February 2012

Advanced Open {COLD} Water

9 Comments / Scuba Dive Operators, Scuba Dive Sites, Training / By

“Meet people. Go places. Do things.” Those are our guiding principles for traveling the world. So, we decided it was time to take our certification to the next level. So, after 6 years of enjoying the wonderful sport of scuba as PADI Open Water divers, we figured we would take the next step and pursue our Advanced Open Water Certification. Keep in mind that Esther is from Miami. She grew up swimming in the tropical waters off the coast of Florida and is definitely not a fan of cold water. Me, on the other hand grew up in California surfing as much as possible and am a bit more comfortable committing to diving in the mid fifties. It took a couple of months (probably subliminally waiting for the weather to warm up) to commit to taking the plunge but once it was decided, it was off to our friends at Eco Dive Center.

We told the dive staff at Eco that we were interested in getting our Advanced Open Water Certification prior to an upcoming trip to Sipidan, Malaysia. Of course the ever positive and energetic team at Eco Dive Center were eager to help get us get in the water and get certified prior to our trip. As a matter of fact, the package that the team at Eco put together was so good that we committed to purchasing all of the materials to become Rescue Divers as well!

As many of you can imagine, there are numerous different reasons that someone would want to increase their certification level in any sport. Some people are interested in the education, others prefer the chance to work together and meet new friends while doing something they love, some (us) want to be able to volunteer at local aquariums and beach clean-up efforts. There are, of course, many other reasons that we decided to get our advanced certification, the main one being that we wanted to be better prepared for any situation that we may encounter. Let’s face it, the more prepared you are, the better you will be able to handle stressful situations in a safe manner.

About three weeks prior to our class, we began reviewing our SDI AOW dive manual covering the following topics :

  • Underwater Navigation
  • Deep Diving
  • Advanced Buoyancy
  • Boat Diving
  • Computer Diving
  • Drift Diving
  • Dry Suit Diving
  • Marine Ecosystem Awareness
  • Night Diving
  • Underwater Photography
  • Beach Diving (Esther’s LEAST favorite)
  • Wreck Diving

For those of you who are not fans of studying books, the SDI AOW book is an easy read that you can absorb in a couple of days. The coursework is geared toward real life applications for each of the subjects. Once we finished the reading, the class gathered at the dive shop on the Friday night before the weekend’s dives for a briefing and discussion of what to expect over the next two days.

Saturday morning the alarm came early at 5:00AM. We were literally getting out of a wonderfully warm bed to go drive to a local beach and plunge into the cold surf for two hours. Crazy? Maybe a little, but the payoff was so worth the work. Our first dives were at Veterans Park in Redondo Beach, California. We gathered all of our gear in the parking lot and made our way down the stairs to the beach. Once we go to the water, the interesting part began. We timed our entry into the water very well and no one fell over on the way out. Once out in the water with our patient and wonderful instructor Greg, his positive energy put us at ease in the near zero visibility that we were in. It turns out that the bad visibility of the beach dive was perfect for our first exercise of underwater compass navigation. Once under the water there was absolutely nothing but depth and your compass readings to keep you on course. With Greg’s expert approach to teaching and obvious experience in the water, everyone in our group did very well with the compass navigation and quickly got the hang of reciprocal, square and triangle patterns in the water.

Next up, were the pool exercises. Once at the pool, we learned how to tie a bowline knot, a half hitch and a sheet bend. All and all, the first day was a great learning experience and it was a good way to get to know our instructor Greg. Who we had the pleasure of spending the rest of our weekend with.

Sunday morning at 4:30AM came very quickly, but once again we were out the door to voluntarily throw ourselves off of a perfectly good, not to mention, warm boat.  We arrived at our first dive site and Captain George announced that the visibility was as good as it gets for California diving. As soon as we jumped in, you could see kelp forests as far as your eyes could see. To make things even better we were greeted by a sea lion showing off in figure eights and having a good old time just hanging with us as we made our descent. Unfortunately, as we submerged, Esther had trouble equalizing and we decided to abort the dive to get back to the boat to adjust while our group went on with their deep dive.

