Seminar Schedule

This 2-day workshop is designed for any NAUI Leader (Assistant Instructor, Skin Diving Instructor, Divemaster, Instructor) who wishes to teach the NAUI First Aid – Powered by DAN courses.

The first day focuses on First Aid (and related) skills. The second day is devoted to the methodology to teach and administer these courses. To ensure the high-quality level of skills and instruction that NAUI is known for, this workshop will refresh your First Aid and CPR skills, provide valuable information concerning new First Aid standards, as well as give you insight on training and how to implement and conduct these courses. The $295 workshop fee will include reference materials. Workshop materials must be purchased separately in the NAUI store and will include an activation code to the prerequisite eLearning. Please visit https://www.naui.org/events/ for more details.

This workshop is open to all current NAUI members and will review revisions to NAUI standards and important updates regarding NAUI leadership and instructor training courses. Instructors who successfully complete this workshop will be requalified at their current designation through December 31, 2022. Designated instructors (IT, CD, CDT) in emeritus status may requalify at their previous designation after successfully completing this workshop and a Training Department review. Any NAUI member who plans to conduct or staff NAUI leadership and instructor programs, or those seeking their own professional development are encouraged to attend. The $195 workshop fee will include all required materials. Please visit https://www.naui.org/events/ for more details.

Visual Cylinder Inspection® – 8am – 5pm, $295

Visual Cylinder Inspection® Refresh – Concurrent with VCI, $225

The PSI-PCI Visual Cylinder Inspection® training is the course you need to be compliant with the federal regulations regarding hazmat handling, fill station operations and inspection requirements.  The course covers steel, aluminum and composite cylinders including makeup, manufacturing, and inspection.  We include basic information on topics such as hydro-requalifying, valves, oxygen and eddy current testing.  You will have a full, well rounded knowledge of cylinders upon completion as well as a worldwide recognized Certificate of Training from the only company that whose program is formally endorsed, utilized and referred to by the cylinder manufacturers; and recognized by rule-making entities USDOT and Compressed Gas Association.  PSI-PCI is your Cylinder Safety Solution.  Join the team of PSI-PCI professionals at the Scuba Show.

The Refresh price point is provided for expired alumni that need to complete the training to regain compliance with the federal training requirements for this subject.  If you are not sure of your status, please contact PSI-PCI to confirm.

Details and online signup are available here: http://www.psicylinders.com/regional-training. Or please contact PSI-PCI for details, 425-398-4300 or staff@psicylinders.com.

This 2-day workshop is designed for any NAUI Leader (Assistant Instructor, Skin Diving Instructor, Divemaster, Instructor) who wishes to teach the NAUI First Aid – Powered by DAN courses.

The first day focuses on First Aid (and related) skills. The second day is devoted to the methodology to teach and administer these courses. To ensure the high-quality level of skills and instruction that NAUI is known for, this workshop will refresh your First Aid and CPR skills, provide valuable information concerning new First Aid standards, as well as give you insight on training and how to implement and conduct these courses. The $295 workshop fee will include reference materials. Workshop materials must be purchased separately in the NAUI store and will include an activation code to the prerequisite eLearning. Please visit https://www.naui.org/events/ for more details.

PSI-PCI Update – $115

The PSI-PCI annual Update is provided for current PSI-PCI trained inspectors to continue compliance with their 3 year recurrent training requirement.  We will cover reminders, new information, rules and regulations and general industry news to keep you up to date on cylinder inspection and safety.

(Pre-requisite:  Current PSI-PCI Inspector)

Details and online signup are available here: http://www.psicylinders.com/regional-training. Or please contact PSI-PCI for details, 425-398-4300 or staff@psicylinders.com.

Valve Repair Technician – $175

The cylinder valve can be one of the most ignored and neglected pieces of the dive ensemble but many are not aware that there are in fact requirements for valve service.  The PSI-PCI course is a basic overview of valves including valve types, disassembly and reassembly and general knowledge of cleaning and maintenance.  Several valve manufacturers endorse and have contributed to the program to include valve schematics and parts layouts included in our program.

Details and online signup are available here: http://www.psicylinders.com/regional-training. Or please contact PSI-PCI for details, 425-398-4300 or staff@psicylinders.com.

