Friday, 18 April 2008
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| advice on HOODS ! Hi-Soft 21:28:33 |
| | I'm looking at getting a hood to go with my 7mm wetsuit to dive the colder water of Victoria, AUSTRALIA.
The thing is, I really don't like wearing hoods.....I hate chocking feeling,and limiting flexability...like probably most people do...
So I'm looking at one that doesn't have a long neck / shoulder seal section.....so more like the "dry suit" type...shorter...so I can maybe wear it over the neck of my wetsuit...is that possible ???
Can I use an actual "dry suit" hood with a conventional wetsuit, or will it no work properly or something ??
I'm also thinking...I will only go as thick as 5mm max...for the above reason..(chocking feeling etc. )...
Any advide appreciated...
bc
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Thursday, 17 April 2008
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| Orca Phoenix computer manual Steve 06:05:04 |
| | Looking for a download or PDF file for a manual for the Orca Phoenix computer. Thanks Steve
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Saturday, 12 April 2008
Friday, 11 April 2008
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| Compass calibration ? Hi-Soft 18:32:55 |
| | How important is it to have a compass calibrated to the Southern Hemisphere ( for mainly diving locally in Asut )...as opossed to one calibrated to the Northern hemisphere ?
I've heard you just need to angle the later slightly when using it, as the "pole" is pulled downward causing it to stick sometimes...
Like is it not that much of a drama ?
cheers, BC
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Thursday, 10 April 2008
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| regulator choice ?? Hi-Soft 15:19:20 |
| | I know i'm probably going to open a tin of worms here but :
Im looking to purchase my first regulator set (1st stage, 2nd stage & occy), and I've narrowed it down to just few after lots of reading & researching etc...
Tusa : RS-110 / SS-110
Oceanic : Alpha 8 ( reg & occy)
AquaLung : Calipso reg / ABS occy
Opinions for final decision please ...?
BTW, I'll probably do most of my diving in Victoria to max 30 meters..
cheers, BC
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| wetsuit : 7mm vs 5mm w/vest ???? Hi-Soft 09:30:20 |
| | Just about to buy a wetsuit, looking at full 7mm for Victoria ( Australian ) waters mainly.
It has since occured to me to consider the option of a 5mm full suit, with an added vest (probably hooded).
I think the last wetsuit I hired on my OW course was actually a 7/5 anyway ( Pinnacle "Cruiser"), so just wanting opinions of the pros and cons of each..
Also, what's the go with wearing a hooded vest...under or over..does one provide better insulation..?
And if I'm a size medium wetsuit, and choose to wear a vest over the top...do I get a size large vest...or will it stretch enough ??
losts of questions I know...but I'll my likely be purchasing online ( due to high local retail ), so need to look at all options first....
bc
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Wednesday, 9 April 2008
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| FA: SKIN DIVER MAGAZINE 1960 COMPLETE/12 ISSUES IN BOUND BK ENDS TODAY 4/09 Tmantrask 15:43:51 |
| | SKIN DIVER MAGAZINE 1960 COMPLETE/12 ISSUES IN BOUND BK Location: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120242856153 Current Bid: $21.50 Auction Ends: Apr-09-08 20:44:15 PDT
Up for auction is vintage bound volume of 12 issues of Skin Diver Magazine from 1960. The 12 issues cover the entire year from January through December. The magazines are complete with front/back covers & are all in pristine condition but with the usual trimming associated with bound magazine volumes. The issues are as follows:
(1) January 1960- Geologic Mapping Underwater Juggler Rocks in their Heads Gar Hunt 9-Year-Old Divette Killer Whales Are Whales a Serious Threat to Small Boats? Five Miles to the Beach Seals and Sea Lions Mystic Midriff Don't Knock the Rock Paradise or Pitfall Fish Prints Guernsey Isle Diving Northeast Awards Banquet Chicago Divers Search for Missing Judge Why I Am a Skin Diver
(2) February 1960- Scuba Speed Challenge Personality Spotlight Water Manipulators Eight Foot Barracuda Sighted Malibu Surf Festival Monster of Tumach Mystery of "Ave Del Mar" Divers Fashions U.S. Divers Company Ozark Diving Dacor Corporation Legislation Can Be a Booby Trap Rebels Attack U.S.S. Cairo Michigan Boasts 56 Underwater Troopers Sportways Houston Convention Plans Healthways Results of SDM Reader Survey World-wide Roster of Underwater Clubs
