Kansas CIty Star: Marcy Barham makes it possible for anyone to dive
Marcy Barham has a sickness most would envy.
“I call it the scuba-diving sickness,” Barham said. “You get it, and you can’t turn back.”
Barham is a dive master and interactive teacher at the Dive Shop in Merriam. She left behind a job in pharmaceutical sales to pursue teaching, and 12 years in, she’s more passionate about the sport than ever.
How does an inlander get addicted to scuba diving?
I grew up as a fish; I swam all the time. When I was in college, a friend of mine asked me to be a guest on his boat. He said, “Get certified, get a ticket and come spend a week on this sailboat.” I called the Dive Shop, got signed up for classes and made my way down to the Bahamas. It grew from there.
Where have you dived?
Most of my dives have been in the Bahamas, but I’ve also dived in Roatan, Honduras; Cayman Brac; Cayman Islands and Chuuk, Micronesia. In Micronesia, we swam around the islands where Japanese ships from World War II had sunk.
How deep can you dive?
I’m certified for 130 feet, but when I was in Micronesia I was dying to see the sunken army tanks. So I went about 160 feet.
Do you collect anything from reefs or shipwrecks?
Just memories and pictures. I’m a firm believer of not touching and not taking. A lot of underwater national parks say you can’t take a grain of sand or a shell. The less we touch, the longer it lasts.
So what’s it like down there in the deep blue?
It’s euphoria. You can go down and tune everything out and just hear yourself breathe. I’ve had a few students with ADD, and they’ve told me that when they scuba, they relax. It’s their opportunity to mellow out and take it easy. For them to be able to do that underwater is neat.
Sounds like you love teaching.
Yeah. It’s hard to make a living, especially in the Midwest, but it fulfills a passion. And I understand what those kids mean. It’s sort of my underwater yoga world, too.
It seems like kicking and swimming would be physically demanding, not yoga-esque …
Most of the time, no. It’s a Sunday-drive kind of sport. You just relax, kick and glide.
Is your equipment heavy?
Under or above water?
Both.
A tank, BCD (buoyancy compensator device) and regulator weigh about 30 pounds. The lead weights add another 10 pounds or so, but once you’re in the water, all that weight only feels like 5 to 10 pounds, almost weightless.
What kind of certification do you have?
I got my open-water certification in 1999 and followed with my advanced scuba diving certification in 2002 and rescue diver certification in 2002-2003. Completed my dive master certification in 2004, and now I’m starting my assistant instructor program.
Any trips planned?
I always have a revolving list of dream destinations. My next trip will be back to the Bahamas at the end of this month.
What a great excuse to travel.
When you have the time and money.
I do have reservations. Most of them are shark-related.
I’ve never had my life threatened, and I’ve been on many shark dives with blacktip reef sharks, silvertip reef sharks, nurse sharks and Caribbean reef sharks.
Yikes.
Unfortunately, due to some movies in the ’70s, they get a bad rep. But on average, there are more dog bites each year than shark bites.
I’ve heard your lungs can pop.
The No. 1 rule is never hold your breath. That causes lung expansion. We cover how to deal with all that. If you do what you’re trained to do, you’ll be fine. And nervousness is normal. One of the divers here has extreme claustrophobia, but she can now dive and teach because she allowed herself to work through it.
Is there a good beginner class for someone like me, with zero experience?
At 10 a.m. on Saturday mornings we have “Discover Lessons” for ages 10 and up, and for $15 you can get the lesson and equipment. Just schedule with us a week or two in advance ( www.kcdiveshop.com).
Well, maybe I’ll bring the boyfriend along.
If he likes it, then you’ve got Christmas, birthdays and everything else covered. This hobby makes shopping very easy
Monday, June 20, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Bowen Island, Canada: Diving for Bowen’s treasures
BClocalNews: Diving for Bowen’s treasures
With the great outdoors right outside the door, Bowen gives kids and adults get plenty of opportunity to see and learn about their environment. There is, however, an environment that isn’t as easy to access – the shores around Bowen Island.
But the Bowen Nature Club and local scuba diver Adam Taylor make it easier to connect with the ocean with the club’s nature dive. The popular event returned June 5 and saw many Bowen families at the Mt. Gardner dock to visit with creatures they’d never seen before.
Taylor, who also conducts events for pre-school kids, BICS, CNIB campers and others, was contacted by the Nature Club five years ago to conduct the dives. The experienced diver and his dive team, Mira Grbich and Chris Harvey-Clark, brought up underwater creatures such as spiny pink sea stars.
After bringing them ashore, young people, their eyes full of wonderment, followed their every step. The divers placed the sea life in a safe water environment – “touch tanks” – so the children could visit with them and learn about the marine environment.
“Kids tend to like the sea cucumbers and sunflower stars the best; they’re big and slimy,” Taylor said. “The younger ones are usually drawn to moon jelly – left in a Ziploc bag for safe viewing – because of the scene from Finding Nemo. They also like the smallest of the sun stars or sunflower stars.
“If your hands are only a couple inches across, a one-inch sea star isn’t as scary as a 16-inch one.”
Taylor, who grew up on Bowen and has dived for about 20 years, feels there’s a “growing appreciation of, and enthusiasm towards, the marine environment.” Educating people about what lies below the water’s surface – and how best to treat it – is a big part of what events like this are for.
The 38-year-old loves sharing his knowledge through diving but he’s happy working in another profession for a living; he prefers leaving diving strictly as a passion. “I’d never actually make work out of diving; it might take all the fun out.”
He first learned to scuba dive from local resident, and marine biology professor, Brian Hartwick.
“We saw octopus and other marine life on our very first ocean training dive,” he said. “Years spent diving with other knowledgeable people and tagging along with marine biology classes has added a certain appreciation for what we do and do not have in local waters.”
This year’s Nature Dive had some new additions – Taylor invited along the Marine Life Sanctuary Society of BC (MLSS) to help with interpreting what people were seeing on the beach. The MLSS is beginning a youth outreach program and the event was a good fit for their knowledgeable and energetic volunteers
Roy Mulder of MLSS, an underwater film maker and marine conservationist, shot and has already edited a short video of the day’s events. Mulder offered up the video for Undercurrent readers to view on our website at www.bowenislandundercurrent.com. It’s a great glimpse into a great day, a day Adam Taylor felt was a “win-win” for everyone, including himself.
“The main reason I do the Nature Dives is to share my passion about the ocean,” Taylor said. “I would hope that not only do the children and adults gain a better appreciation of the waters around us but they may also realize that that it is a world is worth protecting.
“Perhaps people will think a little more about what we put down our drains, into our creeks and rivers, or how much we take out of the ocean.”
With the great outdoors right outside the door, Bowen gives kids and adults get plenty of opportunity to see and learn about their environment. There is, however, an environment that isn’t as easy to access – the shores around Bowen Island.
But the Bowen Nature Club and local scuba diver Adam Taylor make it easier to connect with the ocean with the club’s nature dive. The popular event returned June 5 and saw many Bowen families at the Mt. Gardner dock to visit with creatures they’d never seen before.
Taylor, who also conducts events for pre-school kids, BICS, CNIB campers and others, was contacted by the Nature Club five years ago to conduct the dives. The experienced diver and his dive team, Mira Grbich and Chris Harvey-Clark, brought up underwater creatures such as spiny pink sea stars.
After bringing them ashore, young people, their eyes full of wonderment, followed their every step. The divers placed the sea life in a safe water environment – “touch tanks” – so the children could visit with them and learn about the marine environment.
“Kids tend to like the sea cucumbers and sunflower stars the best; they’re big and slimy,” Taylor said. “The younger ones are usually drawn to moon jelly – left in a Ziploc bag for safe viewing – because of the scene from Finding Nemo. They also like the smallest of the sun stars or sunflower stars.
“If your hands are only a couple inches across, a one-inch sea star isn’t as scary as a 16-inch one.”
Taylor, who grew up on Bowen and has dived for about 20 years, feels there’s a “growing appreciation of, and enthusiasm towards, the marine environment.” Educating people about what lies below the water’s surface – and how best to treat it – is a big part of what events like this are for.
The 38-year-old loves sharing his knowledge through diving but he’s happy working in another profession for a living; he prefers leaving diving strictly as a passion. “I’d never actually make work out of diving; it might take all the fun out.”
He first learned to scuba dive from local resident, and marine biology professor, Brian Hartwick.
“We saw octopus and other marine life on our very first ocean training dive,” he said. “Years spent diving with other knowledgeable people and tagging along with marine biology classes has added a certain appreciation for what we do and do not have in local waters.”
This year’s Nature Dive had some new additions – Taylor invited along the Marine Life Sanctuary Society of BC (MLSS) to help with interpreting what people were seeing on the beach. The MLSS is beginning a youth outreach program and the event was a good fit for their knowledgeable and energetic volunteers
Roy Mulder of MLSS, an underwater film maker and marine conservationist, shot and has already edited a short video of the day’s events. Mulder offered up the video for Undercurrent readers to view on our website at www.bowenislandundercurrent.com. It’s a great glimpse into a great day, a day Adam Taylor felt was a “win-win” for everyone, including himself.
“The main reason I do the Nature Dives is to share my passion about the ocean,” Taylor said. “I would hope that not only do the children and adults gain a better appreciation of the waters around us but they may also realize that that it is a world is worth protecting.
“Perhaps people will think a little more about what we put down our drains, into our creeks and rivers, or how much we take out of the ocean.”
‘I shot the scuba diver’
Bangalore Mirror: ‘I shot the scuba diver’
Bhushan Bagadia is not just any other videographer. He shoots underwater, juggling breathing and buoyancy issues to get that perfect shot
What makes filmmaker Bhushan Bagadia different from the rest? Try underwater filming for size. Having just finished shooting the beaches of Karnataka for a travelogue project, Bhushan added one segment of underwater filming that's bound to impress viewers.
"Many people had told me that Indian waters are murky with low visibility, so I needed to check that out. When we were shooting the beaches along the Karwar-Mangalore coast, I thought to include Netrani Island which can be reached by boat from Murudeshwar in North Kanara district. And the diving experience there was beautiful," says Bhushan.
It was his first dive in the Indian waters though he's dived in UK, Thailand and Australia.
Bhushan is a trained rescue diver and is now raring to go to the next level of a diving master. "As an underwater filmmaker, you don't have to be a good swimmer. But diving training is essential. One needs to be at least a rescue diver (the first two levels are the open water and advanced open water diver courses) to go in water and shoot. I am also a certified underwater videographer for which I trained in Koh Tao in Thailand which is called the scuba diving capital of the world. We started with making souvenir shots of first-time divers," says Bhushan. He first learned diving in Cornwall, UK, along with his sister who discontinued midway as the water was too cold. "I never miss a chance to point that out to her though she got to complete the course in the Red Sea which was amazing," he says.
Underwater filming is similar yet very different from filming on land. The cameras used are same but, as Bhushan explains, "The costing becomes almost double as we need to have the specific 'housing' (cover) for the camera which costs the same as the camera. One gets positively buoyant housing that float up if it slips from your grasp and the negatively buoyant housing that gently goes down if left free. For me, the negatively buoyant housing works since it is heavy, strong and gives a steady shot."
It takes, however, more than the housing for those steady shots. "You must remember that in water, unlike land, you can't steady the camera by standing still. It is with the breathing that the camera is made steady," Bhusan explains.
Breathing in makes the diver lighter (as air goes in) and go up while breathing out makes the diver go down. You almost feel "like a fish" and the body is turned with controlled breathing and light fin kicks. Touching the floor of the sea means a swirl of sand which is "so very fine" and zero visibility. "An underwater videographer learns to hover 2 feet above the ground — nothing below that," Bhushan reveals a trick of the trade.
And yes, the 'fish part' can be deceptive. Even though diving is a little difficult to learn initially, once you master it you can never forget it - just like cycling. "Divers need to watch the air gauge — a 50 bar reading means the diver needs to surface up. Once when my BCD (buoyancy control device) had a leak, I didn't realise it and when I was at my mandatory safety stop (a three-minute transition stop at about 5 metres from the surface to combat the effects of decompression), the air had finished and I had to rush out. As a rescue diver, I took the precautions but that's when one realises that we aren't fish men!" says Bhushan.
And coming back to Netrani, Bhushan speaks of how in spite of being a little low on visibility, the footage was beautiful. "On a good day, the visibility can be 15-20 metres which is more than Koh Tao that is about 13 metres. I saw big groupers and reef sharks. Other divers have mentioned seeing empty shells supposedly fired as target practice by the navy. But there is a greenish tinge, may be due to the plankton present or the camera used but with a little colour correction, the footage was exactly how I saw it — crystal clear!"
Bhushan Bagadia is not just any other videographer. He shoots underwater, juggling breathing and buoyancy issues to get that perfect shot
What makes filmmaker Bhushan Bagadia different from the rest? Try underwater filming for size. Having just finished shooting the beaches of Karnataka for a travelogue project, Bhushan added one segment of underwater filming that's bound to impress viewers.
"Many people had told me that Indian waters are murky with low visibility, so I needed to check that out. When we were shooting the beaches along the Karwar-Mangalore coast, I thought to include Netrani Island which can be reached by boat from Murudeshwar in North Kanara district. And the diving experience there was beautiful," says Bhushan.
It was his first dive in the Indian waters though he's dived in UK, Thailand and Australia.
Bhushan is a trained rescue diver and is now raring to go to the next level of a diving master. "As an underwater filmmaker, you don't have to be a good swimmer. But diving training is essential. One needs to be at least a rescue diver (the first two levels are the open water and advanced open water diver courses) to go in water and shoot. I am also a certified underwater videographer for which I trained in Koh Tao in Thailand which is called the scuba diving capital of the world. We started with making souvenir shots of first-time divers," says Bhushan. He first learned diving in Cornwall, UK, along with his sister who discontinued midway as the water was too cold. "I never miss a chance to point that out to her though she got to complete the course in the Red Sea which was amazing," he says.
Underwater filming is similar yet very different from filming on land. The cameras used are same but, as Bhushan explains, "The costing becomes almost double as we need to have the specific 'housing' (cover) for the camera which costs the same as the camera. One gets positively buoyant housing that float up if it slips from your grasp and the negatively buoyant housing that gently goes down if left free. For me, the negatively buoyant housing works since it is heavy, strong and gives a steady shot."
It takes, however, more than the housing for those steady shots. "You must remember that in water, unlike land, you can't steady the camera by standing still. It is with the breathing that the camera is made steady," Bhusan explains.
Breathing in makes the diver lighter (as air goes in) and go up while breathing out makes the diver go down. You almost feel "like a fish" and the body is turned with controlled breathing and light fin kicks. Touching the floor of the sea means a swirl of sand which is "so very fine" and zero visibility. "An underwater videographer learns to hover 2 feet above the ground — nothing below that," Bhushan reveals a trick of the trade.
And yes, the 'fish part' can be deceptive. Even though diving is a little difficult to learn initially, once you master it you can never forget it - just like cycling. "Divers need to watch the air gauge — a 50 bar reading means the diver needs to surface up. Once when my BCD (buoyancy control device) had a leak, I didn't realise it and when I was at my mandatory safety stop (a three-minute transition stop at about 5 metres from the surface to combat the effects of decompression), the air had finished and I had to rush out. As a rescue diver, I took the precautions but that's when one realises that we aren't fish men!" says Bhushan.
