Scuba Diving Hand Signals Standardised, or maybe not March 10, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : general , add a comment
The World Recreational Scuba Diving Council have released a document which aims to standardise the hand signals used by scuba divers. The standards were developed by a working party consisting of YScuba, PADI, SSI, SDI, IDEA, and PDIC.
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Dive Site Directory proves to be a great resource for scuba divers March 7, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : general , add a comment
I was introduced to this site by Alan at Travel-Dive. I have seen a few diving directory type sites and they are all much of a muchness with not a lot of real content, but I was pleasantly surprised with Dive Site Directory.
As well as the usual links from suppliers and manufacturers the Dive Site Directory also has lists of actual dive sites and then visitors have posted reviews of those dives, which I think makes this directory really unique. The writing is pretty good to and here is an example from the article on the Dream Weaver dive in Grand Cayman;
Guided dive of the caves and rocky tunnels typical of the Caymans, dived from a hard boat in April in a 3mm shortie. Some tunnels are a bit of squeeze which adds to the fun, although if you’re not happy with this there are other ways around, the guides will accommodate your dives accordingly.
Plenty to see; lobsters, crabs, groupers, angels etc
We dived with Turtle Reef Divers, who were excellent and can provide you with a free camera for every dive, providing you buy the films from them!
Jenny Pickles, BSAC Dive Leader
It does seem to be a cut above the rest and it is well worth adding to your favourite links.
Taking the plunge, at last, to try scuba diving March 7, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : general , add a commentI always like to read stories about people trying scuba diving for the first time, and DL Stewarts situation was very similar to mine, when I started. He had always wanted to try scuba diving, but had never really got around to it. Wheras my opportunity was presented to me by a customer inviting me along, his involved a holiday in the Carribean! What better place to try scuba diving than St Barts, in the French West Indies.
Before beginning his try dive the instructor went through all the usual things including the inimitable advice to never stop breathing.
“Never stop breathing,” Marion Noury says. There is some other stuff, too, but the breathing thing is the one that sticks in my mind.
After going through the hand signals and being fitted with the equipment he jumps of the boat to enjoy his first ever scuba dive.
Slowly, she guides me under the warm, clear water of the Caribbean into a strange and perfectly silent world. Except for the sound of me sucking frantically on my oxygen and creating more bubbles than a Jacuzzi. Eventually, though, I get the hang of the breathing thing and begin to relax as I follow Marion deeper. We drift over coral and other stuff that makes the floor of the ocean resemble the surface of the moon, only a lot wetter. Marion points out improbably colored fish, a small barracuda and a couple of giant lobsters that would require at least a gallon of drawn butter.
Nice little story.
Deep Sea 3D IMAX film reviewed March 7, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : general , add a commentThis new mini feature, produced by Warner Bros. and IMAX crop, which is narrated by Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp, promises to be a real treat for fans of aquatic life.
Among the ’stars’ are several fish species, sponges, shellfish, turtles, jellyfish, sharks, rays, octopi and squid.
Within the film there is an ecological message, but the filmmakers save that for the very end of the movie.
Jeff Vice from Deseret News reviews the film and says
“Deep Sea” is a sequel of sorts to the 1994 IMAX-format hit “Into the Deep.” In “Deep Sea,” filmmaker Howard Hall and his camera crews try to examine the symbiotic relationships that exist between underwater life forms.
For example, near a Hawaii reef, there are fish that operate a “cleaning station,” where they consume algae that collects on the shells of green sea turtles. It’s almost like a carwash for the turtles, whose shells gleam by the time the reef fish get done with them.
The film also shows how commercial fishing threatens that delicate eco-balance. Fortunately, composer Danny Elfman’s score does break up some the tedium, as he experiments with various musical styles (the doo-wop ode during the Hawaii sequence is a nice touch).
But besides the fishy subjects, the handsome underwater photography is the real star here. And the film is one of few times where the modern-day 3-D process does actually enhance the viewing experience. (Though at least a few audience members will probably cringe when packs of squid appear to lunge right at them.)
Take Scuba Diving lessons for school credits March 2, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : general , add a commentI found this great story on Pulp, which explains how the students of Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental and Forestry meet with Mike Druce, the main instructor for the scuba diving classes, for one credit and a certification allowing them to scuba dive anywhere in the world.
New York isn’t really the type of place you consider as a great scuba diving destination to leanr to scuba dive, but the classes consist of around 60 students, who learn to scuba dive, earn their credit, and then they can use their new cerification anywhere in the world (I guess this means its a PADI qualification)
Scuba classes are taught four times a year: twice in the fall semester and twice in the spring semester. Each class is divided in half, so when one group is practicing in the pool, the other group is learning in the classroom with a switch in the middle of the time block. Each of the five instructors works with six to eight divers in separate groups in the pool and the classroom seeing to it that every divers needs are met. This way, there’s more individualized attention to ensure that each diver is using his or her equipment properly.
Scuba Diving fatality in the Red Sea February 28, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : general , add a commentCDNN report that an incident in the Red sea has left one diver dead another slightly injured. A man in his sixties from the center of the country died on Saturday while scuba diving near the Underwater Marine Observatory in Eilat. The exact causes of his death are unknown.
His diving partner, who pulled him out of the water, was lightly injured and taken to the southern city’s Yoseftal Medical Center. The two men were diving 50 meters underwater with equipment necessary for this depth. When the man began feeling ill, his friend helped him up to sea level.
A Magen David Adom rescue services paramedic, Amit Regev, told reporters after a conversation with the injured friend, “The diving partner continued taking the man to sea level after he already had lost his pulse and was not breathing. A boat reached the men, pulled them out of the water, and took them to shore.”
A doctor, who happened to be at the shore, attempted but failed to resuscitate the diver with the help of diving instructors. His death was pronounced at the scene.
I suspect that this one could be a heart attack, as the diver felt ill before being brought to the surface, but if there is any more clarification I’ll follow up here
The body will be transferred to the Abu Kabir forensics institute in Jaffa, where the cause of death will be determined.
