Brian Cummings Fishing

Meet the world’s only scuba diving cat

Duration : 0:1:26

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A rare and different perspective at the oil spill from beneath the surface. The AP’s Rich Matthews got an exclusive look at the spill by joining a dive team who explored how the oil is impacting the Gulf of Mexico. (June 9)

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More: Ani-Pock.Blogspot.Com
From NTV’s “Kasou Taishou” show, a group of ameature performers create a scuba diving scene from the perspective of the divers goggles in the same manner the commonly known “Ping Pong Matrix” clip was concieved: people dressed in solid colors camaflouge themselves against a background while transforming part of themselves into objects. In this case, it translates to fishes, sea creatures, rocks, divers and more.
More: Ani-Pock.Blogspot.Com

Duration : 0:2:7

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Enjoy the world of beautiful sea and tropical fish near Naha in Okinawa, Japan,

More movies at:
http://www.okinawabbtv.com/travel/diving/index.htm

Duration : 0:7:59

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Diving on the Wiindiate and The Barney shipwrecks off Presque Isle, Michigan in Lake Huron. Depth ~180′ ave. X-Scooters. Scotty Lang and Scotty Wernette are the divers. Filmed by Brandon Schwartz.

Duration : 0:9:35

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How to breathe underwater. Learn how to use your regulator in this free scuba diving lesson video from our experienced diver and certified PADA dive master.

Expert: Cole Abbott
Bio: Cole Abbott is currently working as a divemaster in Kauai, Hawaii. He holds many certifications through PADI, including Wreck Diver, Night Diver, Fish Identification and Search and Rescue.
Filmmaker: Amy Miyajima

Duration : 0:1:26

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Me and my friend Jon went Scuba Diving on our trip to Laganas, Greece. Here’s a rip of the DVD from our dive.

Duration : 0:8:22

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I hate scuba diving. That’s not to say I’ve ever tried it, but frankly it seems like a lot of hassle to me. First there’s the need to be certified, and that requires both training and effort – two things low down on my priority list when I’m on holiday.

Then there’s the dread: the fear of my mask filling up, the terror of running out of air, the horror of what my wobbly bits look like in a wetsuit. Generally, it’s just not my cup of tea.

And while I’m reliably informed that the vast majority of sea animals found around these parts can’t harm me at all, that does leave room for a vast minority that can hurt me very much indeed.

So all in, I feel quite sure that the key to tropical bliss is snorkelling. It may not reflect the pioneering spirit of Jacques Cousteau but bobbing around on the surface enjoying the sights without disturbing either the wildlife or the underwater fauna seems to be the perfect middle road for people who want to see and be unseen.

And what a lot there is to see here – Malaysia’s coral reefs are home to one of the most prolific congregations of underwater life on the planet, forming an ecosystem some say is rivalled only by the rainforests of the Amazon and the Congo.

Before jumping straight in though, there are some basics that you need to know. Obviously, your selection of mask and snorkel are important. Fit and comfort are vital ingredients if you want to spend your time looking around rather than having to lift your head out of the water every few minutes to drain away accumulating liquid.

Get this done properly. Half an hour in a scuba shop will see you equipped with a mask perfectly suited to your phizog. To try on the mask, move the strap out of the way, brush your hair to one side, and just push the mask firmly onto your face. If it will remain there unsupported, then it is making a good seal.

Once you have determined which masks will fit properly, other considerations are comfort, field of vision (some masks permit more view to the sides than others) and, of course, the cost.

Don’t forget to get a snorkel also, and maybe a spare strap to hold it to your mask. The snorkel mouthpiece should be soft with flexible edges to be comfortable in your mouth.

“There’s nothing worse than having ill-fitting equipment,” says Bob Brunswick, a professional diver with more than 25 years of experience in both scuba and snorkelling. “If you get a mouthpiece that’s too big it just rubs against your gums, making them sore.

“It’s much better to take the time to get the right kit. It may feel like a bit of a pain when you know the hotel you’re staying at has masks to rent, but I guarantee that you’ll be the one reaping the rewards when everyone else is struggling under the water.”

If you really feel like waddling into the sea looking like a pro, you might want to consider some fins. “In all honesty, fins aren’t really a necessity for snorkelling,” says Bob. “But they do help you to get down more quickly so that you can see more of the underwater world on that breath of air.”

With kit on, and back thoroughly sun-screened, it’s time to take to the water. But there’s one last thing to do. Inform someone where you’re going? You definitely should, but that’s not what I was alluding to. It’s the bit that kids especially love: the well-known diver’s trick of spitting inside the face of the mask to stop it fogging up.