After our surface interval and some delicious chili (compliments to the Sand Dollar’s Chef) we hopped back into the water and made our second attempt at a deep dive. This time Esther’s ear was fine and she was able to equalize. Once down we circled a small sailboat wreck and saw a number of Garibaldi (California State Fish) along with huge kelp forests and loads of bait fish shimmering in the rays of the sun. About half way through the dive we stopped and practice deploying our safety sausages and used all of the knots that we had learned from the previous day. Thanks to great visibility and Greg, our amazing instructor, we had our first dive in California that was a complete joy filled with all sorts of beautiful sights.

For our last dive, the planned skills to practice were advanced buoyancy control and search patterns. We got right to business with buoyancy control and quickly after everyone was leveled out just above the bottom, we headed for the kelp and went for a nature swim right through the forest, it was absolutely breathtaking and we now long to go back for more. About half way through the dive we stopped at an opening in the kelp forest and ran search patterns for about 15 minutes before we continued our trek through the kelp forest. After hearing about how beautiful kelp forests are for years, we finally experienced it and recommend Southern California diving to anyone who is thinking about giving it a try.

So whether you are after more knowledge of scuba diving, want to become a more independent diver, want to volunteer at a local aquarium, or if you are interested in enhancing your certification to the next level, get out and do it! There is a great big ocean out there to explore and many people to meet along the way while you are doing it. With dive teams like the folks from Eco Dive Center, you can’t go wrong and you will have fun along with all of the hard work you do to enhance your certification.

Happy Diving! –Dan

Rodrigues… To the end of the World!

7 Comments / Lodging, Scuba Dive Operators, Scuba Dive Sites / By

As I was thinking about a topic to share this week, past travels came to mind, and I thought I would share a glimpse into one of our own adventures throughout this wondrous world. A few years ago, upon setting foot on our 100th country, Lana and I attained an unusual status as members in the eclectic Travelers Century Club. We have been blessed to travel extensively throughout this incredible world with a voracious appetite to continue our search in pursuit of the unusual or lesser known destinations.

With so many places to talk about, where do we begin? How do any of us begin to map out our strategy for sharing the experiences that tap into our own thirst to plan for the next trip? Do we trace our way through each continent or do we follow a chronological order? The answer is… There is no right way. Basically, our personal compass has pointed us in a direction of getting others excited about the destinations that have made a lifetime impression upon our soul. We aim to highlight the character of the people, the beauty of the land and try to showcase any diversity underwater.

Four years ago, guided by the mention of unique islands on the Traveler’s Century Club’s website, we made the journey to Mauritius, and traveled even further to the tiny island dependant, Rodrigues. Located smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean as you draw your eye away from Island nation of Madagascar, Rodrigues appears to be completely isolated. You may ask, “What brought you here?” Good question. As Lana and I reside in Calgary, we have always aimed to travel to the furthest places away from our home base and it seemed to be an interesting and inaccessible location in the world to explore. Let’s face it, few Canadians ever make it to Mauritius and looking at most travelers who arrive in Mauritius, few seldom consider the extra 1.5 hour flight to Rodrigues.

Our flying journey is not easy, as we must connect through Frankfurt, Kuwait, Dubai and Mauritius to get to Rodrigues. But arrival in this tiny Creole island takes you back to an era of travel most of us yearn for and the exhaustion from 26 hours of pure flying time is completely forgotten as the island’s warmth envelopes you in their own unique hospitality.

When we travel as a couple, Lana and I will quite often fly to a destination without a reservation. Sometimes, our version of “pre-planning” will involve us phoning ahead from the airport we are departing from to tee up some sort of reservation. We know this may be too whimsical for most, but we enjoy the challenges this strategy presents. We like to think it keeps our minds fresh and it is part of how we manufacture some of our adventures. We eventually settled on the Cotton Bay Resort.

