notes - Aquaventure Scuba Diving Club

DAn europe news - organo ufficiale del Divers Alert network europe Periodico trimestrale - Aut. trib. Pescara n. 19/91 del 4/2/94 - Anno 2012 - n.1
arter 2012)
Alert Diver
Digital Magazine
PsychologicAl
reActions AnD scubA
Diving
Description of a Treatment
The Pleasure of safeTy
Wellness and Underwater
Activities
in the
chAmber
How does a 60
meter dive on air
really feel?
EUROPEAN EDITION
1 /2012
# 47
Diving
insurAnce:
A Choice or a
Must?
1
Cover photo by Christian Skauge

Write to us!
editor@alertdiver.eu
or mail to:
Editor, Alert Diver magazine
c/o DAN Europe Foundation
Casella Postale 77 - 64026
Roseto degli Abruzzi - Italy
Alert Diver
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
Publisher
DAN Europe Foundation
Casella Postale 77
64026 Roseto degli Abruzzi - Italy
Editor-in-chief
Prof. Alessandro Marroni, M.D.
Managing Editor
Dr. Nuccia De Angelis
Editors
Cristian Pellegrini, Laura Marroni,
Franca Di Muzio
Graphic Designer
Laura Volpe
Layout
Jenny Brover, Francesca Di Ferdinando
Contributors to this issue
Annart
Julian Boffa
Francois Burman
Elizabeth Cook
Maria Luisa Gargiulo
David Haas
Rick Layton
Rheana Murray
Massimo Pieri
Bryon Saxton
Christian Skauge
Richard D. Vann
Alert Diver is published quarterly (four times yearly) by DAN Europe Foundation.
Alert Diver is a DAN Europe membership benefit.
Our Translators
Croatian Ivan Ivicevic
Darko Kovacevic
Czech Klement Hartinger
Danish Olav Balslev
Dutch Els Knaapen
English Davide Arnold
Lamagni
Estonian Markko Junolainen
Tuuli Piirsalu
Finnish JP Vuorio
French Gwendolyn Hayden
German Stefanie Staudinger
Greek Viviana Delidaki
Hungarian László Fogarasi
Italian Maria Grazia
Montanucci
Polish Jaroslaw Woch
Portuguese Tiago Fernandes
Slovenian Igor Urh
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Murat Egi
Inquiries or letters may be edited for clarity and length. All letters will be considered for publication.
Text, illustrations or photographs in Alert Diver may not be reproduced or reprinted without the expressed consent of
DAN Europe Foundation and its authors, artists and photographers.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
3

Contents
Editorial 6
letters to the editor 8
Bulletin Board
the hyperbaric centres of the DAn europe
network – serbia 10
By Nuccia De Angelis
try-diving in malta with DAn team 14
Partnerships 16
Dive shows 2011/2012 18
Prepared Diver
breathless on the bottom 20
DAN Reviews Out-of-Air Accidents and Incidents
By Rick Layton
Medical Line
scuba exercises help stroke survivor recover 26
By Bryon Saxton
Psychological reactions and scuba diving,
description of a treatment 28
By Maria Luisa Gargiulo
Features
Diving the uss barometer 36
By Richard Vann
in the chamber 40
By Christian Skauge
“nuts & bolts” 46
Our Program for the Maintenance of Recompression
Chambers
By Francois Burman
14
46
20
10
lobster divers dying in honduras, struck with
paralysis and decompression illness 48
By Rheana Murray
Success Stories
buddy diving and Dcs: 50
an experience among friends
By DAN Europe Staff
DAN Research
the pleasure of safety 52
Wellness & underwater activities in the Maldives
By Cristian Pellegrini
Travel notes by Massimo Pieri
A rare and precious contribution for
DAn research 59
By DAN Europe Staff
Curiosities from the Underwater World
underwater Painting, an Aquatic Art 60
By Annart
Insurance Matters
Diving insurance: A choice or A must? 62
By Julian Boffa
Sea Stories
mutual respect 68
Do the Guadalupe White Sharks Coexist with Pinnipeds?
By David Haas
turtle islands marine Park 72
By Elizabeth Cook
50
68
72
52
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
5

8
Letters to the editor
letters to the editor
Oxygen First Aid for Scuba
Diving Injuries represents
entry-level training to
educate the general diving
(and qualified non-diving)
public to better recognise
possible dive-related
injuries and to provide
emergency oxygen first aid
while activating the local
emergency medical services
(EMS) and / or arranging for
evacuation to the nearest
available medical facility.
More info
about
the course
oxygen First Aid: the big difference
Last January 1st, like each year for the past few ones, I received
a call from my friend Javier to wish me all the best for 2012 and to
notify me he had just became the grandfather of a precious little girl.
His daughter - the little girl’s mother - asked him to give me a call
to notify me the birth of her daughter. She told him: “you must let
Ramon know; if it would not have been for him, you would never had
been able to meet her…”
All started a few years ago… Back then, I was working as the head
of operations of a scuba diving center at the Costa Brava - Girona,
Spain. I had just finished diving with some students and while I
was taking off the gear aboard the center’s boat, I heard somebody
screaming. I looked over and saw a couple on a speed boat who
were holding something that was in the water. I jumped on the
auxiliary boat and went as fast as I could towards them.
When I came near their boat, I saw they were holding the arm of a
person whose body was entirely immersed. They informed me they
found him floating. I seized him quickly and we lifted him on board of
my boat.
He was not breathing and I could not detect his pulse. His eyes
were half open with mydriatic pupils…. I did not know at that point
how long he had been in the water; probably a few hours, because
he still looked good in spite of the lividity of his face… I did not think
twice: instinctively I gave him a few rescue breaths and started CPR
on him. A few minutes passed and I noticed some changes in his
physical appearance. That prompted me to yell at the people aboard
the diving center boat to start quickly preparing the DAN oxygen
equipment, which is a permanent fixture onboard, while I was
heading towards it at full speed.
I gave instructions to the staff on board to call (channel#16 – phone
call 112) for the EMS to be at the harbour urgently. I requested for
someone to come with me and take us to the harbour as fast as
possible. In the meantime, I kept giving the Oxygen First Aid to the
patient, who had not regained spontaneous breathing yet. I kept
alternating chest compressions with ventilations using the oronasal
resuscitation mask connected to a constant oxygen flow. His gaze
was fixed without giving any signs indicating that he was still alive,
except the change in color and some little convulsions. I thought
that maybe all these efforts were in vain or that, in the best of cases,
he would come out alive but he would be a vegetable for the rest of his
life, living in a coma for ever… Nonetheless I decided to count on him
living, as long as I could keep doing what I was doing with every ounce
of my strength. Practicing CPR, together with the terrible stress of the
moment, can be exhausting. Fortunately the trip to the harbour was
short.
When we got there, thanks to the fact that they had been previously
alerted, we found the emergency medical services waiting for us; they
took over caring for the victim. I gave them the little information I had
and mentally said my goodbyes, with the certainty that I would never
see him again.
About 10 days later, I received a phone call. A man’s voice identified
himself as Javier and he told me he was the man I had rescued. He
explained he had come out of a coma and as soon as he could speak,
requested to be told what had happened. He could not remember
anything except he had been practicing apnea at a depth of about -30
meters when he suffered syncope while ascending. The next thing he
remembered was waking up in the hospital. As soon as he was able to
do so, he wanted to thank me personally. He asked if he could come to
visit me with his wife and his two daughters (ages 15 and 16).
It was a very emotional meeting. He mentioned that he practiced
apnea because he thought scuba diving was a very dangerous
activity... needless to say, I made sure to correct his erroneous
conception. He later ended up taking a diving course with me, together
with his older daughter.
As a result of that incident, a very solid friendship was born which we
perpetuate and celebrate, year after year, especially at Christmas.
Javier and his family say that they will be forever grateful to all people
who took part in his miraculous recuperation, without collateral
damages.
As for me, I would like to extend my gratitude to the solid training
that DAN gave me and underline the fact that giving Oxygen First Aid
made, without a doubt, a great difference.
ramon verdaguer
DAn instructor trAiner # 26255
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 9

