Dive Deep-Scuba Diving The World.

Why Scuba Dive !!

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 19:08:00 +0000

Q. Why Scuba Dive ?!
A.Why Not!

For some it's the beauty of the reef and the marine life that inhabits it, for others - like me- it's the thrill of discovery deep inside a wreck or cave. Everyone has a different reason for scuba diving, but most would agree that it's for the sheer enjoyment of experiencing the underwater world, a world so far removed from ours that it will truly amaze you. Whether you want to relax while photographing brightly colored tropical fish, be thrilled by the power and grace of a school of sharks, or make a living working underwater, scuba diving has it all.

What is Scuba Diving?

" Dictionary: scu·ba (skū'bə)

n. A portable apparatus containing compressed air and used for breathing under water.
[s(elf-)c(ontained) u(nderwater) b(reathing) a(pparatus).]

WORD HISTORY Going scuba diving sounds much more appealing than going self-contained underwater breathing apparatus diving, and saying scuba leaves more breath for swimming. The name for such an apparatus, first successfully tested in 1943, was formed by taking the first letter of each word in the phrase and putting them together to form a single word. Scuba, like other acronyms, has a vowel at a point that allows it to be pronounced like an English word. The word, first recorded in 1952, has been so widely adopted that people rarely think of it as a collection of initials and use it in forming other words, such as scuba-dive. In fact, a verb scuba was first recorded in 1973 and is still in use." by www.answers.com

Back to me now, I am a recreational diver. I took my open water course just to see why divers keep on diving, what do they see and do down there. I could not make a full idea about Scuba Diving , because every diver has a different kind of passion for diving. The Course was boaring at the beginning, classroom material and pool diving, but the whole experience turned 180 degrees after my 1st sea dive. Wow it was the most amazing thing in my whole life. I am underwater like 10-15 ft deep swimming near deep reef and colorful fishes. I will not forget my 1st dive ever.

That was the beginning, When i got my PADI card i was diving like crazy here and there, NORTH-SOUTH-EAST-WEST, locally and Internationally. Few years later, i was diving with a new group of divers and saw their new gear including the digital gauges that i have no idea how and why to use them. I decided to take the advance open water course to be update my knowledge. As a recreational diver, I believe an advance open water license is enough if you don't want to be a professional diver.

Divers can be found in all corners of the globe from the tropical reefs of the Caribbean and the Great Barrier Reef, to the world's biggest lake in Siberia - even under the ice of Antarctica. While most dive shops and resorts operate in warm tropical environments it's also common to find local dive centers and dive clubs in most cities around the world - even inland cities with no water!!!

My Blog contains an archive of my diving trips and photos, a collection of scuba diving articles i found in the internet, Scuba diving resources, Personal reviews of diving resorts, Diving locations, Diving Books and Scuba gear and finally a collection of websites i regularly read or use like hotel/airfare booking, Diving Packages, Diving resorts to save you time and money when you want to plan your next Diving Trip.

Yanni a genius musician

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:08:00 +0000

I was invited by a friend in Athens, Greece to attend a live music concert for a musician called Yanni. I never hear of him before and i had no idea what kind of music he plays. The concert was at the Acropolis, an ancient arena it was a great place to see and enjoy the music. I loved his music and i will never forget this concert. Later on i started to listen to his music and buy his records.

One of my favorite music is one the he played live at the acropolis. I love it and can not stop hearing it every now and then.

Thank you Yanni for your great music.

Scuba Divers: 10 tips to better buoyancy

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

On the first day of Scuba class, a student learns how important buoyancy is in diving. Once certified, a diver will spend a better portion of his/her training perfecting their buoyancy. Simple fact, buoyancy is more art than science. With good technique, the right training, ongoing practice and the right equipment, you can perfect your buoyancy. The goal of any diver is to hover effortlessly through the water. When you “dial in” your buoyancy, you will reap the benefits such as, better air consumption, dive with less exertion, protect the environment and safely control your ascents and descents, Great buoyancy means you are diving safer and having more fun.

