Barefoot Scuba Divers

Nice photo of unknown Nudibranch, do you know what its name is. photo by DM Sandi

Gabe Watson pleads guilty to diving wife's death

A man charged over the death of his new wife on a Barrier Reef diving holiday won't face a murder charge after the Brisbane Supreme Court accepted his plea of manslaughter.
The Courier-Mail reports that US national David Gabe Watson, 32, appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court this morning charged of murdering his bride, Tina, 26, while diving on the Great Barrier Reef near Townsville in October 23, 2003.
Three weeks ago Mr. Watson voluntarily traveled from the US and arrived at Brisbane's International Airport and immediately surrendered himself into police custody.
He appeared in court on the same day and was ordered to be held in custody.
Mr. Watson's wife of 11 days died on their first dive of a 10-day scuba-diving expedition on the Great Barrier Reef, off Townsville, in October 2003.
Tina's death and the six-year fight for justice by her parents attracted worldwide media coverage for what was allegedly a brutal crime of passion, or a crime motivated by a modest life-insurance payout.
Mr. Watson, a bubble-wrap salesman, has since remarried a woman who bears a striking similarity to his late wife Tina.
In mid-2008, coroner David Glasgow found that it was likely Mr. Watson killed his 26-year-old wife by holding her under water and turning off her air supply.
Prosecutors late last year filed an indictment in the Townsville Supreme Court against Mr. Watson over the death of his wife.
When Mr. Watson returned to Brisbane, his US solicitor said he had returned so he could enter a formal not guilty plea.
Today he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will not face trial for murder.
He will be sentenced immediately.

Sentencing

David Gabriel Watson was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison on Friday June 5, 2009, for causing the death of his wife while they were on their honeymoon in Australia six years ago. In a plea bargain, he will only serve one year for manslaughter, enraging Tommy Thomas, father of the deceased Tina Watson.

Thomas said, “I’m sure that the entire Australian nation as well as our country back home shares in the shock at what we’ve just seen, because it’s a total injustice…it’s ludicrous. It’s an embarrassment to everyone involved. We believe that Gabe Watson murdered our daughter.”

Bassam

Excellent week of diving despite big surf. Tuesday and we are starting a 5-day dive feast on the west side of the Island. We were welcoming Bassam back to the Island from Africa, andalso joining for the day was Brian from Canada. That's C-a N-a D-a, cold up there. Excellent day of diving especially since we were the only people on the boat. Airplane canyon followed by turtles.

Wed and we are off diving on the south side of the Island with big surf coming in but the visibility was still good. YO-257 and Turtle canyons were the sites for the day. Bassam had a blast and joining in was DM Charlie who thought why not, especially since he had the day off from turd herding.

Thursday and we are on our way to the North shore for a quick dive at Shark's Cove. This was Bassam's 1st time completing a dive there and also his 1st time doing a shore dive. We cruised thru all the swim throughs, exiting after an hour and 10mins. Excellent vis with turtles, octopus, and a spanish dancer.

Friday and Bassam and Instructor Randy made the trip for the second time to the west side. Airplane canyons and black rock were on the slate. It's been a long time since we had seen sharks at blackrock but this was Bassam's day, 3 whitetip reef sharks were cruising under the ledge after spending almost 25 mins watching them we started our assent, but low and behold, Bassam's dive computer went into deco and we had a long deco/safety stop.

Saturday and the last day of diving for Bassam, joining in on the fun was DM Charlie, DM Amber, DM Blade, DM Sandi and Instructor Randy. We wanted to make sure he was covered from all angles, the dive was out of Hawaii Kai. For most of you that know the area we were expecting the worse especially since there was a big swell hitting the Island, but in the end the wind died down and it wasn't bad at all. Corsair and drift dive on Fantasy reef ended Bassam's vacation with a smile.

Wedding Bells

Congratulations go out to Eric and Annie, who tied the knot on Saturday as well. So we ended the dive went home showered changed into these things over our toes and thingies covering our legs. What an experience! No, not the wedding, but having to were shoes again. It was held at the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island and was a very beautiful and moving ceremony. So, yes of course, Blade and Randy were sure to get into trouble. The ceremony is over and they wanted a group shot so why not have us stand by and on the stage that is supporting a real Zero -- just asking for trouble. So they got their picture and we started getting our photos; there was a little touching involved of the plane, but we were very respectful. Let's see the tiger pose, a little closer, a little closer, oops in trouble! Fun was had by all. . . .

Sun., June 21st

Picture of the week.

Buoyancy Checks...

Once in the water, perform a buoyancy check at the end of a dive when the tank is around 1000-500 PSI. This is as instructed in your open water class, or as follows:

Starting in water that is too deep to stand up in, float on the surface with an inflated BCD. Do not kick or use your hands throughout this procedure. With your regulator in your mouth, take a lung full of air and release all the air from your BC. You should notice your body start to sink but remain at eye level with the water line. If you sink below the water line you are too heavy; remove 2 lbs and repeat.

Next blow out the air you held in your lungs. This should cause you to drop below the surface and initiate a normal descent. If you still float, be sure you have got all the air out of your BC and lungs; otherwise you may not have enough weight. Add 2 lbs and repeat.

Caution: You can do this at the beginning of the dive and may get perfectly weighted but an aluminum tank becomes positively buoyant as it empties. Meaning you become floaty. Be sure to add 5 lbs for this fact if you do the weight check at the beginning of the dive instead of the end.

This is a starting guideline for salt water and an inexperienced diver should round up. Most divers start heavier just in case as air can be added to the BCD but you wont be able to add weight if you are already in the water.

For a 3mm Shorty wetsuit: body weight (165 lbs) x 7% = 11.55 or 12lbs
For a 3mm Full wetsuit: body weight (165 lbs) x 8% = 13.2 or 14lbs
For a 5mm Full wetsuit: body weight (165 lbs) x 10% = 16.5 or 18lbs
For a 7mm Full wetsuit: body weight (165 lbs) x 12% = 19.8 or 20lbs
If you are wearing a 7mm farmer john remember there is actually 14mm on your chest
Body weight (165 lbs) x 14% = 24.75 or 26lbs

Mokule'ia Beach Park.