And coming back to Netrani, Bhushan speaks of how in spite of being a little low on visibility, the footage was beautiful. "On a good day, the visibility can be 15-20 metres which is more than Koh Tao that is about 13 metres. I saw big groupers and reef sharks. Other divers have mentioned seeing empty shells supposedly fired as target practice by the navy. But there is a greenish tinge, may be due to the plankton present or the camera used but with a little colour correction, the footage was exactly how I saw it — crystal clear!"
The Double Lives of Divers At The Long Beach Scuba Show
NeonTommy: The Double Lives of Divers At The Long Beach Scuba Show
The woman in the second row at a seminar at the Long Beach Scuba Show was about to bring on a collective breakthrough. Her sun-bleached hair bobbed emphatically, mirroring the room’s agitation, as she voiced her desire to make a living out of professional diving. Low, then louder, “yeahs” rose from the back of the room when she appealed to the speaker with eyes like a homesick seal’s.
“But then I have my real job, which is keeping me from doing all of…this,” she said, gesturing toward the PowerPoint seminar, “I Want a Life on the Islands.”
The speaker, a course director in the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, nodded sympathetically in front of the crowd at the Long Beach Convention Center. Her past students had included financial engineers and insurance brokers who dumped their six-figure salaried careers to teach diving full-time in places like the Bahamas and Papua New Guinea. “And you can expect to make about twenty thousand a year,” she said. She paced a triangle. “Any other questions?”
Long Beach is famous as a departure point for dive boats heading to the magical kelp forests off Catalina Island, but the thousands of divers who descended on the waterfront this weekend stayed on land. On June 4 and 5, I accompanied my dad to the 24th annual Long Beach Scuba Show, a temporary mecca for anyone looking to buy, learn, shop, and try all things scuba.
It’s fairly common to meet diving families—after all, whom would you rather trust to share oxygen at the bottom of the sea?—but my dad’s entry into scuba happened rather haphazardly. At a time when my friends’ fathers were riding out their midlife crises in the Harley Davidson Club, my dad jumped into certification classes with me, citing a hitherto-unmentioned adolescent dream of becoming a marine biologist.
Well into his fifties and diagnosed with high blood pressure, he almost earned himself a place on the accidental death watch list (no, that doesn’t really exist) at our local dive shop. On the last day of our Open Water course, he jumped onto our instructor when his buoyancy compensator vest slipped off. We were half a mile out to sea. The instructor, scared out of his wits, let my dad pass without repeating the task.
Nevertheless, diving entered our repertoire as a sane-enough father-daughter activity, and this year marked our second time as Scuba Show attendees. The first day, I ambled along rows and rows of exhibition hall booths for two and a half hours. “America’s Largest Consumer Dive Expo,” as the Scuba Show bills itself, had enrolled more than 300 exhibitors showing everything from the latest dive gear to Melanesian vacation packages to bug-bitten dead eyes salvaged from wrecks.
Losing their heads all around me were respectable-looking attorneys and mechanical engineers and marketing representatives, whose longing to join the fortunate bottom-feeding few shone like signal lights as they caressed underwater camera housings and played with titanium dive knives.
Divers Alert Network president Dan Orr explained that the diving demographic was aging—that’s why these middle aged professionals made up a large portion of the acolytes. Recreational diving, as opposed to professional or commercial diving, caught on in the eighties, bringing in lots of young blood who have been strapping on fins, but also making money at “real” jobs, ever since. As a result, the 40-59 age group is growing fastest of all.
Tour operators are not blind to the emerging market. Eva Adan from the Philippine Consulate General knew that if they promoted their country’s tourism to divers, they could achieve their goal of “impacting not only the Filipinos but also the mainstream.” Though diving is not as expensive as sailing, say, or polo, certification costs at least $300 and your first complete dive outfit may push $2000. To many citizens of the countries famed for marine life, divers’ pockets come lined with gold.
But consumerism, though rampant, cedes to a mellower and more convivial spirit at the Scuba Show. Stan Waterman, a five-time Emmy winning underwater filmmaker and featured guest, named “connectivity” as the event’s special ambiance.
“This is an unusual show,” Waterman, 88, said in his last seminar of the weekend. “There’s an unusual vitality, a connectivity about this. It’s wonderful to be here and share with you these things I’ve seen…Through the magic we have, to capture this experience, is a great unusual joy I’ve had.” Many professional divers are inspired by pioneers like Waterman, whose documentaries on great white sharks have helped conservation efforts gain visibility and success.
Some of those conservationists lined the lobby just outside the exhibition hall. The Turtle Island Restoration Network, claiming a table for the first time, papered their surfaces with flyers about restored turtle habitats near Marin County. “We thought it would be a really great venue to reach people who care about expeditions,” said development director Erica Heimberg, talking over thronging expo goers and a nearby conservationist's guitar improvisations.
Inside the hall by the northwest wall, the California Wreck Divers highlighted conservation of a different sort. President Bill Wilson, manning a booth decorated with rescued artifacts, pointed to dented silverware and oxidizing portholes as he related the story of the diving club’s inception. He and his buddies had discovered a 300-ft sailboat sunk off San Pedro. Through microfilm research, they identified it as a Prohibition-era “pleasure barge” offering women and wine beyond the reach of the feds. Now in his seventies, Wilson appears unplagued by the problem of double lives, but he does have a prior one: his rigorous ocean training is a product of the military.
Among those who had altogether shed their earthbound existence was artist Wyland, locally famous for his enormous wraparound mural at the Long Beach Arena. Wyland spent most of his time filling a large canvas at the back of the hall with whales and dolphins and other sea creatures. Periodically people clustered around to watch him paint, and before and after their ebullient greetings he calmly maintained eye contact with an invisible middle distance.
“Probably the best part is being able to paint with kids,” he said as he stepped back to evaluate blending on a whale’s back. Earlier that day he had held a paintbrush and taken pictures with pint-sized attendees painting alongside him. “I was inspired by Jacques Cousteau, he was my hero. After watching him I realize art is a powerful force for conservation.”
The Scuba Show realizes that art can bridge the long dry gap between divers’ workaday lives and the life aquatic, and uses it to bring divers together. Numerous presenters played rhapsodic sequences of super-macro photography, blowing up the remora or rockfish of divers’ imaginations to beluga-sized proportions. The pleasures of scuba are tactile as well as visual, but many a diver shared smiles while immersing themselves in the art exhibits at the back of the hall.
In the two years following my Open Water class, I grew too busy with college to dive, but my dad kept at it. He eventually earned an Advanced Open Water certification, and now the horror stories are good laughs over beer with the coaches. We met our former instructor Kris near the Pacific Wilderness booth and asked if any students had tried to drown him recently. None had, but in any case serious divers don’t feel sorry for themselves when such job hazards occur; as his colleague Jimmy emphasized, “It is a passion—there’s nothing like it.”
The woman in the second row at a seminar at the Long Beach Scuba Show was about to bring on a collective breakthrough. Her sun-bleached hair bobbed emphatically, mirroring the room’s agitation, as she voiced her desire to make a living out of professional diving. Low, then louder, “yeahs” rose from the back of the room when she appealed to the speaker with eyes like a homesick seal’s.
“But then I have my real job, which is keeping me from doing all of…this,” she said, gesturing toward the PowerPoint seminar, “I Want a Life on the Islands.”
The speaker, a course director in the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, nodded sympathetically in front of the crowd at the Long Beach Convention Center. Her past students had included financial engineers and insurance brokers who dumped their six-figure salaried careers to teach diving full-time in places like the Bahamas and Papua New Guinea. “And you can expect to make about twenty thousand a year,” she said. She paced a triangle. “Any other questions?”
Long Beach is famous as a departure point for dive boats heading to the magical kelp forests off Catalina Island, but the thousands of divers who descended on the waterfront this weekend stayed on land. On June 4 and 5, I accompanied my dad to the 24th annual Long Beach Scuba Show, a temporary mecca for anyone looking to buy, learn, shop, and try all things scuba.
It’s fairly common to meet diving families—after all, whom would you rather trust to share oxygen at the bottom of the sea?—but my dad’s entry into scuba happened rather haphazardly. At a time when my friends’ fathers were riding out their midlife crises in the Harley Davidson Club, my dad jumped into certification classes with me, citing a hitherto-unmentioned adolescent dream of becoming a marine biologist.
Well into his fifties and diagnosed with high blood pressure, he almost earned himself a place on the accidental death watch list (no, that doesn’t really exist) at our local dive shop. On the last day of our Open Water course, he jumped onto our instructor when his buoyancy compensator vest slipped off. We were half a mile out to sea. The instructor, scared out of his wits, let my dad pass without repeating the task.
Nevertheless, diving entered our repertoire as a sane-enough father-daughter activity, and this year marked our second time as Scuba Show attendees. The first day, I ambled along rows and rows of exhibition hall booths for two and a half hours. “America’s Largest Consumer Dive Expo,” as the Scuba Show bills itself, had enrolled more than 300 exhibitors showing everything from the latest dive gear to Melanesian vacation packages to bug-bitten dead eyes salvaged from wrecks.
Losing their heads all around me were respectable-looking attorneys and mechanical engineers and marketing representatives, whose longing to join the fortunate bottom-feeding few shone like signal lights as they caressed underwater camera housings and played with titanium dive knives.
Divers Alert Network president Dan Orr explained that the diving demographic was aging—that’s why these middle aged professionals made up a large portion of the acolytes. Recreational diving, as opposed to professional or commercial diving, caught on in the eighties, bringing in lots of young blood who have been strapping on fins, but also making money at “real” jobs, ever since. As a result, the 40-59 age group is growing fastest of all.
Tour operators are not blind to the emerging market. Eva Adan from the Philippine Consulate General knew that if they promoted their country’s tourism to divers, they could achieve their goal of “impacting not only the Filipinos but also the mainstream.” Though diving is not as expensive as sailing, say, or polo, certification costs at least $300 and your first complete dive outfit may push $2000. To many citizens of the countries famed for marine life, divers’ pockets come lined with gold.
But consumerism, though rampant, cedes to a mellower and more convivial spirit at the Scuba Show. Stan Waterman, a five-time Emmy winning underwater filmmaker and featured guest, named “connectivity” as the event’s special ambiance.
“This is an unusual show,” Waterman, 88, said in his last seminar of the weekend. “There’s an unusual vitality, a connectivity about this. It’s wonderful to be here and share with you these things I’ve seen…Through the magic we have, to capture this experience, is a great unusual joy I’ve had.” Many professional divers are inspired by pioneers like Waterman, whose documentaries on great white sharks have helped conservation efforts gain visibility and success.
Some of those conservationists lined the lobby just outside the exhibition hall. The Turtle Island Restoration Network, claiming a table for the first time, papered their surfaces with flyers about restored turtle habitats near Marin County. “We thought it would be a really great venue to reach people who care about expeditions,” said development director Erica Heimberg, talking over thronging expo goers and a nearby conservationist's guitar improvisations.
Inside the hall by the northwest wall, the California Wreck Divers highlighted conservation of a different sort. President Bill Wilson, manning a booth decorated with rescued artifacts, pointed to dented silverware and oxidizing portholes as he related the story of the diving club’s inception. He and his buddies had discovered a 300-ft sailboat sunk off San Pedro. Through microfilm research, they identified it as a Prohibition-era “pleasure barge” offering women and wine beyond the reach of the feds. Now in his seventies, Wilson appears unplagued by the problem of double lives, but he does have a prior one: his rigorous ocean training is a product of the military.
Among those who had altogether shed their earthbound existence was artist Wyland, locally famous for his enormous wraparound mural at the Long Beach Arena. Wyland spent most of his time filling a large canvas at the back of the hall with whales and dolphins and other sea creatures. Periodically people clustered around to watch him paint, and before and after their ebullient greetings he calmly maintained eye contact with an invisible middle distance.
“Probably the best part is being able to paint with kids,” he said as he stepped back to evaluate blending on a whale’s back. Earlier that day he had held a paintbrush and taken pictures with pint-sized attendees painting alongside him. “I was inspired by Jacques Cousteau, he was my hero. After watching him I realize art is a powerful force for conservation.”
The Scuba Show realizes that art can bridge the long dry gap between divers’ workaday lives and the life aquatic, and uses it to bring divers together. Numerous presenters played rhapsodic sequences of super-macro photography, blowing up the remora or rockfish of divers’ imaginations to beluga-sized proportions. The pleasures of scuba are tactile as well as visual, but many a diver shared smiles while immersing themselves in the art exhibits at the back of the hall.
In the two years following my Open Water class, I grew too busy with college to dive, but my dad kept at it. He eventually earned an Advanced Open Water certification, and now the horror stories are good laughs over beer with the coaches. We met our former instructor Kris near the Pacific Wilderness booth and asked if any students had tried to drown him recently. None had, but in any case serious divers don’t feel sorry for themselves when such job hazards occur; as his colleague Jimmy emphasized, “It is a passion—there’s nothing like it.”
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Scuba Diving Could Help Treat Paraplegics
WBALTV.com: Scuba Diving Could Help Treat Paraplegics
BALTIMORE -- Neurological researchers in Baltimore are investigating how scuba diving affects a person's mental and physical health.
When it comes to treating paralysis, water therapy isn't new, but two doctors from two of Baltimore's biggest medical institutions are working together to find out what more underwater treatment could do.
The doctors -- Dr. Adam Kaplin, an assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology and chief psychiatric consultant at the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis and Transverse Myelitis Centers and Dr. Daniel Becker, a board-certified neurologist and the head of pediatric restoration therapy at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at the Kennedy Krieger Institute -- recently went underwater in the Grand Caymans with 10 paraplegic veterans and 10 control subjects to study what effect, if any, scuba diving could have on the mind and body of those with spinal cord injuries.
"This was a new aspect I never thought about," Becker said. "We see this as the basis for a lot of exciting research to come."
"We're very excited about the idea that this is a pilot study; this isn't going to be a definitive study. But from our preliminary data, it looks like there is something," Kaplin said.
Becker and Kaplin are pioneering the study at the urging of Cody Unser. The daughter of Indianapolis racing great Al Unser Jr. was diagnosed at the age of 12 with transverse myelitis, a disease that rendered her paralyzed within minutes.
Now 24, Cody Unser remains determined to become scuba certified. Like the rest of her family, she learned to dive and quickly discovered something amazing about her body.
"It was on our second dive on our first trip when I was getting certified when I noticed after coming up that I was suddenly feeling my bladder more," Cody Unser said. "My spasms, like my legs, everything (had) a greater sensation."
For the study, the doctors had to learn how to dive. They went the maximum depth of 60 feet with the veterans on multiple dives a day. The doctors said the depth of the dive is the key.
"When you go down there, many of the gases within your blood start changing. So, you get an increase of oxygen into your tissues," Becker said.
"That's happening in a weightless environment. You're buoyant down there underwater in an environment where you're sort of mastering something that you thought you'd never have a chance to master," Kaplin said.
The ultimate question is whether it can actually stimulate regeneration of tissue.
Kaplin and Becker plan to reveal their findings at a conference in September. They will continue to investigate whether scuba diving could be used to treat a variety of neurological illnesses.
