editorial
A MILLION WORDS AND COUNTING
By Alex Brylske
A few weeks ago, our publisher brought to my attention that I passed a
milestone. And it's a milestone that, as someone who never got higher than a
C-minus in English, I would never have dreamed of in a million years. It
turns out that a few months back, I wrote my one-millionth word for Dive
Training. As this achievement took more than 15 years, it means I've written
on average about 6,000 words a month. All I can say is that the only person
more surprised than I am that I'd someday earn my living
 as
a writer is my dear departed freshman English professor.
I make this point not as an exercise in hubris, but because of what I've
learned about the power and nature of writing and of words. The best advice
that I ever got about writing did not come from an English teacher, but from
a philosophy professor. "A clear writer," he told me, "must first be a clear
thinker." Perhaps that's why there aren't that many clear writers. What I've
learned on my own over the years is that one of the best ways to become a
clear thinker is to read voraciously, which seems to confirm the close
association of words and thinking.
In diving, clarity of thought isn't just something that's nice to have; it
can literally mean the difference between life and death. We most often get
ourselves into trouble underwater by not thinking clearly. Words are what
provide the raw material of clear thought. So, to paraphrase the dormouse,
feed your head ... with words.
Frankly, when my tenure with Dive Training began, I never expected to have
nearly enough to say to reach anything approaching a million words. But the
actual experience over the past years has been very different from my
expectation. In retrospect, the amazing thing is how much there was - and
remains - to cover. When it comes to subjects that are important and
interesting to divers, it's clear that I've only begun to scratch the
surface. The array of subject matter is probably endless.
The real irony in what I've learned reaching the million-word milestone is
just how so many words, in the end, come down to saying the same thing time
and again: "A good diver is always learning." In a field like ours, there's
never any harm in reiterating what's important. Anyway, I hope that you have
and will continue to get at least some value out of my modest attempts each
month at clarity of thought. And, if not, I welcome your input on how I can
do better (that's why my e-mail address is on the masthead).
buddy lines
OK to Kill Invasive Lionfish?
I am all for fish conservation, especially of endangered varieties. That
does not mean I don't eat fish, but I do choose from sustainable varieties.
What do people feel about invasive species, such as lionfish in the
Caribbean? There have been freshwater species, such as the snakehead fish,
which states, especially in the East and Northeast United States, have gone
to great lengths to remove. Should one, if it can be done safely, kill the
invasive lionfish in the Caribbean and off the East Coast?
Bill Savage
Whitinsville, Massachusetts
Editor's note: The Bahamas government has given the green light to killing
lionfish in Bahamian waters. Last fall a red lionfish, a venomous invasive
species from the western Pacific Ocean, was confirmed for the first time in
NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, located in the Atlantic Ocean
20 miles (32 km) off the Georgia coast. A flier for divers, circulated by
the federal government, can be found at
http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/documents/lionfish_scuba_flyer.pdf. For
more information, see "Beauty and A Beast: The Lionfish Invasion of the
Western Atlantic," Dive Training, December 2007.
Coastal Cleanup Needs You
I became a captain for the International Coastal Cleanup because I believe
everyone has a duty to keep the oceans and coastlines pristine for future
generations. And the creatures that live in our oceans and coastlines have a
right to live in peace. It is our responsibility to protect them.
As a diver, I feel good when I pick up debris from underwater and the
coastlines. When I see a plastic bag underwater, fishing line or a battery I
know I am protecting creatures from being entrapped and harmed. I have seen
turtles entangled underwater in fishing line off the Rhode Island shoreline.
When a turtle looks you straight in the eyes while you cut the lines from
them, you are moved by the experience. You know you have just freed them
from near death, trapped from debris put there by man.
Many people who go to the cleanup sites to enjoy the scenery ask what we are
doing. Our answer inspires new people, young and old, to help.
I find young volunteers especially uplifting. It gives me hope that the
adults and leaders of tomorrow actually get it; that today's youth
understand their responsibility to protect our oceans, coastlines and its
inhabitants. In the beginning, the volunteers at Fort Wetherill in
Jamestown, Rhode Island, were members of scuba diving clubs and the Audubon
Society.
But that is changing. Each year at the Fort Wetherill Jamestown
International Coastal Cleanup more and more volunteers are coming from other
sectors, such as local university students, and girl scout and boy scout
troops.
This year's International Coastal Cleanup is set for September 20, 2008. If
you wish to volunteer at Fort Wetherill, contact me at greenhalghdj@cox.net.
To find a captain near you, visit
www.oceanconservancy.org.
Deb Greenhalgh
Newport, Rhode Island
Watch SPG a Little Closer
I just finished reading the June issue of Dive Training and wanted to
comment on the letter writer who teaches his students to turn the valve all
the way on. I am not sure I agree with his advice, due to the possibility of
someone forcing the valve "past open" and breaking the stem, but I have been
in the position of assisting a person who "sucked the hoses dry" at depth
when his valve was not all the way open. I understand his motivation. It is
scary even when you are the one who has the air.
Since then, using that as a learning moment, I have found it effective to
teach novice divers to watch their pressure gauge while either purging or
taking several deep breaths on the regulator. I show them that if the SPG
(submersible pressure gauge) reading fluctuates - the reading drops but then
goes back up - the tank valve is not all the way open. You can do this
sitting on the boat bench waiting to get in the water.
I also tell them to check the gauge during the dive. If they see that
fluctuation at depth, something is wrong and they need to surface or have a
(knowledgeable) buddy turn the tank on the rest of the way. I suppose there
may be some digital/computer gauges where this does not work but I have yet
to come across one.
Tim Callahan
Via e-mail
Weight Addendum
I just got around to reading your May issue. Excellent, as usual, but I did
notice one thing in "No Dumb Questions" that should probably be clarified.
