Armless Pinay pilot tries scuba diving

A Filipino American who was born without arms has embarked on a new journey, this time by conquering the water.

ABS-CBN North America News Bureau correspondent Don Tagala reported that Jessica Cox of Tucson, Arizona is living her life to the fullest.

“My goal is eventually become certified so that I can go to the Philippines and enjoy the beautiful coral reefs that I hear so much about,” said Cox.

Cox is not looking at her disability as a hindrance to enjoy life. In fact, Cox is a licensed car driver and airplane pilot...[Link]

Scuba team snaps underwater photos of whale shark (PHOTOS and VIDEO)

Capt. Mark Christy is the latest to catch a whale shark on film. Unlike other sightings, Christy snapped photos of the whopper fish while underwater. Christy offer this report:

"These where all taken while diving in Destin on board the Dive Vessel 'Sea Cobra' with ScubaTech. It was Saturday afternoon and we were diving first on the Air Force Barge and then the Main Stack of the Bridge Rubble.

On the Air Force Barge we encountered the first whale shark, the small one of the two around 15 to 17 feet in length. We then moved the boat over to the Main Stack of the Bridge Rubble and encountered two whale sharks...[Link]

Scuba diving or hookah rigs carry equal risks, experts say

Of the seven divers who have perished in Florida's early lobster season, at least three shared a similar misfortune.

A Miami man, a Brandon father and a St. Petersburg mother died using a hookah rig, an underwater breathing device that requires no certification and is commonly used by tourists or first-time divers.

"I've lived here for 20 years, and I've never heard of these hookah things," said CeCe Ingle, whose sister-in-law Louann Greene, disappeared Saturday while diving near Big Pine Key. "If people are putting their lives on the line, there need to be some kinds of precautions in place. Who regulates them, if anybody?"

No one regulates hookah rigs, which essentially do the same job as scuba diving tanks. Most diving experts agree that hookahs are no more dangerous than scuba gear, and that there is nothing illegal or wrong about hookah rigs...[Link]

Unique Caribbean adventure vacation idea: Helicopter SCUBA diving in Curacao (with video)

There’s always been an element of adventure and excitement for SCUBA divers. Now, one enterprising dive operator on the Caribbean Island of Curacao wants to add yet ANOTHER element of Caribbean vacation excitement for divers by offering “helidives” or dives via helicopter.

Niels Jorissen, owner of Dive Charter Curacao, has been taking adventurous divers to their dive site via his helicopter since November of last year.

“One of my local divers told me about a helicopter that kept coming close to the water and that got me thinking. I called the owner/pilot for that company and asked him if we could dive from his helicopter. He said ‘no problem’ and a week later we were all geared up and in the water.”...[Link]

All-inclusive SCUBA resort packages: Low prices to Jamaica, Turks & Caicos

Looking for a SCUBA vacation to the Caribbean? Beaches Resorts in the Caribbean have just announce new LOW pricing for all-inclusive SCUBA vacations to four resorts.

The specials, which start as low as $678 for 7 nights, are available for travel through October 31, 2009.

According to Maduro Dive Fanta-Seas, a leading SCUBA travel provider, the just-announced ALL-INCLUSIVE SCUBA specials are at four Beaches properties in the Caribbean. Discounts up to 65% off regular package prices and a 6th night free makes these specials an extraordinary opportunity. For those who wish to travel with children, a singular price of $630 for ages 2 to 16 applies for each resort...[Link]

Divers reached 190 meters depth in Vrelo

The divers in the cave Vrelo at Matka reached a depth of 190 meters, meaning that the caveis to beplaced between the deepest caves in Europe.

The Italian diver came down to a platform and reached a depth of 190 meters in Vrelo, where he found a new opening with unknown depth.

Kasati stopped his diving and it is expected to continue on Wednesday and on Friday...[Link]

Scuba divers to help sick children

Two brothers hope to make history by carrying out the longest ever scuba dive to raise money for sick children.

Declan and Paul Devane are to spend more than a day and a half underwater in October as part of a charity drive for St Raphael's Children's Ward at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Declan's two-year-old son Cillian, who died earlier this year, was cared for at the facility...[Link]

Freediving basics - A look at the underwater of competitive breath holding

The fast-growing sport of freediving continues to expand throughout the world. Freediving (another term for competitive breah holding), is a unique discipline that is drawing a lot of attention.

According to the US Apnea Association (USAA),the low impact nature of the sport is what allows athletes of all ages to participate. At the elite level world records have been set by athletes from the age of twenty to fifty and older. The impact might be low, but the elite level of the athletes is not.

