International Diving Institute

Welcome to 2011 - Off to a great start!

2011-01-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

I would like to welcome any of you who have found this blog to view our informative website at www.internationaldivinginstitute.com and to become fans of ours on Facebook. This blog is occaisonally updated while the Facebook page is updated on a daily basis with new and exciting videos and photographs of our school activities. The year 2010 brought many exciting new changes to International Diving Institute. New underwater training projects, additional wet tank facilities, and additional staff members have helped to make our school the best in the US for training professional divers. To see more of the great things that have happened at International diving Institute over the past year please log into our site at Facebook and scroll through the many entry of photos, videos, and comments made by students and faculty. International Diving Institute is proud of the fact that we graduate a select group of highly qualified commercial divers with emphasis on quality of classes not high numbers of students. With International Diving Institute students receive a large amount of individual instruction as well as hands on training. International Diving Institute has developed a reputation as a leader in diver training and we are routinely contacted by Commercial diving companies, Film Companies, law enforcement, and other industries to consult with them on their underwater projects. Over the years International Diving Institute has consulted and assisted in training on underwater projects with many well known names such as Disney Filmakers, Myth Busters TV Series, and Discovery Channel. As we begin the New Year, we welcome 2011 for the exciting promises, potential, and adventure that it may bring to this wonderful world of commercial diving.

Sergio Smith & IDI receive Navy Award

2010-01-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

On December 4, 2009

Us Navy divers from the Trident Refit Facility presented Sergio Smith & the staff of International Diving Institute with an award plaque for assisting in treatment of a Navy Diver from the unit on October 7, 2009. International Diving Institute provided emergency equipment and one of the school's recompression chambers to the Navy for use in treatment of the diver.

Main Wet Tank retrofit nears completion

2010-01-20T07:45:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2010

Very soon the main wet tank at International Diving Institute will be filled again with approximately 48000 gallons of filtered water. For returning alumni the tank may appear very different with its new retrofit.

The tank has been stripped down, cleaned , and is now being re-coated with an epoxy paint. But along with this obvious facelift there are many improvements that have been made to the interior of the tank. These include:

- a new improved ladder
- multiple mounting hardware for projects
- 3 fixed flange projects
- a new observation window
- an overhead crane system to hoist objects into and out of the tank.
The most notable addition is a horizontal tube which is approximately 4' diameter X 13' long which is attached to the side of the Main Wet Tank with a 24" bolted flange. Divers will use this for advanced practice for penetration dives. The "penetration tube" has its own observation window.

After this retrofit International Diving Institute will no doubt have the largest Wet Tank Complex of any dive school in the US. The facility is comprised of 3 distinct Wet tanks

1. The new 9300 gallon Welding Tank dedicated to underwater welding
2. A 3336 Gallonn Confined Space Tank that is 22 feet tall
3. The newly retrofitted Main Wet Tank with over 48000 gallons of water at approximately 20 feet of depth.

Post & Courier Article on International Diving Institute

2010-01-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY, January 10, 2009

International Diving Institute has made the front page of the business section of the Charleston Post & Courier for Sunday, January 10, 2009. The article talks about increased interest in the school now that the economy is in a slump. IDI's enrollment has steadily grown over the past year with workers now looking for new careers and the necessary training to acquire these jobs. Check ouyt the article and accompanying video at the following link

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/10/taking-the-plunge/

American Welding Society at IDI - Sept 17, 2009

2009-10-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

On September 17, 2009 International Diving Institute hosted the South Carolina Section of the American Welding Society with the debut of our brand new underwater welding facility which includes a 20 foot deep, 9,330 gallon wet tank. The society event included a cookout with over 100 members in attendance. Highlights of the evening included an informative lecture on Underwater Wet Welding by Instructor, David Sharpe as well as an in water demonstration of wet welding by Steve Mattson, the Southeast Regional Director for American Welding Society

Facelift for our Wet Tank Facility

2009-08-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

August 01, 2009 Today IDI wet tank facilities have begun to receive a face lift with fresh new paint. Along with this the newly added welding tank is being completed and readied for painting. The facility now includes 3 distinct wet tanks with additional facilities planned. With this quality commercial diver training facility it's no wonder that International Diving Institute has been used for training by many government agencies, law enforcement agencies, corporate entities and film production groups such as Disney, Discovery, and others.

New welding Tank Arrives !

2009-07-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2009

Friday morning was an exciting one with the delivery of a 10" X 16" steel tank that will be fabricated into a 9300 gallon wet welding tank.
With this newest addition, wet welding exercises can be performed at any time without interference with other activities in the other wet tank facilities. This brings the total to 3 wet training tanks now. The main wet tank is 17' deep with a total capacity of 48,000 gallons of water and the other tank is a penetration tank for confined space training at 23' and contains 3336 gallons of water. As with the larger wet tank this new welding tank will include a poly carbonate observation window as well, a super sized filtration system, and will be equipped with standing rigging for hoisting large projects in and out of the tank. All heads tilted upward as the steel tank slowly ascended above the dive shop and was jockeyed into position beside the other two tanks. Students are now excited about being able to dive the tank and practice their underwater welding skills.

VideoRay ROV Exposition at IDI July 14th!

2009-07-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

VideoRay will have an exposition and seminar concerning underwater port security to be held at International Diving Institute on July 14 as part of their Underwater Port Security Tour. For more information contact the school or visit the VideoRay website at www.Videoray.com or their listing at http://underwaterportsecuritytour.com/. The program will start at 9:00AM at International Diving Institute. Lecture topics will include

Port Security Challenges

Underwater Port Security Solutions

Port Security Success - how other agencies are integrating new port security technology.

The last hour will involve hands on underwater port security demonstrations using VideoRay ROV systems.