In Alex Brylske's answer to the first question concerning proper weighting,
he writes, "Consider yourself properly weighted when all the air in your BC
[buoyancy compensator] is deleted, and while holding a normal breath, you
float at eye level." If this procedure is performed at the beginning of a
dive, and with a presumed full cylinder of air, it will be necessary to add
3-4 pounds of additional weight to compensate for the continually increasing
positive buoyancy of the cylinder because of air consumed during the dive.
If this is not done, the diver will become more buoyant as the dive
progresses, and risk an unscheduled and, perhaps dangerous, rapid and
uncontrolled ascent to the surface.
Jerry Effenberger
Lake Forest Park, Washington
Editor's note: Good point. It's been an issue that the diving community has
never adequately dealt with. Essentially, it means that one must always dive
slightly negative, which is indeed the case for most divers. Yet the
instructional community hasn't made this a very important point in training.
It's probably because they haven't figured out how to reconcile their
admonition to dive neutrally buoyant, yet still be prepared to make a safety
stop.
- Alex Brylske, senior editor
'Dark Narc' Experience
Congratulations on your "Technical Advances in Recreational Scuba, Part I"
article in the June 2008 issue. I find the physiology of diving intriguing.
That's one reason I became an instructor. I try to instill a healthy respect
for depth in students by pointing out (as you did) why you simply cannot
work as hard underwater as you can on the surface, even with a top-notch
regulator. In a sidebar, you mentioned that carbon dioxide plays a role in
narcosis, and that prompted me to share an experience and cautionary tale
from my first decompression diving course.
The course was held in Nanaimo, British Columbia, on Canada's Vancouver
Island. My buddy for the first deep dive turned out to be a "rocket"
underwater, or maybe I should say, "unguided missile." I was hard-pressed to
keep up with him. Time flew by at an insanely fast pace, and I found it
difficult to form thoughts and execute the actions dictated by our dive
plan. I felt an overwhelming sense of danger, telling myself I didn't belong
down there and might well not survive the dive. I was fighting back panic.
This experience was unlike any other I've had deep. I've tested (and I share
with students) my own susceptibility to narcosis in varying conditions on
deep dives, but the effect has always been pleasant. This was my first, and
so far only, "dark narc." That dive made me keenly aware how increased
exertion underwater and the consequent elevation of carbon dioxide levels
can change the quality of narcosis from pleasant to terrified.
Bryan Saint Germain
Medford, Oregon
dive observer
DIVE TRAVELERSADJUST TO FLURRY OF AIRLINE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Fees for Checked Bags,
Fewer Routes Part of Fallout From High Gas Prices
By Gene Gentrup
Dive destinations and dive travelers are adjusting to a series of stinging
announcements coming from the airlines industry, made in response to the
rising cost for jet fuel.
For the first time, the cost to fuel a flight exceeds the cost to staff it,
and airlines are adjusting in ways that won't win many popularity contests.
For starters, travelers will have fewer flight options. Airlines are
reducing their fleet of planes and dropping routes. American Airlines, for
example, announced that it will reduce from 30 to 18 its flights to the
Caribbean beginning September 1.
Then there's cost of checking in a piece of luggage. That's right. Not your
carry-on, but checked bags. American, United and US Airways now charge $15
for the first bag and $25 for the second. (Heaven help you if either bag
weighs more than 50 pounds.)
If that isn't enough, you may be forking over cash for that in-flight soft
drink or bottled water. US Airways says it will begin charging for onboard
drinks August 1, and other airlines may follow suit. Alcoholic drinks,
currently $5, will cost $7.
But there is good news, or relief, depending on your perspective. United and
American have limited their baggage fees to U.S. and Canada service. That
includes flights to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dive travelers
headed to Caribbean destinations using those airlines will not have to pay
the baggage fee. That is especially good news for divers who bring along a
second bag to hold their dive gear. And the U.S. Virgin Islands is promoting
the fact that baggage fees do not apply to duty-free liquor purchases made
there, says Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty.
US Airways travelers won't be so lucky. They'll have to pay baggage fees
even when they go to non-U.S. Caribbean islands and Latin America.
The rising gas prices that triggered the changes have risen so much that not
only are airlines scheduling fewer flights, they are retiring from service
older, less fuel-efficient planes.
This worries dive destinations that depend on a healthy flow of U.S.
tourists. More than 95 percent of Caribbean tourism GDP (gross domestic
product) is derived from air arrivals, says Allen Chastanet, chairman of the
Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and minister of Tourism & Civil
Aviation for St. Lucia.
The flight cuts are coming despite increases in tourism this year to most of
the islands, including double-digit growth in U.S. visitors to Antigua, St.
Lucia and Jamaica, according to the CTO. The Dominican Republic reported
407,000 U.S. tourists from January to April, a 6 percent increase from last
year, and Puerto Rico reported increased airline passenger traffic as well.
While some airlines are cutting back flights to the Caribbean, others are
doing just the opposite. Spirit Airlines launched daily service linking Fort
Lauderdale and Port of Spain, Trinidad; Delta inaugurated service on
Thursdays and Sundays from New York Kennedy to Antigua; Caribbean Airlines
ramped up its Fort Lauderdale-Trinidad service to daily from four times a
week; and Continental will add a fourth daily nonstop from its Newark, New
Jersey hub to San Juan, Puerto Rico in September.
Meanwhile, Continental Connection expanded its air service to Bimini in the
Bahamas with a second daily flight from Fort Lauderdale; in October, Cape
Air's daily roundtrips between St. Thomas and San Juan will jump to 12 from
seven and its service between St. Croix and San Juan will increase from four
to eight daily roundtrips.
Also, JetBlue increased its flights from New York Kennedy, Orlando and
Boston to San Juan to take effect in September. The carrier also is pumping
up its schedule to the Dominican Republic this fall with extra flights to
both Santo Domingo and Santiago from New York Kennedy.
