PR: Scuba Diving Vacation Specialist Liveaboard.com Announces Global Expansion

From SFGate: Scuba Diving Vacation Specialist Liveaboard.com Announces Global Expansion
Liveaboard.com is seeking owners and captains of liveaboard boats to join its roster of available inventory for its expanding scuba diving liveaboard vacation business

Augusta, Georgia (PRWEB) October 12, 2011

Liveaboard.com, a scuba diving vacation specialist, is seeking owners and captains of scuba diving liveaboard boats worldwide interested in adding their inventory to the Liveaboard.com roster of specialty diving boats that host vacationers on scuba diving liveaboard excursions. In addition to boat owners and captains, Liveaboard.com is also seeking scuba diving-related businesses and industries as advertising partners on its website.

In order to be listed and promoted on the Liveaboard.com website, every boat must pass a thorough review and boat owners and captains must meet specific experience and qualification criteria. By year's end Clements expects the site to be promoting more than 100 scuba diving liveaboard boats. As part of this initiative, Liveaboard.com is currently offering a 10% discount to divers on bookings made in November and December from their existing inventory (subject to the terms and conditions listed on the website). Clements also indicated that in 2012, he plans on expanding to include sailing, yachting, and fishing boats to promote their services as well.

When asked how he got the idea for Liveaboard.com, Clements said that it was his love of scuba diving and travel, combined with his technical expertise, which resulted in the creation of the online travel agency. Clements added, "I want Liveaboard.com to be the 'go to' site for divers around the world. I want [Liveaboard.com] to be the authority and the best travel agency to book scuba diving liveaboard vacations." According to Clements, employees of Liveaboard.com must all be certified scuba divers, noting "How else are they going to be able to relate to our customers?"

Representatives of the Liveaboard.com team will be attending the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association (DEMA) show in Orlando, Florida, November 2-5, 2011. The Liveaboard.com team welcomes inquiries and looks forward to meeting interested scuba liveaboard boat owners and boat captains at the show along with other dive industry specialists interested in advertising partnerships with Liveaboard.com. If you are unable to attend the DEMA show but would like to know more about listing your boat and services or advertising on Liveaboard.com, contact Stephanie Beavers at diving(at)liveaboard(dot)com or call 800-419-4394.

On travel til Wednesday

I'm visiting elderly relatives in Box Elder, SD who do not have internet.

Will try to sneak out now and again to an internet cafe to post, but more than likely will not be posting until Wedneday.

Being Blind Doesn’t Stop Minn. Woman From Scuba Diving

From CBS MInnesota: Being Blind Doesn’t Stop Minn. Woman From Scuba Diving
BURNSVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) — For most people, it’s the limited ability to breathe that scares them about scuba diving. But imagine if you couldn’t see while diving.

That’s a feat a 25-year-old woman from New Hope has decided to take head-on.

Asha Duncan was born blind. Although she has no ability to see, she hasn’t let that stop her from pursuing a life dream.

Most people might find a situation underwater a bit frustrating. Duncan overcomes her frustration with a smile.

Duncan said she first got the idea to scuba dive when she [visited] the shark tank at the Mall of America on Oct. 18, 2008.

Duncan said being underwater is the one time her heightened sense of hearing goes silent.

“I like the feeling of it, because you’re weightless underwater, and you don’t hear much sounds. And if you do, you can’t really tell where the sounds coming from,” Duncan said.

Gary Shaleen is the owner of Fantasea Scuba and Travel in Burnsville. Duncan called Shaleen to see if he’d be willing to teach her.

“It was a no-brainer. Let’s do it!,” Shaleen said.

During Duncan’s final certification test, Shaleen swam close by to offer Duncan assistance.

“So we’re just basically right next to each other, following each other along. So, we’ll give okay signals, she’ll feel my hand, then she’ll give okay back, or if we’re going to go down or go up, we’ll communicate,” Shaleen said.

Duncan completed her last swim test on Wednesday, becoming a certified instructor.

“Of course, some people think I’m crazy, but that’s just what they think,” Duncan said.

When WCCO-TV asked Duncan where the first place was she would scuba dive, “Mall of America,” she said.

Duncan said she plans to one day travel to the Great Barrier Reef to swim with the dolphins.

The only limitation Duncan faces when she dives is she must always be accompanied by two supervisors.

Military calls for boost in ocean surveillance

Okay, not scuba related, but of interest nevertheless!

From the Vancouver Sun: Military calls for boost in ocean surveillance
Canada's military wants the Harper government to take part in rebuilding a Cold War ocean surveillance system, arguing that the country's waters, including the approaches to the Arctic, are vulnerable to Chinese and Russian submarines.

The current system, overseen by the U.S., involves specialized vessels and underwater sensors scattered around the globe to detect submarine movements.

