Scuba Diving Blog by Neutral Dive Gear

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2009-10-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

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Former Dive Shop Owner Convicted of Murder, Drowning Wife While Diving

2009-10-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

The dirtball we told you about a few weeks back has finally been convicted of murder.

A jury convicted a U.S. man of murder Tuesday in the drowning of his wife during a scuba-diving excursion a decade ago, dashing what prosecutors called a bid to get away with a nearly perfect crime.

Former dive shop owner David Swain, 53, of Jamestown, Rhode Island, dressed in a tan suit and tie, looked straight ahead as the unanimous verdict was read following a sensational trial that heard accusations he killed Shelley Tyre to pursue a romance with another woman and get his hands on his wife's money.

Tyre's drowning near an isolated shipwreck at a depth of 80 feet was initially ruled an accident, but authorities in the British Virgin Islands charged Swain with murder after a 2006 civil trial in Rhode Island found him responsible for his wife's death. That jury awarded Tyre's family $3.5 million, but Swain filed for bankruptcy and has not paid the sum.

A judge expects to sentence Swain on Nov. 4. He faces life in prison in the sweltering hilltop prison in Tortola, where he has been held for about two years.

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Kirsten & Buck git Hitched On Catalina Island

2009-10-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun video from our friends over at Malibu Divers, one of our favorite shops the world over.

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Be sure to connect with 'bu Divers on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and MySpace.

11-year-old Earns 'Master Diver' Certificate

2009-10-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly. 11 years old.

Like many girls her age, 11-year-old Mee Rae Firkins will be taking part in a pumpkin carving contest this October. But unlike other girls, Mee Rae will be carving her pumpkin underwater, wearing 50 pounds of scuba equipment.

Firkins, a sixth grader at Burton Street Elementary, recently became a “master diver” at the age of 11. In doing so, she became the youngest scuba diver ever to achieve that distinction from National Aquatic Service, a Syracuse company that has taught about 36,000 students since it was founded 50 years ago.

To become a master diver, Mee Rae had to finish 50 dives and take classes in stress and rescue, night and low visibility diving, navigation, boat diving and dry suit diving. Since April, she has completed over 80 dives.

Last year, Sue Firkins wanted to get her entire family involved in a new activity. The entire Firkins family took classes in the fall, and waited until the weather was better to be certified. The family went to Little Cayman in the Caribbean for their certification, where Mee Rae dove with eagle rays, stingrays, barracuda and turtles.

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Our hats off to you, Mee Rae.

New Poisonous Jelly Species Found in Black Sea

2009-10-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

From UPI:

The warming waters of the Black Sea have attracted a poisonous species of jellyfish that is spreading along Turkey's coast, scientists said.

The new species has been drawn to the waters because the temperature of the Black Sea is becoming more like the Mediterranean, which, in turn, is becoming more like a tropical sea, said Snezhana Momcheva, a SESAME project coordinator in Bulgaria. SESAME is a European Union-funded study of ecosystems in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

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Vince Vaughn Overcomes Fear of Sharks

2009-10-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

While shooting his latest comedy flick, Couples Retreat, Vince Vaughn admits that he had to overcome a lifelong fear of sharks.

The actor admits he was a nervous wreck at having to swim in shark infested waters off the Bora Bora coast for a stunt in the movie but managed to get through it without being eaten.

“I grew up around a lake so I was uncomfortable with what might be lurking in the water,” explains Vaughn. “There were sharks and we swam with them.

“It’s like anything in life. Once you get around something, you go, ‘Oh, this is kinda cool.’ But, originally, I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going in the ocean with a shark!’”

If you have yet to see it, Couples Retreat is worth the cost of admission.

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DAN Debuts "One Call", New 24-Hour Diving Emergency Hotline

2009-10-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

A good idea for times in need. Be sure to store this number in your cell phone. (Thanks, Mike!)

Effective immediately, the phone number for the DAN 24-Hour Diving Emergency Hotline has changed. The new number is (919) 684-9111.

The change, dubbed “One Call,” is part of the continuing mission of Divers Alert Network® (DAN®) to increase the safety of divers. With the new hotline number, divers need only to call a single phone number to activate emergency services, regardless of what kind of emergency assistance is needed.

"Over the last few years, as the benefits and resources we provided the dive industry increased, so did the phone numbers to access the assistance," said Nicholas Bird, MD, vice president of DAN Medical Services. "Divers were getting understandably confused. By simplifying the process to a single phone number, we’ve given divers needing assistance one less thing to think about in a stressful situation."

The new number replaces the need to decide whether to call DAN, TravelAssist to facilitate emergency evacuation, or a medical facility. Simply call DAN at the new hotline number, and all emergency assistance will be triaged and facilitated from there.