This long, white sand beach is located west of Wailua, past Dillingham Airfield, on the northwestern tip of the island. It is very popular with local Hawaiians and provides an excellent place to windsurf and fish. Most divers will realize that the entrance and exit is more difficult than the entry and exit through the channel on the left. On a recent Sunday outing with Helena, Divemaster Bobby, Divemaster Amber, Instructor Randy and Roy (well, actually Roy was unable to dive because of the issue discussed in this week's dive tip) we experienced this very shallow dive site with a max depth around 18ft at about 300yds off shore. This dive has some swim throughs and a feeling of adventure.

Referral course...

Thursday and we are diving at Shark's Cove with Charlie, Dean, Amy and referral student Morgan. Excellent visibility and no swell made great dives to start her course. I almost forgot Dive Master Blade the tresure hunter came along for the fun.

Saturday and we were out on the South side for a couple of shallow dives. After completing all the required skills we are glad to anounce the newest diver from Barefoot Scuba Divers -- Congratulations Morgan!

South Swell..

Excellent dives on Aloha Friday on the South side, the YO-257 greeted us with some of the best visibility but the surge was unreal. Back and forth, back and forth 1,2,3 divers leaning over the rail 4, 5, 6 divers bringing in the fishies with breakfast. We were welcoming Adrian to the Island for the day, excellent!!!

Happy Fathers Day

A husband and wife had four boys. The odd part of it was that the older three had red hair, light skin, and were tall, while the youngest son had black hair, dark eyes, and was short.
The father eventually took ill and was lying on his deathbed when he turned to his wife and said, "Honey, before I die, be totally honest with me - is our youngest son my child?"

The wife replied, "I swear on everything that's holy that he is your son."

With that the husband passed away. The wife then muttered, "Thank God he didn't ask about the other three."

Happy 1st day of Summer 2009

Sun., June 14th

Picture of the week.

Fatal diving accidents...

A Navy SEAL died during night dive training in Bremerton, Wash., a Navy spokesman confirmed.

Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Eric F. Shellenberger, 36, died Thursday. He was assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 based out of Pearl City, Hawaii.

Shellenberger “encountered difficulty in the water and did an emergency ascent,” said Lt. Cmdr. John Daniels. After coming to the surface, Shellenberger was unresponsive, Daniels said. He was treated for an hour in a recompression chamber, but did not survive.

This goes to show you that no matter how much training you have there can always be an accident.

Big surf all over the Island..

Surfers around Oahu scanned the horizon Monday and saw the first big south swell of the season roll in with wave heights forecasted at 5 to 8 feet.

"I'm itching to get out there," said Ken Lykes, a surf instructor at Hans Hedemann Surf School in Waikiki. "It will be nice."

The waves are forecast at advisory levels, which mean high waves could produce rip currents and localized beach erosion, according to the National Weather Service.

The swell was decent all this past week along Oahu’s south shores and west shores, making for very bad diving conditions. Most of the shallow site were all washed out - - brown colored water, yuck…

Intro's

After a very slow beginning of the week we are ending Saturday with a group from Oklahoma. Amber's twice removed brother's sister from a third cousins son's friend of a nephew's grandmother..., NOT!!!
Really it's Amber's sister in-law, Bri, that's in town visiting her brother who's in the military. We thought why not get them out diving, but did you read the article before this? Poopy water... We welcomed Bri, Quinn, Amanda and mom Pam to the Islands for frolicking fun in the water. Oh, and yes divemaster Amber joined in with her family.

Sun., June 7th

Picture's of the week.

Nice collage of photos by Divemaster Charlie, look closely that is an octopus.

Dive Incidents...

"I completely ran out of air 70 feet under, my dive buddy was over 50 feet away. I almost died. It was a horrible experience, one that wakes me up at night reliving and reliving it again and again."

"Diving in Tel Aviv, the guided dive leader ran out of air, due to an 'o' ring failure. he showed me the out of air sign and I handed my Spare Air to him. we all surfaced and ended the dive."

"Diving in low visibility, strong current conditions, I lost my buddy immediately after the descent. At the same time, probably when struggling with current, I lost both integrated weights packs (the most probably I inserted them in the wrong way when preparing the dive). My buddy found the weights, stopped the dive and return to the boat to warn of possible emergency accent. I continued the dive (as we usually do in case of buddy loss) and paid no attention on missing weights (the depth was 30m). I paid attention that the weights are missing only when starting accent to the surface from the depth of 30m. To prevent the uncontrolled accent I turned against the current working with fins and keeping the horizontal body position. This allowed me control the accent and perform safety stop."

"During our first dive in a week-long vacation on Maui, we descended to about 70 feet in pristine conditions. About 10 minutes into the dive, my first stage blew out, resulting in a forceful loss/leak of air from where the first stage attaches to the tank. The impact of the blowout forced the second stage from my mouth, the resulting forceful loss of air from the tank felt like a jackhammer was going off in my ear, and my second stage was free-flowing like crazy. My buddy told me later that when he looked over he could not see me - as my body was covered in the escaping bubbles from the tank. We rushed over to each other, and buddy breathed to the surface, dazed, but unharmed."

Slow times no diving...

HONOLULU—In its latest quarterly economic report, the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) says it expects the national recession to continue to affect Hawai‘i’s economy throughout 2009.

Based largely on downward revisions in national economic forecasts, the Department now expects a 1.6 percent decline in the state’s 2009 real gross state domestic product as well as a 2.1 percent decline in the average job count for the year.

While the forecast for visitor arrivals was unchanged from the previous forecast, visitor expenditures will likely be negatively impacted. In the current forecast, DBEDT expects visitor expenditures will decrease 7.9 percent in 2009.

