August 2013 Pez Maya, Mexico Highest quality dive training continues at Pez Maya Pez Maya has

continued its highly regarded diver training programme throughout September. The programme consists of more than just the PADI Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Rescue courses delivered with meticulous attention paid to best standards. As our Instructors have the luxury of diving with students for a long time after their formal courses are complete, our students are challenged to improve every time they dive. Active training continues on every dive. Our Instructors and Divemasters give personalised instruction in best diving practice. Particular attention is paid to streamlined body positioning, buddy contact and appropriate interaction with the reef ecosystem look in wonder, dont touch! At Pez Maya, we give every volunteer the opportunity and skills to become the best diver they can be. Whether they arrive on base having never dived before, or if theyve gone all the way to Divemaster before they arrive, there is always more to learn in diving. As a marine research base, Pez Maya, together with our local partners Amigos de Sian kaan, concentrates on honing dive techniques essential for reef monitoring. All volunteers complete the Coral Reef Research Diver specialty; we have certified 67 divers so far this year. Skills learnt include holding a compass baring, maintaining a hover (whether horizontal or inverted) at a precise distance over the reef and using monitoring equipment. Volunteers find that the techniques they have mastered while studying the benthic composition of reefs, and the fish and coral colonies that live on them, enable them to enjoy recreational diving more and also help them with specialty training later in their diving careers!

Figure 1: PADI Open Water students get to grips with the theory of diving before gearing up and getting in the water. Figure 2: Instructor Brad and a PADI Advanced Open Water student practice with a compass before an AOW Navigation Dive. Figure 3: A diver at Pez Maya maintains a horizontal body position while exploring the reefs (its okay to wave at the camera sometimes!)

During the last phase Pez Maya has certified five PADI Open Water Divers and a whopping 16 PADI Advanced Open Water Divers. This is only a fraction of the 15 Open Water Diver, 56 Advanced Open Water Divers and 14 Rescue Divers that we have certified in 2013. We have also trained 16 Divemasters through

our Divemaster Intership programme, which interns complete in partnership with leading dive shops in the region. Another five Divemaster Interns will be joining shops in Playa del Carmen and Xcalak in October. Pez Mayas efforts to train a legion of safe and eco-friendly divers has been acknowledged by DAN (the Divers Alert Network). In December 2012, GVIs Pez Maya base won the DAN Peoples Choice Award for diving operation with the safest diving standards!
To find out more about the Pez Maya expedition visit http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexico