scuba diving equipment

Noble House Purchases Ocean Key House Suite Resort & Marina

2008-03-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

KIRKLAND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 25, 1998--Noble House Hotels, Resorts & Hideaways has purchased Ocean Key House Suite Resort & Marina, located in Key West, Fla.

The all-suite property, which includes the world famous Sunset Pier, was purchased for $26.5 million and will be incorporated into the Noble House Resorts collection.

Located on the island of Key West, Ocean Key House features 97 guestrooms and one- and two-bedroom suites. Each suite includes a Jacuzzi, fully equipped kitchen, living room with dining area and private balcony. Other features include two restaurants and a heated Gulfside pool. An on-site marina offers parasailing, waverunners as well as charters for deep sea fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, glassbottom boat tours and sunset cruises.

Noble House will spend approximately $9 million on a two-year renovation of the property that will include an extensive guest suite renovation program. The addition of waterscapes and a spiral staircase in the exterior courtyard will lead up to a new second floor lobby, restaurant and bar featuring views of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The project will also include a new front entrance and front desk.

Pat Colee, owner of Noble House Hotels, Resorts & Hideaways, said, "We are thrilled to be adding a fifth Noble House property in Florida. The renovations to Ocean Key House will create a completely new feel to this intimate and luxurious property from the moment guests walk through the doors."
Following a five month search, Jeff Webb was named general manager. With 11 years of experience in the hotel industry, Webb is extensively involved in the Key West community. He currently serves as the president of the Key West Hotel & Motel Association, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and the Keys Federal Credit Union and is also the secretary of the Key West Chamber of Commerce.

Noble House Hotels, Resorts & Hideaways owns and operates Hotel Adolphus in Dallas; Daytona Beach Hilton in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.; Hotel Edgewater in Seattle; Grove Isle Club & Resort in Coconut Grove (Miami); La Playa Beach Resort in Naples, Fla.; Hotel Loretto in Santa Fe, N.M.; Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club in Redondo Beach, Calif.; San Diego Paradise Point Resort in San Diego; SunBurst Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.; and, most recently, Ocean Key House Suite Resort & Marina in Key West, Fla.

Construction and operation of a two-place diver's sled

2008-03-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

Fisheries gear researchers have employed scuba diver-operated sleds to evaluate towed fishing systems since the early 1950's. One of the earliest sled designs was a converted Stokes litter in which two divers sat tandem with the forward diver operating the diving controls (Sand, 1956). The litter was relatively easy to maneuver and provided a comfortable platform for observing operational fishing gear. However, the use of underwater photographic equipment to document gear performance was difficult due to the limited mobility of the observer-cameraman.
A new two-place diver's sled, designed specifically for underwater cinematography, was introduced in the late 1950's (Hold, 1960). This sled allowed the divers to lie side-by-side which greatly reduced water resistance. The sled pilot occupied the port position, and the observer-cameraman, facing either forward or aft, occupied the starboard position. This design offered two advantages over the converted Stokes litter: 1) It was more maneuverable due to the location of its towing point and 2) it facilitated the use of underwater photographic equipment. Disadvantages of this steel sled were that it was heavy, subject to corrosion, and accessory flotation tanks were necessary for positive buoyancy.
The weight and corrosion problems were solved in the late 1960's by replacing the steel frame and wooden control surfaces with aluminum (1). The lighter weight and reduced accessory flotation requirements made the aluminum two-place diver's sled more maneuverable than the steel sled. Because of its excellent handling and performance characteristics, it has become a standard piece of equipment for use in towed fishing gear evaluations by the Harvesting Systems Branch, National Marine Fisheries Service, Mississippi Laboratories, Pascagoula Facility.

In addition to fishing gear research, a number of other applications for diver operated sleds have evolved, including: Evaluation of towed instruments; biological, archeological, and geological surveys; and search and recovery operations. This report provides the information necessary to construct and operate a two-place diver's sled. It is not, however, intended to replace instruction or field training in sled operations.

Construction

Constructed entirely of aluminum, the two-place diver's sled has an overall length of 2.3 m (92 1/4 inches) and a width of 2.2 m (87 3/4 inches) (Fig. 1). Fully rigged, the sled's out-of-water weight is about 41 kg (90 pounds). Watertight welds and two attached side floats provide positive buoyancy.

Materials Required

1) 87 feet 6 inches of 1-inch internal diameter (ID) schedule 10 aluminum pipe

2) 1 foot 10 inches of 1 3/8-inch ID schedule 10 aluminum pipe

3) Four 26 1/2- by 15 1/2-inch sheets of 3/16-inch aluminum

4) Two 46- by 14-inch panels of #36 nylon webbing

5) One spool of #42 (or #60) nylon twine

6) One 3/4-inch shackle

7) One 5/8-inch swivel

8) Two 14- by 6-inch plastic (or styrofoam) floats

9) 12 inches of 3.8-inch aluminum rod

10) Two 2-link sections of 3/16-inch chain

11) Two 3/16-inch lap links

12) Two 3/16-inch shackles

13) Two #3 snap hooks

14) Diver depth gauge

15) Bicycle flag and staff

Sled Frame--Top Section

The top section of the sled frame is constructed from 1-inch ID aluminum pipe (Fig. 2). The two outside frame members measure 84 inches long and are connected at the after end by a 50-inch pipe section. Forward, they are connected by two 19-inch pipe sections and a central "Y" section. The "Y" section is made with two 23 1/2-inch pipes which join with a central pipe measuring 64 inches long. The other end of the central pipe is attached to the middle of the 50-inch pipe. A 3-inch pipe is attached between the two "Y" members to later serve as an attachment point for a towing swivel.

Sled Frame--Bottom Runners

The bottom runners are made from two 110 1/2-inch lengths of 1-inch ID aluminum pipe (Fig. 3). The leading end of each pipe is bent into a half circle with an inside diameter of 14 1/2 inches. The runners are attached 9 1/2 inches inward on the two 19-inch forward pipe sections of the top frame.

Sled Frame--Diagonal

and Cross Members

There are 12 diagonal members (Fig. 4). Six outside diagonals attach between the runners and the outside top frame, and six inside diagonals are attached between the runners and the middle pipe of the top frame. The outside diagonals are 17 inches long, and the inside diagonals are 21 inches long. They are attached at three points along the sled frame. The first set of four (two outside and two inside diagonals) is attached to the after end of the sled. The next set is attached 17 inches inward, and the last set is attached 62 1/4 inches inward from the aft end of the sled. Four 45 1/4-inch cross members are attached between the forward and middle sets of diagonals. The outside cross members are attached 6 1/2 inches down from the outside top section, and the inside cross members are attached 8 1/4 inches down from the middle pipe of the top section.