Following are ten tips to assist you in developing better buoyancy:

1. Get more training: Most divers often use bad habits to compensate for poor technique. Without the right training, these bad habits become memorized and hard to break. Stumbling through the water becomes the status quo for many divers. Get enrolled in a class. Learn the right techniques to proper buoyancy. Perfect the ultimate skill for being a Scuba diver, without the crutch of bad habits. With more training, you will achieve the goal of spending as much time as possible, during your dive, neutrally buoyant.

2. Weight yourself correctly: One of the first skills you will learn in any buoyancy class is how to weight yourself correctly. if you are overweighted (one of the bad habits discussed above), you will need more air in your BCD to keep you off the bottom. More air in your BCD means more management as you ascend and descend. If you are weighted incorrectly you will spend little time neutrally buoyant. In fact, you will be struggling back and forth between being positively or negatively buoyant.

3. Spread your weight out: Many divers stack their weight in a single area on their body. Usually in a weight pocket or all on a weight belt. This misaligned weight placement usually causes the head to be in a downward or upward position. Seldom does it lead to perfectly horizontal position in the water. The rule of where the head leads, the body will follow applies when this happens. Thus, if the head is in an upward position, the diver will have a tendency to rise up, causing the air in his or her BCD to increase and making the diver positively buoyant. When this happens a diver must compensate by dumping air. When a diver has his or her head in a downward position, they often find themselves crashing into the bottom. Becoming a negatively buoyant diver. When a diver’s weight is “trimmed” correctly, they tend to be completely horizontal in the water and takes little or no effort to maintain a depth.

4. Own, don’t rent your gear: Every time a diver changes their gear configuration and exposure protection, their buoyancy changes. If you are constantly renting gear, you never have the same configuration thus your buoyancy characteristics become a wild card on every dive. The amount of weight needed, where weight can be placed, the buoyancy characteristics of the gear itself all change when you continuously rent gear. If you own your own gear, the configuration and the dive characteristics will be a constant on every dive. Buy right, buy once. Gear choice is an integral ingredient to mastering buoyancy and becoming an advanced diver.

5. Streamline your gear: Once you have purchased your own gear, you should take some time in the accessories section of your local dive shop. Find the right clips and snaps to “tighten” up your configuration. In order to protect the environment and your gear, it is important that loose gear is attached closely to the body. This practice is called streamlining. When you gear is streamlined, you will find that it does not create drag which can upset your relaxed neutral buoyancy.

6. Breathe control: Divers should always have control over their breathing. I have met some divers that have had great success learning yoga as a way to control their breathing. A good steady, continuous breathing pattern is a great way to maintain a constant depth and neutral buoyancy. As divers become more adept with diving, breath control is the way they make minor depth changes.

7. Stay in shape: This almost seems like an obvious tip and has benefits far outweighing just Scuba diving. Divers who are in shape require less weight, handle gear easily, breathe easier and have better buoyancy. A good, regular cardio-vascular workout is essential for mastering buoyancy technique.

8. Slow down: Most divers swim too fast. Not only do they miss things as they motor past them in the ocean, but swimmingfast over-exerts divers. This could lead to abnormal air consumption and minimal bottom time. Further, if a diver becomes too over-exerted, it could lead to hyperventilation or a dangerous underwater scenario. In many instances, divers swim fast because it is a bad habit that they have picked up to overcompensate for poor buoyancy technique. Momentum is a bad habit that can keep a diver at a single depth, regardless if they are mildly negative or positive buoyant. Slow down, if a diver can’t maintain a constant depth while hovering, more training is probably required.

9. Observe other divers: Watching other divers and how they manage their buoyancy is a great way to learn great technique and observe bad habits. With the right mentor, observation can be a powerful training tool. Be mindful of what you are observing and take advice only from those folks who are qualified to give it.

10. Practice often: Skills rust when they are out of water. If divers do not practice your buoyancy skills and dive often, they will lose their perfected buoyancy. Divers should be in the water on a regular basis. It is recommended, divers practice their skills at least once per month. If a body of open water is not available, a pool is still a good option to practice skills.