(3) March 1960- My Days Aboard the Calypso Bulgarian Divers Recover Amphorae The Phenomenal Frame Here We Go Again, and Why International Treasure Hunt Filter System for Oil Lubricated Compressors Check and Re-Check Your Scuba Air Supply Book Review--Salt Water Aquariums in the Home Sea Rovers Take St. Nick Underwater Spanish Underwater Scenery Painter Divers Fashions Cameos in Coral You Are There in Houston
(4) April 1960- Kid-Kidnapper Surfer Safari (Ben Morgan/Buzzy Trent/Pat Curren) Drowned or Suspended Animation That Big White Elephant Lost Spring High Pressure Air Cylinders La Paz = Fish You Are There In Houston Flotsom & Jetsom Divers' Fashions Record Review 1961 Bids for Inter-America "Win-A-Glasspar" Gamefish Diving Derby Cold Water Retrieve
(5) May 1960- Sea Monsters Fabulous Cape San Lucas Max Gene Nohl Shark Encounter Duration Underwater The Magic Shop They'll Dive Anywhere Flotsom & Jetsom 1959 A.A.U. Convention Report Make Your Own Killer Gun Additional Roster of Underwater Clubs Miss International Beach Temptress Contest Northwest Clipper Ship Rediscovered
(6) June 1960- History of the Diving Flag Rare Coral Discovery Once Upon A Time (Fiction) Death Awaits the Daring Sal si Puedes How to Start a Club Diver's Eye (Electronic Locators) Compact Wagon Uniform Laws Help Boating Safety How to Load and Carry Small Boats The Med's the Place...with the Club MИditerranИe Capt. Cousteau's Miami Visit To the Keys on a Raft Tube Method of Mouth-to-Mouth Respiration United States Team to the World Championship National Diving Patrol Fish, Fish and More Fish Golden Doubloon Leaves for Caribbean Treasure You Are There in Houston Women's Spearfishing Competitions Miss International Beach Temptress Personality Spotlight Delinquent Lexicon of Diving Terminology
(7) July 1960- New Orleans Grand Isle Pressure, Ears, Drugs Commercial Abalone Diving Guide for a Beginning Skin Diver The Last Dive The Big Splash Shark Census Sixth Annual Boston Sea Rovers Clinic National Association of Underwater Instructors Diverse Heads U.S. Team to World Championships Depth Record Decade of Progress New Underwater Books Underwater Society of American Convention Greater Los Angeles Council Competitions Power Divers Underwater Spearfishing World Records
(8) August 1960- The Gold Diving Bonanza Mineral Rights and Regulations Buy, Sell and Hold Gold Legally Prospecting and Mining Where to Sell Gold Parachuting for Gold Gold and Where to Find It Prospecting the Hard Way Gold Diving Books A New Hazard Nationals Underwater Spearfishing World Record National Association of Underwater Instructors New Orleans Grand Isle Bottom Scratchers Record Holder Plans to Cross English Channel Underwater
(9) September 1960- Miss International Beach-Temptress 1960 Winning Photograph My Search for the Perfect Underwater Camera Outline for a Successful Marine Photography Career Underwater Movies Expand Scope of Scuba Cinematography Underwater Past, Present and Future of UW Photography National Club . . . Underwater Photographic Society A Ship, Camera and Clear Water Aqua Cases and Accessories Pictures at Random
(10) October 1960- World Underwater Spearfishing Championships Glasspar Diving Derby Puka Paradise Crays, Kingies and John Dorsies Diving the Philippines Majuro Tropical Spearfishing Killer Clams Adventuring in the Deep Great Barrier Reef New Caledonia Land of Competition
(11) November 1960- National Association of Underwater Instructors Training Course Giant Kelp--Key to the Future Runners Up--Miss International Beach-Temptress Contest Denmark Can Join It Too Instrument of Death Scubatorium Cool Sport in a Hot Place We Find Our Treasure Ship My Son Rob Escape to the Blue Depths Under Ice Deep Dive Images of the Deep Ohio Cave Divers Cuban Divers Investigate "La Coubre" Greatest Diver of Them All Canadian Divers Explore Montmorency Falls "Granite State" Becomes Divers Playground Nubbles Meet Southwest Pacific Coast Championships Fiesta of Five Flags
(12) December 1960- Shooting the Tube With My Teeth and Two Good Divers Recompression Russia Underwater UDT Hell Week Diving into the Past I Made My Hobby Pay Off Tricks of the Trade Spearfishermen Threatened by Department of Fish and Game Itazuke Sea Rovers Underwater Game Preserve Underwater Channel Swim $316,000,000 Treasure Map Original Spear-Fisher Waterlung Rescue Underwater Endurance National Underwater Photographic Exhibition Fourth Annual Underwater Film Festival
Thanks for looking
Colin tmantrask@sbcglobal.net
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Tuesday, 8 April 2008
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| Re: New Dive Sites in Bali - Kerobokan Dive Sites Daniel Kessler 11:16:54 |
| | this post has the earmarks of a "puff-piece" by some owner/promoter...
