Do You Need A Scuba Refresher?
Whether you’re a seasoned scuba veteran or haven’t been in the water since your certification, it may be time to ask… do you need a refresher before diving back in?
You love scuba diving. I love scuba diving.
We all love scuba diving!
But as much as we may love diving, sometimes life gets in the way, preventing us from getting in the water as much as we’d like. So whether you’re a seasoned scuba veteran or haven’t been in the water since your certification, it may be time to ask… Do you need a refresher before diving back in?
What Is A Scuba Refresher?
Our Scuba Refresher consists of a light theory review, followed by a reintroduction to scuba equipment, and ending with basic skills practice in Half Moon Bay. The purpose of a Refresher is to ensure you remember how to do those essential underwater skills, like:
Clearing your mask
Clearing and recovering your regulator
Hovering/buoyancy control
Buddy breathing in the event of an emergency
Signals, descents, and ascents
After all, the longer you spend out of the water, the easier it becomes to forget the basic skills you need to be a safe and competent diver.
Who Needs A Refresher?
At Roatan Divers, our policy is that if it has been more than one year since your last dive, we may require you to complete a Refresher before going into the open water. However, the reality is a bit more nuanced than that. For example:
Experience. How experienced was the diver before going on a hiatus? A diver who only does one to three dives in a year, and then takes a break, is a lot different than someone who does twenty to fifty dives in a year, and then takes a break.
Outdated Training. Refreshers don’t just clear out the cobwebs. Those who were certified a long time ago may also wish to complete a Refresher, as new skills have become part of the program that they may not have learned! Take SMB Deployment, for example.
Environment. Keep environmental experience in mind! If you’re used to diving in lakes, a Refresher can help detect any weighting or buoyancy adjustments that need to be made before going into the ocean.
Certification Level. If you were freshly certified and haven’t dove since your certification - even if it was only three to six months ago - you should definitely complete a Refresher! This is because the skills you learned weren’t repeatedly practiced. However, a certified Divemaster who took a two year hiatus due to, say, COVID, likely would not need a Refresher.
If you’re an Instructor that’s been out of the water for a while, sites like Jooble may be able to help you find a job and get back in the water!
The Final Conclusion
When in doubt, refresh it out! In order to react quickly, calmly, and safely during an emergency, both muscle memory and comfort come into play. Practice makes perfect, and will ensure you can easily complete these essential skills in case they are needed. After all, concern and awareness for yourself, your buddies, and the environment are all the ingredients that make for a great diver!
Are you in need of a Refresher?
Macro Diving In Roatan: Unique Critters
Let’s go macro diving in Roatan! Learn about the unique macro critters on Roatan’s reef - and get tips on where to find them.
Going diving in Roatan? Find joy in the little things! While eagle rays and large schools of fish are certainly fun to look at, the reef is also teeming with small creatures that are easy to miss. Next time you’re in the water, try searching for some of the unique macro life that calls Roatan home. It’s not only a wonderful exercise for your eyes, but a surefire way to impress your dive buddies too.
Photo By Tam Warner Minton
Painted Elysia (Thuridilla picta)
Who knew so many colors could exist on something so small? While the main body of the Painted Elysia is green, there are also vivid lateral bands of orange, red, blue, yellow, and neon green. This sap-sucking slug can be found in shallow sand patches or on certain kinds of algae. But look closely! They average a size of 1.25 inches.
Photo By Jeff Hamann
Cassiopea Dondice (Dondice parguerensis)
If you’ve ever been diving with Roatan Divers, you’ve likely been taken to our favorite macro site ever - Shallow Blue Channel! Within this dive site you can find a plethora of upside down jellyfish. And within those upside down jellies, you can find the Cassiopea Dondice. A beautiful type of nudibranch that can grow as large as 2 inches.
Photo By Adrien Weckel, DORIS
Common Squat Lobster (Munida pusilla)
Don’t be intimidated by their outstretched claws - this crustacean is only about the size of your thumb. Appearing to be an interesting mix of crab and lobster, the Common Squat Lobster enjoys hard, rocky bottoms and can often be found in rubble created by tilefish.
Photo By Mau Riquelme
Juvenile Shortnose Batfish (Ogcocephalus nasutus)
If you’ve ever wanted to see a teeny tiny underwater unicorn, look for a juvenile shortnose batfish. While difficult to find, you may be able to come across this thumbnail sized juvenile in sandy patches or coral rubble.
