Ask any Kiwi diver where they want to explore and the ‘Poor Knight Islands’ and ‘Fiordland’ undoubtably arise.

This Easter we decided to visit the Poor Knights Islands.

Nine excited Christchurch divers met at Auckland airport, on route to our next stop – Russel. Our travels up north were eventful, we experienced traffic delays and a flat tyre before making it to our home base at Northland Dive.

Everyone was excited about the 5 days of diving ahead of us. The plan for the first two days was to dive locally, exploring the wreck of ‘The Canterbury’ and the local northland reefs, followed by 3 days staying on a boat in the Poor Knights Islands.

The obvious difference from diving around Christchurch and Banks Peninsular is the abondance of fish life.  You could see big Snapper from the boat and when you entered the water, you saw schools of Blue Mao Moa and Kingfish cruising past.

The first dive was a ‘shake down dive’ as they called it at Northland Dive. This was an opportunity to make sure all our gear was set up correctly including fine-tuning our weights. Two of the divers were using Hollis side mount equipment and everyone else was using single tank setups.

The Canterbury is a fantastic shipwreck which sits upright on the ocean floor making navigation relatively easy. Anyone who has visited the Mikhail Lermontov shipwreck will be able to understand the benefit this provides, as everything on the Lermontov is on its side.

The Canterbury Shipwreck was sunk for divers and it has created an awesome artificial reef which is abundant with animal life. We were able to dive the Canterbury twice and on the second day we started at the stern, heading towards the bow, swimming along the length of the wreck through one of the corridors on deck level 2.

On the morning of day three we got on board the Sea Spy, where we were to spend the next 3 days diving and living onboard. As we arrived at the Poor Knights Islands the fish life increased – we saw big Snapper, Trevally mouthing on the surface and big schools of Blue Moa Moa.

Once we entered the water we soon realised why this is one of Jacques Cousteau’s top 10 dive locations in the world. Each dive offered something unique and memorable. We enjoyed seeing massive schools of Blue Mao forming a fish arch, large drop offs into deep blue water and  we even saw a good sized shark.

Diving the Northern Arch was breath-taking. Seeing the sting rays stacked up about 10m deep moving backwards and forwards under the arch is a sight to behold. This happens every 4 to 6 years and the stingrays stay for around 3 months. Unfortunately, the photos do not capture the sull extent of its beauty.

At the Cathedral Cave we saw groups of fish huddled together and there was even a whale jaw sitting at the back of the cave. This dive was memorable for Paul and Richard, as they got caught up in a massive school of Blue and Pink Mao Mao, Demoiselle, bait fish, Snapper, Kingfish and Trevally. All this was happening at 5m below the surface!

I cannot wait to return to this beautiful place on our next trip booked from 28th September through to 4th October. Who wants to join us?

See you out diving soon.

Cheers

Richard

As a diver you know that you are limited on bottom time due to the Nitrogen we breathe in.  When diving 16 metres or shallower, you can stay for up to an hour if you have enough air.  But go a little deeper and your bottom time is reduced dramatically.

Well why not extend your bottom time by using Enriched Air Nitrox?  With more Oxygen and less Nitrogen, you get longer under the water as long as you take enough gas with you.

You will then need to come for 2 fun dives with your instructor, (what a shame), so they can sign you off.

The PADI Enriched Air Nitrox specialty also counts towards one of the 5 PADI specialties you need to gain the Master Scuba Diver qualification.

Spend $100 in store this month to go in to win an Enriched Air Course!

Hollis F1 Fins

With a name Like F1 fins you would expect speed, efficiency and high end performance – These fins deliver on all fronts!

The Hollis F1 fins are made from a single piece of high strength industrial monoprene rubber. Basically that means with no seams, no plastic and no joins the Hollis F1 Fins are as tough as they come. For me that makes them perfect for almost any keen diver. Having a durable fin gives you confidence to take on even the toughest conditions from technical diving with multiple tanks to bashing them in and around rocks on a cray hunt!

 Being made from a single piece of monoprene rubber gives the Hollis F1 fin a substantial weight. This makes it a great choice for divers wearing drysuits or 7mm wetsuits to help control the dreaded floaty foot syndrome. Because of this weight and strength of the fin the designers at Hollis have included three vents on the fin just past the tip of your toes. On any fin this zone at the very tip of your foot is a bit of a dead zone. Typically that part of the fin offers nothing in terms of increased performance and simply makes it harder to kick. Having three vents here allows water in the dead zone to move through the fin and reduce your physical effort and increase efficiency.