BALTIMORE -- Neurological researchers in Baltimore are investigating how scuba diving affects a person's mental and physical health.
When it comes to treating paralysis, water therapy isn't new, but two doctors from two of Baltimore's biggest medical institutions are working together to find out what more underwater treatment could do.
The doctors -- Dr. Adam Kaplin, an assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology and chief psychiatric consultant at the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis and Transverse Myelitis Centers and Dr. Daniel Becker, a board-certified neurologist and the head of pediatric restoration therapy at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at the Kennedy Krieger Institute -- recently went underwater in the Grand Caymans with 10 paraplegic veterans and 10 control subjects to study what effect, if any, scuba diving could have on the mind and body of those with spinal cord injuries.
"This was a new aspect I never thought about," Becker said. "We see this as the basis for a lot of exciting research to come."
"We're very excited about the idea that this is a pilot study; this isn't going to be a definitive study. But from our preliminary data, it looks like there is something," Kaplin said.
Becker and Kaplin are pioneering the study at the urging of Cody Unser. The daughter of Indianapolis racing great Al Unser Jr. was diagnosed at the age of 12 with transverse myelitis, a disease that rendered her paralyzed within minutes.
Now 24, Cody Unser remains determined to become scuba certified. Like the rest of her family, she learned to dive and quickly discovered something amazing about her body.
"It was on our second dive on our first trip when I was getting certified when I noticed after coming up that I was suddenly feeling my bladder more," Cody Unser said. "My spasms, like my legs, everything (had) a greater sensation."
For the study, the doctors had to learn how to dive. They went the maximum depth of 60 feet with the veterans on multiple dives a day. The doctors said the depth of the dive is the key.
"When you go down there, many of the gases within your blood start changing. So, you get an increase of oxygen into your tissues," Becker said.
"That's happening in a weightless environment. You're buoyant down there underwater in an environment where you're sort of mastering something that you thought you'd never have a chance to master," Kaplin said.
The ultimate question is whether it can actually stimulate regeneration of tissue.
Kaplin and Becker plan to reveal their findings at a conference in September. They will continue to investigate whether scuba diving could be used to treat a variety of neurological illnesses.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Viva Wyndham Resorts Sponsors Living Museum in the Sea in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic
Press Release: Viva Wyndham Resorts Sponsors Living Museum in the Sea in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Viva Wyndham Resorts is sponsoring the Living Museum in the Sea, a one-of-a-kind, underwater historic site featuring the shipwreck, Quedagh Merchant, abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd, located in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic. The Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach and the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace located in La Romana near Bayahibe, offer affordable all-inclusive rates to dive enthusiasts and those fascinated by shipwrecks and the history of the sea.
The Quedagh Merchant shipwreck was discovered nearly three and a half years ago. To dedicate the Living Museum in the Sea site, an inauguration event took place on May 23 in Bayahibe and featured unveilings from the 1699 shipwreck of Captain William Kidd. Additional sponsors include the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Indiana University, and the Dominican Republic's Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuatico (ONPCS). The inauguration date also marked the 310th anniversary of Kidd's hanging in London for his crimes of piracy. The dedication noted both underwater and above ground interpretive plaques. The underwater plaques will help guide divers around the Kidd site as well as relics and rare corals at two other shipwreck sites. The Living Museum in the Sea exhibit is open year-round.
As an additional attraction to the "Cara Merchant" shipwreck site on the coast of Bayahibe is the "Guadalupe Living Museum under the Sea," dating to 1724. This site is located in front of Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach, and the artificial reef of St. George and the canon reef of Guaraguao from the 18th century, both of which are located in front of the hotel zone's coast.
The Living in the Sea Inauguration was led by Charles Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science in Indiana University's Bloomington School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded Indiana University $300,000 to turn the Captain Kidd shipwreck site and three other underwater preserves in the Dominican Republic into no-take, no-anchor "Living Museums," where cultural discoveries protect precious corals and other threatened biology in the surrounding reef systems under the supervision and support of the Dominican Republic's Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuatico (ONPCS).
The Captain Kidd site is the only pirate ship to be discovered in the Caribbean and one of only three discovered in the Americas. In addition to recreational uses, the preserves are used as a scientific field resource for students and professionals in the fields of underwater archaeology, marine biology, ecology and geology.
The Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach and Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace are both nestled on the extensive white sand beach overlooking the breathtaking turquoise water. For those looking for additional adventure, guests can explore the underwater reefs. The resorts also offer excursions to the uninhabited Isla Catalina featuring untouched Caribbean nature and some of the finest snorkeling and scuba diving in the region, as well as to the nearby Altos de Chavon, a unique recreation of a 16th century Italian village, complete with artisan workshops, an archaeological museum, cobblestone streets and quaint architecture.
For more information about the Living Museum in the Sea, visit Indiana University http://newsinfo.iu.edu.
About Viva Wyndham Resorts:
Viva Wyndham Resorts features all-inclusive properties throughout the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Mexico. Viva Wyndham Resorts' multilingual staff, tropical settings, extensive amenities and thorough entertainment line-up ensures guests a truly customized vivid all-inclusive experience. As part of the brand's passion for life, it strives to protect all the resort's surrounding environments and cultures by implementing green programs throughout its resorts. For reservations or more information, call 800-WYNDHAM or visit www.vivawyndhamresorts.com.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Viva Wyndham Resorts is sponsoring the Living Museum in the Sea, a one-of-a-kind, underwater historic site featuring the shipwreck, Quedagh Merchant, abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd, located in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic. The Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach and the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace located in La Romana near Bayahibe, offer affordable all-inclusive rates to dive enthusiasts and those fascinated by shipwrecks and the history of the sea.
The Quedagh Merchant shipwreck was discovered nearly three and a half years ago. To dedicate the Living Museum in the Sea site, an inauguration event took place on May 23 in Bayahibe and featured unveilings from the 1699 shipwreck of Captain William Kidd. Additional sponsors include the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Indiana University, and the Dominican Republic's Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuatico (ONPCS). The inauguration date also marked the 310th anniversary of Kidd's hanging in London for his crimes of piracy. The dedication noted both underwater and above ground interpretive plaques. The underwater plaques will help guide divers around the Kidd site as well as relics and rare corals at two other shipwreck sites. The Living Museum in the Sea exhibit is open year-round.
As an additional attraction to the "Cara Merchant" shipwreck site on the coast of Bayahibe is the "Guadalupe Living Museum under the Sea," dating to 1724. This site is located in front of Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach, and the artificial reef of St. George and the canon reef of Guaraguao from the 18th century, both of which are located in front of the hotel zone's coast.
The Living in the Sea Inauguration was led by Charles Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science in Indiana University's Bloomington School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded Indiana University $300,000 to turn the Captain Kidd shipwreck site and three other underwater preserves in the Dominican Republic into no-take, no-anchor "Living Museums," where cultural discoveries protect precious corals and other threatened biology in the surrounding reef systems under the supervision and support of the Dominican Republic's Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuatico (ONPCS).
The Captain Kidd site is the only pirate ship to be discovered in the Caribbean and one of only three discovered in the Americas. In addition to recreational uses, the preserves are used as a scientific field resource for students and professionals in the fields of underwater archaeology, marine biology, ecology and geology.
The Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach and Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace are both nestled on the extensive white sand beach overlooking the breathtaking turquoise water. For those looking for additional adventure, guests can explore the underwater reefs. The resorts also offer excursions to the uninhabited Isla Catalina featuring untouched Caribbean nature and some of the finest snorkeling and scuba diving in the region, as well as to the nearby Altos de Chavon, a unique recreation of a 16th century Italian village, complete with artisan workshops, an archaeological museum, cobblestone streets and quaint architecture.
For more information about the Living Museum in the Sea, visit Indiana University http://newsinfo.iu.edu.
About Viva Wyndham Resorts:
Viva Wyndham Resorts features all-inclusive properties throughout the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Mexico. Viva Wyndham Resorts' multilingual staff, tropical settings, extensive amenities and thorough entertainment line-up ensures guests a truly customized vivid all-inclusive experience. As part of the brand's passion for life, it strives to protect all the resort's surrounding environments and cultures by implementing green programs throughout its resorts. For reservations or more information, call 800-WYNDHAM or visit www.vivawyndhamresorts.com.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Get to Know Belinda Ringpfeil: Love of marine science, education drew her to the coast
BLog.al.com: Get to Know Belinda Ringpfeil: Love of marine science, education drew her to the coast
GULF SHORES, Alabama -- Birmingham native Belinda Ringpfeil has been making the coast her home over the past four years.
I just belong near the water," she said.
For two years Ringpfeil rented a place in Orange Beach while teaching in Baldwin County’s public schools.
She taught full time at Elsanor Elementary School in Robertsdale and part time at Daphne East Elementary School and J. Larry Newton School in Fairhope.
Upon leaving Elsanor, Ringpfeil said, she chose to be a self-employed entrepreneur with her two passions: traveling and marine sciences/marine education. She runs a part-time travel business called Coastal Dreams Travel and a part-time marine education program.
Ringpfeil said she travels to public and private schools with her marine education program, and also holds events for youth groups.
This month she is contracted to teach a summer program for children ages 4 to 12 years old called Ocean Camp at Faulkner State Community College’s Gulf Shores campus.
Get to Know Belinda Ringpfeil
Birthplace: Birmingham
Hometown: Gulf Shores
Family: Husband, Chris; two children
Occupation: Self-employed entrepreneur
Activities: Traveling, scuba, photography, water sports
Ringpfeil received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a master’s in gifted education from the University of Alabama.
She taught for 10 years as a gifted education teacher in Jefferson and Shelby counties’ schools, and because she taught gifted education, she said, she had a flexible curriculum that allowed her to teach marine sciences as long as her children were interested in it.
But she wanted to teach it full time, which brought her to the coast.
One of her goals, she said, is to open a marine education center in Gulf Shores in hopes of helping people to gain awareness and respect for the ocean.
Ringpfeil said she has also received training at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, has attended numerous National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration workshops, and for at least 10 years has been a member of the National Marine Educators Association.
"I’m a life-long learner," Ringpfeil said, "Fun for me has to do with always learning something new."
Ringpfeil said she has been a scuba diver for many years, and among the more famous places she has explored by diving is the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean west of the Ecuador mainland.
The animals, which include an iguana that swims, are various and unique there and have no fear of people, she said, recalling stepping over sea lions on the beaches.
Two locations she hopes to dive are the barrier reefs in Australia and Indonesia, Ringpfeil said. "I still have goals," she said.
She also enjoys salt and fresh water sports of all kinds, including boating, kayaking and canoeing, Ringpfeil said.
She is a member of the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce and works with the sea turtle "Share the Beach" volunteer program.
GULF SHORES, Alabama -- Birmingham native Belinda Ringpfeil has been making the coast her home over the past four years.
I just belong near the water," she said.
For two years Ringpfeil rented a place in Orange Beach while teaching in Baldwin County’s public schools.
She taught full time at Elsanor Elementary School in Robertsdale and part time at Daphne East Elementary School and J. Larry Newton School in Fairhope.
Upon leaving Elsanor, Ringpfeil said, she chose to be a self-employed entrepreneur with her two passions: traveling and marine sciences/marine education. She runs a part-time travel business called Coastal Dreams Travel and a part-time marine education program.
Ringpfeil said she travels to public and private schools with her marine education program, and also holds events for youth groups.
This month she is contracted to teach a summer program for children ages 4 to 12 years old called Ocean Camp at Faulkner State Community College’s Gulf Shores campus.
Get to Know Belinda Ringpfeil
Birthplace: Birmingham
Hometown: Gulf Shores
Family: Husband, Chris; two children
Occupation: Self-employed entrepreneur
Activities: Traveling, scuba, photography, water sports
Ringpfeil received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a master’s in gifted education from the University of Alabama.
She taught for 10 years as a gifted education teacher in Jefferson and Shelby counties’ schools, and because she taught gifted education, she said, she had a flexible curriculum that allowed her to teach marine sciences as long as her children were interested in it.
But she wanted to teach it full time, which brought her to the coast.
One of her goals, she said, is to open a marine education center in Gulf Shores in hopes of helping people to gain awareness and respect for the ocean.
Ringpfeil said she has also received training at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, has attended numerous National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration workshops, and for at least 10 years has been a member of the National Marine Educators Association.
"I’m a life-long learner," Ringpfeil said, "Fun for me has to do with always learning something new."
Ringpfeil said she has been a scuba diver for many years, and among the more famous places she has explored by diving is the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean west of the Ecuador mainland.
The animals, which include an iguana that swims, are various and unique there and have no fear of people, she said, recalling stepping over sea lions on the beaches.
Two locations she hopes to dive are the barrier reefs in Australia and Indonesia, Ringpfeil said. "I still have goals," she said.
She also enjoys salt and fresh water sports of all kinds, including boating, kayaking and canoeing, Ringpfeil said.
She is a member of the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce and works with the sea turtle "Share the Beach" volunteer program.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The Adventure and Fun in Diving Across the Cenotes in Mexico
YourStory: The Adventure and Fun in Diving Across the Cenotes in Mexico
Mexico, June 7, 2011: Hidden Worlds is not just another adventure park. It offers tourists the chance to explore inside Playa Del Carmen. The white colored sea beaches, the turquoise colored water and the clear sky, all set the mood to feel cheerful and engage in various fun-filled activities. Hidden Worlds’ customized packages enrich the adventurous experiences of the visitors.
The cenotes in Mexico are amazing tourist attractions. The Yucatan peninsula is known for cenotes, which are limestone sinkholes filled with freshwater. Two most important characteristics of cenotes are that they are often connected to deep underwater caves and secondly, the water inside the cenotes are crystal clean. The flow of the water is also very slow. That’s why, the cenotes in Mexico are suitable for scuba diving, snorkeling and swimming. Every year thousands of tourists visit Mexico to enjoy diving and swimming in those cenotes.
The real thrill lies in cavern diving. This kind of diving involves some risks but allows the divers to every bit of adventure of cenote diving. In the Yucatan peninsula, along the gulf coast, there are many underwater caves which flow to the ocean and they are linked with cenotes. Diving across these cenotes in Mexico give fun and thrill packed experience to the divers. Hidden Worlds has a number of amazing packages to offer to tourists, which cover enable them to enjoy snorkeling, swimming, deep underwater cavern diving, scuba diving in fullest and altogether, they will get to discover a new side of Mexico, the world of cenotes.
About Hidden World: Hidden Worlds is a nature park in the Riviera Maya. It offers its visitors a fun ride through the ruins of Maya and Yuctan people and the golden opportunity to discover exotic natural resources. The park is family-friendly and tours are cost effective. It\’s open from 9 am to 5 pm seven days a week.
Contact Details:
Hidden World
2515 NE 163
Ridgefield
WA
USA
98364
Mexico, June 7, 2011: Hidden Worlds is not just another adventure park. It offers tourists the chance to explore inside Playa Del Carmen. The white colored sea beaches, the turquoise colored water and the clear sky, all set the mood to feel cheerful and engage in various fun-filled activities. Hidden Worlds’ customized packages enrich the adventurous experiences of the visitors.