Los Angeles County is a part of the Southern California Bight which offers a rich and diverse marine environment for SCUBA & freediving, but the best diving spots are also in areas with the potential for high turbulence, and even with different turbulence profiles for each season.

With concepts that can be applied to other diving locales around the world, this seminar will discuss how to utilize NOAA and newly enhanced CDIP forecasting tools to identify and forecast favorable weather, tide, surf and tidal flow turbulence patterns for popular dive sites in Los Angeles County. We will also discuss the forecast for the summer and fall turbulence patterns for the Southern California Bight.

I have worked as a professional underwater photographer and filmmaker for more than four decades, and have enjoyed countless adventures. In this presentation, I am going to share some of my favorite underwater images and stories, and share why the selected photographs are special to me, the challenges of capturing them, what I did and what I might do differently if I could have a “do over”. This presentation will be interactive, allowing people in the audience to ask questions. My intention is to share the backstories to help you learn about the shooting scenarios and challenges in an effort to help you be successful in similar circumstances. I hope you will attend and participate!

More than two decades ago, Wakatobi’s founder, Lorenz Mäder, established a community-based conservation program that provides proactive protection for some 20 kilometers of coral reef. Wakatobi Dive Resort now encompasses some of the most pristine and bio-diverse reefs on Earth, including the famous House Reef. Featured speaker Walt Stearns shares experience and insights on how Wakatobi transformed from a simple dive outpost into a premier destination, and is now one of the world’s most successful models for cooperative conservation. The Wakatobi experience includes world-class diving, luxurious accommodations, fine dining and impeccable services, with direct charter flights from Bali.

Freediving is an important growing segment of U.S. diving activities. A recent UC San Diego interdisciplinary review of recreational and technical freediving experience highlights findings and status from clinical medical evidence, incident case studies, extreme freediving exposures, freediving safety training programs, experimental oxygen pre-breathing, and comparative marine mammal physiology to put human performances into perspective. This experience-based examination of practical/operational parameters of freediving athletes and evidence-based evaluation of scientific and medical issues provided the basis for experimental research designs of future breathhold diving studies. The challenges of duration and depth lead to a re-examination of the proposed 60-second breathhold limit.

Join us as we take you on a virtual tour of Palau. We will show you how to get to Palau, which hotels are best and when the best time to visit is. We will also have our 3D dive site mapping to show you in depth a few of the top sites in Palau. This archipelago consists of 250 to 500 islands (depending on what size you consider) with beautiful karst formations making it a true scenic delight topside. The warm, clear waters offer opportunities to see and film manta rays, sharks and a virtual biodiverse bonanza of fish. The site of a major battle during World War II, it also gives one a chance to dive wrecks and see the relics of the bloody battle on Peleliu.

 Oxygen Cylinder Cleaning Technician – $175

The PSI-PCI specialty course for Oxygen Cylinder Cleaning goes more in depth than the VCI program to provide you with the knowledge you need to identify the need for oxygen cleaning a cylinder, how to do it and how to maintain the cylinders.  It includes information on oxygen hazards and safety.  This valuable training is also federally required if you are an oxygen or enriched air cylinder handler/inspector.  The course is based on research by industry experts in oxygen and gas fields.  (Pre-requisite:  Current PSI-PCI Inspector)

Details and online signup are available here: http://www.psicylinders.com/regional-training. Or please contact PSI-PCI for details, 425-398-4300 or staff@psicylinders.com.

Whether you’re interested in capturing marine life with a camera or simply observing, there is no substitute for being physically close. From tiny gobies to massive whales, many animals are inherently shy, making close interaction difficult. When approached properly, however, most sea creatures are surprisingly tolerant of divers. This seminar will teach you techniques that can turn fleeting glimpses into relaxed, intimate encounters. You’ll learn how to approach shy animals, gain their trust, and get close without scaring them away, making every dive a more enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Reef Check Foundation is an international non-profit organization working to protect tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs through education, research and conservation. Reef Check trains hundreds of volunteer divers to become citizen scientists that survey coral and rocky reefs every year. The data is used to improve the management and conservation of our marine habitats, and our citizen scientists become ocean ambassadors that lead their communities to care for their ocean resources. We have teams and training opportunities throughout California and across the world.  Come learn how you can join our divers, educators, trainers and teams and support marine conservation worldwide.

