swdn_0212
DESCRIPTION
A West Coast Diver’s Paradise San Diego Style The Great “American” Barrier Reef DIVE LOCALLY WHERE IT REALLY MATTERS February 2012 Volume 2 Issue 2 $3.00 US/$3.50 Canada Scuba Competition with an edge! 816-765-7282 • ultimatediverchallenge.com CheCk out our NeW Website: WWW.diveNeWsNetWork.Com FebruArY 2012 more info online at www.divenewsnetwork.com 2TRANSCRIPT
Volume 2 Issue 2
$3.00 US/$3.50 Canada
DIVE LOCALLY WHERE IT REALLY MATTERS
February 2012
Southern California DivingSan Diego Style
Catalina iSlanDA West Coast Diver’s Paradise
South PaDre iSlanDThe Great “American” Barrier Reef
CheCk out our NeW Website: WWW.diveNeWsNetWork.Com2
FebruArY 2012 more info online at www.divenewsnetwork.com
Do you want to be a better diver?
816-765-7282 • ultimatediverchallenge.com
Scuba Competition with an edge!
Take The Challenge!July 20-31
14 South Padre Island - The Great “American” Barrier ReefPadre Island is the second longest island in the United States. The north end of the island is home to the Padre Island National Seashore. There is close to 70 miles of hiking trails and beachfront where 380 species of birds migrate yearly and where sea turtle science and recovery has led to the re-introduction of kemp’s ridley, leatherbacks, loggerheads and hawksbill sea turtles. It is also home of the Malaquite Visitor Center where you can find out more about local inhabitants and so much more. By Mike Hughes
FebruArY 2012 more info online at www.divenewsnetwork.com iN this editioN
3
SouthwestDive News
The complete resource for diving in the Southwest.
www.swdivenews.com
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief Rick Stratton
Production ManagerIJ James
Graphic DesignerTJ Pierzchala
Expo CoordinatorSelene Muldowney
Accounts ManagerTove Chatham
Advertising Sales(360) 240-1874
Circulation/subscriptions 360-240-1874 Dive News Magazine is committed to promoting the sport of scuba diving in the Southwest. We will present a practical, unbiased point of view regarding all aspects of the sport of scuba diving. We encourage readers to participate in determining the content of this publication by giving us their opinions on the types of articles they would like to see. We invite letters to the editor, manuscripts and photographs related to diving or diving-related business. Send us your stories and photos!
IMPORTANT NOTICEThe Dive News Magazine reserves the right to refuse service to anyone. The contents of Southwest Dive News are opinions of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, editor or its staff. The publishers and contributors assume no responsibility for any mishap claimed to be a result of use of this material. Diving is an adventure sport containing inherent risks. Improper use of diving equipment or diving techniques may result in serious injury or death. Readers are advised to use their best judgment in each individual situation.
MOVING?In order to continue receiving your magazine uninterrupted, please notify Southwest Dive News when you change your mailing address. To ensure uninterrupted service, please contact us six to eight weeks before the change of address occurs. You can call us at 360-240-1874 PST or email us at [email protected] or mail at:
BEDROCk PuBlICATIONSP.O. Box 1494
Oak Harbor, WA 98277
Monthly ColuMnsPublisher’s Note ................................4Incoming Mail ....................................5Southwest Hot News ........................6Southwest Activities ...........................7
DAN Medical Information ................21Gear Box ....................................22-23Tropical Dive Directory ...............22-23Local Dive Directory ...................22-23
sigN up For our NeW e-subsCriptioN At WWW.diveNeWsNetWork.Com
southWEst DEstInAtIon
loCAl DIVE DEstInAtIon
tRoPICAl DEstInAtIons
10 San Diego DivingWhile the entirety of California offers spectacular opportunities for divers and other water enthusiasts, the San Diego area stands out among the best of the best. San Diego County is the most southern of the California counties, and is bordered by Mexico to the south and Orange and Riverside Counties to the north. San Diego is all about sun, sea, beaches, wrecks, animals, and affordable entertainment. By Bruce Watkins
18 Catalina - A West Coast Diver’s ParadiseCatalina Island, lying twenty-two miles off the coast of southern California, has become a well-known diver’s paradise. With a dive park that offers shore dives limited only by the necessity for surface intervals, and boat charters that visit the un-crowded dive sites on the back side of the island, the island is a retreat for thousands of divers who visit every year. What most of these divers don’t realize, however, are the great advantages that Catalina has to offer in the cooler months. By Keath Allen
◄ Cover by Ronan GrayRonan Gray is a San Diego based diver,
photographer, writer and engineer. His photographs and articles have appeared in local and national newspapers and magazines. He is owner and president of SUBAQUA IMAGING SYSTEMS Inc. (www.subaquaimaging.com) a design and manufacturing firm focused on developing underwater imaging products for a range of industries and professional film makers.
He is originally from Ireland, where he grew up deeply immersed in the underwater world as part of his family’s SCUBA diving business (www.scubadivewest.com). He made his first dive with his father in the Irish Sea at eight years old and has been diving ever since.
After moving to the States in his early twenties, he became a PADI instructor, earning many instructor ratings including PADI Course Director in 1996. He worked as the Director
of Training for Ocean Enterprises in San Diego and as a boat captain for several local area dive boats while attending college. He was qualified as a diver under the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Standards for Scientific Diving while attending Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) as a graduate student.
He holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the UCSD and a graduate degree in Applied Ocean Sciences from USCD / SIO.
Do you want to be a better diver?
816-765-7282 • ultimatediverchallenge.com
Scuba Competition with an edge!
Take The Challenge!July 20-31
pubLisher’s Note do you have an opinion? Contact us: [email protected]
4 CheCk out our NeW Website: WWW.diveNeWsNetWork.Com
All the features of the JT-50. Smaller and designed for single tank use. The air cell is extremely streamlined and thefrontal width in swimming position is barely wider than an average person’s shoulders.
Automatic pressure relieve valve/pull dump at left waist sideLow pressure BC hose includedFor single back mounted tank only (100cuft / 15L internal volume)
See the Power
See the PowerJT-40DJT-40D
Style: Buoyancy capacity:Bladder material:
Shell material: inflator length:
mounting grommetS diStance:
Circular doughnut30lbf (13.6kgf) / 40lbf (18.1kgf)420D TPU coated nylon1680D PU coated ballistic nylon16” (tech elbow)11”
Rick
This year marks the Dive News Network’s 16th anniversary. During our time in business, we have been providing informative
services, which have made and helped maintain the connection between divers and the dive industry. We have come a very long way from newsletter, to newspaper, to magazine, and now we consider ourselves a media and marketing group!
A media group may sound ostentatious and sometimes I feel full of myself when I reference to other companies that I am now a ‘media mogul’. But we have changed the way we do business. Last year we added 2 more magazines under the main Dive News Network umbrella making our total 5 monthly print magazines. We also expanded our Dive News web portal, increased our YouTube activity, and most of all upped the ante with social media like Facebook and Twitter. Our presence online has increased our ability to create interactive articles, and real-time updates from the dive industry. We have grown into a user friendly, information driven, and beautifully interfaced full-service network with so much to offer the dive community as a whole.
But what does a membership in this media group really mean for the dive business-owner, and what benefit can it bring? We give you the power to harness all of this new technology (YouTube, Facebook, the new digital edition I’ll tell you about shortly) and allows you, as a member of the Dive News Network Media Group, to put the power in your hands.
Let’s say you are having an awesome cool fund-raiser for inner city kids to experience diving as part of your dive shop. You could take out an ad, which is a fantastic option, but now we have the ability to expand your advertising dollars to more than just a 1-dimensional print item. We can add your blurb to the hot news, activities calendar, and also give this some extra oomph by highlighting it.
Most magazines can do this, but we’ve added the whipped
cream, chocolate sauce and cherry on top of this sundae by harnessing the power we talked about in the last paragraph. We can post on Facebook the month/week/day before your event to remind people it’s happening. We can make your event a high-lighted news blurb on the www.divenewsnetwork.com, or the www.swdivenews.com website. And most of all, we can take advantage of the electronic E-dition of the Southwest Dive News magazine.