The cenotes in Mexico are amazing tourist attractions. The Yucatan peninsula is known for cenotes, which are limestone sinkholes filled with freshwater. Two most important characteristics of cenotes are that they are often connected to deep underwater caves and secondly, the water inside the cenotes are crystal clean. The flow of the water is also very slow. That’s why, the cenotes in Mexico are suitable for scuba diving, snorkeling and swimming. Every year thousands of tourists visit Mexico to enjoy diving and swimming in those cenotes.
The real thrill lies in cavern diving. This kind of diving involves some risks but allows the divers to every bit of adventure of cenote diving. In the Yucatan peninsula, along the gulf coast, there are many underwater caves which flow to the ocean and they are linked with cenotes. Diving across these cenotes in Mexico give fun and thrill packed experience to the divers. Hidden Worlds has a number of amazing packages to offer to tourists, which cover enable them to enjoy snorkeling, swimming, deep underwater cavern diving, scuba diving in fullest and altogether, they will get to discover a new side of Mexico, the world of cenotes.
About Hidden World: Hidden Worlds is a nature park in the Riviera Maya. It offers its visitors a fun ride through the ruins of Maya and Yuctan people and the golden opportunity to discover exotic natural resources. The park is family-friendly and tours are cost effective. It\’s open from 9 am to 5 pm seven days a week.
Contact Details:
Hidden World
2515 NE 163
Ridgefield
WA
USA
98364
Vintage divers celebrate Sea Hunt anniversary
Orlando Sentinel: Vintage divers celebrate Sea Hunt anniversary
[See the link for all of ALan's photos, at the original site]
Underwater photography is fascinating, especially in the clear water of Florida’s springs. Ocala photographer Alan Youngblood recently had a unique opportunity to dive Silver Springs with a group of dedicated and nostalgic divers.
The National Association of Vintage Equipment Divers is a group dedicated to diving using old-style equipment. They gathered at Silver Springs for the 50th anniversary of the end of filming of Sea Hunt, a popular high-action TV series starring Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson, a scuba diver in the days when it was new.
Youngblood, the photo editor at the Star-Banner in Ocala, hit the springs too. He captured a great photo gallery showing divers in their funky wet suits, using underwater flares and double hose regulators. Perhaps one of the best shots is of Rick Green recreating a Sea Hunt actions scene, wrestling underwater with a (fake) alligator.
Review: PADI Tec Xplorer Days
San Diego CA Examiner: Review: PADI Tec Xplorer Days
PADI [Professional Association of Diving Instructors] concluded a successful Tec Xplorer Days event at their headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita yesterday, which featured numerous re-breather and dive gear manufacturers, as well as featured speakers on various subjects, which allowed invited dive professionals to listen to talks and then go out to the pool to sample the dive equipment.
Scheduled talks from guest speakers, included discussions on sidemount, rebreather technologies, what new tec courses PADI will have available, actual recounts of extreme tec expeditions and various first person accounts as well as opportunity to dive with the latest technical diving equipment in the on site pool, ranging from the latest technical diving computers to closed circuit rebreathers.
I had the opporunity to try out two rebreathers from VR Technologies and rEvo, respectively. Closed-circut technology is very different from open-ciruit SCUBA and requires specialized knowledge and training to use. PADI plans to offer courses in both Recreational and Technical diving appplications with rebreathers later this year.
Advertisement
Speakers included: Dr. Drew Richardson, Karl Shreeves, Jeff Loflin, Dan Orr, President of Diver Alert Network and Luke Inman of 'Adopt a Shark.'
Participating Manufacturers included:
Analox Sensor Technology
Apeks & Suunto
DUI
Fourth Element
Hollis Gear
IST Sports
Liquivision
OMS/Big Blue/UEMIS
Poseidon
rEvo
ScubaPro
Silent Diving
Titan Dive Gear
TUSA
VR Technology
Door prized and raffles were held throughout the day and a surprisingly tasty lunch was provided.
PADI [Professional Association of Diving Instructors] concluded a successful Tec Xplorer Days event at their headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita yesterday, which featured numerous re-breather and dive gear manufacturers, as well as featured speakers on various subjects, which allowed invited dive professionals to listen to talks and then go out to the pool to sample the dive equipment.
Scheduled talks from guest speakers, included discussions on sidemount, rebreather technologies, what new tec courses PADI will have available, actual recounts of extreme tec expeditions and various first person accounts as well as opportunity to dive with the latest technical diving equipment in the on site pool, ranging from the latest technical diving computers to closed circuit rebreathers.
I had the opporunity to try out two rebreathers from VR Technologies and rEvo, respectively. Closed-circut technology is very different from open-ciruit SCUBA and requires specialized knowledge and training to use. PADI plans to offer courses in both Recreational and Technical diving appplications with rebreathers later this year.
Advertisement
Speakers included: Dr. Drew Richardson, Karl Shreeves, Jeff Loflin, Dan Orr, President of Diver Alert Network and Luke Inman of 'Adopt a Shark.'
Participating Manufacturers included:
Analox Sensor Technology
Apeks & Suunto
DUI
Fourth Element
Hollis Gear
IST Sports
Liquivision
OMS/Big Blue/UEMIS
Poseidon
rEvo
ScubaPro
Silent Diving
Titan Dive Gear
TUSA
VR Technology
Door prized and raffles were held throughout the day and a surprisingly tasty lunch was provided.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A SCUBA diver who is taking the plunge in the publishing world visited a seafront aquarium at the weekend to sign copies of his new book.
Press Release: PADI Organization Encourages Divers to Join New Project AWARE Movement
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PADI, the world's largest diver training organization, today announced its support of Project AWARE Foundation's new movement to protect the ocean and its inhabitants, which will launch on World Ocean Day, June 8. On this day, the 21-year-old foundation will re-launch with new strategies to combine grassroots action with policy change to protect the ocean. The PADI organization has been a proud supporter of Project AWARE and is calling all divers to join the growing, global Project AWARE movement to make a positive and long-lasting environmental change – one dive at a time.
The new Project AWARE movement will focus on two major ocean issues: sharks in peril and marine debris. The PADI organization is asking divers to take action to help threatened sharks by signing Project AWARE's shark petition, which will increase protection for endangered species and help close finning policy loopholes in countries around the world. Additionally, PADI Divers are encouraged to work together to battle ocean pollution by collecting marine data and debris underwater, and reporting their findings on ProjectAWARE.org.
"Scuba divers are significant, economic and political stakeholders who are ready and willing to push for change," said Dr. Drew Richardson, president and COO, PADI Worldwide. "Now, divers, numbering in the millions worldwide, should combine their underwater efforts and actions for long-term change by joining the Project AWARE movement and supporting its new citizen science program – Dive Against Debris. Through this program, PADI Divers can contribute underwater data that is so critically needed to support policies that will result in a permanent, measurable reduction in marine debris entering the ocean."
The PADI organization is calling on all divers, both recreational and professional, to stand up for ocean protection with Project AWARE and join the global movement of scuba divers protecting our ocean planet – one dive at a time.
About PADI
PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the world's largest diver training organization, with more than 135,000 trained PADI Professionals dedicated to introducing new divers to the thrill of scuba diving and enhancing the skills of experienced divers through its 6,000 dive centers and resorts worldwide. PADI Members obtain close to 1,000,000 certifications worldwide each year, advancing and encouraging the exploration of the ocean, while maintaining the highest industry standards for dive training, safety and customer service. For more information, visit www.padi.com.
About Project AWARE Foundation
Project AWARE Foundation is a global movement of scuba divers protecting the ocean planet - one dive at a time. Focused on the critical issues of sharks in peril and marine debris, Project AWARE empowers thousands of divers in more than 180 countries to work together for a clean, healthy and abundant ocean planet. Project AWARE Foundation is a registered non-profit organization.
Contact: Margee Macdonell
Formula
619-234-0345
Macdonell@Formulapr.com
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PADI, the world's largest diver training organization, today announced its support of Project AWARE Foundation's new movement to protect the ocean and its inhabitants, which will launch on World Ocean Day, June 8. On this day, the 21-year-old foundation will re-launch with new strategies to combine grassroots action with policy change to protect the ocean. The PADI organization has been a proud supporter of Project AWARE and is calling all divers to join the growing, global Project AWARE movement to make a positive and long-lasting environmental change – one dive at a time.
The new Project AWARE movement will focus on two major ocean issues: sharks in peril and marine debris. The PADI organization is asking divers to take action to help threatened sharks by signing Project AWARE's shark petition, which will increase protection for endangered species and help close finning policy loopholes in countries around the world. Additionally, PADI Divers are encouraged to work together to battle ocean pollution by collecting marine data and debris underwater, and reporting their findings on ProjectAWARE.org.
"Scuba divers are significant, economic and political stakeholders who are ready and willing to push for change," said Dr. Drew Richardson, president and COO, PADI Worldwide. "Now, divers, numbering in the millions worldwide, should combine their underwater efforts and actions for long-term change by joining the Project AWARE movement and supporting its new citizen science program – Dive Against Debris. Through this program, PADI Divers can contribute underwater data that is so critically needed to support policies that will result in a permanent, measurable reduction in marine debris entering the ocean."
The PADI organization is calling on all divers, both recreational and professional, to stand up for ocean protection with Project AWARE and join the global movement of scuba divers protecting our ocean planet – one dive at a time.
About PADI
PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the world's largest diver training organization, with more than 135,000 trained PADI Professionals dedicated to introducing new divers to the thrill of scuba diving and enhancing the skills of experienced divers through its 6,000 dive centers and resorts worldwide. PADI Members obtain close to 1,000,000 certifications worldwide each year, advancing and encouraging the exploration of the ocean, while maintaining the highest industry standards for dive training, safety and customer service. For more information, visit www.padi.com.
About Project AWARE Foundation
Project AWARE Foundation is a global movement of scuba divers protecting the ocean planet - one dive at a time. Focused on the critical issues of sharks in peril and marine debris, Project AWARE empowers thousands of divers in more than 180 countries to work together for a clean, healthy and abundant ocean planet. Project AWARE Foundation is a registered non-profit organization.
Contact: Margee Macdonell
Formula
619-234-0345
Macdonell@Formulapr.com
Scuba diving expert attends book signing
The Hastins & St. Leonards Observer: Scuba diving expert attends book signing
A SCUBA diver who is taking the plunge in the publishing world visited a seafront aquarium at the weekend to sign copies of his new book.
Patrick Shier is a well-known diving instructor and runs Kent-based Exclusively Scuba Diving School.
And his new book, UK Dive Guide, is expected to go down a treat with fellow enthusiasts. It features 100 dives from around then UK, from the wreck of the E39 submarine off Pembrokeshire to the Unknown Coaster in Portland Harbour.
Blue Reef’s Sophie McGachy said that it was fantastic that Patrick greed to come down to the aquarium to sign copies of his new dive book.
She added: “He’s widely recognised as one of the best diving instructors in the country.”
As well as signing copies of the new book, Patrick was available to answer diving-related questions from visitors.
Patrick and his team of divers are regular visitors to the aquarium and have helped with a number of sub-aquatic tasks over the years, including underwater window cleaning and appearing as a scuba Santa Claus
A SCUBA diver who is taking the plunge in the publishing world visited a seafront aquarium at the weekend to sign copies of his new book.
Patrick Shier is a well-known diving instructor and runs Kent-based Exclusively Scuba Diving School.
And his new book, UK Dive Guide, is expected to go down a treat with fellow enthusiasts. It features 100 dives from around then UK, from the wreck of the E39 submarine off Pembrokeshire to the Unknown Coaster in Portland Harbour.
Blue Reef’s Sophie McGachy said that it was fantastic that Patrick greed to come down to the aquarium to sign copies of his new dive book.
She added: “He’s widely recognised as one of the best diving instructors in the country.”
As well as signing copies of the new book, Patrick was available to answer diving-related questions from visitors.
Patrick and his team of divers are regular visitors to the aquarium and have helped with a number of sub-aquatic tasks over the years, including underwater window cleaning and appearing as a scuba Santa Claus
DirectRooms.com - Diving Training Course Heads for Filipino Resort of Puerto Galera from 1 to 7 July 2011
WorldNewsReport: DirectRooms.com - Diving Training Course Heads for Filipino Resort of Puerto Galera from 1 to 7 July 2011
Scuba divers will be heading for Filipino resort of Puerto Galera this summer to get themselves qualified to go diving in waters anywhere in the world. The PADI Rebreather and DPV Program will be held in Puerto Galera between 1 and 7 July this year.
PHUKET, THAILAND, June 07, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Puerto Galera makes for a stunning backdrop to a training course like the PADI workshop, but also ensures that there is high demand for places on the course. The location also means that there will be higher than average demand for a Puerto Galera hotel, leading Internet-based hotel room comparison website DirectRooms.com to advise early, online booking.
PADI qualification is the scuba diving industry's most popular qualification, allowing successful divers the status of being able to go diving in any location around the world. The July training course will be held in the waters off the coast of Puerto Galera, making the resort's hotels situated close to the beach the most popular with visiting divers.
The Philippines attract thousands of scuba divers every year thanks to the islands' clear waters and many coral reefs around which to go diving on day trips and boatstay holidays.
Lek Boonlert, marketing head at DirectRooms.com, says: "Puerto Galera is one of those best-kept secret resorts which people find out about and then return to on a regular basis because they love it so much! It is an ideal destination to take one's PADI diving qualification and to help find the best hotel deals in town around that week in July we do recommend comparison of deals online and advance booking."
About DirectRooms
DirectRooms an independent discount hotel Reservations Company based in Asia. Established and online since 2000 with over 55,000 hotels worldwide.
For further information please contact Lek Boonlert:
Email: email us here
Tel: + 66 (0)76 241 145
Website: http://directrooms.com
Scuba divers will be heading for Filipino resort of Puerto Galera this summer to get themselves qualified to go diving in waters anywhere in the world. The PADI Rebreather and DPV Program will be held in Puerto Galera between 1 and 7 July this year.
PHUKET, THAILAND, June 07, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Puerto Galera makes for a stunning backdrop to a training course like the PADI workshop, but also ensures that there is high demand for places on the course. The location also means that there will be higher than average demand for a Puerto Galera hotel, leading Internet-based hotel room comparison website DirectRooms.com to advise early, online booking.
PADI qualification is the scuba diving industry's most popular qualification, allowing successful divers the status of being able to go diving in any location around the world. The July training course will be held in the waters off the coast of Puerto Galera, making the resort's hotels situated close to the beach the most popular with visiting divers.
The Philippines attract thousands of scuba divers every year thanks to the islands' clear waters and many coral reefs around which to go diving on day trips and boatstay holidays.
Lek Boonlert, marketing head at DirectRooms.com, says: "Puerto Galera is one of those best-kept secret resorts which people find out about and then return to on a regular basis because they love it so much! It is an ideal destination to take one's PADI diving qualification and to help find the best hotel deals in town around that week in July we do recommend comparison of deals online and advance booking."
About DirectRooms
DirectRooms an independent discount hotel Reservations Company based in Asia. Established and online since 2000 with over 55,000 hotels worldwide.
For further information please contact Lek Boonlert:
Email: email us here
Tel: + 66 (0)76 241 145
Website: http://directrooms.com
Monday, June 6, 2011
Measuring healthy reefs
TheStarOnline: Measuring healthy reefs
Volunteers take a dive to keep an eye on our marine wonderland.