“National and international economic conditions continue to negatively affect Hawai‘i’s economy and this will likely be the case for most of 2009,” said DBEDT Director Theodore E. Liu. “We are hopeful the situation will improve late this year, but recovery is likely to be a gradual process. We expect that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will also have a positive impact beginning in the latter half of the year and will allow the State to make investments in some transformational changes, especially in the area of energy.

Sun., May 31st

Picture of the week.

Common Courtesy

There is a lack of common courtesy these days. People just don't look out for their fellow man/woman. I'm not just talking about charity here, but something most of us encounter everyday and as divers encounter often. I am talking about the lack of mutual respect people have for others when they are walking or using public areas.
I know most of you probably think I'm a little off-the-wall for writing about lack of common courtesy. I feel like venting this week and if we work on the small problems first, it makes it a whole lot easier to fix the big ones.

How many times have you dear readers been walking down a sidewalk and a group of people are approaching you? You get over to the edge to let them pass, but for some reason they don't see the need to give you way too. Subsequently you are forced off the sidewalk, or violently bumped. With scuba diving in mind how many times have you been at Sharks Cove and had to step over people or there belongings because they thought what better place to lay out but the rocky shore line our entry point? Or, how many times on a boat dive have you stepped on someone else’s equipment while entering or exiting and apologized for it?

Move yourself or your crap people!!!
If this has happened to you, you know what I am talking about. I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has went in a door in front of me, usually almost knocking me out of the way to get to it, and then let it slam in my face. I also wish the same for each time I had to step over some one while trying to enter the water, just to have someone in the way while I am carrying a extra amount of weight on a pitching boat.

I have a theory that these are the same people who tail-gate, cut people off, and refuse to turn down their high beams when passing another car. These little incidents may seem as though they are nothing but they can cause road rage, and also set off a vicious chain of one person pissing another off so that they end up doing the same thing to someone else and so on.

People need to take time out in their day to realize that there are other people in the world besides themselves. Thank you for letting me vent.

Openwater class

Sunday and we are starting an openwater class for Christian who is on a stop over in Hawaii from a 3 month voyage aboard the KILO MOANA before his return home to California. Yes, that's right he works on a research vessle and until now has not been able to get in the water diving. Class room and confined complete.

Monday, also Memorial day, and we are out diving at E-Beach for the 1st and 2nd openwater dives with Christian and Tara. Joining us for the day were Amber, Sandi, Bobby, Helena, Paula, Jessie and a slew of other divers.

Tuesday and back to work for many, but Christian and I are out on the South side getting in his last couple of dives from a boat. Turtle canyon and Shallow pipe are the dive sites for the day and they didn't disapoint. Congratulations to Christian for his excellent job in the class; now if we can just convince him to bring us with on his next voyage to the northwest Hawaiian Islands or a reserch cruise.

Happy B-day

Yes, that's right Divemaster Amber had a big birthday bash on Wed evening and these are the pictures to prove it. Now, if she could just blow out those darn candles, what a trickster Bobby is. Many thanks go out to all who could attend. I have been told she is still accepting gifts even though the party is over and she is on her way up the hill only 359 days till she reaches the summit.

2nd Openwater class

Aloha friday and we are starting the second class for the week. After starting a little late and mentioning the 6pack rule we welcomed Tyler to his first day of breathing underwater. Amazing but scary!!!

Sat and we are ending the week at Shark's Cove with Tyler getting in his 1st and 2nd openwater dives. Divemaster Eric claims to have the day away from the significant other so he is joining in and keeping up with DM skills. Also joining for the day was Divemaster Amber who missed out on the amazing second dive with a spanish dancer, octopus, turtles and orange cup coral. The surf was up a little, but wasn't a problem for Tyler.

Sun., May 24th

Picture of the week.

Nice photo of a Triton Scorpion at Sharks cove on the noth shore of Oahu, Photo by Randy

Down Drafts:

Note: The incidents described here are real. Names of locations and people have been changed or deleted.

Case 1
The diving had been great--five days of easy drift diving on a Caribbean island known for its walls. Although Anne dived only on vacation once a year, she had her own gear and had been doing these dive trips for many years. She had never taken any advanced training or a scuba refresher, but she was comfortable diving. It was so easy to just drift and let the dive guides and boat crew’s deal with all the logistics, planning and details of the diving.
Anne preferred the smaller boats with fewer divers, signing up for her dives directly with local dive operators after she arrived on island. For her last day of diving, she wanted to do something special, so she shopped around for an operator going to a dive site she hadn't been to. A small local operation was offering a trip to a remote reef known for its unique marine life and strong current.
The trip out to the site was easy, although this boat was not as fast or as large as the others she had been on. It also did not carry oxygen or have a radio. The crew and dive guide spoke only limited English, but were friendly and helpful. Anne entered the water with the small group of divers and the guide after a limited briefing.
She was never seen again.
As it turned out, the edge of this reef had a significant down welling. As the large mass of water, driven by the strong current, reached the edge of the reef, it plunged downward into the abyss.
The dive boat returned to shore without Anne. Not knowing where she was staying, the operator decided to wait until someone asked about her, and therefore made no report that she was missing. Because Anne was single and lived alone, it wasn't until the next week, when she did not return to work, that her family started an investigation, which led from the airline to the hotel to the dive operator.
The family's desire to bring a legal action against the dive operator turned out to be hopeless. The legal system of the country in which the accident happened allowed for little litigation, the few legal actions that were permitted had extremely low monetary limits, and the ability of American attorneys to function in the foreign court was extremely limited.

Case 2
One evening after dinner, a dive instructor's phone rang.
"Hello, this is Fred," the instructor answered.
"Fred, this is Neal. You saved my life, man!"
"Oh, really? How so?"