Striped Bumblebee Shrimp (Gnathophyllum americanum)
Next time you’re swimming past a sea cucumber, double back and take a closer look. If you’re lucky, you will be able to spot the sea cucumber’s resident Bumblebee Shrimp. Dressed to impress, this pea-sized crustacean sports an eye-catching outfit of yellow and black stripes, accentuated with a pair of goggley blue eyes and a wispy translucent tail — the epitome of cute. These commensal shrimps also have symbiotic relationships with sea stars and sea urchins.
Ready to take your macro game to the next level? Look for these creatures using our Macro Hunter Tips next time you come diving in Roatan.
Why You Should Get CPR/First Aid Certified
Though CPR and first aid training doesn’t qualify you as a certified medical practitioner, having awareness of your surroundings and being able to assess and treat for basic medical emergencies is a skill that everyone should have.
Emergency First Response. Red Cross. Blue Cross. These are all fancy, snazzy names that all signify the same thing - CPR and first aid certification. Having a valid CPR and first aid certification is a prerequisite to your PADI Rescue Diver course, but did you know that getting emergency medically trained is something you should do, even if you never plan to dive?
Though CPR and first aid training doesn’t qualify you as a certified medical practitioner, having awareness of your surroundings and being able to assess and treat for basic medical emergencies is a skill that everyone should have. You could very well save a life with some basic medical knowledge!
What do you learn during your training?
Emergency First Response, PADI’s CPR and first aid training course, is broken into two basic categories: Primary Care (CPR) and Secondary Care (first aid). Some valuable skills you learn are:
- how to assess and monitor an emergency situation
- how to provide rescue breaths and CPR
- how to provide basic first aid, including carrying for wounds and splinting
- how to recognize and provide treatment for shock
Even if you don’t feel 100% confident caring for emergency situations after your course (because, let’s face it, do trained medical practitioners even feel confident all the time?), learning the basics of emergency care helps you be more aware of your surroundings and be a better parent, a better partner, a better friend, and a better stranger. The EFR license is valid for two years, but we do encourage you to refresher your skills every six month to a year to make sure you’re on top of your game. Make sure to contact your local emergency training center to get started on your course today!
3 Ways To Become a Better Macro Hunter
Scuba diving is a huge part of what attracts people to Roatan, and we are famous for our abundance of both soft and hard coral, schools of fish and well-protected marine park.
But did you know that Roatan also has a very lively macro life? Though you may not think it at first glance, there are so many cool critters to find on our reefs, from pipehorses to nudibranchs to flatworms! Check out our 3 ways to become a better macro hunter and up your scuba game today!
Roatan. With its azure waters, sandy white beaches and some of the best scuba diving in the world, it’s no wonders it’s an island on the up and up! Scuba diving is a huge part of what attracts people to Roatan, and we are famous for our abundance of both soft and hard coral, schools of fish and well-protected marine park.
But did you know that Roatan also has a very lively macro life? Though you may not think it at first glance, there are so many cool critters to find on our reefs, from pipehorses to nudibranchs to flatworms! Learning how to hunt for macro critters is a great way to make each dive more interesting and to up your scuba game, but it takes some skill and time to master it. Here are our top 3 ways to become a better macro hunter!
Focus on Better Buoyancy
When it comes to searching for critters, maintaining good neutral buoyancy is absolutely key. You need to be able to hover in one place with your face close to the sand or reef for an extended period of time, and kicking and flailing about to do so will tire you out and damage the reef. Focus on keeping your hands close to your body, using your breathing to control your buoyancy, and using your fins sparsely to move.
If you’re not confident in your buoyancy, have no fear! Participate in the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Adventure Dive or the full PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty course to really hone in your buoyancy skills. We recommend all divers to do a PPB dive as it improves your buoyancy and air consumption, but now you get the additional bonus of becoming a better macro hunter!
Take Your Time
In the spirit of better buoyancy, it’s also really important to take your time when you’re looking for macro critters. Part of what makes finding macro animals so special is the time and energy it takes to find them, and you definitely won’t see the tiniest, most well-camouflaged animals by zooming along the reef! So while good buoyancy is important, taking advantage of that good buoyancy by taking it slow is also key. Kick minimally and take the time to study all the nooks and crannies of the reef and sand for anomalies.
Learn From The Best
This may be the most important tip! If you want to learn how to snowboard, you would take lessons from a snowboarding instructor to get the most out of it, right? In the same way, using a professional dive guide to spot things and to teach you how to spot critters yourself is really important. Dive guides have hundreds, if not thousands, of dives on their reefs and have learned where things like to live and hide. Debriefing and going through a reef life book after the dives can give you more insight to specific critters’ habitats, their behaviors, and they can even pique your interest in animals you never knew about before!