IT is a clear night out on a beach in Pulau Tioman, Pahang. The stars are out and a party is underway – and it’s filled with volunteers from audit firm KPMG celebrating their completion of a three-day intensive EcoDiver course and Reef Check survey.
Yes, coral reefs around the world are dying but the group of diving enthusiasts from KPMG are not sitting around lamenting – they are doing something about it. Trained as EcoDivers, they are capable of conducting underwater surveys to assess the health of corals reefs.
They adopted the reef off Pulau Soyak, an island within the Tioman Archipelago, five years ago and send about six divers out every year. However, this year, new recruits bumped the number up to 12 divers, so they could adopt Pulau Renggis reef onto the survey list as well.
Grace Loh, 42, an advisory department manager at KPMG, has been coming to Tioman since the surveys started in 2007.
“I’d learned how to dive with my husband the year before, so I thought it would be nice to join the CSR project when it came up,” she said. When she first started diving, all Loh saw was fish. “Lots of colour, lots of shapes and lots of fishes. The novelty wears off quite quickly. But taking the EcoDiver course is educational … realising that something you’ve spotted is actually incredibly rare becomes a real buzz!”
One detects a real sense of pride about what KPMG is doing with Reef Check Malaysia in her voice. This is the fifth year the company is working with the non-profit that endeavours to protect Malaysia’s endangered coral reefs.
Through corporate sponsorships, Reef Check has built up an army of volunteers to conduct regular surveys of reefs all over the country. General manager Julian Hyde says to date, some 300 divers have gained EcoDiver certification. Many volunteers are supplied through sponsorship programmes from companies as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. The corporates sponsor up to 70% of the RM750 EcoDiver course for each employee (who has to have an Open Water Diver certificate) and organise a team of people to go on yearly Reef Check survey expeditions on “adopted” reefs.
In the recent survey of Tioman reefs, scuba divers from KPMG, deployed in twos, swam along transect lines laid out under water. The first pair noted down substrate cover such as hard coral, soft coral, nutrient indicator algae, rock, sand or recently killed coral. The second pair counted the number of indicator invertebrates (such as crown of thorn starfish and sea cucumbers) and signs of impact, whilst the third pair arguably had the most challenging task – counting the number of indicator fishes as they swam around.
Reef Check was started in 1996 by marine ecologist Dr Gregor Hodgson and arrived in Malaysia in 2001. It grew out of an idea to create a global army of volunteers trained in the same set of data collection methods to conduct reef surveys. Up until the organisation’s first global survey of coral reef health in 1997, there had never been a concerted effort, just pockets of research using individual methods of data collection. The results of that survey were shocking scientific confirmation that coral reefs were undergoing alarming levels of decimation due to over-fishing, illegal fishing and pollution.
Each of Reek Check’s national coordinating bodies have since been monitoring the impacts that different enforcement measures make, so we can build up a picture of how best to protect our reefs. Most people in Malaysia will be happy to know that our reefs are faring pretty well. Data collected by Reef Check Malaysia for example indicates that most of the reefs gazetted as Marine Parks have remained in relatively stable conditions since gazettement.
If you dreamed of being a marine biologist as a kid but got told that being a lawyer would be more practical, this is your chance to live the dream. All you need to do is be a qualified diver. Reef Check’s methods of data collection were designed by scientists specifically for use by non-scientists. You can enrol for a three-day course to get certification as an EcoDiver, after which you can participate in Reef Check surveys anywhere in the world. The certification will equip you with the ability to gather data on 16 global and eight regional indicator organisms, which have been selected as specific measures of human impacts on coral reefs based on their economic and ecological value, and sensitivity to human impacts.
Reef Check Malaysia’s ultimate role is getting more people trained, so more surveys get done, so we have a better picture of the state of our reefs. The data is eventually turned into a report which is shared with the Department of Marine Parks Malaysia. The ultimate goal is to build a relationship with academia and the department, to the point where they can coordinate their data collection, academic research and enforcement efforts to do something about reefs that are not faring well.
Start them young
After five years of partnership with Reef Check, one can see a sense of ownership growing around the project among the KPMG staff. You can tell some of the veteran volunteers take what they’re doing really seriously.
In 2009, Lim Jit Cheng, an executive director in the restructuring and advisory department, came on board and took charge of the EcoDiver CSR project. He also spearheaded an initiative to bring students of SK Taman Tun Dr Ismail 2 in Kuala Lumpur, a school KPMG does monthly recycling projects with, onboard. So during the recent trip to Tioman, 25 excitable Year Five kids camped out on the grass lawn in front of the Tioman Marine Park Centre.
Hyde had wanted to bring an urban school to the island to learn about coral reefs for a while, as Reef Check’s Rainforest To Reef school programme had previously involved schools from the islands and nearby mainland. Lim pointed out that both programmes sponsored by KPMG (the EcoDivers and the schoolkids’ project) are conservation related; one is data collection which can be used for research on our reefs, the other is about investing in the future through educating children. In the Rainforest to Reef camp, the children learnt about four major ecosystems – rainforest, mangroves, reefs and seagrasses – and why they are important and worth protecting.
On Day two of the camp, up the stairs of the Tioman Marine Park Centre just past the interactive info-kiosks and life-size replicas of turtles and sharks, this year’s batch of students huddled in silence. In the darkened air-conditioned auditorium, marine parks officer Mohd Azizol pointed at images of tropical fishes and nudibranches, slugs with colourful elaborate fan-like appendages, which flicker on the projector screen.
“What you’re looking at here are some of the rarest things on earth,” he said. “You can find them on the Discovery channel and on programmes like National Geographic, but you know what kids? Because you live in this special country called Malaysia, all you need to do to see them is hop on the train, get on a boat and they’re right there. Tourists come hundreds of miles just to see them, bringing in billions of ringgit for the tourism industry, so we should look after our assets.”
He explained what “eco-tourism” meant, adding that sustainable management of reefs coupled with responsible tourism practices can act as a buffer and alternative income source for locals who might otherwise seek income through destructive practices such as dynamite fishing.
The session was educational and the kids sat quietly through it all, open-mouthed and listening attentively.
When the time came for everyone to don orange life jackets and jump in the water, chances are all the orange shapes bobbing up and down in close proximity to their teachers and KPMG minders knew what they were looking at. Hopefully, these kids will grow up appreciative and mindful of, the underwater realm.
For more on being an EcoDiver, go to reefcheck.org.my.
Volunteers take a dive to keep an eye on our marine wonderland.
IT is a clear night out on a beach in Pulau Tioman, Pahang. The stars are out and a party is underway – and it’s filled with volunteers from audit firm KPMG celebrating their completion of a three-day intensive EcoDiver course and Reef Check survey.
Yes, coral reefs around the world are dying but the group of diving enthusiasts from KPMG are not sitting around lamenting – they are doing something about it. Trained as EcoDivers, they are capable of conducting underwater surveys to assess the health of corals reefs.
They adopted the reef off Pulau Soyak, an island within the Tioman Archipelago, five years ago and send about six divers out every year. However, this year, new recruits bumped the number up to 12 divers, so they could adopt Pulau Renggis reef onto the survey list as well.
Grace Loh, 42, an advisory department manager at KPMG, has been coming to Tioman since the surveys started in 2007.
“I’d learned how to dive with my husband the year before, so I thought it would be nice to join the CSR project when it came up,” she said. When she first started diving, all Loh saw was fish. “Lots of colour, lots of shapes and lots of fishes. The novelty wears off quite quickly. But taking the EcoDiver course is educational … realising that something you’ve spotted is actually incredibly rare becomes a real buzz!”
One detects a real sense of pride about what KPMG is doing with Reef Check Malaysia in her voice. This is the fifth year the company is working with the non-profit that endeavours to protect Malaysia’s endangered coral reefs.
Through corporate sponsorships, Reef Check has built up an army of volunteers to conduct regular surveys of reefs all over the country. General manager Julian Hyde says to date, some 300 divers have gained EcoDiver certification. Many volunteers are supplied through sponsorship programmes from companies as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. The corporates sponsor up to 70% of the RM750 EcoDiver course for each employee (who has to have an Open Water Diver certificate) and organise a team of people to go on yearly Reef Check survey expeditions on “adopted” reefs.
In the recent survey of Tioman reefs, scuba divers from KPMG, deployed in twos, swam along transect lines laid out under water. The first pair noted down substrate cover such as hard coral, soft coral, nutrient indicator algae, rock, sand or recently killed coral. The second pair counted the number of indicator invertebrates (such as crown of thorn starfish and sea cucumbers) and signs of impact, whilst the third pair arguably had the most challenging task – counting the number of indicator fishes as they swam around.
Reef Check was started in 1996 by marine ecologist Dr Gregor Hodgson and arrived in Malaysia in 2001. It grew out of an idea to create a global army of volunteers trained in the same set of data collection methods to conduct reef surveys. Up until the organisation’s first global survey of coral reef health in 1997, there had never been a concerted effort, just pockets of research using individual methods of data collection. The results of that survey were shocking scientific confirmation that coral reefs were undergoing alarming levels of decimation due to over-fishing, illegal fishing and pollution.
Each of Reek Check’s national coordinating bodies have since been monitoring the impacts that different enforcement measures make, so we can build up a picture of how best to protect our reefs. Most people in Malaysia will be happy to know that our reefs are faring pretty well. Data collected by Reef Check Malaysia for example indicates that most of the reefs gazetted as Marine Parks have remained in relatively stable conditions since gazettement.
If you dreamed of being a marine biologist as a kid but got told that being a lawyer would be more practical, this is your chance to live the dream. All you need to do is be a qualified diver. Reef Check’s methods of data collection were designed by scientists specifically for use by non-scientists. You can enrol for a three-day course to get certification as an EcoDiver, after which you can participate in Reef Check surveys anywhere in the world. The certification will equip you with the ability to gather data on 16 global and eight regional indicator organisms, which have been selected as specific measures of human impacts on coral reefs based on their economic and ecological value, and sensitivity to human impacts.
Reef Check Malaysia’s ultimate role is getting more people trained, so more surveys get done, so we have a better picture of the state of our reefs. The data is eventually turned into a report which is shared with the Department of Marine Parks Malaysia. The ultimate goal is to build a relationship with academia and the department, to the point where they can coordinate their data collection, academic research and enforcement efforts to do something about reefs that are not faring well.
Start them young
After five years of partnership with Reef Check, one can see a sense of ownership growing around the project among the KPMG staff. You can tell some of the veteran volunteers take what they’re doing really seriously.
In 2009, Lim Jit Cheng, an executive director in the restructuring and advisory department, came on board and took charge of the EcoDiver CSR project. He also spearheaded an initiative to bring students of SK Taman Tun Dr Ismail 2 in Kuala Lumpur, a school KPMG does monthly recycling projects with, onboard. So during the recent trip to Tioman, 25 excitable Year Five kids camped out on the grass lawn in front of the Tioman Marine Park Centre.
Hyde had wanted to bring an urban school to the island to learn about coral reefs for a while, as Reef Check’s Rainforest To Reef school programme had previously involved schools from the islands and nearby mainland. Lim pointed out that both programmes sponsored by KPMG (the EcoDivers and the schoolkids’ project) are conservation related; one is data collection which can be used for research on our reefs, the other is about investing in the future through educating children. In the Rainforest to Reef camp, the children learnt about four major ecosystems – rainforest, mangroves, reefs and seagrasses – and why they are important and worth protecting.
On Day two of the camp, up the stairs of the Tioman Marine Park Centre just past the interactive info-kiosks and life-size replicas of turtles and sharks, this year’s batch of students huddled in silence. In the darkened air-conditioned auditorium, marine parks officer Mohd Azizol pointed at images of tropical fishes and nudibranches, slugs with colourful elaborate fan-like appendages, which flicker on the projector screen.
“What you’re looking at here are some of the rarest things on earth,” he said. “You can find them on the Discovery channel and on programmes like National Geographic, but you know what kids? Because you live in this special country called Malaysia, all you need to do to see them is hop on the train, get on a boat and they’re right there. Tourists come hundreds of miles just to see them, bringing in billions of ringgit for the tourism industry, so we should look after our assets.”
He explained what “eco-tourism” meant, adding that sustainable management of reefs coupled with responsible tourism practices can act as a buffer and alternative income source for locals who might otherwise seek income through destructive practices such as dynamite fishing.
The session was educational and the kids sat quietly through it all, open-mouthed and listening attentively.
When the time came for everyone to don orange life jackets and jump in the water, chances are all the orange shapes bobbing up and down in close proximity to their teachers and KPMG minders knew what they were looking at. Hopefully, these kids will grow up appreciative and mindful of, the underwater realm.
For more on being an EcoDiver, go to reefcheck.org.my.
SWIMMING FOR FITNESS: Woman swims with sharks, whales, stingrays for healthy living
ReporterNews: SWIMMING FOR FITNESS: Woman swims with sharks, whales, stingrays for healthy living
Lorraine Wilson is as much at home below the deep waters of Honduras, Mexico, Australia or the Bahamas as she is in dry West Texas.
As well she should be: Wilson, 56, an associate professor of exercise science, health, and nutrition at Abilene Christian University, is a master scuba diver and instructor.
Although Wilson spent her early years in California, Washington, and Michigan — where there was lots of water — she took to scuba diving only after moving to Abilene.
Wilson was on a college swimming team in Michigan, where she swam the 200- and 500-yard freestyle.
She said she'd wanted to dive when she was younger but didn't have the opportunity — or the money — to do so.
"I started scuba diving in 1985 after coming to Abilene," Wilson said. "I started out at Lake Possum Kingdom."
Wilson started the ACU scuba diving course in 1988.
Now she teaches scuba diving and swimming not only to ACU students, but to others as well. She and her husband, J. Wilson, own The Dive Spot Inc., 1701 Lytle Trail,and travel to various locations around the world, leading students and others on diving or snorkeling expeditions.
She touted the health benefits of diving. In addition to diving often, Wilson said she walks laps, does cardio exercises and swims.
"Scuba diving is something that most people can do," she said. "They can exercise in the water even if they might not be able to do much on land."
She said people with physical disabilities often feel right at home exercising in the water.
Wilson said that people not only find enjoyment in diving, but they get a good workout — both mental and physical.
"We prepare students to serve and lead through the development of healthful lifestyles," she said.
When students begin their training, there are a lot of requirements involving safety and procedures. This year, the students are using the pool at McMurry University for training because the ACU pool is undergoing renovations. Wilson also takes students to the warm springs of Balmorhea State Park for diving as well.
Other divers, both students and non-students, can join Wilson and her team for dives, but they must undergo training, she said.
Lauren Newman, 20, a senior at ACU, is a beginner in scuba diving has already completed her classroom work for the course and will be among the students going to Balmorhea sometime in the spring.
Newman said her dream was to scuba dive someday in the Caribbean.
"My dad is a certified scuba diver," she said. "I have done snorkeling in Florida, so I already know it is fun as well as good exercise for me."
Wilson said diving also is a great stress reliever.
"It just makes you smile to see the marine life," she said.
Diving also offers other benefits, including the opportunity to explore. Wilson said scuba diving opened a whole new world for her — the accomplished photographer has photos of giant sharks, stingrays and whales as well as smaller marine life.