Neal had taken a weeklong dive trip on a live-aboard in the Pacific. On many of the dives, a small tender from the live-aboard took divers to a site, dropped them off, then picked then up as they surfaced. On one trip, the divers were dropped off near an island with the admonition to stay close to shore. The offshore currents were not only strong, but vortexes were not uncommon in this area, causing the water to swirl in a downward flow, as in a whirlpool.
Due to delays among the other divers, and the crew not being sure of their position, Neal was the last to enter the water. By the time he descended, he was not only no longer with the group, he was also not with his assigned buddy. He almost immediately realized that he was in a very strong current with no bottom in sight. Putting it all together--no group, no buddy, no bottom, strong current--Neal decided to abort the dive and started swimming for the surface. Within moments, he realized that not only was he not moving toward the surface, he was being pulled downward at an accelerating rate.
Fear was rapidly turning to panic as he passed 100 feet, still kicking. Then the voice of his instructor, Fred, started playing inside his head--"If all hope is lost, get positively buoyant." Neal ditched his weights, pushed his power inflator button and continued to kick for the surface. After a few more agonizing moments, he paused at 135 feet, then started up, at first slowly, then faster and faster until he had to dump air from his BC to slow his ascent as he approached the surface.
The crew later apologized for their mistake of dropping divers at the wrong place. Neal suffered no physical injury from his near-miss, but he became much more careful about putting his safety in the hands of others.

Lessons For Life
•Be aware of what dive guides and boat crews are doing. Do not give the responsibility for your safety to others.
•Be sure that any boat you dive from has a radio and carries oxygen.
•Let someone else know your plans and be sure the dive operator takes emergency contact information.
•If you're unable to deal with a problem under water, get positively buoyant and go to the surface. If possible, slow down or stop on the way up, but remember that it's far better to risk decompression illness and be on the surface breathing, than to be on the bottom not breathing.

North shore swell

After a couple of beautiful dives last week on the North shore a swell came in and changed the whole situation. Dives were planned for Sunday and when we arrived it looked like a water bed with someone jumping on it. Sharks cove was the site for the day but we decided to skip the right side with all the swim thrues and try our luck in the deeper water straight out. The water was green but the deeper we went the visibility became clearer, with a bit of surge pushing us around we still managed a desent dive. Thank you Helena, Arnie, Trina and Gwen a little bruised but still kicking. Sympathy goes out to Amber as she had to stay on the beach sick.

Happy Memeorial day

A special thank you to all the servicemen and women on Memorial Day who have served, protected and sacrificed for our country and our freedom.

Sun., May 17th

Picture of the week.

Nice photo of Bristle worms converging on Hawaiian sergeant eggs, Photo by Instructor Bob

Scuba Diving Certification Agencies

You've probably heard of PADI, SSI, NAUI and many other scuba certification agencies, but what is the difference between them?
What Does a Certification Agency Do?
In addition to providing all levels of diver training, agencies also regulate and represent diving professionals such as divemasters and dive instructors, regulate dive operators, participate in research in dive medicine, promote marine conservation, and market diving as a sport.
What is the Difference between the Agencies?
The main difference between agencies is where they operate. Some agencies such as BSAC and CMAS are closely related to their countries of origin, while other agencies such as PADI are truly global organizations. All of the most popular agencies offer very similar courses from beginner through to professional level and will all recognize each other's qualifications at recreational level. They may not recognize each other's qualifications at professional level.
How to Choose an Agency?
When choosing an open water course it's important to remember that all courses are quite similar and an open water certification card from any main agency will be recognized by dive operators anywhere in the world. Your choice of agency should be dictated by which agency is active where you want to learn and which agency your preferred instructor is certified by.
Which are the Biggest Agencies?
PADI has dive centers and instructors almost everywhere people dive and is the biggest agency. Some other agencies such as SSI and NAUI are also wide spread but tend to be concentrated in particular geographical areas. Below is a brief overview of the main agencies. Of course there are many other local agencies that also provide quality training and globally recognized qualifications. You can verify any agencies credentials with the World Recreational Scuba Training Council.

•PADI
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors is by far the biggest and most recognized dive certification agency in the world. It's usually possible to find a PADI instructor in any diving destination and more beginning divers are certified by PADI than by all of the other agencies combined. PADI is very active in marine conservation through their Project AWARE operation, as well as being the biggest promoter of diving through advertising and sponsorship, and is also involved in technical diving training. PADI also operates Emergency First Response, an organization providing CPR and First Aid training.
•SSI
Scuba Schools International's 2000 authorized dealers and 225 Regional Centers can be found in 90 countries around the world. SSI's diver education system is very similar to PADI's system. Headquartered in Colorado, USA, SSI training facilities are in particular abundance in North America and South East Asia.
•NAUI
Founded in 1959 in the USA, the National Association of Underwater Instructors is one of the biggest global certification agencies. NAUI's diver education system is quite similar to SSI and PADI. NAUI has also had a technical diving division since 1997. NAUI dive centers can be found primarily in North America.
•YMCA
Latest news stated that they will no longer be completing training; the YMCA Scuba program was over 50 years old and had a very similar structure to fellow American agencies, PADI, SSI, and NAUI. YMCA centers were found almost exclusively in the USA.
•BSAC
The British Sub Aqua Club was formed in the United Kingdom and is still one of the most popular agencies there. It is also possible to find BSAC training facilities in other countries, particularly those that are frequented by British divers. Known for having very high standards of training, BSAC was always known for requiring extreme levels of training to achieve certification. In recent years BSAC has implemented courses that have bought it into line with other agencies training requirements.
•CMAS
Confederation Mondiale des Activities Subaquatiques is the world's oldest scuba certification agency. Originally founded in Brussels, Belgium, CMAS is now headquartered in Rome, Italy. CMAS has quite a different rating system than other agencies that is based on star levels. CMAS can be found in many countries around the world but is primarily active in Europe.

End of the week

With a slow beginning the week ended on a nice note as we welcomed Ben to the Island for a couple days of shore diving. Friday and we are diving at Shark's Cove, with some of the best conditions I have seen this year. A couple of Spanish dancers and 100+ ft visibility made for a great 1st dive on the Island. Hopping on over to Three Tables for the second dive to check out the Turtle cleaning station capped off a great day of diving.

