Wednesday
Blue Views Phi Phi Clean Up Marthon......
Friday 19th September started off at 9am, and it was back to school for all of us!!!
All 60 children and 12 staff (including the school principal, Khun Wirawat) of The Phi Phi Island Village School were assembled in the playground to look through posters explaining how long different types of debris take to break down, talk about ICC and beach clean-ups.In less than 1 hour the children collected and categorized over 78kgs of rubbish from the beach located in front of the school!!! Everyone proudly received their SSI Certificates of Participation. Congratulations guys!!!
We then headed out to Phi Phi Ley snorkeling to examine the different aspects we had just talked about: types and shapes of hard and soft coral, the importance of algae in the different colored corals, the life supported by the reefs and different types of damage.
A huge Blue View thank you to all the children for making our day sanuk maak!!!
You are all underwater superheroes!!!
Saturday 20th September:
Sunflower bar was our starting point and host for a beach clean-up along Loh Dallum Beach (Phi Phi Don), aimed at encouraging community involvement, responsibility, and raising awareness of the length of time that debris takes to break down and the detrimental effects to the environment and tourist industry in the interim.
23 volunteers arrived for the morning session, and a further 35 plus for the afternoon clean-up (each lasting just over an hour due to the heat!) An astounding 501 kgs of rubbish was collected and categorized, including more rope and netting than we could count, cigarette butts, fish traps and cages, and a boat captain’s seat.
Sunday 21st September:
Sunday morning and 2 longtail boats headed out on choppy seas with 9 divers and 1 snorkeler to Phi Phi Ley, where we focused on 3 dive sites: Viking Cave, Lohsammah Bay and Piley South.
A total of 64.6kgs of rubbish was collected, including clothing, fishing nets, line and cages, rope, beverage cans and bottles etc. We are also optimistic that the ReefWatch data from these 3 sites will prove useful to Greenfins and the PMBC in terms of monitoring the health of these reefs over time.
Blue View Divers would like to thank Aquanauts for their enthusiasm and assistance over all 3 days of activities.
PICTURES TO COME.......
Busy as Sea Bees
On the latest International Coastal Cleanup Day, Sea Bees Diving, Phuket had 32 guests in all, both their own customers and those who joined in from other dive companies around Phuket. Everyone met at The Anchor Inn (the Sea Bees restaurant next to the dive shop), and at 9.10 am we left for Chalong Pier where, once onboard, a final equipment check took place before MV Excalibur II set off for Koh Mai Thon.This small island on Phuket’s south-east coast, with it’s beautiful sandy beaches and clear water, is a perfect spot for holidaymakers who want to escape the stresses and strains of modern life. The diving is suitable both for beginners and for those who just want to drift their way through a nice relaxing dive. The many small pinnacles offer a diverse range of marine life such as moray eels, nudibranchs, fusiliers and soldier fish - sometimes even razorfish are to be found bobbing gently just above the sand. Sea Bees only make occasional visits to the dive spots around Koh Mai Thon, when they want to avoid the congestion sometimes found on the busier sites or to offer their divers something a little bit different from the rest. During previous dives we realised that a thorough clean up was necessary to remove rubbish which our divers had begun to find there.
During our one hour journey to the site our tour leader Stefan gave a very detailed briefing about the dive site itself, and also about procedures for safely cleaning the reef without causing any damage to the corals, after which gloves and net-bags were distributed to all. Once the clean up began there was a steady stream of divers returning to the surface with full loads - almost every 5 minutes another net-bag appeared filled with beverage cans, nets, plastic bottles, shoes, flip flops etc. At one point even a large truck tyre was taken from the reef. Stefan, who was stationed on our dinghy, was very busy meeting all the dive teams to collect the rubbish until, after one hour of diving, two large barrels had been filled (not including the truck tyre which would not even fit). In all, about 100 kg of rubbish was collected.On the way back to Phuket every participant received a Certificate of Recognition for their involvement in the International Coastal Cleanup Day, which was supported by SSI (Scuba Schools International), TDA Diving Association (Thailand) and Green Fins Thailand, which is affiliated to the United Nations.
After arriving back at the pier, everyone was treated to a drink at the Anchor Inn. All participants could clearly see the importance of the clean up and were very satisfied with the good work done on the day. All in all the event was a great success so thank you again to all participants - the environment will thank you for it on your next dive.
Welcome aboard.....
SSI Thailand is happy to welcome three new Dive Centres on Koh Tao to the SSI Family.