Undercurrent. - periodical reviews

2008-02-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

DAVID BURNOR: Like their computer counterparts, scuba diving publications tend to carry a heavy advertising load: scuba is an equipment-oriented sport, most of it expensive, and manufacturers abound. Resort owners all claim that their patch of sea-bottom has the clearest water; each dive shop has the best prices. What you don't get from the ads, or the editors in most cases, is a no-holds-barred, critical review of the diving marketplace. Undercurrent fills the gap. With no paid ads, the're not beholden to anyone. Like restaurant reviewers, their critics visit diving resorts anonymously -- getting the same treatment that you will -- and present a full report, warts and all. Unbiased equipment evaluations, practical consumer advice, and sound safety tips round out each issue.
Design of wet suits has also changed. The results of our '76 survey indicated strongly that an attached hood was warmer. Today you have to look long and hard to find someone who orders his suit with the hood attached. There are also fewer Skin-in and Skin-out suits reported. There is also a marked decrease in ankle, waist, wrist and side zippers used in suits; we suspect that a statistual correlation could be found -- the fewer the zippers the warmer the suit.

When the San Francisco 49'ers take to the gridiron in sub-freezing weather the equipment manager makes sure they're wearing the appropriate scuba gear ... they've discovered that neoprene wet suit gloves can keep their hands warm while giving them enough flexibility to hold a football.

The AMF-Voit mouthpiece leaves something to be desired. The thickness of the bite-block is 10mm, by far one of the worst. It is placed too far forward, causing the jaw to come forward and placing added strain on the muscles. At nine mm the bite-block's width is fine, but we cannot explain why holes have been placed in the bite-blocks themselves.... The best mouthpiece to date is produced by Dacor. Made of silicone rubber, it can be easily formed to any mouth size. The bite-block thickness is an ideal four mm. The mouthpiece flange is thin and soft enough not to impinge on the gum tissues.... The Dacor model has proven to be the most confortable mouthpiece we have tried. We congratulate them, they must know a good dentist.

Take the plunge and don't wait for summer

2008-02-20T01:02:00.000-08:00

t's not as daft, nor as far-fetched, as it sounds. Nor as expensive. And come next summer you'll have your diving certificate - the coveted bit of paper that says you can swim underwater with heavy metal accessories on your back. More importantly, it tells a dive operator that he can legally rent you equipment and take you down into the reefs. Think of the coral, the darting shoals of iridescent fish, the diving instructors, the hunks, the babes. . .
Seriously though, learning to scuba dive is a good indoor activity to take you through the winter. You can do it through evening classes with a local club - almost every public swimming pool in Britain has a resident sub-aqua Club (BSAC, Tel: 0500 947202 will tell you the nearest centre to your area). However, it is much more fun to make a holiday of it. Several places in the UK now offer short but intensive residential dive courses, usually lasting five days, or spread over several weekends. These will get you through either the BSAC Novice Diver standard, or the Professional Association of Diving Instructor's (PADI) Open Water certificate. The PADI qualification is generally regarded as less demanding, while the more intense BSAC course is a better grounding for those who want to go for the more advanced qualifications. But either certificate will let you take a diving holiday abroad with a licensed operator. Of the various UK dive schools offering residential courses, my first choice would be The Diver Training College, situated (ironically) far from the coast in the village of Appleton Roebuck just south of York. Staying B&B nearby, you attend daily or weekend pool-based classes, then have a lot of time off to explore the city of York, the Moors, the Dales, and the rest of that beautiful county. If you would prefer to be by the sea, Divers Down, which operates from the pier in the pretty Dorset seaside town of Swanage, offers similar pool-based courses (sea-based ones in the summer) with, again, a lot of time off for clifftop walks and other trips through the surrounding county. Again, you can take an intensive course or break it up over several weekends. Both schools offer the basic BSAC and PADI courses. But they can also take you to higher levels - if you find that, having attained your initial certificate the winter months are still looming long and cold, you could start climbing the next few rungs of the diving ladder: Novice Diver II, Sport Diver and Dive Leader. There is a specific course for each qualification, covering dive theory, the basic physics of air pressure and the human body and the functioning of equipment - from aqua lungs and air-compressors to the different types of wet and dry suits. The more advanced stages offer training in use of sea-charts, and understanding currents and tides. However, before taking the plunge (pun intended), you should be aware that sub-aqua diving has certain physiological requirements. Before you can register for a course you will have to pass a medical examination. As a rule, people with epilepsy, diabetes, acute asthma or other respiratory problems may not dive. However, these rules are not hard-and-fast, it depends on the nature of your ailment, If you are unsure, ring the dive school and talk it over with them. Come next year, when you're diving in the Red Sea, the Great Barrier Reef or even the wrecks off Scotland, you'll pat yourself on the back for having spent the winter doing something so useful. Unless you decide to take off before then, of course. There are many great winter dive spots: Egypt, Kenya, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean. . . All you need is that piece of paper. diving fact box Addresses The Diver Training College, Ashley House, Malt Kiln Lane, Appleton Roebuck, York, N.Yorks, tel (01904) 744424 Portland Dive Centre, Portland, Dorset, tel: (01305) 820870 Season Both schools open all year. Accommodation Neither school actually provides on-site accommodation, but both will book you in somewhere locally, mindful of your budgetary constraints. Food Not provided - you take your meals elsewhere. Children Minimum age 14, anyone under 18 needs consent of parent or guardian. Disabled Facilities None. Insurance BSAC/PADI cover included in course tariff. Safety All instructors trained in first aid and sub-aqua rescue. Affiliations British Sub Aqua Club; Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Tariffs Prices include all tuition and equipment hire. BSAC Novice Diver I & II four-day course costs pounds 280. BSAC Sports Diver five-day course costs between pounds 300 and pounds 400. Advanced courses by arrangement; contact centre for price details. Booking Booking normally made in advance, but late bookings accepted if space available. Payment by cash, cheque or credit card. Access Diver Training College: if arriving by car, Appleton Roebuck lies about three miles southeast of the main A64 between Tadcaster and York. Those arriving by train or bus should go to York, from where they can arrange for a lift with the centre. A small fee to cover petrol will be charged. Portland Dive Centre: Portland is located on the island south of Dorchester. There is a railway station at Weymouth, about a 20-minute drive away.

Medical Advice for Commercial Air Travelers

2008-01-30T03:57:00.000-08:00

Family physicians are often asked to advise patients who are preparing to travel. The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 has enabled more passengers with medical disabilities to choose air travel. All domestic U.S. airlines are required to carry basic (but often limited) medical equipment, although several physiologic stresses associated with flight may predispose travelers with underlying medical conditions to require emergency care. Recommendations for passengers with respiratory, cardiac or postsurgical conditions must be individualized and should be based on objective testing measures. Specific advice for patients with diabetes, postsurgical or otolaryngologic conditions may make air travel less hazardous for these persons. Air travel should be delayed after scuba diving to minimize the chance of developing decompression sickness. Although no quick cure for jet lag exists, several simple suggestions may make travel across time zones more comfortable. (Am Fam Physician 1999;60:801-10.)