Still, flight options will be fewer, and experts say dive travelers would be
wise to reserve flights sooner rather than later because with fewer flights
available, other passengers will book sooner than usual to ensure a spot on
the flight.
FYI
Below are the baggage fee policies for three of the leading U.S.
carriers.
American Airlines
Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after June 15,
2008, will be charged $15 each way for the first checked bag and $25 each
way for the second checked bag. The company's carry-on policy of one
personal item (such as a purse or laptop bag) plus one bag remains in place.
United Airlines
Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after June 13,
2008, and will be traveling on or after August 18, 2008, will be charged $15
each way for the first checked bag and $25 each way for the second checked
bag. The company's carry-on policy of one personal item (such as a purse or
laptop bag) plus one bag remains in place.
US Airways
On July 9, 2008, the airline began assessing a $15 fee for passengers' first
checked bags. If you've already purchased a ticket for travel after July 9
the fee won't apply. A second checked bag will cost you $25 each way. The
company's carry-on policy of one personal item (such as a purse or laptop
bag) plus one bag remains in place.
PAIR SAY THEY HAVE FOUND OLDEST GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECK
Two Minnesota men say they have found the oldest shipwreck ever discovered
in the Great Lakes.
The HMS Ontario, a 22-gun British warship sailing across Lake Ontario, met
its demise at the hands of a sudden and violent gale on Halloween night in
1780. More than 120 people were on board.
Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville say they found the Ontario in waters up to 500
feet (152 m) deep off the southern shore of Lake Ontario. They are keeping
the exact location a secret for fear that others will raid the site of
artifacts. The ship is still considered a war grave, they said, and is
property of the British Admiralty.
Recently, the two men steered their 23-foot (7-m) fishing boat to the site
and used a remote-controlled robot built by Scoville to explore the ship,
capturing more than 80 minutes of video footage to confirm its identity.
For more information, visit
www.shipwreckworld.com/story/shipwreck-explorers-discover-1780-british-warship-in-lake-ontario.aspx.
SUBWAY CARS SUNK OFF MARYLAND COAST
Forty-four retired New York City subway cars have been sunk off Maryland's
Atlantic coast for creation of the Susan J. Power reef.
The site, the first of five possible artificial reef sites off Maryland's
Atlantic coast, is about 19 miles (30 km) southeast of Ocean City, Maryland,
and represents the first coastal project of the Maryland Artificial Reef
Initiative (MARI). The site will eventually include as many as 600 retired
subway cars, and is expected to become a regional diving and fishing
destination.
The Ocean City Reef Foundation started raising funds for the new reef last
November, when the New York City subway cars became available. A $50,000
donation supported the first shipment of cars to be transported to the site.
Additional car placements are planned as funding becomes available.
For more information about MARI, visit
www.marylandreefs.org.
For further information about the OCRF, visit
www.ocreeffoundation.com/.
BRITISH COLUMBIA GROUP PLANS TO SINK DESTROYER AS DIVE ATTRACTION
The Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia plans to sink a retired
warship near Vancouver next year. Last year, the reef society purchased the
former HMCS Annapolis from the federal government for more than $750,000.
The Annapolis is a retired 371-foot destroyer escort with a helicopter deck
and hangar plus an exterior bridge on the upper deck.
Created in 1991, the society uses retired ships and airplanes to create
artificial ocean reefs that divers can explore. So far the group has sunk
six ships and a Boeing 737, largely off the Vancouver Island coast.
For more information about the Annapolis project, visit
www.artificial
reef.bc.ca.
CIVIL WAR RELIC 'AT RISK,' GOVERNMENT SAYS
The natural resources of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off the North
Carolina coast are in good condition overall, but the wreck of the Civil War
ironclad encompassed by the site is at risk from human activity and natural
deterioration, according to a new federal government report.
The first-of-its-kind assessment of the sanctuary's archaeological and
living marine resources indicates that corrosion, strong currents,
hurricanes, high water temperatures and highly salty water threaten the
long-term stability of the Monitor wreck. Discarded fishing gear, which can
become entangled on the wreck, and other forms of marine debris also pose a
danger to the historic site.
Although not a major problem now, looting of the wreck, vessel anchoring,
bottom trawling and other activities prohibited in sanctuary waters are of
concern due to significant diving, boating and fishing activity in the area.
"While major portions of the Monitor have been recovered and are now being
conserved and displayed at the USS Monitor Center, we still have more to
learn from this historically important ship," said David Alberg,
superintendent of the Monitor sanctuary. "The Monitor and the sanctuary's
other resources deserve no less than continued study, protection and
respect."
The report says that marine life within the sanctuary, including black
seabass, oyster toadfish and great barracuda, is abundant. The Monitor has
also become a productive artificial reef colonized by a variety of corals
and sponges. Water quality in the sanctuary is generally good, with no
evidence of any risks to human health.
Prepared by the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, a part of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the peer-reviewed report
provides a baseline for monitoring changes to sanctuary resources and
identifying research and management priorities. The full report is available
online.
The wreck of the USS Monitor was designated the first national marine
sanctuary in 1975. Located 16 miles (26 km) off Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina, the sanctuary includes a column of water one nautical mile in
diameter that extends from the ocean's surface down 240 feet (73 m) to the
seabed around the wreck.
NOAA and the U.S. Navy recovered major portions of the Monitor, including
its propeller, steam engine and revolving gun turret, between 1998 and 2002.
The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, is the primary repository of
Monitor artifacts and documents. NOAA monitors the sanctuary through regular
site visits and a NOAA buoy that collects real-time water temperature,
current and wind speed data.
More details about the condition of the Monitor are available at
http://monitor.noaa.gov/.