While I've had two trips to Indonesia (mostly off Monado) ...I've never heard anyone praise sites off Bali. Bali is certainly worth a visit -- spent five days there traveling around the island.
albeesatria@yahoo.com wrote:
A new dive sites has been found in north of Bali. We are the only dive operator that offers it magnificent underwater sites. Kerobokan Dive Sites offers unique within Bali. It is the very new definition of muck-diving and shore Diving, rich coral reefs, no depth to speak of, it is in basically a site for macro-photographers and for the occasional recreational diver looking for something different from the norm. Kerobokan Dive Sites contains many rare macro-photography subjects that include nudibranches, dragonets (including both the colorful Mandarin fish and Picture Dragonet), abundant seahorse/pipefish, unusual scorpion fish, frogfish, eels, and many, many other organisms. Yellows hills of corral ( Kaang Kuning ) is e new dive sites. Location: Kerobokan Village, Close with Lovina Type of dive: Shore and Boat diving (outriggers large enough for 2-3 divers, Reef-diving) Visibility: 15 - 25 metres Current: Zero to mild current Depths: 10 - 40 metres (average depth 18 meters) Min Level: Introductory Highlights: Fantastic coral formations, density and variety of fish, all level will suitable, 1 Day Intro Adventure Diving Program. Great snorkeling site. Conditions: Black sand beach sloping into the water, coral reefs, and Muck Diving
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Monday, 7 April 2008
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| Re: Diving in Puerto Viejo and Ca o Island - Costa Rica Jer 18:05:58 |
| | Timo wrote:
Hello everyone, We're planning a trip to Costa Rica in November 2008. I saw some older discussions where people talk about diving in Costa Rica. Have any of you had any recent (2007 or 2008) diving trips in Puerto Viejo or on Ca o Island. We want to have 1 day of diving in Puerto Viejo and then a few days later from Dominical a dive on Ca o Island. Any good recommendations, dive schools, dive operations, some experiences there? We did not find any in Dominical who dive Ca o island, maybe we should Thanks. All info would be gr8tly appreciated. Timo
I and a friend were in the Cano area Sept '07. We stayed at the Drake Bay resort (resort = that's a stretch) for a week, and despite the copious rain, got in a couple of days diving on Cano. Drake Bay is a staple for our overnight requirements, and Cano didn't disappoint. Besides the typical sea mount critters, we saw the absolutely largest sting rays ever - dropped in 70' right on top of them. Overcast sky, early morning, dim shadows at first, I thought they were eagle rays, then no... maybe mantas, then uh... STINGRAYS!! Holy Barbs Batman!! Kayaks, mangroves, hiking, horses, and lots and lots of rain.
Rental gear available, diving on Cano can be challenging, strong currents, rough surface at times, but the island is another great place for a hike during an SI and bag lunch. Be sure to sign in at the ranger station on the north side before getting wet.