Family physicians are frequently asked to make recommendations to patients before they travel aboard commercial aircraft, and the need for such advice is also increasing. The need to understand basic aerospace physiology has been accelerated by the growing number of passengers who use commercial air travel and, in particular, the increasing number of elderly, disabled or chronically ill passengers. Although commercial air transportation is very safe compared with other forms of transportation, both environmental and health concerns must be considered when counseling patients who are about to travel by air.

The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986(1) required the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop regulations to ensure that persons with disabilities are treated without discrimination in any way, consistent with the safe carriage of all passengers. Because of Air Carrier Access rules, people with medical conditions who might not have selected airline travel in the past are now regularly attempting to use this mode of transportation. However, if legitimate medical acceptance issues arise, a medical certificate from the treating physician stating that the passenger is medically stable for air travel and will not require extraordinary medical assistance during the flight may be required. This request for a medical certificate is based on information provided by the passenger regarding a specific health condition or may be required when an arriving passenger is visibly ill. The Aerospace Medical Association (telephone: 703-739-2240) monograph "Medical Guidelines for Airline Travel"(2) is a useful guide for physicians providing these determinations.

In-Flight Resources

Federal Air Regulations (FARs) require all U.S.-based airlines to carry a basic emergency medical kit with specified contents (Table 1), as well as a first-aid kit for emergencies that may occur during flight. However, the contents of the kits are limited and are intended for basic emergency treatment only, not to sustain or treat critically ill passengers on extended flights. The medical kit may be opened during flight only when authorized by a physician, either on board or from the airline's medical department connected to the aircraft via air-to-ground communications. In addition, a number of airlines have installed automatic external defibrillators on board aircraft and have trained flight attendants in their use. The Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998(3) requires the Federal Aviation Administration to study the additional medical equipment and training that should be required based on analyses of the frequency of medical incidences encountered and to issue a future Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify the current FAR. Some airlines have begun installing enhanced medical kits containing a wide variety of acute cardiac life support drugs and equipment to aid in medical emergencies.

OXYGEN

Supplemental oxygen is available on an emergency basis during flights but often is limited to flow rates of 2 and 4 L per minute, and the supply is strictly limited. Passengers with stable medical conditions requiring low-flow oxygen cannot bring their own oxygen on board, according to FARs concerning hazardous cargo (empty oxygen containers are allowed to be transported as baggage). Most air carriers will provide oxygen, either with adjustable (2 to 8 L per minute) or nonadjustable (low flow at 2 L per minute or high flow at 4 L per minute) flow meters. There is a fee for this service, either charged per unit of oxygen used or per ticket coupon (one coupon per boarding), and a minimum notice of 24 to 48 hours or longer is required, along with a medical certificate from the passenger's physician certifying that the person is medically cleared to fly at a relative cabin altitude of 8,000 feet and specifying the flow rate, whether intermittent or continuous, and type of delivery mask (face mask or nasal cannula) to be used.

Oxygen is supplied as either large-cylinder (3,228 L) or small-cylinder (300 L) compressed gas.(4) Passengers must arrange for oxygen to be available during airport layovers by contacting a local supplier in the layover city or through their home oxygen service, with advance notice of at least 24 hours to ensure delivery. Other types of medical respiratory equipment, such as nebulizers or pediatric mechanical ventilators, may sometimes be allowed to be used on board, but their usage must be pre-approved to prevent interference with sensitive aviation electronic equipment and must conform to applicable FARs specifications.

Questions of cash: PayPal may not always be your best friend

2008-01-30T03:56:00.000-08:00

A friend arranged to pay me pounds 2,500 via PayPal for scuba diving equipment that I sold him. I was charged pounds 85.20 by PayPal. Its fees policy states that receiving funds is free for a personal account, or charged up to 3.4 per cent for a Premier/ Business account. But my account is for personal use only. I feel duped. KS, Berkshire.

PayPal is an online payments system, operated by the internet auction company eBay. It is free to open a PayPal personal account, and the PayPal website states it is free to receive a funds transfer from another person, providing that transfer is not funded by a credit card. But PayPal also charges fund recipients a fee if the transfer is funded by debit card; PayPal tells us this is specified in its detailed terms and conditions. As this is not very obvious, an individual charged for a debit card transfer may be able to challenge this and we have told PayPal we believe it should make its terms more transparent. In the case of your transaction, it is not clear what method of payment your friend used. He told you that it was conducted by bank transfer; PayPal tells us it was financed by credit card, and your friend declined to answer the question when we asked him. Your friend's reticence may tell you what you need to know.

My fixed-rate mortgage deal soon expires. Should I roll up my mortgage and credit card debts into a One Account with Royal Bank of Scotland? I understand its interest rate is 5.85 per cent and I would have to repay about pounds 100 more than I currently pay each month. PO, Edinburgh.

Ray Bolger of Charcol brokers says: "The interest rate on One Account's current account mortgage depends on the LTV [loan to value]. The lowest rate of 5.85 per cent is available for LTVs up to 50 per cent. There are seven interest rate tiers, with the highest, 6.7 per cent, available up to 99 per cent LTV. All rates are higher than on One Account's fully flexible mortgage, which offers better value. Offset mortgages work on the same principle as current account mortgages and are available at Newcastle BS, Coventry BS, Bristol & West and Scottish Widows at rates lower than the current account mortgage.

To justify using the One Account current account mortgage, you would have to have large savings compared with the size of the mortgage, or a volatile income, or both. But the benefits can be achieved more cheaply with the right offset mortgage, or with a fully flexible mortgage. Your credit card borrowing could be included in most types of remortgage. Your first decision is whether you want a fixed or variable rate. Both are available with an offset mortgage, but the rates are typically 0.5 per cent higher than on ordinary mortgages."

I asked Norwich Union to convert my three Section 32 pensions into a single annuity, based on a quote it provided. Three months later, I still await my first payment. Norwich Union has wrongly calculated the protected rights value, widow's portion and guarantee. To make matters worse Norwich Union reduced annuity rates in August, so I will get less per annum - and the long-term fixed interest rates have fallen, so the tax-free cash will earn less. My IFA and I have been unable to get Norwich to resolve this. AE, by email.

NU apologises for the poor customer service it has provided. It has agreed to revert to the original quote, backdated it, paid interest on the tax-free cash from August, and maintained all the guarantees and widow's portion as originally offered.

DBS Assurance sold me a Legal & General endowment policy in 1993 to cover a loan of pounds 32,500, which is now projected to fall short by pounds 9,500. I cannot afford this loss. What can I do? JD, Leicester.