Golden Diver, part of the Golden Travel group, joined SSI in August.
Sairee Cottage Divers opened in July and crossed over their four instructors, Trevor, Mick, Manuel and Dmo, in August and September.
New Heaven Dive School will crossover five instructors in early October.
Save Koh Tao Group
SSI, New Heaven Dive School and the Save Koh Tao group are working together to train SSI Dive Leaders and Instructors in the ECOLogical Monitoring Program (EMP) Specialty so divers and Dive Leaders all over Koh Tao can survey the transect lines and contribute invaluable information on positive and negative trends regarding marine life around Koh Tao’s islands.
For more information on the Marine Conservation Branch of the Save Koh Tao Group, visit: www.MarineConservationKohTao.com
BIO ROCKS !!!
Construction of Koh Tao’s Second Biorock named Hin Fai, which means Electric Rock in English, begins this week.
SSI Thailand encourages divers and Dive Leaders from all participating SSI Dive Centres and Resorts on Koh Tao to help and be as active as possible during construction of the Biorock.
All income from SSI’s ECOLogical Monitoring Program Specialty Courses conducted in Koh Tao will be donated directly back into projects of the Marine Conservation Koh Tao branch of Save Koh Tao.
The Biorock structure will be constructed in the gardens of SSI Dive Centre, Phoenix Divers, located at A.C. Resort in Sairee Beach, before being resituated at the dive site north of Sairee Beach in Koh Tao.
Lectures will be given in the evenings to promote environmental awareness and education of the Biorock activities.
Links- Save Koh Tao Group’s Marine Conservation Branch - www.MarineConservationKohTao.com
- Biorock TM - www.biorock.net
Reuseable Ecological banners
The following 1.5m x 4.0m reusable vinyl banners are available for SSI Dive Centres to promote their own beach and dive site clean-ups.
Already, the following Dive Centres have taken advantage of this to help promote their own environmental activities:
- Big Blue Diving, Koh Tao
- Save Koh Tao Group, Koh Tao
- Sea Bees Diving, Phuket
- Blue View Divers, Koh Phi Phi
Information on these activities will appear here shortly.
Please also use the myEvents section to advertise your own Dive Centre’s environmantal activities.
If you would like to use the banners, please email info@ssithailand.com.
Training Oppurtunites
SSI Thailand is currently looking for candidates to be sponsored through an ECOLogical Mapping Programme course - EMP.
We are looking at training one person from every associated SSI Thailand school to Specialty instructor level.
The Instructor Course takes four days and teaches candidates how to set up ECOLogical Mapping Programmes and how to conduct on-going reef surveys.
So far three candidates have completed the course and all state they have an increased knowledge of reef structure and its on-going problems.
To start with, we are running this program in the Gulf of Thailand and will be looking at expanding to cover the Andaman coast and beyond over the next year.
Once trained, all certification revenue raised by SSI from EMP Specialty Course students will be directly reinvested into local environmental projects, hopefully setting a precedent for sustainable reef and environmental awareness projects.
Candidates must:
- Be an Active SSI Instructor or DiveCon;
- Be Associated with an Active SSI Dive Centre;
- Have a recommendation from Dive Centre manager/owner;
- Show commitment to offering ongoing EMP training.
Interested?
Email: gary@ssithailand.com
Shine on you Crazy Diamonds !!
SSI launches new global Dive Center Standards
For over 35 years SSI has stood for high quality training.
SSI only works with Dive Leaders now and in future who are affiliated with professional Dive Centers. Since the beginning SSI Dive Centers must provide a retail surrounding with regular opening hours and the business needs to be conducted with an approach of quality and professionalism.
The time has passed by and the market has changed driven by the needs of the modern customers. Based on that fact the Dive Center Standards have been completely revised and supplemented.
A new quality label was founded in this transition – The DIAMOND Status
The SSI Diamond Dive Center Status recognizes SSI Dive Centers that make a commitment to excellence and leadership in the categories of
- BUSINESS PRACTICES & ETHICS
- QUALITY ASSURANCE
- EDUCATION COMMITMENT
- CUSTOMER SERVICE
- DIVING PASSION.
Only Dive Centers recognized as the leaders in their marketplace can be considered for the SSI Diamond Dive Center rating.
Any Dive Center or Dive Resort can reach out for the DIAMOND Status regardless, if Instructor Training is offered or not. But the SSI DIAMOND DIVE CENTER rating is a privilege. All accounts are reviewed frequently to ensure they continue to meet or exceed the standards. SSI reserves the right to revoke the SSI Diamond rating, if the account, in SSI’s judgment, does not meet the standards.