"We had a goal this year to streamline our emergency assistance resources," said Dan Orr, president and CEO of DAN. "One Call is a huge step toward that goal, and it’s an extremely positive step in moving diver safety forward."

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David Swain Faces Murder Charges in Wife's Scuba Diving Death

2009-10-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

And it only took ten years to bring the man to trial.

A prosecutor opened the trial of a Rhode Island man on Wednesday by accusing him of killing his wife while scuba diving in the British Virgin Islands to pursue a romance with another woman.

The director of public prosecutions in this British territory, Terrence Williams, said that David Swain knew a divorce would ruin him financially and he believed money from his wife's life insurance policy would help him win over his love interest.

"That dive was for this new woman," Williams told the nine-person jury.

The 1999 drowning of Shelley Tyre, 46, was initially ruled an accident. But authorities in the British Virgin Islands later charged Swain with murder after a 2006 Rhode Island civil trial found him responsible. Federal U.S. agents arrested Swain at his Rhode Island dive shop in November 2007 and he was extradited to Tortola.

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Thousands of Jellies Wash Ashore in Hawaii

2009-10-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

The invasion has arrived.

About 2,000 jellyfish washed up onto Oahu South Shore beaches on Tuesday morning, a city Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division spokesman said.

The box jellyfish washed up on shores from Waikiki Beach to Ala Moana Beach Park, the city said.

Lifeguards posted warning signs at Waikiki Beach and Ala Moana Beach Park.

Lifeguards treated 174 people with stings, mostly in the Waikiki area. Only one man who was taken to the hospital after he was stung because he had trouble breathing, officials said. He was in stable condition.

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PADI Signs with the Boy Scouts of America

2009-10-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

You may remember back in March we brought you the proposed partnership between PADI and the Boy Scouts of America. As we said at the time, a partnership of this nature is a terrific way to promote scuba diving to a responsible segment of America's youth.

PADI today officially announced the agreement with the BSA and the new Scuba Diving Merit Badge.

In a recent Boy Scouts of America (BSA) survey, scuba diving was one of the most proposed new merit badge topics for troops nationwide. Standing ready to fulfill this demand for the new Scuba Diving Merit Badge, PADI Americas entered into an agreement of mutual support with the BSA on 6 August 2009. This agreement positions PADI as an official BSA business affiliate and leads local BSA troops to PADI Dive Centers and Resorts. PADI Worldwide President and Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Drew Richardson, and BSA Chief Scout Executive, Robert J. Mazzuca, signed the memorandum of mutual understanding during a meeting at the Boy Scouts national office in Irving, Texas, USA.

“PADI Americas has entered into an agreement with the Boy Scouts of America to work cooperatively with each other to establish and nurture Boy Scout troops and Venturing crews,” says Dr. Richardson. “Through diving, PADI Dive Center and Resort members can help Scouts develop the leadership, character and self-reliance skills that are key to the Scouting’s code of ethics.”

PADI Americas will be listed as an official business sponsor at the Boy Scouts of America’s sponsorship website. As part of the agreement, PADI Dive Centers and Resorts will also receive approved BSA logos and signage to display in their businesses. “There are more than one million Boy Scout and Venturing members in the United States,” says Bill Hamm, PADI Americas director of sales and field services. “With this sponsorship and the introduction of the new Scuba Diving Merit Badge, local troops will naturally seek PADI Dive Centers and Resorts for scuba diving fulfillment. This is an incredible opportunity for all PADI business members.”

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Scotland's Shipwrecks Now Open to Divers

2009-10-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

One more destination for all us wreck divers to add to our to-dive lists.

HISTORIC shipwrecks that have been out of bounds to divers are to be opened up for the first time.

Currently it is illegal for scuba divers to visit eight protected sites – such as the HMS Campania in the Firth of Forth – without a licence from Historic Scotland.

However, under the Scottish Marine Bill, currently going through parliament, the restrictions will be lifted.

Divers have long argued that there should be greater freedom to visit wrecks on a "look but don't touch" basis.

Wrecks where restrictions would be lifted include the remains of a warship called The Swan in the Sound of Mull, which sank in 1653 and the Kennemerland in Out Skerries, Shetland – an armed merchant vessel belonging to the Dutch East India Company that sank in 1664, while loaded with a cargo of treasure and jewels.

The eight sites are currently designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, which instated a blanket ban on visiting them without a licence.

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Palau to Create First Shark Sanctuary

2009-09-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

And what a beautiful island nation in which to do so.

The Republic of Palau is an Island nation in the Pacific some 500 miles east of the Philippines , with a rich and diverse marine ecosystem surrounding it. The economy of Palau subsists primarily on tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and it came as a great surprise to all when they announced in the recent UN Assembly the brave step to create the world’s first “shark sanctuary”, banning all commercial shark fishing in its waters.