Once you have your buoyancy perfected, drifting through the reefs of Cozumel, gliding down the steep walls of the Blue Hole in Belize and floating along side sea turtles in Hawaii become far more enjoyable.

Giant stride into a buoyancy clinic or specialty class and master neutral buoyancy.
Dive Safe and Have Fun.

Source: www.articlebase.com

Man drowns while diving for golf balls

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:49:00 +0000

By Rachel Hatzipanagos / Sun Sentinel
September 24, 2009

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Jerry Gunderson started diving for golf balls in 1953, when he was 19. On Saturday, during a dive, he lost his life. He was 75.

"I don’t know why he did it; it’s high risk, but he just loved it," said his wife, Judith Gunderson. "He always said that’s the way he would go."

Jerry Gunderson, whose passion for diving for golf balls led to the founding of a chain of seven golf-supply stores, was found dead in the center of the lake at the Deer Creek Country Club in Deerfield Beach, Fla., on Saturday.

Gunderson, who was wearing scuba gear, drowned, officials said.

One of his sons died while diving for golf balls in a lake 27 years ago.

"I lost my brother to the water, too," said Jerry Gunderson’s other son, Marc, 53.

Divers looking for golf balls swim in near-complete darkness, in territory where alligators and other critters lurk. The payoff can be thousands of golf balls, which are resold to golf-supply stores.

They don’t like to reveal how much money they make from the sales because it’s a competitive business, Marc Gunderson said. But for those who dive, it’s a passion not everyone can understand.

"I wish I could answer why," said Gunderson, who used to dive for golf balls himself. "I’ve asked myself that question over the last few days."

Jerry Gunderson, who grew up in Palm Beach County, Fla., started retrieving, collecting and reselling golf balls soon after his first dive as a teenager.

At first, it was the simple act of fishing out the golf balls in a course in the 1950s, washing them, and reselling them. He built a Deerfield Beach-based chain of golf-supply stores called International Golf.

He sold the business a few years ago and worked as a freelance diver for smaller companies.

Reselling the golf balls can be serious business, said Phil Cherchio, one of the partners of the Birdie Golf Ball Store in Margate. He said he hires several freelance divers he sends to golf courses with which he has contracts. He too declined to say how much he pays each diver.

Even the most experienced divers have accidents. In the darkness, Jerry Gunderson likely blacked out and lost his oxygen supply, his son said.

Still, he would not have had it any other way, his family said.

"Diving is peaceful, along with a way to make a good living," Marc Gunderson said. 'It was his love.'"

Yanbu - Red Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Diving in Ynabu is generally outstanding! The visibility is normally better than Jeddah, as well as the number and size of fish, Soft coral is abundant along the coast due to the strong currents there.

Yanbu is located in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.

The main scuba diving location is an empty beach located north of Yanbu's creek. The reef consists of a steeply sloping wall in most places that goes down to around 100 feet or more before reaching a less steeply sloped sandy bottom. Occasionally there are sandy shelves at between 70 and 30 feet. There are many cavern-like structures in the shallow areas at the top of the wall, but don't go very far back.

The site known as Barracuda Beach and Coral Gardens have always been the favorite. Barracuda Beach is a deep area where barracuda are known to congregate, as well as tuna, sharks and other larger fish. Coral Gardens is a shallow area of sloping sand where corals bloom beautifully and the current can be extremely swift. At the reef edge, it’s about 15 feet deep, great for ending the dive.

Here is a collection of photos when we were diving in area 22 (Wreck Site) in November 2008.
Excellent visibility, Depth 30-40 meters, Temp around 25 degrees c.

Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die.

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:37:00 +0000

Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die: Diving Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

Short Version it was a waste of $25 :(

Long version:

I orderd this book online from amazon.com after reading the editorial reviews

" The earth’s oceans hold many wondrous surprises—be they the small, colorful “critters” off the coast of Papua New Guinea, opportunistic red demon squids in the Sea of Cortes, or naval wrecks in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll. In Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die Chris Santella has invited diving experts from around the world to share some of their favorite destinations, so ardent divers can experience these underwater wonders for themselves—either on location in their SCUBA gear, or at home in their armchair.

