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How is it irrelevant whether the whale shark wanted it them or not? It's change in behavior clearly indicates that the effect was a negative one, and as such is irresponsible imo. As for not causing it any meaningful harm, I'm not sure how being ignorant to the repercussions of your actions make...

Watch the video again, and see how the shark's movement and behavior changes once the freediver has latched onto its dorsal fin. Regardless of your opinion about what is and isn't acceptable, you cannot deny that the shark does not want the diver there - or it wouldn't switch from its usual...

I don' know any active/current instructors who regret their IDC. Taking the instructor course in itself does not necessarily make you good at the job though - it takes a lot of hard experience, work and time for that. Those with the passion AND work ethic for teaching diving can stick with it...

I still log, even after thousands of dives. Admittedly its nothing particularly thorough, since I dive the same sites frequently. A line of a journal detailing dive number, dive site and date is enough. I will do more detail on dive trips or holidays to other areas though.

Another vote for the Phillipines here. The visayas are amazing, and you can easily hit up several dive spots (malapasqua, bohol, apo island) within a couple of weeks if you use Cebu as you domestic arrival/departure gateway.

As you will have read in the other thread, industry standards generally recommend 6 months to a year. But it is dependent on the diver and their experience, and also what dives you are planning to do. In your case for example it may be a good idea if you were planning dives in differing...

Done :)

There are about 50 dive schools on Koh Tao, all offering open water courses, so it can be very difficult to make a decision based on websites alone! It really depends where on the island you want to stay. Sairee is the busiest village, with Chalok being the quietest and Mae Haad somewhere in...

Logged dives can sometimes be important for enrollment on to courses, but for the most part as Bob says its mainly for you rather than anyone else. Logging is a personal choice, but personally I still do it several thousand dives later. Logbooks can be signed by either DM/Dive guide, instructor...

Any intro level dive manual or web search should show results for the basic signals. However its all very subjective. Granted there are basic signals that pretty much are constant worldwide, but there will always variations between individual dm's, instructors, dive centres and divers from...

No personal experience of Bali or Lombok, but was very impressed by the diving in the Philippines, and by the Philippines in general to be honest. Friendly people, stunning scenery, clean, quiet beaches, clear water with good visibility (25-30m) and an abundance of varied marine life. There's...

It's your log, so essentially your choice. A quick orientation pop up to the surface does not count as enough of a surface interval to log 2 separate dives IMO though. It certainly wont on your computer, which is what most divers log from. For training courses each agency (if you care about...

As per most other comments, a torch is not essential but recommended on every dive - sunny or not. Especially when wanting to check out marine life in cracks, crevices & under rocks.

From my understanding (although I'm quite happy to admit I may be wrong) the layer/film is applied to stop the glass from shattering in the cutting process. I've also been told (by manufacturer reps/sales type folks) it stops the masks from oxidizing when sitting in storage/on display. I guess...

Pah! A likely story, I'm very skeptical of this 'accidental catch'. I might be wrong, but as a filter feeder I'm pretty sure that a whale shark has very little in the way of desire to break into a fishing net. They also lack the means, having nothing (or maybe very little) in the way of teeth!

First of all, your search area is huge - there's a whole heap of options in SE Asia! What time of year are you coming? Make sure you do a bit of research as to when monsoon season hits your chosen destination before you make any solid decisions! As mathauck says, it can often be most...

I think the confusion lies simply in the names attributed to the qualifications. PADI (and presumable NAUI from what you've said) call their continuing education course after OW 'Advanced Open Water'. SSI call it the 'Advanced Adventurer' course - in in terms of the poster that crls attached...

There are dive guide books available for Similans, but not yet for Burma Banks that we're aware of. Try websites like the following for Similans/Surin info books: http://pocketdivesite.com/product.htm Hope this helps :)

In terms of the best place to stay, it is very subjective! It really depends where you want to be based. Chalok (at the south of the island - and where Buddha View is located) is the more quiet, relaxed of the 3 villages on the island. Sairee is the most populated and 'happening' village, with...

A few various ones over the years but nothing too serious: Blown high pressure hose - once on surface and once about 10m into descent so controlled ascent to surface and swapped reg out for a spare. Other than that just your usual mask & fin strap scenarios. Solutions to all of these just...