-- jer email reply - I am not a 'ten'
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| FA: SKIN DIVER MAGAZINE 1960 COMPLETE/12 ISSUES IN BOUND BK Updated 4/07 Tmantrask 15:27:07 |
| | SKIN DIVER MAGAZINE 1960 COMPLETE/12 ISSUES IN BOUND BK Location: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120242856153 Current Bid: $21.50 Auction Ends: Apr-09-08 20:44:15 PDT
Up for auction is vintage bound volume of 12 issues of Skin Diver Magazine from 1960. The 12 issues cover the entire year from January through December. The magazines are complete with front/back covers & are all in pristine condition but with the usual trimming associated with bound magazine volumes. The issues are as follows:
(1) January 1960- Geologic Mapping Underwater Juggler Rocks in their Heads Gar Hunt 9-Year-Old Divette Killer Whales Are Whales a Serious Threat to Small Boats? Five Miles to the Beach Seals and Sea Lions Mystic Midriff Don't Knock the Rock Paradise or Pitfall Fish Prints Guernsey Isle Diving Northeast Awards Banquet Chicago Divers Search for Missing Judge Why I Am a Skin Diver
(2) February 1960- Scuba Speed Challenge Personality Spotlight Water Manipulators Eight Foot Barracuda Sighted Malibu Surf Festival Monster of Tumach Mystery of "Ave Del Mar" Divers Fashions U.S. Divers Company Ozark Diving Dacor Corporation Legislation Can Be a Booby Trap Rebels Attack U.S.S. Cairo Michigan Boasts 56 Underwater Troopers Sportways Houston Convention Plans Healthways Results of SDM Reader Survey World-wide Roster of Underwater Clubs
(3) March 1960- My Days Aboard the Calypso Bulgarian Divers Recover Amphorae The Phenomenal Frame Here We Go Again, and Why International Treasure Hunt Filter System for Oil Lubricated Compressors Check and Re-Check Your Scuba Air Supply Book Review--Salt Water Aquariums in the Home Sea Rovers Take St. Nick Underwater Spanish Underwater Scenery Painter Divers Fashions Cameos in Coral You Are There in Houston
(4) April 1960- Kid-Kidnapper Surfer Safari (Ben Morgan/Buzzy Trent/Pat Curren) Drowned or Suspended Animation That Big White Elephant Lost Spring High Pressure Air Cylinders La Paz = Fish You Are There In Houston Flotsom & Jetsom Divers' Fashions Record Review 1961 Bids for Inter-America "Win-A-Glasspar" Gamefish Diving Derby Cold Water Retrieve
(5) May 1960- Sea Monsters Fabulous Cape San Lucas Max Gene Nohl Shark Encounter Duration Underwater The Magic Shop They'll Dive Anywhere Flotsom & Jetsom 1959 A.A.U. Convention Report Make Your Own Killer Gun Additional Roster of Underwater Clubs Miss International Beach Temptress Contest Northwest Clipper Ship Rediscovered
(6) June 1960- History of the Diving Flag Rare Coral Discovery Once Upon A Time (Fiction) Death Awaits the Daring Sal si Puedes How to Start a Club Diver's Eye (Electronic Locators) Compact Wagon Uniform Laws Help Boating Safety How to Load and Carry Small Boats The Med's the Place...with the Club MИditerranИe Capt. Cousteau's Miami Visit To the Keys on a Raft Tube Method of Mouth-to-Mouth Respiration United States Team to the World Championship National Diving Patrol Fish, Fish and More Fish Golden Doubloon Leaves for Caribbean Treasure You Are There in Houston Women's Spearfishing Competitions Miss International Beach Temptress Personality Spotlight Delinquent Lexicon of Diving Terminology
(7) July 1960- New Orleans Grand Isle Pressure, Ears, Drugs Commercial Abalone Diving Guide for a Beginning Skin Diver The Last Dive The Big Splash Shark Census Sixth Annual Boston Sea Rovers Clinic National Association of Underwater Instructors Diverse Heads U.S. Team to World Championships Depth Record Decade of Progress New Underwater Books Underwater Society of American Convention Greater Los Angeles Council Competitions Power Divers Underwater Spearfishing World Records
(8) August 1960- The Gold Diving Bonanza Mineral Rights and Regulations Buy, Sell and Hold Gold Legally Prospecting and Mining Where to Sell Gold Parachuting for Gold Gold and Where to Find It Prospecting the Hard Way Gold Diving Books A New Hazard Nationals Underwater Spearfishing World Record National Association of Underwater Instructors New Orleans Grand Isle Bottom Scratchers Record Holder Plans to Cross English Channel Underwater