When i got it and started reading, i was surprised by the shallow material and photos and no in depth analysis of any dive sitementioned in the book. The expert divers the author invited to share thier favorite sites must have been diving in another planet!! I have dove in many places around the world until i found THE DIVERS PARADISE NAMELY The RED SEA. I was really surprised, the author mentioned only 1 or 2 sites one of them is in Sudan and left 100's of Internationaly known dive sites in the Red Sea.

Maybe the only good thing about this book, it pounts out some diving site to see certain marine creatures.

This Book should be called 50 places you sould not dive before you die.

Blue Hole - The True Story.

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:44:00 +0000

Blue Hole is a diving location on east Sinai, a few Kilometers north of Dahab, Egypt on the coast of the Red Sea. I have read and hear a lot about this divers paradise. The area has a rich and unique marine life and reef. Diving in a 26 meters tunnel until you see the light again. Unfortunately many divers died trying to reach the tunnel. Lately i read an incredible letter by Yosy Flug (the first diver to reside full time in sharem-el-sheikh. in 1971). Telling his story about the blue hole as one of the first divers to experience this beautiful yet dangerous site.

What is Blue Hole?
The Blue Hole is a submarine pothole (a kind of cave), around 130m deep. There is a shallow opening around 6m deep, opening out to the sea and an 26m tunnel, known as the arch, the top of which is 52m. The hole itself and the surrounding area has an abundance of coral and reef fish.

The Blue Hole is notorious for the number of diving fatalities which have occurred there earning it the sobriquet, "World's Most Dangerous Dive Site" and the nickname "Diver's Cemetery". The site is signposted by a sign that says "Blue hole: Easy entry". Accidents are frequently caused when divers attempt to find the tunnel through the reef (known as "The Arch") connecting the Blue Hole and open water at about 52m depth. This is beyond the PADI recreational diving limit (40m) and nitrogen narcosis begins to have an influence. Divers who miss the tunnel sometimes continue descending hoping to find the tunnel farther down and become increasingly narced.

Memorial Site

The "Arch" is reportedly extremely deceptive in several ways:
It is difficult to detect because of the odd angle between the arch, open water, and the hole itself.
Because of the dim lighting and the fact that most light enters from outside, it appears shorter than it really is. Divers report that the Arch appears less than 10m long but measurements have shown it is 26m from one end to the other.
There is frequently a current flowing inward through the arch towards the Blue Hole, increasing the time it takes to swim through.
The arch continues downward to the seabed which is beyond view and there is therefore no "reference" from below.

Divers who resist the temptation of the Arch and remain within their training and limitations are in no more danger than on any other Red Sea dive site. However, the Arch has proved irresistible for many and thus the divesites is considered unsuitable for beginners and a potential trap for even experienced divers.

Divers who want to go through the Arch should ideally be experienced and only attempt it after appropriate training and experience possibly. The equipment that could be used would most likely be multiple compressed air cylinders, as a twin set or tanks may be insufficient for the dive, mixed gases that have reduced nitrogen mixtures ideal for use at depth.

The Egyptian authorities claim that 40 divers have died at this site since records began; however, many local dive guides believe that the authorities are deliberately underestimating the numbers and that there have actually been at least twice that many fatalities.

A famous death in the Blue hole is Yuri Lipski, a Russian diver who died at 91.6 meters below the surface. There are many theories about how he died. Many maintain that he was attacked by a shark or dragged down by an octopus, but these are unlikely. If attacked by a shark, Lipski would have thrashed about. An octopus attack would have been impossible because the only species of octopus strong enough to drag down an adult human, Enteroctopus dofleini, is restricted to the Pacific Ocean. Furthermore, nitrogen intoxication sets in below a depth of 30 meters. When diving on standard air at a depth of 90 meters, the narcosis will be so severe that a person can lose all sense of direction. Decisionmaking is severely impaired and there is a great possibility of losing vital equipment such as the breathing apparatus. Yuri Lipski probably died from inexperience and a lack of proper equipment suitable for that depth. It's likely that a combination of narcosis and Oxygen toxicity contributed to his death. So far in 2009 two more divers have been killed diving the Bell and Blue Hole area (both in May).