Those of you that missed out on the North shore diving sorry, but a swell came in on Sat. afternoon and messed it up for everyone.

Sat. and we thought how about a shore dive from Makaha Beach park? For those of you who have never done this before be warned, the surface swim out usually takes 45min to a hour, but it is well worth it. Joining Ben and I for the day were Jim Mattern, Andrew Germann, Mike and Kat, Instructor Arnie, divemaster Charlie, Gwen from Guam and Trina. We dropped in at the entrance to the main Cave, and conditions were exceptional with turtles everywhere and a shark to boot. Taking in our surface interval we decided to travel back down to Electric beach for the Second dive of the day. A couple of turtles and a very friendly octopus was there to greet us.

Sun., May 10th

Picture of the week.

Happy Mothers Day!!!

The Weather

Know local weather conditions before you go on a dive vacation; getting to the destination to be rained out by floods or having a hurricane in the forecast will make diving a little more difficult.
Once you are at the destination, make sure the water and weather conditions are safe. Check the tide and surf forecast before heading over to the other side of the Island just to have to make a change or cancellation. Remember water conducts electricity so stop swimming, scuba diving, boating or any other water activities as soon as you see or hear a storm approaching. Getting struck by lightning isn’t pleasant and heavy rains can make certain areas dangerous.
Also, protect your skin from the sun by wearing a waterproof sunscreen with a sun protection factor containing a high rating of at least SPF 15. The sun is much stronger in most tropical locations where scuba diving and adventure travel is popular, and water intensifies the sun's rays with reflection, so the more the better in terms of sun screen and sun protection. And don’t assume that on a cloudy day you won’t get sunburn.

Words of wisdom from a certain Instructor that will remain nameless, who over the last week had to move a dive because of unexpected surf conditions. Not to mention the week before going to the beach with out a shirt covering the white skin that is usually covered by his wetsuit, can anyone say lobster.

Electric, You can do it, its electric!!!! Boogywoogy!!!

Sunday and we are diving the west side from shore, sudden change surf forced us to a alternate dive location. Joining in on the fun Instructor Randy leading Christy, Ron, Emily and Katie followed by Divemasters Amber and Blade. After being out of the water since certification we kept it slow going; smiles were all around after a dive with a couple of Turtles and sharks at the ledge. Congratulations go out for the whole family who were apprehensive, but came out excited and rejuvenated.

West side dive

Monday we are out on the west side in Waianae with Divemaster Eric and his dad Mike. Supposedly this is Eric's last excusable dive vacation before the next little Mueller arrives. Yes, that's right, Eric will be a father of two soon. Congratulations and Happy mothers day Melissa. As for the dives visibility was excellent at both Twin holes and LCU, add in a couple of Octopus and Harlequin shrimp and you have the makings of a great day.

3 Day charter

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we are welcoming to the Island, Steve and Shannon from California. I promised them three exciting days and I believe I kept good on that. Tuesday we are out on the South side heading over to the wreck of the Seatiger. This gave Shannon her 1st wreck dive and triple digit dive. With light Kona winds blowing we were pleasantly surprised at the calmness of the water. 2nd dive at Kewalo pipe gave us excellent vis with leaf scorpions and a dragon moray to boot.

Wednesday and we had Divemaster Charlie and Sandi with us to make a group of five. The YO-257 was our destination for the deep dive, visibility was excellent with turtles every where. 2nd dive and we are heading over to Turtle Canyons; after dropping in Sandi almost lands on a Octopus, as she is showing Charlie he notices another one the opposite side of the hole.

Food Poisoning

Thursday was suppose to be a fun filled day of diving for Steve and Shannon but after waking up with stomachs a grumbling it wasnt so fun. They thought it must just be the early morning wake up time as we are trying to get to the West side for dives off Waianae but along the way the rumbling turned into a relief of excess fluids from the mouth. One stop, two stops and three stops latter we arrived at the harbor. After much consideration a decision had to be made and that decision didn't involve getting wet. Our appoligies and sympathy go out to this great couple who on there last day of diving on the Island ended up in bed not feeling so well. Last nights Kobe beef wasnt aged as well as they thought.

Aloha Friday

As the end of the week comes to a close we are welcoming Divemaster Eric and his dad Mike back out for another romp on the West side. Nice week of diving and weather was excellent with octopus on the menu saying their good byes.

Sun., May 3rd

Picture of the week.

Tips for Healthy Traveling

Use extreme caution with what you eat abroad. Do not eat rare meats – especially ground meats, steak tartar, raw fish (such as sushi - that depends), unpasteurized milk or milk products, egg products such as mayonnaise and custards, salads, shellfish and unpeeled fruits. Basically, stay away from all the good stuff.

In many places tap water is not safe for drinking and is best avoided. This presents a challenge as soft drinks, caffeinated drinks and alcohol are diuretic and drinking water is essential for preventing dehydration, aiding elimination of toxins and general health. Bottled water is available most places and purchasing it is the best way to prevent exposure to water that could cause “tourist diarrhea”. You don't want it – or worse yet hepatitis, typhoid, intestinal parasites, or dysentery. Use bottled water for brushing teeth and for swallowing pills. Remember, ice in a drink is usually frozen tap water.
In many tropical countries a piece of fruit, or even an ice cube in an alcoholic beverage can be enough to result in getting hepatitis. Countries that pose a high risk include Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern or Southern Europe where there are risks of Travelers' Diarrhea, Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever.

Avoid food sold by street vendors. Not!!! Some of the best food I’ve eaten while traveling has been sold by street vendors, you just have to be cautious. Always wash your hands with soap and water before you eat and every time you use a washroom. Practice washroom hygienic practices.
Scary pandemic or just hype?
Swine flu viruses typically cause illness in pigs, not humans. Most cases occur when people come into contact with infected pigs or contaminated objects moving between people and pigs.
Symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to those of seasonal influenza -- sudden fever, coughing, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. This new strain also appears to cause more diarrhea and vomiting than normal flu.