“Spit keeps the air on the inside of the mask from condensing on the glass,” explains Bob. “Masks fog up because the inside is often dirty or dusty. Spit cleans off the dirt, making it much harder for condensation and fog to form. It may not be sanitary, but for most divers it works just fine.”

The technique couldn’t be more simple: offer up a reasonable mouthful of your finest saliva, wipe it around the inside of the mask with your finger and rinse out with seawater just before placing it on your face.

To keep the snorkel upright while you are swimming face down on the surface, the snorkel fastening will need to be adjusted properly on the mask strap. Since the snorkeller cannot see the snorkel while it’s in use, it may be helpful to have someone watch you to help find the proper adjustment.

Now you can swim along the surface, breathing through the snorkel and observing the world below. When you see something interesting you can hold your breath and dive down to have a closer look.

“In order to stretch your time below, it is important to be relaxed and not expending a lot of energy,” says Bob. “To dive down under the surface, rotate your body so that you can put your head straight down and stick your legs straight up and out of the water.

“Then let gravity do its thing and you should be on your way down without moving a muscle. When your downward speed has deteriorated you can start kicking to continue. For the return to the surface, tilt your head back and watch where you are going. You wouldn’t want to bang your head on the bottom of a boat.”

Key to doing this without ending up coughing and spluttering with a mouth full of water is to keep enough air in your lungs so that after you break the surface you can send a quick burst of air through the snorkel to help expel any remaining water. Make sure you also keep your head still back so that the open end of the snorkel will be pointing down as you bob up.

Generally, scuba divers are taught to return to the surface with one hand stretched upward to prevent them from banging their head and also to be more visible to boat traffic. It’s not a bad idea for snorkellers to do the same.

Plus, it gives your friends on the shore a chance to see you having a great time in the water and look on enviously. All that fun – so little effort. Perfect.

Richard Ryan
http://www.articlesbase.com/scuba-diving-articles/snorkelling-scuba-without-the-fuss-676178.html

Arrival:

Twenty minutes after arriving on the dive boat whilst hoping the seasick tablet would work, I took a nervous meander around the floating arena of strangers, foreigners and braggers that I found myself on.

Well, this guy seemed confident; he knew exactly what he was talking about, which was undoubtedly reassuring, as he was the Instructor who was to take me on my first dive.

There was lots of equipment, which I had only seen before on TV, so many scuba tanks amongst other paraphernalia, which hopefully, was going to keep me alive while I was under the sea.

Dive brief:

‘Barracudas’ said the instructor, I Immediately snapped to attention, as he began the dive brief, ‘Do they not have big teeth and aren’t they 6′ feet long’ I thought to myself. Then he went onto to talk about Stingray’s, “Stingrays, did one not fatally wound the guy who used to wrestle crocodiles for a living, what chance have we got?” asked a fellow beginner.

Sea snakes, was he now trying to put us off the dive? He then went on to talk about sharks -I was frightened, nervous but also exhilarated at the same time. Nervously, I laughed, as he maid jokes about the size of their teeth and not to pull their tails. ‘Pull a sharks tail I thought,’ I’m not going anywhere near a shark, let alone pull its tail.

‘Oh and don’t touch the bottom as there may be Scorpion fish down there’, he added (which apparently are so well camouflaged, that they are extremely difficult to spot and can leave you in agony for months, if they sting you).

He had a calming influence, which you need if you take people underwater. He showed great patience in answering everyone’s’ questions. Explaining how deep we go, also the effects of water pressure on our bodies, he told us how long we would be under there for, including how the equipment worked and even how we would communicate underwater (something I was more familiar with, knowing a few hand signals myself, years of driving, had made me the master hand signaler). He was dressed in smart pressed shorts, a save-the-reef-T-shirt (as were all the staff on the boat) and was clean shaven (I must admit I expected more of a beach bum like persona), all in all a true professional.

.

Reality sets in:

“Wait, now just hold on a minute, let water in the mask, why?” asked a young woman.

“We had to perform several kills under the instructor’s guidance, naturally.

If water enters your mask you need to know how to clear it, otherwise it would make for an uncomfortable dive. “A simple procedure if done correctly,” he assured the group.

The next skill we would learn would be to remove and replace the regulator from our mouths.

“Take the regulator out of your mouth. Are you kidding man, jumping out of a perfectly good plane without a parachute springs to mind.” An American guy joked.

It was also quite easy to perform (especially after watching the Instructor demonstrate all the skills first) and obviously a necessary skill to learn.