The move announced by the Island nation’s President Johnson Toribiong, stated that Palau will protect about 600,000 sq km (230,000 sq miles) of ocean, roughly the area of France, and aim to curb the cruel practice if shark fining, which is the process of catching sharks, cutting off their fins and throwing the rest of the fish, still alive, back into the ocean to die.

The fins are prized throughout Asia for use in sharks fin soup and local medicines. As many as 100 million sharks are killed each year around the world and the once prolific shark, is now slated to be placed on the endangered list in the next few years.

“Palau will declare its territorial waters and extended economic zone to be the first officially recognized sanctuary for sharks,” Palauan President Johnson Toribiong told the Associated Press in an interview Thursday.

A Scuba Diving Tattoo for Ladies?

2009-09-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sort of, but without the life-long commitment.

Old-school: Wreck Divers Don 1940s-style Equipment

2009-09-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

Some wreck divers off Long Island recently donned some old-school gear to try out diving from the earlier days.

Clad in a massive antique bronze helmet and weights, Bill Pfeiffer was the kind of diver the fish had not seen in decades.

But those extra 200 pounds did nothing to stop last Wednesday's heavy ocean swell from flicking him back down to a shipwreck, his air bubbles rising from the sea floor.

"The line that I'm on is strumming like a banjo string," Pfeiffer recalled of his experience climbing back from a dive on the Black Warrior wreck using 1940s-vintage hardhat diving gear. "It snapped again and tossed me off. I told the deck crew, "I'm off the rope, and I'm on my way back to the bottom.' "

Pfeiffer was safe inside a U.S. Navy Mark V helmet made in 1943, a system so reliable that the Navy used essentially the same equipment from 1917 to 1979, said Bob Rusnak of the Historical Diving Society.

"Right after World War II you could by them for $100. They were surplus. Now they'll cost you $8,000," Rusnak said of the iconic bronze diver helmets. "The Mark V is one of the safest dive systems ever made. With the umbilical air supply, he could have stayed down there for two days."

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Calling all underwater photographers...

2009-09-21T20:40:00.001-07:00

An opportunity to get major exposure for your work is here. Dive Photo Guide has the details.

PADI is offering a unique prize to the winner of the PADI Diving Society's 2010 Member Card Photo Contest. The prize isn't cash or an expensive trip, but a chance to have your image be recognized by thousands of divers. How so? The winning image will be featured on the PADI limited edition Society membership card. Talk about exposure...

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American Diver Breaks World Record in Belize

2009-09-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Robert Silva is his name, and he spent 36.5 hours under saltwater.

A world record was broken in Belize today. It was the record for the longest salt water dive. The old record was 36 hours and Robert Silva, an American citizen from Chicago, who had to spend at least 36.5 hours continuously under water to beat it. The rules were simple, he must spend more than the 36.5 hours under saltwater continuously. In addition – he must have spent at least 20 minutes at a depth of 20 feet. Sounds simple enough and on Monday morning at 10:30, Silva headed out to the Hol chan Marine Reserve on a boat from Ramon’s Village. 48 hours later at 10:30 this morning he remerged and 7News was there. Keith Swift has the story.

Read the post-dive interview.

Cave Divers Risk Their Lives to Explore the Underworld

2009-09-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool article from the folks over at Wired.

For the past 14 years, photographer and filmmaker Jill Heinerth has been exploring underwater caves around the world, from lava tubes off the coast of North Africa to icebergs in the Antarctic. Wired.com recently caught up with Heinerth to talk about some of her most exciting cave diving moments, as well as the recent technological advances that have made cave diving easier, safer and more accessible to recreational divers. This gallery showcases some of Heinerth’s best underwater images and includes captions adapted from our conversation with her.

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Making Le Reve

2009-09-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Whoa! Check this out.

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Combat Divers Hold Underwater Graduation

2009-09-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

What better place?

The base pool at CFB Gagetown was the scene of an unusual parade recently when 12 members of Combat Dive Course 0022 graduated underwater.

With the sound of regulators being checked, Canadian flags hanging in the water at the deep end and soldiers sliding into the pool, history was made.

“This is the first underwater grad parade in Canada. The last time that we can remember a grad parade being held underwater was when 4 Combat Engineer Regiment was at CFB Lahr, Germany in the early 90s,” said LCol Paul Mann, Commandant of the CF School of Military Engineering.

