Live Aboard Trips 2010
There’s a saying that when life throws you a lemon, make lemonade… well, to put it in plain Singaporean way… make ice lemon tea out of it! But some times making lemon tea takes a bit of time, so we figured that diving would be MUCH easier. Don’t you agree? Now, smile with me 
Escape! from all the lemons and curveballs that life have been throwing at you, dive down into the ocean who will always embrace you in open arms. We promise that the corals wouldn’t laugh at you, the clown fishes will always be home and the tranquility of the sea will surround you like a warm summer breeze (unless mother nature said so). Come on down and join us on our Live Aboard trips through 2010! You don’t want to miss the fun and wait for the dive season to start again….next year…
Sign up online or drop us an email at marketing@equatordive.com.sg!
Mid Year Madness!
GSS is here! No… if you’re thinking of all the shopping centres you can think of, I need to pull your thoughts back.. It’s the GREAT SCUBA-DIVING SALE!
From 18th June to 18th July we are having our very own Equator Dive mid year madness sale! Go tell all your familes, friends and village people about it, don’t miss out all the fun!
Hurry! Before time runs out…
Open Water Diver Course: S$475 (usual S$555)
Advanced Open Water Diver Course: S$430 (usual $505)
Rescue Diver Course: S$625 – Live Aboard (usual S$750)
Leisure Trip to Dayang: S$290 (usual $345)
TDI Advanced Nitrox & Decompression Procedures :S$1700 – Live Aboard
Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. – Eleanor Roosevelt
Some times in life you wonder about the decisions you made. Then there are times you question yourself if the right choice were made and before long you are overwhelmed with all the ‘what ifs’.
It wasn’t too long ago I decided to take up my divemaster’s course. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but ultimately I yearned to see people learn new skills and overcome their fear of trying new things. I remembered when I first started my Open Water course, I had my fears but it was very well hidden or so I thought. The very first dive into the ocean, descending 6 meters deep… I’ve never been that deep; the deepest I went was 2.4 meters in the swimming pool! But the gentle assurance from the divemasters and instructors along the dive kept me going. To a very new diver, they always knew what to do, situations are always in their control and like a parent teaching their child how to walk, they knew when to let go and when to hold us up.
Having been in the teaching industry since I graduated, I knew how it felt when students benefit from what you taught or overcome certain obstacles with your guidance. And that was what draws me to the divemaster’s course. Not to bask under the glory of being a dive professional, but to enjoy the satisfaction of helping people, if not, someone to overcome what he/she thought was impossible. This has never been truer, until I took this group of divers for their confined pool session.
They were each from all walks of life, unique in their characteristics but there was one thing that brought them together; the courage to overcome. Faced with their individual fear, I witness the transformation from panicky divers in the swimming pool to confident divers out in the open sea.
I would never forget how they held on to my dear hand in the swimming pool, their fear in their eyes, the discomfort they felt, how we had to talk them through to head back to the session and looked at them straight in the eyes and said, “you can do it!”. It was a challenging group and initially I had my concerns on them heading out to complete their course in the open sea. But they proved me wrong. As I waited anxiously for their return after the weekend trip, not knowing what was the outcome… I was greeted with jovial declarations of “I’m a diver now!” with their faces all beaming with proud satisfaction. It was such joy to see all of them had enjoyed the trip and planning for more dive trips to come! On the other hand, I have never felt so proud for a group of divers before.
I felt like I’ve been part of a blockbuster movie of overcoming fear. Though I was not in the main cast, but playing a small part of it reassured me of the reasons why I went on the professional path in recreational diving. If someone were to ask me what was the best thing that I have encountered so far from taking up the divemaster’s course… It’s not the sharks I’ve seen, the huge bumphead parrotfishes that crossed my path or the number of trips I’ve been on… it is this group of divers who made the impossible, possible.
Like what Eugene would always tell me, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” And I know this is just the beginning of my journey on becoming a dive professional.