Wilson said one of the thrills of scuba diving is seeing marine life in their own habitat.
"We watch sharks and other marine life feast on a giant chumsicle," Wilson said. "It is a big bunch of fish heads or other meat frozen like a Popsicle."
Wilson said her scuba diving has helped her rescue a part of history in Matagorda Bay for the Texas Historical Commission when she helped excavate one of French explorer La Salle's ships, La Belle, a few years ago. The ship sank off the coast of Texas in 1686. Wilson said only artifacts were recovered, as much the ship was gone.
"I got to hold a leather shoe, pottery, jewelry, guns and a rope that had come from the ship," Wilson said. "It was really something to see."
Lorraine Wilson is as much at home below the deep waters of Honduras, Mexico, Australia or the Bahamas as she is in dry West Texas.
As well she should be: Wilson, 56, an associate professor of exercise science, health, and nutrition at Abilene Christian University, is a master scuba diver and instructor.
Although Wilson spent her early years in California, Washington, and Michigan — where there was lots of water — she took to scuba diving only after moving to Abilene.
Wilson was on a college swimming team in Michigan, where she swam the 200- and 500-yard freestyle.
She said she'd wanted to dive when she was younger but didn't have the opportunity — or the money — to do so.
"I started scuba diving in 1985 after coming to Abilene," Wilson said. "I started out at Lake Possum Kingdom."
Wilson started the ACU scuba diving course in 1988.
Now she teaches scuba diving and swimming not only to ACU students, but to others as well. She and her husband, J. Wilson, own The Dive Spot Inc., 1701 Lytle Trail,and travel to various locations around the world, leading students and others on diving or snorkeling expeditions.
She touted the health benefits of diving. In addition to diving often, Wilson said she walks laps, does cardio exercises and swims.
"Scuba diving is something that most people can do," she said. "They can exercise in the water even if they might not be able to do much on land."
She said people with physical disabilities often feel right at home exercising in the water.
Wilson said that people not only find enjoyment in diving, but they get a good workout — both mental and physical.
"We prepare students to serve and lead through the development of healthful lifestyles," she said.
When students begin their training, there are a lot of requirements involving safety and procedures. This year, the students are using the pool at McMurry University for training because the ACU pool is undergoing renovations. Wilson also takes students to the warm springs of Balmorhea State Park for diving as well.
Other divers, both students and non-students, can join Wilson and her team for dives, but they must undergo training, she said.
Lauren Newman, 20, a senior at ACU, is a beginner in scuba diving has already completed her classroom work for the course and will be among the students going to Balmorhea sometime in the spring.
Newman said her dream was to scuba dive someday in the Caribbean.
"My dad is a certified scuba diver," she said. "I have done snorkeling in Florida, so I already know it is fun as well as good exercise for me."
Wilson said diving also is a great stress reliever.
"It just makes you smile to see the marine life," she said.
Diving also offers other benefits, including the opportunity to explore. Wilson said scuba diving opened a whole new world for her — the accomplished photographer has photos of giant sharks, stingrays and whales as well as smaller marine life.
Wilson said one of the thrills of scuba diving is seeing marine life in their own habitat.
"We watch sharks and other marine life feast on a giant chumsicle," Wilson said. "It is a big bunch of fish heads or other meat frozen like a Popsicle."
Wilson said her scuba diving has helped her rescue a part of history in Matagorda Bay for the Texas Historical Commission when she helped excavate one of French explorer La Salle's ships, La Belle, a few years ago. The ship sank off the coast of Texas in 1686. Wilson said only artifacts were recovered, as much the ship was gone.
"I got to hold a leather shoe, pottery, jewelry, guns and a rope that had come from the ship," Wilson said. "It was really something to see."
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Star trekkers return wiser
DeccanChronicle: Star trekkers return wiser
It was a ‘Star Trek’ experience for four children of Kerala who were chosen for a five-day intensive training programme at the Singapore Space Academy.
From guiding a moon-rover and floating around in zero gravity to building a rocket and surviving in frozen landscapes, they learnt a little bit of everything that space-farers need to know.
“To experience what zero gravity feels like, we did scuba diving,” says Blessy Jayachandran, who studies at the Government Higher Secondary School in Pattom here.
“And we were taken to a place called Snow City which resembled Arctic wastes.”
Apart from Blessy, Michelle Anne George of the Believer’s Church Residential School in Tiruvalla, Rahul Joseph Cecil of the St Pauls International School, Ernakulam and S.A. Narayanan of the St Thomas Residential School in Thiruvananthapuram were part of the Saura Yaathrika team that was sent to the academy by Kerala Travels as part of its golden jubilee initiative.
The training sessions from May 30 to June 3 were conducted by former NASA engineers including Timothy Kaufman, Brandon Wall and Nadire .
“It has given me the courage to pursue my first love-astronomy,” says Rahul.
For Narayanan, the youngest of the lot, the most exciting part of the training was the sky diving.
“We did it in an indoor area and the wind kept lifting us up,” he gushes. “It was thrilling.”
Michelle also chips in to say that the programme had increased her determination to study astrophysics.
It was not just fun and frolic. The children also the learnt the theory and history of space science and rocket propulsion.
“Before I went there, I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer,” says Blessy. “But now I dream of becoming an astronaut.”
It was a ‘Star Trek’ experience for four children of Kerala who were chosen for a five-day intensive training programme at the Singapore Space Academy.
From guiding a moon-rover and floating around in zero gravity to building a rocket and surviving in frozen landscapes, they learnt a little bit of everything that space-farers need to know.
“To experience what zero gravity feels like, we did scuba diving,” says Blessy Jayachandran, who studies at the Government Higher Secondary School in Pattom here.
“And we were taken to a place called Snow City which resembled Arctic wastes.”
Apart from Blessy, Michelle Anne George of the Believer’s Church Residential School in Tiruvalla, Rahul Joseph Cecil of the St Pauls International School, Ernakulam and S.A. Narayanan of the St Thomas Residential School in Thiruvananthapuram were part of the Saura Yaathrika team that was sent to the academy by Kerala Travels as part of its golden jubilee initiative.
The training sessions from May 30 to June 3 were conducted by former NASA engineers including Timothy Kaufman, Brandon Wall and Nadire .
“It has given me the courage to pursue my first love-astronomy,” says Rahul.
For Narayanan, the youngest of the lot, the most exciting part of the training was the sky diving.
“We did it in an indoor area and the wind kept lifting us up,” he gushes. “It was thrilling.”
Michelle also chips in to say that the programme had increased her determination to study astrophysics.
It was not just fun and frolic. The children also the learnt the theory and history of space science and rocket propulsion.
“Before I went there, I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer,” says Blessy. “But now I dream of becoming an astronaut.”
Shoring up Israel’s treasure-rich coastline
Israel 21C: Shoring up Israel’s treasure-rich coastline
No one knows when she lost her head or arm, but the 1,500-year-old sculpture believed to depict the Roman goddess Aphrodite rolled out into the Mediterranean Sea last December, looking as fresh as the day she was made. Her discovery after falling out from an escarpment onto the coast of Ashkelon, a southern Israeli city near the Gaza Strip, highlights Israel's growing need to protect its eroding coastline.
A new government initiative worth $135 million will turn about 10 miles of stretches of the Israeli coast into a series of reinforcements and public parks to be enjoyed by locals and tourists. Some of the parks will run through archeological sites of interest.
Geological archeologist Dr. Beverly Goodman, from the University of Haifa's Leon Charney School of Marine Sciences, stands to receive some of the much-needed funds for her research on coastal tsunamis and underwater geo-archeological surveying.
She tells ISRAEL21c that coastal protection is a social, cultural, economic and environmental imperative. "The coastal area is extremely important because so many infrastructure facilities lie on the world's coastlines," she says, "whether it's a power station; a cosmopolitan area like Tel Aviv, which includes hotels and tourist sites; and, of course, nature areas. These are all things that rely on the coastline being protected, and kept stable and somewhat reliable."
Antiquities are being eroded
Goodman explains that the economy of every country is impacted by how its coastline is protected. "The majority of the world's population lives on the coastline, within one kilometer. And daily life is most heavily impacted there. If you look at a nighttime map of the Earth, you can make out the continents by looking at the coastal regions. This shows how dominant the coastline regions are," she says.
Dr. Beverly Goodman collecting archeological samples from the Mediterranean.
Working in and around Caesarea, where she has surveyed underwater archeology remains and geophysical properties of the ancient port city built by the Romans, she hopes at least to record what is underwater and on the beach before more culture is lost through natural erosion processes or damaging winter storms.
"What we are looking at in Caesarea, on the coastal cliffs, is that we have areas where the coastline has changed so much - and we actually have antiquities that are being eroded into the sea."
Last December, a devastating winter storm hit the length of the Israeli coast, exposing archeological remains. The storm temporarily closed down the modern-day Caesarea National Park and caused great damage to the ancient port city.
Goodman had just finished recording details about the seafloor and archeological remains. After the storm, she returned to her underwater lab to find that some 80 percent of what she'd surveyed had been destroyed or washed away.
This makes Goodman very relieved to know that the State of Israel will support this unique cultural heritage site.
"For the short term, we don't know how to protect what's there and we want a record before it's destroyed. That's the purpose of [my] research, from the protection aspect. I am also looking at geo-archeology research questions. Within those coastal features, we are studying the sediment and what happens over time."
The barefoot archeologist
Her field of underwater archeology is almost as old as scuba diving itself, but studying ancient tsunamis - including one that is thought to have devastated Caesarea thousands of years ago -- is very cutting edge.
Rather than doing a lot of excavating, she says, "one can go to a site and get a cut section of archeology without having to dig for it. We are also working on the coastline on the beach, sometimes barefoot -- and underwater, of course, where we are diving and using excavation equipment."
Besides the geological aspects of her work, the intimate human side of what she sees underwater fascinates Goodman. Personal items she locates underwater can be quite exciting. A 2,000-year-old sandal caught her attention not long ago. Perhaps it was once worn by a fisherman?
"It was something that seemed so real to me," she says about the size 7 men's sandal that is being prepared for display. "It was something so personal and I know the annoying feeling when you lose one sandal," she says. Other ancient items she's unearthed include women's hair combs and earrings.
Securing the past and future
According to the Israeli government, the new coastal protection fund will allow for a network of public parks along the coastal area from southern Ashkelon to northern Haifa.
The parks will reinforce precipitous slopes that fall off periodically, damaging real estate and even occasionally killing beach-goers who don't heed the warnings to sunbathe away from the dangerous coastal escarpments.
Historically, Israel's coastal area is important not only for today's population. According to the Christian Gospels, the Apostle Peter was imprisoned in Caesarea after being arrested in Jerusalem, and an inscription bearing the Christian scriptural name Pontius Pilate was found here.
The area began to take shape after King Herod built the world's first artificial port in Caesarea, in 22 BCE, to be the seat of the Roman government. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus noted that "the firmness of his building could not easily be conquered by the sea."
He'd obviously never heard about global warming.
UAE: How can they dive so deep?
The National: How can they dive so deep?
The Dubai-based team of wreck-hunters use special breathing gas mixes to go far deeper than a normal sports diver could reach - a branch of the sport known as technical diving.
The average weekend diver can reach around 40 metres breathing air. Going deeper would lead to a condition known as nitrogen narcosis, which is caused by inhaling increasingly pressurised nitrogen and creates a dangerous feeling of inebriation.
An additional problem is created by oxygen, which becomes poisonous and deadly when breathed under pressure - even when inhaled at just 10m.
Air consists of 21 per cent oxygen and 78 per cent nitrogen, with the remaining one per cent a mixture of other gases.
Technical divers overcome deep diving issues by using a mixture of helium, oxygen and nitrogen called trimix.
"We put helium into the standard breathing mix for a number of reasons," said Ali Fikree. "One, it eliminates nitrogen narcosis, which at depth can be fatal.
"Also the oxygen content of air is pretty toxic once you exceed 60m. So we eliminate a lot of the oxygen, the gas we breathe at 100m as a general rule is approximately 10 per cent oxygen, 60 per cent helium and the rest nitrogen."
Divers absorb the gases they breathe under water into their body tissues, which is why they must make a slow return to the surface.
"When you're coming up, essentially you're decreasing the pressure so you've got to let out the gas before it turns into a bubble, which can cause death or paralysis - this is decompression sickness," added Mr Fikree. "So even on the way up we're breathing multiple gases and different breathing mixes."
Technical divers use one of two techniques .
One involves breathing from up to six conventional scuba tanks, each with a regulator attached.
Each tank contains a different gas mix that can be breathed safely at a particular depth - when the diver reaches a particular depth he switches to the tank containing the appropriate mix.
Technical dives can also be carried out by using a piece of equipment known as a rebreather.
These cut down on the number of tanks needed by recycling the exhaled breath of the diver.
In some models a built-in dive computer automatically adjusts the gas mixture
The Dubai-based team of wreck-hunters use special breathing gas mixes to go far deeper than a normal sports diver could reach - a branch of the sport known as technical diving.
The average weekend diver can reach around 40 metres breathing air. Going deeper would lead to a condition known as nitrogen narcosis, which is caused by inhaling increasingly pressurised nitrogen and creates a dangerous feeling of inebriation.
An additional problem is created by oxygen, which becomes poisonous and deadly when breathed under pressure - even when inhaled at just 10m.
Air consists of 21 per cent oxygen and 78 per cent nitrogen, with the remaining one per cent a mixture of other gases.
Technical divers overcome deep diving issues by using a mixture of helium, oxygen and nitrogen called trimix.
"We put helium into the standard breathing mix for a number of reasons," said Ali Fikree. "One, it eliminates nitrogen narcosis, which at depth can be fatal.
"Also the oxygen content of air is pretty toxic once you exceed 60m. So we eliminate a lot of the oxygen, the gas we breathe at 100m as a general rule is approximately 10 per cent oxygen, 60 per cent helium and the rest nitrogen."
Divers absorb the gases they breathe under water into their body tissues, which is why they must make a slow return to the surface.
"When you're coming up, essentially you're decreasing the pressure so you've got to let out the gas before it turns into a bubble, which can cause death or paralysis - this is decompression sickness," added Mr Fikree. "So even on the way up we're breathing multiple gases and different breathing mixes."
Technical divers use one of two techniques .
One involves breathing from up to six conventional scuba tanks, each with a regulator attached.
Each tank contains a different gas mix that can be breathed safely at a particular depth - when the diver reaches a particular depth he switches to the tank containing the appropriate mix.
Technical dives can also be carried out by using a piece of equipment known as a rebreather.
These cut down on the number of tanks needed by recycling the exhaled breath of the diver.
In some models a built-in dive computer automatically adjusts the gas mixture
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Keys snorkel, dive deaths now up to six for 2011
KeysNet.com: Keys snorkel, dive deaths now up to six for 2011
A Canadian man, 69, died after a snorkeling trip off Key Largo on Tuesday. The death of John Hobus raised to six the number of scuba or snorkeling deaths in Keys waters so far in 2011. A week before Hobus died, a 42-year-old British visitor died after snorkeling off a Key West beach.
Monroe County Medical Examiner E. Hunt Scheuerman said the cause of the two most recent deaths will be listed after results from additional tests are received. "It's always better to wait to have everything put together," he said Friday.