Source: Wikipedia.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yosy's Letter as is:

"dear friends, since dahab's blue hole became famous as world's
most deadly diving site, it is about time to tell my blue hole tale,
as it really happened. this following account may explain at least
some of the deaths.

a little introduction first: my name is yosy flug. currently am
residing in israel (retired, since 100% disabled, due to accumulated
damage). actually, i happened to be lucky and priviledged to become
the first diver to reside full time in sharem-el-sheikh. in autumn
1971 i abandoned everything i did, and moved to sinai to dive in the
red sea - the love of my life... to support myself i worked as
labourer in "solel bone" construction company, and devoted all my
free time to diving. (thus out of necessity became an expert on night
diving – finishing the working day, sleeping until dinner, and then
taking the tanks and going to dive). occasionally, whenever i could,
i made excursions – first of all, whenever i could i went to to the
most wonderful diving area i have been fortunate to know – ras
muhamad, sinai's most southern tip, but occasionally to other places
too. divers used to come from all over the world to this incredible
domain, quite a few diving expeditions of all kinds, and I used every
opportunity I had to join all diving parties, willingly filling
tanks, carrying equipment – doing anything in order to dive… thus was
blessed by meeting and benefiting from the instructions of some of
the foremost diving experts on the planet – a/o my dear friend, the
wonderful shark lady dr. geni clark... friends told me about the blue
hole in dahab, describing it as a sort of huge hole in the reef, wide
on surface and narrowing until it formed a well, which kept going
deep down. they didn't go beyond 30 meters – the sport divers
accepted limit. but being young and stupid, me and some of
us 'afectionados' in sharem used to go as deep as 80meters or more,
learning slowly and persistently to operate under heavy nitrogen
narcosis. so one day, in 1972, i found myself in in the blue hole… I
was known to be diving mostly alone, and friends respected it. so,
while my companions were exploring slowly the upper area of the reef,
at around 15-20 meters, i decided to go deeper into the well, to see
what is there. i felt very confident at depths of up to 60m, which
was for us in sharem a standard dive depth, with the incredible
visibility and excellent red sea conditions. here at round 30m it
became dark, and i continued easy descent, feeling the first effects
of the "rapture": slightly tipsy feeling, the sound of the breath and
bubbles getting a psychedelic quality, etc… whoever experienced it,
knows. and then i saw below me a dim blue haze. "oh shit, this is
vertigo!" crossed my mind. i have never experienced a vertigo, but
heard a lot of stories from pilot friends. " yeah! i must've turned
upside down!" i thought, and to be sure i took the regulator out and
looked in the near darkness to see the direction of the bubbles. it
was ok. i was not upside down, the light was really coming from
below. i kept descending towards the growing light. and here, at 55
meters was the source of the light, a wide opening under a amazing
arch, leading out to the endless, bottomless blue. i passed under,
and found myself in space. (not an unfamiliar, but always euphoric
experience. i used to take a boat to the middle of naama bay, drop a
weight on 60m rope to serve as reference, and go down just to get
high like a kite on the "nitrogen narcosis", and frolicking in the
endless blue) delighted, i started ascending slowly along the other
side, in this most incredible euphoria, which has actually nothing
to do with being narked - it is for real… later, i chose to tell
about it to very few selected friends. i am pretty certain i was not
the first one to do it – people were diving along the sinai coast
since 1967, right after the war. and most places were accessible from
boats only – the road was not completed until 1971, which made the
coast open to the navy, boat owners, etc. i heard about the blue
hole, but i never heard about this underwater passage.