DBS Assurance has become part of the Sesame network of IFAs. We arranged for Sesame to consider your formal complaint of mis-selling on the grounds that you say you were not advised that the endowment was a share-based product, with a risk of not meeting its projected return; and that you were not advised it contained life cover that was not relevant to your then needs as a single person.

It took several months for Sesame to consider your claim, which it has rejected, on the grounds that its paperwork does not confirm your version.

The DBS salesman recorded that he advised your then fiance that an endowment was an investment based on shares.

In the company's fact find, signed by your fiance, it was recorded that your joint attitude to risk was "balanced".

Sesame says that the client agreement form "clearly indicated" there was a risk of the endowment under-performing. It adds that it was a requirement of your mortgage lender to have life assurance.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) would consider other factors, including your understanding of financial products, your income and whether you previously had savings. We suggest you lodge a complaint with the FOS.

I face a shortfall of pounds 5,000 on two endowment policies that mature in 2009. I am claiming compensation for mis-selling on both, but am anxious the potential deficit should not get larger. Should I start putting money away into an Isa to cover the shortfall, or can I convert my recently arranged interest-only mortgage into a repayment mortgage? If I do this, will I have to pay much in extra charges? DO, Derry.

Deep Water Adventure - scuba diving and multiple sclerosis

2007-09-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

Jeanne Megel of Colorado Springs not only dives on her own, she swims with the sharks. "The trick is stretching your limits, frequently but gently," she wrote to InsideMS.

"When I was diagnosed 15 years ago, what I heard most was, `You can't do that, you have MS.' For several years, I sat at home, rested, and took care of myself. The better care I took, the more depressed I became.

"Then I took up scuba diving. After getting my open water certification, I asked my doctor to sign a release for me to take the advanced class.

"`You can't dive, you have MS,' was the reply. `But I've already certified!' I said. He signed the letter. One year later I had certified as a professional dive master.

"I didn't bother to ask my doctor about the course in shark feeding. I just went. I spent a week feeding sharks in the Caribbean as part of an environmental education program, and now I teach volunteer classes on sharks and reef ecology."

Jeanne Megel's mission is to help people understand how essential sharks are to healthy oceans--and to see them as beautiful creatures. Being a shark feeder will interest a rare minority. Her invitation to consider underwater adventure has wider appeal. So does her conclusion: "You don't live your life any less because of MS, you only have to live it differently."

Scuba Diving: ESSENTIAL DIVE TERMS AND EQUIPMENT

2007-09-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Start by buying your own logbook, fins, mask and snorkel then move onto wetsuit and dive computer before finally buying expensive items such as BCD, dry suits and regulators.

Logbook: You will need a record of all your dives, usually signed and stamped by your instructor or Dive Master, in order to progress up the training pyramid - from pounds 5.

Dive tables: A set of simple-to-use mathematical equations that allow a diver to work out how long they must wait between dives and what depth it is safe to dive to. Most dive computers can work this out for you.

Mask, fins and snorkels: Never use the terms goggles and flippers in the presence of seasoned divers. Good quality masks start at pounds 35; fins from pounds 30; snorkels pounds 15. Prescription masks are also available.

BCD: A Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) is an airtight, armless jacket attached to the air cylinder and worn by the diver over their wet/dry suit. The diver controls buoyancy by inflating or deflating the BCD. Prices start at pounds 200.

Regulator: Regulates the flow of pressurised air from the cylinders into the mouth. It is made up of pipes, a valve and a mouthpiece - from pounds 250. Most people dive with a back-up regulator known as an Octopus - from pounds 70.

Dive computer: Will record depth, time and automatically organise dive tables. Suunto make everything from simple, watch-like devices for regular leisure divers through to complicated arrangements for serious technical divers - from pounds 280.

Wet and dry suits: A wet suit is basically an insulator that traps a body-warmed layer of water next to the skin. A 5mm thick wetsuit is comfortable for long periods in 20C water - from pounds 90. A dry suit is a sealed, airtight piece of kit, mainly used for diving in colder waters. It requires special training and allows the diver to remain completely dry - from pounds 350.

Dive Master: If you have the standard Open Water PADI dive qualification you can only dive while under the supervision of a Dive Master, or higher, qualified diver.

Liveaboard: A type of holiday where you literally "live aboard" a boat designed for diving. Can be anything from an on-deck hammock through to five-star purpose-built dive yachts. Most Liveaboards will only accept divers who have done a minimum number of logged dives.

Boaters Go Overboard - scuba diving

2007-09-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

But for many boaters this world only skims the surface. Some 55,000 BoatU.S. members are among the 3 million Americans who are certified scuba divers. Once I you get a glimpse of what's down there, they say, your perspective of the "real" world is forever changed.

Scuba diving is at its most fascinating -- not to mention most comfortable -- in warm waters full of coral reefs and marine life, and both the eastern and western Caribbean fill this bill. While there are literally hundreds of land-based resorts from which you can dive -- or learn to dive -- many divers opt to stay on a boat. In the eastern Caribbean, these boats are generally crewed charter boats; in the western Caribbean, they're live-aboard dive vessels.

What's so great about taking a dive vacation on a boat? First, the crews are diving professionals. Many are instructors, so you can get certified if you need to, or get checked out if it's been awhile since you last dived. The charter captains know all the most popular dive spots and have a few not-so-well-known favorites of their own. Second, all of the boats have dive equipment on board and most have compressors to keep the dive tanks full.

In addition, while land-based vacationers may have to travel in a small open boat for an hour or more to get to a dive site, you're already there in a charter or dive boat, and you aren't limited to a certain area. On a crewed charter boat in the eastern Caribbean, you can dive from one island one day and another the next -- all you have to do is head on over. On a live-aboard dive boat in the western Caribbean, you'll travel more than 100 miles over the water during a typical seven-day trip.

Finally, depending on the boat and the number of guests, it's often less expensive to charter -- with food and drinks included -- than to stay in a hotel or resort. The "little" extras that hotels usually tack onto your bill -- like rental fees for snorkel gear, windsurfers, fishing rods and scuba equipment - are almost always included in the charter fee.

The Learning Curve

There are a number of scuba training and certifying groups to teach you the sport -- PADI, NAUI and the YMCA are the largest. Open Water certification, which includes classroom sessions, a pool dive where you learn to use the scuba equipment, and four open-water dives, can be obtained in as little as four or five days, but that's really pushing it.

Instead, consider this increasingly popular certification method: Take the classroom portion and pool instruction at home, and then have your instructor write a letter of referral to a dive instructor in the Caribbean. Doing this, says Marty Rayman, owner and PADI course director of Aquatic Adventures in Alexandria, VA, means you get the best of both worlds.