ulletin board
Updates on ongoing projects
The hyperbaric
Centres of the
DaN europe
Network –
serbia
By Nuccia De Angelis
The Hyperbaric Centres DAN Europe relies on in
case of emergency have been chosen around the
world for their outstanding technical specifications,
the training of their medical personnel and 24/7
availability.
We begin this review with Serbia, where Prof.
Alessandro Marroni has recently gone to coordinate
the organisation of the 38th Congress of the
European Underwater and Baromedical Society
(EUBS) and of the 8th DAN Day, which are to take
place simultaneously in Belgrade on September 11-
16 2012.
Serbia has represented an important link between
Eastern and Western Europe. It is situated in the
centre of the Balkan Peninsula, in the southeast
of the European continent. The north of Serbia
borders with Central Europe, but because of its
position and climate, it can be considered for all
intents and purposes a Mediterranean region.
Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is one of the oldest
cities in Europe. Strategically situated in the point
of confluence of the two Sava and Danube rivers,
it is internationally known as the “Gateway to the
Balkans” and the “Door to Central Europe”.
The three DAN Europe Network hyperbaric centres
managed by the Centre for Hyperbaric Medicine
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
www.eubs2012.org/
eubs meeting
& DAn Divers Day
to be held next
september in
belgrade
The 38th Annual Scientific
Meeting of the European
Underwater and Baromedical
Society (EUBS) will take place
in Belgrade (Serbia), from
September 11-16, 2012
We invite you to visit the EUBS
2012 website. There you can
check the preliminary programme
and register for the meeting.
We also invite you to the 8th
DAN DIVERS DAY, a recreational
diving medicine symposium and
a EUBS meeting satellite event.
Participation is free of charge.
are located in Baniza at the Orthopaedic Institute; in
Belgrade, in the department of Histophysiology of the
University Policlinic and in Vrnjacka Banja, in a spa
complex.
Mile Zaric can be considered the deus ex machina of
Serbian Baromedicine. In 1993 he decided to boost
the progress of hyperbaric medicine in his country by
activating multi-seat chambers with the most ample
therapeutic capacity. A mechanical engineer and
owner of plastics industries, the inventor of special
seals and pneumatic lifting systems for which he
holds the patents, Zaric was also an expert diver,
and in that capacity knew of the opportunities offered
by hyperbaric medicine in therapy. This was in the
aftermath of the war, with many wounded people,
also affected by traumas and amputations risking
infections because of the pharmaceutical embargo:
hyperbaric therapy could surely help. Mile Zaric
bought a multi-person Comex chamber and began
his work, more humanitarian than commercial. Then,
in 1994, the collaboration with Dr. Nicola Dekleva
gave a huge push to hyperbaric medicine, when
a symposium was held with attending speakers of
international renown, sharing knowledge with over
400 attending Serbian doctors. In the same year
the first Hyperbaric Centre opened in the Baniza
Orthopaedic Hospital, which in 1996 also gained the
sponsorship of the Health Insurance Fund. From
that moment it was an uphill struggle until 1997, with
the constitution of the Baromedicine School at the
Medicine Faculty of Belgrade University of which
Prof. Alessandro Marroni has been the international
coordinator. Initially, the students of the School,
already graduated and specialised in medicine,
came from Serbia and Montenegro but it aimed
at internationality. Unfortunately, the war abruptly
interrupted the activities of the School which wasn’t
able to start fully functioning until 2007, but this time
with the international characteristics which it aimed
at from the start. The Serbian students have been
joined by ones from Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and
Bulgaria. An international e-learning system is shared
with the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.
In the meantime, the Baniza Hyperbaric Centre had
been working around the clock, with more than 60
patients a day. A second Centre was starting to prove
necessary, and this was inaugurated in Belgrade
in 2008 in the Histophysiology Department of the
University Policlinic.
11

ulletin board
Updates on ongoing projects
Partnerships
DAN Research & COUSTEAU Divers
The two not-for-profit organisations have joined forces and
actively cooperate in Participative Science projects, where
research on diving physiology and diving medicine meet study
and conservation of the marine environment.
To get involved, or for more info, write to:
dsl@daneurope.org
info@cousteaudivers.org
The Changing Oceans Expedition
DAN Europe is proud to be friends with the Changing Oceans
Expedition, a ten-year adventure through the world’s most
important marine eco-regions, to bring the world the latest
update information on the state of our oceans. DAN has
donated to the friends of the Changing Oceans crew a Doppler
Ultrasound Device and a Dive Data Recorder. These tools will
let them detect and register bubbles moving in the blood vessels
after their dives. The detection of bubbles will be made according
to the DAN DSL (Diving Safety Laboratory) standards. The DSL
will collect the data and use these information to update the
Research database.
More info: www.changingoceans.org
Life for Madagascar
DAN supports a Hospital construction project on the
remote island of Nosy Be, Madagascar. The project
is run by not-for-profit organisation Life
for Madagascar. The Hospital will
include a hyperbaric centre.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
Deep Pool in Conflans Saint-Honorine
(Paris area)
DAN and Aquatic Centre in Conflans (Paris area) have recently
signed a partnership agreement based on scientific research.
Under this partnership, divers who are active DAN members, will
benefit from reductions on the admittance prices to the deep pool
(20 metres depth).
• For any dive bought, the second dive is offered for free
• A book of 10 dives costs € 119.50 instead of 150 € (20%
discount)
About the Aquatic Center in Conflans Sainte
Honorine
Since 2001, the aquatic center hosts nearly 20,000 divers
per year, with the only deep pool (20m) in the Paris region.
For more information: www.vert-marine.com
17

ulletin board
Updates on ongoing projects
Dive Shows 2011/2012
Dive 2011 - Birmingham, UK
22-23 October 2011
Dive Show Copehagen
20-22 January 2012
Vildmarksmässan -
Stockholm, Sweden
8 - 11 March 2012
Salon de la Plongée - Paris
13-16 January 2012
Underwater Adventure -
Warsaw, Poland
4-5 February 2012
MATKA - Helsinki, Finland
19-22 January 2012
DAN
Was
There!
Duikvaker - Netherlands
4-5 February 2012
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
BOOT - Messe Düsseldorf
21-29 January 2012
Medex - Istambul, Turkey
5-8 April January 2012
London Dive Show 2012
31 March - 1 April 2012
Eudishow 2012 - Milano, Italy
16-19 February 2012
Dive Travel Show - Madrid, Spain
24 - 25 March 2012
Duikshow - Antwerp, Belgium
31 March - 1 April 2012
Cornella Dive Show - Barcelona, Spain
16-18 March 2012
19

Prepared Diver
Breathless
on the Bottom
DaN reviews out-of-air
accidents and Incidents
By Rick Layton
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
Years ago a cave diver put something
into perspective for me: You can go
weeks without food, days without water,
but only minutes without air.
That pretty much sums up how critical
it is for us to ensure we have an adequate
air supply - and back-up breathing
capability - before we drop into the
depths.
Whether we’re exploring the dark recesses
of a cave system or roaming a
sunny reef in 20 feet (6 meters) of crystal-clear
water, suddenly running out
of air presents a problem we must address
right away. When divers are unable
to deal successfully with such an
event, the outcome can be fatal. In this
issue, we take a look at some out-of-air
emergencies.
The nature of the problem
The sea can be particularly unforgiving
of divers’ mistakes: sometimes we
don’t get second chances. The diving
world reported 153 fatalities in 2003.
According to the DAN Report on Decompression
Illness, Diving Fatalities
and Project Dive Exploration (the 2005
edition, based on 2003 data), loss of
breathing gas supply was a problem in
at least 29 (nearly one-fifth) of those accidents
for 2003.
As the report states, “Among these
were five solo divers who could not get
help. In 15 cases, buddies separated
intentionally or lost contact before running
out of air. In two cases, divers did
not check their gas supplies before
their dives and started diving with nearly
empty tanks.
In one case, the diver used a rebreather
that was so poorly maintained such that
oxygen was not delivered due to a par-
tial obstruction of the supply line. One
diver consumed nearly all of his gas on
the way into a cave.”
This is indication that we can benefit by
considering the prospects of out-of-air
emergencies. Different errors and problems
have left divers in the lurch when
it comes to breathing gas.
Consider the following “Top Ten Traps”
that lead divers to an out-of-air scenario:
1. Distraction; lacking situational (air
supply) awareness
2. Environmental considerations such
as: exceeding planned depth, encountering
currents, cold exposure,
entanglements, and narcosis
3. Regulator malfunction due to poor
maintenance - or none
4. Failures to O-ring, hose and diaphragm
5. Free-flow due to sand, foreign particles
or ice formation
6. Erroneous (or lack of) pressure
gauge readings and alarms
7. Improper rigging of equipment
8. Damage caused by impact, abrasion
or sharp objects
9. Failed mouthpieces
10. Inadequate gas supply or an improper
fill.
A diver is lucky when he receives warning
of an impending breathing gas
problem. A free-flow, visible air leak or
hard-to-breathe regulator may provide
enough warning for a diver to make a
normal ascent to the surface before he
runs out of air completely. It’s quite a
different situation when an attempt to
take a breath is answered with a gulp
of water or nothing at all. All too often,
a diver in that situation makes a rapid
ascent, and the outcome sometimes
isn’t pretty.
21