to make a long story short, in 1976 i was visiting sinai, my beloved
home (at this time i was residing in amsterdam, and working as a
commercial deep sea diver on oil rigs all over he north sea mostly,
free lancing for companies between aberdeen and stavanger, doing
saturation etc). as luck has it, i ran across a friend, aviv, who was
making a research of sinai diving clubs, intending to make a film
about it. since he made his diving course in the u.s while studying
cinematography prompted by my diving stories, i agreed to assist him.
… when we came to dahab, my dear buddy alex was the club manager
(there was only one club there). he was delighted. "yosy, take all
equipment you want and the jeep, and take the guy to the blue hole.
you save me an instructor, and besides i am sure after that he'll
make a film about our club!" (he never did, btw). as we were
preparing to go, we were approached by a guy who said "you are going
to the blue hole? i am eli from dahab, an expert diver - a three-star
dive leader, and i will guide you!" "no thanks, we take no guide. but
if you so much desire, you can come along for the dive" i said, while
alex was laughing his ass off at the idea that someone will guide me…
we were both the "enfants terrible" of the diving federation, known
for accepting no guidance from anyone, and barely accepting the
rules. alex was serious guy, truly great diver. he was a chief diving
instructor of the federation (something which he does until this
day), and i had refused to be an instructor and got the first three-
star "master diver" certificate when the federation was formed some
years before… we came to the hole. as we were preparing for the dive,
i put on aviv my "fenzi mk3", a good diving compensator. at the time
diving compensators were still a scarce and expensive rarity, most
people dived with a simple life vest, inflated by mouth. the fenzi
has an independent 1liter bottle, filled before installing on the
vest from the dive tank, and a flexible hose enabling both to vent (a
purge button) and to blow it up orally. and i also i had my
dear "niconos II" u/v camera. we started descending, easily and
slowly. at around 40m we saw the blue iridescent glow…i went first,
stopped at the arch and checked depth. it was 54meters. then i signed
to aviv and eli to swim under towards the open sea, in order to stay
behind and take a picture… i still have it; quite blurry shadow if
two divers in the middle of the arch against the light blue of the
open sea… as i hear, this is probably the first picture taken in the
passage. then i followed them, passed the arch to check the depth. i
saw them some meters below me, slowly working the fins watching the
space and looking at the incredible sight of bubbles rising to the
well visible, shimmering glass roof of the surface… and i froze. the
gauge showed 65meters, meaning they were at more then seventy meters
depth at least, and obviously sinking in spite of their upright
position. i realized what happened, run down towards them marking
urgently with both thumbs "up, up!". i got two very stoned and happy
grins, and a "thumbs up". i checked the gauge. we were passing 80m,
and i started to feel my brain is numbing from the narcosis… i
grabbed aviv and signed "up!" with my free hand. he tried to push my
hand away, so wasting no time i turned him around, grabbed and held
forcibly from behind with my left hand, while at the same time
opening his fenzy bottle with my right. instinctively i also held the
inflation hose with the purge button in my left hand, to prevent a
blow-up, and looked at the depth gauge, while he was still struggling
trying to fight me off, not understanding what came upon me… the
gauge showed 83m, and like in a nightmare we kept descending, slowly…
i was working my fins as hard as possible up and towards the reef, so
that that aviv will see it and, having a point of reference, and
understand that we sink. the descent stopped at around 84-5 meters,
and we started finally to ascend, though at nightmarishly slow
pace. "as soon as we get to around forty, i will stick aviv to the
reef and run down to look for eli 'the expert', but not below
100meters. i will not come up without aviv, my diving buddy – it is
either both or none – but i ain't gonna kill myself for this guy!
sorry." were the thoughts running through my mind, while we slowly
but surely went up. when we reached about 60m, aviv gradually
stopped struggling and all my effort was directed to swimming towards
the reef. then i looked down and realized the reason for the ghoulish
rate of ascent: eli grabbed aviv's leg, and was holding on to it …
bless the fenzi, it managed to lift three full grown men with all the
gear to safety. in the meantime we came to the reef, and ascended
properly, stopping first at six meters, even though i planned the
dive as 60 meters for five minutes, which needs no decompression
stops t all – allowing direct 3 minutes ascent to the surface. after
five minutes we ascended to another stop, finishing the air at three
meters. in the meantime we enjoyed the beautiful reef, full of life,
and i took pictures with the niconos…
when we came out of water, aviv was pissed like hell. "what came upon
you, yosy? are you mad? why did you attack me and forced to go up?
you could tell me! why the f**k all this violence?!" he kept
shouting. eli, on the other hand, was experienced enough to realize
the danger we were in. "aviv, kiss the ground and yosy's feet – he
saved our lives!" he told aviv, but he was not convinced. "why this
f**king violence!
you could have sign me! i am not a child! you just panicked!" "but I
did sign you, but you did not react! i had no choice!" i tried to
reason with him, and eli too – but aviv insisted. "you just
panicked!" "alright, as you wish. of course i did. as long as we are
all safely up. i gave up the discussion. (hehehe btw,
about two years ago we happened to sit a whole afternoon in a rare
gathering of old friends and companions, drinking and remembering all
kinds of adventures, and someone came up with the story. aviv said
(this is forty years after the whole escapade): "ok, yosy. i am only
upset because of one thing. how did you dare to take me, a new and
inexperienced diver, to the blue hole, a real death trap? what gave
you the right to do that?" "the same right by which you are sitting
here safely with us and can have all those pretensions!" i replied.
the gang agreed, and eventually even aviv said "yeah, right. that's
true. apparently you did have the right. but you did not have to be
so violent!".