The goal of the new Dive Center Standards is to provide more transparency in finding an outstanding Dive Center. In addition to that very ambitious SSI Partners get the chance to receive recognition for their performance.
Want a JOB ?
Event Calender & Job Placement ServiceEvent Calender & Job Placement Service
The new interactive Event Calender is available to all SSI Facilities and Resorts now. Just type in your Course Dates or Events and use the SSI Webpage as your marketing plattform to attract new clients. All data is live online immediately and the diver can customize the display of the calendar to his personal needs.
Start your personal Event Calender here: http://www.divessi.com/online-certification or click in the Menue on the left side on myEvents .
Additionally you can use the Job Placement Tool from now on, if you want to seek for new Team Members by using the SSI Website. Please be aware that the data concerning your person / facility will be published on the SSI Webpage and therefore it can be seen by a third party.
Start your new career here: http://www.divessi.com/myjobs or click in the Menue on the left side on myJobs .
New Course .
Indoor Diver – A new approach with SSI! SSI as one of the leading training agencies worldwide with more than 2000 Dive Centers and training materials in more than 25 languages presents as the first complete Indoor Training System. Diving is a very relaxing and at the same time exciting activity which is suitable for all age levels. But you may have never ever have thought of taking your complete training in an Indoor Dive Center during the cold season. This is now possible with the new SSI Indoor Diver Program and it provides a lot of advantages:
Just get your personal Open Water Diver Kit at your SSI Dive Center and make the first steps towards your new leasure activity. Your Kit contains a manual and a DVD which provides more background information, practical application and hints for an enjoyable entry into diving. There is a lot to discover as diving is only really fun with the right skills and in quality diving equipment. The Indoor Diver creates opportunities as after successful completion you can start new adventures straight away. You can continue your education and combine Specialty Course programs in areas like Digital Underwater Photography, Perfect Buoyancy, Equipment Techniques and Shark Diver. The possibilities are limitless and you do nothing twice as you can upgrade your status to Open Water Diver any time in one of the SSI Dive Centers around the world. Once the upgrade is done your “Indoor Specialties” count towards all other Continuing Education Ratings like Specialty Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver and Master Diver. Just get additional information about your possibilities at one of the 2000 SSI Dive Centers or directly from the SSI Headquarter. If you are interested in a personal counseling on training or the right equipment for your first watersports holiday – go and visit your SSI Facility nearby! | |||
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People interested in diving can do a full diver training program any time regardless the season under ideal conditions| © 2006, 2007 SSI | | 291 | ||
How much have you Done?
NEWS - 21. March 2007: SSI C-Card StatisticSSI C-Card Statistic
From now on you can view your personal c-card statistic when you logged in as a dive leader. Click the statistic function ON and just see your entire c-card history with one view. The certificates with adequate data quality from the previous years have been uploaded as well, so that you can get an overall picture of the entire c-cards you have issued.
Click here: http://www.divessi.com/ccard_status or click on myC-Cards in the Menue on the left side
NEWS - 20. June 2008: SSI Improves Dive Leader & Dive Center Download Area
Having the right documents at the right time is critical for success. Nobody wants to search for important information when it is needed immediately. To help better serve your needs, SSI has updated the Download Area structure and overview functions by adding an “Explorer Bar”.
This feature allows you to find what you want with just one click. The Download Area contains several language materials now and will be supplemented currently in order to provide you with the best possible service.
- SSI Dive Business International Magazine: All editions of the DBI Magazine in PDF format for Download
- SSI Downloads – Dive Leader: All Instructor Outlines, PEGs, Final Exams and necessary forms for all programs a Dive Leader is allowed to teach
- SSI Downloads – Divers: Screen Savers, Wallpapers and Multimedia Downloads for Divers
- SSI Forms – Dive Leader: Dive Leader Applications and all standards forms which you need to sign up a student for a program like Medical Questionnaires, Assumption of Risk and Liability Releases
- SSI Forms – Divers: RSTC Medical Guidelines for a Physician
- SSI Newsletters: The folder contains all editions of the Newsletters of the SSI Office you are affiliated to
- SSI Training Standards: The folder contains the most actual version of the Dive Center & Training Standards plus Standards Overviews and Equivalence Lists
- SSI Marketing Material: This business support folder is for Dive Centers only. It contains all web banners, logos, pictures, posters, flyers and advertisements in digital format to support SSI Dive Centers with their marketing efforts