Freediving at the elite level pushes the body to the very limits at a cellular level. Freediving and boxing are the only two sports where if you20make an error you end up unconscious. This is why organizations like USAA follow very strict safety protocols and procedures. Safety while freediving is very important and when respected makes the sport very safe to participate in...[Link]

'Wall' of fish surrounds divers

The shimmering cloud was made up of tens of millions of tiny sardines, swimming in formation.

The swirling sardines appeared out of nowhere, and stayed long enough for a series of stunning pictures to be taken before shooting off.

They were taking part in the annual migration of sardines, dubbed the "sardine run", which happens off the Philippines every July.
American diver Erwin Poliakoff was on holiday with his wife and teenage son at the time.

Mr Poliakoff, 54, said: "We were diving on the reef, quite happily looking around at all the interesting fish, when suddenly everything went dark...[Link]

Dive for the best deals at the National Boat Show

If you've never dived before, the Dive Expo is an ideal opportunity to explore everything the diving lifestyle has to offer - whether you want to discover deep, mysterious reefs or snorkel in the sunshine with dolphins, you could win this lifestyle at the National Boat Show, 14 - 16 August at the Coca-Cola dome.

The National Boat Show, in association with the Saturday Star presents the “Win a Scuba Diving Lifestyle competition” valued at more than R40 000. This prize includes a seven-night stay for two at the Michamvi Watersports Resort in Zanzibar plus return flights (courtesy of Holiday Tours), diving gear from Cressi and a comprehensive open water diving instruction course from Buccaneer Diving and PADI..[Link]

Hockey Takes a Dive

Fancy your slapshot? Forget about it. Fastest skater in the rink? Big deal. Won the “Who-Can-Hold-His-Breath-the-Longest” competition? Bingo. Underwater Hockey may be your sport.

This melted-down version of ice hockey adds the feel of water polo and the strategy of soccer, but underwater hockey substitutes swimming and snorkeling for skating and checking. Make no mistake, this is a serious sport with a national governing body—USA Underwater Hockey (USAUWH)—and rules worthy of any game, even if it they would leave NHL referees scratching their heads, like the rule that prohibits wetsuits and weight belts...[Link]

Black water: Firefighters' dives often dangerous

Israel Infante begged emergency responders to allow a friend to dive into the murky, muddy water to search for his son’s body.

“I just want to find him,” the man said last week as he watched crews with the Mission and Alton fire departments floating on a small red boat nearby.

The 16-year-old had drowned in a retention pond near McCook, and the hours slowly dragged on as the Mission Fire Department dive team dredged the pond’s bottom in search for the lifeless teenager.

“People can get impatient,” said Capt. Joel Dominguez, a member of the 12-man team. “But it’s not as simple as holding your breath.”...[Link]

Marblehead diver explores the Andrea Doria

Michael Lafayette is drawn to the ocean, its living and its dead.

Take the Andrea Doria. The Italian luxury liner sank off Nantucket following a collision with another passenger ship in 1956. The vessel went down slowly, her death agony captured on camera. Most aboard got off before she rolled on her side and dipped below the surface.

The death toll could have been in the hundreds except for swift action by surrounding vessels. Even so, it's believed 46 perished.

On the bottom, attacked by ocean organisms and swept by cross currents, the Andrea Doria hasn't done well. Still on her side, the superstructure has dropped to the sandy bottom, leaving a thing resembling a faceless corpse.

Not that anyone has seen it. It's too dark to see much of anything at 240 feet. "You really want to have your wits about you," Lafayette says. "There's very little light."

The Andrea Doria is a favorite wreck for divers like Lafayette, 44, who made his first visit earlier this summer. The first sign of the wreck that came into view was the rail where passengers would have gathered to board the lifeboats. Then the massive hull.

"It took my breath away," he says...[Link]

400-Year-Old Shipwreck Discovered in Stockholm Archipelago

Swedish divers were surprised to discover a well-kept shipwreck from the 17th century outside the Värmdö municipality, in the archipelago of Stockholm.

“We were actually searching for a cargo ship that had sank in the 1940s, but then we found this instead,” Markus Hårde, one of the wreck divers told Svenska Dagbladet, a Swedish paper.

The shipwreck is probably a Dutch trading ship from early 17th century. Marcus Hårde discovered the wreck together with Anders Backström and Jonas Rydin in May.
The divers saw a lion figurine on the rudder and nicknamed the it “The Lion Wreck.”

The ship with three masts seems to be well kept, and has been under 141 feet (43 meters) of water for 400 years.