Hobus, of Whitehorse in Yukon, Canada, was on a snorkel trip at Cannon Patch Reef with the Reef Roamer catamaran from Key Largo, reported the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
"Hobus began to have trouble as he was swimming back to the boat," said agency spokeswoman Becky Herrin. Hobus was pulled aboard and boat crew performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation while returning to shore to Port Largo. Hobus did not survive.
His wife told a detective that Hobus underwent triple-bypass heart surgery in 1995 and was still on several medications.
Simone Newman, 42, of England apparently fell unconscious and died May 24 while snorkeling off Dog Beach in Key West. Efforts by bystanders and first-responders to revive him failed. Key West Police Officer Gary Celcer reported that he "did not see any gross visible signs of trauma" on Newman.
In two scuba-related deaths earlier this year, the medical examiner determined air embolisms triggered the fatalities.
Steven Knorr, 60, of Wisconsin was spearfishing from a private boat in 50 feet of water off Marathon on March 23. His son, a Marathon resident, found Knorr unconscious at the surface.
Richard Snow, 56, of Three Oaks, Mich., died March 10 after a dive off Marathon from a commercial dive boat. Snow began having trouble while surfacing and fell unconscious.
Air embolisms are caused when a bubble forms in the bloodstream, blocking the flow of blood to the heart or brain. Scuba divers have a larger risk of embolisms because compressed air inhaled at depth expands as the diver surfaces.
Most dive-related deaths are attributable to medical conditions, Scheuerman said, but a significant number can be traced to embolisms. "If the history [of the dive] is consistent with a possible embolism, then you look for things during the autopsy that may confirm it," Scheuerman said.
In February, Clermont resident Cheryl Chastek, 50, died of physiological complications from a near-drowning suffered while diving off a private boat in the Lower Keys, the medical examiner ruled.
Piers Harley, 64, of Ocean, N.J., surfaced at Key Largo's Molasses Reef after a Feb. 27 dive trip and died as he returned to the commercial dive boat HMS Minnow.
A Canadian man, 69, died after a snorkeling trip off Key Largo on Tuesday. The death of John Hobus raised to six the number of scuba or snorkeling deaths in Keys waters so far in 2011. A week before Hobus died, a 42-year-old British visitor died after snorkeling off a Key West beach.
Monroe County Medical Examiner E. Hunt Scheuerman said the cause of the two most recent deaths will be listed after results from additional tests are received. "It's always better to wait to have everything put together," he said Friday.
Hobus, of Whitehorse in Yukon, Canada, was on a snorkel trip at Cannon Patch Reef with the Reef Roamer catamaran from Key Largo, reported the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
"Hobus began to have trouble as he was swimming back to the boat," said agency spokeswoman Becky Herrin. Hobus was pulled aboard and boat crew performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation while returning to shore to Port Largo. Hobus did not survive.
His wife told a detective that Hobus underwent triple-bypass heart surgery in 1995 and was still on several medications.
Simone Newman, 42, of England apparently fell unconscious and died May 24 while snorkeling off Dog Beach in Key West. Efforts by bystanders and first-responders to revive him failed. Key West Police Officer Gary Celcer reported that he "did not see any gross visible signs of trauma" on Newman.
In two scuba-related deaths earlier this year, the medical examiner determined air embolisms triggered the fatalities.
Steven Knorr, 60, of Wisconsin was spearfishing from a private boat in 50 feet of water off Marathon on March 23. His son, a Marathon resident, found Knorr unconscious at the surface.
Richard Snow, 56, of Three Oaks, Mich., died March 10 after a dive off Marathon from a commercial dive boat. Snow began having trouble while surfacing and fell unconscious.
Air embolisms are caused when a bubble forms in the bloodstream, blocking the flow of blood to the heart or brain. Scuba divers have a larger risk of embolisms because compressed air inhaled at depth expands as the diver surfaces.
Most dive-related deaths are attributable to medical conditions, Scheuerman said, but a significant number can be traced to embolisms. "If the history [of the dive] is consistent with a possible embolism, then you look for things during the autopsy that may confirm it," Scheuerman said.
In February, Clermont resident Cheryl Chastek, 50, died of physiological complications from a near-drowning suffered while diving off a private boat in the Lower Keys, the medical examiner ruled.
Piers Harley, 64, of Ocean, N.J., surfaced at Key Largo's Molasses Reef after a Feb. 27 dive trip and died as he returned to the commercial dive boat HMS Minnow.
Friday, June 3, 2011
24th Annual Scuba Show Again Features Wyland
Long Beach Post: 24th Annual Scuba Show Again Features Wyland
8:01am | Scuba divers and vacationers have one reason to head to the Long Beach Convention Center this weekend.
“America's Largest Consumer Dive Expo” is Saturday and Sunday. The show features more than 250 exhibitors, 49 seminars, door prizes and an all-day film festival.
Marine artist Wyland will be on hand painting live at the show while exhibiting a large portion of his artwork. Wyland’s appearance at last year's show drew large crowds of onlookers. On Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., the artist will bring up a group of children and guide them in creating their own masterpiece to be incorporated into a larger mural. Children are free with a paid adult admission.
The show’s hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets are $12 at the door, cash only. Check with your local scuba stores for $2 off coupons. Visit ScubaShow.com for more information.
8:01am | Scuba divers and vacationers have one reason to head to the Long Beach Convention Center this weekend.
“America's Largest Consumer Dive Expo” is Saturday and Sunday. The show features more than 250 exhibitors, 49 seminars, door prizes and an all-day film festival.
Marine artist Wyland will be on hand painting live at the show while exhibiting a large portion of his artwork. Wyland’s appearance at last year's show drew large crowds of onlookers. On Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., the artist will bring up a group of children and guide them in creating their own masterpiece to be incorporated into a larger mural. Children are free with a paid adult admission.
The show’s hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets are $12 at the door, cash only. Check with your local scuba stores for $2 off coupons. Visit ScubaShow.com for more information.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
HMS Ark Royal could be turned into diving wreck
The News: HMS Ark Royal could be turned into diving wreck
THE Royal Navy’s former flagship HMS Ark Royal could have a new future in the world of diving.
A group of scuba divers is bidding to turn the old aircraft carrier in to a dive wreck.
Michael Byfield and James Doddrell, from Torbay, believe turning the former Portsmouth-based ship into a reef could bring £40m into the Devon economy, creating the largest artificial shipwreck reef in Europe. It would mean towing the vessel to a port to be stripped and made clean enough to be sunk.
The idea could repeat the success of HMS Scylla, which since being sunk has attracted thousands of divers to Plymouth, generating millions of pounds for the local economy.
The divers have formed a team called ArkRoyalReef which was one of a number of interested buyers to tour the vessel last week.
They say they do not want to see the former flagship follow in the wake of HMS Invincible, which was towed to Turkey for scrap.
Mr Byfield said: ‘We are talking to a few companies about towing her, and talking to ports where we could store her.
‘We would love to get it ready in time for the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics when we could sink it, with a fireworks display, to coincide with that and get worldwide coverage.
‘It should bring us worldwide attention because Ark Royal is the flagship of the Royal Navy and it would be the third largest artificial shipwreck reef in the world and the largest in Europe.
THE Royal Navy’s former flagship HMS Ark Royal could have a new future in the world of diving.
A group of scuba divers is bidding to turn the old aircraft carrier in to a dive wreck.
Michael Byfield and James Doddrell, from Torbay, believe turning the former Portsmouth-based ship into a reef could bring £40m into the Devon economy, creating the largest artificial shipwreck reef in Europe. It would mean towing the vessel to a port to be stripped and made clean enough to be sunk.
The idea could repeat the success of HMS Scylla, which since being sunk has attracted thousands of divers to Plymouth, generating millions of pounds for the local economy.
The divers have formed a team called ArkRoyalReef which was one of a number of interested buyers to tour the vessel last week.
They say they do not want to see the former flagship follow in the wake of HMS Invincible, which was towed to Turkey for scrap.
Mr Byfield said: ‘We are talking to a few companies about towing her, and talking to ports where we could store her.
‘We would love to get it ready in time for the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics when we could sink it, with a fireworks display, to coincide with that and get worldwide coverage.
‘It should bring us worldwide attention because Ark Royal is the flagship of the Royal Navy and it would be the third largest artificial shipwreck reef in the world and the largest in Europe.
Galway, Ireland: State-of-art chamber is a lifesaver for divers
Galway City Tribune: State-of-art chamber is a lifesaver for divers
It is as close as you can get to entering a spaceship, or a submarine, without leaving dry land in the West of Ireland, and it has helped save the lives of scuba divers. And yet many people might not be aware that the Republic’s national medical hyperbaric chamber, which opened late last year at a cost of €1 million, is located at University Hospital Galway.
No scuba diver wants to have to use it, and yet each and every one of them should be delighted that it is there. While the popularity of deep sea diving has increased remarkably over the past decade, the chamber ensures that divers no longer need to be airlifted to Plymouth or Portsmouth in the UK for top class medical treatment.
It is operated mainly by a team of committed, highly trained volunteers who are on call to help out medical staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in case any diver gets into difficulties in Irish waters. Whether he or she needs to be airlifted from Co Kerry or take an ambulance from Carraroe, a committed team of three will be on hand to administer the treatment once the alarm is raised.
Decompression sickness or ‘the bends’, caused by breathing excess nitrogen under pressure, is a hazard faced by divers who surface too quickly or are forced to divert from their dive plans. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the only cure and UHG is the only hospital in the country to provide it.
Symptoms of ‘the bends’ include joint pains along the arms or legs, severe itching, numbness, staggering due to poor balance, and acute pain. It is important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible if a diver experiences difficulties after a dive.
UHG was the first and only hospital in the country to get a hyperbaric chamber, pioneered by the late Dr Peter O’Beirn, who was also a keen diving enthusiast, back in 1976. A diver would be strapped into the old ten foot long capsule for treatment, but the unit became obsolete and had to be shut down a few years ago.
While the old chamber might have seemed uncomfortable, it did the job for any diver who got into difficulties through the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. But it was unrecognizable compared to the sparkling new facility at UHG which has seating for ten patients, audio and visual links, and even a DVD player if a patient wishes to watch a film during treatment which can last for up to six hours.
At the moment, the chamber is only used for emergency cases of decompression illness or carbon monoxide poisoning. But, were the funding to become available, it could have a host of other uses, tackling traumatic brain injury, stroke, air embolism, gas gangrene, and nervous system problems which can be tackled by allowing a patient to breathe pure oxygen.
“I looked for funding for this chamber back in 1994, because the old chamber was getting too old. There were no monitoring facilities in it. So, after many years of looking for funding, we finally got it in 2003,” explains anesthetist and Salthill native Dr Noel Flynn as he surveys the new ‘space age’ National Hyperbaric Unit at UHG.
“We also have full monitoring facilities in this chamber. We can look after patients who are ventilating and in critical care. We can monitor their blood pressure, their ECG, and their carbon dioxide levels. We have already managed intensive care patients here.
“The old chamber was 10 foot long and 38 inches in diameter. This one is over 20 foot long and it is eight and a half foot diameter. You can stand up in it. We have CCTV and full sound and video systems inside. We can watch the patients or divers and they can watch a movie or listen to their music. They could be in there for five or six hours, depending on their therapy session.”
A system has been in place for some years now in which divers who get into trouble make contact with the Coast Guard. Medical staff then give them advice concerning the best way to get to UHG and prepare the unit so that it’s ready for action when the patient arrives.
It is as close as you can get to entering a spaceship, or a submarine, without leaving dry land in the West of Ireland, and it has helped save the lives of scuba divers. And yet many people might not be aware that the Republic’s national medical hyperbaric chamber, which opened late last year at a cost of €1 million, is located at University Hospital Galway.
No scuba diver wants to have to use it, and yet each and every one of them should be delighted that it is there. While the popularity of deep sea diving has increased remarkably over the past decade, the chamber ensures that divers no longer need to be airlifted to Plymouth or Portsmouth in the UK for top class medical treatment.
It is operated mainly by a team of committed, highly trained volunteers who are on call to help out medical staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in case any diver gets into difficulties in Irish waters. Whether he or she needs to be airlifted from Co Kerry or take an ambulance from Carraroe, a committed team of three will be on hand to administer the treatment once the alarm is raised.
Decompression sickness or ‘the bends’, caused by breathing excess nitrogen under pressure, is a hazard faced by divers who surface too quickly or are forced to divert from their dive plans. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the only cure and UHG is the only hospital in the country to provide it.
Symptoms of ‘the bends’ include joint pains along the arms or legs, severe itching, numbness, staggering due to poor balance, and acute pain. It is important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible if a diver experiences difficulties after a dive.
UHG was the first and only hospital in the country to get a hyperbaric chamber, pioneered by the late Dr Peter O’Beirn, who was also a keen diving enthusiast, back in 1976. A diver would be strapped into the old ten foot long capsule for treatment, but the unit became obsolete and had to be shut down a few years ago.
While the old chamber might have seemed uncomfortable, it did the job for any diver who got into difficulties through the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. But it was unrecognizable compared to the sparkling new facility at UHG which has seating for ten patients, audio and visual links, and even a DVD player if a patient wishes to watch a film during treatment which can last for up to six hours.
At the moment, the chamber is only used for emergency cases of decompression illness or carbon monoxide poisoning. But, were the funding to become available, it could have a host of other uses, tackling traumatic brain injury, stroke, air embolism, gas gangrene, and nervous system problems which can be tackled by allowing a patient to breathe pure oxygen.
“I looked for funding for this chamber back in 1994, because the old chamber was getting too old. There were no monitoring facilities in it. So, after many years of looking for funding, we finally got it in 2003,” explains anesthetist and Salthill native Dr Noel Flynn as he surveys the new ‘space age’ National Hyperbaric Unit at UHG.
“We also have full monitoring facilities in this chamber. We can look after patients who are ventilating and in critical care. We can monitor their blood pressure, their ECG, and their carbon dioxide levels. We have already managed intensive care patients here.
“The old chamber was 10 foot long and 38 inches in diameter. This one is over 20 foot long and it is eight and a half foot diameter. You can stand up in it. We have CCTV and full sound and video systems inside. We can watch the patients or divers and they can watch a movie or listen to their music. They could be in there for five or six hours, depending on their therapy session.”
A system has been in place for some years now in which divers who get into trouble make contact with the Coast Guard. Medical staff then give them advice concerning the best way to get to UHG and prepare the unit so that it’s ready for action when the patient arrives.
United Arab Emirates: Weekend diving is always on the cards for Tareq Husseini
The National: Weekend diving is always on the cards for Tareq Husseini
Tareq Husseini is the regional sales director for the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa at SanDisk, one of the world's largest suppliers of flash memory cards. Out of the office, he can often be found diving among the wreckage of boats and, most recently, a downed plane just off The Palm.
There are only three of you in SanDisk's Dubai office. Do you guys ever get together after work to blow off steam?
Yes, we do from time to time with our partners. We go to dinners, go-karting and try to do some kind of social activity.
How did your peers help you discover scuba diving last year?
One of my colleagues wanted to do it and needed a buddy. Seemed like a nice idea to be outdoors, and I went and got trained outdoors.
Do you always dive with someone from work?
Normally one of the guys is one of my diving buddies. It's always nicer and safer to dive with someone. We try to make it at least twice a month, every other weekend.