This month marks the first expanded electronic edition of Southwest Dive News magazine and even my socks are blown away (and I knew it was coming)! This E-dition not only allows the magazine to be immediately available to Southwest Dive News’ readers, it also allows us to embed a video or slideshow related to your event right into the magazine. Want a link to a YouTube video with your hot news, to drive readership to your event’s Facebook page, or a pdf of the flyer with store coupons attached to pop-up when they click? We can do that!
As a note to our readers, we will soon be implementing a subscription setup for this cool new E-dition. And we look forward to sharing this with you soon, but rest assured all of our articles will still be available on the site. We will continue publishing our content on the web for your convenience!
We are striving to make the Dive News Network Media Group your connection to what’s happening in the dive industry, and look forward to finding new and innovative ways to make this happen!
Dive News Network MeDia Group, are You a MeMber?
Dear rick,Thank you for developing the E-edition of Northwest Dive News. I am an active member of
the Josephine County Search and Rescue Dive team. I like reading about the dive activities of the Pacific Northwest. I do travel some and enjoy reading the magazine without having to carry the magazine and just read it on my Kindle Fire. In my scuba trips I would usually carry several of your magazines so I would have the name and numbers of dive shops for support resources during my trips, well now I can just use a WI-FI connection and get that info.
Thanks again, Jim PhillippeEagle Point, Oregon
Hey Jim,Thanks for the kudos! We put forth a great amount of effort to make the digital editions,
but you haven’t seen anything yet. Like I talked about in my publisher’s note this month, the new E-dition will blow you away! I can’t wait for you to see it. And the best part is, it will work with your Kindle Fire.
Can’t wait to see your thoughts on this new E-dition, hopefully you like it! Thanks,
have you seen us on fb? facebook.com/swdivenews Letter to the editor
5We support LoCAL divers - LoCAL divers support the iNdustrY.
Kaui
Hawaii
Maui
Land of Aloha
Dolphins and Manta Rays and Reefs - Oh my!
Hawaii
Jack's Diving Locker 800.345.4807
www.jacksdivinglocker.com
Capt Charley Neal's Scuba Shack877.213.4488
www.scubashack.com
Ed Robinson's Diving Adventures800.635.1273
www.mauiscuba.com
Seasport Divers800.685.5889
www.seasportdivers.com
Rick
Have aN opiNioN?Send us your questions or concerns to
marine Sanctuary to HoSt SeaSiDe cHatS The Flower Garden Banks Na-
tional Marine Sanctuary will host Seaside Chats beginning Feb. 8 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Galveston Fish-ing Pier in Galveston. The Seaside Chats are part of the Flower Garden Banks 20th Anniversary. These free presentations will take place at the newly renovated Galveston Fishing Pier. Each presentation will be fol-lowed by an informal chat time and some light refreshments. Sub-jects of the Seaside Chats will be Feb. 8 - Coral Reefs of Texas, Feb. 15 - Romance on the Reef, Feb. 22 - The New Krewe in Town, Feb. 29 - A Diver’s Eye View and on March 7 - Manta Rays, Whale Sharks and Turtles, Oh My! For more info call 409-621-5151, x105 or visit www.flowergarden.noaa.gov.
LocaL Dive SHop moveS to new Location
Blue Water Divers has moved to a more central location in Oklahoma City. On Dec. 24, 2011 they turned off the “Open Sign” for the last time at their old I-240 & Western loca-tion and re-opened at their all new premier facility on the historical Au-tomobile Alley at 718 North Broad-way in Oklahoma City. In the short time they have been open it has
proven to be a huge success far exceeding their expectations. They are now close to twice the size of our original location and able to of-fer even more resources. For more info visit www.bluewaterokc.com.
LocaL Dive SHop teamS up witH organizationS eDucating peopLe about ca Diving
Pacific Wilderness Dive shop is teaming up with local Organizations that help to educate people on the magnificence of California Diving. They have found that by using So-cial Media, they can spread the word on how fun local diving can be by sharing their dives and dive experi-ences with their Facebook subscrib-ers. There’s a lot to like about Pacific Wilderness, the diving superstore, and now when you share how much you like them on Facebook, California Ships to Reefs gets a five dol-lar donation. For more info visit www.pacificwilderness.com.
Dive SHop LeaDS Dive to HomeSteaD crater
Neptune Dive in Utah is doing a dive to Home-stead Crater on Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. There is limited avail-ability and call to RSVP. At Neptune Divers every month they plan some type of a local dive-a-long that all skill levels are welcome to join. There is no fee to participate; they just like to
have dive buddies along for fun. For more info visit www.neptunediv-ers.net.
Scuba rangerS cLaSSeS to begin in HouStonScuba Rangers is a kids club for 8 to
12 year olds. To join, all you have to do is sign up for the next Scuba Ranger Class. The class is 5 sessions. After you are cer-tified, you can become a Master Ranger and attend the Scuba Ranger Club meet-ings. Here are some upcoming dates, Feb 18-Cave/Cavern Ranger, Mar 25-Naviga-tion Ranger, Apr 22-Olympics Ranger, May 6- Spring Kickoff and on Jun 10- Buddy Ranger. For more info visit www.familyscuba.com.
non-profit LobbieS for tHe environment
The Center for Ocean-ic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE) has spent a lot of time and effort working with local
governments to make the world’s oceans safer. They helped in the effort in San Francisco making it the first city in the United States to implement a ban on plastic bags as well as working with the County of Santa Clara, one of California’s largest counties to ban single-use plastic bags. For more info on other COARE projects or to find out how you can help visit www.coare.org.
cHanging LiveS in tHe cayman iSLanDSSometimes all it takes
is a little support to change a life. It is with this in mind that Red Sail Sports Grand Cayman, a leading resort based dive and watersports operator, has been committed to the Special Olympics Program of the Cayman Islands (SOCI). From the beginning when the SOCI was founded in 1987, Red Sail Sports has provided jobs for its athletes. There are two SOCI athletes currently on staff at Red Sail one of which is Andrew Smiley, the most-decorated Special Olympics athlete in the history of the Cayman Islands. Red Sails Sports has also signed on to be a Silver Sponsor for the first annual Eric Crutchley Memorial Golf Tournament, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics, in their continu-ing efforts to support these extraordinary athletes. For more info visit www.redsailcayman.com.
Start tHe new year witH a Deep breatHSometimes a deep breath is all you need to re-
group and re-energize. Gogh Jewelry Design is now offering a friendly reminder, Gogh Jewelry Design’s grounding pendant, conveniently etched with that magic word “BREATHE”. Made for those who are just a little too busy, who forget to relax and enjoy the simpler things. The pendants are handmade from sterling silver in California. The symmetrical twist bead shape from Swarovski has alluring facets that are not to be missed. For more info visit www.goghjewelrydesign.com.
tHe Dive SHop in San marcoS conDucting Scooter Seminar
The Dive Shop in San Marcos is con-ducting a Scooter Seminar on Feb. 18-19 at the Shop located at 1911 Old Ranch Road in San Marcos, TX. They will also be conducting a dive trip to Baja on Feb. 20-22. For more info visit www.divesanmarcos.com.
hot NeWs get your event noticed by sending us your NeWs/eveNts: [email protected]
6 seNd us Your NeWs/eveNts Free At [email protected]
februaryFeb 1: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, 7
p.m. at Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Feb. 1: Diving Rebels Scuba Club 6:30 p.m., Humperdink’s, Arlington, TX. www.divingrebels.org
Feb 2: Club Aquarius Dive Around Texas Group Dive, 288 Lake dry suit dive and pot luck lunch planned. RSVP to [email protected] www.oceanicventures.com
Feb 4: Dive Club of Silicon Valley Shore Dive. Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Feb 6: Houston Underwater Scuba Club Holiday Party. Members only, St. Arnolds Brewery, Houston, TX. www.hucscuba.org
Feb 7: Bay Area Divers Board of Director Meeting, 7 p.m., La Brisa Mexican Bar & Grill, League City, TX. Public and BAD members welcome. www.bayareadivers.org
Feb 8: Burbank Dive Club 7 p.m., The Buchanan Arms in Burbank, CA. www.burbankdiveclub.com
Feb 8: Lunarfins Dive Club, 7 p.m. Clear Lake Park, 5000 NASA Parkway, TX www.lunarfins.com
Feb 8: Pacific Explorers 6:30 p.m., Denny’s Restaurant in Canoga Park, CA. www.pacificexplorers.org
Feb 8: Exploring British Columbia Tri-Valley Dive Club meeting, 7 p.m., Pleasanton, CA. www.diventrips.com
Feb 9: University SCUBA Club at UT Austin, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m., SSB 4.212, Austin, TX. www.utscuba.com
Feb 9: Dive Club of Silicon Valley DEMP Classroom session. Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Feb 13: Antelope Valley Desert Divers, 7 p.m., Primrose Room of the Chimbole Cultural Center, 38350 Sierra Highway, Palmdale, CA. www.avdesertdivers.org
Feb 14: Dive Buddy appreciation Day Valentine’s Day Celebration, Oceanic Ventures, Houston, TX. www.oceanicventures.com
Feb 14: Bottom Dive Dive Club Meeting, 7 p.m. Elite Circle Grill, Waco, TX. www.btdc.org
Feb 15: Channel Islands Divers 6:00 p.m., Pirates Grub N’ Grog in Oxnard, CA. www.channelislandsdivers.org
Feb 15: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, 7 p.m. at Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Feb 18: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, Boat Dive on the Escapade, Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
have you seen our calendar online? www.divenewsnetwork.com dive ACtivities
7We support LoCAL divers - LoCAL divers support the iNdustrY.
