Wreck & Reef Scuba Adventures

RAID Connect is a great way to get everyone back into the water and get together for a typical fun RAID social event. For more information scan the QR Code or visit www.diveraiduk.com/connect22 😀 👍🏻🐬

Totally chilled out 😂
Just some of the fun our new friends had today at the Try Dive session. Well done to all of you! Thanks to Gert for the assistance as well. All of you are stars! Watch this space for more photos. :-)

Enjoy the adventure of visiting the underwater world. Contact us for details of dive courses in your area.

Gonna have some fun at Aquanzi next Saturday - pool sessions for Rescue, Buoyancy and Scuba Try outs as well as some skills refresher sessions. 😁 Bring your cozzies and come join the fun with us.

Great excitement as Gerhard and Debbie experienced their first Umkomaas adventure over the weekend. Weather and water conditions dictated that only 1 dive could be done, but it was eventful and fun regardless. Well done you two :-)

Our Advanced 35 students took to the water on their own accord today to get their buoyancy perfect in light of having new BCD's. This in preparation for next weekends dives at the coast. Well done guys - good planning starts at least a week ahead of a dive excursion :-)

Some of our upcoming adventure weekends:
* Umkomaas weekend: 4 - 6 February 2022
* Durban weekend: 18 - 20 March 2022
* Sodwana weekend: 29 April - 2 May 2022.

Upcoming Courses:
* Junior Open Water 20 / Open Water 20 starts 12 February 2022
* Advanced 35 starts 13 February 2022
* Nitrox starts 12 February

Try Dive Sessions- Johannesburg: 11 February - Dive Centre
Try Dive Sessions- Durban: 17 March 2022 - venue tba

how many points do you have so far?

As we offer Recreational and Technical Scuba Diving courses, let’s see who can rack up some points!!!!!

sums it up perfectly : Modern, paperless, tech strong, eco-champions. Try it for yourself. Click on the link in oour website and benefit from the agency for divers, owned and run by divers. By the way, did you know that RAID was born in South Africa? come on, join us. Don't miss out.

We know no better password. Join the family with the lowest carbon FINprint out of all the agencies.

New IT level to manage crossover requests

During a year of change, RAID has seen such a huge increase in requests to crossover professional ratings for instructors affiliated with sister agencies, that we have had to create a new instructor-trainer program to manage the flow in a timely fashion.

Instructor crossovers (XO) have become a major priority for Dive RAID International as we've moved into 2022. The driving factors have been last year's release of several innovative new programs, including FREe-Learning, but the launch of Zero FEe-Membership* late in 2021 truly ramped things up. A reassuring number of dive-industry professionals realize that joining the Dive RAID team not only saves them money but also builds their personal credibility. RAID courses from Try-Dive and OW20 to the most advanced technical programs have a solid reputation for quality and safety.

Each of our Regional Offices is experiencing greatly increased requests, to the point where we have had to make changes to the administrative process better to streamline the process while maintaining the high standards RAID is famous for.

The newly created rating earns RAID professionals the right to join Examiners and existing Instructor Trainers to run crossover programs for instructors and divemasters accredited with recognised competitors.

Explaining what the new IT level means to the agency, PJ Prinsloo said, "We are obviously pleased with the number of crossover requests we have received, but we also realized that to handle those requests quickly enough to make it viable for the instructors asking to teach for RAID, we needed to make some changes."

Prinsloo, VP Training added that one of the biggest benefits to the RAID community is better service. "With the influx of new talent offering RAID programs and especially ConED specialties, we can better deliver safe, inclusive, and technologically smart training in more regions and to more people. Certifying more of our existing professionals to conduct crossovers, allows us to meet demand from the dive community."

If you are an existing RAID professional interested in adding this new rating to your professional credentials, please contact your local RRO for your region or contact: [email protected] with your location and current ratings for general XO information.

* Zero FEe-Membership (ZFM) is a Dive RAID International exclusive launched in late 2021. It means that dive pros with the agency pay NO annual subscription fees provided they issue at least five certifications for the agency in the following calendar year.

Media contacts: [email protected],

With 2022 off to a flying start, remember to set your scuba diving challenges for the year!

With our online courses we offer the lowest carbon "fin print" of any training agency out there. Study in your own time at your own pace, spending more time with your instructor. For informed discussions and more water time. The best divers deserve the best instructors.

Find the perfect diving course at https://www.diveraid.com/

Wreck & Reef Scuba Adventures updated their phone number.

Wreck & Reef Scuba Adventures updated their information in their About section.

Being unafRAID reaps rewards.

With emphasis on quality instruction rather than profit, RAID is putting a lot of safe, competent divers into the water.

I have held Instructor status in three other major dive agencies over the last 30 years and can honestly say that when I crossed over to RAID I had to re-learn many skills to teach whilst in neutral buoyancy and optimal trim.

The other thing that had a major impact on me was how Students could start learning the theory for FREE. I thought that was revolutionary.
Now annual Instructor and Dive Centre Renewals are FREE...unheard of in the Industry - well done and thank you RAID.

Somehow I predict our RAID family is about to get a lot bigger, very fast, very soon.

To those wanting to cross-over to RAID I can give you some advice - practice and learn to live in neutral buoyancy, and be ready to be absolutely amazed!

