Ever Played Monopoly whilst scuba diving? December 31, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Trivia, general , add a commentThe answer is yes for a group of scuba diving students at Plainville High School writes Newsday.com
The game came with its own little problems which needed to be overcome
“It’s definitely harder because you can’t talk,” said Nichol Coggins, president of the school’s scuba club. “You never know what they’re thinking.”
Coggins and 10 members of the scuba club spent five hours Friday playing the world’s best-selling board game, while submerged in 12 feet of water in the school’s pool. The board was specially made out of plexiglas. Instead of playing with Monopoly’s paper money, students used painted washers to denote the different amounts of money. Also, the dice were custom-made out of brass and the property deeds were laminated and held down by binder clips.
“We kind of just came up with the idea and ran with it,” said Fusco, chairman of the school’s science department.
Students were split into five teams. Members of a team would take 30-minute turns playing at the bottom. To communicate, students had to learn hand signals to buy, sell, and trade property. Property names like Boardwalk and Park Place were replaced by different diving locations in the Caribbean and around New England. “Go to Jail” was replaced by “Go to the Recompression Chamber,” and “Free Parking” was changed to “Free Mooring.”
“It’s a confidence builder,” he said. “It’s training them to scuba dive safely.”
Scuba Diving fatality. Body found in Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand December 31, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Accidents, News , 1 comment so farIn a sad story from Stuff, the body of the scuba diver who went missing yesterday in the Marlborough Sounds was found this morning in Kumutoto Bay.
A skipper of the scuba dive boat from which 29-year-old Christchurch man Andrew Archibald and two friends were scuba diving for scallops returned to the bay this morning with the police scuba dive team from Wellington, who recovered Mr Archibald’s body.
The body was to be taken to Picton and then to Wairau Hospital for a post mortem.
Mr Archibald’s scuba diving equipment was to be taken for forensic testing.
Mr Archibald was scuba diving for scallops with two friends in Kumutoto Bay yesterday morning when he failed to surface when expected.
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‘Turtle Lady’ Rouse, female scuba diving pioneer, dies at 80 December 30, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : News, general , add a commentNorine Rouse, one of the America’s first female scuba diving instructors and a champion of sea turtle and reef protection off Palm Beach County’s shores, died Tuesday, reports the Bradenton Herald.
Mrs. Rouse, who didn’t start scuba diving until into her 40’s, became one of the area’s underwater pioneers and a sought-after expert on sea life, becoming known as the ‘turtle’ lady. She was one of a handful of people licensed by the state of Florida to swim with sea turtles and would steadfastly record and photograph their behavior for scientists’ use.
“She loved sea turtles more than people,” said J.D. Duff of the Scuba Club Inc. Duff met Mrs. Rouse in 1977, while in college, and she later hired him to his current job.
Tips for underwater holiday photography December 30, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Photography , add a commentI saw this nice little piece today on beginning underwater photography. It might be useful for those just starting out on what is a fantastic hobby. and a great way to compliment your scuba diving.
Its a nice introduction to some of the basic considerations needed when purchasing and using a camera underwater.
The magic of underwater photography is that you never know which moment of sea life you manage to freeze in a frame. A memory card might almost be full of blurry, unrecognizable images, but one or two pictures taken from situations you never expected anything, can pleasantly surprise a holiday photographer.
One lucky Scuba Diver remembers the Tsunami December 29, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : News , add a commentOn Dec 26, 2004, the Indian Ocean region was devastated by a tremendous tsunami. Jason Heller lived through one of the most devastating events of his life as the first of three tsunami waves sped past him while he was 100 feet underwater scuba diving in Thailand. He writes a short article about how digital technology played its part in informing the survivors of what actually happened.
First ever prosecution of alleged scuba diving thieves December 29, 2005
Posted by Andy Carroll in : News, WreckDiving , add a commentMalta Today report that police have filed charges against six ‘expert’ scuba divers accusing them of stealing and destroying priceless underwater heritage from Maltese territorial waters, in the first ever case of marine heritage pilfering to end up in a Maltese court. The accused scuba divers face a maximum six years imprisonment sentence and a fine of between Lm500 and Lm50,000.
The scuba divers are accused of stealing heritage items from the Malta seabed, some of the artefacts dating back to the Roman period.
The arrests have apparently sent shockwaves through the scuba diving community who are used to taking souvenirs from deep water wrecks, although the accused scuba divers are notorious for their unrestrained looting for business.
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