Feb 22: Aquatic Image Makers, 7 p.m., Round Table Pizza, Folsom, CA. www.sacaim.org
Feb. 22: Dive N Trips University of Scuba Program, 6:30 p.m., Dive N Trips Pleasanton, CA. www.diventrips.com
Feb 23: San Diego UW Photographic Society 7 p.m., Scripps Inst. of Oceanography Auditorium, San Diego, CA. www.sdups.com
Feb 23: University SCUBA Club at UT Austin, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m., SSB 4.212, Austin, TX. www.utscuba.com
Feb. 23: Club Aquarius Meeting, 7 p.m., Members/non-members welcome, Special Guest Speaker: door prizes, announcement of upcoming dives, RSCP for details and locations. www.oceanicventures.com
Feb 25: The Sea Divers Club Dive with Wreck: Star of Scotland. Max of 6 divers. www.seadivers.org
Feb 25-26: Arctic Dive/Wine & Cheese Festival at Lake Murray, OK with Diving Rebels Texas. See site for details www.divingrebels.org
marcHMar 5: Dive Club of Silicon Valley
Boat diver specialty, Classroom session. Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Mar 5: Houston Underwater Photographic Society, 7 p.m. Bayland Community Center, Houston, TX. www.hups.org
Mar 6: Bay Area Divers Board of Director Meeting, 7 p.m., La Brisa Mexican Bar & Grill, League City, TX. Public and BAD members welcome. www.bayareadivers.org
Mar 7: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, 7 p.m. at Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Mar 7: Diving Rebels Scuba Club 6:30 p.m., Humperdink’s, Arlington, TX. www.divingrebels.org
Mar 7: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, Boat diver specialty. Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Mar 10: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, Boat dive on the Escapade. Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Mar 12: Club Aquarius Dive Around Texas Group Dive, 288 Lake dry suit dive and pot luck lunch planned. RSVP to [email protected] www.oceanicventures.com
Mar 12: Antelope Valley Desert Divers, 7 p.m., Primrose Room of the Chimbole Cultural Center, 38350 Sierra Highway, Palmdale, CA. www.avdesertdivers.org
Mar 13: Bottom Dive Dive Club Meeting, 7 p.m. Elite Circle Grill, Waco, TX. www.btdc.org
Mar 13: Sharkbait Dive Club 6:30 p.m., Canyon Hills LIbrary in Anaheim Hills, CA. www.sharkbaitdiveclub.org
Mar 14: Philippine Pre-Trip Meeting Tri-Valley Dive Club meeting, 7 p.m., Pleasanton, CA. www.diventrips.com
Mar 14: Burbank Dive Club 7 p.m., The Buchanan Arms in Burbank, CA. www.burbankdiveclub.com
Mar 14: Lunarfins Dive Club, 7 p.m. Clear Lake Park, 5000 NASA Parkway, TX www.lunarfins.com
Mar 14: Pacific Explorers 6:30 p.m., Denny’s Restaurant in Canoga Park, CA. www.pacificexplorers.org
Mar 21: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, 7 p.m. at Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Mar 21: Channel Islands Divers 6:00 p.m., Pirates Grub N’ Grog in Oxnard, CA. www.channelislandsdivers.org
Mar 21: Diving Rebels Board of Directors Monthly Meeting, 7 p.m. Arlington, TX. www.divingrebels.org
Mar 21: Go Pro Night, 6:30 p.m., with Dive N trips, Pleasanton, CA. www.diventrips.com
Mar 22: Club Aquarius Meeting, 7 p.m., Members/non-members welcome, Special Guest Speaker: door prizes, announcement of upcoming dives, RSCP for details and locations. www.oceanicventures.com
Mar 22: San Diego UW Photographic Society 7 p.m., Scripps Inst. of Oceanography Auditorium, San Diego, CA. www.sdups.com
Mar 24: Dive Club of Silicon Valley, 7 p.m. at Diver Dan’s, Santa Clara, CA. www.dcosv.com
Mar 25: American River, Drift Dives 8:30 p.m., with Dive N Trips, Pleasanton, CA. Bring all gear/2 tanks. www.diventrips.com
Mar 28: Aquatic Image Makers, 7 p.m., Round Table Pizza, Folsom, CA. www.sacaim.org
Mar 28: Northern Nevada Dive Club Meeting, dinner at 6:15 p.m., meeting at 7 p.m. Bangkok Cuisine, NV. www.nndiveclub.com
Mar 29-Apr 3: Diving Rebreather to raise money for schools and at risk teens program in Cayman Islands. Oceanic Ventures and InnerSpaceSystems. www.oceanicventures.com
8
NortherN CALiForNiA dive & trAveL eXpo
sigN up For our NeW e-subsCriptioN At WWW.diveNeWsNetWork.ComFor more info visit: www.northerncaliforniadiveandtravelexpo.com
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
2012
NortherN CaliforNia Dive & travel expoMay 12-13, 2012 • Santa Clara Convention Center
presents
Mothers’ Day Weekend~ Bring Mom to the show on Sunday ~
We are donating ALL admissions paid by females to
DIVE FOR A CUREScan or Click Here for Details
Get the free mobile app athttp:/ /gettag.mobi
Dive Expo attendees and hotel guests of the Hyatt Regency who visit The
Northern California Dive & Travel Expo taking place May 12-13 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA are being given an opportunity to try scuba!
The Dive & Travel Expo, hosted by Dive News Network magazines Northwest Dive News and Southwest Dive News have partnered with their host hotel, the Hyatt Regency, and local dive shops in an effort to make trying out scuba diving something everyone can do.
According to DNN publisher Rick Stratton “we understand most people attending the Dive Expo are probably certified but their family and friends may not be. Also, the people staying at the Hyatt probably are not... so this is a great opportunity to create some new divers.”
The Dive News Network and the Hyatt Regency have created a package deal. The Hyatt will offer hotel guests a free pass to the expo. “We are giving 4 free passes per
room for each night’s stay,” says Dive News Network Publisher Rick Stratton. Stratton says that, as a part of the free admission package the hotel guests will also have the opportunity to try scuba diving at the expo. “We are also partnering with local dive shops, led by Bamboo Reef Enterprises, in the Bay area as well as other dive shops to help us get hotel guests and visitors to “try scuba” in an indoor pool,” Stratton explains. “It should be a lot of fun.”
“We want to invite everyone who is headed to the dive expo to take advantage of this deal we have with the Hyatt, A good value and a lot of fun…what more can you ask for? - Rick Stratton
For more info on the Expo or if you are a dive shop, how you can get involved in the Try Scuba event, visit divenewsnetwork.com/dive-and-travel-expo/bay-area-dive-a-travel-expo.html.