This sounds vaguely familiar; I believe I have seen this in more than one movie, Zombies’ I tell you, Thanks Blade.
People cannot catch swine flu from eating pork or pork products. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) kills the swine flu virus along with other bacteria and viruses.
I have been told the world is coming to an end and this will be the disease to end it all, Not!!! Everyone must know by now that Divemaster Blade doesn’t like zombies.

Mid week dive

This past week came and went with the only dive happening on Tuesday. Divemaster Charlie and Sandi along with Instructor Randy had a free day for some exploring on the North shore at Shark's Cove. The weather was supposed to be nice and sunny with flat conditions, when we arrived the winds were whipping up a froth and we thought about canceling the dives all together. We decided to at least get in the water for the 1st dive and see how it goes. Visibility wasn't as bad as expected, but we found a couple of Spanish dancers, turtles, and Zombies. Sorry we cant get that out of our heads. Dives were good and then it started raining Gumball's, Not!!

Sun., April 26th

Picture of the week.

Is it normal for me to be scared to scuba dive?

I've taken a class in scuba diving and everything, but I’m supposed to take my open water dives in Cozumel Mexico. For some odd reason I’m just scarred of doing it. I don't know why but just something about the ocean flips me out, it’s not sharks or anything of that sort, it,s big open space. Also watching those scuba videos that basically every 5 min's gives you a new way to die from scuba diving, kinda scarred me as well.
So what can I do to cope with this, I mean is scuba diving very safe?

For those of you who are interested in taking a scuba certification class or maybe just wanting to get wet with the discover dive, this is a very realistic experience. What triggers those emotions in a diver will vary from person to person some common concerns would be.

I’m scared of sharks, will they eat me? To tell you the truth we are diving in their environment, a diver in their lives may see a shark but as for the possibility of being bitten is less than .003 percent.

I feel very claustrophobic with only being able to breath from this regulator.
Remember the number one rule in scuba diving has to do with breathing, which means your breathing is the most important aspect that you can control, remain calm and breathe.

What if I don’t know how to swim can I still be a diver? I would recommend you take swimming lessons before attempting to become a diver; you have other fears that may creep out and being underwater rather than on the surface is not good.

The best suggestion I can give you is to keep trying to relax when underwater. There really aren't any training tips that will conquer all fears; most divers just need to work on becoming more comfortable underwater with patience and relaxation.

Beach day

Just when we thought we could have the beach to ourselves all these people showed up, followers...

Big group of Intros

Not much going on this week except for Sat. a very large group with 4 Intros and a couple of certified divers. Talk about a work out. Weather was excellent with clear sunny skies and great visibility in the water. Joining us for the day were, RJ, William, Mike, Nathan, Anna and Oscar leading this rag tag bunch was Divemaster Amber and Instructor Randy. 1st dive took us to Turtle canyons where, as expected, turtles galore and a couple of nice octopus to boot. 2nd dive headed over to shallow pipe with a couple of leaf scorpion fish, devil scorpion, turtles and did we mention 100+ ft visibility. Thank you to all who joined in on this beautiful day.

Left to right, Instructor Randy, Nathan, RJ, Mike, Anna, William, Divemaster Amber, and Photographer extrordanaire Oscar.

Sun., April 19th

Picture of the week.

Been out of the water for awhile?

Take care of your equipment.
Keep it properly serviced and maintained. Have your equipment serviced by a qualified technician at your local dive retail store or dive center at least once a year. Do not modify your equipment outside of the manufacturer's original design.
Check it out.
Always use a checklist when packing equipment for a dive outing. If you get to the dive site and are missing an essential piece of equipment, consider renting or buying a similar model. If you're not comfortable with these options, you may want to cancel the dive. A checklist will also reduce the likelihood that you will leave equipment behind. Even Divemasters are not immune to this, right Blade?

Suit yourself.
You need to wear all of the required equipment for the type of dive you're making. The equipment you do wear should be configured so that it reduces drag and minimizes the possibility of getting your equipment hung up on coral, rocks or parts of a wreck.
Stop, Breathe, Think and Act.
If you're experiencing a problem underwater remember this: if you're still breathing, you have some time to deal with the problem. Bolting for the surface is dangerous. Stop; take a deep breath, think, remembering your training. Act deliberately - don't just react.
Pause and refresh yourself.
If you haven't been diving for awhile (six months or longer), attend a refresher course. Or get some pool time with your equipment and, if traveling to a resort, take full advantage of a pool or shallow-water orientation. If these options are not available, ask to dive under the supervision of a Divemaster or Instructor.
Clear signals.
If you're diving in areas where currents are common, carry a signaling device like a flare, whistle or safety tube to alert people on the boat or shore if you encounter any difficulty.
Learn to say NO.
A 'good' diver is not the person with the most gear, or the one who dives the deepest. "It's the one who can make a mature decision that they should not make a dive." And good dive buddies should respect this decision.

Discover scuba

Tuesday and we are out on the south side heading over to Turtle canyon. Rod and his son Zachary woke me out of bed on this beautiful day to have their first scuba experience. They're visiting the Island from Montana where the diving would be a little cold right now. Rod had expressed that he always wanted to try this thing out (scuba diving) so he dragged his son kicking and screaming along to be his support team. Divemaster Charlie also called early on this fine morning checking to see what was going on for the day; it seams his work schedule has changed a little and he is now able to partake in diving during the workweek.

Turtle canyons was excellent with, obviously, turtles and a slipper lobster that could have fed everyone at the weekly poker tour. Second dive was Horseshoe reef with visibility well over 100ft; the surface, however, wasn't the greatest. A south swell was coming in and the wind was really whipping us around (I don't feel very good). Excellent day of diving all around. Now, remember, Rod you have to get certified then come back next year for more.

Happy B-Day

Birthday whishes go out to dive buddy and great friend Helena Puszyn. Feliz Cumpleaños!!!

