Scubafriends Network

So due to major knee surgery I’m forbidden from diving this year. (I’m going to appeal in the fall..) BUT.. all hope is not lost. We do have a trip planned. (And we won’t even have to fly there. Or spend 3 weeks driving.)

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Filmed at a depth of 1000m, a submersible spooked a 6-gill shark and got some great footage. (The lasers are 6″ apart, and the excited commentary is from University of Hawaii Oceanography Professor Jeff Drazen.) See the video after the break.
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According to Fortune’s list of Top 100 Employers, the most interesting employee perk is free scuba lessons in Chesapeake Energy’s on-site olympic-sized pool. (My biggest employee perk? A 4-hour round-trip commute all summer, usually done in the Jeep with the top and doors off.)

(via Nature.com)

Last year, only about 12% of the 1,533-ton quota was caught. The huge schools (between 80 and 200) of several-hundred-pound fish are gone. Suspected reasons range from overfishing in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean to environmental stress, but the fact is that we don’t know enough about the bluefin tuna to make any real guesses.
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Back in May PADI launched an online version of the Open Water course, and just last week they had their 1000th student. It only covers the book portions; you still need to go to a PADI dive shop or resort for the pool sessions and checkout dives. But for $120USD you can get an electronic version of all the coursework and take your skills tests online, at your own pace. If you want to check it out, just go to Elearning at PADI.com.

via OCregister

The FBI has issued a “situational awareness advisory” concerning dive gear and training.
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Earlier this week, a scuba student died during a pool session.
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All diving starts with basic buoyancy control. Good diving starts with good buoyancy control. Want to see more critters, have more fun and dive more relaxed? Scubadiving magazine has a nice article on how to work on your buoyancy. So quit playing with your “elevator buttons” and get on over there.

CDNN has a story that says if you work at it you can, in fact, die of DCS while snorkeling. It takes some effort, and a real lack of brains, but its possible. Just another reminder to take diving injuries seriously.

Current GPS Mark: N25.79302°, W80.20560° – I-95 Miami)
Photo: A pelican with a big fish, in Key West

So yesterday was Vero Beach, Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center and dinner at the
Ocean Grill. The only part of that that went well was dinner, which was excellent. At KSC we ended up spending all day in lines (line to get on the bus, then the bus waited in line, then a line for food. Line after line after line…) and it was a total waste. (Which is unfortunate, because I’m a huge space buff.) Didn’t even get to go to the rocket park. And the Vero Beach Holiday Inn “Hotel and Suites” Oceanside was just as bad – 4 star prices for a 2 star (at best) motel.

Moving along, we’re currently stuck in stop and go traffic in north Miami, on our way to the Hard Rock for lunch. I’ll update this post after lunch..

Update: Don’t go to the Hard Rock Miami. Just don’t.. sigh. We’re back on track for Key West although we might end up being late (B&B wants us in no later than 6pm. Its 2 and we’re still stuck in Miami. So we’ll see how that works out. Software says its possible, but we’re dubious.)