as soon as i reached tel aviv, i went to the diving federation and
had a meeting with the guys, most of whom i knew. i told them the
story, warned and explained why this dive is so dangerous. most
divers have no experience in deep diving, and are heavily influenced
by the "rapture of the deep" at such depth. when they pass under the
arch, they find themselves, for the first time in life for most of
them, in a bottomless open sea. this is heaven – endless blue, all
shades from nearly white on the surface, to nearly black looking
down. along the feeling of euphoria, coming from "having done it"
they have also an expansive feeling of safety. all around is
transparent and clear, open space with the surface shimmering above…
and in the meantime, their neoprene suits are squeezed to 1
millimeter thickness, losing all buoyancy, and the compensating lead
weights are now a pure ballast. one has to exhort oneself much, and
work really hard to rise in such conditions. the relative pressure
increase is minimal and not felt, and they are convinced that they go
up, relaxed and easy while they are really sinking. the deeper the
more intoxicated/stoner, they keep sinking at a faster pace, and we
all know what happens around 100 meters, when the oxygen pp reaches
two bars… they have no chance. i suggested putting in the middle of
the arch a sign saying "stop! balance yourself!" in all languages,
and at the least mandatory explaining the dangers and a need to
balance to every diver that comes to the area. but the federation
heads said "yosy, this is out of the question. as far as the
federation goes this is not a diving site at all. it does not exist.
it is forbidden to dive there at all – the maximum depth, even for
instructors, is 50m. "at least warn and explain it to all the
instructors and assistants, and old three-star divers. make it a
standard instruction in dahab club, at least" "no way! this matter is
not to be discussed at all, even mentioned. it is forbidden to dive
there, period! and please, yosy, do not talk about it at all!" "i do
not, unless i am asked – but people do dive there (told them about
eli the expert guide, and others) and will continue, and there will
be an accident!" "c'mon, yosy, a law is a law. that's it. you want us
to explain how to break the law?!" (israel is the only country i know
of in which diving regulations are accepted as an official country
law under the penal system, and any breach is a punishable offence)
"but people will keep diving there for sure. would you rather have
law obeying corpses then live law offenders?" but no argument helped.
i returned to amsterdam, and after some years started hearing more
and more about deadly blue hole accidents… at the last count, as I
was told, the blue hole took 130 lives so far...

may those be the last, and there will be no more accidents. and,
hopefully, may the above account help to save some lives...

respectfully,

in love
yosy

Sun Jul 6, 2008"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Hole Bottom

Blue Hole Extreme narcosis

Dive Lights - The Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:38:00 +0000

Dive Lights

To provide illumination at night, you need a dive light. It is your primary light source on a night dive. During the day you may use a light to look into cracks and crevices. Dive lights are also used for exploring the insides of wrecks, underwater caverns and caves.
Also known as : underwater flashlight, dive torch, lamp, canister, light, HID, tungsten light, LED light.