*Article written by Divemaster Grace Loo
Interesting Facts About Sea Turtles
- A turtle’s bones are fused to their shells. So cartoons with the turtle running out of its shell is practically impossible
- Only 1 in 1000 baby turtles become adult turtles
- Just like us, turtles need to breathe air although they spend a large portion of time submerged. Their lungs (yes, they have lungs and not gills) have adapted to permit rapid exchange of oxygen and avoid trapping other gases during deep dives (lucky them). So we’d never find a narc-ed turtle but turtles do drown still! The level of activity underwater determines the amount of time that they’re able to stay submerged. So if they’re feeding/fining they will need to go up for air every 5-7mins. If they’re making babies, 1-3mins. If they’re sleeping, however, they can stay submerged for hours.
- The temperature during incubation determines the gender of the baby turtles. The higher the temperature, the more females there will be in that brood of eggs. A definitive fact that women are the hotter sex. Haha.
- An average lifespan of turtles is about 80-100 years
- Out of the 7 species of turtles in the world, the 2 common turtles that we find in our waters is the green turtle and the hawksbill turtle.
- Males have longer, thicker tails because that’s where they hide their dingdangs in. the male reproductive organ is found at the base of the tail, hence the needed length. Some species also have longer curved hind claws which will aid in the grasping of females during mating.
That’s all folks, now lets all go have some turtle soup. Hurhurhur..
*Article by written by Divemaster Gloria Ngoi, edited by Divemaster Grace Loo
Why is spit a good mask defogger?
Let’s start with the basics…
General idea: spit, rub, spread, rinse, wear mask.
1. Why do scuba masks fog up underwater?
The seawater surrounding the outside of the mask gives a cool surface for condensation to take place. Also, the microscopic potholes on the lens give a very good grip hold for water droplets to settle. So if you’re a nose exhaler, the vapour from your nose will condense on the cooler surface of the glass which will result in an annoying congregation of water droplets. This will then lead to numerous mask clearing practices. Your instructor will be very pleased…
2. So if water is relatively transparent, why can’t we see through the mist?
Depending on the size of the droplets, they form an irregular surface which ends up distorting the light that passes through the mask, hence causing it to be difficult to see thru.
3. So why does spit work?
Some have said that the enzymes in our saliva work miracles. Or, some have said that because saliva in its own nature has moisturising components. Well, the truth is… it is all true! Mostly that is.
First, think about what saliva is actually there for; moisturising, enzymatic digestion, decay fighter, lubricant, solvent for tastes etc… Now, think of someone who had his salivary glands yanked out by a sadistic roman soldier for example. The environment in our mouths, as we were designed to be, is a relatively waterproof surface due to a number of water repelling fat like substances (lipids) in the lining cells. Unfortunately, these lipids give excellent conditions for water droplets to form (imagine a misty mouth, ew!) rather than a thin film on the surface. So saliva, which contains surface active substances otherwise known as surfactants, breaks down the surface tension (higher surface tension = higher grip hold for droplets) and promote a thin film rather than droplet formation
Chunky read? Hang in there, it isn’t all that difficult…
4. So why is Eugene’s ‘chendol’, or guys in general have better defogging powers in their spit?
The best surfactants in our saliva is actually from deep within our lungs that moist and mucus line our alveoli (small air spaces) to prevent it from collapsing by reducing surface tension. Girls in general, tend to spit in the girliest ways possible usually with pursed lips and a ‘pui’ effect to be as glam as they can be thus gathering only the predominant saliva present in their mouths. Guys on the other hand, gung ho and macho or so they claim, are more inclined to spit with a lot of guttural “back of throat, old man snort clearing” noises and end up with more lung fluid in their masks i.e. fluids with more surfactants.
Moral of the story: Guys, lend your spits. Girls, be a little manlier, you’ll dive better.