In the past using slimmer softer fins I struggled to turn on the sport without kicking up a wee cloud of silt but with a Technical fin like the F1 those big rails act almost like side panels and give you a much better surface to turn with. Using this style of fin I can also finally back kick (move backwards) without flapping my arms around like an underwater chicken! With all that strength and rigidity all moving through the water becomes a breeze.

The Hollis F1 fins are also much easier to get on and off compared to other fins I have used. To start with they have a stainless steel spring strap which has three tension setting to make sure you get a perfect fit. The beauty of a spring strap is that there is no more flopping and flailing about trying to get your rubber straps in place and secure. The F1 fins also have a thumb large thumb loop to make life easier actually pulling the strap into place. In terms of getting the fins off the F1 stands apart from others like it because of two seemingly insignificant drain holes in the foot pocket. These drain holes stop the fin from sucking onto your wetsuit boot so hard that you need to call on your buddy to yank them off.

All in all I think the Hollis F1 fins are fantastic option for divers who are looking for a high performance fin. The fins combine performance, ease of use, and power seamlessly to give divers a fin that will meet the even the most demanding of dive situations. It is an extremely well designed and well thought out fin – looks cool too!

Spend $100 in store anytime during April to go in to win!!

February monthly price draw

Winner will receive an Oceanic Atmos BCD!

Oceanic has a saying.. “Innovation first”. As a brand they are known for their dependable products that are loved by all divers, and the Atmos is no exception. It’s easy to use and the highly adjustable design is awesome for pretty much any recreational diver.

The Atmos has plenty of steel d-rings, and as divers we all know that you can never have too many d-rings. This d-ring extravaganza coupled with comfy back support, BC handle for easy transport and easy to maneuver integrated weight system means pulling it straight out of the shop and into the water is nothing short of a breeze.

This particular BCD by Oceanic not only talks the talk, but also walks the walk. In the water, thanks to its innovative (remember, innovation first) hybrid inflation, you’ll find yourself gliding through the water with the greatest of ease. “Hybrid” inflation, loosely translated, means most of your lift sits on your back, with just a little bit swinging around your front. This means you get the great back inflate feeling down below without the awkward turtle face plant while sitting on the surface waiting for your buddy to sort themselves out, what could be better than that?

As if that wasn’t enough, with this BCD you’ll also find plenty of dumps, a knife mount, storage pockets (with HEAPS of room for shenanigans) and non dump-able trim weight pockets. Oceanic has a pretty classic inflate/deflate mechanism, with very solid, beefy, man hand buttons. All in all, I’m unable to fault this piece of kit, it’s durable, well made and just makes a whole lot of sense.

Features:

– 9 kg of integrated weight in the Pinch & Release system and  4.5 kg trim
– Padded backplate features an extended lumbar support to transfer tank weight onto hips, relieving shoulder stress
– Three (3) over pressure relief valves optimize buoyancy control
– Crucial areas constructed of 1000D denier Cordura fabric
– 2 large, zippered pockets with knife mounting grommets
– Adjustable depth-compensating cummerbund

Spend $100 in store during February to go in to win this bad boy!

PADI Rescue diver

Scuba diving is a great sport and like any activity it is not without its risks, and that is what attracts some divers. Other divers pick up the sport for the weightlessness, to see the beautiful marine life, or as an added activity for their vacations. These are all great reasons and they bring a lot of value to our lives as well as make for fun stories of adventure.

Learning how to dive encompasses a whole range of skills and advances your abilities in many ways. Your initial step into the world of diving as a PADI Open Water diver touches briefly on safety, and managing the risk factors we all face as divers. Along with teaching you how to dive. The certification following falls under the PADI Advanced Open Water diver- this is a course geared towards advancing your skills as a diver (surprise surprise). The next step up in your PADI adventure is then a PADI rescue diver course.

Becoming a PADI Rescue Diver brings many benefits, and is the course put in place to further outline safety concerns when diving and to delve deeper into the concept of risk management.

Like all sports or activities, people gain a level of comfort with time and experience, and many times right after that comes complacency. We often read of people tramping that ventured beyond their ability to navigate back, or failed to bring enough water, food, or protective clothing. They may have also not paid attention to the weather and now find themselves in a pretty sticky situation and in need of rescue.

