If I were a dive shop, I would…

January 1st, 2009

Atlantis Divers wants to hear from you. If you were the owners of a dive operation, what would you do?

So, if I were a dive shop, I would…

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Parvin Dabas aims for safeguarding marine life through photography

January 1st, 2009

January 1, 2009 7:54:41 PM IST Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

After the successful opening of his film –THE WORLD UNSEEN in USA and Canada, Parvin Dabas treated himself to what he’s most passionate about – Photography. He traveled to Egypt for an Underwater Photography workshop with 26 experienced divers and clicked the most amazing underwater pictures. While capturing the incredible marine life and loving every minute of it, the only time grief gripped him was when he realized that this beautiful marine life is on the verge of extinction.

‘’As a photographer, you tend to look at the surface and capture the most visible beauty. However, in the process you may not realize the inner beauty of the object under appreciation. During my underwater stint, I was totally preoccupied with what I saw and was capturing on lens. It was amazing to be a part of the life which exists so deep down. However, I froze for a moment when realization struck that all of this may not exist in some years from now.'’

That’s when he continued non stop freezing them on his lens to show people the beautiful life that exists underwater wanting to inspire them through his photography to keep the environment clean.

‘’We are going miles up in the sky with 100–200 stories buildings coming up. Great, I am all for it. However, miles below the sea, we are just not maintaining Earth’s beauty any more. It seems that we have become completely selfish and are only interested in building walls around us while completely ignoring the free world that lies beneath.'’

He pauses for a while before reasoning, ‘’I just hope that I am able to aid in some safeguard of this beautiful world through my photographs. May be that would enable people to wake up to this charming world that is just unexplored!'’

Toview complete article: http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/09/jan/01-parvin-dabas-aims-for-safeguarding-marine-life-010909.asp

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Scuba Diving Basics

January 1st, 2009

There is nothing quite like scuba diving. I remember my first scuba dive. I was visiting Tobago with a friend and I decided on the spur of the moment that it was something I wanted to do, so I went to the local dive shop and signed up for the class. There were only three of us going on the dive, and the two others accompanying me were fully PADI certified, so they didn’t need any instruction. That particular dive required that I have classroom lessons that lasted 4 hours. There was a lot that the instructor explained to me during that time like how to use the equipment, what decompression is, what to expect, how to use the buddy system, etc. We did a confined dive first, the afterwards went out to the reef for the open dive.

The dive itself was amazing and exhilarating for me even though it was what is called a non-decompression dive, only to 40 feet. I had been a snorkel for years, but had never been that close to a reef and fish.

For those who crave more diving adventure such as deep sea diving and wreck diving which would take them much deeper in the water they would need much more training, and PADI certification.

It’s easy to learn to dive. Not as hard as you might think. PADI certification can be obtained fairly easily, and at your own pace. There are books and videos that you can obtain to help you through the course. Your instructor will give you a short test at the end of each course. After you have completed what is called knowledge training you start diving. You first experience confined dives and then open water dives. Confined dives take place in a pool or a shallow body of water. The first time I put on the equipment and went in the water we were just waist deep. Once you have mastered confined dives and proven yourself to your instructors you will have the opportunity to go on open water dives with the instructor.

Where you will be diving will make the decision for you as to what type of equipment you are going to need. As my dive was in the warm Caribbean waters I didn’t need any type of wet suit. I wore a BC vest. However, on deeper cold water dives you will want to make sure you are equipped with a dry suit that will handle cold.

You’ll need a good mask. One that seals against your face well. A pair of booties and fins. You’ll need a snorkel, a buoyancy compensator vest and a regulator with a gauge and a second mouthpiece.

You’ll want to do a lot of research on equipment before buying. As with most things technology is constantly changing scuba equipment. You’ll want to talk with friends and instructors as to their recommendations. There is a fairly large initial investment and you want to get the best you can for the money you spend. You also want to make sure that you’re comfortable in all the pieces of your scuba gear. If your mask isn’t tight enough and leaks, or if your fins are too tight and rub your heels that is what your mind will be on instead of the wonders of the sea.