"You get all the time you need to learn about the science of the sport and to get your questions answered in class, and then practice using the equipment in a pool until you're comfortable," Rayman said. "Once you have that knowledge under your belt, you'll be prepared to do your four open-water certifying dives in tropical waters."

Diving in the Eastern Caribbean

In the eastern Caribbean, especially the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, there are at least 40 yachts available with a certified diving instructor so you can learn right on board, and another 75 or so with a dive-master aboard (divemasters are diving experts but they aren't yet certified to teach).

The kinds of boats available range from 80-foot motor yachts and sprawling catamarans to smaller sailboats that cater to couples. And while each boat and crew is different, they all have one thing in common - they want their clients to have a great time.

Don't worry if everyone in your party isn't prepared to take the scuba plunge, or is just too young (you have to be at least 10 for PADI certification). Snorkeling is a wonderful way to get a window on what's below. In St. John, USVI, there's a terrific marked snorkeling trail in Trunk Bay maintained by the U.S. National Park Service.

In the British Virgin Islands, probably the most popular diving site is the 1867 wreck of the 310-foot mail ship R.M.S. Rhone, which broke in half during a hurricane. Snorkelers can have a grand time floating just 30 feet above the stern, watching the divers below and the thousands of fish that live in the wreck.

One more benefit of crewed charters is the ability to dive after the sun goes down. Since 80% of all marine life emerge only at night, consider a night dive. With underwater flashlights, you'll see colors you'd hardly notice in the daylight shining forth in the dark like neon signs. Coral polyps extend tentacles from their protective cups as they feed on planktons, lobsters scoot across the bottom and gorgeous parrot fish that surrounded you during the day snooze in their mucus cocoons at night. Shy and beautiful moray eels, mostly hidden in coral nooks and crannies in daylight, slither about the reefs in search of a meal.

Scuba Diving: ESSENTIAL DIVE TERMS AND EQUIPMENT

2007-07-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Start by buying your own logbook, fins, mask and snorkel then move onto wetsuit and dive computer before finally buying expensive items such as BCD, dry suits and regulators.
Logbook: You will need a record of all your dives, usually signed and stamped by your instructor or Dive Master, in order to progress up the training pyramid - from pounds 5.
Dive tables: A set of simple-to-use mathematical equations that allow a diver to work out how long they must wait between dives and what depth it is safe to dive to. Most dive computers can work this out for you.
Mask, fins and snorkels: Never use the terms goggles and flippers in the presence of seasoned divers. Good quality masks start at pounds 35; fins from pounds 30; snorkels pounds 15. Prescription masks are also available.
BCD: A Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) is an airtight, armless jacket attached to the air cylinder and worn by the diver over their wet/dry suit. The diver controls buoyancy by inflating or deflating the BCD. Prices start at pounds 200.
Regulator: Regulates the flow of pressurised air from the cylinders into the mouth. It is made up of pipes, a valve and a mouthpiece - from pounds 250. Most people dive with a back-up regulator known as an Octopus - from pounds 70.
Dive computer: Will record depth, time and automatically organise dive tables. Suunto make everything from simple, watch-like devices for regular leisure divers through to complicated arrangements for serious technical divers - from pounds 280.

Boaters Go Overboard - scuba diving

2007-07-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

The world above the water is reason enough to go boating. Getting away from it all to sheltered coves that no four wheel drive vehicle can ever reach feeling the rhythm of the water dancing against your hull even the adrenaline rush that comes from experiencing a sudden thunders from experiencing a sudden thunderstorm from under a canvas dodger are all unique to the boating life.
But for many boaters this world only skims the surface. Some 55,000 BoatU.S. members are among the 3 million Americans who are certified scuba divers. Once I you get a glimpse of what's down there, they say, your perspective of the "real" world is forever changed.
Scuba diving is at its most fascinating -- not to mention most comfortable -- in warm waters full of coral reefs and marine life, and both the eastern and western Caribbean fill this bill. While there are literally hundreds of land-based resorts from which you can dive -- or learn to dive -- many divers opt to stay on a boat. In the eastern Caribbean, these boats are generally crewed charter boats; in the western Caribbean, they're live-aboard dive vessels.
What's so great about taking a dive vacation on a boat? First, the crews are diving professionals. Many are instructors, so you can get certified if you need to, or get checked out if it's been awhile since you last dived. The charter captains know all the most popular dive spots and have a few not-so-well-known favorites of their own. Second, all of the boats have dive equipment on board and most have compressors to keep the dive tanks full.

Deep Water Adventure - scuba diving and multiple sclerosis

2007-07-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

WATER DOESN'T just keep people cool, water beats gravity. Supported by water, actions that require great effort on land become easier. This is the basis for therapeutic aquatics, in which people get into a pool to stretch and strengthen parts of the body that are underused or stressed because of disabilities. But it also means--with ordinary equipment and a little training--the underwater wilderness is extraordinarily accessible. The woman in the picture at right is quadriplegic. She has no voluntary control over anything below the neck, yet with the help of a dive buddy trained by the Handicapped Scuba Association International, she swims freely.
Jeanne Megel of Colorado Springs not only dives on her own, she swims with the sharks. "The trick is stretching your limits, frequently but gently," she wrote to InsideMS.
"When I was diagnosed 15 years ago, what I heard most was, `You can't do that, you have MS.' For several years, I sat at home, rested, and took care of myself. The better care I took, the more depressed I became.
"Then I took up scuba diving. After getting my open water certification, I asked my doctor to sign a release for me to take the advanced class.
"`You can't dive, you have MS,' was the reply. `But I've already certified!' I said. He signed the letter. One year later I had certified as a professional dive master.
"I didn't bother to ask my doctor about the course in shark feeding. I just went. I spent a week feeding sharks in the Caribbean as part of an environmental education program, and now I teach volunteer classes on sharks and reef ecology."

Scuba Diving: ESSENTIAL DIVE TERMS AND EQUIPMENT

2007-06-18T06:37:00.001-07:00

Start by buying your own logbook, fins, mask and snorkel then move onto wetsuit and dive computer before finally buying expensive items such as BCD, dry suits and regulators.

Logbook: You will need a record of all your dives, usually signed and stamped by your instructor or Dive Master, in order to progress up the training pyramid - from pounds 5.

Deep Water Adventure - scuba diving and multiple sclerosis

2007-06-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Jeanne Megel of Colorado Springs not only dives on her own, she swims with the sharks. "The trick is stretching your limits, frequently but gently," she wrote to InsideMS.

"Then I took up scuba diving. After getting my open water certification, I asked my doctor to sign a release for me to take the advanced class.

"`You can't dive, you have MS,' was the reply. `But I've already certified!' I said. He signed the letter. One year later I had certified as a professional dive master.

Scuba Diving: ESSENTIAL DIVE TERMS AND EQUIPMENT

2007-06-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

Start by buying your own logbook, fins, mask and snorkel then move onto wetsuit and dive computer before finally buying expensive items such as BCD, dry suits and regulators.

