We would like to congratulate our Shop assistant Kitty who got wet for the first time with us and completed her PADI Discover Scuba Diving try dive. We insist all out staff learn to scuba and this was Kitty's big day to try which she really enjoyed!
Discover Scuba Diving Thailand with Pattaya Dive Centre.
We invite you to our world of scuba diving!
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John James working on his Master Scuba Diver Master Scuba Diver rating got up close and personal with some Hawksbill sea turtles this month!
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The largest of the islands dived around Samae San almost 8km south of Samae San harbour. Its conditions offer protection form the winds on either side all year long. A good all round training site. Visibility ranges between 5m (16ft) and 15m (50ft).
Average depth: 6m (20ft) Maximum depth: 14m (46ft)
With it's picturesque beaches and rocky headlands Koh Chuang offers several shallow dive sites, ideal training sites for beginner or novice divers. Usually you enter the water and follow the fringing coral reef down to a sandy bottom with patchy coral. It is not uncommon to see turtles around here, numerous fish including sting rays, moral eels, fusilier, angle and butterfly fish make Koh chuang their home.
Click here for More Info on Dive Sites In Pattaya Thailand >> |
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X-stream comfort, X-ceptional efficiency
Mares had a real job following what almost entirely became an industry stand in the Avanti Quattro fins. The Raptor Fins although doing well in the American Market did not really offer the versitility of the Avanti Quattro fins so now Mares come back with New foot pocket which with its flow through design has no parachute effect
they also sport ext generation OPB blade construction for less turbulence
The X-stream performance, comfort and lightweight design are the incredible result of sixty passionate years at the service of diving.
The X-stream is truly a leap into the future, and changes forever how we envision the creation of a fin. More than 2 years of resources, experiments and testing and four Mares patents all concentrated in one unique product.
We tried and like them, extremely light for travel great propulsion and worked well with a number of fin techniques :)
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When we first start diving how we kick underwater to propel ourselves is kept fairly simple. As long as we’re moving in the direction we want, divers just sort of kick their way around. However, with time and experience we yearn to polish our skills including effective finning.
Finning is a very important skill to have adapted well to as various finning styles can be used at different times and according to the conditions and or dive sites to avoid disturbing silt, save on effort and air consumption.
The Flutter Kick
This is most likely the first style of finning you are taught when you’re learning to scuba dive. In this standard kick, the legs move up and down in opposing directions with a fairly straight leg. When performed properly, the action originates from the hips and provides propulsion and forward thrust on the downward stroke of each fin. The body position in this technique involves the hips and legs to be inline with the torso, the knees only bend slightly on the upward stroke of the kick and straighten on the downward stroke while the toes (fins) remain pointed.
The flutter kick works best with long, gentle strokes, using the muscles at the front of the thighs to do most of the work and is good to thrust yourself forward. Diving isn’t about speed though and this style is rarely used by advanced divers as it is more strenuous and could cause a diver to waste energy. Plus, this style of kicking can easily disturb nearby seabed or marine life by kicking up silt or sand, so is best avoided when near the seabed or along a wall.
Modified Flutter Kick
This is the most common and practiced by many. It involves a flutter kick with the knees bend. It still propels the diver but at reduced efficiency and less effort. Good for a slow and relaxed dive. Performed best by those with floaty feet!
The Scissors Kick
The body position in this technique looks like the flutter kick i.e legs straight,knees slightly bent. But, the leg motion is quite different. Instead of the legs crossing each other in an up and down movement, the legs are widened and then brought together sharply (like a pair of scissors closing) and held in that position for a glide count. One leg is dedicated to the upper part of the kick, the other for the downward stroke. This kick is also known as the split kick and is favoured for it’s power without the effort of the flutter kick.
This is a great finning style to use when cruising and allows you to swim closer to the substrate without making contact with your fins or stirring up sand or silt.
The Frog Kick
This style of kicking is one of the most popular among cave divers to avoid kicking up silt or sand in confined spaces. In the frog kick the body and upper legs maintain a straight, horizontal trim but the knees are bent so the fin blades point upward on a steep diagonal. You are required to kick similar to the manner used in the breast stroke of swimming but you have to twist the ankle/lower leg at a right angle in order to achieve proper orientation of the fin. Many divers find it relaxing to use the frog kick as a general cruising kick, either by itself or alternating with the flutter kick every few minutes. The frog kick however, does not work very well with some types of fins like split fins.
Short Frog Kick
In this modified version of the frog kick, divers don’t move their legs as far out as the standard frog kick, instead restrict the movements of your thighs and knees while letting the the calves and a flick of the ankles to do all the work. This is a good gentle kick, with not a lot of thrust making it ideal for use in confined spaces.
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