To view complete article: Scuba Diving Advice: Scuba Diving Basics.

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Exploring the Kaiser’s Sunken World War I Fleet | Big Blue Tech News

January 1st, 2009

January 1, 2009

It’s a descent into history. The remains of the German Imperial Fleet still lie on the seabed at Scapa Flow off Scotland’s Orkney Islands where the Germans scuttled their ships in 1919. The ice-cold, deep waters are a paradise for professional wreck divers.

Bulky diving cylinders, decompression equipment and diving suits: the deck of the vessel Loyal Mediator is cluttered with all the things the wreck divers need.

“Dives in Scapa Flow aren’t for beginners,” says Horst Dederichs. “Some of the warships lie fairly deep down, the water temperature is just 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit) and you can get dangerous currents at the edge of the bay.”

The 39-year-old historian and diving instructor is one of Europe’s leading experts on exploring underwater wrecks. He was the first German to explore the wreck of the Lusitania at a depth of 93 meters (305 feet) below the surface of the Irish Sea. Dederichs regards Scapa Flow as Europe’s most interesting wreck diving area. There’s no other location where you find so many ships so close together.

The destination for today’s dive is SMS Markgraf, a king class battleship with a length of 175.4 meters (570 feet) that lies upside down on the seabed 45 meters (147 feet) down.

Dederichs lets himself sink slowly into the dark green water down a cable laid from the boat. He has two diving cylinders on his back that contain Trimix, a special gas mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and helium.

The two bottles are connected via a bridge that contains two breathing regulators, a security feature for cold-water dives. In the cold, breathing regulators can freeze up and blow gas out of the cylinder. If that happens, Dederichs can block the connection and transfer his air supply to the other cylinder.

At a depth of 25 meters, the first outlines of the steel giant emerge amid the green murk, and shortly after that Dederichs has reached the hull. The ship once had a crew of 1,100. These days it’s populated mainly by spider crabs bigger than tennis balls. They scuttle off to escape the beams of the underwater lamps.

“Like Ants on a Sleeping Whale”

“Warships usually lie upside down or on their sides due to the heavy superstructures,” says Dederichs. “When you land on their mighty hull you feel like an ant exploring a sleeping whale.” Dederichs glides along the hull looking for suitable entry points.

In the light from the strong lamps, aerials come into view, then the crow’s nest becomes visible and one of the many deck guns. A frightened crab hurriedly scrambles to safety down the barrel. Suddenly the divers come across a hole in the hull. A large cod darts out as the explorers enter gingerly. Details emerge in the beam of Dederich’s lamp: rust-brown walls, bent pipes and small hand-wheels that will never be turned again. And a boot.

It’s only possible to see a few meters ahead, and if the divers make a wrong move and whirl up the fine dust-like sediment that covers the entire ship, they won’t be able to see anything for hours. That’s how long it takes for the sediment to settle again, and this far down, divers don’t have that kind of time.

Dederichs has run a cable from the entrance to the ship to guide him back outside. Too many wreck divers have lost their lives by getting lost in the labyrinth of passages in the submerged steel giants.

On June 21, 1919, SMS Markgraf was interned in the British Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, together with 73 other ships of the Imperial German High Sea Fleet moored there under the terms of the Armistice that had ended World War I in November 1918.

The internment was to last as long as it took to decide on the fate of the German fleet. But on June 21, it became clear that the British were not prepared to release the ships. To prevent the heavily-armed ships from being seized by the victors of World War I, German Admiral Ludwig von Reuter decided to scuttle the fleet.

At his command, 59 warships sank in front of the Orkney Islands. Many of them were later raised and turned to scrap. Markgraf wasn’t spared — huge steel plates were cut from her hull and her engines were also retrieved. Parts of the wreck are as permeated as Swiss cheese, making it ideal for professional wreck divers like Dederichs.

