1. Due to the deep diving depth of 30-35m it is important that the diver is well experienced and confident. At this depth nitrogen narcosis can initially be experienced by the diver. It is imperative that the diver stays calm and in control at any stage of the dive and avoids a rapid ascent to the surface, no matter what can go wrong. Our highly experienced divemasters do an extensive pre-dive briefing on all possible and actual aspects of the dive. During the dive, they keep a constant eye on everybody in the group.

2. Diving in current is much fun and a convenient way to cover a large distance with very little effort. The divemaster carries a buoyline with a reel and a buoy floating on the water's surface. The boat follows this buoy and picks up each diver as he ascends to the surface as long as he is within sight of the surface buoy. If the current is very strong, we use our very own "Elephant Walk" system whereby every diver holds on to one leg of another diver. The first diver holds on to the divemaster's leg who gets pulled by the buoy on the surface. It is critically important not to get separated from the divemaster as he is the only connection to the boat! If this should happen, the lost diver(s) must ascend immediately to the surface without delay or even safety stop.

Every diver must carry a Surface Marker Buoy which is to be inflated should the boat not spot the surfaced diver immediately. The boat then will pick up the lost or surfaced divers and give an acoustic signal to the divemaster and his group. If the divemaster does not get the acoustic signal after a reasonable period of time, which allows the skipper to spot and load the lost diver, the divemaster then will ascend and alert the boat of the missing person. In the meantime the highest qualified diver will carry the buoyline. If the boat cannot see the surfaced diver, the divemaster will return to his group and abort the dive in order to start the search without delay. Due to our extreme emphasis during the dive briefing on lost diver procedure and due to our staff being drilled on stringent safety measures throughout the entire diving operation, African Dive Adventures has never lost any divers since our start in 1994.

3. Diving with sharks in natural water is not dangerous to the diver at all. No shark has ever attacked a scuba diver under same conditions worldwide. However, some sharks may be inquisitive and can come really close to the divers. It is important to stay calm and relaxed while encountering sharks. Any rapid movement will only scare the animals away and spoil the sightings for everybody. A rapid ascent could end in DCS.

The Dive Profile

The dive begins at 30-32m depth and generally doesn't drop to more than 35m on the Southern Pinnacles. On the Northern Pinnacles, the maximum depth will be 38m in the first cave and 35m in the second cave. According to the actual multilevel profile which will be dived, the no stop bottom time is approx. 16 minutes on the Southern and 13 minutes on the Northern Pinnacles. When the bottom time is up, we start to ascend to midwater where we often see the big Zambezies, Hammerheads, Black Tips etc. We spend about 5-7 minutes at 18m, ascend to 15m for about 10 minutes and spend another 10-15 minutes at 10 and 5m. Our minimum divetime is 30 minutes and our maximum divetime 45 minutes, all depending on how interesting the midwater area is.

We dive to computer limits. Every diver is responsible for his own maximum depth and his bottom time. If the diver stays with the divemaster at all times he can be sure that the dive will be without deco stop obligation. It is important to check your air regularly.