Stepping up to become a PADI Rescue Diver can sound like a daunting task – but nearly anyone can do it. Learning how to manage accidents can have a hugely positive impact on more than one diver. Challenging and rewarding are the 2 words commonly used to describe the PADI rescue course. Expanding your diving knowledge and experience level will give you the confidence and dive ability to not only consider the safety of yourself, but other divers too.

Coming back to the analogy of the tramper, becoming a rescue diver will take you to the next level of experience. You’ll know how much food to bring, what protective clothing to wear and always know to keep a keen eye on the weather. By the end of your PADI Rescue Diver course you’ll have a sound knowledge of basic first aid, be able to provide life support in and out of the water, understand how to recognize stress and be able to manage dive emergencies.

Just do it! The rescue course is serious – but also a hell of a lot of fun. Your confidence will grow right along with your abilities as a diver. And to make things even more tempting, you have a chance to WIN a full PADI Rescue Diver course with Dive HQ from the 1^st of January. No excuses now.

Once you’ve finished your Rescue Diver course, you may decide that now is a good time to change your life and turn your love of diving into a career. The next step up the PADI ladder is into the PADI Pro realm, maybe even becoming a Divemaster is on the cards? See you in the water!

Spend $100 in store to win yourself a Rescue course during the month of January!

Split Fins or Blade Fins

 The design itself is meant to channel the right amount of water with each kick behind you to propel you forward and allowing extra water to slip through the split to ease the strain and work load on the ankles, shins and all other muscles involved in the desired kicking style. The atomic split fins are great for those people that can be exasperated and tired with a stiffer more cumbersome blade fin or for those with lower limb injuries.

Ever dropped a fin while gearing up? Don’t panic these are a fraction positively buoyant and so, no more feeling around on the bottom groping for your fins in the kelp!

 The Atomic split fins come in a range of colours, with the options of rubber or stainless-steel fins straps.

Features include:

• Less Drag, More Thrust, Less Strength is Used
• Latest Technology in Composite Plastic Polymer Materials
• Light Fin (Great Travel Fin)
• Increases Thrust and Reduces Fatigue
• EZ-LOK Squeeze-Style” Quick-Release Buckles
• EZ-LOK: Snap-On-and-Off with Ease, Will-Not Disengage- Accidentally
• Rubber Straps with Large Pull-Tab for Easy Donning and Doffing
• Flexibility and Rigidity for Efficient Propulsion
• Less Air Consumption
• Power Rails: Backbone of the Split Fin, Highly-Resilient, Storing and Releasing Energy with Every Kick
• Semi-Ridged Flex Battens: Control the Precise Wing Shape to Optimize Thrust and Reduce Drag
• Large Surface Area Blade Improves Pivoting, Turning and Alternate Kick Styles
• Thin, Yet Strong and Highly Flexible Hinge Points Cause Blade to React Quick-and-Efficiently
• Anatomically Contoured Foot Pocket Designed to Fit Foot without Stress Points
• Semi-Open Toe for Added Comfort
• Internal Sole Plate, Ridged Platform Beneath-the-Foot, Greater Power Transfer to the Blade
• Soft, Comfortable Open Heel Foot Pocket
• Sizes: Small, Medium, Large or X-Large

Spend $100 in store anytime during December to go into the draw for some awesome fins!

Oceanic Alpha Reg & Octi, Zeagle Plus BCD and Compact Gauges

Jacket style BCD and Regulator combo

 Oceanic’s Alpha 8 Second Stage and SP5 First Stage produce a low-priced, no frills regulator system that offers easy breathing. This regulator is so rugged and economical to maintain (replacement parts are inexpensive). It can be used with air or Nitrox mixtures up to 40 % right out-of-the-box. The Alpha 8’s super sturdy ABS/polycarbonate housing weighs just 170 g and measures 7.4 cm in diameter. The lightweight material and anatomically designed mouthpiece translates into a second stage that won’t cause jaw fatigue. The Alpha 8 second stage is a dependable downstream demand valve design.
The SP-5 first stage regulator offers all divers the opportunity to own a top performing regulator. Repeatedly rated as the best in its class, the SP-5 exceeds both Navy Class A and European CE standards. The SP-5 is a non-balanced flow-by piston designed regulator..