(9) September 1960- Miss International Beach-Temptress 1960 Winning Photograph My Search for the Perfect Underwater Camera Outline for a Successful Marine Photography Career Underwater Movies Expand Scope of Scuba Cinematography Underwater Past, Present and Future of UW Photography National Club . . . Underwater Photographic Society A Ship, Camera and Clear Water Aqua Cases and Accessories Pictures at Random
(10) October 1960- World Underwater Spearfishing Championships Glasspar Diving Derby Puka Paradise Crays, Kingies and John Dorsies Diving the Philippines Majuro Tropical Spearfishing Killer Clams Adventuring in the Deep Great Barrier Reef New Caledonia Land of Competition
(11) November 1960- National Association of Underwater Instructors Training Course Giant Kelp--Key to the Future Runners Up--Miss International Beach-Temptress Contest Denmark Can Join It Too Instrument of Death Scubatorium Cool Sport in a Hot Place We Find Our Treasure Ship My Son Rob Escape to the Blue Depths Under Ice Deep Dive Images of the Deep Ohio Cave Divers Cuban Divers Investigate "La Coubre" Greatest Diver of Them All Canadian Divers Explore Montmorency Falls "Granite State" Becomes Divers Playground Nubbles Meet Southwest Pacific Coast Championships Fiesta of Five Flags
(12) December 1960- Shooting the Tube With My Teeth and Two Good Divers Recompression Russia Underwater UDT Hell Week Diving into the Past I Made My Hobby Pay Off Tricks of the Trade Spearfishermen Threatened by Department of Fish and Game Itazuke Sea Rovers Underwater Game Preserve Underwater Channel Swim $316,000,000 Treasure Map Original Spear-Fisher Waterlung Rescue Underwater Endurance National Underwater Photographic Exhibition Fourth Annual Underwater Film Festival
Thanks for looking
Colin tmantrask@sbcglobal.net
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Saturday, 5 April 2008
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| Travel from Cancun to Tulum in Yucatan Peninsula Chopper 05:07:12 |
| | I am a diver and have spent a lot of time in Cozumel and have gone to the Cenotes ("Dos Ojos") south of Playa del Carmen.
I am interested in traveling along the corridor between south of Cancun all the way to say, Tulum.
Would like to get recommendations for reasonably priced hotels along the way which have the usual amenities (a/c, tv etc) but aren't the garrish all-inclusive types. Would also like to hear about some good dive locations.
Proximity to the water and dive shops would be important though several blocks away is fine too.
Any recommendations or comments will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Sy
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| Storage.. Raininginmyhead4 03:25:02 |
| | Well, it has come to that sad time when i must pack up my dive gear and head off to college. This is probably a long term pack up, and i was wondering if there is any specific way to do this thats better than another (ie wetsuit needs to be kept hanging rather than put into a large plastic tub). Also, is there anyone in the central ohio area looking to sell a regular or L size Stabilizing BCD? I have been using my dive instructors, as he has sets to borrow, but i think its time to get my own. I don't mind minor repair work (new hoses, cleaning valves, etc). Thanks!
-- raininginmyhead4 http://www.scubish.com
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Thursday, 3 April 2008
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
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| Costa Rica R.C.Laus 17:52:44 |
| | How's the diving in the Guanacasre area?
-- Thanks R.C.Laus
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Monday, 31 March 2008
Sunday, 30 March 2008
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| Little Cayman, March, 2008 Geoff Schultz 16:44:21 |
| | I just spent 10 days at the Southern Cross Club (SCC) in Little Cayman. I was very happy with the accommodations, food, staff and diving operations at the SCC. It was all top notch and would recommend it to anyone.