But with the end of the Cold War in the 1990s and the collapse of the former Soviet Union, that sensor technology, including systems called arrays, were not modernized. They now need to be upgraded or replaced. In some cases Canada shut down its facilities for monitoring underwater activities.

"The oldest portions of the global infrastructure were terminated without replacement - Argentia, Nfld and Shelburne, N.S. fixed arrays - creating gaps covering the Arctic approaches and major portions of the Eastern Atlantic," reads a briefing note sent by defence chief Gen. Walter Natynczyk to Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

That September 2010 document was obtained under the Access to Information Act.

As proof of the re-emergence of the submarine threat, the military informed MacKay about what it called the dramatic increase in the numbers of submarines around the world; an incident where a Chinese submarine surfaced in the midst of a U.S. naval task force in 2006; the voyage of a Russian submarine into the eastern Atlantic in 2009; and the sinking of a South Korean destroyer in 2010, likely by a North Korean submarine.

The military wants to become more involved in the U.S.-led underwater surveillance system, arguing that it would be too expensive to put its own sensors into the ocean.

The warning about Chinese submarines echoes similar concerns contained in a report issued Wednesday by the Pentagon. It pointed out that China's military capabilities are growing and that could threaten stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Depth of experience

From Santa Maria Times: Depth of experience

Sixty years ago, Pismo Beach resident Sam Miller made his first scuba dive in Laguna Beach using crude equipment, a heavy tank and no wetsuit.

Little did he realize that one dive would change his life.

Miller, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday and 60 years in diving, has made more than 5,000 descents and has received countless awards and recognitions along the way.

The man named the “Father of Free Diving and Fishing” now is working on a book that will incorporate his notes and articles of the past 60 years into a comprehensive history of scuba diving titled “The Way It Was.”

———

It’s ironic that Miller’s life has revolved around water.

He did not come from a family of swimmers. In fact, his grandmother was deathly afraid of the water because of a riverboat accident she’d barely survived.

Miller’s mother had never been allowed in the water, but she decided things would be different for her son.

“When I was 7, I went to the YMCA to learn how to swim,” Miller said. “And, boy, I did enjoy it! I earned every level of swimming (they) offered.”

Miller’s water escapades were almost halted when he developed a serious eye infection. When he was required to swim wearing goggles, his eyes were opened, both literally and figuratively, to a whole new underwater world.

From then on, Miller could hardly stand to be away from the water.

He was living in southern Indiana at the time and discovered that the stripper pits — originally created by the coal mining industry but now popular swimming and fishing spots — were much more exciting than pools.

“The water was absolutely clear and full of fish,” Miller explained.

After moving to Southern California in the early 1950s to earn a college degree in business, he and his friends spent their spare time at Laguna Beach hunting for abalone, scallops, clams and oysters.

One day, one of the guys brought along an “aqua lung,” as scuba tanks were originally called. Miller gave it a try, but he was not impressed. It was crude, heavy and noisy.

“I came out of the water, took off the equipment and stated to the effect, ‘Who would want one of these bubble machines? They’re useless!’” Miller said.

When he got back from serving in the Korean War, however, things had changed for scuba divers with better equipment and training.

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation had created a dive training class, and Miller enrolled.

“It was a really difficult course. I probably couldn’t survive it now,” he said, laughing.

In fact, of the 90-plus people who applied, only 35 completed the course.

Miller not only finished but also went on to become a certified underwater instructor for the program, which he said still is considered the most prestigious scuba education program in the world.

———

Miller has taught all levels of diving from basic to instructor classes, privately and at California colleges.

One of his students, Clive Cussler, went on to become a best-selling author.

In what is probably Cussler’s best-known book, “Raise the Titanic,” the character of Sam Merker is based on Miller and another instructor, Ron Merker.

In fact, Miller said, until Cussler started having his books written by contract writers, Miller showed up in some form or another in every one of Cussler’s books.

Autographed copies of those books are among Miller’s extensive collection, which he claims is the “world’s largest and most complete diving library.”

One complete wall is full of nothing but diving books, including books autographed by his friend Jacques Cousteau.

Another wall is covered with diving magazines, including the very first issue of “Skin Diver Magazine” from December, 1951.

His collection of civilian dive training manuals dates all the way back to the early 1900s.

Miller is a writer, as well. He’s published thousands of articles, including four dedicated columns in national dive magazines, and even a column for the Times-Press-Recorder, a sister newspaper to the Santa Maria Times.

Miller is particularly proud of an article he wrote for L.A. Underwater News in 1965 on diving at Jade Cove in Big Sur.

The cove was very remote, and the exact location was known only by locals, who he had to query. Miller researched the story for several years before publication and said it has become “the definitive article on diving for jade.”