Although photographing diversis common in underwater imaging, very few photographers have spent significant time in front of the lens working as a model.  Andy and Allison have spent thousands of hours working together on both sides of the camera, and this entertaining seminar will provide a unique view on the subject from the perspective of both photographer and model, concentrating on teamwork.  Included are tips on working with other divers, learning to share, basics of communication, gear and other aesthetic considerations, incorporating a modelinto both reef and wreck scenes, and optimizing your images’ appeal to photo editors.

Excellent diving conditions in clear life-filled waters are not just found in far-flung places that require a flight. Excellent diving is in our backyard at the California Channel Islands. Five of the islands form a National Park. Anacapa, a mere 11 miles from the mainland; the furthest is remote San Nicolas Island at 57 miles out; and of course there is the island of romance, Santa Catalina. Each island is different: Different marine life, underwater topographies and diving opportunities. Colorful walls and pinnacles, the fun antics of sea lions, and of course the famous beauty of the giant kelp forests. With over 70 years of combined diving experience in California waters, authors Dale and Kim Sheckler will lead you on a tour of the wonderful Channel Islands.

Eddy Current Technician – $175

Cylinder manufacturers have come together in agreement that aluminum alloy 6061 cylinders have no need to be eddy current tested.  We realize that some still test 6351 alloy cylinders and need the certificate or federally required 3 year recurrent training on it.  Thus we will conduct the Eddy Current course upon request rather than a regularly scheduled class.

Details and online signup are available here: http://www.psicylinders.com/regional-training. Or please contact PSI-PCI for details, 425-398-4300 or staff@psicylinders.com.  (Pre-requisite:  Current PSI-PCI Inspector)

Be inspired to live and dive energetically. Divers love food and need to eat well to fuel diving activity, enhance mental acuity and maintain a healthy body composition. Combining ideal nutrition with performance-based exercise is key to a long happy diving lifestyle. Attendees take home the EAT – FIT – DIVE plan personalized to individual fitness level and diving experience. Discussion includes a brief on macronutrients, timing of meals for exercise and diving, weight management, injury prevention, and a QnA session. The sooner divers begin to exercise the better. Bring the family. Win fitness freebies in the FitDiver^®raffle.

Any time there is a scuba fatality in Los Angeles County, the Office of Medical Examiner-Corner is charged with finding out why. Sometimes it’s medically related, many times it’s diver error, but all fatalities are thoroughly investigated to determine what went wrong. In this very popular 90‐minute panel discussion, you will get an overview of the Coroner’s work. The actual cases from 2018 will all be presented, covering the accident, the attempted treatment of the victim at the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, what the accident analysis discovered, and what the takeaway lessons are. It is said that the wise man learns from the mistakes of others and divers of all experience levels can learn lessons from these tragedies that could truly prevent a death in the future.

Scott Gietler, owner of Bluewater Photo, Bluewater Travel, and the Underwater Photography Guide, will be covering 2 related topics within his presentation. First, he will unveil Bluewater Travel’s “Bucket List”- a list of unique trips to the world’s most amazing underwater wildlife congregations, and then he will dive into photo/video tips & tricks on how to nail the shots during these once-in-a-lifetime events. Come join us to see some amazing photos & video, learn about some of the best marine life experiences you could imagine, and find out how to get the photos / videos you’ve always dreamed of.

Join us as we take you on a virtual tour of Palau. We will show you how to get to Palau, which hotels are best and when the best time to visit is. We will also have our 3D dive site mapping to show you in depth a few of the top sites in Palau. This archipelago consists of 250 to 500 islands (depending on what size you consider) with beautiful karst formations making it a true scenic delight topside. The warm, clear waters offer opportunities to see and film manta rays, sharks and a virtual biodiverse bonanza of fish. The site of a major battle during World War II, it also gives one a chance to dive wrecks and see the relics of the bloody battle on Peleliu.

More than two decades ago, Wakatobi’s founder, Lorenz Mäder, established a community-based conservation program that provides proactive protection for some 20 kilometers of coral reef. Wakatobi Dive Resort now encompasses some of the most pristine and bio-diverse reefs on Earth, including the famous House Reef. Featured speaker Walt Stearns shares experience and insights on how Wakatobi transformed from a simple dive outpost into a premier destination, and is now one of the world’s most successful models for cooperative conservation. The Wakatobi experience includes world-class diving, luxurious accommodations, fine dining and impeccable services, with direct charter flights from Bali.