Upon arrival at the airport in the SW corner of Rodrigues, it was easy to gain our bearings on the island. We realized most roads filter through a network of three tiny towns at the top of the mountain and they spider off in a structured NW, NE, S, E & W direction. To give you a sense of the island’s size and remoteness, one of those tiny towns held the island’s lone ATM bank machine and the only gas station was located at the end of the NW road in Port Mathurin. Something you would need to pre-plan if you have a rental car to drop off at the airport. Unusual? Certainly! That is part of the appeal to this fantastic place.

The Cotton Bay Resort seems isolated from the rest of the island with few services around the hotel area. While it is only a two-story low-rise, the hotels’ green-hued, corrugated iron roof punctuates the skyline and it follows the perimeter of the bay for which it is aptly named. Arriving at this hotel, the staff is warm and welcoming. Guests are familiarized with the hotel services and amenities and the free appetizers at happy hour was the one feature that seemed to resonate with us and the hotel includes a half-board option (breakfast and dinner) which simplifies your food options. The rooms are well-appointed and divers will definitely benefit from a room on the floor level, especially if you will be moving your equipment back and forth from the on site dive shop or your vehicle. While diving is offered, the resort only offers that as a component of many other outdoor pursuits.

It appears the three dive operators on the island have divided up the various dive zones (north, south and east parts of the island) due to access and convenience. During our first couple days on the island, we explored the dive sites along the channel to the south that empties the lagoon into the Indian Ocean. So we paid a visit to Bouba’s Dive Centre. The owner was distinctly French and had us laughing non-stop for two days of diving. Benoit’s rental gear was in great condition as he used a European favorite, Beuchat. Our favorite dive on the south side of the island was the “Canyon” dive site. The topography was unbelievable as we literally swam through vibrant canyons and in the words of our fearless divemaster, Benoit. “Bwahhhh” (We think it is French for something really awesome). Keep in mind that diving times may be adjusted by Benoit based on the tides. Definitely check out Benoit and Bouba’s Dive Centre.

The Cotton Bay Dive Centre  serves the East side of the island. Fantastic in their own right, they are set up with good equipment to rent and storage facilities for those with their own equipment. Most of the incredible dive sites we read about “La Passe St. Francois” and “Le Canyon” were located on this side of the island and they were absolutely stunning. Diving on this side is not for the beginner (as we were at the time), but we were so excited to dive these sites that my enthusiasm got the better of me and had me running from our room one day with Lana’s wetsuit (Lana sat out due to a cold) and my determination together with Fabio, our divemaster, and two other “buddies” helped me squeeze into her 3mm. And for all you girls out there, Fabio, is still the prettiest divemaster Lana has ever seen during our diving escapades. I can still hear Lana to this day, “It’s his eyes.” Definitely check out the diving on this side of the island.

The day before we departed, we kept this as a non-dive day and explored the topside of the island. We went for numerous hikes and found some completely untouched, white sand beaches. There were spectacular views at every turn. The island’s land based activities equally matched the wondrous diversity we had read about below the surface in the surrounding lagoon. The Francois Leguat Giant Tortoise and Cave Reserve is a place to see the tortoises from the hatchery up until the one hundred year old big guys. This place was absolutely fascinating and the combined tour with the cave system was a well-spent half day of activities.

Rodrigues is blessed with wondrous diversity at every turn. We had only planned to stay for three days as a notch in our travel stick, but we enjoyed it so much that we sacrificed the island of Reunion from our trip to stay on Rodrigues for two more days. Borrowed from their website, the Mauritius Tourism and Promotion Authority sums up the island of Rodrigues the best: “The secure waters of the lagoon and the trade winds that gently buffer the island provide many opportunities for the adventurous. Rodrigues is a wonderful playground for scuba divers who quickly fall in love with the diverse coral reef eco-system and its colourful assortment of sub-aquatic flora and fauna.”

Happy Diving! –Tim

Mission Accomplished!

18 Comments / Equipment / By

Two weeks ago, we were evaluating whether we should make the purchase of matching dive computers or postpone this decision. Before I reveal my decision, some of you connected with us through Facebook, WordPress and Twitter to ask some questions and provide your input. To those of you who offered some insight, thank you. I look forward to addressing your feedback in future posts.