HURRICANE FORECASTERS PREDICT ACTIVE SEASON
A second authority on hurricane forecasting calls for an above-normal season
this year. The federal government's Climate Prediction Center calls for a 65
percent probability of an above-normal season and a 25 percent probability
of a near-normal season.The climate patterns expected during this year's
Atlantic basin hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, have
in past seasons produced a range of activity and have been associated with
both near-normal and above-normal seasons. For 2008, the outlook indicates a
60 percent to 70 percent chance of 12-16 named storms, including six to nine
hurricanes and two to five major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5 on the
Saffir-Simpson Scale).
An average season has 11 named storms, including six hurricanes for which
two reach major status.
The government forecast resembles the forecast issued by a University of
Colorado State University team known for its hurricane forecasting ability.
The government's Atlantic hurricane season outlook will be updated on August
7, just before what is historically the peak period for hurricane activity.
Tropical systems acquire a name - the first of which for 2008 will be Arthur
- upon reaching tropical storm strength with sustained winds of at least 39
mph. Tropical storms become hurricanes when winds reach 74 mph, and become
major hurricanes when winds reach 111 mph. For more information, visit
www.noaa.gov.
FREEDIVERS BREAK RECORDS AT DEAN'S BLUE HOLE
Freedivers set five world records during the Vertical Blue 2008 competition
held recently at Dean's Blue Hole on Long Island, Bahamas.
Event organizer William Trubridge set four of the records, and Natalia
Avseenko of Russia, the fifth. All records were in the self-propelled depth
disciplines recognized by AIDA (International Association for the
Development of Freediving). Fifteen athletes from seven countries competed.
Dean's Blue Hole reaches a depth of 663 feet (201 m). Trubridge, from New
Zealand, plummeted 84 meters (277 feet), then 86 meters (284 feet) in the
category of Unassisted Freediving, also called "Constant Weight Without
Fins." Both dives were world records. His last dive was for an underwater
duration of 3 minutes, 20 seconds.
The category of Unassisted Freediving is diving in its purest form, with no
fins or weights. Divers follow a line but are allowed to touch it only once,
at the bottom for the turnaround.
In 2007 Trubridge set a world record in that same category with a dive to 81
m (268 feet). Avseenko achieved a women's world record in Unassisted
Freediving with a dive to 57 meters (188 feet). Her underwater time was two
minutes, 34 seconds.
For more information, visit
www.aida-international.org/.
'TOP 10' NEW SPECIES LIST ANNOUNCED
An ornate sleeper ray that sucks and a jellyfish named after its victim are
among the top 10 new species announced by The International Institute for
Species Exploration at Arizona State University (ASU) and an international
committee of taxonomists - scientists responsible for species exploration
and classification.
According to the report, the ornate sleeper ray - Electrolux addisoni -
whose name reflects "the vigorous sucking action displayed on the videotape
of the feeding ray" from the east coast of South Africa "may rival a
well-known electrical device used to suck the detritus from carpets."Also on
the list is the second known species of the dangerous box jellyfish genus
Malo, one of several genera of irukandji jellyfish. It is named after
American tourist Robert King, who died after being stung by the species
while swimming off northern Queensland, Australia. King's death was a
pivotal point in irukandji management, raising public awareness about
safety.
The taxonomists are also issuing a SOS (State of Observed Species) report
card on human knowledge of Earth's species. In it, they report that 16,969
species new to science were discovered and described in 2006.
Other information on the top 10 and the SOS report are online at
species.asu.edu.
CARIBBEAN MONK SEAL, LAST SEEN IN 1952, DECLARED EXTINCT
Federal officials recently made official what they had long believed: the
Caribbean monk seal is extinct.
The last confirmed sighting of the Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 between
Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
The animals were native to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Biologists
say humans left the population unsustainable after overhunting the docile
creatures for food and blubber.
Caribbean monk seals were listed as endangered on March 11, 1967, under the
Endangered Species Preservation Act, and relisted under the Endangered
Species Act on April 10, 1979.
The federal agency says that the Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could
be next. There are fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk
seals remaining.
For more information, visit www. noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/2008
0606_monkseal.html.
MPA INVENTORY AVAILABLE ONLINE
The first online inventory of the nation's marine protected areas (MPAs) is
now available. The inventory, created by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Protected Areas Center, in
cooperation with the Department of the Interior, catalogs and classifies
marine protected areas within U.S. waters. It provides baseline information
that will contribute to the development of the national system of MPAs, as
defined in Executive Order 13158.
"Not only will the MPA Inventory be a key resource for nominating eligible
sites to the national system, but it will also serve as a valuable tool for
MPA managers and stakeholders, enabling them to make more informed decisions
about current and future management of our nation's marine resources," says
John H. Dunnigan, NOAA assistant administrator of the National Ocean
Service.
The MPA Inventory, posted on
www.MPA.gov, contains information on each protected area established or
managed by federal, state or territorial agencies or programs.
ENTRIES SOUGHT
FOR 'YEAR OF THE REEF' CONTEST
A series of competitions in recognition of "International Year of the Reef"
have been scheduled by Explorer Ventures.
Participants for "Ventures into the Reef" are invited to compete in the
categories of "best underwater photo," "best topside photo" and "best trip
commentary."
To enter the contests, participants need to fill out an entry form and
submit their photo(s) and/or trip commentary electronically. The competition
is free. Photos must be taken between August 31, 2007, and August 31, 2008,
and the trip commentary must be from a trip taken within the same dates. The
winning entries will be included in a 2009 Explorer Ventures "Ventures into
the Reef" calendar. The winners of each competition will receive a $500
credit toward a trip on any Explorer Ventures boat in Australia or the
Caribbean as well as five copies of the 2009 Explorer Ventures calendar.
The first International Year of the Reef (IYOF) was designated in 1997 by
the International Coral Reef Initiative in response to the idea that coral
reefs were being subjected to increasing threats. The goal of the initiative
was to increase awareness and understanding of coral reefs. For entry forms
and more information, visit
www.explorerventures.com/ common/contest.html, e-mail
contest@explorerventures.com,
or call (800) 322-3577. For more information on IYOR, visit
www.iyor.org.