If you ask most divers to produce their bucket list of fish-I-wanna-see, chances are “swimming with a Whale Shark” will be at the top. And while it’s an elusive goal for many, if you’d like to almost guarantee success, all you need to do is get yourself down to Isla Mujeres, an island off Cancun, where Whale Sharks congregate on a seasonal basis. Ken Kurtis has been guiding trips down to swim with these plankton-eating gentle giants for a number of years now and will share his experiences with you, as well as show you how you can do this on your own or as part of a group. And he’ll also highlight the other things to do while in this area, which include exploring the Cancun Underwater Museum as well as diving some of the cenotes over on the mainland. And because interaction with the Whale Sharks is a snorkel-only experience (mandated by the Mexican government), this is a seminar that will be of interest to divers and non-divers alike.

Whether you’re interested in capturing marine life with a camera or simply observing, there is no substitute for being physically close. From tiny gobies to massive whales, many animals are inherently shy, making close interaction difficult. When approached properly, however, most sea creatures are surprisingly tolerant of divers. This seminar will teach you techniques that can turn fleeting glimpses into relaxed, intimate encounters. You’ll learn how to approach shy animals, gain their trust, and get close without scaring them away, making every dive a more enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Flooding damage is too common and post-dive preparation is necessary to prevent it. Participants will be provided with a com­plimentary personal maintenance kit that also enables an interactive approach to this seminar. Topics include: Common mistakes and why they happen; Preparing equipment to survive TSA inspections; Pre-dive & post-dive prep; Silicon lubricants and their applications; Seal­ing surfaces and their care; Swab-tech: cotton vs. sponge; Care of ports (acrylic and glass); Housings, strobes, and cables — what the Manuals Leave Out; Fiber Optic Cables: Function, myths, and reality; Moisture Alarms: Standard & Vacuum,rewards and risks; What to do when flooding occurs; Field repairs: MacGuyver or MacDesperate? Interactive from speaker to attendees and between attendees, this popular seminar is so different each time that a core group of established photographers attend yearly.

Curaçao, the Caribbean’s “Best Kept Secret,” is emerging as the Caribbean’s hottest vacation destination. With world class diving, a plethora of top side attractions, events and a blend of cultures, Curaçao is a perfect destination for divers and non-divers alike. Ocean Encounters, Curaçao’s premier 5 star dive center, is leading the way with their commitment to sustainability outlined in their #OEPledge. Please join their seminar to learn about sustainable business practices, from Coral Restoration & Project AWARE’s “Adopt a Dive Site” to recycling and coral safe sunscreens.

As long as your paperwork is in place, and you’ve bought all the best equipment, you’ll be safe… right? Sure, safe from a lawsuit, maybe, but are you really safe? Consider that 41% of fatalities in a DAN research study listed “Out of Air” as a cause. But, why did they run out of air? Certainly, these divers all “knew better”!Learn what you can do to maximize your real safety by reviewing diving cases and exploring why we humans are so error prone. Come find out why accidents and incidents really happen and how you can avoid being ’That Story’!

Dive lawyers Rick Lesser and Jorge Lopez discuss the legal issues facing recreational divers, with a particular emphasis on those affecting divers in California. Among the issues they will discuss are the standards of care applicable to recreational divers, the legal obligations of “dive buddies,” the impact and consequences of medical statements, and the validity of releases of liability in different contexts. They draw upon their years of experience litigating dive cases from both the plaintiff and defense sides and share real-life examples from cases they have litigated and are currently litigating in different courts throughout the country.

You’re going on a dive trip with your camera, you’re going to shoot hours of video footage.  No one wants to watch hours of unedited footage, what to do?  I’ll show you how to optimize your shooting techniques, to make an interesting and watchable video production.  You’ll learn how to organize a streamlined workflow, from prior to pressing the first REC button, to a final edited movie.   This is not just for video camera shooters, most cameras have a video feature.  This is for all shooters, from GoPro to Compact, to Mirrorless, to DSLR’s.  We’ll discuss various editing software, from free to monthly subscriptions, to the game changing DaVinci Resolve.