The divers contacted Johan Rännby, a researcher in marine ecology, at Södertörns University in Stockholm...[Link]

Waterproofing Your Camera for Deep Dives

I recently took five waterproof cameras for a couple of dips in a swimming pool, snapping shots under and above water. These cameras are designed to withstand dunks of 10 feet to 33 feet, and in general they do a pretty great job of capturing pool fun and probably snorkeling expeditions (I didn’t have a chance to get down to Caribbean to try that one).

But you don’t have to buy a waterproof camera to go under. Instead, you can get a watertight casing for many brands of point-and-shoot models. I tested a $200 Marine Pack MPK-WE designed for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 to take advantage of the camera’s underwater movie mode. The Marine Pack is also compatible with other Cyber-shot DSC models that include the W230, W220 and W210 cameras. If you don’t have a Sony, similar casings are available for other brands of cameras.

The Marine Pack was engineered for divers and can be taken down to depths as deep as 132 feet. You can also use it at the pool or beach, of course, but it’s a pretty bulky package compared with waterproof cameras...[Link]

At Crystal Lake In Ellington, Vacuums Battle Aquatic Weeds

Crystal Lake appears as pristine as its name, at least on the surface.

But down below is where the milfoil lies -- a slimy and insidious aquatic invader residents here are battling to root out.

The Crystal Lake Association, a group of residents dedicated to preserving the lake, is taking action, with the help of $67,000 the town has put up for an anti-milfoil campaign. Milfoil can cause problems for boating and fishing, even swimming.

"We want our lake," said Jean Burns, a Crystal Lake Association Member and lakefront homeowner. "We want the resource to stay."

Native to Europe and Asia, milfoil is a freshwater weed that is an unwelcome presence in Connecticut from Candlewood Lake in the western part of the state to Crystal Lake in the East. The plant is believed to be transported between lakes and ponds by boat trailers and waterfowl.

The effort to get rid of the milfoil got underway today...[Link]

Scuba diving 101: How to become certified

Scuba certification is easier and less costly than one would think. For only $415.00 a prospective scuba diver can become certified at the Chicago Scuba and Dive Shop. Shop owner, Scott Culver, believes this financial commitment is on par with other adventure sports in regards to costs for getting started. He also mentioned that this price is the lowest in the Chicago land area.

The first step to become open water certified is to reach out to a school that offers the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) certification. Scott Culver’s shop is one of these and it can be found on 6321 N. Central and the phone number is 312-771-8647. The certification consists of completing the PADI manual, which is five chapters in length, taking a class in a pool, and two dives at the Haigh quarry in Kankakee. A student can realistically become certified within a week if they have availability to complete the dives right away, or they can spread it out longer if they need more time to complete the manual and schedule the dives...[Link]

Marine biologist Andy Dehart, shark advisor to Discovery Channel "Shark Week", dives right in

There's no place Andy Dehart would rather be than in the middle of a feeding frenzy in a thrashing pack of sharks.

Dehart has a day job as the director of biological programs at the National Aquarium in Washington, D.C., but for the past two years, he's taken his mission into living rooms across the U.S.

A veteran who swam with sharks on "over a thousand dives" over twenty years, Dehart has been the Discovery Channel's shark advisor for the past two years.

And in the midst of "Shark Week," this is a time of year that's better than Christmas or Thanksgiving...[Link]

Divers Alert Network Releases 2008 SCUBA Diving Accident and Fatality Report

The Divers Alert Network Annual SCUBA Diving Report is one of the most anticipated and trusted publications in the dive industry. Each year, divers count on it as a resource to educate themselves; the knowledge they gain, hopefully, makes them safer divers.

Once again, the DAN Research team has compiled its findings from data gathered from incident reports and information shared through the Project Dive Exploration (PDE) initiative. The DAN Annual Diving Report – 2008 Edition examines contributing factors in SCUBA dive accident and fatality cases in an effort to understand those factors and improve dive safety...[Link]

Scientists discover deepest coral reefs off Britain

The deepest coral reefs off the coast of Britain have been explored for the first time revealing ancient coral, colourful fish, deepwater sharks and even species that were previously unknown to science.

The five cold-water coral reefs were found by scientists monitoring an underwater mountain range 200 miles off the coast of North West Scotland last month.

The reefs are more than a mile under the ocean in dark, cold waters but boast a wealth of marine life. By sending hi-tech cameras thousands of feet under the water scientists were able to study coral similar to those that built Australia's Great Barrier Reef, star fish, sea urchins, sponges and strange deepwater fish...[Link]