First, my non-scuba diver audience is feeling a little confused about the usage and application of dive computers. I must note that this blog will quickly lose its merit if we use excessive industry jargon and confuse those of you exploring the idea of taking up this sport. Our non-diving audience is just as important to us as our diving audience.

The computers, just like the tables, exist to tell us how long we can safely be under water at specified depths. Aside from the obvious limitation of how much air is in your tank, we are also limited by the length at which we can remain underwater the deeper we go. Why is this? Our bodies absorb nitrogen during a dive, and can tolerate a certain amount at specified depths before the risk of developing decompression sickness sets in. The algorithm (think of it as computerized dive table) used in a dive computer is based on decades of information and is used to safeguard divers from decompression sickness, keeping us diving smart. Despite the fact that it sounds complicated, this is easy to do and certified scuba diving centers will help you understand this.

Others have asked, why matching computers? It is not necessary to do this, but It is recommended to maintain parity with your buddy if you will be diving with the same person all the time. For example, a Suunto computer and a Sherwood computer behave differently with slightly different algorithms at varying depths throughout the dive. By owning matching computers, it will:

  • Help you understand the workings of that equipment and help your buddy.
  • It is now easier to default to the most conservative measure of the two computers.
  • Finally, it really helps justify your nifty purchase.

So now that we have addressed some of your questions, I’m certain you are curious to know what we bought? After sifting through the abundant choices, we selected a lesser known, Hollis DG3 wrist computer, and we made this purchase through our friends at The Dive Shop. So, what are the features that led us to this purchase?

  • Multiple Gas options (Nitrox and Air)
  • Air integrated, meaning we can look at the computer to see our remaining air quantity without a hose connected to it. This means less drag in the water and less chance of unintentionally dragging a hose on the reef.
  • Audible alarm as we approach numerous limits. The alarms can be set to your diving needs so it becomes “your computer.”
  • Price point was fantastic and equally matched any online offer close to our budget.
  • Ability to change our own battery (really important when you do most of your dives away from home). Some computers can cost up to $200 for a battery change.
  • Brilliant LED backlight for deep and night dives.
  • Larger and easy to use buttons for when we start dry-suit diving.
  • Easy to read interface which was similar to our Aeris XR-1 computers.
  • Additional service is easy through The Dive Shop.
  • And, we can easily download our dives to our home computer.

Basically, this computer meets our immediate needs, addresses some of the wants we are looking to gain and it will also allow us to “grow” into some of the features this dive computer offers as we advance our certification levels and demand more from our computers. Truly, the price was really competitive for all of the features it came with.

So now that we have our new dive computers, what do we do with our old ones? Colin from the Dive Shop echoed something I have heard many times before, “Keep your old computer and attach it to your BCD as a backup.”

“Why would I do that?”

“What if your computer floods? Battery dies? Or some other malfunction? This allows you the ability to finish your dive safely and continue to dive (within the limitations of that computer) until you get your computer serviced. This is especially good if you are traveling away from your home base.”

What a great idea to have a backup! So we are now studying the manuals, programming the dates and times and familiarizing ourselves with the computers. They are very similar in feel and navigation to our Aeris XR-1 computers. These new Hollis DG-03 dive computers may not be the sleekest looking computers, but they certainly are impressive and we are excited to use them.

So what have you decided for your next dive computer purchase? What are you currently using? Whatever you decide, we hope you find someone like Colin at the Dive Shop in Calgary to help detangle all of the issues and give you confidence in your purchase like he did for us.

Happy diving! Tim (and Lana)

A picture is worth . . . a thousand dollars?

14 Comments / Equipment / By

I know that I can’t possibly be the only person struggling with this issue. You know what I’m talking about. You want to take great photos underwater, but don’t know which direction to go. Do you buy a housing for your Nikon D90 or do you buy a new camera with a new housing?

