Discover Scuba Diving program in Taganga

Too many people, families, travelers and tourists are looking foward to try something new such as scuba diving. Through the course ´Discover Scuba Diving´ is easy and cheap way to enjoy the underwater world; you will get to enjoy this experience for several hours a day. Many of these people are caught by the charm of the marine life and the feeling of freedom and weightlessness that you get scuba diving.

However, there are protocols and standards to be followed to make sure the experience is fun and safe. The PADI instructor manual 2010 sets standards that must be followed to make this program.

In This table you will see the people authorized to make the different sessions and the maximum number of participants per session. Please be aware that the open water dives can only be conducted by a certified instructor, check his license before going diving. And if there are any children between the ages of 10-11 the maximum number of students is 2 per instructor.

* You can add two more students as long as there is an other certified assistant
* After participants have completed an initial open water dive with an instructor

This minicourse has three sections

1. Develop of knowledge

The participants should see a 20 minute video, complete the security questions and attend to the talk given by the instructor about:

a. Rules of breathing and compensation techniques.
b. The purpose and use of the equipment.
c.The hand signals to communicate underwater.
d. Regulator and mask clearing.
e. The respect of the aquatic life (when included dives at sea)
f. The importance of following guidelines and staying close to the instructor.
g.The limitations of the program and the value of further training.


2. Confined water session

The participants made the following exercises in a pool between 2 and 6 mts deep. Before starting the exercises, the profesional will give a talk or a briefing on how to do the exercises.These are the skills you must develop as mínimum, the profesional may include other exercises if he thinks is appropriate.

•Breathing underwater
•Clearing the regulator
•Regulator recovery
•Mask clearing
•Compensation techniques
•Inflate and deflate the BCD on the surface (is required only when is done in a swimming pool. It shouldnt be done at sea)

After completing the exercises and when the partipants are confortable they can do a maximum dive at 6 mts depth

3. Open Water Diving 12 mts.

This section is optional; many resorts in the world only offer this program in a pool without open water dives. In aquantis we offer the full package with a 12mts dive to enjoy the marine life that Park Tayrona got to offer.If point 1 and 2 and successfuly completed the partisipants will get given a card of partisipation, which will give you credit for taking the open wáter certification course or to return to dive to a maximum depth of 12mts with professional company without having to repeat the exercises in confined waters and you will be registered online at PADI.

So come on, next time you are on vacation, come and try it and we are  sure you will come out the water with a big smile and very looking forward to do it again.

 

September 25th: International Cleanup Day

Next september 25th we will participate in the International Cleanup Day, the largest single day volunteer event on behalf of our underwater environment.

Did you know that every year an estimated seven billion tons of debris enter the world’s oceans? The consequences are devastating as each year nearly one million birds are killed by aquatic litter and an estimated 100,000 marine animals, including dolphins, whales and sea turtles, choke or get tangled in debris. Project AWARE volunteers will once again contribute to the compelling Global Marine Debris Index (oceanconservancy.org). In 2008 this snapshot revealed a staggering 3,216,991 cigarette/cigarette filters and 1,377,141 plastic bags were collected on one day.

By participating in this event you’re not only part of local cleanup effort, you’re part of a global team in over 900 dive locations throughout 100 countries and territories. On this one day harmful and unsightly trash will not only be removed by the ton but the data collected will be instrumental in finding long term solutions to debris problems.

This year we will organize something different from the past 2 years. We will start our event at 1:00p.m to do two dives, the first one to cleanup a dive site in Granate Bay, Tayrona Park and the second to monitor the coral bleaching in Piedra del Medio following CORAL WATCH methodology.

After the dives we`ll come back to Taganga to classify the trash and register the data collected  and to enjoy a delicious BBQ prepared you.  All our volunteers will also receive a t-shirt and a participation certificate.

If you’re interested in participating, drop by our store or give us a call: 57(5)4219344, or send us an email: info@aquantisdivecenter.com. and help make clean waters a reality.”

Make your dives count!!
 
 

What is a nudibranch?

Nudibranchs are mollusks, as the snails, sea slugs or clams.  The Nudibranchia, is a group with probably more than 3000 described species.

