Diving community & world diving guide

 If you already have a camera you want to use underwater that hasn’t been designed for underwater use then you will have to invest in some camera housing. Camera housing is designed so that you can still operate your camera underwater, while having your camera completely protected from the water. 

Christmas, New Year’s, Valentines, birthdays, anniversaries – the gift giving season keeps on going, along with the attendant packaging that ends up in the bin. Giving gifts is a wonderful thing to do, however many gifts are resource intensive and the manner in which most people give these days leads to massive amounts of waste. This year, consider giving a gift that is both thoughtful and environmentally friendly.

Surface supplied air (SSA) as a means of diving is one of the oldest methods of diving. Centuries ago, men operating hand pumps supplied air to divers working underwater. The deep sea diver with hoses for air and communication is known to anyone that watches WWII movies with the Navy being featured. In 1904, the US Navy adopted a hard hat deep diving suit that they used until the late 1980s.  In the late 1960s, a system was designed that brought surface supplied air to recreational user. Called hookah, The primary target was boat owners. The could use these systems to quickly go overboard to examine the hull or clear a fouled prop. The systems were a bit unstable when used in the water so they remained in just a small market for boat owners.

Diving has gotten away from the stereotype based on the early days of diving, that it is a rough and tough sport requiring extreme endurance and strength. Today it is viewed as an activity done by both men and women and even children. While diving is promoted as a leisure sport, it is still a sport.

Live aboard dive vacations can lead you to the best diving of your life. The boat will take you to dive sites that are less visited than sites you can reach on a six pack. Preparing for a live aboard is not much different that preparing for any other dive vacation. There are two main differences. You cannot just drop into the dive shop or 7-11 to pick up anything you forgot or need. Also everything is centered on diving, there are few off gas activities. No sightseeing, no discos, just diving.

In the early days of Scuba diving when Television and movies were still portraying scuba diving as a dangerous activity (and they were right at the time) we often saw divers using underwater propulsion vehicles. The Sea Hunt television program showed Lloyd Bridges zipping around coral reefs being towed by a dive scooter. In a couple of movies, James Bond used similar underwater scooters as well as wet subs. Some were even armed. Of course any time James went underwater frogman attacked him with spear guns.