One more dive...

As the end of the week draws to a close we are out diving on the west side of the Island. After much debate and seeing the crowds at electric beach we made a decision and choose to dive at Makaha beach. Who's turn was it to bring the float? Yes, the float was left behind so a quick stop out at a local dive company and we had our rented float in hand (diver down flag). The crew for the day was Birthday girl Helena, DM Bobby, Roy and Instructor Randy, we also brought DM Amber along but she stayed on shore becoming a tan beach babe for the day. Excellent dive except for the missing communication and the disipearing divers Bobby and Roy.

See three, Exciting fish finds for the Birthday girl. Some of you divers out there may know Dory from the movie finding Nemo. The fish is actually a Blue Tang/Blue Surgeonfish: Paracanthurus hepatus. The blue tang is a surgeonfish (family Acanthuridae) that begins life a pale yellow and gradually turns blue as it gets older. The mature fish is easily recognized by its blue body and black markings. Happy Birthday Helena!

Sun., April 12th

Picture of the week.

Nice photo of a Whitetip reef shark inside San pedro photo by Instructor Randy

Spring is here:

Named by the Scuba Diving Magazine as one of the "Top Twelve Shore Dives in the World," Shark's Cove at Pupukea Beach Park on the North Coast of Oahu is definitely one of the island's best shore dives. With winter almost over divers all over the Island are getting a little antsy with the anticipation of diving this area. The name might scare you off, but Shark's Cove is far from being a home to sharks. Instead, the name was derived from the way the cove's lava rock formation appears as seen from the air or sea: it either looks like remains of what a shark has bitten off or dorsal fins from a distance.

The rock and coral formations at the entry point are sharp; visitors are advised to bring open heal fins with boots. Underwater, get ready to be amazed by the lava tube network of caves, ledges and smooth boulders. One of the best features of Shark's Cove is its clear blue water and visibility that ranges from 50-100 feet throughout the summer, just perfect enough for viewing the reef's rich marine sea life. The reef features more species of fish and more varied marine life than most shore dives on the island. Butterfly fish, needle fish, eels, octopus, eagle rays, nudibranchs, trigger fish, and sea turtles are some of the sea creatures to delight any diver here.

Remember, if you're not a cave or cavern diver, then it's best to stay out and leave the exploring to the professional.

Why the Easter Bunny Brings Eggs

10. Big tax write-off.
9. Who ever heard of Easter Bricks?
8. Consider all of the varieties: scrambled, over easy, hard boiled.
7. He gets a good deal from the local chickens.
6. Secret plan to eliminate human race by cholesterol overdose.
5. Pressure from the Egg Marketing Board.
4. Because if it brought bottle rockets it would be the Independence Bunny.
3. Would you want to hunt for waffles?
2. He thinks guys should get chicks at least once a year.
1. Because the Energizer rabbit got the good job.

Mexican Man...

Yes that is right Jeff a good friend of the DM Dave as well as all who knew ODC is back in town and with him comes the authentic taste of Mexico. What I mean is that on the Island we don't have a whole lot of selection for the authentic mexican flavors and since Jeff is from Phoenix, he usually stops by one of the local eateries before heading over to Hawaii. Not only does the man bring Mexican food, but the ever lovable side kick Cactus Jack decided that it was time to get wet again and scheduled a couple of dives.

Tuesday and we are over diving Hawaii Kai with the normal choppy conditions, but excellent Vis at the Corsair wreck; not only is Jeff in the cockpit but look closely and there is Cactus Jack in his right hand.

Wednesday and DM Dave thought he would give the south side a whirl along with Jeff. We headed out to the YO-257 where vis was excellent and a couple of whitetip sharks at the San pedro were there to greet us.

Good Friday

You know it's a holiday when DM Blade calls and doesn't have to be at school for the day.So what better way to spend a day than to get a dive in. We are off on the south side where the wreck of the Seatiger awaits but this time with it only being Instructor Randy and DM Blade they thought what about getting into the engine area. Excellent vis was there to greet us along with a turtle, eagle ray and frog fish. Second dive and we're heading over to Horseshoe reef, after searching in vain for the past Month with no luck of finding the Dragon Moray today was the day - - luck was on our side. Excellent dives all around.

Last dive for the week

Saturday and we thought what to do the day before Easter but get out there and dive. Surf news was forecasting calm seas on the North shore so we rallied the divers and headed to Shark's Cove. With this being the 1st dive on the north shore for the season we were a little apprehensive on what to expect. Visibility was great, but the tide was really low for the day. After a few bumps and bruises crawling over the rocks on the entry we descended into absolute still water. The day's critters came out of the crevices all around us - a couple of spiny lobster, slipper lobster, spanish dancer nudi, octopi and ,did we mention, turtles.

The artistic side comes out with this photo of Bobby, Helena, Randy, Amber, Blade and Eric from the dive. Why, you ask, is there no photo of the day's dive? Instructor Randy has had a string of bad luck recently and as they say things run in threes. First, two weeks ago his watch decided to go caput (darn Citizen). Then last week his Maui Jim's broke in two, and to top it off the camera decided to flood on this dive. He was, however, able to save the SD card and retrieve a couple of photos for you. Amber was excited with the baby Honu.

Happy Easter

Secret Service
A friend was in front of me coming out of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door as he always is to shake hands. He grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside. The Pastor said, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!"

Sun., April 5th

Picture of the week.

CPR and Scuba Rescue Tips

If you've ever witnessed a rescue while scuba diving, you probably asked yourself, “Am I prepared to help?”
The first step is to become proficient in CPR and rescue diving skills. The first step to accomplishing this goal is to participate in a CPR/First Aid course like Emergency First Response and to become a PADI Rescue Diver.