If you’d like to see more of our stunning macro life in person, make sure to contact us and set up some diving with our experienced macrotastic guides!
Can’t make it to Roatan yet but yearning to see more of Roatan’s macro world? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and see what cool critters we find every day!
Should I Do Peak Performance Buoyancy Training?
When it comes to scuba diving, good buoyancy makes all the difference in the world!
Mastering buoyancy allows a diver to become better with air consumption and having good buoyancy is important to protect fragile coral reefs which are damaged easily.
Your enjoyment and comfort levels increase exponentially when your buoyancy is well controlled, your kicks are smooth and you are streamlined.
The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty is a great 2-dive specialty designed to improve your buoyancy, but for those short on time, you can still do the PADI PPB Adventure dive to get a head start on buoyancy improvement!
For our PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, we always recommend starting the course with the PPB Adventure dive because it can make your subsequent dives easier and more fun, and most PADI professionals will agree that it’s one of the most beneficial dives you can do.
Even doing just one PPB-centric dive will make you a better diver in the long run, so consider a PPB dive the next time you go diving.
Improve Your Buoyancy Control
Determine the exact weight you need, so you’re not too light or too heavy.
Trim your weight system and scuba gear for perfect balance in the water.
Streamline to save energy, use air more efficiently and move more smoothly through the water.
Hover effortlessly in any position – vertical or horizontal.
Interested in continuing your diving education with Roatan Divers? Contact us and get started on becoming a more engaged diver today!
Let's Talk Sidemount Diving!
You may have seen in our recent social media posts that we are all about sidemount right now. So it’s a great time to ask - what is sidemount diving, and what are the benefits of diving on a sidemount set-up?
You may have seen in our recent social media posts that we are all about sidemount right now. So it’s a great time to ask - what is sidemount diving, and what are the benefits of diving on a sidemount set-up?
What is Sidemount Diving?
Sidemount diving is when you dive with two (or more) tanks streamlined along your side, rather than mounted on your back. Our head sidemount instructor, Liam, will tell you that sidemount is the best because “one tank is good, two tanks are better”, but there’s more to it than that!
Sidemount diving gives you redundant systems, it’s great for diving in narrow spaces because you’re so streamlined, and is also great for divers who have back problems because the harness set-up alleviates any stress on your back that a backmount system would put. Sidemount is a highly versatile system that you can customize for different types of diving, whether it’s with aluminum or steel tanks, tropical or cold climates, caves or wrecks, tec diving, deep diving, self-reliant diving - the list goes on.
On top of all the actual reasons to dive sidemount, sidemount diving also just looks cool, if we’re being totally honest.
Roatan Divers PADI Sidemount Course and Bundles
Now that you know why you should go sidemount diving, it’s time to find out how!
Roatan Divers offers the PADI Sidemount Diver course for $400, including PADI manual, certification fee, confined water work, 4 sidemount dives, equipment, taxes and credit card fees. The course normally takes 3 days.
We’ve also created some awesome bundles to help you get the most out of your sidemount training. Sidemount’s versatility means it can be paired with so many other PADI specialties, but these are three bundles that we think you’ll enjoy.
Sidemount + PPB bundle: $500, including 2 PPB dives on sidemount equipment and 3 sidemount training dives (5 dives total).
Sidemount + PPB + Nitrox bundle: $650, including 2 PPB dives on sidemount equipment, 3 sidemount training dives with the last 2 dives on Nitrox (5 dives total).
Sidemount + PPB + Deep bundle: $825, including 2 PPB dives on sidemount, 3 sidemount training dives and 4 Deep Dives on sidemount (9 dives total).
Whether it’s with the standalone PADI Sidemount course or one of our bundles, you’ll walk away feeling well-trained and well-versed in sidemount diving.
Roatan Divers and Dive Rite
For our recreational scuba needs, Roatan Divers is still proudly partnered with Mares, so you can get of the best recreational equipment in the industry at a great price with the Roatan Mares store in West End.
Why We Love Mares Dive Equipment
Dive equipment can say a lot about a dive center. When equipment visually looks worn and tattered it might also speak to the care and maintenance that equipment may or may not have received in its lifetime. At Roatan Divers, we replace our rental BCD's every 1 to 2 years, not because we need to, but because we take pride in offering top-notch equipment to our divers. When prospective divers ask to see our equipment, we're always happy to oblige them.
