Browsing: Scuba Features

I strongly recommend travelling as often as is possible for you. Aim for what you can. Set a goal, and work towards it. This article is about planning for a dive trip will be broken into two parts. Part One will help you specify what you want out of a dive trip and where to start. Part Two will include important information to consider before buying your plane tickets.

This article is an attempt at sharing some of what I learned while shooting video on a couple of pelagic black water dives in Kona, Hawai’i.

This article is an attempt at sharing some of what I learned while shooting video…

Jacques do Vos is an underwater photographer who regularly gets into the water with these magnificent creatures, most recently in Norway. Enjoy the stunning video of his experiences above.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to freedive with orcas? Jacques do…

On his first-ever night dive, Sam, an uncertified and inexperienced diver with fewer than 15 lifetime dives, descended to catch lobsters with two other uncertified divers (Dave and Tim). The three descended, while a fourth diver (Ron) planned to freedive and assist with hauling in the anticipated lobster catch. A fifth diver (Eric) remained on the boat. (Note: All names are fictitious.)

The Divers On his first-ever night dive, Sam, an uncertified and inexperienced diver with fewer…

The footage of an enormous Great White shark circuling divers in a cage at Guadalupe…

When you think of scuba diving in Queensland, Australia, very rarely do you think of anywhere except the Great Barrier Reef. It is, after all, one of the most impressive natural wonders of our amazing planet. So why should you plan to dive anywhere else?

In 2014 I left my home in London to start a new underwater chapter in my life. My aim was to become a SCUBA instructor and discover a way to help constructively conserve the ocean. So when a teacher approached me about the possibility of introducing 3, 4 and 5-year-olds to ocean conservation at an international school in Egypt I was thrilled. I could hardly believe such an exciting possibility had arisen and so unexpectedly.

There were many stops along the way in MITRE employee Frank Lewis’ early career that…

Nearly every diver, at some point during their diving career will experience issues with equalizing.…

Drysuits are heavy, uncomfortable, expensive and difficult to operate… Said somebody at some stage but have you ever dived one? Yes they do cost more than Wetsuits but will out-perform any wetsuit on any given day in all temperate diving conditions. They are convenient in that you don’t need to dry off afterwards and don’t get the wind chill against your wet body. To most who have made the wise transition find they are a complete wonder and look back on their wetsuit diving days in complete disarray!

Drysuits are heavy, uncomfortable, expensive and difficult to operate… Said somebody at some stage but…

Canada’s Rideau waterway linking Ottawa (the nation’s capital) with Kingston Ontario was built for military purposes but its role evolved dramatically in the years to follow. So did Canada, which did not exist as a nation until 1867. That was more than five decades after the War of 1812 between the United States and British loyalists opposed joining Americans who had broken away from Britain to form their own country. The war was inconclusive with both sides declaring victory in what was mainly a series of skirmishes.

It has been a crazy day. The wild rush of people, faces and names, fade into the background with the gentle crashing of the waves breaking on the shore. The palm trees a bending silhouette against the drooping warmth of the late afternoon sun. Once again I am overcome with disbelief; my life is truly a paradise.

They are my favourite thing to see in the water. If you’re coming from Part 2: Interview with a Shark Attack Survivor, you might ask why sharks are my favourite given the damage one inflicted to my friend Diego. My answer is because sharks are not the monsters people think they are. Check out Part 1: Dive With Sharks…It’s the Safest Thing You’ll Do All Day, where you’ll see that man’s other best friend, dogs, are more likely to kill you than sharks.

It is the early summer of 1943 and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is well into its fourth year of existence. Potential air crews from across the Commonwealth are gathered and training is in high gear producing well-trained crews capable of contributing to the war effort. Across Canada the skies are filled with the droning sounds of training aircraft of many types.

It is the early summer of 1943 and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is…

We at The Scuba News were recently introduced to a commercial diving operation down in Portsmouth and were lucky enough to get to know some of the divers who work there and find out more about what it is that RS get up too.

We at The Scuba News were recently introduced to a commercial diving operation down in…

Many city dwellers think of Ontario’s cottage country northeast of Toronto as rather remote. But in 1956, it was much more so. The area was sparsely populated and roads were smaller and fewer in number.

Many city dwellers think of Ontario’s cottage country northeast of Toronto as rather remote. But…

A Snoot is simply a device that attaches to the end of a strobe to…

Today, Moana New Zealand and WWF-New Zealand announced the first set of achievements resulting from a long-term collaboration between them.

Rhinopias are a type of scorpionfish, known by many divers as the holy grail. They can only be encountered in certain areas in the Indian and Pacific oceans and dive sites get frequented by divers just because they are known to be there. Here are some fun facts about these amazing creatures, the best destinations for divers to find them and how divers can identify what they find.

When I first discovered swimming in the Top End seas was a rare activity, I was dismayed. I have spent the past five years living and diving from Indonesian and Mozambican beaches almost every day. I wondered how I’d cope without my daily dose of vitamin sea and sea life!