DOMINICA CHANGES WHALING POSITION
Dominica no longer will vote with Japan in favor of commercial whaling,
according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt, who said that the decision
to abstain from the vote at the upcoming International Whaling Conference (IWC)
in Santiago, Chile, is in "the best interests of Dominica."
The dive destination has voted with Japan for the last eight years to
overturn the ban on commercial whaling. Ian Douglas, minister for tourism,
legal affairs and civil aviation, said that at the time of the original
decision, "Dominica was almost entirely dependent upon agriculture with
tourism still undeveloped. Now tourism has significantly increased to
represent a significantly larger portion of the economy." Dominica's
positioning as the "Nature Island" was developed around a nature base that
relies heavily on niche market tourists who seek out environmentally
friendly destinations, according to Douglas. "The decision was made to
change our stance at the IWC as part of our ongoing review of our national
interest in the conservation of natural resources and the sustainability of
our tourism product," Douglas said.
[BOOKS]
'THE GREAT LAKES DIVING GUIDE'
Divers who enjoy plying the waters of lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, Superior
or Ontario might want to leaf through a copy of this book. Cris Kohl's
followup to his 2001 initial release of "The Great Lakes Diving Guide"
includes an additional 192 pages. The now 608-page paperback provides
information on more than 1,000 shipwrecks, including 150 recently located
wrecks, more than 1,200 photographs, new shipwreck drawings and maps, and a
segment on 30 "significant events" of the Great Lakes, each as a one- or
two-page sidebar, such as the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald and a new
chapter on scuba diving clubs.
For more information visit your local dive shop or call (630) 293-8996.
[DVD]
'DIVING GRAND BAHAMA: A VIDEO GUIDE'
Hi Def Pictures has come out with a series of high-definition videos on dive
sites in the United States including "Diving Grand Bahama: A Video Guide."
The 45-minute widescreen-format video includes footage of Shark Junction,
Theo's Wreck, Ben's Cave, a dolphin encounter, reef diving, Mermaid's Lair,
a shark feed, beaches and tropical golfing. Other Hi Def Pictures videos
focus on Roatan, Florida Keys and "The Caves of Mill Pond."
Hi Def Pictures is a video production company based in Indianapolis that
specializes in dive-related travel documentaries. The company says its
videos can be used to prepare for a dive trip to the destination or simply
for pleasure. For more information, visit your local dive shop or call (317)
423-2236.
[WEB SITE]
'DIVE IMAGINATION'
Kid-friendly photos, video and articles about diving and the ocean are used
to entertain and educate people of all ages at a new Web portal called
DiveIntoYourImagination.com.Visitors to the Web site can watch videos and
read about animals from around the world, learn tips on photography and
videography, teach children how to swim and love the water. It also offers
an online store that carries entertaining and educational products with an
ocean theme. The Web site is the creation of Annie Crawley, a California
producer, photographer and motivational speaker, and self-described
Renaissance woman who says that imagination is just as important as
knowledge.
The site was created for parents, educators, grandparents and, of course,
children. By joining the Dive Into Your Imagination community, participants
can add posts, blogs and participate in the Dive Into Your Imagination Club.
Crawley says that everything people do on land affects the ocean. "If we can
get everyone to love the ocean, we will protect it because we protect what
we love."
For more information, e-mail Crawley at annie@anniecrawley.com or visit the
Web site.
[EVENTS]
WRECKFEST 2008 AUGUST 2-10 IN FLORIDA KEYS
A nine-day wreck diving festival is planned for August 2-10 in the Florida
Keys.
WreckFest 2008 includes visits to dive sites like Spiegel Grove, Duane and
Bibb for recreational advanced divers, and the Northern Light and Queen of
Nassau for those with technical experience. Other sites are the Doc De Mille
and Hugos April Fool in Biscayne Bay.
Evening events are to be hosted by acclaimed divers such as wreck detective
John Chatterton, International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers'
Tom Mount and world record cave diver Jarrod Jablonski.
Demonstrations and seminars are to take place at the Holiday Inn Key Largo,
mile marker 100 oceanside.
WreckFest 2008 passes can be purchased for one, three, six and nine days
with or without accommodations. Each pass includes morning dives plus
afternoon and evening activities. Passes are $100 for one day, $255 for
three days, $420 for six days and $540 for an all-event superpass.
Proceeds from the festival benefit the Upper Keys Artificial Reef
Foundation.
For more information about WreckFest 2008, including a complete schedule of
events, visit www.silentworld keylargo.com/wreckfest.html. Information also
can be obtained by calling Chris Brown of Silent World at (305) 451-3252 or
e-mailing info@silent worldkeylargo.com.
'LEGENDS OF DIVING' SET FOR AUGUST 8-10 IN OHIO
Nick Icorn, one of the first divers ever certified, and who served as the
first executive director of the Professional Association of Dive
Instructors, is the featured legendary diver for the third annual
International Legends of Diving, scheduled for August 8-10 at Portage Quarry
in Bowling Green, Ohio.
In addition to Icorn's appearance, dive legends Sam Lecocq, Dr. Sam Miller
and Alec Peirce are scheduled to return. Other events planned include an
underwater treasure hunt, a Saturday night showing of the "Revenge of the
Creature," and giveaways totaling more than $10,000, including two dive
trips.
Icorn was part of the first formal underwater instructors course conducted
at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in 1953 with Connie Limbaugh,
considered the founder of dive training in the United States. Icorn has
written manuals for open-water dive courses and his collection of dive
equipment is considered one of the world's best. One of the most treasured
items in his collection is the rare Commeinhes Scuba unit from 1937, which
is the first fully automatic self-contained underwater breathing unit. It
was designed and manufactured by Georges Commeinhes in France, and produced
before the Aqualung. The Ohio show will be the first time the Commeinhes
unit has been displayed in North America outside of California.