Panic Lurks in the Confined Darkness

“Entering deep into large wrecks has little in common with normal sports diving,” says Dederichs, who has been on several thousand dives. “These dives demand vast experience and corresponding levels of training. The deep, the cold, the darkness and the confined environment frequently cause anxiety in inexperienced divers, and that often develops into panic.”

Is he ever afraid during his dives? “Down there you work like a machine. It’s good to have respect but you shouldn’t be afraid,” says Dederichs.

He advances ever deeper into the belly of the ship. It’s virtually impossible to orient oneself exactly inside this monster, he says later. He gradually glides towards the stern, past steel shelves covered in rust and sea anemones.

As he passes through the vessel, Dederichs tries to imagine what could have happened in this particular room, or what that particular lever was for. Who sat on the chair, what was his task on board? Wreck dives are a descent into the past, they’re an attempt to lift the veil of time and to enter a long-gone epoch.

One question nags at the historian: how did the reduced German crew manage to prepare the scuttling of the ship so thoroughly under the watchful eyes of the British 89 years ago? He hasn’t found a satisfactory answer. Not yet, at least.

To view the complete article: http://www.bigbluetech.net/big-blue-tech-news/2009/01/01/exploring-kaisers-sunken-world-war-fleet/

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Coast Guard: Man Dies After Dive Off Coast Of St. Marys

January 1st, 2009

WJXT-TV

updated 9:46 p.m. ET, Tues., Dec. 30, 2008

For the second time in 10 days, a diver has died off the coast of northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.

The Coast Guard said a man was scuba-diving Saturday from the Mayport-based Reef Raider II in the waters off St. Marys.

The diver, whose name has not been released, came up to the boat and collapsed, apparently from decompression sickness. The diver was dead by the time the vessel got to shore.

On Dec. 20, Jordan Anqyalfy was found unresponsive at the bottom of the ocean about 25 miles east of St. Augustine. Anqyalfy, who was described as experienced diver was pulled up and given CPR, but could not be revived.

To view this article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28437887/

Comments from Atlantis Divers:

First, our prayers and sympathies go out to the family and we are saddened to hear of their loss.

Sadly, this type of story is a reminder to all divers that we must continue to observe safe diving practices. SCUBA diving is an extreme sport. As much as it breaks our hearts to post stories such as this one, it serves as a warning to the rest of the dive community.

It happens to the best of us. As we continue to progress in our dive experience, and as our comfort and confidence level grows, our margin for error seems less likely to occur. We develop a “it’s not going to happen to me” mode of thinking.

The truth of the matter is, every time you don your gear, take a giant stride and enter that water, you become a potential candidate for something bad to happen. All of us have the potential to fall victim to a dive accident.

This message isn’t to warn off people from diving, but it serves as a reminder that no matter how experienced we are, no matter what our certification level is, no matter how good our gear is…we are all subject to the same rules of physics and circumstances.

So how do we protect ourselves & still have fun?

Our message to our students and divers is as follows:

Keep up on your training - if you haven’t been in the water for a while, sign up for one of our Safe Diving Practices seminars or attend one of our dive review classes
Dive at least 30 dives a year
Progress to the next certification level - as we teach our students about the basic and advanced techniques of diving, we also begin to develop an awareness type thinking of observing other divers and their activities while diving
If you don’t know the answer, ask us - we’re here to help you
When in doubt rely on your training - if you find faced with a potential incident, rely on what you learned in class…it may very well save you or the person (people) you are diving with
Know your limits - if the seas look too rough, the current too strong or you have a loss in C with the dive operation, there is NOTHING wrong with aborting the dive…it too may very well safe your life
The strongest c-card in diving is the VISA card - in the dive industry, not all organizations play by the same set of rules. We are not hear to tear apart our dive operation-brethren, however, there are many published articles about dive operations or charters who are eager to earn their keep for the day.