The Northern California Dive & Travel Expo & Hyatt Regency Invite Attendees to Try Scuba
Scan to get your discount coupon
Courtesy ofGet the free mobile app athttp:/ /gettag.mobi
9
stAY & dive pACkAge dive shoW
We support our LoCAL dive shop - Without them We WiLL Not hAve A dive iNdustrY. For more info visit: www.northerncaliforniadiveandtravelexpo.com
ACCOMMODATION
• 501 guestrooms providing dual-line telephones with data ports and cable television;
All accommodations o�er:
• Hyatt Grand Bed™
• Video check-out
• T-Mobile® wireless Internet access
• Wired high-speed Internet access provided in all guest rooms (charge)
• Cable channels
• Voicemail
• Work desk
• In-room movies
• Individual climate control
• Deluxe bath amenities
• Co�ee maker
• Hairdryer
• Iron / ironing board
• Wake-up service available
SERVICES & FACILITIES
• 24-hour front desk
• Concierge desk
• Doorman
• Dual-line speaker telephone
• Data port
• Laundry service
• Valet service and free self-parking facilities
• Covered parking facilities
RESTAURANTS & BARS
• TusCA Restaurant
• Sushi and Sake Lounge
• Evolution Cafe and Bar—featuring Starbucks® coffee
CONFERENCES & BANQUETS
• Wireless and wired high-speed Internet access provided in all rooms (charge)
• 60,000 square feet of �exible meeting and reception space
• Number of meeting rooms: 27
• Largest meeting room: 22,568-square-feet
• Largest meeting room seats: 2,500
• Smallest meeting room seats: 10
• Connected to 302,000 square foot Santa Clara Convention Center
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES
• Feature 3-mile and 5-mile jogging/walking routes from the hotel
• Outdoor heated pool
• Golf course nearby; preferred green fees
• Tennis nearby (outdoor)
• Outdoor whirlpool
• Fitness center
POINTS OF INTER EST
• Great America Theme Park
• Santa Clara Municipal Golf and Tennis Club
• Intel Museum
• Shoreline Amphitheatre
• Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
• Santana Row
• Triton Museum of Art
• Mission Santa Clara De Asis
• HP Pavilion at San Jose
• Winchester Mystery House
• The Technology Museum of Innovation
• Stanford University
• Sonoma County
• Napa Valley
• Shopping nearby
Hyatt Regency Santa ClaraADDRESS 5101 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, California 95054
PHONE 408-200-1234 FAX 408-980-3939
WEB www.santaclara.hyatt.com
SpecialOFFer
Santa clara convention centerMay 12-13, 2012
Dive & Travel expO offers
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
2012
Stay & Dive Show PackageStay & Dive Show Package
Free aDMiSSiON TO Dive expOStay at “Host Hotel” - Hyatt and receive 4 Free Passes to Expo.* (*Per room night - per day)
$8000/Day( )Value
Scan or Click Here for Details
Get the free mobile app athttp:/ /gettag.mobi
Divers from all over will soon be headed to the Northern California Dive & Travel Expo taking place May 12-13
at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. This 1st annual diving event focuses on scuba diving and the
scuba diving industry. This year’s event will host 50+ free semi-nars on everything from underwater photography to first aid with DAN. Visitors will be able to meet guest speakers from all over the country as they present talks on honing your diving skills, great new innovations and inspiring divers and non-divers alike.
There will also be 140+ exciting exhibit booths to explore. Vendors from all over the world will be available to answer ques-tions as well as introduce divers to the latest in scuba diving. Visitors will see brand new diving businesses alongside industry standards like Oceanic and White’s. There will also be booths manned by industry organizations such as PADI and NAUI. Here is a chance for industry wide organizations to meet and reconnect with their membership and share their plans for the upcoming year.
This years’ expo will also offer visitors a chance to meet those who offer resort services all over the world. Come put faces with the names of the resorts throughout the dive vacation industry and let them tell you what they have to offer first hand. Dive Expo co-ordinator Rick Stratton says he is excited to bring the expo to Northern California. “We have had great success with our show in Tacoma so we wanted to offer it to divers all over the west coast.”
So bring the family to the Northern California Dive & Travel Expo and swim into the fun! For more info on the Expo visit divenewsnet-work.com/dive-and-travel-expo/bay-area-dive-a-travel-expo.html.
Dive & Travel Expo set to launch in Northern California
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CALiForNiA mAgNiFiCeNt diviNg
San Diego Diving
By Bruce Watkins
While the entirety of Cali-fornia offers spectacular
opportunities for divers and other water enthusiasts, the San Diego area stands out among the best of the best. San Diego County is the most southern of the California counties, and is bordered by Mexico to the south and Orange and Riverside Counties to the north. San Diego is all about sun, sea, beaches, wrecks, animals, and affordable entertainment.
San Diego has nearly perfect weather. The average daily temperature is a wonder-ful 70° F, while average winter low is only 48° F, and the average summer high is a comfort-able 77°. The area only gets about 10 inches of rain each year, making it a Mediterranean cli-mate near the coast and nearly a desert inland. Its many picturesque beaches attract sun wor-shipers, and its calm waters draw sailors, boaters and divers from around the world.
Those seeking creature comforts can find gour-met and quality, affordable dining establishments throughout the San Diego area, but some of the more interesting nightclubs and restaurants are located in the Gaslamp District, near downtown and the airport, as well as in la Jolla Village. The County has a large number of prestigious colleges and universities and the combination of student culture and a thriving business community main-tains both the quality and affordability of the nightlife and rec-reational opportunities.
For animal enthusiasts the area has one of the nation’s best col-lections of zoos and aquariums: Sea World, Birch Aquarium, San Di-ego Wild Animal Park, and the San Diego Zoo. Of course, we divers prefer to experience our animals in the wild, and this area has a lot to offer. San Di-ego County offers up two distinctly different reasons to dive: superb beach diving and marvelous offshore wreck diving.
Most of San Diego County sports beautiful, sandy beaches. However, this often results in a near-shore sandy bottom with the better reefs located a healthy swim from shore. The west coasts old- e s t marine reserve, la Jolla Cove Ecological reserve is a designated MlP (Marine life Protected area. It abounds with very large fish populations harbor seals and sea lions are seen there on almost every dive. Sites like San Onofre, Carlsbad and San Elijo State Beaches have great offshore reefs that are accessible to divers with boats or kayaks, or those who enjoy long swims. The La Jolla Submarine Canyon, commonly referred to as Scripps Canyon, is best experienced by boat, but can be accessed after a 150-yard swim from the boarder of la Jolla Shores Beach where it meets Blacks Beach. The most popular night dive in the region is the la Jolla Canyon dive right off the beach from kellogg Park.
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Diving the HMCS Yukon. Photo courtesy Ronan Gray
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southWest sAN diegoBesides La Jolla Cove, many accessible
beach dives may be found near La Jolla Vil-lage, where divers can find a large number of stunning beaches with great diving a short swim from shore. Sites like Children’s Pool, Boomer Beach, , Goldfish Point, and Marine Room are home to a cornucopia of marine life and are comfortable sites for beginner divers and yet have enough marine life to en-tertain the most advanced divers and photog-raphers. These sites have healthy kelp beds with colorful invertebrates and fish, includ-ing dozens of species of nudibranchs, spiny lobsters and arguably the ocean’s most color-ful fish—the garibaldi. Goldfish Point takes its name from these, orange largest mem-bers of the damselfish family in the world. In summer large numbers of leopard and horn sharks and guitarfish migrate close to shore to allow their offspring to be born in the area’s warm summer water. Divers and snorkelers often find these sharks in shallow water, directly beneath unsuspecting swim-mers and waders.
The only difficult part about diving La Jolla sites is finding a place to park. While there are plenty of parking spaces, divers share them with swimmers, sun worshipers, and picnickers and they tend to fill up early. My advice is to arrive before 7 AM on week-ends or dive the area on weekdays. However, once in the water you will find the diving re-laxed and less crowded.
San Diego’s second diving experience is found a mile off Mission Bay, an area that
divers call Wreck Alley. This is a group of six large, famous wrecks and handful of smaller ones, most of which were cleaned and delib-erately sunk as artificial reefs intended to at-tract fish and wreck divers. All rest in water 70 to 100 feet deep and are in a variety of conditions—the older wrecks are beginning to collapse, while the younger wrecks are mostly intact. Visibility on the wrecks ranges from 20 to 60 feet. All have been underwater long enough to have acquired a healthy coat of encrusting invertebrates, and have attract-ed a variety of fish.
The El Ray was a kelp harvester sunk in 1987; although her wooden superstruc-ture has collapsed her hull is still intact. The Ruby E was a former Coast Guard Cutter is 165 feet long and was sunk in 1989. She has a long career first in 1934 as a deterrent to “Rum runners” during prohibition, later used in anti-submarine warfare during World War II, and then as a fish processor and salvage vessel. The Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC) tower is the only true wreck in the area and was once a naval research labora-tory before it collapsed. It has the best as-sortment of schooling fish found in Wreck Alley and in healthy numbers.