Prepared Diver
The unsuspecting diver
If you don’t think an out-of-air emergency
can happen to you, think again.
Even a highly qualified and experienced
diver can run into trouble, and if
he isn’t prepared, the price paid can be
high. Such was the case for an experienced
42-year-old technical diver and
dive instructor who made a solo shore
entry so he could test out a rebreather.
According to the DAN report, the diver
ran out of air, and, having no backup
breathing equipment, he made a rapid
ascent to the surface. He was later
found on the bottom, unconscious and
with his mouthpiece out of his mouth.
The cause of death was listed as
“drowning due to air embolism, rapid
ascent and insufficient gas”.
It is unclear from the report precisely
what went wrong on this dive. The diver
may have reasoned that there was little
danger diving alone, that it would
be just a quick dive; or perhaps he reasoned
that his skills greatly exceeded
the demands of the intended dive, and
as such, precautions such as a backup
gas supply or buddy were simply unnecessary.
As this accident illustrates,
we should never overestimate our capabilities
or underestimate the need to
follow established safety protocols.
A fatal distraction?
Our next accident involves an experienced
47-year-old rescue diver who was
making an underwater video on a wreck.
To keep the audio track of his recording
clear, the diver turned off all the alarms
on his dive computer. Throughout the
dive, his buddy was engaged in similar
activity on the other side of the wreck.
The diver descended to a depth of 148
feet (44 meters). Some 16 minutes into
the dive, he realized he was out of air.
He made a rapid ascent up the anchor
line from 140 feet (42 meters) to 60
feet (18 meters). There, the divemaster
tried to assist him.
For some reason, however, the diver
refused to take an alternate air source
and appeared confused. The divemaster
assisted him to the surface. At this
point, he lost consciousness and could
not be revived. The cause of death was
listed as “air embolism due to rapid ascent,
insufficient air.”
After reading this report, we might wonder
if the diver could have avoided the
rapid ascent if he had not disabled the
alarms on his dive computer. He was
most likely focused on filming, and this
may have distracted him from monitoring
his air supply. With ample warning
of low air, the diver might have made
a normal ascent without incident. We’ll
never know for certain, but the incident
reminds us to take advantage of all the
tools available for maintaining situational
awareness when diving.
Planning is essential
When we tackle more demanding dive
environments, it is absolutely essential
to plan our dives carefully and to follow
the safety procedures established so
we can minimize the risks. This is especially
true when it comes to air supply
and diving in overhead environments.
Take the case of the 33-year-old diver
with 10 years’ diving experience. He was
penetrating a deep wreck with a buddy,
and, at some point, the two became
separated. When the diver failed to surface
at the prearranged time, recovery
divers searched for him. Later that day,
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
they found the body in the cargo hold of
the ship. His tank was empty. The report
notes that he had not used any safety
line for the wreck penetration.
Like the event of the diver disabling his
computer alarm, this accident highlights
the need to follow rigid safety protocols.
When an immediate ascent is not possible
- as in an overhead environment
like this shipwreck - divers must have
adequate air to sort through any emergency
that occurs underwater. Had the
diver planned more carefully, and if he
had used a line to follow out, he may
have exited the wreck before running
out of air.
Air-share skills and
preparedness
Preparedness for diving has many facets.
A diver must be prepared not only
with adequate air, but also with skills,
experience and training equal to the demands
of the planned dive. We all do
well to recognize that unused skills will
soon erode. For the infrequent diver,
that suggests the need to take a little
extra time and effort to sharpen those
skills and verify that all equipment is
“good to go.” Failure to do so surely
tempts fate.
That may have been the case for a
57-year-old open water-certified diver
who had more than 30 years of diving
experience, but who went diving infrequently.
Most of his dives had been
made in fresh water, but on this occasion,
it was a boat dive in the ocean.
The diver and his buddy entered the
water and descended to a depth of
about 80 feet (24 meters). Some 15
minutes later, he signaled to his buddy
that he was out of air, and he pulled his
buddy’s regulator from his mouth.
23

medical line
Psychological reactions and
scuba diving, description of a
treatment
by Dr. Maria Luisa Gargiulo, Psychotherapist Psychologist (1)
28
NOTES
(1) A diver and psychotherapeutic psychologist
for more than 15 years, she lives and
works in Rome as a clinical psychologist
and educator in the diving sector.
(2) Venza, Capodieci, Gargiulo, Lo Verso,
2006
(3) Gargiulo, 2003 b
(4) Capodieci, 2001
(5) Gargiulo, 2011
(6) Gargiulo, 2002
(7) Gargiulo, 2003 a
The psychological aspect of underwater activities is
an important domain (2): scuba diving requires a high
degree of adaptability in behaviour. From the sports
psychology aspect, the practice of diving is characterized
by physical performance of long duration, a
medium level of effort and a necessity for the right
mental equilibrium in activation, concentration and
relaxation.
During open water dives, divers are faced with a variety
of events, their reaction to the various circumstances
therefore constitute a prevailing variable in
the management of a dive.
Reactions to danger and situations of presumed
threat are as important for a diver as technical skills,
like knowing how to handle equipment and how to
plan a dive properly.
Learning to react adequately in situations of tension
or fear is considered truly indispensable, to the extent
that all underwater training courses should teach how
to deal with these emotional states, as hyperbaric
environments do not allow divers to behave as you
would on dry land (3). In fact escape, interrupting a
dive and getting quickly out of the water, are all forms
of behaviour, which if not thoughtfully carried out,
would imperil the health of a diver and sometimes
that of his or her buddies.
Learning to handle progressively higher levels of
stress, whilst maintaining lucidity and control over a
situation is something that comes gradually and requires
patience. It should be developed just like emotional
and behavioural skills, which are strictly connected
to the training of scuba divers (4).
Besides, learning to recognise one’s limits and recognise
one’s feelings (5) allows divers to avoid difficult
situations when not in the best of psychological conditions.
Those who are capable of detecting a temporary
sensation of inefficiency, insecurity or lack of
concentration can decide to avoid a dive, or to plan it
appropriately to their condition (6).
A profound knowledge of oneself and the habit of a
healthy internal dialogue in fact seem the best conditions
to face the small and big tension that diving can
have in store for us (7).
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 29

medical line
Psychologists can play an important role in the prevention of risk and in the management
of behaviour affecting diving security. They can help divers solve psychological
problems following traumas, including those connected to underwater
accidents.
Diving and stress factors
Stress factors are interpersonal environmental stimuli which require the organism
to adapt from a bio-psycho-social point of view. The way a person reacts to
an event is called adaptation; it includes cognitive strategies, emotional
responses and interpersonal resources. In dives, many variables can concur to
create a stressful underwater situation. These may be environmental events,
equipment failures and the behaviour of other people.
But, besides these situational elements, there are other variables which we could
divide between risk factors and protection factors. They condition divers’ reactions,
affecting the pre-existing sensation of subjective security. This
is also conditioned by elements of terrestrial life which can strongly affect divers’
reactions to unexpected events.
The perception of a danger causes the organism to predispose the activation of a
complex reaction with various outcomes, on the mental and physical plane, managed
by a set of organs and apparatuses which include the nervous, hormones,
endocrines and circulation systems, the muscle structure, sense organs, etc. The
mind contributes acting as an interface between the organism and the environment,
with reactions, emotions, thoughts, etc. This bio-psychic organization is
generically called the Fight or Flight System.
Fear is the emotional, lived aspect of a complex reaction, with specific characteristics
and changes in the mind and body, selected in millennia of evolution,
which the body enacts to best tackle dangers. Automatic reactions, which are
not mediated by learning and conscious reasoning, lead to being able to manage
a situation, distancing the body from the apparent threat, and thus fleeing
as the organism finds attack inconvenient. That helps to explain the reaction of
escaping or the temptation to escape which can sometimes be felt underwater.
Therefore the problem is not that of being scared or alarmed, but of being able to
consciously handle the archaic tendencies connected to this state.
Fear is triggered by activation level (arousal) i.e. the ability to mobilise at an occurrence.
This indicates that certain events are interpreted as being dangerous to
the organism. With training and the addition of new emotional experiences, new
meaning can be added to events, and this can modify our activation level and our
consequent reaction.
30
To feel safe is not the same thing as being effectively safe, but our behaviour
depends most often on the subjective evaluation of safety and danger (8).
Many underwater accidents are linked to behaviour management in the presence
of a danger (real or imaginary).
In particular, a high level of pre-existing anxiety increases the level of alarm with
which the dive is tackled, making it difficult for a person to exercise rational control
and reflect before acting. We can also see how other non-diving variables
condition the way we behave in water. There are aspects of our terrestrial life
which can affect the sensation of safety or vulnerability in diving, if these affect
the general system of certainties in life (9).
A personal predisposition to manage events in an alarmed manner and to feel in
danger can thus generate a background level of anxiety, which poorly disposes
a person to handing a diving experience. In fact, the presence of an anxiety disorder,
especially if badly compensated for, should be at least a transitory reason
for not diving, and it should certainly suggest a need to empower all those mental
capacities which are needed in the management of emotional and mental
states, even through specific training.
In particular, some anxiety disorders are characterised by a fear of losing control,
from a self-appraisal of incapacity in the presence of a threat, and the tendency
to imagine one’s imminent reaction to danger, evoking and concentrating on the
various bodily sensations which are normally connected to a state of arousal.
This mechanism is called anticipatory anxiety, and leads people to try
to control their fear level, which thus increases because the person merely reevokes,
amplifies and dilates their reactions over time, being frightened by what
they ascertain, thus generating a pathogenic loop.
Secretly, many divers have experienced fear during diving, small traumas which
have afterwards generated a difficult psychological situation. This is an ambivalent
sensation that divers are most often ashamed of: on the one hand a person
tries to avoid situations similar to the ones that had frightened them, on the other,
their thoughts continue to be attracted to recollections of sensations or other
fear-generating elements.
Following problematic situations, counselling or psychological rehabilitation sessions
are effective, based on cognitive-behavioural methods such as EMDR (10)
(Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a method which in the clini-
NOTES
(8) Aquilar, Del Castello, 1998
(9) Liotti, 2001
(10) Alfieri, 2009
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 31

