First week on Castaway Island attending the South Pacific Underwater
Medicine Society (SPUMS) annual scienfic meeting. Titled "Diving Medicine in
the New Millennium" (Fitness to Dive) the guest speaker was Professor David
Elliott from England.

The main topics covered were:
Long-term effects of diving - Robyn Walker, NSW OZ
Living on compressed air - Michael Logan, NSW OZ
Standard practice for medical assessment in recreational diving - Drew
Richardson (PADI), California, USA
Diabetes & Diving - Simon Mitchell, QLD OZ & Lynn Taylor, Auckland, NZ
In water restrictions for the so-called Unfit - David Elliott, England
Effects of pseudoephedrine & antihistamines in the hyperbaric environment -
David Taylor, VIC OZ
Prevalence of Asthma in scuba divers - Paul Langton, Perth OZ
Screening for Patent Foramen Ovale - Juerg Wendling, Switzerland
A Pathologist's view of diving medicine - Rees Jones, Whangarei NZ
Yo-yo diving - Henrik Staunstrup, Denmark
Handicapped divers & children - Juerg Wendling, Switzerland
Health surveillance in the 21st century - Des Gorman, Auckland NZ
Resort course medicals - Chris Coxon, Cairns OZ
The Abalone industry - Graham Pollard, SA OZ
Resumption of diving after a DCI incident - David Elliott
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the prevention of Osteoradionecrosis of the
facial bones - Sunia Vudiniabola
 .. and so on.

Professor Elliott has a curriculum vitae that reads like a book so I will
highlight only a few things he is/was involved in.  In 1965 involved with
deep diving trials, HMS Reclaim & medical officer for many experimental deep
oxy-helim dives. Surface medical officer for the first submarine escapes by
buoyant ascent from 500 feet breathing compressed air. Senior Medical
Officer for the Admiralty Experimental Diving Unit, Royal Naval Medical
School & Royal Navy Physiological Lab.
Taught courses for National Assoc. of UW Instructors & was President of BSAC
Southsea Branch. Participated in quite a few pioneering dives within the
Royal Navy, the US Navy & with Professor Buhlmann of Zurich. Exchange
Officer with the US Navy at the research institute in Bethesda, Maryland
involving decompression sickness research. Member of the diving medical
advisory committee founded to resolve medical problems arising in the North Sea.
On retirement from the Navy joined Shell International supervising their air
& mixed-gass diving programmes & supporting deep diving research. In 1977
loaned to the Norwegian Govt. investigating a deep water fatality (1050 fsw)
& to supervise the safe recovery of the Taylor Diving's A-frame from that
incident. With Professor Buhlmann of Zurich undertook practical operational
evaluation of deep diving procedures to 500m (1.600 ft) which were conducted
at the Norwegian UW Institute & at sea in support of the Statpipe project &
of Shell's deep submergence intervention study. While there included the
study of accidental cold water immersion & survival-at-sea. Is named with
Eric Bramham, a diving engineer, in the patent by Shell as the join
developer of "Air Pocket" a aid for UW escape from an inverted helicopter.
Consultant in occupation health to the German state laboratory - GUSI-GKSS
near Hamburg for a 3yr series of research dives between 300 & 500 metres.
Member of numerous medical committees in Norway, Sweden, Denmark,
Netherlands & UK.

The whole island was booked out for this conference. A very large island
with excellent acommodation & facilities, child minding service, lots of
daily activities for the wives who dont dive & plenty of fine food & wine.
Daily routine was dive in the morning with the meeting in the afternoon. Two
dives a day were in costed into the package deal. Shore dives were free, as
long as you had a buddy :-) and night dives required a minimum of 4 divers
costing extra.  Over 90 divers so boats were chartered from all over Fiji to
ferry us to the dive sites in comfort. Usually arrived back at the island
around 1pm, rinsed out the dive gear, had a shower & then scoffed down a
scrumptious lunch from the restaurant. The scientific meeting began at 3pm &
wound up around 7pm, just in time for drinkies and dinner.

After a few days of that routine I was finding it a little hard to keep me
eyeballs open during the medical meeting, but atleast I DIDNT fall asleep
like many of the doctors!!

Part II of my trip report will be created tonight .. and it will cover the
diving around Castaway Island. May have to have a Part III also, which will
cover diving around Kadavu Island.

    Viv &     Only when the last tree has died     o  ___
    Fluffy    and the last river been poisoned     o /@  \/
   (=*_*=)     and the last fish been caught        >  )::
             will we realise we cannot eat money.    \___/\
Chief Seattle, Chief of the Swamish Native Americans