The Zeagle Base BCD is a highly durable jacket style BC. The Base is a unisex front adjustable jacket style BC made from reinforced and fade resistant Cordura 1000 denier nylon material on bladder, shoulder straps, harness and pocket material. The bladder is internally urethane laminated with welded seams for airtight integrity. The BCD’s harness is made up of a dual position adjustable sternum strap, webbed cummerbund with dual adjustment, torso adjustable shoulder straps, adjustable, sternum and waist straps. All straps are equipped with squeeze-style” side-release buckles for quick and easy donning and doffing.
The Base BCD is equipped with two stainless steel and two plastic D-rings along with one retractor D-ring, accessory webbing hook and two hook and loop closure utility pockets for attachment and storage of accessory items. Buoyancy control is made easy with the right shoulder and rear right overpressure relief/pull dump valves and Zeagle’s Power Inflator System with 3/8″ threaded quick-disconnect low pressure hose. The inflator is also connected to a pull dump valve for rapid deflation.
The Base BCD provides 10.9 kg of lift capacity. This Jacket style BCD has an extra soft back pad for increased comfort, a dry weight of 3 kg, and is made in the USA.

Spend $100 in store anytime in November 2018 and go in to win this package

Oceanic Geo 2

The Oceanic Geo 2 is a great entry level wrist mounted computer. So stylish you could wear it in and out of the water. The wide selection of colours will allow you to match your outfit whether it be on a tropical beach or penetrating a wreck at 30 metres under torch light. A simplistic menu orientation and 4 buttons allow for ease of use. Capable of adjusting for enriched air levels right up to 100% O2 with separate gas mixes. For the first-time dive computer buyers, not being restricted to where the high-pressure hose can reach gives you an unfamiliar feeling of freedom.

The display itself is simple and easy to understand (paired with a lovely laminated instruction for use card). Getting in the water needs no effort aside from securely attaching it to your wrist. (or leg we won’t judge you for it.) Whilst in the water, reading the display is very straight forward, everything important is right in front of my eyes. My depth, bottom time, no decompression limit, ascent rate meter and tissue loading graph. Probably my favourite thing is not having to scroll through the entire list of dives or options like those single button operation computers. If I just happen to miss what I’m looking for because I hit the button one time too many I can scroll backwards! Get rid of the console computer and your old G-Shock at the same time and purchase one of these gems.

Features Include:

• The Geo 2.0 Dive Computer is powered by Oceanic’s Exclusive Dual Algorithm™ – Your choice between Pelagic DSAT (Spencer/Powell data basis) or Pelagic Z+ (Buhlmann ZHL-16C data basis)
• Operating Modes: WATCH (Alternate Time, Chrono, Daily Alarm, Countdown Timer), NORM (Air and Nitrox), GAUGE (with run timer) and FREE (tracks calculations to allow switching between NORM and Free)
• User-Friendly Interface with “Step Back” – allows forward and backward navigation through menus and settings
• Switch between up to 2 Nitrox mixes to 100% O2 with no restriction (Gas 1 may be up to 100%, and may be less or greater than Gas 2)
• Stop times <3 minutes – displays minutes & seconds Deep Stop with Countdown Timer – Maybe turned on or off. 2-minute countdown at half your max depth, for dives greater than 80 ft / 25m
• Single button access to “Last Dive” display (max depth& bottom time)
• Data Retention – maintains calculations indefinitely when the battery is changed
• The Geo 2.0 dive computer has an audible alarm with flashing LED light
• 24 dive on-unit log book
• History Mode includes total number of dives, max depth, total dive hours, and lowest temp
• The Geo 2.0 comes with optional PC Interface with OceanLog Download and Settings Upload
• Firmware Auto-Update: download and install the latest firmware – these may be operational improvements or even new features

Spend $100 in store and go into the draw to win one of these awesome computers! Competition running for different prizes, each month, for the next 12 months! Score!

I have been a PADI instructor for 19 years and one of the most common questions asked when people are completing their PADI open water course or looking at purchasing dive equipment in the shop is, “What dive gear do you use?”