Logbook: You will need a record of all your dives, usually signed and stamped by your instructor or Dive Master, in order to progress up the training pyramid - from pounds 5.

Dive tables: A set of simple-to-use mathematical equations that allow a diver to work out how long they must wait between dives and what depth it is safe to dive to. Most dive computers can work this out for you.
Mask, fins and snorkels: Never use the terms goggles and flippers in the presence of seasoned divers. Good quality masks start at pounds 35; fins from pounds 30; snorkels pounds 15. Prescription masks are also available.

BCD: A Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) is an airtight, armless jacket attached to the air cylinder and worn by the diver over their wet/dry suit. The diver controls buoyancy by inflating or deflating the BCD. Prices start at pounds 200.

Regulator: Regulates the flow of pressurised air from the cylinders into the mouth. It is made up of pipes, a valve and a mouthpiece - from pounds 250. Most people dive with a back-up regulator known as an Octopus - from pounds 70.

Dive computer: Will record depth, time and automatically organise dive tables. Suunto make everything from simple, watch-like devices for regular leisure divers through to complicated arrangements for serious technical divers - from pounds 280.

Deep vacation: scuba diving in the watery wonderland of the Sea of Cortez, off of Baja California, Mexico

2007-06-08T04:12:00.000-07:00

The slim moon slides over the horizon, and as we pull away from the bright lights of Cabo San Lucas, long narrow fish ride the boat's wake with streaks of silver arching across the spray I am on the top deck with a few other women I met just hours ago, but already I'm feeling an easy camaraderie.

So begins my journey down the Sea of Cortez along the eastern coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula. For one week, 18 (mainly queer) divers plus crew tiding aboard the Canadian dive boat Nautilus Explorer are completely disconnected from the outside world: no cell phones, no Internet, no television, no newspapers, no news. Just diving, eating, drinking, sleeping, talking about diving--and a lot of easy laughter.
From the moment we wake up hot and sleepy in our small shared staterooms to the moment the last drink is poured by one of the friendly crew members, we are consumed with a sport like none other.

Jump in the water and descend. There you are, floating, breathing, looking, surrounded by fish glinting in filtered sunlight. Creatures that seem to have borrowed their colors from a Crayola box lazily drift by. Coral arms sway in the current, spiny lobsters creep along the bottom, and green moray eels poke from rock crevices, mouths open, throats undulating, and yellow eyes gaping in the relentless search for prey. I personally love the cartoonishly large purple-lip rock oysters that cling to a wall and snap shut when I wave my hand in front of them. I'd laugh if I didn't have a regulator in my mouth.

How To Choose Scuba Diving Equipment That Is Right For You

2007-05-26T03:39:00.000-07:00

If you go into any scuba diving shop or dive centre you'll find a bewildering array of different equipment, from masks and fins to snorkels, wetsuits, BCDs and whatever else you might name. So with all this equipment in front of you, how do you decide what is right for you?

Environmental conditions It doesn't matter the size of your scuba diving equipment budget if you choose the wrong equipment for your local environmental conditions. Points to think of are:

· Where will you be diving and what are the environmental conditions? · Will a shorty be enough or do you need a full wetsuit? · Is the water cold enough that you should invest in a dry suit? · Do you need an environmentally sealed first stage to prevent freezing? · If much of your diving be done on diving holidays, what are the conditions you are likely to encounter?

Price versus quality As we all know there is no such thing as a free lunch, so if your budget is restricted you should carefully consider the tradeoffs between price and quality.

One area to look at carefully are zips, fasteners and buckles – it is easy to reduce costs by providing low quality items that will not stand up to any degree of normal use and so a saving here will be at the expense of equipment life or safety.

Rather than think budget, think value for money – ask if the store has ex-display models or stock from the previous season and remember that you can always get discounts right at the end of the diving season.

And you can save money on kit like dive bags by substituting other products – you can find cheap plastic storage crates in supermarkets and other stores for a tenth of the price of a dive bag and it will do the job just as well.

Comfort It's you that will be using this equipment, so make sure you spend enough time trying it on and ensuring you are comfortable. When trying on equipment like a BCD you should either take your wetsuit along or wear a similar one and ideally you should dive with the equipment before committing to purchase.

If you follow the above steps you'll find that choosing scuba diving equipment can be straightforward as long as you apply a bit of forethought. Despite the amount of equipment available on display in many dive stores you should be able to quickly filter your choice products down to just a few and then take real pleasure in selecting you final purchase.

Nitrogen Narcosis

2007-05-26T03:36:00.000-07:00

Narcosis this is the state of stupor, drowsiness or unconsciousness produced by drugs.

In the case of diving this is brought on by nitrogen.

Compressed air has two basic components, 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. At increased pressure the nitrogen component is responsible for the onset of narcosis.

The signs of this are feelings similar to those of intoxication, carefree, a detachment from reality, over confidence and as a diver you need to be aware of the onset of any of these feelings.

Sensitive people may be affected at less than 30 metres. The severity of symptoms will increase as depth increases.

The onset of the condition is rapid as is the recovery. You must take seriously any feelings associated with this condition and reduce your depth. As your depth decreases the symptoms should disappear. Make sure your diving companions are aware of what is happening so they can keep a close eye on you and react accordingly.

To avoid this condition you can restrict your dives to less than 30 metres.

Death can result from this condition so do take it seriously.

I have been subjected to the effects of nitrogen but in different circumstances. Nitrogen is an inert gas that is sometimes used to extinguish fires in enclosed spaces. On one submarine exercise we simulated a fire in the missile compartment. When this occurs the compartment is isolated and nitrogen is pumped into it to extinguish any fire. This involves the closing of various valves to direct the gas to the correct place.

During this particular exercise the valves were operated in the wrong sequence. Everyone on board had donned their breathing apparatus, a mask and lead, the lead being plugged into an overhead line which contains air. The air unfortunately was nitrogen. Quite literally you quickly feel quite happy, carefree and life is good. I noticed that people were beginning to fall over, for heavier people this was quite a lucky thing to happen since the breathing mask was wrenched from the face, for some less fortunate people the mask suspended their head just above deck level and they could continue breathing the nitrogen.

As luck would have it quite a few of us realized what was happening and quickly went around pulling masks off the crewmembers. Needless to say the exercise was aborted and new instruction promulgated to the fleet to ensure that all valves are operated in the correct sequence.

How to Get Scuba Diving Certification

2007-05-26T03:34:00.000-07:00

It is highly imperative and in the best interest of the person wishing to go scuba diving to achieve scuba diving certification because scuba diving is a very dangerous sport and should be approached with caution and a passion to learn. There are literally thousands of scuba diving certification approved schools that can help you in achieving this necessary tool before you dive in, literally! Lets take a look at some of the avenues that you could seek scuba diving certification from before you plan the ultimate scuba diving adventure.

