Pinnacle Diving Company

29/09/2026

Let’s talk very briefly about “Helicopter Turns”, shall we?

BLUF: This is not an “intuitive” skill.

Helicopter Turns are an incredibly useful finning technique that can help you change directions in tight spaces and move around obstacles efficiently.

Almost every diver struggles with learning to perform this technique during the initial stage of being introduced to this skill, and there are a few very common mistakes that directly contribute to that struggle:

1: Not moving both feet.
Many divers are unaware that they only move one foot when attempting to initiate a turn in either direction. Often times the foot they use will be the lead foot in the direction turning, but the trailing foot remains still. For this technique to be effective, both feet need to participate.

Solution 1: Think about moving both feet to turn.

2: Rotating the feet in the wrong direction.
The brain likes to “mirror” limbs. If the right foot rotates to the right, the left foot will have an unconscious tendency to rotate to the left. Like looking in a mirror. However, this will prevent the body from turning. To rotate the body, both feet need to move in the same direction, and not at the same time, but 180° from each other. This is counterintuitive and will take some mental imaging and “feeling” to pick up on. The result should look like you’re tracing a figure eight with the rotation of both feet combined.

Solution 2: Rotate both feet the same direction, but 180°from each other’s circular position.

3: One foot “scoops” and the other foot “pushes”.
To make the rotation possible, the lead foot must “push” the water with the bottom of the fin blade, while the trailing foot “scoops” the water with the top of the fin blade. To stay put without drifting, and rotate in place, remaining stationary, the fins should remain flat along the horizontal plane, and the body remain in proper trim, while the pushing and scooping movements are performed.

Solution 3: Lead foot ”pushes” while the trailing foot scoops.

For best results, practice while laying down on land first, then try it in the water. 😎👍🏻

10/09/2026

Today Chris from CS shared his 50th birthday, AND his 100th dive, with us, and we celebrated it together with some great dudes diving Shark City, surrounded by cuddly Sea Puppies and Sea Flap-Flaps, at 伊戸ダイビングサービスBOMMIE !

The weather was dreary with clouds and rain, and the water had some good current and low visibility, but banner deployment was still a success, and the sharks and rays still turned out to make the experience memorable.

お誕生日おめでとうございます、クリス！　🎊🎉

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From recreational to professional, technical to rebreather, occupational and medical, workshops and refreshers, we have the training to meet your needs.

And don’t forget! Spatial Disorientation for Divers, and A Guide to Sidemount Diving, and the Professional Divers Logbook, are now available worldwide on Amazon!

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28/08/2026

On today’s episode of Regulator Maintenance: Tell me you flooded your regs, without telling me you flooded your regs.

As an integrated part of Divemaster training, we train all DMC’s in regulator maintenance and troubleshooting. End of story, EVERY DM should be a basic qualified service technician, AND be fully capable of troubleshooting problems in the field and resolving them if possible. This isn’t something we should be nickle and diming people to pay more money for just to get another certification, it should be a direct part of their training to become a qualified DM.

This Apeks DS4 regulator set came to us with a request for servicing simply because the owner thought it was time. However, in the process, we discovered it had a number of issues… First, during initial testing, we found it had IP creep, and the 2nd stage was not adjusted correctly at all. Upon disassembly, we quickly discovered the reg had been flooded at some point. It was filled with corrosion and salt deposits. These had left indents in the soft seat, resulting in bleed, which was the cause of the IP creep. The SPG was discovered to have a piece of lume broken off. And as it turns out, the 2nd stage was apparently improperly set by whoever previously serviced it (apparently about a year ago).

Guiding our DMC through the process step by step, we cleaned everything, removed all corrosion, replaced all replaceable parts, lubricated everything properly, reassembled, and correctly set and balanced the system. Now that everything is clean and set properly, this reg set is ready for use again. Upon returning it to the owner, we explained everything we found and fixed, then gave a kind word of caution about preventing flooding and proper care. 😅👌🏻

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From recreational to professional, technical to rebreather, occupational and medical, workshops and refreshers, we have the training to meet your needs.

And don’t forget! Spatial Disorientation for Divers, and A Guide to Sidemount Diving, and the Professional Divers Logbook, are now available worldwide on Amazon!

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26/08/2026

Let’s all offer a HUGE congratulations to Max, of DoD Skillbridge Class 2026-08, and welcome him as the newest NAUI Divemaster to the professional underwater world!

