A Jacksonville, FL diver claims to have seen a white shark—follow the link for video. Experts say its plausible, but not likely for that area. Watch the video and tell me what you think.

Underwater cameras have been popular for a while, but we’re starting to see more video devices popping up. Here’s a short writeup about the GoPro Camcorder. I want to write an article dedicated to these devices, and I definitely want to try one on an upcoming trip.

The Washington Post claims private islands are no longer just for the rich and famous. At $2000-3000 USD a night, I may have to argue the “rich” part, or at the very least, change it to “well off”.

Sport Chalet, the athletic goods chain, is holding their second annual scuba treasure hunt. You have until July 24 to find sunken “treasure bars” off the California coast and claim some prizes.

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SNUBA (diving while breathing off of hoses connected to a boat) has caught some attention of the years, but never really caught on as a viable option. The PowerSnorkel seems like a much nicer alternative. The air source is attached to a battery-operated buoy that follows the diver / snorkeler around, providing over an hour of bottom time at depths up to 40 feet. 40 feet is plenty deep to see a lot of great stuff.

More great lost and found stories! An Alabama man lost his wedding ring in Lake Martin. It was recovered when he hired a scuba diver to track it down. At first I wondered why he didn’t just buy a new one, but the articles says it has diamonds. Note to men: buy a cheap wedding band.

A West Virginia couple lost an engagement ring of a dock, straight in the river. A local diver was able to recover it in about an hour and a half of careful sweeps. Search and Recovery sweep patterns FTW!

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Like all animals, we have a pretty good “gut” feeling about when we are in danger, particularly around animals. I’m sure evolutionary biologists could write a thesis about why this is, but in short, it boils down to survival instincts and those having better ones living longer (and passing on those valuable genes).

The woman in the video admits that she usually does not feel this way around white sharks, but this one was different. The shark even looks less aggressive than your run-of-the-mill white shark.

What do you think, shark whisperer or nutjob?

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By day I work as a computer graphics researcher. Needless to say, the MIT Media Lab is a pretty important fixture in (and out) of this world. The big news recently has been the hiring of a new director, Joi Ito. The hubbub has been around Ito’s background; he is a giant in the tech world, having association with Creative Commons, Mozilla, Twitter, and many other famous brands, but he has little formal education. The big question then, is how he will gel in this academic environment where everybody has or is pursuing advanced education, at MIT no less.

But that’s not why I’m bringing this up. It’s always exciting to have world’s collide, so imagine my delight when I read in a recent interview that Joi Ito has recently been certified as a PADI scuba instructor! Like myself, he seems to have done it purely for his own enjoyment. Scuba diving, like photography, tends to be an activity with fundamental geek appeal. There’s lots of gear and gadgets, which geeks love, and it requires disposable income, which many geeks have. It’s cool to see a fellow geek take it to the next level, though.

Here’s what Ito has to say when asked “What is it that you love about diving?”,

It requires a lot of focus, so it serves both as a focused thing to do, but also something where I’m not thinking of anything else. It’s like a reset. I also learn so much–physics, physiology, ecology, etc. And, many, many of the divers I meet are really cool people. And I can do it everywhere, sort of.

Good answer that I think encompasses a lot of our thinking.

It is unlikely that I’ll run into Ito at a conference or anything, but if so, I know what we can talk about.

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The first is the AquaStar 2, which doesn’t offer much advantage over traditional scuba in terms of depth, but allows you to move around in a much simpler fashion.

The second is the Triton 36,000, which can withstand enough pressure to take you to the bottom of the ocean. It’s made for two, so perhaps it would make a romantic date? I’m saving up for one.

In other news, arguments are being made for turning retired oil rigs into artificial reefs, rather than dismantling them. There are two main points to the argument: sinking could be cheaper and it helps the oceans. The former might work, but do we really think the latter will appeal to those drilling for oil in the ocean?

I’ve posted links like this before because I love stories about people finding old stuff while scuba diving. A Florida diver recently found somebody’s old J.C. Penny’s credit card a mile offshore. Maybe he was hiding it from his wife?

Have a great week everyone!

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Alright you beer fanatics. Divers found what might be some of the oldest beer in the world. Scientists are hoping to analyze it to understand how beer was made 200 years ago, before yeast was really understood. After analyzing, they want to recreate the recipe. Look for it: Baltic Sea Ale, coming to a bar near you.

You really start to appreciate what a young activity scuba diving is when you read about divers from the 1970’s donating gear to a museum. It’s only 40 years old, yet is considered “historic”. Maybe I oughta hold on to my old wetsuit, it could be a valuable artifact in 40 years!

Some Wisconsin high schoolers got to learn about pressure and buoyancy firsthand, by scuba diving in a pool. I’m sure your high school science classes were this fun. I mean, whose weren’t?

Less exciting, but Divers Alert Network (DAN) just launched a new online store. C’mon, just try and tell me you don’t want a DAN t-shirt.

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Fashion designers find inspiration from the most bizarre places sometimes, but I never thought scuba equipment would make the list. Nevertheless, here they are, fin-inspired stilettos. Practice your giant stride at dinner parties.

Last week we saw some German divers attempting to break the record for longest underwater card game. Well, this group from the UK is ironing in water. Hey, it’s for charity, although I’m still trying to figure out: why???

Some Minnesota ice fisherman caught a surprise: a diver! Someone should ask him what it feels like to be “by-catch”.

I think the year was 1994 when Sammy Hagar crooned the modest hit, “Eagles Fly”. Perhaps it’s time for the remix, “Eagle Rays Fly“. This 300 pound eagle ray jumped onto a boat, where the passengers scrambled to get it off, while avoiding its poisonous tail.

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Gimmicks are gimmicks, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be highly amusing. James Cameron gets interviewed underwater to promote a movie. Now that’s dedication!

16 German divers set the record for longest underwater card game. I’m not sure what to say here, except, umm, ok.

Ok all you thrill-seekers. Interested in sky diving and scuba diving the North Pole? The expedition is yours, for the bargain bin price of $75,000 USD.

Interesting twist on the “X things to do before you die” lists. IBTimes instead has 5 must-see coral reefs before they die.

Have a great week!

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Neptune Memorial Reef will take your cremated remains and mix them with concrete, then place the resulting molded shape into an artificial reef structure. A commemorative plaque is placed later.

You’re not quite fish food, but you get to hang out with your favorite creatures. It sure beats the cemetery!

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Sea Lion Cove

It had been a long day. After two dives near Los Coronados islands, off the coast of California, we were having boat trouble. Meanwhile, the passengers were getting restless and ready to just call it quits, forgetting our third dive.

Finally, after an hour or two, the crew got the engine running again. Reluctantly, about half the boat decided to go for the third dive at a sea lion cove. Pulling around the smallish island, we see the cove, and about a 100 California Sea Lions all around it! As soon as we pulled up, the started splashing in the water by droves, leaving the babies up on the rocks, cheering their mothers on.

To say a sea lion is like an excited puppy is an understatement. These things absolutely love playing with scuba divers. Darting all around, even nipping at us a little, we were overwhelmed by their numbers. We barely submerged for the dive, since there wasn’t much to see at the bottom, and playing with the sea lions at the surface had to be better than anything we’d see below.

This was truly a unique experience. We spent the whole time tucked in, scared of getting nipped by a zealous sea lion, but laughing our heads off. Here’s a short video clip from that day to give you an idea:

Well, that’s my story. I hope you enjoyed it! Now don’t forget, it’s your turn! What’s your cool story?

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