Dive Mask:
Hollis M3 mask is a black silicon dive mask that fits extremely well. Designed for technical diving means that reliability and a great seal on your face is a must. The most important thing with scuba diving masks is the way it fits you. Remember that if your mask continuously leaks and hurts your face, you will not enjoy the scuba or free dive. Also the fact that it has a gopro mount that can attach your camera too gives this mask another tick.Learn more…

Snorkel:
Aqualung Impulse 3 snorkel, I first started using the Impulse 2 snorkel 19 years ago once I first started working as a diving instructor in 1998. The only real change between the two snorkels is that the new impulse 3 is more streamlined and modernised.   What Aqualung have done is designed a snorkel that doesn’t let any water into the bore of the snorkel when on the surface. This stops any surface splash and chop. Learn more…

Fins:
Scubapro Nova Wing Fins hit the dive scene in 2014 and made massive splashes, winning scuba lab fins of the year. Just by looking at these dive fins you can see the shape if different from traditional fins. In the water it feels like you are hardly wearing fins. Nearly all of the dive instructors in the shop now wear these fins. That tells you a lot. Learn more…

Wetsuit:
Aqualung Solafx Wetsuit is a warm suit that meets all my diving needs. I used to be a real hunter gatherer and was always quite rough on the wetsuits. I used to have a Southern Ocean front entry suit and always loved it. For many years I have looked for something similar but never could find it. I had a Beuchat comfort 4 wetsuit for about 3 years before moving to the Solafx. I am still a fan of the Beuchat suits and still use a Beuchat Rocksea Comp open cell spearo suit for freediving and spearfishing. The great thing about the Solafx suit is its 8mm thickness through its core and 7mm around your arms and legs with a super flexible neoprene. Learn more…

Dive Regulator:
I use four different dive regulators, each have a different purpose for the type of diving that I am doing. For technical diving I use a Hollis 200LX, for a stage O2 regulator (over 40% oxygen) I use an oxygen clean Apeks XTX50, for my other stage (under 40% oxygen) I use a Hollis 500SE and lastly for recreational diving I use the Aqualung legend LX regulator and legend octi. Many years of manufacturing has gone into this dive regulator and as a high end product it does not disappoint from its performance underwater at all depths to the ergonomic design that makes the user experience better and easier to use underwater.  Learn more…

Dive Computer:
Shearwater Perdix AI Dive Computer is in a class of its own. Shearwater has been a well-known brand to technical divers for years now and they just get better and better. Colour screen that is perfect for low visibility, links to multiple air transmitter, can be used for recreational, technical and even a backup for your rebreather computer. I can keep going on about this dive computer but take a look at its specs and it says it all. Learn more…

BCD:
Hollis HTS2 harness with integrated weight pockets work so well for me. It offers the flexibility to be used with single, twin, side mount and my Hollis Explorer rebreather. The Hollis technical range is a modulated system that lets you set your harness and wing up to meet your requirements. The other good thing is that the design gives you lots of room around your front and is uncluttered. You really do need to come into Dive HQ Christchurch to see exactly what I mean. Learn more…

Feel free to ask me any questions relating to the dive gear that I use.
Cheers
Richard

Meet Henry Thorp, who works for Dive HQ Christchurch as a Dive Instructor and Dive Shop Retail Superstar. Henry qualified as an Instructor with Dive HQ Christchurch, completing his Diploma in Scuba Diving in 2017.

 Henry can regularly be found teaching our Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Spearfishing  Students both locally and at Kaikoura.

When he’s not teaching, Henry will be found working in our dive shop and providing his technical  expertise and unending enthusiasm to help our customers make the best choice of gear to suit their  individual diving  needs.

Henrys favourite spearfishing site is off Banks Peninsula in the many bays both North and South of ‘The Heads’.

Henry dives from shore and from boat in order to access a wide range of dive sites.

The Bays around the Akaroa Heads provide a range of habitats with boulders and cracks on the bottom for Crayfish, weed beds for Butterfish and exposed pinnacles for Moki and Blue Cod.

The challenge of getting the visibility right makes these dive sites even more rewarding.  Henry loves the peacefulness of spearfishing.  Asked about his  favourite aspect of spearfishing, Henry explained that he likes the selectiveness spearfishing provides, which fish to spear and when and where to spear… It’s a good days diving for Henry when everything comes together and everyone goes  home with a feed.

Check out our spearfishing courses on line Here     http://www.divehqscuba.co.nz/spearfishing

Interested in making diving your job? 

Our August intake of the Diploma of Scuba Diving is filling up fast. This is a full time, one year course that provides everything you need to work in a dive related industry or to become a dive expert while you decide on your next move. You can find out more about this Here  https://www.diveskiworld.co.nz/tertiary-courses

Interested? Then call me on 0800 348347 or email me at richard@divehqscuba.co.nz or my mobile 0274 348347, and we can organise a meeting to chat it though.