medical line
cal case described I have adapted to a diving scenario.
Such methods are also useful in bouts of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (11)
(PTSD) or adaptation disorders. (12). These conditions can arise following unpleasant
or stressing diving experiences of various nature, and are described
in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (13) (DSM IV TR),
which lists and defines disorders according to the criteria adopted by the international
clinical community.
clinical case
The patient is a 25-year old male, whom at the time of the stressful event was
working as an underwater guide, which he’d been doing for about two years.
The man came to me for a psychotherapeutic consultation after about two years
of clinically significant problems, which were heavily affecting his lifestyle.
The main request was help for improvement in the quality of life and health, the
possibility of taking up diving again, even if just recreationally.
The symptoms first appeared at the beginning of a circa 27-metre ascent, just
after leaving the seabed, far enough away from it for it to be out of sight, like the
surface.
The episode was recounted to me and defined as a panic attack, with the loss
of the mask. The main symptoms of the ensuing period recalled to me were a
persistent impossibility to go diving, symptoms of social isolation, anxiety, a depressed
mood. Symptoms of anxiety such as agoraphobia had become consolidated
and increased in the year after the accident, accompanied by a reduction
in social activities and working hours.
It was at that time that the man consulted a psychiatrist with whom he began
a course of pharmacological treatment with Escitalopram 20 mg (14) a day, a
therapy still in course a year later, at the time of the psychotherapy consultation
with me.
32
The symptoms present at the time of my consultation were: difficulty in getting to
sleep, frequent states of anxiety, preoccupation for one’s state of health (forced
breathing), a sense of respiratory constriction; avoidance of highly stressful and
involving situations, especially when connected with evaluation and performance.
The experience of underwater panic had led to a traumatic event
in a hostile environment incompatible with the behavioural reaction the patient
had, and with the consequent sensation of danger the diver had exposed himself
to through his own behaviour.
A first reconstruction revealed that the panic attack had led to an anticipatory
anxiety mechanism which led the person to a progressive limitation on
behaviour and habits in life. The first avoidance had involved the person’s social
life, strongly connected to identity (of diver and guide). This had engendered a
depressive reaction, connecting giving up work and social life with feelings of
defeat, shame, incapacity and secretiveness.
There was an anxiety episode with panic in remote anamnesis in a situation
not connected to diving, with a subjective experience of “fear of not making
it” and a cognitive organisation of a phobic nature (15) (characterised by periods
of constraint a fear of physical inadequacy to effort).
In recent anamnesis, in the days immediately preceding the dive, the
person had had to face a very important interpersonal conflict, a choice between
a constraint on activity and the risk of abandonment.
Treatment lasted 15 sessions, and was carried out with individual cognitive-behavioural
psychotherapy. After the assessment phase we proceeded with the
identification of disturbing recollections and their desensitisation, through the
EMDR protocol (16), an activity which took up about half of the sessions. In particular,
three different recollections of images were desensitised, non-elaborated
recollections of as many frightening moments of the event, which had been connected
to the psycho-physical response of anxiety. These images were still viv-
NOTES
(11) Diagnostic criteria of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder: a person has experienced or witnessed
an event or events which have implied death, the
risk of death, severe injury, or a threat to their
physical well-being or that of others. The person’s
response included intense fear, symptoms of
disempowerment or horror. The traumatic event is
relived persistently in one or more of the following
ways: intrusive recollections, unpleasant recurring
dreams of the event, action or feelings as if the
event was happening again (flash backs), difficulty
in getting or staying asleep, irritability, difficulty in
concentration, hyper-vigilance. The duration of
the disorder is over a month. The disorder causes
clinically significant disturbance. The disorder may
be acute, if the symptoms last for less than three
months, or chronic, if they last three months or
more.
(12) Adaptation disorders bring about the development
of emotional and behavioural symptoms in
response to one or more identifiable stress factors,
which manifest from the beginning of the stressful
event which caused the maladaptive reaction
There can be several variations in symptoms: with
anxiety, depression, change in conduct or a mixed
alternation of emotion and conduct.
(13) American Psychiatric Association, 2001
(14) Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor
(15) Bara, 1996
(16) This is a method devised by American psychologist
Francine Shapiro in 1987. Originally conceived
to help people with PTSD, it was first used
with war veterans. Subsequently, the method was
refined both conceptually and empirically, increasing
its scope to the treatment of other disorders
and varying its application techniques to stimuli
other than visual ones, such as tactile and auditory
ones. It is now used in nearly every country in
the world. The use of neuroimaging techniques is
shedding light on the neural correlation of psychotherapy,
revealing its neurobiological effects on
cerebral functions. The method is currently used
in the psychotherapies, especially the behavioural
and cognitive kind, through a rather rigorous eightphase
protocol.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 33

Features
Diving the
uss Barometer
By Richard Vann
36
Diver shayne Pemberton of richardson,
texas, was messing around in
his turtle pond. he filled a jar with
water, raised the closed end above
the surface of the pond, and a fish
swam up into the jar. this got him
thinking. What if the jar were 10 feet
(3 meters) in diameter, 60 feet (18 m)
long and filled with sea water? suppose
the open end were under water
and the closed end above sea level.
What would be the pressure at sea
level inside the jar? What would happen
if a diver swam up into the jar?
A jar of water 60 feet tall is like a mercury
barometer used to measure atmospheric
pressure. The actual barometer
is a glass tube about a quarter of an
inch (6.35mm) in diameter, filled with
mercury with its open end inverted in a
small pool of mercury (see Figure 1).
The mercury in the upper end of the tube
falls away from its sealed top by about
an inch and hangs there at a height of
about 30 inches (76 cm) above the surface
of the mercury pool. The length of
the column is equivalent to a pressure -
the atmospheric or barometric pressure
- 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute
(psia). If a storm passes through or the
barometer is carried up a mountain
(that’s what the “natural philosophers”
did during the 1600s), the height of the
mercury column falls as the barometric
pressure drops.
The mercury column stands above the
pool of mercury because the atmos-
pheric pressure on the surface of the
pool pushes it up the tube. The “empty”
headspace at the top is really filled
with mercury vapor.
To illustrate this point, you could make
a barometer with sea water instead of
mercury (avoid physical contact with
mercury, as it is toxic). If the closed
end of a seawater-filled tube were
gradually raised above sea level, it
would remain completely filled with
water until the height reached 33 feet
(10 m). Above this height, the sea water
would pull away from the end of
the tube, hang at 33 feet and would
rise no further, no matter how high the
tube was raised. If the tube were large
enough to dive in, a diver would note
that the pressure decreased as he or
she ascended.
Figure 1:
Simple mercury (Hg) barometer.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 37

Features
In the Chamber
Text and photos: Christian Skauge (www.scubapixel.com)
How does a 60 meter dive on
air really feel?
The depth gauge says 60.2
meters, and my voice sounds
like Donald Duck’s. My fingers
are so numb they feel like they
belong to someone else and I
get disoriented just by turning
my head – it feels like it keeps
spinning.
40
A trip to the local decompression chamber
will teach divers a valuable lesson
about the dangers of the deep.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 41

Features
These are symptoms you are likely to get while diving, if you venture
too deep or have the wrong gas in your tanks. It goes without
saying that it would not be a good experience under water, not to
mention downright dangerous. Luckily, we are not under water, but
in the safety of the decompression chamber at the Ullevål university
hospital in Oslo.
Safe environment
I have never dived to 60 meters, not on air or anything else – and
I will not try to do so after this experience, except maybe on trimix.
For those wanting to be a deep diver a trip to a decompression
chamber is certainly a wake-up call. If your body functions this badly
at depth in a warm, safe environment - how will you handle things
when it’s cold, dark, bad visibility, current and stress? I for one do
not want to find out.
For those who want to feel the tug of the deep, Oslo-based dive
shop Dykkersport hosts trips to the decompression chamber at the
Ullevål university hospital. I was surprised when I got there – the
room was full of people and it took three turns in the chamber for
everyone to experience the deep and the effects of nitrogen narcosis,
high pressure and air.
Lifesaving treatment
The decompression chamber at Ullevål is operated by the local fire
department, and three of their rescue divers were present to serve
as “tenders” – the person responsible inside the chamber when it is
under pressure. The chamber was established in 1981, and since
then around 50 treatments a year has been conducted. About half
of these are different kinds of medical treatments on regular patients,
and the rest are divers who have had some kind of accident
– the bends or regular decompression sickness, DCS. Most of the
time, divers are put in the chamber as a precaution, but sometimes
it is serious and the treatment is lifesaving or at least very important
to avoid serious consequences after an accident.
Drunk as a Skunk
Our “dive” in the chamber is luckily just exciting, and no-one has to
worry about DCS. There is a loud hiss as compressed air is pumped
into the chamber, and pressure on the ears is sudden and persistent.
Equalizing immediately becomes a necessity! The chamber
operator takes us down to three meters to make sure everyone’s
42
sinuses are clear and up for the dive – and then we drop to 60 meters
in just 2-3 minutes. It felt just like being on a rollercoaster and
seeing the top of the track getting closer… knowing that there is a
drop on the other side. Exciting!
On the way down you can feel the nitrogen narcosis taking effect,
but it is when you hit the bottom (so to speak) the effects of air and
depth really hits you: It is hard to breathe air that is seven times
denser than on the surface - it feels more like a thin liquid. When
you wave your hand through the air you can actually feel the density!
Initially I feel pretty good, but when I turn my head to look at
the guy next to me it feels as it just keeps spinning. I am dizzy, off
balance and completely unable to think straight. Boy, am I glad I’m
not in the water!
The pressure also affects your vocal chords, and the moment you
speak you sound just like Donald Duck. Laughter is quickly spreading
in the chamber, resulting in even more laughter because it just
sounds completely ridiculous. Still, we are trying to discuss how
we’re feeling - but even quite serious narcotic symptoms like numb
fingers, dizziness and complete lack of coordination is lost in a
cascade of cartoon-like laughter. We are completely wasted! The
party goes on, and it doesn’t take long before the classic Beatles
tune “Yellow submarine” reverberates through the chamber.
When it’s serious
If a diver has had an accident and needs recompression, the depth
is naturally shallower than 60 meters. A normal recompression
treatment takes place at 18 meters depth, and can last anything
from a few hours to several days of repeated treatment, depending
on the situation. The atmosphere inside the chamber quickly
grows moist, dense and very warm, and I can only imagine the
stress a real patient must feel in addition to these nuisances.
I don’t know if I would be scared to death or relieved if it was me in
the chamber – maybe a little of both. I would be scared of the consequences
of DCS, but relieved to be under treatment and taken
care of by seasoned professionals. Anyway, it is not a situation I
want to be in – or want anyone else to have to experience. I will
definitely keep this in mind on future dives, especially when the
devil of the deep is trying to lure me down for a visit into his kingdom.
Figure 1:
The decompression chamber at the
Ullevål university hospital in Oslo
can accommodate up to 10 people
at a time, and is on a 24-hour alert.
Figure 2:
The maze of pipes and hoses coming
from the ceiling of the chamber
are for the BIBS masks used to
administer pure oxygen.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 43