I have to preface this by letting you know that I’m in no way, shape or form a professional photographer. I just love photography. And I really love my D90, which is why after tons of research, I have decided against purchasing an underwater housing for it. Besides the fact that the housing is more expensive than the camera, I just couldn’t bear the thought of the housing leaking on a dive. I know that the chance of that happening is slim to none, but it’s there, so another direction I went.

My next thought was to check out the GoPro cameras. I did some research online and everything looked great. The videos and photos on their website were spectacular. The price was unbelievable. You could dive to a reasonable depth with it. So, here I was, about to purchase one, when something told me to email GoPro to ask what accessories I should get along with the camera if I were going to solely use it for scuba diving. You can imagine my surprise when I got this email in response, “All of our cameras are waterproof that you can use for scuba diving. It’s just that the lens is not the best thing for scuba.” Well, there you have it folks. Thanks to the integrity of GoPro, I was off to do more research.

At this point, I was sick of staring at a computer screen trying to decide which direction to go next, so I did the most logical thing. I drove down to my neighborhood scuba shop. I’ve driven past this place a bunch of times, but never stopped in. I’m glad I finally did. It was a well stocked shop, complete with cameras! There were two brands that had prominent displays; GoPro (of which I have already decided against) and SeaLife.

As I was checking out the SeaLife cameras, I was approached by a gentleman, named John (who also happened to be the owner). I ended up talking his ear off for about 30 minutes explaining my situation. He gave me a lot of great feedback on the cameras that he had. After a lengthy discussion, I decided on the SeaLife DC1400 Pro Duo. If this thing does half the things it says it’s going to do, we’re in business! I really look forward to using it and seeing what you guys think of the photos and videos.

So, how many of you out there take a lot of photo and video underwater? What camera configurations do you use? Make sure to leave your comments below (and some links with some photos you took). I’d love to hear from you guys! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Diving! – Esther

How should I compute my next dive?

8 Comments / Equipment / By

Hunting for a dive computer is just like buying a home computer. Do I buy a Mac or PC? Once I choose my operating system, which model do I go with? I wish it were that simple in the diving industry. There are so many players to choose from which seems to complicate the selection process. I have found at least 5 operating systems among at least 16 brands and it seems that each has at least 2 – 15 models to choose from. Flat out, this is a time-consuming endeavour and I hope to peel the onion back to find out what considerations need to be made in purchasing the right dive computer for me and it is my hope that this helps you, too.

For those of you who are considering taking up the sport of diving, your first computer will be the same as ours. It is slick! This dive computer is paper-thin. Well, it pretty much is paper and processing speed in my model was terrible. Allow me to introduce the PADI Dive Table. While the PADI Dive Table is fundamental to safe diving and definitely works in a pinch, it limits you to fixed depths and dive times which has led us to consider an alternative.

Our next model was a larger model, and one that is especially used at dive resorts. It is an upgrade from the PADI dive table because it allows for multi-level dives and longer dive times. However, reliability was completely based on the “faith” algorithm, we like to call this the “Dive Master” Computer. The Dive Master watches us carefully as we follow his dive computer and he only has one rule: “Stay above me and you will be fine.” Obviously, this type of computer does not allow for independent multi-level diving and has inherent safety risks if the diver deviates from the plan. Even though we were successful with this model for about 25 dives, we knew we had to make the consideration for our own personal dive computer.

One year after getting into diving, Lana and I purchased 2 matching dive computers from our local dive store. We put a little thought into this purchase, but we basically asked the store clerk, “What is a simple dive computer for relatively new divers?” The diving pro was quick to show us the Aeris XR-1 and without hesitation, we made the purchase. It was the lowest priced computer at the time and, essentially, loaded with nothing. Now, stop your snickering because these computers have served us without fail on over 125 dives and continue to function well, aside from the periodic change of a battery, but, we need to make a change… Why? Primarily, the Aeris XR-1 is unable to compute Nitrox blends. Esther‘s previous article on Enriched Air has spurred us on to take the Nitrox course and advance our diving skill level. Also, just as in any other sport, we believe our skill level has improved enough to justify the upgrade. Therefore, we are looking to purchase a computer that matches our dive habits and commitment to the sport.