Icorn will also present his "Evolution of Diving" series, with more than 100
slides and displays illustrating the development of the sport. To find out
more details about the event, visit
www.portagequarry.com.
SAN DIEGO UNDERWATER FILM SHOW AUGUST 22-23
The ninth annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition is scheduled for Friday
and Saturday evenings, August 22 and 23, at Qualcomm Hall in San Diego.
Each evening of the show features a different program consisting of 14-16
short underwater films from locations all over the world. For more
information, visit
www.sdufex.com.
DIVERS FOR HOPE FUND-RAISER SEPTEMBER 14 AT FORT WETHERILL
Divers for Hope has scheduled a fundraiser treasure hunt for September 14 at
Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, Rhode Island.
Thousands of dollars in prizes donated by local businesses, dive shops,
charter boats and manufacturers will be given away. Registration the day of
event starts at 10 a.m. and dive time is noon. Registered participants get
their chance at the prizes, with food and refreshments available.
Commemorative shirts will be available, while they last. Bring your
certification card, dive gear, and a dive buddy. More information is
available at
www.DiversForHope.org.
Divers For Hope is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for
nonprofit organizations that support community service and environmental
causes.
SCUBA EVENT PART OF WORLD POLICE AND FIRE GAMES
Scuba diving is just one of many events planned for the 2009 World Police
and Fire Games scheduled for next August in Vancouver, Canada.
The scuba event is a pentathlon, and includes the following challenges:
Buoyancy control/obstacle course. Equipment exchange.
Underwater navigation.
Timed swim.
Lift bag event.
The events are run over two days and are open to divers with any recognized
diving certification, not simply those police and firemen actually involved
in search and rescue.
The competition will take place in the so-called "emerald sea" off Canada's
west coast. For more information, visit
www.2009wpfg.ca/index.shtml.
always learning
WHEN 'THAT TINGLY FEELING' ISN'T A GOOD THING:
Breathing From a Contaminated Tank
 It
was late in the afternoon, the sky was overcast, the visibility was less
than 30 feet (9 m) and I had seen a couple of sharks cruising through the
murky water along the edge of visibility. The water was a little "sloppy,"
meaning there was some surge, a bit of current and there was a lot of sea
grass and sand suspended in the water. The primary purpose of the dive trip
was to photograph several species of sharks, and we had waited to see
several sharks from the surface before we entered the water. So the sharks
were no surprise. But with the reduced visibility, current and surge I was
not as comfortable as I would like, even though I was on the bottom in only
20 feet (6 m) of water. It wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't what I'd call
ideal, either.
Game Off?
But this time, after a few minutes I began to feel a little odd, kind of
"off my game." I was slightly uncomfortable; a little short of breath, and
my stomach was becoming unsettled. I wondered whether I was allowing the
water conditions and the sharks to play games with my head as well as my
stomach. After being in the water for less than 10 minutes I decided to
return to the boat because I just didn't feel "right." I swam back to where
I could see the boat's dive ladder, but the boat swung away from me as it
moved back and forth in the wind and current. I didn't feel as if I could
catch the boat because I was having significant difficulty catching my
breath. I felt as if I was at altitude. I was inhaling, but I didn't feel as
if I was getting enough oxygen. So I stopped to see if I could catch my
breath.
Several other people were in the water, but we were not buddy diving.
Although it might sound surprising if you are new to diving, some
experienced divers, especially photographers, dive solo.
In this instance, I was on my own. I thought about ascending away from the
boat, but as the boat was swinging back and forth I couldn't be exactly sure
where it was. I didn't want to get in a situation where if I passed out or
had any kind of problem on the surface that I might get "run over" by the
boat.
Within a minute or so after stopping on the bottom to wait for the boat to
swing back toward me, I began to feel a bit better. I waited a little longer
and then began to kick toward the boat. As soon as I started swimming I
started feeling weird, and I was quickly beginning to suspect that I had a
problem with the air I was breathing. I was afraid it was contaminated. I
was certain I needed to get out of the water; the sooner the better.
I ascended near the exit ladder with my weights in my hand so that if I
passed out I would drop them and rise to the surface where I'd be rescued. I
reached the swim step and asked for help. A couple of crewmembers were quick
to assist me by pulling me upward as I crawled up the dive ladder. I felt
very relieved to have made it back to the boat.
That Not-So-Good Tingly Feeling
I never passed out, but even on the boat I wasn't exactly all there, either.
My arms and legs felt "tingly." I was a little nauseated, but more than
anything I felt short of breath. I was aware that I was on the swim step and
that the crew had acted quickly to make sure I was breathing, take my pulse,
elevate my legs and get me on oxygen. One of the crewmembers asked me to
describe my symptoms and whether I could taste any residue in the back of my
throat, a good indicator if oil from the compressor or some other
contaminant had somehow gotten into my gas supply. I had not experienced any
strange taste or odor. Neither my lips nor the skin under my fingernails
showed any discoloration.
I was beginning to feel a little better after a few minutes, when I suddenly
began to exhale violently while being unable to fully inhale. It was a very
uncomfortable sensation. The tingling sensation in my arms and legs returned
and intensified. I thought I might pass out, but after a minute or so I got
my breathing under control and the tingling sensations disappeared. My body
was shaking, but I didn't feel cold, and I remember hearing the crew talking
among themselves about whether I was going or had gone into shock.
At this point the crew was not convinced that I had a problem with my air
supply. One reason for their thinking was that several people on board were
suffering from severe flu. The crew suspected I had come down with the flu
and was having an extreme reaction.