Another article by Miller led to important advances in safety for divers.

He penned a story about a diver who had been struck by a boat near Catalina Island because the driver of the boat ignored the displayed dive flag — a red flag with a white diagonal slash.

As a result of the article, Miller was summoned as an expert witness for the prosecution.

“It was an awesome responsibility, since the dive flag was only a few years old and never been tested in a court of law, and I alone had to defend it,” Sam explained.

The prosecution prevailed and, according to Miller, that was the defining case that established the rights of a diver flying the red-and-white flag and making it the recognized the symbol of recreational diving.

Since then, Miller has been involved in many other litigations and consultations regarding the flag.

———

In Los Angeles County, Miller trained SWAT teams in underwater search-and-recovery methods.

“In those days, when the police force made a narcotics raid on a houseboat in the harbor, the evidence would be dropped overboard, so I’d train divers to recover,” Miller explained.

He is still involved with the San Luis Obispo County underwater search-and-recovery team, lecturing about the history of diving and equipment as well as the evolution of search and recovery.

Among Miller’s many honors are: Outstanding Contributions to Underwater Instruction (1963), Outstanding Underwater Instructor of the Year (1969), Over the Reef Gang Award, for instructors who have been teaching more than 20 years, and many more.

He was the first to receive the Portage Quarry Legend of Diving Award, and he also was given the SSI Pro 5000 for those who have made more than 5,000 dives.

“Only 60 have been honored worldwide. It’s a huge honor,” Miller said.

His family also is enamored with diving. Miller and his wife, Betty, have traveled all over the world to dive — their favorite spots being Egypt and the Fiji islands.

His children are all divers, and his son, Sam IV, is a hyperbaric physician practicing at Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria as well as an underwater instructor.

Sam IV also has received the SSI Pro 5000, making the two Millers one of the few father/son teams to receive the honor.

SeaVenture at SeaWorld Discovery Cove offers undersea adventure like no other Orlando theme park

From Inside the Magic: SeaVenture at SeaWorld Discovery Cove offers undersea adventure like no other Orlando theme park

by Ricky Brigante

When SeaWorld opened the new Grand Reef at its Discovery Cove theme park back in June, the new salt water swimming and snorkeling area was teeming with aquatic life, from fish to rays and even sharks. But one unique Grand Reef experience wasn’t quite ready for the lagoon’s grand opening.

In the months since that opening, Discovery Cove has debuted and fine tuned their new SeaVenture underwater walking tour, and invited me back to the park last week to experience it. With bathing suit in hand, I gladly accepted the chance to try something entirely different than any other theme park experience around.



The Grand Reef is located in the back, right corner of Discovery Cove, in an area formerly off limits to guests. When it opened, I enjoyed a couple hours of swimming around, marveling at the close proximity of a variety of sea creatures. But when I couldn’t help being jealous of the Discovery Cove employees who were testing the SeaVenture experience at the time, watching them effortlessly walk around underneath the water, seeing and breathing easily courtesy of special dive helmets.

Three months later, it was my chance to play “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and dive down beneath the water’s surface.

I’ll admit, when returning to Discovery Cove’s Grand Reef, I was slightly apprehensive. No SCUBA certification is required to experience SeaVenture, only the ability to walk and breath normally. Even so, each undersea adventure is prefaced by instructions and warnings of what to do and what not to do while underwater.

It’s repeatedly emphasized to keep your head upright and breath normally (“Don’t hold your breath!”) while underwater. The helmets are designed such that a constant flow of fresh air is circulating within the bubble created by slowly lowering them down from the surface.

Despite it all sounding simple enough, upon finally climbing down the ladder, having the helmet lowered onto my shoulders, and ultimately entering the water, I did - for a moment - have the feeling I needed to hold my breath. After all, I wasn’t wearing a tight fitting mask, snorkel, or hooked up to any other breathing tube, so I didn’t have an immediate physical connection to the air that was around me. But after that initial “this is… new” moment, I realized I could indeed breath normally underwater. And that was when it hit me that SeaVenture is truly a new and exciting experience.



Within seconds of stepping away from the ladder, weightlessly floating across the floor 15 or so feet below the surface, a large ray swam directly over my head (as seen in the video above). This would be the first of many undersea eye-to-eye encounters with interesting creatures. I’m no fish expert, so I can’t name each species I saw, but I’m sure I saw at least 15 different types of tropical fish along with plenty of other sea life including lionfish and sharks.

And yes, the sharks are safely tucked away behind glass - a full, 8-foot-tall, 21-foot long panoramic window, in fact. But while down below, it’s easy to forget there’s a protective transparent wall between you and them, offering a quick thrill.