One of the highlights of observing fish as a diver is to find a dragonet. Dragonets are small bony fishes which live between corals or in the sand and are found in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate oceans. There are 191 species of dragonet currently listed on Fishbase, including the well-known mandarin fish.

The underwater world is such a beautiful place that we, as divers, would be crazy not to want to bring back memories of our secret explorations of paradise. It is part of human nature to capture moments of true beauty, to store them, to treasure them and show them to our loved ones with pride.

Modern technology and advancements in scuba diver training have seen many a scuba diver certified…

If Bonaire has been on your dream list of dive destinations but your frequent travel…

Charles Klingler, from Maryland, US, works as a fisheries observer in various locations around the USA. He’s spent four months interning with us at Oceans Research in South Africa, so we took the opportunity to interview him about fisheries observation and management. Charles also delivered a presentation on fisheries management at a public ocean conservation evening while he was in South Africa.

Allow me to introduce Diego Intriago; a good friend of mine from the Galapagos, avid surfer, diver and ocean lover who survived a shark attack. I narrowly missed the chance to be with him during the incident because my surfboard suffered a fracture the day before the incident. I had to pass up on what would have been the surfing day of a lifetime. But this isn’t my story, it’s Diego’s. Here’s what happened and how Diego feels nearly four years after the incident.

I first visited The Poor Knights as part of an Easter trip in 2015, so the date was set in stone well in advance, and having heard nothing but praise for the site, I didn’t do any research before my trip.

The Poor Knights Islands I first visited The Poor Knights as part of an Easter…

The Raja Ampat Islands are located off the tip of the Bird’s Head Peninsula, on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesian’s West Papua Province. The four main islands are Batanta, Misool, Salawati and Waigeo, but this tropical archipelago is made up of more than 1000 paradise islands.

When asked what they are afraid of when they get in the ocean, many people will say sharks. When asked what they would most like to see in the ocean, those who have been in the water with sharks will likely say sharks. So why the disparity?

Blue Marble Private are offering diving expeditions to the Titanic wreck site in May 2018.…

Are you an individual or a group/club of divers who enjoy one-of-a-kind diving adventures? If so, try “Remote Diving”. I have written this article to share my experiences and to give you an idea of what it involves.

The Kinghorn, a barge carrying a cargo of wheat to Montreal, sank on April 27, 1897 during a storm on the St. Lawrence River. While 120 years have passed since the sinking it remains an accessible dive site. It is resting in 90 feet of water in front of the Rockport, Ontario dock. The wreck is 400 feet from shore. The Kinghorn, along with six other barges, were being towed by a tug named the Hiram Walker.

The Kinghorn, a barge carrying a cargo of wheat to Montreal, sank on April 27,…

I woke up and took a refreshingly cold shower. I got dressed: a bikini, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I put my long blond hair up into a high ponytail, grabbed my back-pack and headed out the door. The early morning air was already heating up with the fresh green smells of the jungle, yet the fresh salty winds blowing off the sea kept me cool as I walked along the sandy path to work. Mount Angun rose up out of the clouds in the east and the sky was an endless blue. I greeted the locals along the way as they prepared their Warungs and bungalows for the busy day ahead.

It has been said that cave diving is one of the most dangerous sports in America. That is because in a cave you cannot always get directly to the surface. It can become a big problem if a diver does not manage his or her gas properly.

It has been said that cave diving is one of the most dangerous sports in…

With all the dive adventures available around the world, it’s hard to pin down one as the “ultimate dive”. Each offers something unique and fascinating. However, there is one that stands out above the rest with an unrivaled experience that can only be described as other worldly – the pelagic black water dive.

With all the dive adventures available around the world, it’s hard to pin down one…

After my year living and working as Dive instructor in the Maldives, I was dead set on doing a liveaboard in the country. The main reason behind this being the fact I would be on the flipside of my usual situation – no longer would I be the guide, checking my guests as they geared up and then guiding them underwater, but instead I would be the guest. Goodbye the worry and pressure of ensuring everyone was having a good time – I could just focus on myself and blowing bubbles and enjoy feasting my eyes on the beautiful marine fauna of the Indian ocean. Not that I wanted to have someone watch me, clean my gear or guide me, I just really wanted the chance to dive stress free and purely for fun to see some other areas of the Maldives. I was lucky that the Divemaster (DM) who I’d worked with on the island had some great connections and we ended up going as buddies on a week long liveaboard called ‘Ari Queen’.

After my year living and working as Dive instructor in the Maldives, I was dead…

The South Island of New Zealand is known for its diverse and spectacular landscapes including remote national parks, golden beaches, World Heritage status rainforests, glaciers, and Mount Cook. Made famous by The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, it is a popular holiday destination for those seeking outdoor adventures and adrenaline highs.

The South Island of New Zealand is known for its diverse and spectacular landscapes including…