Roatan Divers is a proud Mares Dealer
As a Mares partner and dealer in West End, we are very proud to offer all Mares equipment for our rental gear. Mares is one of the biggest scuba equipment manufacturers in the world, and it's not hard to see why! While they have a reputation for high quality equipment ranging from BCDs to regulators to dry bags, they are most famously known for their masks and fins. The Mares Avanti fins (both full foot and open heel) are considered some of the best fins on the market - there's a reason why most scuba instructors use the Avanti open heel fins! They are durable, strong and last forever. When Roatan Divers first started, we knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Mares Avanti would be our rental fin of choice, regardless of what other brands were available for other rental gear.
Dive equipment can say a lot about a dive center. When equipment visually looks worn and tattered it might also speak to the care and maintenance that equipment may or may not have received in its lifetime. At Roatan Divers, we replace our rental BCD's every 1 to 2 years, not because we need to, but because we take pride in offering top-notch equipment to our divers. When prospective divers ask to see our equipment, we're always happy to oblige them.
Mares Roatan Store in West End
Luckily for us, Mares has a store conveniently located in West End, so we have been able to provide a full range of Mares equipment for rental. The Mares store is fully stocked with a range of masks, fins, exposure wear, BCDs and regulators, so it's easy to find something that will work for you, whether you're a casual snorkeler or an avid diver.
For many of our guests, they love the ability to try one of our Mares masks to find which one might be the best fit for them before purchasing. The prices here are competitive to the prices in the US, and it's nice having a professional to talk to before buying!
Check out Roatan Mares Store's Facebook page to see what deals they're running, as they often have great sales. For more information about some awesome deals we are now able to offer our Divemaster and Instructor candidates through our partnership with Mares, make sure to check our dedicated Divemaster website!
How Being a PADI Rescue Diver Changes You
Being a PADI Rescue diver is about giving you the knowledge and skills to better care for yourself as well as other divers both in and out of the water. Divers describe this course as the most challenging, yet rewarding courses they have ever taken. If you're considering diving in, here's what you need to know about becoming a Rescue Diver.
Being a Rescue Diver is about giving you the knowledge and skills to better care for yourself as well as other divers, both in and out of the water. Divers describe this course as the most challenging, yet rewarding course they have ever taken. If you're considering diving in, here's what you need to know about becoming a PADI Rescue Diver.
It Changes Your Perspective
The PADI Rescue Diver course teaches you how to prevent and manage problems in and out of the water. We teach you how to spot warning signs that a diver might be nervous, unwell or potentially about to panic. This ability to anticipate a risky situation, whether it's from other divers or yourself, is extremely valuable. Now you're aware and engaged in a whole new way when you go diving - and we don't just mean in the water! From being on land, to the boat, to equipment, you now see things from a different perspective. Even your outlook and criteria on how you choose dive centers may be different. Together, all of these elements lead you to going diving with far more freedom and increased capabilities as a PADI Rescue Diver.
It Increases Your Confidence
With this new perspective, expect to feel a new level of confidence as a recreational diver. We teach you how to identify possible scenarios like a tired diver, panicked diver and even a non responsive diver and how you would respond to each accordingly. By learning these skills, you are now equipped with the knowledge to help others, and a greater self-awareness in recognizing your own potential problems. This increase of confidence, and knowing that you can help others if needed, is a priceless feeling you can take with you anytime you go diving.
You Become a Better Buddy
Which divers have you admired? All divers have, at some point, wanted to become a better diver. For many, it's the desire to improve buoyancy or air consumption, but as more experienced divers can tell you, it's all about having a good dive buddy. During this course, you learn to become a better buddy by practicing problem solving skills until they become second nature. Keep in mind, that even when you go fun diving, there will likely be more qualified diving Professionals around you like a PADI Divemaster or Instructor. For those divers interested in becoming a PADI Professional, the Emergency First Response & Rescue course is usually the first step in doing so.
Breaking Down the PADI Rescue Course
Rescue students on a dive with Roatan Divers
The PADI Rescue Diver course takes roughly three to four days.
Through knowledge development and rescue exercises, you learn what to look for and how to respond. These scenarios take place underwater, at the surface, and even extend to the shore. Finally once you have practiced how to handle these scenarios, you will go on two open water dives to reinforce your new knowledge and skills.
One of the most fun elements to the PADI Rescue Diver course is the instructor's ability to get creative in how they test your response time and thought process. The goal is to simulate as closely, but safely as possible, potential rescue situations. The Emergency First Response (EFR) Primary & Secondary Care is a prerequisite along with being a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or PADI Adventure Diver. As for minimum age, younger divers between 12-14 years old are able to work towards a Junior Rescue certification.
Short on time? If you'd like to cut down on course time to take advantage of your time on the island, consider doing PADI eLearning through us to get all your bookwork done ahead of time so you can dive in right away!