So, what and who influences our purchase? Obviously, like any other purchase, we listen, research and test. It is common to check out our peer’s scuba equipment and ask the normal questions about their experience with the equipment and it’s overall performance. We then sit down behind a computer and feverishly search the internet for hours as we read product reviews (a feature www.scubadiveadvisor.com will have once we are in full swing) and finally, we try to find some place we can look at these computers, play with them and hopefully make the best decision based on our needs.

Despite my conversations with friends, hours of online research, I feel like I am even more confused now than when we began our search. So the best thing for me to do is talk to someone I trust so I paid a visit to one of our local dive shops in Calgary to get some guidance. Thankfully, The Dive Shop‘s computer whiz, Colin, is there to help me out as we talk for almost an hour and a half and narrow down my options. Really, he is a computer programmer and technical diver. He truly understands the algorithms and features behind each brand (including the ones his shop does not sell) making him a valuable asset to the Dive Shop. Colin discussed the various computers available on the market and he steered the conversation in a different direction to figure out what may be the better options for Lana and I by interjecting the following questions (in no particular order):

  • “How often do you dive?” – I dive between 30-60 dives per year.
  • “What type of diver are you? Recreational or technical?” – An enthusiast as I stay within the “Recreational Diver” limits, but I like to occasionally have the ability to explore some wrecks at 50 metres.
  • “Do you dive in cold water?” – Not yet! I have heard about the wonders of the West Coast of Canada but the cold has been a deterrent (Dry suit… Brrrr… I’m sure this will be a future blog post).
  • “Are you familiar with the dive computer algorithms?” – Vaguely. I do know that some computers are more conservative than others.
  • “What is your budget?” – Good question. I’d like to keep this purchase around $600-900 each, but you tell me. Is that realistic?
  • “Are you looking for air integrated?” (This means the dive computer has a transmitter that reads your current tank air pressure) – I think so. It seems to be the next step. What do you think?

Colin asked questions I had already asked myself, but he also made me think of other factors I had not yet considered. These questions helped to identify which computer may be a good fit for my diving habits. A couple interesting notes that came up while talking with Colin is that sometimes the sleek little computers are not as handy during cold water dives because the small buttons are a little cumbersome to navigate when wearing 5mm gloves. Also, some computers tout multiple gases… Cool! But how does that benefit the recreational diver? It seldom does. This is a feature that appeals to technical divers and even so, most technical divers seem to opt for a non-air integrated VPM algorithm (complicated, right?). And this inevitably leads to the most important question: When am I buying too much computer? Are some of these features relevant enough for me to plan for in my diving future or should I just apply any savings to more diving or other equipment upgrades?

The list can be as specific as you want to make it, but the other factors we discussed included:

  • Ability to change your own battery. This can be costly and inconvenient with some manufacturers.
  • What type of backlighting is there for low visibility, dark conditions and night dives. OLED is a new and fantastic technology available only on technical computers.
  • Do I make an online purchase or brick and mortar purchase. Yes we did discuss this and while he agreed that purchasing online may offer a lower price, the ability to service is an inverse relationship to that benefit. (Meaning: many stores may resist in helping to repair an item purchased online and you will have to send it back to the company yourself).
  • Buying online is a good way to search out reviews and find price points, but you are unable to physically see and touch it.

So now that I have many of my own questions answered: Have I made the decision to purchase a computer? Yes! But have I decided which computer to purchase? I haven’t yet. But I have narrowed my search to consider the above factors and Colin is helping to research some computers that may be a fit for Lana and I. Therefore, during the next week, I’ve decided to listen to you, the reader, and get your opinions as well. Once I synthesize your comments, I’ll combine these with what I’ve learned online and from speaking with Colin, chew on it for a week and then make my decision. I’ll have an answer to everyone in two weeks. Follow us here on our blog (or Facebook & Twitter) for our first cliffhanger. To be continued…

Tim