it Slow There is alot to see at night. You will see a whole different world underneath at night than during a day. Take your time and look in those nooks and crannies. The reef also looks brilliant and colorful in the beam of your light. Much different than during the day when you are diving deeper and the colors are absorbed. Descend Feet First It is best to descend feet first and look down when you are descending. You can shine your light underneath you (just make sure you are not shining it in someone's eyes) to see where you are going so you don't hit or disturb the coral. More night scuba diving tips: Get Familiar With the Hand Signals When you are night scuba diving, you need to discuss the hand signals before you begin your dive. Since it is dark down there, your buddy won't be able to see your hands. The divemaster will probably tell you what signals to use. If they don't, just ask. There is nothing wrong with that. A typical way to use hand signals is to shine your light on your hand so your buddy can see them. Another common night diving signal is to move your dive light in a circle to signify "OK." Moving it up and down or back and forth can signify yes or no. Whatever you choose to use, just make sure you clarify before you begin the dive. Which leads into one of the next night scuba diving tips: Watch Where You Aim That Light Be aware of where you aim your dive light. If you put the full force of that light beam into somebody's eyes, you can momentarily blind them. It will take a little while for that diver to adjust his night vision again. So be careful. Keep an Eye on Your Gauges If you are new to scuba diving at night, you may go through your faster than your would during a typical daylight dive. This could be compensated for by the fact that a night dive is usually shallow, but just be aware of your air at all times. Of course, this is one of those night scuba diving tips that is applicable to day scuba diving too. Mark Night Diving Entry/Exit Points If you are doing night scuba diving off a boat, the boat should have a flashing strobe light attached to it so it is easy to find. As you are ascending, make sure you are looking up and know where the boat is so you don't bang your head. If you are doing a shore dive, you should also know how to mark the night diving entry/exit point. The most common way is to place lights on the shoreline. You should use more than one to make it easier to spot. You could have 2 close together and 2 close together but further down the shoreline. Or whatever configuration works for you. It also doesn't hurt to have someone on the shore to make sure the lights don't go out (or somebody doesn't swipe them). And last, but not least, the last of the night scuba diving tips: Keep an Eye on Your Buddy If you happen to lose sight of your buddy, one way to find him would be to shut off your light and look for the glow of his light. He shouldn't be that far from you and you should be able to see his light. Another, and pretty much opposite way, is to turn a full circle while pointing you light outward. You might be able to see your buddy in the beam or he might notice the movement (if he hasn't noticed you are gone yet). If the boat has to come pick you up after you have surfaced, shine the light on yourself so the captain can see you. And that the last of my night scuba diving tips. If you haven't done night scuba diving, you should really give it a try. It's a different experience and isn't difficult. You just have to get used to it, like all new things. You'll see lots of new creatures and habits to add to your memories. So give it a try. I hope these night scuba diving tips will help make your first night dive a more comfortable experience. Source: www.scuba-diving-smiles.com Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=15 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=15 Dive Timor and Castaways decided to close for one day of the year and have a party for all the kids of the staff instead. However, it looks like the adults enjoyed the games just as much as the kids! Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=16 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=16 A Christmas fun dive at Dili Rock with staff and friends Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=17 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=17 It was a very long course but Tim finally completed his Divemaster Training. Congratulations! Even his cocktail was delayed when Sato shook rather than stirred it and it exploded in the bar. And in True Dive Timor Lorosae tradition - the Snorkel Test! Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=19 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=19 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=1 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=1 Divers - John, Monica, Paz, Yolanda and Chris Visibility: 15m Current: Moderate current on the way out, but dropped away to almost nothing for the rest of the dive. Temperature: 28 deg C Depth: 10m Dive Time: 69mins Comments: Like a wreck dive, with lots to see such as big Scorpion and Lion Fish, Eels in pipes, Flute Fish, Crabs in tyres, and an assortment of big fish just hanging out in the current. The area is quite small, so take your time to explore both the Eastern and Western ends of the Jetty. For something extra, surface swim to one of the mooring buoys, descend there, explore then fin to the North/South Jetty on the bearing you took before descending, then follow it out to the end. Check out all the pylons, pipes and other junk as you go, but the East/West section at the end of the jetty is the highlight and so enough time should be allowed for it. Cautions: No diving when a ship is moored at the Jetty. Look out for the semi submerged metal remains of two boats at the entry point. Be careful of the current, as the dive site is quite exposed. If visibility is poor, you'll need bearings to find the pylons at each end or indeed to find your way back if vis drops during the dive. Care is required to avoid the many camouflaged Scorpion Fish found on the metal junk under the Jetty. Finally, the flora and fauna are delicate, so avoid any touching. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:33:25 -0700 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=2 http://www.divetimor.com/blog_det.php?id=2 A great Christmas gift. Also available in the shop, ladies jewelry, hammocks and T-Shirts Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:45:58 -0700