La Jolla Cove One of the more popular San Diego
beach dives is La Jolla Cove near downtown La Jolla. The entry is both picturesque and protected, and good, shallow diving may be found only a short distance from shore.
The bottom near shore is rocky and is cov-ered with a thick layer of kelp, most nota-bly, feather boa kelp. This is a great place to snorkel since many garibaldi and kelp bass find homes among the swirling mass of kelp. Depths are mostly less than ten feet.
After one swims past the shallow rocks the bottom quickly drops to about twenty feet and very gradually drops to about forty feet. The rock bottom is most flat with ledges and rock piles. In the crevices within the rocky areas hide numerous lobsters, abalone and fish. Since La Jolla Cove is a reserve, none of these animals may be taken or disturbed, making this a great place to photograph game animals. Yes, they know they live in a reserve and you can’t touch them.
The low-profile rocky reef is covered with encrusting invertebrates--golden gor-gonia, sponges, and tunicates. Also, along the rocks are found numerous nudibranchs, navanax, shrimps and crabs. This is a good place to find skates, horn sharks and leopard sharks in summer.
The surest way to encounter the broad nose Seven Gill Sharks and Soup Fin Sharks (Tope) at the La Jolla Cove Ecological Re-serve is by hiring an experienced scuba or snorkel San Diego guide. They will most likely introduce you to Barney the Psycho Seal that is amorous with local dive guides.
YukonThe HMCS Yukon is the most recent ad-
dition to Wreck Alley and its most popular. This 366-foot Canadian Mackenzie Class Destroyer was cleaned and deliberately sunk by the San Diego Oceans Foundation in 2000 as an artificial reef. Multiple holes were cut into her hull to provide access to divers, and she was intended to come to rest upright. However, she prematurely foundered and now rests on her port side. The Yukon is the most intact of the wrecks, and is one of the few designed to carry people as well as car-go, so she offers more opportunity for deep penetration and getting lost.
She sits in 105 feet of water, and on aver-age she rises about 40 feet off the bottom. The Yukon has been underwater for over a decade and the marine life is beginning to coat the wreck in a tapestry of brilliant col-ors. In some areas huge, white Metridium anemones cover the superstructure and deck equipment; in other spots pink and lavender Corynactis cover the metal. Countless fish find a home within her hull.
So come to San Diego for its great beach and wreck diving, stay for the many parks and great, affordable food and recreational activities. San Diego harbor is also a gate-way to the spectacular diving in the Southern Channel Islands and the islands of Northern Mexico, including Guadalupe. But, that’s a story for another time. ■
The catwalk of the El Rey.Photo courtesy Bob Gladden
The bow of the Ruby-E. Photo courtesy Bob Gladden
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The Great “American” Barrier Reef
By Mike HughesWriter, Dive News Network
Padre Island is the second longest island in the united States. The north end of the island is home to the Padre Island National Seashore. There is close to 70 miles of hiking trails and beachfront where 380 species of birds migrate yearly and where sea turtle science and recovery has led to the re-introduction of kemp’s ridley, leatherbacks, loggerheads and hawksbill sea turtles. It is also home of the Malaquite Visitor Center where you can find out more about local inhabitants and so much more.
As for recreational activities and the best diving sites in general, the south island area is the ultimate destination for annual diver migrations. I asked a representative of American Diving, a scuba instructor college lo-cated in the area, what the top three spots off South Padre Island, (SPI), were. He said that the number one site had to be the Texas Clipper. This 473 ft. long ship was sunk as an artificial reef on November 17, 2007. It cur-rently rests on its port side at 60 to 130 ft. There has been a lot of growth on the wreck in the last five years, and besides all the big ling and snapper, the latest family to move in and take up residence on the ship is a family of stingrays. The ship is so big that you can’t see it all even on a couple of dives. Not only that, but while you are looking at tropical fish on one end of the ship, divers in the middle may be watching dolphins catching bait fish right above them, and at the other end of the ship divers are busy photographing invertebrates and oblivious to the silhouette of a passing whale shark; so no two divers or groups of divers, ever experience a dive on the Texas Clipper quite the same way. This is why diving here has become the number one attraction in town.
Before four million was spent on the cleanup and removal of 700 tons
SouTh PADRe ISlAnD
Aerial view of South Padre Island, Texas.
Photo by Richard Stockton
The Texas Clipper artificial reef. Photos courtesy American Diving
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of metal and debris from the ship to ensure it would be creature and diver friendly, the Texas Clipper served as the USTS Queens as an attack transport to carry troops to Iwo Jima and wounded away from the island during WWII. It was also part of the occupation force in Sasebo, Japan. From 1948-58 the ship was converted to a cruise liner as the USS Excambien with the American Export Lines, and carried passengers and cargo to the Mediterranean. In 1965 it was loaned to the Texas Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University in Galveston where it was used for 30 years as a merchant marine training vessel. This explains the big A&M lettering on the sunken ship.
Besides the Texas Clipper, sometimes charters will do a second or third “tons of steel dive” at one of two iron reefs such as the gas rig Little Sara at 105 ft. or Seana’s Rig at 126 ft. Both of these rigs have tons of life on the horizontal beams at 35-65 ft., so whether you want to find damsels, sergeant majors, or octopus, just look around the horizontal beams. Pelagics are known to swim around the rigs on a routine basis: up to and including whale sharks. Los Torres is another well-known oilrig, but at 240 ft. this is a tech dive. Expect to see pelagics such as amberjacks, hammerheads, silky, and white tip sharks here.
Some other (SPI) wrecks you may wish to see include the shim-per boats Deep Six, Pat’s wreck, and the Dona Nelly. Deep Six is an 82 ft. long boat at 60 ft. 11 miles from shore where rays, red snapper, and turtles are usually spotted. Pat’s Wreck is an 80 ft. shrimper 22 miles off shore at 138 ft. Dona Nelly has a deck at 85 ft. and descends to135 ft. The Albatross wasn’t a shrimper, but this boat went down 80-105 ft. with machinery cargo and 10,000 lbs. of shrimp.
For other wrecks that are really big, but might take a two day dive
trip to explore, you have the (Mustang Island) three 441.6 ft. long liberty ships 18 nm from Port Aransas up north which include the Conrad Weiser, the Rachel Jackson, and the Charles A. Dana. You can visit the three Port Mansfield liberty ships 23 nm from SPI or 15 nm from Port Mansfield which include the Edward W. Scripps, the Joshua Thomas, and the George L. Farely at 96-100 ft., in addition to 9 rigs to reef structures down at 50-60 ft. Tarpon, tigers, black tips, grouper, and cobia are found at these sites.
Last but not least, we have the Texas Underwater Park, which has tugboats, 2 oilrigs, a US navy work barge, and 32 reef balls 65-73 ft. underwater.
As for natural reefs, the Sponge Gardens is a seamount at 150 ft. deep so out of reach for most divers, but 7 Fathom Reef is made up from a series of four distinct rises and at 24-45 ft. This sandstone area 2 miles offshore was an ice age coastal fresh water lake when local waters were 350 ft. lower than they are today. Mammoth, mastodon, and fresh water snails can be found imbedded in the stone substrate. Invertebrates such as tubeworms, sponges, bryozoans, mollusks, and crustaceans now call this place home.
As for shore dives, they say you can find sand dollars in Dolphin Cove, and numerous critters around any of the jetties, but the truth is that the vis can get really low next to shore unless blue waters have moved in next to the coast line. Hence, the visibility is usually better the farther out from shore you go and that’s why dive boats, charter boats, and private boats are so popular here.
Another thing to keep in mind with diving South Padre Island is that you may want to set aside at least a day off from diving, as there are so many other local activities to do. Families love the Schlit-
The Iron Reef. Photo courtesy
American Diving
The Texas Clipper. Photo courtesy American Diving.
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terbahn Beach Water Park. It’s a tropical theme park with a variety of splash rides, a lazy river, and white sand beaches. You may also want to take a dolphin tour or visit the Dolphin Research and Sea Life Nature Center. Sea Turtle Inc. Rescues, recovers, and rejuvenates unfortunate sea turtles. You can see the turtles close up and personal, or help with their hatch and release program. South Padre Island has a Birding and Nature Center as well as an Island Equestrian Cen-ter; horse riding on the beach anyone? You can even walk on the 1,500 ft. long Laguna Madre Nature Trail boardwalk and name the migratory birds, but don’t try to count them.