Not long after I had been pulled up the ladder, while I was lying down in
the salon, one crewmember came into the salon and told the crewmember
attending me that he was needed "right now" on the back deck. I was starting
to come out of my fog and asked what was going on. I was informed that
another diver had to be rescued while he was on the surface. I suspected the
second diver was breathing contaminated air, and while the crew wasn't
certain that was the case, they acted quickly to get everyone out of the
water.
A few minutes later the second diver was going through the same sort of
experience that I had gone through, with disorientation, the "tinglies,"
nausea and breathing difficulties. He was given oxygen. An hour or so later
both of us felt better, but we were exhausted. No doubt, our bodies had been
hammered.
I can only speculate about the cause. My tank is at a lab where the gas is
being analyzed.
I relate this incident because I want other divers to benefit from my
experience. The main point I want to make is that the potential
diving-related maladies presented to us in our basic scuba class, from
decompression sickness to jellyfish stings to contaminated air, are
presented for valid reasons. These ailments are not common but they can and
do occur. Because they occur we all need to be prepared to recognize and
treat them.
If you ever feel dizzy, nauseated or short of breath underwater, don't be
quick to dismiss it. Stop and take a moment to assess your physical and
mental condition. Even if you feel just vaguely "not right," do not hesitate
to terminate the dive and make a slow, controlled ascent. Once on the
surface let the crew know you are not OK and need some assistance. Never -
ever - be embarrassed to ask for help from your buddy and/or the crew.
no dumb questions
THE HISTORY OF BUOYANCY CONTROL, TUNICATE TROUBLE
By Alex Brylske
 Q:Michael
McGuire wants to know about diving's past, and how what's now an essential
piece of equipment came to be. "I very much enjoyed the recent "Sea Hunt"
article by Greg Laslo ("Must Sea TV: For 50 Years, Diving and Television
Have Been the Best of Buddies," Dive Training, February 2008). The memories
came back, and the history and evolution of television was extremely
interesting. Very good work! However, I wonder, how did they control
buoyancy in those days without BCs (buoyancy compensators)? Just looking at
the pictures, all he's wearing is a tank and weights."
A:I became a diver myself long before there was such a thing as a buoyancy
compensator, so I'm very familiar with what we did in the Stone Age.
Basically, back then we never really considered the concept of buoyancy
control. Enough weight was worn so that you were slightly positive at the
surface, and you hoped that - once your wet suit compressed at depth - you'd
be neutrally buoyant, more or less, in the depth range where you planned
most of your dive. Because you were slightly positive at the surface, it was
a bit of a struggle to descend the first 10-15 feet or so. That's why
head-first descents were standard practice. You simply did what you had to
do until you got to a depth where you overcame the positive buoyancy and no
longer had to struggle. A feet-first descent was virtually impossible.
Naturally, as you dove deeper, and your exposure suit continued to compress,
you'd eventually become negatively buoyant. This was something you just
dealt with by kicking more.
The only "compensation" for buoyancy was that, if you thought you'd be
spending most of your time at a depth where you knew you'd be quite
negative, you might take a few pounds off your belt. Of course, that meant
it would be more of a struggle to begin the initial descent, but the
advantage was that you'd have less of a struggle with negative buoyancy once
at depth.
If you're following the logic, by now you realize that this technique also
meant that, on ascent, you'd be positively buoyant by the time you got back
into shallow water. Today, we'd see that as a problem because there was no
way to make a safety stop. Back then - long, long before the advent of
safety stops - we saw it as an aid to getting back to the surface because,
even with slight positive buoyancy, you'd still probably not ascend "faster
than your slowest bubbles" (our guideline for a safe ascent rate). And if
you did begin ascending too quickly, you just "flared out" - a technique in
which you spread your arms and legs and assumed a more horizontal
orientation in the water. This presented more surface area to the water
column, and the added resistance to movement thereby slowed your ascent.
With enough practice, you could actually control your rate reasonably well,
though you were unable to fully halt an ascent.
By the time I began diving in the mid-1960s, many, though far from all,
divers were wearing inflatable vests. These were vestiges of the old "Mae
West" jackets worn by aviators in the Second World War, except designed
exclusively for scuba diving. While they were intended for surface
flotation, some divers began adding small amounts of air to them underwater
to compensate for negative buoyancy at depth. However, as they lacked a
crotch strap to keep them in place, the partially inflated vest would ride
up into an awkward and uncomfortable position. So manufacturers responded to
this by adding a crotch strap, which was really the first attempt at what
might be called a crude BC.
It didn't take long until another refinement was made by moving the inflator
hose from its original position on the chest to behind the head, thus
facilitating deflation. That modification, combined with the crotch strap,
was essentially the first true BC (though the skill of buoyancy control was
still not taught in most scuba courses).
However, no discussion of the history of buoyancy control is really complete
without crediting the group that really put the technique into the
mainstream: the cave diving community. Recognizing the need to stay off a
cave floor to avoid a silt-out, cave divers came up with a novel solution.
They began taking empty bleach bottles along on their dives. At depth they'd
partially inflate the bottle, and tie it off to their tank harness. By
adding or deleting air when necessary, they could fine-control their
buoyancy and achieve a safe and comfortable neutral state for the entire
dive. Other divers soon came to realize just how much better it was to dive
in a constant state of neutral buoyancy, rather than continually varying
between positive and negative.
The real breakthrough, though, came with the advent of the "Buoy Fenzy" -
named for its inventor, Maurice Fenzy. It was the first adjustable buoyancy
lift jacket (ABLJ), more commonly known as a "horsecollar." A
second-generation model became the first device to add an independent air
source (a small compressed air tank) to inflate the unit at depth. By the
late 1970s the front-mounted horsecollar BCs were ceding their role to
what's become the standard stabilizer jacket of today, and the rest, as they
say, is history.