DAn research
The pleasure of safety
Wellness & underwater activities in the Maldives
By Cristian Pellegrini
Travel notes by Massimo Pieri
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)

DAn research
54
north Ari Atoll, maldives (4°13’n – 72°46’e), 7-14th november 2011
Here we are again in this patch of land surrounded by the ocean, to continue the research we
began on our last trip, just a year ago.
At the first rendezvous in Gangehi, we had underlined the importance of pre- and post-dive tests, of
donating diving profiles to research, and that of relaxation techniques borrowed from free diving.
This time, there are some important novelties. We will accompany all the divers staying at the
Gangehi Village Island Resort (Best Tours) for the whole week,
suggesting an experimental programme for them: themed evenings
with medical-scientific presentations, practical advice and
a new protocol which applies diver preconditioning techniques for
the reduction of decompression risks.
We have called this pilot programme Wellness Diving. It is a way
of associating entertainment with practicality, combining scientific
rigour with pure pleasure.
In some research camps organised by DAN Europe
DSL, some tests diver pre-conditioning tests
have already been carried out. These have given
surprising results on post-dive bubbles.
Hydration, relaxation, total body vibration, dark
chocolate, saunas and infra-red light: these are
some of the things we tried on divers pre-dive.
Wellness applied to divers was something Prof.
Alessandro Marroni spoke about back in 2008:
“Even though it may seem strange and just a fad,
the concept is not so far from truth: the data which
is emerging shows that some pre-immersion procedures,
totally non-invasive and even rather pleasant,
have a significant preventive or protective effect
against decompression stress and that from diving
in general.
Furthermore, it has become well-known and it is scientifically
proved that a good “aerobic fitness” condi-
tion is associated with a reduction in decompression risks.
All this could very well be framed in the context of “pre-diving wellness”, and why not? Seeing
as that these are simple procedures to enact and which require no particularly complex or
costly equipment, one could envisage pre-dive ”wellness areas” in future diving centres and
even on dedicate diving cruise vessels.”
three years later, this is exactly what Dsl is proposing to the gangehi divers.
What more appropriate place could there be than a small Maldives island to test the project?
Organization and logistics are fundamental in these phases. Alberto Bonotti, responsible for the
Albatros Top Diving centre of Gangehi, has already organised everything so that the day after
our arrival all the procedures can be carried out quickly and precisely.
The protocol lays out that 12 divers, divided in groups of 3, will carry out basic tests before
exposure, then undergoing their assigned pre-conditionings.
The 4 groups are: Vibration, Chocolate, Control Group, Guides.
Our divers will be “vibrated” before the beginning of the series of dives and will have dark
chocolate (75% cocoa) every day, to stimulate protective mechanisms.
Total body pre-immersion vibration (see analysis) leads to a depletion of gaseous micronuclei
and their significant reduction after diving, as compared to profiles without pre-vibration
(preliminary reduction of gaseous nuclei to optimise decompression).
Chocolate on the other hand produces NO (Nitric oxide), which acts as a vasodilator and
protector of endothelial integrity (the endothelium is the tissue which lines the
inside of our blood vessels). If blood vessels dilate, it is harder for
bubbles to get trapped. The preventive action of NO also hinders
the sticking of the bubbles to the endothelial wall.
Dawn of 7 november 2011. here we are, finally on the island,
welcomed by a small shark swimming in the lagoon. We are in a
truly magical place, where anything can happen and any encounter
can leave emotional traces.
The first day of work is carried out in complete serenity. Control
procedures foresee the use of a thermal camera, which will
help understand interaction with the warm Maldives waters in the
dives.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 55

56
We will also use cardiac echography for the
visualization of post-dive gaseous bubbles.
We have decided to also include the guides’ group in
the diving test, so that we may see the effects on subjects
who are exposed to the hyperbaric condition for
longer and who dive repetitively.
The first checks generally showed a normal production
of bubbles, which we expected. This stayed within
security limits, varying between grades 0.5 and 1.5
– known in jargon as LBG (Low Bubble Grade). Only
in two cases do we find values between 2 and 3 -
HBG (High Bubble Grade).
Monitoring was to be carried out for the whole week and at the end of each day’s diving, so to
have a daily evaluation of the bubble rate. We asked the guides to perform an extra evaluation
task on their work, using a scale of 0 to 5, where zero is the greatest degree of relaxation and
serenity during the dive, bearing in mind two factors: emotional (stress) and physical (underwater
work load).
The themed week included two evening presentations of DAN and its DSL (Diving Safety Laboratory)
projects. This information was also appreciated by the non-diving guests of the village.
Particular curiosity was generated by the PFO (patent foramen ovale), perhaps due to recent
news which involved a famous soccer player. To know its effects on diving was even more
interesting.
DAN has been studying this phenomenon for several years, providing appropriate guidelines.
The audience’s interest then concentrated on the tight bond between research and health, like
that highlighted by studies on free-divers with changes to their haemoglobin after diving and
flying.
speaking of this project, we showed how heavy air is!
Starting from Italy with Dr. Cialoni, we had the idea of taking a bottle
of water, drinking 2/3 of the content and then leaving it subject to
the pressure variations of the cabin for the whole flight. Obviously,
the bottle became compressed, but not completely, as the liquid and
compressible part offered some resistance. A banal example which
shows how important the pressure variations during flight can be,
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
especially for a diver returning home by plane after several days of diving. DAN has thus established
some simple rules: 12 hours of interval after a curved dive profile, 24 hours after repetitive
dives or ones outside the curve. Another small suggestion to take on your travels.
Dr. Cialoni’s presentation was another intense moment in the soirées. Danilo provided guests
with a free-diving simulation and a video of Umberto Pelizzari setting the world record at 80
metres. Spectators were asked to hold their breath whilst they watched the video with the best
techniques they knew.
But is free-diving just about holding your breath? Obviously not! It is probably the search for a
sensation of well-being which, with the appropriate techniques, motivates the need to breathe
to the limits, without going beyond them... Now the video is still playing, the viewers have
to hold their breath a little longer and Pelizzari perhaps only feels like giving in once he has
reached the surface... what a sensation! Danilo, you took us on a marvellous dive!
Still on the theme of breath-holding, one of the highlights of the week is the session dedicated
to relaxation and breathing techniques held on a narrow stretch of sand. Divers
and others took part. It’s an almost mystical moment. We are taken to an oasis of relaxation,
listening to the gurgle of the small waves breaking on the sand. The hustle and bustle of everyday
life is far away: each one of us establishes a connection with our inside part and listens
to him/herself breathe...
Right at the end of the relaxation session, a beautiful turtle surfaces
onto the sandy stretch, bringing us back to reality.
***
A heartfelt thanks goes to Best Tours, which helped us manage
the mobile research laboratory and provided the Gangehi island
venue. Thanks also to Albatros Top Diving.
Analysis
total body vibration for depletion of gaseous micronuclei
Effect: reduction of gaseous nuclei to optimise decompression.
How to do it: divers are vibrated on purpose-built beds for a set
time, 30 minutes before immersion.
It seems that the vibrations significantly reduce the number of bubbles
found in divers after immersion. The study began after interesting reports
from divers on the Côte d’Azur who noticed far less decompression
problems after adopting a peculiar strategy: they would race their
dinghies at full speed so as to “shake” the bubbles before diving, then
returning slowly so as not to shake them afterwards.
57

insurance matters
Insurance
Matters
Probably the only specialist diving
insurance company worldwide
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
Diving Insurance: A Choice or A Must?
By Julian Boffa
Probably the only specialist diving
insurance company worldwide
Why spend money to insure? “It will
never happen to me.” So have said not tens, not
hundreds, but thousands of people who have been
assisted by DAN Europe each year. These are the
same people who now appreciate the importance of
being insured by a provider who cares, is reliable,
and what’s more, is specifically created by professionals,
with a network of experts in the field ready to
assist you. Some people may choose to become insured because it is mandatory
by local law, or required by their teaching organization. Though even if this is not
the case for you, is insurance still a must? Are the benefits of your insurance only
tangible after a claim?
It goes without saying that any incident, whether great or small, implies financial
consequences. On top of the emotional distress caused by a medical emergency,
there is the hassle of dealing with what comes next... making sure your insurance
provider is immediately there for you. Having the guarantee of financial assistance
is comforting, but what is more comforting is having the reassurance that
someone will be there to take care of you throughout the whole ordeal. You’ve
probably heard someone say that buying insurance is like buying
“peace of mind”. It’s a “just-in-case” means of support that makes you feel
more secure in those unpredictable circumstances. However the fine print of buying
insurance goes beyond just peace of mind and the guarantee of payment of
claims. The service one chooses is made up of two components, namely pre-loss
and post-loss.
Pre-Loss service: Insurers are interested in minimizing the occurrence of claims,
in other words, reducing the possibility that something can happen to you. They
therefore have a vested interest in ensuring that the various industries involved
in the sport continue to work at improving the safety standards of the activity being
insured. Therefore many insurers, such as International Diving Assurance
63