As you can see from the list, you could spend a week on the boat and not see all the dive sites, you could spend a week on shore and not see all the land sites, and maybe that’s why, besides the birds and turtles, so many people return here on an annual basis.
You can drive here from Houston like many dive clubs and dive shops do, or you can fly into Brownsville at the BRO Interna-tional Airport and drive across the Isabella causeway to South Padre Island. Either way, have a great time and great dives. ■
The Texas Clipper before sinking. Photo courtesy American Diving
trAveL destiNAtioNs u.s. West CoAst
We support the southeAst dive CommuNitY
By Keath AllenWriter, Dive News Network
Catalina Island, lying twenty two miles off the coast of south-ern California, has become a well-known diver’s paradise.
With a dive park that offers shore dives limited only by the necessity for surface intervals, and boat charters that visit the un-crowded dive sites on the back side of the island, the island is a retreat for thou-sands of divers who visit every year. What most of these divers don’t realize, however, are the great advantages that Catalina has to offer in the cooler months.
The average temperature during the winter months ranges from lows in the upper 40’s to highs during the day in the mid 60’s. The water temperature ranges from the upper 50’s to the low 60’s. While this may seem on the chilly side to some, cold water divers will wel-come the warmer temperatures.
One of the largest attractions that Catalina has to offer is the Ava-lon Dive Park. Located just off Casino Point, this marine preserve is well developed to accommodate visitors and makes it a popular spot for recreational divers. Dive lockers, restrooms and steps leading into the underwater park make it an easy place to hang out and spend the day. Catalina Diver’s supply, one of Avalon’s dive shops, has set up an air fill station at the park where you can rent equipment and get quick air fills during your surface intervals. The ease and con-venience of having these services with a protected marine preserve, which is easily accessible by shore, make it one of the most popular dive sites in the channel islands. During the summer months it is common to find upwards of 400 divers visiting the park on any given Saturday or Sunday. Though the park is large enough to accommo-date all of these divers, lines often form on the steps leading into the
water and the air fill station. Visiting during the winter months offers unlimited access to this area without the crowds.
Avalon Dive Park offers something for everyone with a beauti-ful kelp forest, and abundant ocean life. Three wrecks, the SuJac, Kismit, and a glass bottom boat are all within the boundaries of the park and are easily found well within recreational limits. The SuJac is a schooner that sank in a storm in 1980. Though rapidly deteriorat-ing the concrete hull is the most popular wreck to explore in the park. The Kismit, a 40 foot sailboat was repositioned in the park sitting upright in 60 feet of water. The glass bottom boat, located near the Kismit, is a smaller wreck that is often used as a landmark to navigate to the larger wrecks.
Outside the boundaries of the park are many sites, which, are less crowded if you’re making the trip during the summer months. Just outside the boundaries of Avalon Dive Park, in front of Descanso Beach, is the wreck of the Valiant. This yacht burned and sank, com-ing to rest upright in 110’ of water. Because of its location, and the dangers of boat traffic, this wreck is only accessible with permission of the harbor patrol. Many sites including Church Rock, West End Cove, and Ballast Point (home to the oldest wreck on the island, a Chinese smuggling ship) are only accessible by boat. Bob Kennedy, owner of Catalina Scuba luv, has been operating charter and dive operations on the island for the past 30 years. “We try to determine the locations of our charters by conditions, looking for the sites with the best visibility.” He said. They make regular trips to the island’s isthmus to sites such as Ship Rock, Bird Rock and Eagle Reef, and during the summer months to a “top secret” location where divers can encounter schools of Giant Black Sea Bass.
I first saw the island in early December of 2011 when I spent a
A West Coast Diver’s Paradise
Photo courtesy Catalina Chamber of Commerce
CATALINA
18
19
CALiForNiA weekend there on business. As the Cata-lina Express pulled into the harbor of Avalon, I immediately fell in love with the small island town. Our hotel was a short walk from the port, requiring a stroll through the many shops, restaurants, ho-tels, and cantinas along the waterfront. My wanderlust was awakened. I wanted to explore the town, eat tacos, and tour the interior of this paradise. More than anything I wanted to get in the water. I buckled down and tried to concentrate on what I was there for, managing to squeeze in a short night dive one evening, but in the end I was forced to leave the island without satisfying my need to investigate everything it had to offer.
Just a few weeks later, on Dec. 29, I found myself boarding the Catalina Ex-press for my return to the island. This time I brought my wife, and left work at the of-fice. I find when traveling that she is a much better companion than my co-work-ers and business partners (no offense), and I was excited to have the chance to get back and explore everything the island had to offer.
We made the same journey that I had on my previous trip through the waterfront area and up a side road to the Hermosa Hotel and Cottages. This place caters to divers with gear lockers for diving equip-ment, and fresh water outside for rinsing gear. While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of some of the other hotels on the island, it’s a great choice for the budget conscious diver who would rather spend their money on gear and beer than their lodging.
On Saturday I made my way down to Casino Point and the dive park. The crowds of divers who swallow the park during the summer months were gone and there were relatively few divers at the park. The lack of crowds is a huge advan-tage to visiting the island in the off season.
I geared up and made my first dive with Bill Conklin who was there diving with his daughter, Nicole from Healdsburg Ca. We made a surface swim to one of the buoys and made our descent into the kelp forest. Swimming through the kelp was a surreal experience having never dived in kelp before. We continued out to the edge of the park and headed south past a small sailboat to the SuJac. The wreck lies on its starboard side at 74 feet of depth and is rapidly deteriorating. A large hole in the hull offers a really cool swim through, and great opportunity for photography.
Later in the day I explored the north end of the park. This area has a sandy bot-tom, and I was told I would have a bet-ter opportunity to see bat rays here. It is void of kelp, and there is relatively little to see on this side of the park. A platform
Photo courtesy Keath Allen
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at 60 feet marks the boundary of the park. Diving past this area requires special per-mission from harbor patrol, so we made our way back to the kelp forests and reefs near the center of the park that offer more to see. Spiny lobster, Garibaldi, Sea Bass, Sheep-head, and Kelp Fish were everywhere.
Catalina has a lot to offer divers, and non-divers as well, and as my wife was six months pregnant at the time we had a great opportunity to play tourist and explore the non-diving activities the island had to offer. Since this is being written for a dive publi-cation, I won’t spend a lot of time on these activities, but it is important to mention that Catalina is a great destination for families or a romantic get-away. We toured the bo-tanical gardens and the Wrigley memorial. We strolled through the waterfront area with its many shops and restaurants, eating lob-ster tacos and swordfish sandwiches at the Lobster Trap. Activities for non-divers are almost limitless with mountain bike tours, jeep tours of the island interior, zip lines, rock climbing walls, and a golf course. There are almost too many to mention in this article.
With everything I had heard about the diving around Catalina my expectations were high, and I was not disappointed. It truly is a diver’s paradise! ■
Photo courtesy Keath Allen
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Every diver should be prepared to rec-ognize symptoms decompression ill-
ness (DCI). Are you?The term DCI actually encompasses two
separate conditions: decompression sickness (DCS) and arterial gas embolism (AGE). Both conditions should get the same treat-ment, which in most cases is oxygen first aid and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. You prob-ably learned most of this in your entry level diving courses, but it never hurts to review this essential information as it could save a life.
Symptoms of DCIDCS symptoms include muscle or joint
pain that does not subside, rash, dizziness, numbness or tingling, paralysis, muscle weakness, bladder or bowel dysfunction and fatigue disproportionate to the diver’s exer-tion. The diver may also have trouble walk-ing.
AGE symptoms typically occur while the diver is surfacing or immediately afterward. The diver may suddenly go unconscious or exhibit neurological symptoms, such as con-fusion, disorientation, personality changes, unsteady gait, weakness and paralysis. AGE may be associated with pulmonary barotrau-ma (a condition that occurs when air sacs in the lung rupture, typically during a rapid or breath-hold ascent) which generally mani-fests as difficulty breathing and may also
involve a bloody froth in the mouth or nose.Symptoms generally occur from within
10 minutes to up to 12 hours after surfacing. If any new symptoms appear after 24 hours, DCI is not likely to be the cause. If the diver flies after diving, it is possible for delayed symptoms of DCS to occur during flight. The recommended preflight surface interval after multiple dives or multiple days of diving is a minimum of 18 hours.