Q:Turning from the realm of the history of equipment to the environment,
Roger Dunton had a question about what he witnessed recently on a coral
reef. "While leading a group in Cozumel, I saw what appeared to be an
infestation of the reef. I'm including their description to see if you are
aware of this and perhaps what might be done. The divemaster referred to it
as a "mat tunicate," but it was unlike any tunicates of which I am aware. It
looked more like some form of algae. Anyway, they told us that it should be
removed from the coral to stop its growth. I observed it again on a later
trip to Belize. The weird thing is that when you start looking for it, you
see it a lot, whereas if you are not looking, you don't notice it so much. I
would be interested in learning what it is, and what should be done with it
- remove it or leave it alone?
A:Unfortunately, we're so used to finding algae covering coral reefs today
that it's the first thing we think of when we find some organism other than
coral covering the reef. What you saw wasn't algae but an animal, and your
divemaster was right. It was a colonial tunicate (also called a mat
tunicate). The reason for your confusion is that when we hear the word
tunicate we think of the classic "sea squirt." These are individual animals,
whereas the organism that you saw was colonial (just as some corals are
individual polyps while others are colonial).
Though I omitted your lengthy description of the tunicate from your
question, I did forward it along in my note to several coral reef experts.
The most comprehensive response came from Dr. Tom Goreau of the Global Coral
Reef Alliance. Here's what he had to say:
"What Roger observed was the tunicate, Trididemnum solidum, a very effective
coral killer that has greatly increased in many locations all around the
Caribbean, but much more in some places than others. I believe the first
description of it overgrowing coral was by Chuck Birkeland [another
world-renowned coral reef scientist] when he was a post-doc in Belize, and
it was at that time a rare curiosity. Ten years ago, when I told him it was
no longer a novelty and had become a big problem, he was very surprised. I
began noticing it spreading in Jamaica around 1990. Rolf Bak began noticing
its spread in Cura‡ao and Edwin Hernandez-Delgado in Puerto Rico about 10
years ago, around the time that I alerted Cozumel divers to it. I've seen
quite a bit of it in St. Martin, the Grenadines, Tobago, Panama, Cozumel,
Turks and Caicos, and Bonaire. There, at the very north end of the island, I
observed the worst infestations that I have ever seen, with around 40
percent of the coral surfaces overgrown. In some places colonies are more
whitish cream-colored, or beige, but in some places they have distinct green
or blue tints due to their symbiotic cyanobacteria. For example, those in
northeastern Jamaica are more blue.
"As far as I have been able to find out from the tunicate specialists at the
Smithsonian, there seems to be little or no work on what they actually eat,
but they are presumed to eat the same sort of zooplankton as corals. That
seems to me not to be correct. If this were true, why would we see such a
dramatic mortality in corals, while the tunicates proliferate? To me, it
looks as though there's something they can eat better than corals. The fact
that the highest abundances of T. solidum in Bonaire is in a protected area,
with uninhabited areas downstream with no human pollution at all implies
this must be some sort of a natural trophic shift, perhaps related to
changes in upwelling in the Cariaco Trench. For sure, this pest is
increasing all over the Caribbean, but at very different rates, and the
different abundances may give some clue into changes in its food supply.
"The tunicate kills coral by smothering, not by biological predation or
chemical toxicity, and there's no reaction by the coral to the encroaching
threat. Nothing seems to eat it, either. We really don't know why this has
become such a plague in places where once it was almost never seen. It used
to be very, very rare in Jamaica for many decades and suddenly began to
spread. Because tunicates are thought to rely on the same resources as
corals, zooplankton and photosynthetic symbionts, it's a little hard to know
why they are taking over so much, and, as I said before, my guess is it's
some kind of subtle trophic shift related to changes in the ocean plankton
food chain that are pervasive, but not the same everywhere.
"I always pull off all I can, because this is a real pest, and it is killing
huge amounts of coral. You feel good to save a bit of coral, but it is
almost hopeless because there's so much of it. You can wind up not seeing
anything else and using up all your air."
While Goreau advocates removal, another researcher cautioned against, or at
least being very careful when, pulling the tunicate off. Because it's
difficult to remove the entire mat in one fell swoop, tears result and
larvae will often escape and begin to swim immediately. So, rather than
helping to eliminate it, attempts at removal could be a good way to help
spread it. Like much of the science of coral reefs, we just don't know
enough about the organism to make a sound recommendation.
Dive Training Quiz
 PHOTO BY DICK STARKS
Test your knowledge of the information featured
in this month's issue of Dive Training.
1. An opening in the upper chambers of the heart is called:
A. Bends
B. Patent foramen ovale
C. Nitrogen narcosis
D. Reverse squeeze
2. A thorough equipment check can ferret out issues such as:
A. Failing mask and fin straps
B. Worn O-rings
C. Dead or dying batteries
D. All of the above
3. The process of completing academic and pool training at home and
completing dive certification with open-water dives at a dive destination is
called:
A. Referral system
B. Basic training
C. Finishing a dive
D. Muck diving
4. The typical depth for a safety stop is:
A. 5-10 feet
B. 10-15 feet
C. 15-20 feet
D. 20-25 feet
5. Bonaire was first known as "Boynay," which means:
A. Low country
B. High country
C. Island of life
D. Mangrove
6. When writing a complaint letter, an effective approach is to use:
A. A pleasant and civil tone
B. Humor and sarcasm
C. A realistic solution
D. A & C are correct
7. The first adjustable buoyancy lift jacket is more commonly known as a:
A. Yolk connector
B. SPG
C. Weight belt
D. Horsecollar
8. Fishes that eat decomposing plants and animals are called:
A. Omnivores
B. Herbivores
C. Detritivores
D. Carnivores
9. The watertight integrity of an underwater housing is maintained by a:
A. Screw
B. Hinge
C. O-ring
D. Adhesive spray
Answers: 1. B 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. A 6. D 7. D 8. C 9. C
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