Where are your favourite places to dive?
We go to the eastern part of Fujairah. Recently, I went just off Atlantis's shore on the Palm. There was a plane crash. I always dive through boat wrecks but had never done a plane wreck. It was the first time the government allowed individuals to do that. It's not too deep - 12 or 13 metres. The fuselage is still there, cockpit, wing, tail - all on a Pakistani aircraft. I think it's a cargo plane.
What kind of creatures did you swim up against down there?
Lots of kinds of fish but also turtles. You have the occasional shark and dolphin sighting. Last time, I saw lobsters.
Was it hard learning how to dive at first?
It's just getting the timing of your breathing. It's like riding a bicycle for the first time: the moment you get the hang of it, it's a very nice sport. You get addicted.
Given that you work for a tech company, do you ever take any gadgets under water?
Yeah. I don't own a [underwater] camera but my buddy does. He's using his camera with, of course, a SanDisk card in it. You accumulate a lot of other gadgets: noise makers, safety equipment.
Is it a social activity?
You're talking with your buddy for 45 minutes and relaxing. We communicate with some sign language, or do tapping where we can understand each other. But when you're down there you're really on your own and sometimes that's a nice feeling.
Do you guys ever talk about work?
We hardly talk about work. We get so consumed with what adventure we're going to see.
Do your spouses ever join?
They let us go. It's guy time.
Tareq Husseini is the regional sales director for the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa at SanDisk, one of the world's largest suppliers of flash memory cards. Out of the office, he can often be found diving among the wreckage of boats and, most recently, a downed plane just off The Palm.
There are only three of you in SanDisk's Dubai office. Do you guys ever get together after work to blow off steam?
Yes, we do from time to time with our partners. We go to dinners, go-karting and try to do some kind of social activity.
How did your peers help you discover scuba diving last year?
One of my colleagues wanted to do it and needed a buddy. Seemed like a nice idea to be outdoors, and I went and got trained outdoors.
Do you always dive with someone from work?
Normally one of the guys is one of my diving buddies. It's always nicer and safer to dive with someone. We try to make it at least twice a month, every other weekend.
Where are your favourite places to dive?
We go to the eastern part of Fujairah. Recently, I went just off Atlantis's shore on the Palm. There was a plane crash. I always dive through boat wrecks but had never done a plane wreck. It was the first time the government allowed individuals to do that. It's not too deep - 12 or 13 metres. The fuselage is still there, cockpit, wing, tail - all on a Pakistani aircraft. I think it's a cargo plane.
What kind of creatures did you swim up against down there?
Lots of kinds of fish but also turtles. You have the occasional shark and dolphin sighting. Last time, I saw lobsters.
Was it hard learning how to dive at first?
It's just getting the timing of your breathing. It's like riding a bicycle for the first time: the moment you get the hang of it, it's a very nice sport. You get addicted.
Given that you work for a tech company, do you ever take any gadgets under water?
Yeah. I don't own a [underwater] camera but my buddy does. He's using his camera with, of course, a SanDisk card in it. You accumulate a lot of other gadgets: noise makers, safety equipment.
Is it a social activity?
You're talking with your buddy for 45 minutes and relaxing. We communicate with some sign language, or do tapping where we can understand each other. But when you're down there you're really on your own and sometimes that's a nice feeling.
Do you guys ever talk about work?
We hardly talk about work. We get so consumed with what adventure we're going to see.
Do your spouses ever join?
They let us go. It's guy time.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Lake Havasu: Effort lets diving group really ‘clean up’
Havasu News: Effort lets diving group really ‘clean up’
Tons of trash that sat at the bottom of Lake Havasu only a week ago is headed to the landfill. But there’s a lot more still left.
The Lake Havasu Divers Association held the 3rd Annual Copper Canyon Cleanup earlier this week, bringing up more than two tons of trash. Sixteen divers and 11 non-diver volunteers, along with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Bureau of Land Management, the Lake Havasu Marina, Scuba Training & Technology, Donut Post and the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department picked up trash from the bottom of Copper Canyon. Divers found tires, barbecues, chairs, bottles, solo cups, a watch, a few pairs of sunglasses and “loads of beer cans,” said Kathy Weydig, of the Lake Havasu Divers Association.
“I didn’t get maybe 30 feet into my spot at Copper Canyon, there was just so much down there,” Weydig said. “I think it was good that we picked up as much as we did, but there’s still so much more.”
Howard Cooper, Diving Association member, said it would take more than a few more days to finish.
“We could be down there for another week, six-hours a day and not scratch the surface,” Cooper said, adding he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment during the cleanup. “I just felt a lot of disappointment in the things people would throw in the lake and the disregard for our lake.”
Cooper said he felt proud of the group for filling the 12-by-40-foot barge full of trash.
“It’s a great activity for the Divers Association but there is still a lot down there,” he said. “We’re glad to do it and help clean up the area. It’s unfortunate how easy it is to put something into the water. They can be cited, but it’s so easy to just drop something because it sinks and it’s gone.”
The group’s next underwater cleanup is scheduled for October. Those looking for more information are asked to call Scuba Training & Technology at 855-9400 or the Lake Havasu Divers Association’s Facebook page.
Tons of trash that sat at the bottom of Lake Havasu only a week ago is headed to the landfill. But there’s a lot more still left.
The Lake Havasu Divers Association held the 3rd Annual Copper Canyon Cleanup earlier this week, bringing up more than two tons of trash. Sixteen divers and 11 non-diver volunteers, along with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Bureau of Land Management, the Lake Havasu Marina, Scuba Training & Technology, Donut Post and the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department picked up trash from the bottom of Copper Canyon. Divers found tires, barbecues, chairs, bottles, solo cups, a watch, a few pairs of sunglasses and “loads of beer cans,” said Kathy Weydig, of the Lake Havasu Divers Association.
“I didn’t get maybe 30 feet into my spot at Copper Canyon, there was just so much down there,” Weydig said. “I think it was good that we picked up as much as we did, but there’s still so much more.”
Howard Cooper, Diving Association member, said it would take more than a few more days to finish.
“We could be down there for another week, six-hours a day and not scratch the surface,” Cooper said, adding he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment during the cleanup. “I just felt a lot of disappointment in the things people would throw in the lake and the disregard for our lake.”
Cooper said he felt proud of the group for filling the 12-by-40-foot barge full of trash.
“It’s a great activity for the Divers Association but there is still a lot down there,” he said. “We’re glad to do it and help clean up the area. It’s unfortunate how easy it is to put something into the water. They can be cited, but it’s so easy to just drop something because it sinks and it’s gone.”
The group’s next underwater cleanup is scheduled for October. Those looking for more information are asked to call Scuba Training & Technology at 855-9400 or the Lake Havasu Divers Association’s Facebook page.
Netrani: Dive into the calm water [near India]
IBN Live: Netrani: Dive into the calm water
Netrani (also known as Pigeon Island) locally known as Netragudo, is a tiny island located in the Arabian Sea off the Bhaktal coast. It is situated approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km) from the temple town of Murudeshwara in Karnataka and located approximately 500 km from Bangalore.
With depths ranging from six to 40 metres, and visibility between 15 to 30 metres, this island offers excellent scuba diving and snorkelling options, suitable for all those who are hungry for an adventure trip.
Netrani is not only home to the great diversity of fish life common to Goa and the Arabian Sea, it is also well known for regular sightings of turtles, napoleon wrasse, great barracuda, cobia, white and black tip sharks, stingrays and stonefish. The Netrani island is an excellent picnic spot. Besides pigeons, the other inhabitants of the island are wild goats.
The lee of the island, a seamount supporting a soil layer overgrown with trees and plants, looks like a cake with its vertical sides topped by a gentle sloping plateau.
There exists a subterranean cave with openings in the south and north above the high water mark.
The island is enveloped by untamed growth of trees and climbing the steep hill is not that easy. The ruins of a temple, a Roman catholic church and a mosque show the ancient past of the island.
The place looks like a botanist’s paradise and at night, it is a still world from a city dweller’s point of view. To get there, one has to hire a fishing trawler from Bhatkal or Honawar. This island has some of the best sites for scuba diving. There are many dive shops from Goa that regularly organise dive expeditions to Netrani. Netrani is a coral island and, therefore, is very suitable for snorkelling and diving activities.
Many varieties of coral, butterfly fish, trigger fish, parrot fish, eels and shrimps can be seen here. Divers have also reported seeing Orcas and Whale Sharks around the island. Normally diving/ snorkelling is done from a boat which is anchored close to the island and usually visitors do not climb on to the island because of the sharp rocks and steep cliffs on the island.
The island also offers diving suitable for professionals.
The island adjacent to Netrani is used by the Indian navy for target practice. One could see empty shells rusting around Netrani and adjacent island. It is not recommended to visit Netrani without permission.
The best time to visit is between December and January. The resort stops taking tourists for snorkelling and scuba diving during June-September because the sea becomes rough.
Netrani (also known as Pigeon Island) locally known as Netragudo, is a tiny island located in the Arabian Sea off the Bhaktal coast. It is situated approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km) from the temple town of Murudeshwara in Karnataka and located approximately 500 km from Bangalore.
With depths ranging from six to 40 metres, and visibility between 15 to 30 metres, this island offers excellent scuba diving and snorkelling options, suitable for all those who are hungry for an adventure trip.
Netrani is not only home to the great diversity of fish life common to Goa and the Arabian Sea, it is also well known for regular sightings of turtles, napoleon wrasse, great barracuda, cobia, white and black tip sharks, stingrays and stonefish. The Netrani island is an excellent picnic spot. Besides pigeons, the other inhabitants of the island are wild goats.
The lee of the island, a seamount supporting a soil layer overgrown with trees and plants, looks like a cake with its vertical sides topped by a gentle sloping plateau.
There exists a subterranean cave with openings in the south and north above the high water mark.
The island is enveloped by untamed growth of trees and climbing the steep hill is not that easy. The ruins of a temple, a Roman catholic church and a mosque show the ancient past of the island.
The place looks like a botanist’s paradise and at night, it is a still world from a city dweller’s point of view. To get there, one has to hire a fishing trawler from Bhatkal or Honawar. This island has some of the best sites for scuba diving. There are many dive shops from Goa that regularly organise dive expeditions to Netrani. Netrani is a coral island and, therefore, is very suitable for snorkelling and diving activities.
Many varieties of coral, butterfly fish, trigger fish, parrot fish, eels and shrimps can be seen here. Divers have also reported seeing Orcas and Whale Sharks around the island. Normally diving/ snorkelling is done from a boat which is anchored close to the island and usually visitors do not climb on to the island because of the sharp rocks and steep cliffs on the island.
The island also offers diving suitable for professionals.
The island adjacent to Netrani is used by the Indian navy for target practice. One could see empty shells rusting around Netrani and adjacent island. It is not recommended to visit Netrani without permission.
The best time to visit is between December and January. The resort stops taking tourists for snorkelling and scuba diving during June-September because the sea becomes rough.
Divers hold key to coast’s secrets
Bay Post (Australia): Divers hold key to coast’s secrets
Extreme-depth scuba divers from Sydney want to unlock the hidden secrets of two possible shipwrecks off Batemans Bay.
The team of volunteer divers, from Sydney Project, will visit Batemans Bay over the next few months to investigate two possible wrecks that lie up to 17 miles off shore.
One of the ships, George S Livonos, is believed to have been sunk by the I-11 Japanese submarine which is also held responsible for sinking two ships off Bermagui during World War II.
The Greek freighter lies 17 miles off Batemans Bay in waters 152m deep, which means the divers will shoot to the bottom, spend less than 20 minutes investigating the wreck then spend six-and-a-half hours decompressing before surfacing.
Sydney Project president Samir Alhafith said they would also investigate a possible wreck, four miles offshore, which no-one has ever seen.
He said their Bermagui boat operator picked up something on the boat’s sounder, and that it was worth investigating.
“We’ll see if there’s a wreck there or not,” he said. “But the one that’s 17 miles off, a wreck is definitely there because a fisherman pulled part of the wreck with their net.”
The dives are not without risk. The project lost a diver in 2007, while he was diving on the wreck formerly thought to be the Iron Knight.
The body of Sven Paepke has never been recovered.
This is the first time the group will investigate the George S Livonos, which Mr Alhafith said was used to carry cargo, such as jeeps, trucks and ammunition between Australia and Papua New Guinea during World War II.
He also said it was the first ship the I-11 submarine torpedoed.
“I think it should be there, and I’d be very surprised if it’s not,” he said.
Mr Alhafith said the group hasn’t set a date for the dive because they have to consider tides.
He said winter was the best time to dive.
“It’s the perfect time because it’s calmer seas and you get less currents.”
He says the George S Livonos is resting on a shelf that is prone to very strong currents.
Last month, the dive group discovered the real identity of one of the ships sunk by the Japanese submarine off Bermagui.
The wreck was formerly thought to be the BHP freighter Iron Knight but Mr Alhafith said certain factors about the shipwreck did not add up.
He said their findings would be eventually made into a documentary.
Extreme-depth scuba divers from Sydney want to unlock the hidden secrets of two possible shipwrecks off Batemans Bay.
The team of volunteer divers, from Sydney Project, will visit Batemans Bay over the next few months to investigate two possible wrecks that lie up to 17 miles off shore.
One of the ships, George S Livonos, is believed to have been sunk by the I-11 Japanese submarine which is also held responsible for sinking two ships off Bermagui during World War II.
The Greek freighter lies 17 miles off Batemans Bay in waters 152m deep, which means the divers will shoot to the bottom, spend less than 20 minutes investigating the wreck then spend six-and-a-half hours decompressing before surfacing.
Sydney Project president Samir Alhafith said they would also investigate a possible wreck, four miles offshore, which no-one has ever seen.
He said their Bermagui boat operator picked up something on the boat’s sounder, and that it was worth investigating.
“We’ll see if there’s a wreck there or not,” he said. “But the one that’s 17 miles off, a wreck is definitely there because a fisherman pulled part of the wreck with their net.”
The dives are not without risk. The project lost a diver in 2007, while he was diving on the wreck formerly thought to be the Iron Knight.
The body of Sven Paepke has never been recovered.
This is the first time the group will investigate the George S Livonos, which Mr Alhafith said was used to carry cargo, such as jeeps, trucks and ammunition between Australia and Papua New Guinea during World War II.
He also said it was the first ship the I-11 submarine torpedoed.
“I think it should be there, and I’d be very surprised if it’s not,” he said.
Mr Alhafith said the group hasn’t set a date for the dive because they have to consider tides.
He said winter was the best time to dive.
“It’s the perfect time because it’s calmer seas and you get less currents.”
He says the George S Livonos is resting on a shelf that is prone to very strong currents.
Last month, the dive group discovered the real identity of one of the ships sunk by the Japanese submarine off Bermagui.
The wreck was formerly thought to be the BHP freighter Iron Knight but Mr Alhafith said certain factors about the shipwreck did not add up.
He said their findings would be eventually made into a documentary.
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This blog is for the scuba diver and the armchair scuba diver.
We cover scuba news, dive sites, technology, history...anything and everything to do with breathing underwater.
We cover scuba news, dive sites, technology, history...anything and everything to do with breathing underwater.
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