Responding to suspected DCIIf you suspect a diver has DCI, assess
and continuously monitor vital signs (cir-culation, airway and breathing), activate emergency services (911 or the local equiva-lent), administer oxygen first aid if you are a trained oxygen provider and call the DAN Emergency Hotline at +1-919-684-9111.
Remember, if you need some help or are unsure how to respond you can always call DAN or take the diver to the nearest emer-gency department. It is not advisable to take an injured diver directly to a chamber with-out first contacting DAN because the closest chamber may not be open, operating, staffed or properly equipped to meet the injured diver’s needs. DAN maintains a continually updated database of chambers to determine the most appropriate chamber for treatment and the coordination of care.
While DAN cannot make a diagnosis over the phone, DAN can be an essential
resource for helping recognize the signs and symptoms of DCI, advising you and emer-gency medical personnel on proper manage-ment and coordinating transportation to get an injured diver to a higher level of emer-gency care as quickly and safely as possible.
Be preparedThere are a lot of ways you can prepare
to handle a diving emergency. If you are not a trained oxygen provider, enroll in the DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries course. You can also complete the DAN Dive Emergency Management Pro-vider (DEMP) program, which encompasses automated external defibrillators, emergency oxygen including bag valve mask and manu-ally triggered ventilator, and the treatment of hazardous marine life injuries. Or enhance your knowledge with DAN online seminars, such as the Pathophysiology of Decompres-sion Illness and test yourself with the DCI Quiz on www.AlertDiver.com. Dive safely, and remember, DAN is here for you.
Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the safety and health of scuba divers. DAN operates a 24-hour emergency hotline (+1-919-684-9111) to help divers in need of medical emergency assistance for diving or nondiv-ing incidents. ■
DCI: Are you prepared?
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Cayman Aggressor IV [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Ocean Frontiers (345) 947-7500 www.oceanfrontiers.com
Southern Cross Club 800.899.2582 www.southerncrossclub.com
Sunset House 800.854.4767 www.sunsethouse.com
Costa RiCa (CoCos)Okeanos Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Wind Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 305.669.9391
CoZUMELAlbatros Charters 888.333.4643 www.albatroscharters.com
Hotel Cozumel +52.987.872.9020 www.hotelcozumel.com.mx/en
Cozumel Dive Deals www.hotelbarricuda.com www.cozumeldivedeals.com
Scuba Du 310.684.5556 www.scubadu.com
Sea Robin 951.824.9073 www.searobincozumel.com
CURaCaoOcean Encounters 800.932.6237 www.oceanencounters.com
DoMiNiCaN REPUBLiCTurks & Caicos Aggressor II (Silver Bank)[email protected] www.agressor.com 800.348.2628 706.993.2531
FiJiBeyond the Reef 691.350.3483 www.diveyap.com
Deep Blue Adventures(888) 266-6309 www.deepblueadventures.com
Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat 679.992.4001 dolphinbaydivers.com
Qamea Resort & Spa 649.360.0217 www.qamea.com
Scuba Travel Ventures 800.298.9009 www.scubatravelventures.com
Wananavu 679.669.4433 www.wananavu.com
FLoRiDaCoastal Marine Diving Supply 954.815.7914 www.coastalmarinediving.com
Conch Republic Divers 305.852.1655 www.conchrepublicdivers.com
Horizon Divers 305.453.3535 www.horizondivers.com
Narcosis Scuba Center 727.934.6474 www.narcosisscuba.com
Ocean Sports of N. Pinellas 727.733.1919 www.oceansportsdive.com
SeaExperienceCharters 954.770.3483 www.divefortlauderdale.com
Wetter the Better 561.596.8482 www.walkersdivecharters.com
Sea Safari Cruises 62.361.72.1212 www.seasafaricruises.com
MaLDiVEsMaldives Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
MExiCoAquanauts Dive Adv. 998.206.9365 www.aquanautsdiveadventures.com
Maya Palms Resorts & Dive Center 888.843.3483 www.mayapalms.com
Scuba Playa Dive Shop 52.984.803.3123 www.scubaplaya.com
NoRth CaRoLiNaAtlantis Charters 252.728.6244 www.atlantischarters.net
Discovery Diving Co. 252.728.2265 www.discoverydiving.com
Olympus Dive Center 252.726.9432 www.olsympusdiving.com
PaLaUPalau Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Tropic Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
PaPUa NEw GUiNEaStar Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
ATLANTISCHARTERS
PhiLiPPiNEsActiVentures Philippines 650.834.1331 www.activenturespi.com
Big La Laguna Beach Dive Resort 425.298.8172 www.BigLaLa.com
Campbells Beach Resort 63.920.416.0502 www.CampbellsBeachResort.com
RED sEa - EGYPtFly & Sea Dive Adventures 888.995.DIVE(3483) www.redseadiving.ca
RoataNCoCo View Resort Roatan 800.282.8932 www.roatan.com
GoRoatan.com 888.405.8737 www.goroatan.com
st. CRoix (U.s. ViRGiN isLaNDs)Cane Bay Dive Shop 340.773.9913 www.canebayscuba.com
st. kittsBird Rock Beach Resort 877.244.6285 www.birdrockbeach.com
st. ViNCENtBequia Dive Adventures 784.458.3826 www.bequiadiveadventures.com
thaiLaNDSairee Cottage Diving 667.745.6126 www.saireecottagediving.com
tURks & CaiCosTurks & Caicos Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
aUstRaLiaMike Ball Expeditions (888) MIKEBALL www.mikeball.com
BahaMasBlackbeard’s Cruises 800.327.9600 www.blackbeard-cruises.com
Carib Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
Caribbean Dive Shop 504.831.7017 www.caribbeandiveshop.com
“SEA DRAGON” DIVE LIVE-ABOARD www.seadragonbahamas.com
Small Hope Bay Lodge 800.223.6961 www.smallhope.com
UNEXSO 800.992.3483 www.unexso.com
BELiZEBelize Aggressor III [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
BoNaiRECarib Inn +599 717 8819 www.caribinn.com
Villa Makoshi Lower Level 780.483.0044 www.BonaireDiveVilla.com
CaYMaN isLaNDsDiveTech@Cobalt Coast Dive Resort 888.946.5656 divetech.com cobaltcoast.com
Sea Dragon Bahamas Diving
GaLaPaGosDivencounters Alliance 877.323.DIVE www.divencounters.com
Galapagos Aggressor I&II [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
GUaDaLUPE/soCoRRoBaja Aggressor III [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
hawaiiKona Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Maui Dreams Dive Co 808.874.5332 www.mauidreamsdiveco.com
hoNDURasDeep Blue Resort 504.95.76.36.97 www.deepblueutila.com
Utila Aggressor II [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
iNDoNEsiaKomodo Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
Kungkungan Bay Resort & Spa 530.347.2300 www.divekbr.com
Puri Wirata Dive Resort and Spa 62.813.384.05.335 www.puriwirata.com
Pindito Liveaboard 831.818.8594 www.pindito.com
TROPICAL DIVE DIRECTORYTo be listed call 360.240.1874 or email [email protected]
a listing of participating tropical charters, resorts, liveaboards, and dive shops