5. But spit stinks, are there any substitutes?
Heaps! As what some of us already use, a variety of commercial soaps, toothpastes, shampoos, detergent, alcohols and glycerine has proven to be of the same effect with the common denominator of being a wetting agent which will lower the surface tension of the mask. Baby shampoo in particular because it has a no-tear formula but why waste the money when spit is ample, endless and free! And you won’t risk losing your bottle of surfactant on a mambo jumbo mess of equipment on board the boat.
6. Additional trivia?
Rubbing the spit in, or any other surfactant for that matter not only spreads the gunk out evenly but also cleans the mask off grim, dirt and crystallized salt. Remember, the more even the surface, the lesser chances of it fogging.
Also, as we explained earlier, the best forms of natural surfactant are from our lungs. However, horrible diseases resulting from surfactant deficiency (such as breathing problems of premature babies) demands an external source of surfactants so doctors use a genetically engineered artificial surfactant from freshly pureed specimens to help treat this problem. Think about the best of the best of mask defoggers and this would be it. Mask clearing skills will soon be a thing of the past. But if so, the cost of this product would bankrupt poor Equator Dive or any average scuba trip for that matter. Likewise, most divers would gag and scoot at the prospect of including a selection of small pureed sacrificial animals to act as surfactant donors on their next dive trip. But it is a thought nonetheless…
*Article written by Divemaster Gloria Ngoi and edited by Divemaster Grace Loo
First Trip Is Coming!
Oooooo…. Aren’t you excited that the first trip of the season is coming? The clear blue waters of Pulau Dayang, turtles waiting for us at Lang, cuttlefishes laying their eggs now… Not to forget our favorite BBQ and lamb chop dinner after night dive! Well, in case you forgot what it was like… Here’s a few picture to remind you of last year’s open season trip!
Now… do you remember how it felt like? Share with us your comments on your last season’s Open Season dive trip! Any unforgettable events that are still playing in your head, seen any marine creature for that first trip of 2009’s season? We want to hear them all from you!
Photo courtesy of Gloria Ngoi.
Preseason Dive Party: A Success!
For the second year running, we are proud to say this year’s preseason dive party was another success! With 92 prizes given away that night, almost everyone went home smiling from ear to ear.
We have happy divers who went home with courses to further their dive education, equipments to add on to their collection and enjoyed a whole lot of beer that kept the night and laughter going. Not forgetting that some of our non-divers friends went home with Open Water Diver courses, now they shouldn’t have excuses of no picking up diving anymore!
Besides winning prizes and enjoying an ice cold beer, what’s most important was the catching up session among everyone who came. Nothing beats talking about that dive memories and experiences you had last year!
More pictures on our Facebook, look out for your pretty face and tag yourself in them! We hope you enjoyed the program, music, drinks and of course the prizes. We look forward to another party next year! For those who won prize(s), be reminded to collect them as soon as possible.
The party couldn’t go on without the sponsors from Scubadiver Australasia, Dive Asia and Oceanic. Not forgetting the party venue sponsor, Room Full of Blues.
And for the record, we are proud to welcome out first 15 members who signed up for Equatordive’s membership program that night!
Months of preparation and hard work wasn’t in vain! Thank you, dive crew, for putting everything together!
Pre-Season Dive Party 2010
With the draw to yet another season, Equator Dive’s inaugural annual event is back with a bucketful of reasons not to miss it. Armed with cheap booze, more prizes and a lot more fun, there definitely will be no room for excuses this year. So ESCAPE from the dreadful claws of your office desk and run on down to Roomful of Blues to celebrate a night full of divers mayhem.
With a long long long looong list of raffle prizes to be given away once again, have your run at winning dive equipment, courses, magazine subscriptions, photography guide books, trips and more!
Non-divers, it’s your chance to go get wet! We are giving out free Discover Scuba Diving courses on party night. As long as you are a non-diver and would like to try scuba diving, be prepared for a blast!
RSVP asap to book your tickets now! Why wait….. the first drink’s on us anyway!
Call Eugene @ 8161 0974 or email us for more information.