Reaction to RAID’s Zero FEe-Membership…

Wow, what a response
When we shared the news with the world about Zero FEe-Membership, we had planned for a healthy response, but even so, we are in shock. We have been inundated with emails, phone calls and video calls. Mostly, from our members saying thank you for making this work, from instructors and dive centres asking, “how do we crossover to RAID?” and from others asking how on earth is this possible?

Let’s get a few things sorted, and let’s start with the basics.

There are no subscription fees for our instructors and dive centres to teach for RAID. For most of us, annual subscriptions have always been a drain on cash-flow at a difficult time of year. So, we have worked out a business model that allows us to forego that revenue stream.
Our accounting department crunched numbers and showed us smart and, most of all, fair ways to compensate for the loss. The overview is simple: if we make it easier for our members to stay in business, their certifications will grow. The result, increased revenue for them and for RAID. There are a few other initiatives that we’ll promote as the year unfolds but the bottom line is, Zero FEe-Membership is viable for RAID, and it will not affect the level of service we provide or the depth of that service.
One other point that may sound like semantics but it’s an important distinction to get across. We have done away with annual membership subscriptions. We believe subscriptions have SHRUNK the industry over the past several years. We are working to grow it, hence the need to certify five divers to maintain Zero FEe-Membership status. And also, instructors and dive centres still pay for course credits and associated cost of doing business. We have not made any of those costs ‘free.’ However, as always, those costs are very competitive, fair and affordable… but not Free!

We cannot share the business model we’ve developed to make this work – our competition would love us to do that – but we can share a few things that our members do NOT have to pay for.

Dive Raid International is an online entity entirely. All our instructional materials, all our business is conducted online. This means our members do not have to pay hidden fees to cover printing costs, warehousing fees, and shipping.
Dive RAID International has no super-salaried figureheads on its payroll. When you work for this agency, you are a productive member of the team not a flag-waving executive. We think it would be unfair to have our members paying for expensive dead-wood.
Dive RAID International does not have a huge office with a brightly-lit sign on the outside and expensive leather chairs and desks on the inside. Our offices are modest and functional. The benefit to our membership is simply that they are not paying huge rental and real-estate fees to keep us in business.
Dive RAID International shareholders work for the agency… for some of them, RAID is all they do day-to-day. This is efficient and effective, and it makes share-holders’ meetings direct and to the point. Everyone knows first-hand what’s going on and where the company is going. This translates into small costs for our membership.
Dive RAID International has a legal team, and they are smart cookies, but their fees are realistic and supportable. We don’t have to pass on the burden of huge legal fees to our membership.

And one final thing to consider: The management team’s mantra here at RAID is to be nimble and agile. As such, we will always strive to be different and to lead rather than follow. Zero FEe-Membership is an example of that difference. Within the scuba diving industry there isn’t much we can compare it to; perhaps the closest analogy is a coop. Dive RAID International is member-centric and we have worked for two years to make Zero FEe-Membership happen. It seems fair and smart and totally outside the box. And we know it confuses some and frustrates those who are locked into expensive annual subscriptions. But we believe you will support us and this ground-breaking initiative because RAID is your agency.

CONTACT [email protected] or your local RAID Regional Office for full details and for instructions on how to remain in status for 2022 or cross your instructor membership or business over to Dive RAID International.
*To maintain active status in 2023, RAID instructors will be required to certify five (5) divers during 2022. Should this not be achieved, instructors will be required to do an online update which will detail all the changes at RAID during the past year.

Car already loaded - off to Bass Lake tomorrow to get some dives in with HSASA - their event started today and ends on Sunday - well worth supporting :-)
😄

Shore entry and Boat dives, night dive, bushman paintings, game viewing all in one weekend.
We are off to Sterkfontein Dam for a bit of adventure from 5 - 7 November 2021 with the crew from Divetek.
Come join in on the fun. R2800 divers - R2200 non-divers.
There is something there for everyone :-)

Preparing for a weekend dive where I can guarantee awful viz - searching for objects using a blacked-out mask :-) Guaranteed fun but done in a safe, controlled environment.😃

Gerhard and Debbie having fun during their last pool session today - now we venture to bigger things :-)

The mission: Eastern Cape \ KZN for the Sardine Run expected in June.
The preparation: Bass Lake is looking really good at the moment. Viz is great and water temperature is pleasant. This all points to an Advanced Course in early May when conditions will still be favourable. 😃
If you are thinking about joining us for the Annual Sardine run down at the coast, now is a brilliant time to do a Shark Speciality, Nitrox and/or Advanced if you do not already have them.
Start your learning towards these courses for free. Go to https://www.diveraid.mobi/Home/RegisterUser?fromdc=782
to get started.

wwww.diveraid.mobi

Ocean Impact | appeal Add your voice for increased marine protection in South Africa's waters.

It's now easier to sign up for Wreck & Reef Scuba Adventures's updates.

It's so rewarding to see a new student suddenly get the hang of trim and buoyancy on their first pool session and then effortlessly move about in mid-water :-)

Something all divers should pay attention to. Feeding fish is just one way that we harm their environment. Teasing fish and provoking them to approach you to defend their nests also potentially has the same effect. Be aware, learn more about the underwater environment and how to be a good ambassador to it.

Looking forward to welcoming Keryn van der Walt, the Owner/ Director of Southern Africa RAID International to the dive Centre tomorrow. It is really awesome when you get this level of support from an Agency.