I did 9 days of diving and got in 21 dives. Other than the first day, we were able to dive on the north side. In general we had between 4 and 12 divers, with an average of around 8. Once the staff observed that we were well qualified divers, they had no problems letting us do our own thing.
Since I love to do photography, I was very happy to keep my distance from the group. I haven't shot a lot of video, but ended up shooting quite a bit with my Olympus C-8080 digital SLR in video mode. While it doesn't begin to match the quality of video shot via friends with HD video equipment, it's a wonderful compromise since I primarily want to shoot stills.
You can view the results of the trip at:
http://www.geoffschultz.org/Travel/2008/Cayman_Index.shtml
-- Geoff www.GeoffSchultz.org
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Friday, 28 March 2008
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| Maldives (Soneva Fushi) Trip and dive report Patrick NOEL 09:27:36 |
| | 4th trip to the Maldives ; the second stay at Soneva Fushi Resort & Spa : http://www.sixsenses.com/soneva-fushi/index.php . Flight from Paris in Business Class with Qatar Airways, via Doha ; excellent service on board. Idyllic stay in that heavenly island : only 65 villas, set on 111 acres of lush tropical forest where a network of sand trails leads to one of the numerous beaches, to one of the 3 restaurants, to the spa or ... to the diving center ! You can either walk or use the bicycles that are provided with each villa. The kindness of the staff, the luxury of the villas, the quality of the food (and of the wine list !), the peacefulness, the lovely smell of the forest, ... One doesn't know what to stress out to invite you to discover that luxurious "organic" resort, bearing a truly unique charm (see here, a few land pictures : http://www.aquaphot.fr/SonevaFushi2008.htm ). 9 days - 8 nights of pure happiness. A real environmental awareness : everything is made of natural products, the wood used for building the villas or for the furniture comes only from fallen trees or from plantations ; imports are reduced as much as possible (there is an organic garden where are grown most of the vegetables and fruits served in the restaurants) ; no caviar (!), no foie gras, many species of fishes are protected (blue-fin tuna, marlin, ...) ; paper and glass are recycled ; no plastic wrapping, etc. A very active energy saving program and global warming awareness, even if one comes there by hydravion and not with a rowboat, and if the diving boat is not a sailboat, but, well ... All these efforts are much better than nothing. An what about scuba diving ? Well, it's true that this kind of resort is not exactly home of stakhanovist diving, and it's obviously not what one comes here for. No 3 or 4 dives a day like on a diving cruise ; only two dives are proposed each day : one in the morning at 9:30, the other one in the afternoon at 3 pm. During my 9 days stay I dove only 6 times ... One or two boats, depending on the number of divers ; never more than 10-12 divers on a single boat ; one guide for 2 to 4 divers. The Soleni Dive center (http://www.soleni.com/jsps/homepage.jsp) is owned and managed, since 1995 (!) by Thomas W lchli and Alessandra Benini and their multilingual team. All the staff is very professional and friendly. In March, the dives are rather cool (much less current than during our last stays in december 99 and december 2003) ; the diving profiles are mostly similar : we dive on "tilas", most of the time slow drift dives (at least during this stay !), sand is at a depth of 30-35m ; deep divers, bring your shovel ! The tilas rise from the bottom to very different depths : ranging from -5m to -17m. A lot of fishes, but not so many big pelagic fishes (a few large sting rays, a few eagle rays and tunas, though, but I only saw sharks while snorkeling on the house reef !) ; a few gorgonian fans. Hard coral is rather healthy (after the bleaching due to 1998 El Ni o), but in most places, the reef is not so colourful with a few exceptions ... Due to the current, moderate but always present, and in spite of a rather "milky" water, I chose to shoot only wide angle pictures, using a Nikon D200 in an Ikelite housing, and a single lens : the Nikkor 12-24 zoom lens. Two strobes Ikelite DS125. But with only six dives, I took no more than 50 pics or so. Here is a small best of : http://www.aquaphot.fr/maldives2008.htm
Enjoy.
Patrick (I'm French, so forgive my English ...)