IDI holds school Cookout

2009-04-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

APRIL COOKOUT

Friday April 17 was a fun day at International Diving Institute! As freshman students finished up dives working on flange projects in the deep tank, the sophomore and junior classes fired up the grill and commenced grilling 80 hamburgers! It was nice to have a break from the busy schedule here at International Diving Institute. From an instructor's perspective it's great to watch as students that didn't know each other at the beginning of school become great friends and colleagues by the time they've completed their 1st month here at Internationl Diving Institute. Life long friendships are made as students study and work together on the many hands on projects at IDI. Another great reason to train to be a commercial diver, the commraderie among commercial divers is incredible!

For more information visit us at our website at

www.internationaldivinginstitute.com

Sergi Smith, Intl Diving Institute CEO receives award from American Welding Society

2009-03-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

On the evening of March 18, the South Carolina Section of the American Welding Society held a meeting and blacksmithing demonstration at Trident Technical College in North Charleston, SC. Sergio Smith the CEO of International Diving Institute received an award for outstanding service to the South Carolina Section.

A Diver's Tale

2009-03-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

A Diver's Tale

Paul Mosquera
Class: 2/09

Imagine the possibility of changing life and creating the opportunity to act like a child again. For me, one of my most vivid memories was getting to play in marsh mud, under the summer heat, with my brother during our years of innocence. By the age of five, we were no longer allowed to get muddy in the marsh because we caught a case of ringworm by bacteria (something I wish upon no one) in the marsh. After that my “structural” education began, according to my father, “to send me on my way to greatness“. Although I followed his path, went to school, and then moved on to college receiving degrees in both Spanish and Political Science, I never forgot the joy of playing in that marsh with my brother.

Let’s make a jump forward to about two months ago. I was miserable. I hated working for a dead end job at a pool company. I hated doing nothing significant with my life. What I mean by significant is, “something that makes me happy”. Then I found the IDI website. I had been glancing over commercial diving schools for a while, but that fateful day I wrote and e-mail to David. Within two days I was signed up, ready to go and full of excitement just like I was in those days when I was playing in the marsh on those warm summer days. In two weeks, I would be off, and finally I had found my significance. Everything began to change, from my mood to the way I walked, talked and was even told that began to glow once more.

My first day of actual diving, I had the privilege to use a Kirby Morgan Superlite 17B. This hat is a demand-flow hat, meaning that they have in a built-in regulator that controls the amount the diver breathes by the breath the diver inhales. To the untrained eye, it basically looks like a face mask a fighter pilot will use while flying. This hat was gnarly. Like all hats it was heavy, so get use to it. It’s just a part of the work so if you can’t handle it, be part of the a zombie existence that I call office work. Anyway, all I really did was play around in a deep tank, showing off my swimming and acrobatic skills.

The next hat, another demand flow, was the Genesis II. A bit heavier, but I had a major problem with the neck dam. A neck dam goes the head of the diver and rests on the neck. My problem with this neck dam was it would leak air out of the back of the neck tremendously; instantly fogging up the face plate. Needless to say, not my best moment in the water.
One hat, which most diver’s don’t like, because of their big heads (whether it be actual size of their head or figuratively speaking), called the Gorski is another great demand flow hat. A bit tighter fit on the head; it was so snug and the level of security I felt inside this hat was tremendous. I had great mobility with my head and it’s comparable to the Superlite B17 in weight.

A funny note is that I was one of the only ones able to withstand the greatness that was the Gorski hat, that I still have not the opportunity to use the DESCOPOT, a free flow hat. A free flow hat basically means that it has air constantly flowing through and exhaust fumes flowing out without the use of a regulator (fighter pilot mask) covering the mouth and nose.
Although I did not have the experience of using the DESCOPOT, I did get the opportunity to use a free flow hat called the Swindell. This heavy clunk of metal did not like me very much. It rode up on my neck I could never get comfortable inside this hat. It had an exhaust valve that was supposed to be chin operated, but for me, more like forehead operated.

The only bandmask we use at IDI is a Kirby Morgan Bank Mask. It’s the same idea as a demand flow hat, except it uses a wetsuit like hood with a zipper down the middle of the back of the head. To secure the head and “alleviate” any leakage, a spider band is used to secure the diver’s head to the regulator. This is a great mask, if there are no necessary communications needed between the supervisor and diver (water tends to get into the ears). It was very light weight by comparison, but overall, for my tastes, I prefer demand flow hats over masks any day.
So to get back to the main point of the story, the possibility for me changing my life for the better occurs everyday I dive in the river. Now as an adult, I get to play with hoses to jet high pressure water into the mud, play with flanges, pipes, and all sorts of other goodies. And this is going to be my job!!! Huh, I never understood this life could be so great. Thanks to the technologies of theses hats and masks, I now have the opportunity to be a child once again, playing under the sun, in the mud, getting dirty. The only difference now, is I’m going to get paid to do it. What a wonderful world!

New blog for International Diving Institute

2009-03-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

International Diving Institute, a Commercial Diver Training Institute in Chareston, SC announces its new blogging site.

International diving Institute was established as the East Coast Dive Connection, LLC in 1996 and has been actively engaged in teaching since that date. It was officially changed to International Diving Institute LLC in 2004.

International Diving Institute is a member of the Association of diving Contractors, International (ADCI) and trains to the standards published by the Association of Diving Educators (ACDE), and the American Standards Institute (ANSI), the National Association of SCUBA Educators(NASE) and the Sea Research Society (SRS). The Institute's mission is to provide and prepare our graduates for a career in the commercial diving industry as entry-level divers/tenders who excel in knowledge, skills, and safety.

For information concerning our Commercial Diver Training Program or advanced sport diver training programs please contact our admissions office toll-free at 888-740-1124.

Please visit our newly designed website at www.internationaldivinginstitute.com