Distribution and Habitat

Nudibranchs are distributed worldwide in all oceans from the intertidal down to the deep sea, but reach their greatest size and variation in warm, shallow waters. Seventeen species of nudibranchs have to date been recorded in the Colombian Caribbean.

Description

The word "nudibranch" comes from the latin nudus, naked, and the greek brankhia, gills, “naked gills”, referencing the fact that these gastropods breathe through their skin, rather than through specialized gills. Nudibranchs are often casually called "sea slugs", a non-scientific term. This has led some people to assume that every sea slug must be a nudibranch.

The body forms of nudibranchs vary enormously, they are bilaterally symmetrical. Some species have venomous appendages on their sides. These are used to deter predators. Many also have a simple gut and a mouth with a radula. Their eyes are simple and able to discern little more than light and dark, Nudibranchs vary in adult size from 20 to 600 millimetres (0.79 to 24 in). They also have very simple nervous systems and digestive tracts, like other mollusk.  

But the most amazing characteristic is their beautiful appearance, which has been vividly described by Helmut Debelius, an avid oceanic photographer and author: “They look like the creation of talented painters, like exercises in imagination. They come mostly in bright colors, decorated with such profusions of undulating flaps, sensory organs and waving forests of ‘fingers’ that it is difficult to tell which end is which. Delicate, seemingly unprotected, they are beautiful to look upon, the underwater analogues of butterflies. Yet, they too are animals surviving in an eat-or-beeaten world, sometimes predator and sometimes prey. Moreover, they have taken an evolutionary gamble by giving up the protective shell that has always sheltered their kind, and appear to have won handsomely”.  

Feeding

Most nudibranchs are carnivorous. Some feed on sponges, others on hydroids, others on bryozoans and some eat other sea slugs or, on some occasions, are cannibals and prey on members of their own species. Other groups feed on tunicates, barnacles or anemones.

They can also take in plants' chloroplasts (plant cell organelles used for photosynthesis) and use them to make food for themselves.

Reproduction

They are simultaneous hermafrodites possessing sex characteristics of both genders at the same time. Most nudibranchs prefer to seek out partners rather than self fertilizing, laying clutches of fertilized eggs in areas where the young will be dispersed after hatching.

Defense Mechanisms

In the course of evolution, sea slugs have lost their shell because they have developed other defense mechanisms. Their anatomy may resemble the texture and color of the surrounding plants, allowing them to camouflage (cryptic behavior). Others, as seen especially well on chromodorids, have an intense and bright coloring, which warns that they are distasteful or poisonous (aposematic coloration)

The ability to sequester and re-use potentially harmful components of their prey makes the nudibranch rather unique. Most animals would die or become extremely sick if they consumed a wide variety of venomous creatures, yet nudibranchs have evolved to not only roll with their punches, but to actively reuse them.

Nudibranchs that feed on hydroids can store the hydroids' nematocysts (stinging cells) in the dorsal body wall. The nematocysts wander through the alimentary tract without harming the nudibranch.

Some sponge-eating nudibranches concentrate the toxins from their prey sponge in their bodies, rendering themselves toxic to predators. Another method of protection is the release of an acid from the skin. Once the specimen is physically irritated or touched by another creature, it will release the slime automatically.

Because of their world wide distribution and astonishing array of color patterns many countries have issued postage stamps to show off their native nudibranchs. For example, at least 84 stamps have been issued depicting these unique animals. One of the best known nudibranchs, the Spanish Dancer, Hexabranchus sanguineus, Family Hexabranchidae, has appeared on three stamps – Fiji Islands #697, Tuvalu #465 and the United States #3831g.

So, next time you go diving in the Tayrona Park, try to spot this beautiful creature, it can be an unforgettable experience and a wonderful picture

Meanwhile you can enjoy a collection of beautiful pictures in National Geographic Gallery.

PADI Member forum in Santa marta

Past July 1st all our staff attended to the 1st PADI Member forum in Santa Marta.

It was a great opportunity to interact with other PADI Members,brush up on recent standards changes, and learn more about Risk Management.

During 2 hours We heard about the new online courses available, the improvement of the PADI website for members to process certificationes easier and faster and more exciting news to do our job in a better way.

Yesterday we also attended to the survival training workshop in order to adapt to the current crisis condition, it was very interesting to hear new strategies from PADI and other dive shops to be succesful focusing on service and high quality training.