“The parade came to be primarily out of fun,” explained WO Marc Beauregard, Sergeant-Major of Army Dive Unit. “The Colonel Commandant of the school is posted out this summer. He is the OPI of Army Diving and I wanted him to become the reviewing officer for the course. The email went forth to him and he came back with the suggestion that he would love to do it if we could do it in the water, in CABA (compressed air breathing apparatus) and he wanted a swim past instead of a march past.”

As in any other specialty in the CF, it takes a special kind of soldier to make a combat diver. The prerequisite for the Combat Diver Course is you must be an engineer first and you must be chosen to attend a two-week preliminary training course. The successful candidates are then off to the Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic in Halifax for six weeks where they learn to dive.

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Halle Berry to Star in New Scuba Diving Flick

2009-09-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

The film is Dark Tide, described as a thriller centered on a dive instructor who returns to deep waters after a near-fatal encounter with a Great White shark.

Halle Berry has signed up to 'Dark Tide'.

The Hollywood star - who is remembered for her bikini scene in the James Bond film 'Die Another Day' -is likely to strip down to swimwear again for her role as a diving instructor in the upcoming thriller due to be directed by 'The Wire' star Clark Johnson.

In the movie, the 43-year-old actress's character has to face her fears and return to the sea after a near-fatal run in with a great white shark.

Filming of the movie - which was written by Amy Sorlie - is due to start in South Africa in the next three-months and will be released sometime next year.

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Communist Leader's Aircraft to Lure Divers into the Black Sea

2009-09-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hey, artificial reefs know no politics.

The Russian-made Tu-154 aircraft used by Bulgaria’s late communist leader Todor Zhivkov will be submerged into the waters of the Black Sea near the city of Varna to attract divers, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) said. The aircraft will be submerged at a depth of about 22 metres.

Following the suit of the German city of Rostock, Varna aims to attract more tourists by using relics such as Zhivkov's aircraft, BNR said. An almanac is being currently drawn up to include underwater landmarks of the Black Sea.

The plane, 48 metre in length, 11 metres in height, and with 38-meter wingspread, will be included in the almanac, as well. Its last flight was Sofia-Varna on September 16 1999. It used to be owned by Hemus Air and is currently stationed at Varna airport, BNR said.

Todor Zhivkov (1911-1998) was the communist leader of the former People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4 1954 unti November 10 1989.

Injured Veterans Get a Lift by Diving

2009-09-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

We'll never grow tired of posting stories like this.

Physical therapy can be mentally exhausting and physically challenging. However, some injured veterans are managing to have their therapy and some fun, too. They're learning to dive as part of Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba, or SUDS, a program run by Red Cross volunteers at Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"Water is the great equalizer," says SUDS's president, John Thompson. "When you get them in the water, they don't have to deal with gravity. The pressure on prosthetics and the pain goes away."

But scuba diving still isn't easy. "I was a little nervous," says Shane Heath, a 29-year-old double amputee who's retired from the Army and living in Silver Spring. "It's not entirely natural to breathe underwater." And that's not to mention the equipment adaptations that veterans have to experiment with: Heath's SUDS instructors, for example, modified a motorized device that serves as a handheld propeller.

No matter the challenge, learning to dive offers some physical benefits. It has proved useful for Colin Luck, a Marine from Leesburg who's awaiting a medical discharge. Before joining SUDS, 20-year-old Luck, who suffers from the effects of multiple fractures, says "it was difficult to run down the basketball court and do sports . . . difficult to go to the gym and do a normal weightlifting workout." Afterward, he regained some mobility and is now working on getting certified to scuba through underwater wrecks.

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Diving Casino Point

2009-09-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

We love this footage from Catalina's Casino Point dive park, put together by our friend David Bower.

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Beautiful!

So here's a question, or two: what's your favorite memory from the dive park? Or, if you have yet to dive it, what's holding you back!?

Thank Your Military

2009-08-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Neutral Dive Gear was a proud sponsor of this Thank Your Military event last weekend. Be sure to watch and pass along to any who appreciate what our military has done.

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p.s. If you look closely, you can see Neutral Dive Gear Founder & CEO Mark Glesne in uniform. He's the one not wearing a hat, and featured in the photo with Iraqi children at 2:55.

SSI Unveils New Snorkeling Program

2009-08-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

From the Examiner:

Fort Collins, CO. August 2009. Scuba Schools International (SSI), a leading scuba diving and water sports education company announces the release of its newly developed Snorkeling Education System

Snorkeling is a great way for people to begin experiencing the amazing underwater world. It is an activity that anyone, young or old, can enjoy. To provide customers with the ultimate snorkeling experience, SSI has created a learning tool that approaches learning to snorkel by applying the 4 critical ingredients to safe and fun snorkeling adventures — proper knowledge, skills, equipment and experience. Snorkelers who learn and apply these ingredients will have what it takes to make the most of any snorkeling experience.

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