insurance matters
Probably the only specialist diving
insurance company worldwide
(IDA), actually invest a part of the premium together with DAN Europe
towards medical and safety research, which in turn helps to
avoid a loss, or at least minimize the effects. Another part of the
funds collected go towards financing educational campaigns, promoting
diving safety strategies and conducting site visits to identify
potential hazards, all of which give dive professionals information
on how to avoid accidents. Furthermore, an insurer, or more so an
insurance broker (such as DAN Europe Insurance Brokers Ltd),
will assist members and clients on purchasing the right coverage,
and help them access important information on the risks they may
face. These types of services are an enormous benefit to the diving
industry, as ultimately, working toward the prevention of accidents
is better than treating them.
Post-Loss service: Notwithstanding all the efforts taken to assure
one’s safety, some unfortunate incidents can still occur, and this
is where your insurance provider lends a helping hand. Prior to
reimbursing a claim, there are many other areas in which you may
require assistance: choosing the right medical facility, acquiring the
correct and appropriate treatment, taking precautionary measures
against exploitative foreign hospitals, organizing repatriation logistics,
and obtaining legal advice. An insurer like IDA together with
DAN Europe will guide you through all the necessary steps to properly
handle any difficult situation. Can you imagine the distress of
being in a foreign country and having to manage all these matters
yourself during an emergency?! Having someone well trained and
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
experienced working alongside you is not only essential; it is priceless.
“I know what I’m doing. I’ve been diving for years and nothing has
ever happened to me!” A friend of mine once told me that living in
trees for 30 years does not make one a monkey. Likewise, no matter
how much of a professional you are or how much diving experience
you have, you won’t grow gills, and therefore there will always
be risk factors involved in diving.
So what can go wrong? Our experience at DAN Europe has shown
that the majority of diving accidents are in fact preventable, and in
most cases are due to human error and misjudgment. Getting distracted
or overlooking something minor can prove very costly in an
environment where access to advanced medical assistance is very
limited or far away. Furthermore, a large number of accidents are
not caused by external factors, but by “diver panic.” Being an experienced
diver is certainly helpful in handling a risky situation, but
is not always a guarantee of preventing one. Once panic sets in, it
is difficult or sometimes impossible to regain composure. Also, experienced
divers with expert knowledge of procedures and precautions
can tend to ignore certain safety standards, for example going
into deco without an adequate air supply because of distraction.
65

sea stories
68
mutual respect
Do the Guadalupe White Sharks Coexist with Pinnipeds?
At remote Guadalupe Island, a migration takes place. It has been studied for only a few years.
Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) migrate through, following large schools of
tuna, one of their favorite foods. From September to December, these animals share the
sea surrounding this island approximately 145 miles (232 kilometers) off Mexico’s Baja
peninsula with Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi), northern elephant seals
(Mirounga angustirostris) and the common California sea lion (Zalophus californiacus).
On trips to photograph the great white sharks, no one in my group witnessed predatory
behavior toward any of these pinnipeds (literally “wing-footed,” as the shape of their flippers
suggest). Paul “Doc” Anes, a pioneer in white shark diving at Guadalupe, says he has
never witnessed any such predation since 2000, when these expeditions began. “We did
see a white shark eat a bird, though,” Anes said.
by David Haas
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
69

sea stories
Turtle Islands
Marine Park
by Elizabeth Cook
A tumble, a tussle, a tangle - of turtles. These terms describe
the flight of the fledglings scrambling across the sand. There
is something incredibly cute about the miniature reptiles. Like
children playing in their parents’ clothing, with pants too long and
shirt sleeves rolled up, the baby turtles are gangly, dressed in
flippers too large for their carapaces, with heads too tiny for their
bodies. Gently dumped from a bucket in the dark of the night,
they sort themselves out and turn nose to the water. Their tiny
flippers flail at the sand, struggling to pull their too-heavy shells
toward the sea.
My first question is: “Since it’s dark out, how do they know where
the water is?”
“They always head toward the light of the horizon,” the ranger
tells me. Testing his theory, I flick my flashlight toward a few
stragglers, who turn and follow the beam. The rangers gather
them up in buckets and carry them down to the sea. With a little
help, their journey begins.
I’m visiting Turtle Islands Marine Park, off the coast of Sabah,
Malaysia, and getting a lesson in turtle-rearing. The park has
two purposes: one, to collect data and study the local turtle
population; and two, to assist in the survival of these ancient
reptiles.
To this end, the Malaysian government mandated that the
islands of Selingaan, Gulisan and Bakkungan Kecil, off the
northeast coast of Sabah, provide a sanctuary for the animals.
I’m also learning that these islands are only a subset of a chain
of islands that stretch from Sabah to the southern Philippines.
In 1996, in a gesture of international cooperation, Malaysia and
the Philippines joined together to protect this rookery of primarily
green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) by establishing the Turtle
Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA).
72
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
73

sea stories
The egg hunt
About 10 p.m., the park ranger signals me and three other
guests that it’s time. He instructs us to be quiet and do nothing to
disturb the nesting. Trailing behind the guide, we walk along the
beach until we encounter tracks emerging from the sea: They
look like they were made by a large vehicle. Following the tracks
up the beach into the trees, we stop and listen. We can hear the
subtle sound of a turtle’s heavy breathing. Moving close behind
the guide, we see a nesting turtle flicking sand aside, forming a
shallow pit.
For a moment, the mother turtle rests in the sand hollow. With
what seems a sense of turtle urgency, her hind flippers begin to
flip cupful after cupful of sand out as she excavates a vertical
chamber nearly two feet (a half-meter) deep. Satisfied with the
depth and without missing a beat, she begins dropping her eggs
into the nest, one at a time at first, then more rapidly, two and
three at a time.
The ranger reaches into the nest and pulls out what looks like a
ping-pong ball; the egg is similar in size and color, with a thick
parchment-like skin. Gently removing the eggs, the ranger places
them in a bucket as the mother turtle continues her deposits;
she seems oblivious to the theft.
This female deposits 94 eggs in an hour and then rests for a
couple of minutes. The ranger takes this opportunity to see
that she has a numbered tag attached to her flipper and writes
down the number. Resuming her work with her back flippers,
Mom packs sand in the hole and, as a final touch, sweeps the
nest area with her long front flippers, possibly to disguise it from
predators.
For another minute, we watch in silent respect and then retreat
as she finishes her work. In another two weeks, she may return
and lay another clutch, as these egg deposits are called, then
not return for several years.
Following our guide to the hatchery located some 50 feet (15 m)
above the high-tide line, we watch him carefully place the eggs
in a prepared nest. Each nest is roughly 30 inches (75 cm) deep
and surrounded by wire mesh to keep out predators. A marker
notes the date, the number of eggs and a unique identification
number.
The clutch will begin hatching in 45 to 60 days. Early hatchers
stay hidden under the sand until their siblings are ready. Then,
as if on cue - perhaps from the cooling temperature of the sand
after sunset - they all emerge simultaneously from the nest one
night and race for the sea.
74
Facts - and Mysteries
The perils of being a turtle start even before it hatches. Monitor lizards unearth and eat the eggs,
and ants can wreck a nest. Inadvertently, other turtles digging nests nearby disturb existing
nests. Once the eggs are exposed, sea birds pick off the eggs, or the hot sun dehydrates
them. And, of course, poachers can eradicate an entire nest in one visit. For all these
reasons, the rangers remove the eggs and keep them in the protective safety of the hatchery.
A great deal about turtles is still unknown. I ask the ranger, “What’s the ratio of males to females that
are born?”
Temperature seems to play a large part of whether the turtle will turn out to be a male or a female,
he says. “Nests under shade-providing trees or nests dug deeper in the sand tend to produce more
males,” he says. Even time of the year seems to have an effect; cooler months of the year produce
significantly more males.
The ranger looks up the tag number of our turtle mom. “She was first tagged here on Pulau Selingaan
on Oct. 10, 2003, and 16 days later she came back and laid another 114 eggs,” he says. We wonder if
she’ll come back again this year.
Given the difficulty of studying turtles once they reach the open sea, lots of unanswered questions
remain. Tagging started about 50 years ago with the use of metal tags. Still used today, the tags are
sometimes supplemented by radio transmitters and satellites. These tools provide scientists with much
more extensive data about such things as migratory patterns and how long turtles can stay submerged.
With the advent of DNA sampling, researchers can prove that mothers return to the place they were
born to give birth. They also tell us that turtles migrate thousands of miles. So how do the female turtles
remember where they were born? A beach is a beach, after all.
Scientists don’t agree on the answer, but theories include the possibility that turtles follow a certain
signature smell, much like a pheromone that distinguishes one beach from another. Another theory is
that they have built-in compasses and a magnetic mental map of their birthplace.
“Why do we only see full-grown turtles when we’re diving?” I ask.
Our guide says that scientists don’t really know much about where baby turtles go. “They’ve been
tracked swimming from the beach out to sea for more than 24 hours,” he says. “But beyond that, we
just don’t know.
“We do know that when they get to be a little larger than a dinner plate, they start to be seen closer to
land.” It is thought that turtles spend their childhood - some three to seven years - far out at sea.
I’ve learned a lot tonight but have two final questions: “How old do turtles have to be before they
reproduce? And what is their survival rate?” The answers to these questions are crucial to whether
turtles survive as a species. Scientists’ best guess is that, depending on the species, turtles do not
begin reproducing until they are at least 10 to 25 years old.
This means that a turtle has to survive a long time before it can even begin to contribute to the
continuation of the species. Unfortunately, the answer to the question about survival rate is even more
profound. Scientists believe that only one hatchling in a 1,000 reaches reproductive age.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
75

