August was a bit of a rollercoaster month at TSD going from very quiet to hugely busy and back again.
Another IDC started on August 1 so a lot of last minute preparations were being made by all our candidates. Then it was full on classroom and in-water work for them for the next 10 days. But they all did really well and passed with flying colors.
A moment of relaxation between IDC sessions
Tech gear everywhere taking over the shop!
Then we had “TSD TEC Week”. The shop was inundated with all things tec. Rebreathers and twin sets were the order of the day and everyone was doing their own thing, but it all worked out quite well. Of course being tekkies, they dived all our wrecks, and Matt and Dave even saw a hammerhead shark at 60 meters!
Another Dave was here at the same time, also with a rebreather, just to really confuse things. He came with his massive HD camera, and was shooting a documentary of TSD and the island. I think he was possibly carrying more kit than I have ever seen on a diver.
For the first two weeks of August, the weather decided to be particularly uncooperative, and although we went diving every day, we had to transport all the gear and divers by motorcycle to the other side of the island. Still this added a sense of adventure to things.
Trevor and Mike coming back from their tec dive
Trevor and Mike FINALLY got out to dive the Pioneer after about 5 aborted attempts due to bad weather, strong currents etc. It was Mike’s first dive on the WWII wreck and he loved it. The trimix came in very handy to ensure they spent enough time on the wreck and made sure they weren’t too narked at 55 meters to appreciate what they were seeing.
August was quite the month for long termers coming and going and the TSD community shrank and grew accordingly. John, Kim, Dom and Mark sadly left, but to replace them we have Carley, Tony, Antoine, Yvette and Fred.
Welcome to you all!