After you become a Rescue Diver, here are some tips that will prepare you to use your rescue and CPR skills: Stay Prepared by Following These Tips - -

- Stay fit for scuba diving. Your health is important. You can’t help others if you are out of shape and can’t take care of yourself.
- Practice self-rescue skills often. Remember, helping yourself creates the confidence to help others because you know you can take care of yourself while you provide aid.
- Review and practice in-water rescue breathing techniques with other divers or your buddy (especially if your buddy is of the opposite sex).
- Take your first aid kit with you every time you scuba dive and keep your pocket mask handy. Many divers consider their pocket masks standard equipment they always have in a pocket.
- Fine-tune your navigation skills by becoming a Underwater Navigator.
- Expand your search and recovery abilities by becoming a Search and Recovery diver.
- Stay current with CPR techniques by refreshing skills periodically Emergency First Response.
- Keep your oxygen administration skills sharp by participating in the PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider course.

Amazing stories, weird but true, Maybe...

The Safety Sausage Story

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NOTE: The following was submitted by a visitor, although it has not be verified, the information is assumed accurate
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Below is a story of the origin of the Safety Sausage which you might find of interest. It has some real life lessons learned.

On July 22, 1984, a search and rescue exercise was organized by the Dunedin Marine Search and Rescue Advisory Committee. It was planned for two divers to be reported missing, and after a successful air search they were to be dropped a life raft and subsequently picked up by the Navy Patrol vessel "Moa". One of the divers was meant to have the bends and was then to be transferred to the hospital by helicopter and ambulance.

The exercise started with the divers setting out from Papanui Inlet about 8:30 a.m. in an avon inflatable. A half hour out, they slipped into the water and awaited rescue. Another half hour later they were beginning to get concerned that the search aircraft had not arrived. At 10:00 a.m., one hour after leaving the inflatable, the divers noticed a plane searching well away from their site. By 11:00 a.m. the divers could see a plane and a helicopter searching for them as well as the Moa steaming about several kilometers away. During the next half hour both the plane and helicopter flew directly over the divers on at least one occasion; yet each failed to see them. Finally, about 11:30 a.m. a fishing boat spotted the divers and radioed the plane that flew directly over them an dropped a life raft. The Moa then arrived and took the divers aboard. One was suffering from hypothermia.

The divers were in the water for two and a half hours, during which time they had covered a distance of eight kilometers. The most important lesson learned from this exercise was the difficulty in spotting divers from the air. Both the pilots and their observers were experienced. They saw seals, dolphins, and sea birds, but failed to see the divers despite the yellow catch-bag that was waved, yellow tanks, and yellow BCD's.

The lesson was a strong one for Bob Begg, one of the two divers, who owns a sporting goods store in Dunedin. He realized that divers need a simple, waterproof, eye-catching signaling device. It should be compact, inexpensive, and reusable. So he designed the Safety Sausage, a bright red, plastic inflatable tube that stands 10 feet out of the water. It can also be laid flat on the water to signal aircraft. It's inflatable by regulator, or orally. After each use, it can be rolled up to fit into a BCD pocket.

Man sets record for world's deepest Open Circuit dive June 13, 2005

By Jonathan Ancer - scuba supreme Nuno Gomes is the world's deepest diver. On Friday, after 12 hours and 20 minutes in the Red Sea, Gomes surfaced with a new world record under his belt. Official measurements revealed that he had reached a depth of 318.25m. (That would be just over 1,044 feet.)

Gomes, a 52-year-old engineer, had reached a depth that was the equivalent of the length of the Eiffel Tower - including the aerial at the top.
Although Gomes had planned to go to 320m, his 318.25m plunge was still enough to beat the record of 313m, claimed by Mark Ellyatt in Thailand in 2003.

Octopus removes valve, floods floor of Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

A small mischievous octopus at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium broke a valve in its tank, resulting in a flood.
The guest of honor in the aquarium's Kids' Corner octopus tank had swum to the top of the enclosure and disassembled the recycling system's valve, flooding the place with some 200 gallons of seawater.
"It had grabbed the tube that pulls out the water and caused it to spray outside the tank," said aquarium education specialist Nick Fash. Judging by the size of the flood, Fash estimated that the water flowed for about 10 hours before the first staff member showed up for work.

Diving News

Archive

Sun., June 28th

Picture of the week.

Gabe Watson pleads guilty to diving wife's death

Sentencing

Bassam

Wedding Bells

Sun., June 21st

Picture of the week.

Buoyancy Checks...

Mokule'ia Beach Park.

Referral course...

South Swell..

Happy Fathers Day

Happy 1st day of Summer 2009

Sun., June 14th

Picture of the week.

Fatal diving accidents...

Big surf all over the Island..

Intro's

Sun., June 7th

Picture's of the week.

Dive Incidents...

Slow times no diving...

Sun., May 31st

Picture of the week.

Common Courtesy

Openwater class

Happy B-day

2nd Openwater class

Sun., May 24th

Picture of the week.

Down Drafts:

North shore swell

Happy Memeorial day

Sun., May 17th

Picture of the week.

Scuba Diving Certification Agencies

End of the week

Sun., May 10th

Picture of the week.

Happy Mothers Day!!!

The Weather

Electric, You can do it, its electric!!!! Boogywoogy!!!

West side dive

3 Day charter

Food Poisoning

Aloha Friday

Sun., May 3rd

Picture of the week.

Tips for Healthy Traveling

Mid week dive

Sun., April 26th

Picture of the week.

Is it normal for me to be scared to scuba dive?

Beach day

Big group of Intros

Sun., April 19th

Picture of the week.

Been out of the water for awhile?

Discover scuba

Happy B-Day

One more dive...

Sun., April 12th

Picture of the week.

Spring is here:

Why the Easter Bunny Brings Eggs

Mexican Man...

Good Friday

Last dive for the week

Happy Easter

Sun., April 5th

Picture of the week.

CPR and Scuba Rescue Tips

Amazing stories, weird but true, Maybe...

The Safety Sausage Story

Man sets record for world's deepest Open Circuit dive June 13, 2005

Octopus removes valve, floods floor of Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

Boy turns into tiger before your very eyes...