sea stories
The future
Six, some say seven, species of sea turtles populate the world’s oceans.
Except for the flatback turtle, they are all listed with conservation organizations,
such as the World Wildlife Fund, as critically endangered or endangered.
International cooperation is important to turtles’ survival, because turtles
migrate across the waters of many countries. Local cooperation is important
because these are the communities and organizations that can protect nesting
sites and patrol for poaching. And finally, individuals can do simple things
such as clean up trash from beaches, limit their use of products that produce
harmful run-off into the oceans, and reject products that are harvested from
turtles. These contributions can make a difference to whether turtles, which
survived the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, will survive the
lack of knowledge or indifference of people today.
Marine turtles are reptiles found in every tropical destination around the world.
Nearly all the world’s species can be found in North American and Caribbean
waters. They are the green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys
imbricata), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback (Dermochelys
coriacea), loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys
olivacea). There is some scientific debate whether there is a seventh unique
species. The black turtle, a.k.a., Eastern Pacific green turtle (Chelonia agassizii
or Chelonia mydas agassizii) is sometimes recognized as a unique species,
sometimes recognized as a subspecies of the green turtle and sometimes not
recognized uniquely. Australia’s flatback turtle, first discussed in the 1880s, is
still debated as to its status as a separate or a subspecies.
76
Facilities at Turtle Islands Marine
Park
Selingan Island is the only one of Malaysia’s Turtle Islands that has been
opened to the public for overnight stays. It is home to the park headquarters,
a modest visitor center, the turtle hatchery and most recently, several chalets
for overnight guests and a small place to dine. The closest mainland town is
Sandakan about an hour away by speedboat and renowned for its Orangutan
Rehabilitation Centre.
About the Team
Elizabeth Cook is a freelance photojournalist and
technical writer. When not diving and shooting
underwater photos in Southeast Asia and off the
coast of California, she makes her home in San Diego.
Elizabeth has been a committed DAN Member for a
decade.
Robert Yin is a freelance photojournalist and a DAN
Member from San Diego. He dives mostly in the tropical
Pacific. His photos appear in many books and dive
magazines. He has authored 24 books in the “Marine
Life for Young Readers” series and a coffee-table book,
“Beneath Philippine Seas”.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
77

DAn
mission
statement
DAn euroPe FounDAtion
DAN Europe Balkans
(Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia
and Hezegovina)
DAN Europe BeNeLux
(Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
DAN Europe Česko
DAN Europe Croatia
DAN Europe France
DAN Europe Germany, Austria &
Hungary
DAN Europe Hellas
DAN Europe Ibérica
(Andorra, Portugal, Spain)
DAN Europe Italia
DAN Europe Malta
DAN Europe Polska
DAN Europe Skandinavien
(Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland)
DAN Europe Slovenia
DAN Europe Portugal
DAN Europe Suisse
DAN Europe Türkiye
DAN Europe United Kingdom
Gibraltar & Ireland
DAN Europe (Divers Alert Network Europe) is an international non-profit medical and
research organization dedicated to the safety and health of recreational scuba divers.
Founded in 1983, DAN Europe exists to provide expert information and advice for
the benefit of its members and the diving public.
DAN provides emergency medical advice and assistance for underwater
diving injuries, works to prevent injuries and to promote diving safety, supports
underwater diving research and education, and strives to provide the most
accurate, up-to-date and unbiased information on issues of common concern to
the diving community.
DAn euroPe AFFiliAte
orgAniZAtions
DAN Maldives
DAN Egypt
DAN Israel
the other
internAtionAl DAn
orgAniZAtions
DAN America
DAN America - Mexico
DAN Japan
DAN Asia-Pacific
DAN Asia Pacific - Philippines
DAN Southern Africa
our vision
DAN Europe’s vision is to be the most recognized and trusted organization worldwide in the fields of diver safety and
emergency services, health, research, and education by its members, instructors, supporters and recreational diving
community at large.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
79

DAn contacts
DAN EUROPE FOUNDATION
Regions of coverage include geographical
Europe, the countries of the Mediterranean
Basin, the countries on the shores of the
Red Sea, the Middle East including the
Persian Gulf, the countries on the shores of
the Indian Ocean north of the Equator and
West of India and Sri Lanka, as well as the
related overseas territories, districts, and
protectorates.
Registered Address and Headquarters:
26, Triq Fidel Zarb, Gharghur NXR07, Malta;
tel. +356 2141 9804 - Fax +356 2141 9294
Continental Europe Office:
Casella Postale 77
64026 Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy
tel: +39 085 8930333
Fax: +39 085 8930050
e-mail: mail@daneurope.org
Website: www.daneurope.org
DAn europe regional offices
DAN Europe Balkans (Serbia and
Montenegro, Bosnia and Hezegovina)
Area Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni
Regional Director: Dr. Dragana Ivkovic,M.D.
Milovana Marinkovica 17. 11000 Belgrade,
Serbia and Montenegro
tel / Fax: +381 11 247 10 40
mobile: +381 63 8129 687
email: balkans@daneurope.org
DAN Europe BeNeLux
(Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
Area Director: Prof. Costantino Balestra Ph.D.
Area Medical Director:
Dr. Peter Germonpre M.D.
National Medical Director for the Netherlands:
Dr. Menno Gaastra M.D.
Regional Head of Training (Dutch):
Guy Thomas
Regional Head of Training (French):
Frédéric Venderschueren
tel / Fax: refer to Continental Europe Office
email: benelux@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Česko
Area Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni
National Director: Dr. Pavel Macura M.D.
K Břízkám 4/7, Hradec Králové, PSC 500 09,
Česká Republika
tel: + 420 495 516 147
Fax: + 420 495 264 641
email: cekia@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Croatia
Area Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni
National Director: Dr. Darko Kovacevic M.D.
Kruge 19A, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Fax: +385 1 6151900
email: croatia@daneurope.org
DAN Europe France
Area Director: Prof. Costantino Balestra, Ph.D.
Area Medical Director:
Dr. Peter Germonpre, M.D.
National Medical Director:
Dr. Bruno Grandjean, M.D.
Service de Médecine Hyperbare,
Centre Hospitalier d’Ajaccio, 27 Avenue
Impératrice Eugénie, 20303 AJACCIO
CEDEX.
tel / Fax: refer to Continental Europe Office
email: france@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Germany, Austria & Hungary
Area Director: Dr. Ulrich van Laak M.D.
Eichkoppelweg 70, 24119 Kronshagen,
Germany
tel: +49 431 549 861
(Monday, Thursday, 18-21h C.E.T.)
Fax: +49 431 544 288,
email: germany@daneurope.org
(Hungary)
national infoline: +36 30 8114451,
national emergencies: +36 30 5222497
DAN Europe Hellas
Area Director: Prof Alessandro Marroni
Medical Director: Dr Bassilis Zachariades
C/o Hyperbaric Medical Center:,
5 Klazomenon st., Tavros Athens, 17778
tel / Fax: +30 210 3462898
(Monday to Friday,14-19h)
email: Hellas@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Ibérica (Andorra, Portugal,
Spain)
Area Director: Dr. Jordi Desola, M.D., Ph.D.
CRIS Unitat de Terapèutica Hiperbàrica,
Dos de Maig 301, Hospital Creu Roja,
08025 Barcelona, Spain
tel: +34 93 347 7366
Fax: +34 93 450 3736
email: iberica@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Italy
National Director: Dr. Nuccia De Angelis
Medical Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni M.D.
P.O. Box DAN, 64026 Roseto, Italy
tel: +39 085 893 0333,
Fax: +39 085 893 0050.
email: italy@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Malta
National Director: Dr. Ramiro Cali Corleo M.D.
26, Triq Fidiel Zarb, Gharghur NXR07, Malta.
tel: +356 2141 9804
Fax: +356 2141 9294
email: malta@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Polska
Area Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni
Medical Director: Zdzislaw Sicko, M.D., Ph.D.
Membership Assistance Coordinator: Jacek
Kot, M.D., Ph.D.
National Center for Hyperbaric Medicine,
Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine,
Medical University of Gdansk
Powstania Styczniowego 9B
Gdynia 81-519, Poland
tel: +48 58 699 8610 (8-15h)
Fax: +48 58 622 2789
email: polska@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Skandinavien (Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, Finland)
Area Director: Dr. Ole Hyldegaard, MD, Ph.D.
P.O. Box 11, 2830 Virum, Denmark.
tel: +45 45 836330
Fax: +45 45 836 331
email: skandinavien@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Slovenia
Area Director: Prof Alessandro Marroni
National Director: Prof. Dr. Igor Mekjavic
Department of Automation,
Biocybernetics and Robotics
Jozef Stefan Institute
Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
tel: +386 41 696 558
Fax: +386 1 423 2209
email: slovenia@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Portugal
National Director: Dr. Oscar Ferraz Camacho
Apartado 3046, 4451-801
Leça da Palmeira, Portugal
infoline: +351 910 49 2121
(Monday to Friday, 15:30-17:30)
email: portugal@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Suisse
National Director: Dr.Jürg Wendling M.D.
Faubourg du Lac 67, 2502 Biel, Switzerland
tel: +41 32 322 3823
Fax: +41 32 322 3839.
email: suisse@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Türkiye
Area and Medical Director:
Dr. Ramiro Cali Corleo
National Medical Director: Dr Salih Aydin,
Regional Managers: Murat Egi, Ali Konoklu
C/o Yavuztürk Sok, No32, D:1;
Söğütlüçeşme - 34716, Kadıköy, Istanbul
tel: +90 533 341 5404
+90 533 448 0458
email: turkey@daneurope.org
Changed your address? If you have moved in the last year, please send DAN your new address.
Questions? Call DAN Europe at +39 085 893 0333, or contact any of your regional offices indicated above
DAN Europe United Kingdom Gibraltar
& Ireland
Area Director: Dr. Ramiro Cali Corleo, M.D.
Regional Manager:
Christopher Young, CertEd
EMP House, Telford Way
Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 3HE
United Kingdom
tel (national): 0845 029 1990;
(international): +44 845 029 1990
Fax (national): 0845 029 1991
(international): +44 845 029 1991
email: uk@daneurope.org
DAn europe Affiliate organizations
DAN Maldives
Area Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni
Medical Director: Dr. Guenter Frey, M.D.
Bandos Hyperbaric & Medical Clinic -
Bandos Island Resort, Republic of Maldives
Fax: +960 44 0060
email: maldives@daneurope.org
DAN Egypt
Area Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni
Regional Director: Dr. Adel Taher, M.D.
Hyperbaric Medical Center
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
tel: +20 69 3 660 922 or 23
(10:30-18h, daily)
Fax: +20 69 3 661 011
email: egypt@daneurope.org
DAN Israel
Area Director: Prof. Alessandro Marroni
Regional Director: Mr. Shai Roth
P.O. Box 36667, Tel Aviv, 61366, Israel
Fax:+972 3 9213838
email: israel@daneurope.org
the other iDAn organizations
DAN America
territory: United States and Canada, with
regional IDAN responsibility for Central and
South America, the Caribbean, Polynesia,
Micronesia and Melanesia (except Fiji), and
any other area not designated for the other
DAN entities
President and CEO: Dan Orr
The Peter B. Bennett Center, 6 West Colony
Place, Durham, NC 27705, USA,
tel: +1 919 684 2948,
Fax: +1 919 490 6630
email: dan@diversalertnetwork.org
Website: www.diversalertnetwork.org
DAN America - Mexico
Director: Dr. Cuauhtemoc Sanchez, M.D.
Indiana 260-907, Col. Nápoles Mexico, D.F.
03710
tel: +52 55 5568 8082,
Fax: +52 55 5568 8083
email: danmex@hotmail.com
Website: www.diversalertnetwork.org
DAN Japan
territory: Japanese mainland and islands,
with regional IDAN responsibility for the
Northeast Asia-Pacific
Director: Prof. Yoshihiro Mano, M.D.
DAN Japan/ Japan Marine Recreation
Association - Kowa-Ota-Machi Bldg, 2F, 47
Ota-machi 4-Chome Nakaku, Yokohama City,
Kagawa 231-0011, Japan
tel: (81) 45 228 3066
Fax: (81) 45 228 3063
email: dan@danjapan.gr.jp
Website: www.danjapan.gr.jp
DAN Asia Pacific
territory: Australia and New Zealand, with
regional IDAN responsibility for Papua New
Guinea, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Brunei, Thailand,
Hong Kong, Korea, China and Taiwan
Director: Mr. John Lippmann
49A Karnak Rd, Ashburton, Victoria 3163,
Australia
Postal address: PO Box 384 Ashburton, Vic.
3147, Australia.
tel: +61 3 9886 9166
Fax: +61 3 9886 9155
email: info@danasiapacific.org
Website: www.danasiapacific.org
DAN Asia Pacific - Philippines
Medical Director:
Dr. Benjamin G. Luna, Jr., M.D.
Makati Medical Center, 2 Amorsolo St.,
Makati City 1200, Philippines
tel / Fax: +63 2 817 5601 (office hours)
or tel: +63 2 815 9911 ext. 2123 (office hours)
email: blunamd@cnl.net
DAN Southern Africa
territory: Austral Africa, Comoros,
Madagascar, Seychelles Islands, plus Kenya
and Zanzibar (for residents only, European
expatriates refer to DAN Europe)
Director: Dr. Frans J. Cronje, M.D.
DAN-SA Building, Rosen Office Park, Cnr
Invicta and Third Roads, Halfway House,
South Africa 1685
tel: + 27 11 312 0512
Fax: + 27 11 312 0054
email: mail@dansa.org
Website: www.dansa.org
DAN Europe Email Contacts
General: mail@daneurope.org,
Membership: members@daneurope.org
Medical: medical@daneurope.org
Training training@daneurope.org
DAN Europe Partner Program:
partner@daneurope.org
Insurance Claims: claims@daneurope.org
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
81