Who Certifies Scuba Divers?

There are hundreds of scuba diving certification centers throughout the world including in vacation hot spots that have a program that can provide you with the necessary training to get your scuba diving certification as well as several conventional methods. They typically offer the very latest teaching in technology and diving techniques and are PADI approved.

When speaking and researching scuba diving certifications you will undoubtedly come across an agency called PADI and some should be mentioned about this organization because they are one responsible for governing laws and latest technologies that surround the scuba diving training certification training centers. PADI governs all of the training centers throughout the United States and the basic reason that they are there is to govern the facilities and ensure that they are teaching safe diving practices as well as using equipment that is up to date. It is a tightly controlled industry due to the potential for harm that is present so scuba diving certification is not only necessary; it is an extremely helpful tool for your personal safety. If you are currently looking to get scuba diving certification it would be wise for you to ensure that the agency you take your certification from is governed by PADI if you are in the United States and elsewhere, ensure they are a governed body for your own protection.

It is reassuring to know that if you are inquiring about getting scuba diving certification in the United States that most of the establishments are governed under PADI and in fact have more state of the art equipment and techniques than most developed countries. Also, it is imperative to note that if you are getting scuba diving certification for a potential career in this field, many scuba diving training centers offer job placement as part of the scuba diving certification program.

Too Old To Learn Scuba Diving?

2007-03-03T02:17:00.001-08:00

We are always told we should learn sports when we are young, when our bodies are more resilient to the bruises and bumps which can be afflicted on us when we learn a new sport. This is true to a certain extent.

Take for example, my experience learning wind surfing. I learnt the sport when I was 26. If I were to learn this sport now at age 42, chances are I would not go far and would probably give up after 1 or 2 tries. Learning wind surfing was like battling with all the forces at the same time! We're talking about trying to balance on choppy waves on a slippery wet board, at the same time maneuvering a sail which weighs more than you in the correct direction that you want to go.In the process, I contributed blood and flesh from cuts on barnacles and bruises from hitting the surf board more than once before falling into the waters.

But there is a huge difference with scuba diving. YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN SCUBA DIVING. I can never say this enough. I learnt scuba diving when I was 38. Now I'm not saying that 38 is a ripe old age but still, the body does feel somewhat less strong and less resilient. Added to that, as we get older, we also seem to have more fears. Perhaps we feel we have more to lose if something should happen to us.

I say middle age and beyond should never be a factor in learning scuba diving BUT you do need to have these:

1) an intense love for the sea
2) a willingness to learn from someone younger than you
3) relatively good health and lastly but very important
4) time and money

Now I'm assuming that you are thinking of learning scuba diving because you want to make this a sport that you can enjoy every other weekend if time and money permits and not just learning for education's sake.

An Intense Love for the Sea To enjoy a scuba diving trip, you will have to love the sea and I mean really really love it with all its wonderful creatures large and small. You will know what I mean on your first ever scuba diving trip after you have cleared your Open Water tests.

It is unlikely that your scuba diving buddies on your first dive trip will be the same classmates in your scuba diving course. Because of time and money constraints, you will find that you may be the only one keen enough to join a scuba diving trip soon after your certification.

More often than not, your dive buddies will be a dive-crazy bunch who will do at least 4 dives a day plus another at night. This means that on a scuba diving trip, most times you will not do anything but dive, talk about the sea creatures and encounters of each dive, before suiting up for the next dive. For someone who only wants to do one dive a day and then go shopping, he/she may be disappointed as many great scuba diving spots have few of these shopping and entertainment facilities.

In case you are already getting stressed just thinking about this, don't be. Every scuba diving newbie goes through this. Just have an attitude of a newbie, be humble and you will find that the seasoned divers are more than willing to share tips and may even help you to gear up before a dive.

A Willingness to Learn from Someone Younger than You Your scuba diving instructor is likely to be someone much younger than you. Some dive instructors have an attitude and are cocky so you may have to live with it for at least 3 weekends before you become certified - 1st weekend for classroom and theory, 2nd weekend for pool sessions and a 3rd weekend for the actual open water tests. Put aside your ego and just bear with it, it'll be worth it in the end.

Having said that, that's not to say that there are no good and kind scuba diving instructors around. I was fortunate to receive dive instruction from PC, a very kind and patient man, without whom my dive learning experience would not be as smooth and enjoyable.

Relatively Good Health It's not necessary to be in peak fitness before you can take up scuba diving. However, you would need some strength to be able to walk with full scuba diving gear strapped on you. Once you enter the waters with all your gear, you are almost weightless. But it's the few steps you have to make to get into the boat or to cross the beach into the water that may be a challenge for a person who is not used to carrying heavy loads on them.

Having said that, some scuba diving resorts have fantastic dive staff who can help to overcome this by carrying the tanks and gear to the boat for you to suit up inside the boat. And of course if you are on a live-a-board (live, eat, dive, sleep, on board a boat throughout the dive trip), then this may not be relevant.

Time and Money This is probably the 2 most deciding factors of whether someone continues to enjoy scuba diving after passing the Open Water tests. Getting certified through a scuba diving course is very fast, just 3 weekends basically. And not too expensive, probably about $300 to $400, including an out-of-the country dive trip for the open water tests. But unless you live near a scuba diving area, you are most likely going to have to travel a distance or even out of the country to do a good dive.

Now just think how much each trip is going to cost you and multiply that by how many times you would love to do scuba diving in a year. When you do the sums, it can be staggering. So you cut down the number of dives you want to do in a year, and then calculate and cut down some more.

In our scuba diving class, my husband and I were the only ones who continued to dive after the class was over. Even then, we did not manage to do the number of dives we would really have loved to do in a year. That's how it finally ends up that we are doing an average of 1 dive a year. This more or less ensures that we will always be diving as a "scuba diving newbie" (hence the blog's name). A scuba diver gets "rusty" when the interval is too long between each dive trip. Ideally, we should dive at least once each quarter.

I have not even gone on to calculate the other "investments" to personalise your gear such as your own BC (buoyancy control), your own octopus (breathing appartus) and your wet suit.

Having said all this, I still believe it's never too old to learn and enjoy scuba diving. Even with our limited dives since we were certified and diving as scuba diving newbies, we enjoy each and every one of our dive trips. Find the right people to dive with, find a fantastic dive spot that suits your preferences (whether macro, to check out small sea creatures, or see bigger fish) and nearby spa facilities to sooth your body aches after a dive - it's a wonderful combination that will almost always ensure a great scuba diving experience!