-- (Pas de plouf pour m' crire - No plouf to write) http://www.aquaphot.fr/
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Thursday, 27 March 2008
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
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| Re: Disney Cruises - The Magic Never Stops Onboard .(disney cruises) Ben Bradlee 19:39:28 |
| | What happens when you combine the best possible fucking vacation, with the most eloquent cussing destinations in the World? Well, If your answer was "SPAM", you were 100% right. Yes, I was going to guess SPAM too. Where is my prize?
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Monday, 24 March 2008
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| Re: Head trauma killed woman in Fla. stingray collision Dillon Pyron 22:44:48 |
| | [Default] Thus spake Jer <gdunn@airmail.ten>:
Wow!! Who wooda thunkit! You just can't make this stuff up. Saw this yesteday in Yahoo. They say "stingray", but it was a spotted eagle ray.
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| Re: Crystal River, Florida Ron Thompson 15:59:19 |
| | The definitive word -- I live 5 miles from Crystal River and have helped lead manatee tours in the past for several shops.
No shop takes Scuba Divers out on manatee tours. This strictly a snorkel experience.
First and foremost - the manatees don't seem tolike the noise and air bubbles produced by SCUBA. This willnot only deminish your encounter but everyone else's as well. The manatees will simply swim away and be gone.
Next, most of the encounter takes place in an area known as Three Sisters Spring. This area is 3-4 feet deep in most parts (though the three main sprinmg openings are in sand bowls dropping to about 15 feet. At these depths SCUBA is not needed.
If you want to Scuba dive, you can go back out in the afternoon. However I do not recommend diving in Kings Bay. The visibility is awful (often less than 2 feet) at the main spring and there isn't much to see even when you can see. Instead I suggest you ask about a trip to nearby Rainbow River. This is a drift dive down a spring fed river that is truly beautiful.
Other options are Devil's Den and the Blue Grotto in Williston (about 1.5 hours north of Brooksville on US41).
As for tour operators - I first and formost suggest Birds Underwater. They are the class act of the tours. http://www.birdsunderwater.com or 352/563-2753. They are not the cheapest (cost is about $35 per person plus any rental gear you need) but this is a case of you get what youpay for. They go out early (be at the shop by 6:15am) but stay until customers are ready to return. Boats are enclosed and light refreshments are aboard. The boats also have a head (toilet) if needed.
Who to avoid at all costs - American Pro Dive. They are greedy, could not care less about customer satisfaction and have been documented on numerous occasions harrassing and abusing manatees. The local US Fish and Wildlife office knows about it but is powerless to do anything. Why? They do not have any law enforcement officers. The last one was transfered out last year by it's Atlanta office and there is no funding to place another officer here. The USFW folks here are not law enforcement officers, they are strictly maintenance and administrative.
The offshore diving here is pretty blah and the nearest operators are in Clearwater. Gulf diving in this area involves a one hour drive to Clearwater, then a 2-3 hour boat ride to get to a 3-foot ledge. What I suggest is spend the same amount of time in your car, drive to Jupiter on the Atlantic coast and goout there. It is a 30-minute boat ride (most time spent indoling down the intercoastal) for a 70-foot drop on some very nice coral reefs.
Enjoy your stay
(while in Brooksville, have breakfast at Farmer John's on SR50A. It's cash only but very good - split an Apple Pancake - delicious and will feed 2-3.)
On 2008-03-14 15:58:00 -0400, Jay Furr <jfurr@furrs.org> said:
My wife and I are NAUI-certified divers and DAN members and we're going to be in Brooksville, Florida next week for my folks' 50th wedding anniversary. We live in Vermont so the diving here's not much compared to what you can get in Florida, of course, and therefore obviously we're going to want to get in a dive or two next week. We've heard that you can dive, as opposed to snorkel, with the manatees at Crystal River, but then other folks have said "no, they don't let you do that, they're protected" and then others have said "well, WE did". There are any number of shops online which claim to do scuba diving manatee tours, and we'd like to avoid calling up any that are really fly-by-night or would do anything that pushes the boundaries on what you can/should do around manatees. Can anyone share their experience with Crystal River and manatees and diving? Should we stick to snorkeling? Is it worth it to lug our gear down there if we're not going to be able to take the time to go out in the Gulf proper? And, finally, can you recommend a dive shop or two that you consider reputable and trustworthy? Thanks very much in advance!
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