goodbye
Photocontest,
Welcome
PortFolio!
Photo by Iyad Suleyman
the first entry
for our
new Portfolio
section has
been selected!
The DAN Europe Photocontest as we know it has come to an end.
Our Editorial Board is currently working on a renewed version: in
the meantime, all underwater pictures received will be published in
this Portfolio section. You can mail your photos to:
portfolio@alertdiver.eu
Our kudos to the last winner of DAN Europe Photocontest Andrey nekrasov, who won two editions
(2008-2009 and 2011-12). Independent photographer and journalist, Andrey writes about diving and his
travels, cooperating with different world journals.
Born in 1971 in Bezhetsk, Tver area (Russia), he moved to Odessa (Ukraine), on the Black Sea coast.
In 1985 he started his apprenticeship in underwater photography; the following year, he received his
professional diving training at V.S.A.A.A.F. (Volunteer Society of Assistance to Air forces, Army and
Fleet) in Odessa. In 1989, he became Instructor of underwater sports.
Until 2008, Andrey used a Canon EOS-100 camera with housing which he himself custom-made. From
then on, he started shooting with the help of a digital camera Nikon D300 with SEA&SEA camera
housing. Lens: Nikon 10.5mm fisheye, Nikon 12-24mm, Nikon 60mm MACRO, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye
and Flash: Subtronic Mega Color and Inon-Z240 are used for his underwater photography. He uses a
Nikon 24-85mm and a Nikon 70-300mm to pursue land photography.
Readers of Alert Diver and active DAN members can enjoy Andrey’s latest picture, used as cover of our
Magazine – Winter Issue 4_11 and of the official DAN Members’ card for the year 2013.

DAN Partner Program
The DAN PARTNERS are individuals or organizations that
cooperate with us to promote DAN’s image among divers.
As a DAN PARTNER you can get points or commissions, with
great benefits.
Learn more and
sign up today!
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
Zamkowa 2A / 5 - 30-301 Krakow - Poland
85

P.O. Box 164 - 3340 AD Hendrik Ido Ambacht -
Netherlands
Via Facheris N. 50 - 24064 Grumello del Monte
- Italy
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
87

# 47 (1st Quarter 2012) 89

Shop
Visit the online catalogue today and discover the complete range
of DAN products!
€ 21,53
+ vAt
€ 49,00
+ vAt
€ 6,40
+ vAt
“ossidabili” explorer
This “ Explorer “ necklace is made of Bronze (leadfree) while its coloration is
obtained during a galvanic process with gold and Ruthenium.
The polishing of this necklace was carried out with Nickel free materials.
leD light stick with DAn logo
Single LED light Stick for low visibility or night dives
(waterproof until 300 meters), shock proof and available in 2
colours. The batteries last for about 36 hours.
orange Waterproof case (type hPrc 2300)
High quality orange HPRC case with DAN logo and heavy duty latches
offers an excellent protection for your valuable materials. Comes with plug
foam insert.
The case, made of a special compound of plastic resin (TTX01 ®), has a
foldable carry handle and automatic pressure adjustment valve.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
91

Visit the online catalogue today and discover the complete range of DAN products!
€ 183,13
+ vAt
€ 3,30
+ vAt
€ 16,49
+ vAt
DAn europe Product selection
Prestan Adult cPr-AeD training manikin with cPr monitor
Realistic to the eye and the touch, the Prestan Professional Adult Manikin is
unlike any other on the market. Prestan’s revolutionary CPR Rate Monitor
allows for instant feedback to both instructor and student regarding the
rate of chest compression. This allows each student to gauge their rate
of compressions on their own as well as allowing the instructor to monitor
several students quickly and easily. In addition, the manikin incorporates a
mechanism (“depth” clicker) to help them use the correct force to compress
the chest to the correct depth.
DAn keycord
bc rescue Knife
Whether you are a diver or a sailor, the BC Rescue knife is
a prefect knife to be used in emergencies.
Red and white DAN keycord with anti choking release,
mobile phone connector and detachable carabiner hook.
€ 8,25
+ vAt
€ 670,79
+ vAt
€ 3,39
+ vAt
DAn europe beanie
100% Cotton, double sided “beanie” hat made exlusively for
DAN Europe.
You can decide what side/color to wear whenever you want!
DAn cloth patch: octoPus
standard “Pin index” DAn oxygen
unit (with empty cylinder)
This standard DAN Oxygen unit is specially
developed to treat injured divers and
includes a 2,5 liter Pin Index Oxygen
cylinder.
# 47 (1st Quarter 2012)
93

organo ufficiale del Divers Alert
network europe
Periodico trimestrale - Anno 2012 - n.1
sped. in abb.post. art.2 comma 20/c
legge 662/96 - Filiale di teramo