Styles

There are two basic styles of dive lights, with different options in rechargeable or disposable batteries, and the type of bulb it uses.

Flashlights – These range from small, compact lights used during the day or as backups for night, wreck and cave diving, to large lantern-style lights that are primary light sources when diving in the dark.
Canister lights – Used primarily by wreck and cave divers, canister lights supply a compact light via wire with power from a battery in a canister carried on your waist. Canister lights are usually much brighter (though this is changing as lighting technology advances make smaller lights more powerful), so this makes carrying their larger batteries more convenient.

Required features

Water tight and pressure proof – Any dive light will be designed to exclude water and resist pressure to its rated depth. Avoid “waterproof” lights not intended for diving because they may collapse and fail due to pressure.

Durable and reliable – The dive environment is not gentle on equipment. Dive lights need to be strong enough to withstand reasonable wear.

Desirable features

Rechargeable batteries – Unless you use your light very rarely, rechargeable batteries are the way to go in larger lights. They pay for themselves, and they reduce the number of batteries going into landfills. Many lights perform better with NiMH rechargeable than with disposables, so you not only save money and help the environment, you also get better performance.

Optional features

Size – Although powerful lights are getting smaller, there’s a relationship between size and power/brightness. Small lights are your best choice for day uses and as backups. Large lights are your best choice for night diving, wrecks or caves. These are sometimes called primary lights because they’re your primary light source.

Tungsten, halogen, HID, LED – Bulb types are changing rapidly, allowing lights to create more light with less power. Tungsten and halogen bulbed lights cost less, but are not as bright and use more batteries. HIDs and LEDs are the cutting edge – a 10 watt HID puts out the same light as a 50 watt halogen yet requires only 20% of the power. LEDs are even more efficient and much more durable.

Disposable/rechargeable – The latest lights use AAs and other common sizes and accept both rechargeable or disposable batteries. This means that even if you use your light only infrequently, you can use rechargeables if you keep sets around for other uses. If you want to keep your light ready to go and open it only once a year, high quality disposable alkalines are fine.

Source:www.padi.com

SharkPoint Dive Log

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:03:00 +0000

SharkPoint is an easy to use, and full-featured scuba diver's logbook for Windows and Pocket Pc for $ 44. Designed for recreational divers the SharkPoint interface won't bother you with endless options and difficult to use features. You can enter as much information or as little as you like and output it easily to every own designed hardcopy.

Are you using this software or do you have an idea about it?

http://www.dreamdives.org/

A Message For New Divers. ( Before you make your 1st bobble)

noreply@blogger.com (Kal) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:47:00 +0000

New scuba divers often have difficulty deciding on which diving school choose given the amount on offer. Price should not be a deciding factor. You need to take into consideration:

What facilities the school has to offer?
What experience does the school and its instructors have?
What level of scuba diving can the school take you to?

Once decided upon, you will need to dedicate a certain amount of your time so as to study the course work that is critical to passing the final exam. Once achieved you are then ready to get your Open Water Ticket.
Passing your Open Water is like passing your driving test. It is once you have the paperwork in your hand that you will finally start to learn how to dive. You will know the basics but it is now time to get your feet wet on a regular basis.

There are numerous locations that are suitable for new scuba divers in most places around the world. There are also several reputable travel agencies that will help you to discover the beauty of the oceans with expert guidance from local professionals. Take a look at the links on the left...
Whether you are newly certified or have hundreds of dives logged, the PADI ADVANCED OPEN WATER program is the next stage which will give you the confidence, necessary skills and experience to take your diving to new levels of excitement. A typical in-water performance based course includes:-
2 core dives - a deep dive and an under-water navigation dive
3 elective dives which might include:- a night dive, a dry suit dive, a boat dive, a multilevel dive, a search and recovery dive, a drift dive, a wreck dive, a UW photography dive, a UW video dive, a peak performance buoyancy dive