The ocean can be a beautiful and yet scary place. You never know what you might come across. Being prepared for the unexpected is an important element when you are in the ocean. You really don’t want to be caught off guard.
Having the right type of scuba equipment is an important part while diving. One of the key tools to have is a scuba diving knife. You never know if you will get caught in some sea weed that you might have to cut your way out of. Heaven forbid that you get caught by an unfamiliar fish that thinks you’re his food. Your safety is the most important factor.
Traditionally, knives have been used since the beginning of time. You can use a knife for anything. It’s not just used for meals. A knife can be used as a weapon or unlocking a door.
Diving knives are no different. They can be used for multiple things. The water can be a scary place when you aren’t prepared. Obviously a diving knife is a good weapon to have on you for protection. It can also be used as a tool for digging. It is truly a multi useful tool.
When you are diving you want to make sure that you get the most out of the experience. You are going under water to see all the beauty of the ocean. There are so many things to see. The colors, alone are amazing.
There are different choices when you pick out a dive mask. Older masks have one big window. The more modern masks have two windows. One for each eye, these are best if you are planning to wear contacts. You can purchase a silicone diving mask. These are best if you are planning to go snorkeling instead of diving. These are just a few to choose from. Whichever you choose you will not be disappointed.
On my 30th birthday my husband and a group of our friends took a trip to Maui. We stayed for two weeks. It was so beautiful. We signed up for quite a few excursions. We took a bike ride down a volcano and went to a luau.
The best part of the trip was when we went snorkeling. I had never been. I was quite nervous at first. Just putting on the snorkeling gear was scary enough. The instructor was very nice and informative of what to do. He made the snorkeling trip very memorable, especially when he informed us that we would be charged $300 if we touched a sea turtle.
With any new hobby, it is important that you get the all the information ahead of time. That goes for anything. If you were to start ballroom dancing, you would make sure that you had the right type of shoes. Say you started mountain bike riding. You would need the right type of mountain bike.
It’s no different for diving. Making sure that you have the right dive equipment is important. You would need to make sure the mask fits well and that you had the right type of dive boots. It is important to make sure that you are prepared for anything. Preparation and research is important to starting any new hobby.
When it comes to scuba diving there are several dos and don’ts to keep in mind. Do make sure you are physically capable of making the dive. Do make sure your certification is up-to-date. Do have a diving partner for safety reasons. Keep visuals with your partner at all times.
Do have a check list for all your important items, like a compass, regulator, mask, diving fins, a scuba diving knife, and more. Don’t drink any alcohol before diving. Don’t forget to tell someone on land where you will be diving and for how long you’ll be gone. Don’t eat a big meal before you dive. Doing so can lead to cramps and potentially getting sick in your mouthpiece, making it difficult to breathe.
Evan Bozanic, 13, recently became the youngest diver to dive south of the Antarctic Circle. Considering the danger of the feat and the fact that he is so young makes it all the more remarkable. Bozanic got his first taste of diving when he was a four month old infant. His father, a marine scientist, submerged the infant in an open bell helmet that had been specially designed.
In recounting his first attempt at scuba diving, Bozanic said that he was terrified of anything hurting, so wound up going kayaking instead. Obviously, that fear wore off. For the Antarctic dive Bozanic had to wear scuba dive boots and a dry suit under his wet suit to help combat the cold. A chill still set in, but the teen accomplished his goal and is now looking for the next adventure.
Rescue dive teams work year round, even in icy conditions. The Colchester Technical Rescue Dive team in Colchester, Vermont knows that better than most. Each winter the team conducts a practice ice dive to keep their skills sharp in the event that they have to save a drowning victim or locate a vehicle that’s been submerged in an icy body of water.
The exercise is well coordinated and each diver takes extreme safety precautions to avoid cold-related injuries. In fact, the divers wear clothes under their dry suits and each diver wears a full face scuba mask. The dive rules for ice rescues are essentially the same as normal conditions, but looking up and seeing a sheet of ice can be daunting, according to the rescue workers. “It can be a little intimidating because you know you can’t go through it,” said one of the rescue divers to a local reporter.
I read a heartwarming story the other day about Tinley Park Police Sgt. Bill Devine who raises money for the Special Olympics through participating in a polar plunge. Sgt. Devine has been involved with the Special Olympics for 16 years, and it is all the more meaningful for him now since his four-year-old son was born with Down syndrome. In 2010 Sgt. Devine raised $9,000 for the Special Olympics Illinois by participating in the Super Plunge.
The Super Plunge is a Polar Plunge that takes place at Lake Michigan. Each participant jumps in the frigid waters once an hour every 24 hours in just their swimsuits and scuba boots. This year Sgt. Devine hopes to raise $10,000 for the Special Olympics. Sgt. Devine told reporters, “It’s fun, it’s cold, but it’s worth it.” Bravo Sgt. Devine!
Last January, my girlfriend and I went on a Caribbean cruise. We had read prior to the cruise that two of our stops, Roatan and the Bahamas, had excellent snorkeling opportunities. Rather than rent snorkeling gear from the cruise ship or a tourist trap, both of which can be expensive, we decided to buy and bring our own snorkels.
Unfortunately, we went for cheaper price at the sacrifice of higher quality. The snorkels worked at first, but after a half-hour the breathing apparatus on my girlfriend’s pair started functioning improperly. I found that the face mask on mine did not have a tight seal. This resulted in me having to come up more frequently than I liked to clear the mask of water. Next time we’ll have to do better research before purchasing snorkels or any other underwater gear.