22 We support our LoCAL dive shop - Without them We WiLL Not hAve A dive iNdustrY.
dive direCtorY southWest geAr revieW
creSSi LeonarDo Dive computer
Cressi introduces a new line of dive computers called “Leonardo”. You can manually turn on and off this
dive computer. It has an on-demand backlight feature, large display digits for experienced divers, and can be used for air or Nitrox blends. You can sync Leonardo with your computer via infrared using the exclusive PC link interface. Also, Leonardo can calculate dive times from 0 to 255 minutes. The best part is Leonardo is user friendly and you can change the battery by yourself with just the aid of a quarter. I saw it in four different colors at DEMA; the white model can be used to set the white balance for underwater digital cameras. To see the Video clip we made, go to www.divenewsnetwork.com or look on Youtube under mikehughesscuba. www.cressi.it
DrycaSeDry Case is a new
product makes your iphone or droid ready for just about any water sport or scuba dive down to 100 ft. of depth. Now you can use your smart phone camera or video app under water. Insert your phone in the clear soft case, seal it using the latches, attach the included bulb to the one way valve, give a few quick squeezes, and you have a vacuum packed phone ready to go to the beach and more. Want the phone out of Dry Case? No problem, simply unlock the latches and take it out. On land you can make a call by using the headphone with mic jack. In water you can use “DryBUDS”, waterproof headphones to listen to old school music or “rap wit da fishes.” I like wearing my Dry Case attached to the soft wide armband. Need a bottom timer? Is there an app for that? See our DNN clip on Youtube under mikehughesscuba. www.drycase.com
Get the free mobile app athttp:/ /gettag.mobi
Get the free mobile app athttp:/ /gettag.mobi
Northeast Dive News JANUARY 2008 www.nedivenews.com 23
Cayman Aggressor IV [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Ocean Frontiers (345) 947-7500 www.oceanfrontiers.com
Southern Cross Club 800.899.2582 www.southerncrossclub.com
Sunset House 800.854.4767 www.sunsethouse.com
Costa RiCa (CoCos)Okeanos Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Wind Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 305.669.9391
CoZUMELAlbatros Charters 888.333.4643 www.albatroscharters.com
Hotel Cozumel +52.987.872.9020 www.hotelcozumel.com.mx/en
Cozumel Dive Deals www.hotelbarricuda.com www.cozumeldivedeals.com
Scuba Du 310.684.5556 www.scubadu.com
Sea Robin 951.824.9073 www.searobincozumel.com
CURaCaoOcean Encounters 800.932.6237 www.oceanencounters.com
DoMiNiCaN REPUBLiCTurks & Caicos Aggressor II (Silver Bank)[email protected] www.agressor.com 800.348.2628 706.993.2531
FiJiBeyond the Reef 691.350.3483 www.diveyap.com
Deep Blue Adventures(888) 266-6309 www.deepblueadventures.com
Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat 679.992.4001 dolphinbaydivers.com
Qamea Resort & Spa 649.360.0217 www.qamea.com
Scuba Travel Ventures 800.298.9009 www.scubatravelventures.com
Wananavu 679.669.4433 www.wananavu.com
FLoRiDaCoastal Marine Diving Supply 954.815.7914 www.coastalmarinediving.com
Conch Republic Divers 305.852.1655 www.conchrepublicdivers.com
Horizon Divers 305.453.3535 www.horizondivers.com
Narcosis Scuba Center 727.934.6474 www.narcosisscuba.com
Ocean Sports of N. Pinellas 727.733.1919 www.oceansportsdive.com
SeaExperienceCharters 954.770.3483 www.divefortlauderdale.com
Wetter the Better 561.596.8482 www.walkersdivecharters.com
Sea Safari Cruises 62.361.72.1212 www.seasafaricruises.com
MaLDiVEsMaldives Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
MExiCoAquanauts Dive Adv. 998.206.9365 www.aquanautsdiveadventures.com
Maya Palms Resorts & Dive Center 888.843.3483 www.mayapalms.com
Scuba Playa Dive Shop 52.984.803.3123 www.scubaplaya.com
NoRth CaRoLiNaAtlantis Charters 252.728.6244 www.atlantischarters.net
Discovery Diving Co. 252.728.2265 www.discoverydiving.com
Olympus Dive Center 252.726.9432 www.olsympusdiving.com
PaLaUPalau Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Tropic Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
PaPUa NEw GUiNEaStar Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
ATLANTISCHARTERS
PhiLiPPiNEsActiVentures Philippines 650.834.1331 www.activenturespi.com
Big La Laguna Beach Dive Resort 425.298.8172 www.BigLaLa.com
Campbells Beach Resort 63.920.416.0502 www.CampbellsBeachResort.com
RED sEa - EGYPtFly & Sea Dive Adventures 888.995.DIVE(3483) www.redseadiving.ca
RoataNCoCo View Resort Roatan 800.282.8932 www.roatan.com
GoRoatan.com 888.405.8737 www.goroatan.com
st. CRoix (U.s. ViRGiN isLaNDs)Cane Bay Dive Shop 340.773.9913 www.canebayscuba.com
st. kittsBird Rock Beach Resort 877.244.6285 www.birdrockbeach.com
st. ViNCENtBequia Dive Adventures 784.458.3826 www.bequiadiveadventures.com
thaiLaNDSairee Cottage Diving 667.745.6126 www.saireecottagediving.com
tURks & CaiCosTurks & Caicos Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
aUstRaLiaMike Ball Expeditions (888) MIKEBALL www.mikeball.com
BahaMasBlackbeard’s Cruises 800.327.9600 www.blackbeard-cruises.com
Carib Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
Caribbean Dive Shop 504.831.7017 www.caribbeandiveshop.com
“SEA DRAGON” DIVE LIVE-ABOARD www.seadragonbahamas.com
Small Hope Bay Lodge 800.223.6961 www.smallhope.com
UNEXSO 800.992.3483 www.unexso.com
BELiZEBelize Aggressor III [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
BoNaiRECarib Inn +599 717 8819 www.caribinn.com
Villa Makoshi Lower Level 780.483.0044 www.BonaireDiveVilla.com
CaYMaN isLaNDsDiveTech@Cobalt Coast Dive Resort 888.946.5656 divetech.com cobaltcoast.com
Sea Dragon Bahamas Diving
GaLaPaGosDivencounters Alliance 877.323.DIVE www.divencounters.com
Galapagos Aggressor I&II [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
GUaDaLUPE/soCoRRoBaja Aggressor III [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
hawaiiKona Aggressor [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
Maui Dreams Dive Co 808.874.5332 www.mauidreamsdiveco.com
hoNDURasDeep Blue Resort 504.95.76.36.97 www.deepblueutila.com
Utila Aggressor II [email protected] www.aggressor.com 800-348-2628 706-993-2531
iNDoNEsiaKomodo Dancer [email protected] www.dancerfleet.com 800.932.6237 or 305.669.9391
Kungkungan Bay Resort & Spa 530.347.2300 www.divekbr.com
Puri Wirata Dive Resort and Spa 62.813.384.05.335 www.puriwirata.com
Pindito Liveaboard 831.818.8594 www.pindito.com
TROPICAL DIVE DIRECTORYTo be listed call 360.240.1874 or email [email protected]
a listing of participating tropical charters, resorts, liveaboards, and dive shops
eQuipmeNt tropiCAL dive direCtorY
23WANt to support LoCAL diviNg iN Your pArt oF the gLobe? emAiL [email protected]!
■■ Arizona
Academy of Scuba Phoenix (480) 203-6040Store/
InstructionCalifornia
Catalina Divers Supply LLC Avalon (760) 801-7996 Store/CharterCatalina Scuba Luv, Inc. Avalon (310) 510-2350 Store All About Scuba Fairfield (707) 425-1932 Store Oceanic Ventures Houston (713) 523-3483 StoreGreat Escape Charters Long Beach (310) 486-0761 Liveaboard/CharterBamboo Reef Monterey (831) 372-1685 StoreGlenn’s Aquairus II Monterey (831) 375-6605 Store/CharterThe Original Steele Oakland (510) 655-4344 StoreDive N Trips Pleasanton (925) 462-7234 StoreDolphin Scuba Center Sacramento (916) 929-8188 StoreScuba World of Sacramento Sacramento (916) 332-8294 Store
Rick’s Diving Locker San Diego (160) 746-8980 StoreBamboo Reef San Francisco (415) 362-6694 StoreDiver Dan’s Wet Pleasure Santa Clara (408) 984-5819 StoreBlue Water Photo Store Santa Monica (310) 463-4927 StoreAl’s Diving Spring Valley (619) 885-1795 Store
NevadaAai Neptune Divers Las Vegas (702) 452-5723 Store
TexasTiger Shark Scuba Arlington (817) 447-7525 StoreInternational Scuba Carrollton (972) 416-8400 StoreThe Dive Shop San Marcos (512) 396-3483 StoreCrazy Scuba Richardson (866) 696-6090 Store
UtahNeptune Divers Salt Lake City (801) 466-9630 Store
A LISTInG of PARTICIPATInG DIve ShoPS, ChARTeRS, ReSoRTS AnD InDePenDenT InSTRuCToRS
Valued at over $50To the first 250 visitors
each day*
FREESwag Bag
wE ♥ BOOBIES
In honor of Mothers’ Day, we are donating all of Sunday’s female
admission price to Dive For a Cure