Max came to us in July with some solid foundations, ready to hit the ground running, with Rescue and DFA already. And it was a good thing too! Because only being here with us until the end of August, he definitely had his work cut out for him! His goal was to become a Divemaster, and he had to complete 6 solid months worth of training in a span of 6 weeks. But Max was a BEAST! He completed Altitude, Spatial Disorientation training, Training Assistant, AND the notorious Master SCUBA Diver course by the end of July! He EVEN completed all requirements for earning the IANTD Recreational Essentials Diver certification too! Then IMMEDIATELY went full-throttle on DM! He dove deep into learning psychology, MOI/POI, presentations, safety, DFA, guiding practices, briefings, logistics, assessments and evaluations, planning and communications, the business of diving, history, finance, physics, biology, equipment, emergencies, and so much more… Before we knew it, he was knocking out distance swims, recoveries, rescues, assisting courses, giving refreshers, servicing equipment, and capstoning his course by leading multiple shark and wreck dives. All of that, and we STILL found time to climb Mt. Fuji in the middle of it all! To say he worked “hard” is an understatement.

Therefore!

To all present, greetings!

Let it be known, that on this day, 26 August, in the year of our Lord, 2026, Max did prove to be a Competent, Confident, Capable, and Safe dive professional, whom without any doubts we would trust our loved ones with, having proven his knowledge, skills, and abilities fit to lead others into the abyss and return them safely to the surface.

In recognition of his achievement and spirit for exploration, he is hereby certified as a NAUI Divemaster, with Member Number 67112, with all rights and privileges therein!

So help him Neptune, and may God have mercy on his soul!

Bravo Zulu! And a job well-done! 😎👊🏻

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24/08/2026

Core Skills Demonstrations
Recreational OC Self-Rescue Skills

In this demonstration, our NAUI DM Candidate Max, of DoD Skillbridge Class 2026-08, demonstrates the following basic core skill:

Emergency Swimming Ascent (ESA)

To provide the simplest explanation for why every diver should be able to perform this skill… If you’re out of gas, at a relatively shallow depth (think 18m or less), and your buddy is further away from you than the surface, the surface is where you need to go.

Notice that when the diver begins, an “Out of Air” signal is given, followed by a controlled ascent to the surface on a single breath, traveling no faster than 9m per minute, and steadily exhaling the entire way. Also notice the diver does NOT spit out his regulator. As you ascend, what little remaining pressure is left in the hoses will expand, and you might be able to get one more breath on the way up. Keeping your reg in your mouth could save your life in a real-life event.

This is the standard to which we train all our Open Water divers to meet, and this is a core skill all divers at every level should be able to perform confidently.

If you master the basics, everything else will become easier as a result. 😎💪🏻

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If you like our videos, please consider liking them, commenting below, subscribing to our channel, and sharing our videos with friends. It would seriously help us grow! Thank you. :)

From recreational to professional, technical to rebreather, occupational and medical, workshops and refreshers, we have the training to meet your needs.

To learn how PDC can work for you, visit us today at: https://pinnaclediving.com/

And don’t forget! Spatial Disorientation for Divers, and A Guide to Sidemount Diving, and the Professional Divers Logbook, are now available worldwide on Amazon!



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https://youtu.be/ulYayHnfKxM

Core Skills DemonstrationsRecreational OC Self-Rescue SkillsIn t...

23/08/2026

PDC Core Skills Demonstrations: Recreational OC Basic Self-Rescue Circuit

In this demonstration, our NAUI DM Candidate Max, of DoD Skillbridge Class 2026-08, demonstrates the following basic core self-rescue skills:

Regulator Clearing
- Method 1: Exhalation
- Method 2: Purge

Regulator Recovery
- Method 1: Reach Back
- Method 2: Sweep
- Method 3: Pull (Only possible with a long hose)

Mask Clearing
- Partial Flood
- Full Flood
- Lost Mask

Notice that ALL skills are performed while neutrally buoyant, in proper trim, with minimal drift and movement, without flailing or sculling, and in a calm, controlled, deliberate manner.

This is the standard to which we train all our Open Water divers to meet, and these are core skills all divers at every level should be able to perform confidently.

If you master the basics, everything else will become easier as a result.

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If you like our videos, please consider liking them, commenting below, subscribing to our channel, and sharing our videos with friends. It would seriously help us grow! Thank you. :)

From recreational to professional, technical to rebreather, occupational and medical, workshops and refreshers, we have the training to meet your needs.

To learn how PDC can work for you, visit us today at: https://pinnaclediving.com/

And don’t forget! Spatial Disorientation for Divers, and A Guide to Sidemount Diving, and the Professional Divers Logbook, are now available worldwide on Amazon!



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https://youtu.be/fAvWcH86tmg

PDC Core Skills Demonstrations: Recreational OC Basic Self-Rescue C...

23/08/2026

Japanese Bullhead Sharks.
Spotted at 20m off the coast of Izu.

Would you like to see these often elusive creatures?

