The f...ing CDWS-Exam is now online! And free for download!

Hi all outta there!
If you wanna work on the Sinai you need meanwhile a work permit and you have to do a so called exam. To make it easier for you (like our arabic speaking friends did from January on) I will offer the CDWS-Exam for downloading. Didn't have time yet for comments and recommended answers....but: It will help you for the preparation. Wait for our comments....will be funny!

Preferred treatment of dive centers owned by people with arabic roots

Like you read before, there are a lot of rules by the CDWS for running a dive center. For example the 60-tanks-rule. But, how come, the Blue Realm Dive Center doesn't even have 60 tanks, and they are not black listed, no, they are even recommended by the CDWS. At the same time the CDWS is closing dive centers like Nirvana (they have 60 tanks) or 'Free Dive Dahab' (they don't need tanks, of course).
Apparently it has something to do with the nationality of the owner of the dive center. The owner of the Blue Realm Dive Center is a palestenian, native arabic speaking. How come that he doesn't have problems with the CDWS? Corruption? Contacts? Whatever....think for yourself!

The CDWS and the money - by our man in Cairo

Our man in Cairo with connections to the Ministry of Environment informed us, that the boss of the CDWS is getting a salary of 60.000 (!!!) LE/month. Oh, not to forget, plus expenses, of course. You can't ask a man in this important position to pay all his first class flights, his 5 star hotels etc. It's corruption business man!
Just for info: The CDWS has every month 2 full page ads in the british DIVER magazine, you can guess what the costs are. The ads are looking like normal reports, pretending that the CDWS will all turn to the better.
BTW: Last year they ended up with a minus in their balance of about 4.500.000 LEs...paid by whom?
By all the honest instructors and DM's who are paying the membership fee...hello corruption business!

The CDWS and the moorings @ 'The Islands' in Dahab

We don't know why are there some moorings necessary...it's a fucking shore dive site. Maybe for the convenience of the Sharm-Divers, nothing else.
But: respect the reef!
And don't do it like this:

The traffic and the CDWS

Apparently you need a Pick-up (for the tanks) and a Minibus (for the divers) not older than 3 years if you are running a dive center.
Hmm...here, in Dahab, it's shore diving. Means, you get your tanks ready, put them onto a car (Pick-up) and off we go!
This gives a lots of business to the local taxi drivers.
Apparently you need now an 'own' car and an 'own' MiniBus; and the divers are not allowed to sit in the same car like the tanks.

O.K., you will do a deep tek-dive, like 200 meters (aaeeehem, did you hear about technical diving, CDWS??), which is standard. Incl. all the support divers you'll have some 10 divers at the dive site. You'll have at least (!!) 4 cars (Pick-Ups) only for tanks. And YOU ask me to buy some Pick-Ups? Is your brother running Toyota Egypt?

Thanks for the evidence of corruption!

Missing diver in Sharm

Yep, they found him.
On a depth of 102 msw (on air, ref: http://dahab-gossip.blogspot.com/2010/02/missing-diver-in-sharm.html.
Hello, yeah, I wanna have an egyptian instructor...who's got the CDWS-card somehow (I don't use the word 'corruption')....yeah, that's all we wanna have!
An egyptian instructor who is 'the MAN'...
....and never comes back!

Another lost court case

The CDWS tried to fuck up all the foreign dive centers with a rule....you need to employ at least 9 Egyptians for 1 foreign dive instructor. Well, think about the 80's. Who figured out that the Red Sea would be a nice dive location for Europeans?

The Egyptians?
The Bedouins?

Who was investing hard money?

The Egyptians?

The Bedouins?

Now, as the business is running, they want to take part (nothing against it)...but: Let's do our business, we'll give you business (drivers, camel guides, etc..)

But: Don't try to take over the infrastructure we built!

All the contacts to dive clubs in the UK, the NL, Germany, etc...who did it?

Think about....and now the CDWS (Chamber of descent wankers and suckers) wants to come and take it all....

At least, they lost this court case...you need only one Egyptian for one foreign instructor...

...seems like they figured out that they can't do it on their own.

