OZTek Sydney March 16-17 2019

[Fibonacci]

Just a heads up for Australian divers and those from overseas who may in Sydney on these dates... the annual OZTek Advanced Dive Conference and Exhibition will be held March 16-17 2019 at the International Convention Centre Darling Harbour.

Lots of interesting speakers scheduled covering cave diving, rebreathers, physiology, wreck diving, free diving and the latest advances in dive technlogy.
OZTek - diving information & inspiration - Speaker Presentation Previews 2019
OZTek - diving information & inspiration - OZTek Advanced Diving Conference Schedule

One of the highlights will be a presentation on the Tham Luang Cave Rescue by Craig Challen and Dr Richard Harris on Saturday 16 March at 5:30pm (priority to Gold and Silver Pass holders)
OZTek - diving information & inspiration - Tham Luang, Thailand Cave Rescue

I'll be attending on the Saturday, hope to see some other ScubaBoarders there!

 

[Fibonacci]

Just back from a great trip to Sydney for OZTek, lots of very interesting speakers during the day, handled latest dive gear also got to meet some US suppliers such as Dive Gear Express and of course our Canadian cousins at Shearwater Research (a very popular stand!)

But the standout event was the talk by Craig Challen and Dr Richard Harris at 5:30pm... the entire auditorium was packed out, as was the overflow auditorium with video link. They each spoke for 30mins, very informative but witty and self deprecating delivery.

Dr Harris reiterated that sedating the kids was discounted very early but eventually became the 'least worst' option via Ketamine as a full anaesthetic. The complexities of first administering the drug safely then keeping it topped up on the 3 hour journey out of the cave using untrained local helpers once out of the sumps was astounding.

Both men received well-deserved Australian of the year awards
Australian of the Year Awards