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From recreational to professional, technical to rebreather, occupational and medical, workshops and refreshers, we have the training to meet your needs.

And don’t forget! Spatial Disorientation for Divers, and A Guide to Sidemount Diving, and the Professional Divers Logbook, are now available worldwide on Amazon!

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21/08/2026

Let’s talk a little about Shark Conservation, shall we?

In the past year, I have heard a LOT of opinions on conservation efforts with regards to sharks.

BLUF: The world NEEDS sharks in order for all other life on the planet, above and below the surface, to survive, and that INCLUDES us. Without sharks, ecosystems collapse, and if the oceans die, so too will life on land begin to follow.

Healthy ecosystem must have an abundance of their natural apex predators, but illegal and destructive fishing operations are out-right murdering sharks by the millions every year. Finning alone has leveled entire populations, and driven species after species to the brink of extinction. When the sharks disappear, so too do the fish. Besides putting a forceful and heavy-handed end to over-fishing, illegal fishing, and finning operations worldwide, the follow-on question becomes, how ELSE can we save, protect, and rebuild shark populations? This is where the opinionated inject their views, often ill-thought-out, and heavily judgmental…

A year ago, I heard some otherwise great photographers comment on how they hated the fact that our local shark conservation site was built by baiting. In their opinion, it seems the site where they were able to see hundreds upon hundreds of endangered sharks wasn’t good enough because it wasn’t “natural”. Baiting to keep the population in the area simply wasn’t “right” to them; they felt it should just somehow magically happen. But I ask, how ELSE are you to keep an endangered population away from fishing operations that clearly only care about profit?!

You may not “like” how the habitat was made, but there’s no doubt about its effectiveness as a conservation effort. Their numbers are slowly recovering, and that’s the point.

Instead of building an entire social media self-brand to gain popularity through riding on the coattails of people making real conservation efforts, and then falsely claiming you’re “promoting conservation”, or arguing about which method is more right in your “opinion”, how about joining the efforts to forcefully end operations destroying sharks, and get hands-on in helping them regrow?

Images by: Benni Marine Designs

11/08/2026

How cool are rebreathers?! The silence doesn’t scare away the wildlife. We got to watch squid laying eggs.

If you want to get close like this, message us when you’re ready to become a CCR diver. 😎

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From recreational to professional, technical to rebreather, occupational and medical, workshops and refreshers, we have the training to meet your needs.

And don’t forget! Spatial Disorientation for Divers, and A Guide to Sidemount Diving, and the Professional Divers Logbook, are now available worldwide on Amazon!

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09/08/2026

A CCR Diver from Europe flew to Japan for Rebreather Training with PDC

A certified Advanced EANx CCR diver from Europe contacted us by recommendation, and requested mentorship and coaching on CCR. She had a long list of concerns, including: SMB use, sidemount equipment use, equipment configuration, drysuit use, buoyancy, trim, finning, navigation, core CCR skills, and more. Essentially, she intends to take cave courses in the near future, and she did not feel comfortable or confident at all. She wanted to improve in core diving and rebreather skills, while in her sidemount configuration, and with a drysuit.

Growing divers into the best version of themselves is our specialty after all. :)

We spent 9 days, at Osezaki, diving non-stop, every day, for hours on end, focusing intensely on core skills practice. We started with an evaluation dive, followed by adjusting her entire harness to fit her properly, then a few shakedown dives to get her comfortable and boost confidence. As soon as she showed the slightest bit of comfort, we increased the difficulty. It is impossible for humans to grow when they are comfortable, so we push people into a continuous state of discomfort, forcing them into rapid growth.

By the end, we can see the difference. She worked hard, and the results speak for themselves. She is finally looking like a real, confident diver. Then we surprised her with a new certification she had no idea we were training her for... IANTD Tec CCR Essentials Diver. We also gifted her a copy of AJ's book, A Guide to Sidemount Diving: From Recreational to Technical (Ed. 2), and a mirror of her own to have.

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If you like our videos, please consider liking them, commenting below, subscribing to our channel, and sharing our videos with friends. It would seriously help us grow! Thank you. :)

From recreational to professional, technical to rebreather, occupational and medical, workshops and refreshers, we have the training to meet your needs.

To learn how PDC can work for you, visit us today at: https://pinnaclediving.com/

And don’t forget! Spatial Disorientation for Divers, and A Guide to Sidemount Diving, and the Professional Divers Logbook, are now available worldwide on Amazon!



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Music: Legacy
By: Scott Buckley
Source: https://youtu.be/635tej6SFj4?si=0nFY25GRdAmVoHMb

https://youtu.be/cZ38VBS1MyU

A certified Advanced EANx CCR diver from Europe contacted us by rec...