We’ve all probably listened to, or even conducted, a briefing about triggerfish on a dive site, and how they may attack while defending their nests. But are these creatures really that scary or just widely misunderstood?
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Shutterstock
You will survive: Five tips to handle anything the ocean dishes out.
While rare, underwater emergencies can — and do — happen. Here’s how quick-witted divers prepare for crises.
1. Learn Self-Reliance You can’t help others if you can’t help your- self first. Knowing that you can take care of yourself is the first step in pre- paring for underwater emergencies; a rescue-diver course is a great way to build skills and confidence.
2. Maintain Your Gear Equipment problems are the easiest underwater emergencies to avoid. Have your reg and BC serviced regularly, check your mask and fin straps for cracks, and do a predive check before you enter the water.
3. Follow A Plan “Plan your dive and dive your plan” is about more than just sticking to your dive profile. It means understanding the challenges you might face on each dive, and en- suring everyone who is going into the water has the proper skills and equipment to deal with those challenges.
4. Be Proactive The best way to deal with an emergency is to stop it before it starts. Keep an eye on your dive buddy or group, watching for telltale signs of trouble, such as a diver with wide, unseeing eyes who might be on the verge of a panic attack.
5. Know Your Escape Route In a crisis, your top priority is getting yourself and the victim out of the water quickly and safely. On shore dives, this means knowing how to reach your exit point from the surface. On boat dives, it means learning the crew members’ emergency protocols.
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SeaLife Underwater Cameras is advancing its Sea Dragon line with its Sea Dragon 1500F Photo/Video Light at the DEMA (Diving Equipment Manufacturer’s Association) 2015 show.
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Fiesta Americana Cozumel
Save 32% off end of year travel through December 17, 2015
Save 32% off end of year travel through December 17, 2015 at the completely renovated Fiesta Americana Cozumel now has a modern design with a private beach club and over-water sunbeds, and on-site snorkeling and dive trips from Dive House, it’s a fun upscale fun vacation— and it’s all-inclusive. Close to the islands best dive sites, and just minutes from lively San Miguel. Chankanaab Natural Park, Mayan ruins, the Cozumel Museum, shopping, nightlife, golf, and other attractions are within easy reach of Fiesta Americana Cozumel.
Package includes:
7 night deluxe oceanview accommodations
5 days of 2-tank boat dives
All meals, snacks, and by the glass beverages including house brand alcohol
$350 in resort credits to be used on applicable items
Daily entertainment
Roundtrip airport transfers
Hotel tax and service charges
Travel through 12/17/15
Book by 11/18/15
Caradonna Dive Adventures
Price: $1,218 pp/dbl
Start Date: Nov 2nd, 2015
End Date: Dec 17th, 2015
Travel must be booked by: Nov 18th, 2015
Website: travel.caradonna.com/
Booking Email Address: sales@caradonna.com
Booking Telephone: 1.800.329.9989
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Steven P. Hughes
What It’s Like
To Be A Cave Diver
I swim through the veins of Mother Earth, exploring shadowy recesses inside the planet. The ominous portals of underwater caves repel most people, but I am attracted to the constricted corridors, squeezing through, relying on sophisticated technology for every sustaining breath. This is my workplace. Within the darkness of my office, life depends on a finite balance between fear and discovery. A bad decision at work could cost me my life.
Cave diving has been called the world’s most dangerous sport, as well as the edgy frontier of earthbound scientific exploration and discovery. Even with modern equipment and training, about 20 people die every year in the dark catacombs of water-filled caves.
As a filmmaker and photographer, underwater caves represent the ultimate challenge: creating art while monitoring life-support equipment at task loads that take my mind and body to the limit. Sometimes solo, and other times as a member of a scientific expedition, I must be entirely self-sufficient. There’s no Mission Control to solve my problems while I am blindly groping for a lost guide line in a zero-visibility silt-out or am pinned by the current, with numb hands barely responding, beneath towering columns of jagged, deadly ice.
Despite the risk, I’m like a kid in a candy store, working with biologists discovering new species, physicists tracking climate change and hydrogeologists examining our finite freshwater reserves. I’ve discovered grisly sources of pollution, the roots of life inside Antarctic icebergs and ancient skeletal remains of Mayan civilizations. It is a privilege to uncover these hidden shrines and share mysteries concealed deep inside our planet.
Want to follow in Heinerth’s footsteps? Learn how to become a cave diver here!
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