Plz correct me, but I'm happy with an english or german or dutch instructor....I certainly wouldn't be happy with an egyptian one who's killing himself http://dahab-gossip.blogspot.com/2010/02/missing-diver-in-sharm.html

The CDWS and the money and the 1st class flights

As you all know, the CDWS had a stand on the german BOOT show. Ok, not so bad.
But: Do they need to spend the money the instructors paying here for their f**ing 1st class trip?
I don't think so.
We had a guy in the CDWS, he's supposed to deliver us all the copies and the receipts of the contracts...but...unluckily, he got caught...so: only an example:
Here are the copies of the flight tickets...only to Cairo.
Why the fucking hell do you need a 1st class flight from Hurghada to Cairo, this 60 mins flight should be ok in tourist class.
Remember: They are using the money of all the dive instructors in Egypt.
I don't think the instructors will be happy.
Here are the flight tickets:

The CDWS and the mystery of the 60-tanks-rule

According to one of the CDWS-rules, each and every dive center needs to have at least 60 tanks.
Hmmmm....
What about Dahab?
Have a look.....
In Dahab, there's a lot of small dive centers, maybe hosting only 2 - 5 divers a day.
Why do they need to have 60 tanks?
And why do they need a compressor (another CDWS-rule?)
Where will be the filling stations?

And, by the way: Do you know how much it will cost to properly maintain a compressor?
What will be the result? Badly maintained compressors will lead to bad air and will lead to the death of a couple of divers....that's one (cynical) way to close down the small dive centers.

If there's a dive center with less than 60 tanks (yeah, please check all the dive centers which are 'owned' by Egyptians, apparently they don't need 60 tanks) why can't the dive center teach courses?
Do I need 60 tanks to supply 5 divers?
The CDWS couldn't answer yet!

Yeah, let's kill all the small and nice dive centers...Thank You, CDWS!

The CDWS and the money

We heard some gossips here...the CDWS apparently ran out of money.
Of course you will ask how...

Hmmmmm....

All the first class flights, the hotel fees (of course 5 Stars, how can you ask an egyptian staff member of this association to spend his short time of leisure in 'normal' hotels as he is ruling the water sports and diving world in Egypt...no, below his standards!) and the very expensive equipment they need...by the way: walk into the office of the CDWS in Sharm and ask them, if they can do a photocopy (of the documents they need for your slavery diving card): you will see the biggest fucking copy machine you've ever seen on earth...but no, even if you offer some money for the photocopy, they won't do it. Hmmmm....maybe the paper is so expensive that they can't pay their first class accomodation for their corrupt bosses (yep, some of them are serving for corruption in jail in the moment...and this in Egypt!).
Of course they have no money (paid by all the foreign dive instructors here) to preserve the reefs, the environment, the Red Sea....the uncle of the boss needs to have an eye surgery...and a new Ferrari!
The CDWS is in the moment 4.000.000 LE in debts, where has it gone?
Guess!
The winner will get a free tank of bad air...have a lot of fun with the CO2!

Missing diver in Sharm

Today, me (the Mystery Diver) overheard a conversation about a missing diver in Sharm. The diver (an egyptian instructor, hello CDWS) went in between 2 dives with paying customers for a dive on his own. One tank on the back, one tank, mounted on a BCD with a Reg under his arms. Hello, no idea about real technical diving?
It was really clear, that he will go for depth...as a fucking egyptian PADI-Instructor, no ideas about partial pressures and the physiological effects of certain gases at a certain partial pressure on his body. And, he went on his own. Of course, he's an instructor and a role model...yeah, the big terminator doesn't need a buddy! He is so cool, that he can approach a real depth without appropriate training, knowledge and without a buddy..
But....he didn't come back! What a surprise!

The CDWS was not able to organize a S&R-Team, so two TEC-Divers from Dahab were called by the Dive Center (not by the CDWS) to have a look for the body. Unfortunately they couldn't find the body (due to the currents and the delay of more than 48 hours).
Why such a long delay, you might ask?
Ok, the CDWS was busy with reorganizing the paperwork concerning this case instead of a S&R-action. As soon as it was clear that they can't do anything and they don't have technical divers to go deeper they had the marvellous idea of contacting someone who is familiar with this kind of actions needed...but 2 days too late.
Thanx a lot, CDWS!!
By the way: the Tec-Divers were getting paid by the dive center, not by any authority or the CDWS.