My SeaVenture experience was abridged, lasting only around 10 minutes. Normally, the underwater trip is around an hour long, for groups of up to six people per excursion. During that time, not only is the adventure of walking and breathing freely underwater an attraction unto itself, but plenty of surprise interactions are offered up by the Discovery Cove guides leading the way, including one-on-one touches with unique animals. The experience doesn’t take guests through the entire Grand Reef by any means, sectioned off to a lap around a special SeaVenture-only area. But with so much to see around the loop, it never feels like a small area.

Of all the events seen during my short trip underwater, I was most impressed when the guide began squirting food into the water surrounding me, creating an instant swarm of hundreds of fish. Fortunately, they were eager to eat the food and not me or my camera, so it made for quite a sight.

On top of the cost to get into Discovery Cove for the day, SeaVenture does cost extra. The price is $59 per participant, which is a bargain for anyone eager to pretend to be Captain Nemo for an hour, exploring the vast blue underwater world that’s normally off limits to us air breathers. But it’s smart (and practically required) to book ahead, as a limited number of guests can experience SeaVenture each day.

Just after my brief life spent breathing under water, I spoke with Reid Miller, director of zoological operations at Discovery Cove, who told me that SeaVenture has been hugely popular and successful in its first few months. With efficiency of getting guests into and out of the water steadily improving in recent months, Miller said they’re currently able to accommodate 80-something guests per day in SeaVenture, with hopes of driving up that over 100 soon, ultimately reaching the maximum capacity of somewhere around 130-140. Even so, Discovery Cove admits up to 1,500 guests each day, so less than 10% will have an opportunity to try SeaVenture. Miller also explained to me that there is simply nothing like SeaVenture around, with the closest similar experience being in Mexico - which he tried and found far fewer sea life sightings than Discovery Cove guarantees.

For anyone looking to try something different not found at any other local theme park, SeaVenture, along with spending a day at Discovery Cove, is a great way to find a new thrill that’s entirely relaxing at the same time. And while the cost of admission plus the SeaVenture experience isn’t cheap, the price also includes memories and stories of enjoying an entirely new experience - and isn’t that what life is all about?

More information about SeaVenture can be found on the Discovery Cove web site, but reservations can only be made on the phone for now, by calling 1-877-557-7404, with online reservation ability coming in the future.

Tourists offered reduced rates to help cull lionfish

From Cayman News Service: Tourists offered reduced rates to help cull lionfish

(CNS): Scuba diving visitors can now pay less for the certification and the licence to help cull the invasive red lionfish, which have become a major environmental issue in recent years. With recent approval from the Marine Conservation Board several months ago, Cayman’s dive operators are now able to teach the PADI Lionfish Tracker Distinctive Specialty course, and upon completion, guests receive the PADI c-card plus the local lionfish culling license. And now some Cayman Island dive operators are offering reduced course fees to visitors and residents this fall.

“With reduced course fees for the lionfish culling course for both residents and visitors, we hope will encourage more manpower to help us fight this invasion” comment Steve Broadbelt of Ocean Frontiers in a release from the Cayman Islands Tourism Association. “We cannot totally eradicate the lionfish, but learning lessons from the Bahamas for example, if we do not keep this fish in check, our indigenous marine life will be gone. This results in a reduction of fish stock, marine life and allows corals to become covered in algae, so the health of the coral reefs is at stake and we need all hands on deck”

Currently, reduced price courses are available from Divetech, Ocean Frontiers, Deep Blue Divers, Cayman Turtle Divers, Divers Down and Dive N Stuff (at the time of release) or check with your local dive shop to inquire about the course. After your course, there are boats running from various operators every week to cull lionfish, along with the tournaments run by Ambassador Divers, so there is a lot of opportunity to use the new skills.

“Snorkelers can help too as many lion fish can be found in shallow waters just off shore and in the canals in the North Sound. This is prime breeding ground for lobsters, groupers, snappers and more, so removing lionfish from the North Sound can play a huge role in helping to cull the invasion” stated Nancy Easterbrook of Divetech. “They are tasty – a light white fish that needs a little special handling while filleting to remove the venomous spines, but well worth it. Many restaurants are now serving lionfish on a special or full time menu, so ask for lion fish when you are next out to dinner, or try it at home. Not only will this help create a market for the lionfish, but it will have the positive side effect of reducing the demand for the ‘traditional’ eating fish like conch, grouper and snapper, allowing fish stocks to grow and be sustainable.”

Rod McDowall of Red Sail Sports “We’d like to express our thanks to all of the sponsors that continue to help us in the effort to cull the lionfish. Its encouraging to see non-traditional dive industry companies and individuals come forward that are helping to make this a truly holistic effort that we hope to win, as it’s a challenge that’s day in and day out, and affects every one of us.”