We also had to equalize our ears, or we would have felt discomfort. Similar to the pressure one feels while in an airplane due to the build up of pressure caused by the water as we descended.

“Pop your ears, for every metre that you descend” he explained, “If you can’t, let me know”. By tilting your hand from side to side while pointing at your ears, was the hand signal for this problem.

However, breathing slowly and consistently while amongst all those wild creatures down there did seem a little optimistic to me. Though that is what one must do in order to maximize the amount of time one can stay under. For once the air is nearly emptied from your tank you must return to the surface, something that was quite obvious to me but needed to said, never-the-less.

The Dive:

I would be the first to dive out of the group as he preferred to take us on a one to one ratio.

“Now don’t jump, step away from the boat like a marching soldier,” he continued “You will go under briefly but you will pop back up, due to the air you have air inside your BCD (the dive jacket).”

My right hand was holding the regulator and mask securely onto my face, so that I would not lose them when entering the water.

While making sure to look straight ahead and not down, as a stinging slap in the face by the sea is something you should avoid. “You will only ever do that one time, hahahaha” he says.”

The Instructor was waiting in the water and with a reassuring smile and a few calming words from him, it was now or never. Splash, under I went and a mass of bubbles surrounded me, I then surfaced after what seemed like the longest second of my life.

I took a sneak preview of what was to come. The sea was so clear it looked beautiful down there, almost taking my breath away, which actually put me at ease and I was ready to go.

He then instructed me to release all the air from jacket and as I start to descend I could feel the pressure change in my ears which I cleared effortlessly. I landed on the sand below and in the kneeling position I took my first few underwater breaths. What a strange feeling this was I could breathe underwater. My brain was saying, this should not be happening, I should not normally be able do this, yet I was breathing underwater, amazing.

The Instructor then signals me, ‘OK’, I return the signal, then he signals “You watch me,” and then proceeds to demonstrate the skills he had explained to me on the boat.

The Mask clearing and removal of the regulator went without a hitch as he showed me with the do-see-do method. The regulator removal was not the most enjoyable part of the dive, but it felt good after being told that mask clearing is the trickiest skill to master when learning scuba.

I soon started to marvel at my surroundings. Everything had a different look from what we are used to on the surface. The refraction, which is cause by the glass in the mask and the water, actually causes things to seem closer and larger than what they really are. The deep blue hue of the sea gave me an almost surreal feeling. To be submerged in this wonderful and exhilarating underwater world has to be seen to be believed.

Off we went, I was breathing quite heavily at first but soon settled down it was noisy experience as I could hear every breath that I took. A huge variety of colourful fish were all around, they seemed to swim effortlessly, I must have seemed like an inept lump to them. Their colours were so vibrant, the blues and greens the likes of I had never seen before.

A Moray Eel was lurking in-between two large rocks, its pointed teeth, made it look quite formidable; I decided not to get too close to it. Then a turtle swam by with such ease and elegance unlike its lumbering relative the tortoise.

I looked down to see a stingray materialize from the sand, it had concealed it self so well that if it had not moved, I would never have seen it. Then seemingly from nowhere a black tip reef shark appeared, it came so close I could have touched it, it gave me such an adrenalin rush to be so close to one of natures perfect creatures; (my breathing must have increased ten fold) its power so evident, I guessed that it wanted to know just who or what was intruding in its territory. Then with a swish of its tail it was gone, leaving me with a memory of my first shark encounter, something that I will surely never forget

The Instructor was by my side the entire dive; never straying more than a metre away. It must be quite difficult to have such control over a novice diver; the responsibility of having a novice down below the waves must be huge. .

New hero:

Before I knew it, we were back on the boat and I had a new hero. The excitement stayed with me for the rest of the day and it still brings a smile to my face whenever I think of my first diving experience. This is one memory souvenir I will treasure forever.

I have since become an open water diver (which is the first course one must take and enables you to dive -with a buddy- most places in the world) and I am sure I will continue to dive for many more years to come.

Jason Butler is a free lance writer. He is currently residing in Thailand and enjoying life. Writing articles on Sharks, Fishing and Steam engine models is a passion of his. He is also a scuba Diving Instructor with over ten years experience.

Jason Butler
http://www.articlesbase.com/scuba-diving-articles/precious-souvenir-thinking-about-going-diving-for-the-first-time-693218.html

Hi guys! As promised I’ve uploaded my Scuba Diving video for you. Scuba diving is really close to my heart and is the No 1 thing that I love. I hope you enjoy watching the video as much as I enjoyed being with all the beautiful creatures underwater in Thailand. Love ~ Sam

Duration : 0:10:27

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