Scuba Diving and Gear

2007-03-03T02:16:00.003-08:00

Before going on a trip to scuba dive, check your gear and tanks. You may think they are fine, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I had made a 7 hour trip to Florida to do some dives with my son and daughter-in-law. Once we got there, my son decided to take us to a dive shop and buy some diving skins and other stuff we needed. My husband ask the owner of the shop to top our tanks off with air. Well, the guy lets all the air out of our tanks to do an inspection. Our tanks were due to be inspected in two months, but the guy said he always checks the tanks before he fills them. Thank goodness he did. My 2 tanks were good, but my husbands 2 steel tanks had rust inside them. That could have been dangerous for my husband. It turns out, the place I got the tanks fill at the last time had water in their air lines and it got in the tanks. The owner explained to us that he only does good work and follows the rules when it comes to peoples lives. He showed us his license and all the charts and all that goes with it. He is quite reputable. It all ended up with us leaving his tanks and a lot of money, but his tanks will be good to go when the owner gets done cleaning them.

We ended up borrowing tanks from the shop to make these dives. Finally we get on the boat and head out into the ocean. It was a beautiful day, sun shining bright and water all around us. Dolphins and manatees swimming in the water.

We get to the spot we want to dive. A plane and a ship is sunk in this spot. I can't wait to see all this. My husband hooks his regulator up to the tank and checked it, to make sure the air was flowing right. I am so glad, turns out the regulator was on free flowing and wouldn't adjust. He hooked mine up and the same thing, stuck on free flowing. Well, there went my diving. My husband used my daughter-in-laws regulator and did the dive. Her and I sat on the boat and waited for them to return.

I did have a good day, even though everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I didn't mention the boat stopped running while we were on our way out there, junk in the fuel filter, and I got sun burnt.

Once we got back home, my husband took our regulators apart. Ends up that there was sand and junk inside them from previous dives. We rinsed the equipment after every dive but I guess we didn't clean the regulators good enough. This could have been a very dangerous dive if we didn't get our tanks checked and if we would have dived and the regulators messed up while we were 40 plus feet underwater.

Scuba Diving

2007-03-03T02:16:00.001-08:00

Have you ever wondered if the ocean really looks like what you see on TV? Let me tell you, it does.

Once you have done your first dive, your adventure has just begun. There is so much to see under water that it is never ending. The most fascinating things are the old ship wrecks, a lot of man made reefs and plane wrecks down in the sea. And the different fish and plants, there are more than you can imagine. You wonder how those plants can grow submerged under water, but your house plants die when you over water them.

I have gone diving in lakes and in the ocean, and my favorite is the ocean. To me the lakes are very boring. With the ocean, it is so colorful and worth the time to investigate.

I was 40 years old, when I decided to take scuba diving lessons. I was one that was terrified of water, from a early childhood experience. My husband was already certified to dive and wanted me to learn so I could be his buddy and dive with him. I was scared to death, so he decided to get me into private class. I didn't know how to swim at the time. Before too long I had gone through the class and was on my way to my open water dives.

I wouldn't suggest you go diving unless you have gone to classes and get certified. And if you haven't gone in a while, take a refresher class. You can even go online and take a class. I would rather see people go to a real class with a real instructor. You learn more and can ask questions if you need to The classes are interesting. They teach you all about your BC, air tanks, gauges, and all the other things you need to know. You will begin learning a lot of your diving in a swimming pool, and when you have completed all the exercises, you will do two open water dives in the ocean. Then you get your certification, can dive when you want.

Used Scuba Diving Gear

2007-03-03T02:15:00.003-08:00

Used scuba diving gear is that gear which has been used previously by another scuba diver or scuba divers. It can be found in classified sections of newspapers, online, or posted on bulletin boards in local establishments where scuba diving is popular. You can also sometimes attain used scuba diving gear from any of a number of retailers or distributors, who will check to see that the gear is in proper working order before reselling it at a lower-than-new cost. With high-quality scuba gear, your diving experience can be so pleasant and memorable. Also, your safety is ensured. But high-quality scuba gear need not be expensive. High-quality equipment is sometimes offered at considerable discounted rates.

When looking for scuba gear, you have to be knowledgeable about the different brands and quality. You can, in fact, buy used products. Some divers utilize popular, high-quality scuba gear that has been used and is now sold with the same level of safety and protection as buying them brand new.

Except for used suits, some equipment for scuba diving is safe to reuse. These include gauges, regulators and buoyancy control devices. Buying safe used products can save you hundreds of dollars. But you have to make sure that they are still working.

There are plenty of places to go to purchase used scuba gear. You can purchase them from the Internet, classified ads or dive shops. Dive shops are usually the best place to visit, since you can check the gear before buying. It is unwise to buy anything that you have not seen.

Scuba Diving Gear For Sale

2007-03-03T02:15:00.001-08:00

Scuba diving gear for sale is usually available in the classified sections of the newspapers in your area, or you can find them online. You can often find them from private parties who may have already used and thereby tested the gear for proper use, in which case be sure to see that the scuba gear is in proper working order before using it. However, scuba diving gear for sale can also be found at any of a number of large retailers. People dive for many reasons. Some want to explore the underwater world, as well as look for interesting marine plants and animals. Scuba diving is safe as long as you have the right gear, and you are properly trained to operate the equipment.

You can find scuba gear for sale in many places. There are plenty of websites dedicated to selling all types of scuba gear, as well as classified ads and dive shops. There are also many catalogs available for people who want to order scuba gear through mail. The right scuba gear is determined by how much you are willing to spend for the equipment and what quality of gear you prefer.

You should always make sure that you are buying scuba gear from a reputable retailer. Remember, if you buy scuba gear from any source, you might be unaware that the gear is inferior , and this could be hazardous to your dive, or worse, kill you. Buying the right gear will guarantee that you will have a pleasant underwater experience.

Discount Scuba Diving Gear

2007-03-03T02:13:00.003-08:00

Discount scuba diving gear is gear that might be reduced in price for any number of reasons. Before you buy scuba diving equipment, you will need to do some research on the different types of equipment that you can buy. This will save you hundreds of dollars on scuba gear. It will also help you determine the type that suits you best.

You might be into the sport of diving to discover some mysteries under the water and to see for yourself what lives beneath the sea. Owning quality scuba gear can be simple and easy, especially when you can buy good items at considerably lower prices. There are dive shops and places that you can visit to avail of scuba gear at a low price.

It is important to buy from a reputable dive shop. Some beginner divers make the mistake of saving money by buying what they think are cheap products. But they end up getting inferior scuba gear that could put their lives at great risk when used. It is unwise to save money on gear when the products lack the quality they should have. This only forces the divers to buy a new set of better-quality gear.

When you do your research and shop around, you will find that good-quality scuba gear is also offered at discounted rates. So take time reading consumer reports on the brand of gear you intend to purchase to make sure that you are buying a quality product. The right kind of gear will certainly enhance your diving experience.