Scuba Lore

Archive for December, 2009

Planing to visit Thailand and especially similan islands , which dive site is the best ?

Thanks

Here is the info you need: http://www.dailyscubadiving.com/dive-sites-in-similan-islands/

I hope it’ll help.

I grew up in So. Cal in the 50’s and 60’s and remember enjoying a local broadcast on channel 5, 9 or 13 about scuba diving. The guitar riffs at the introduction were from a popular song at the time, I believe.

how about this one

http://www.starthrower.org/products/tv%20show/tv%20show.htm

A whale dives at a speed of 3 feet per second. What value represents the whale’s change in position after 15 second?
A) -45 ft
B) -15 ft
C) 18 ft
D) 45 ft

I know its D but my lil sis says its A. PLEASE PROVE ME RIGHT

45 Feet is correct. I can see how one would think diving is negative, but in this case the question doesn’t care about positive or negative just the change in position.

I play hockey and I’m studying abroad in Taipei, Taiwan (at NTU). I was looking to teach hockey there since I coach youth hockey here, but I’m under the impression that skating is just hitting Taiwan. Also, it has always been a life goal of mine to go caged diving with Great White sharks. I know this kind of thing is offered in parts of Africa and Australia, but what about Taiwan?

Your best bet is to go to Australia to play with sharks, jocko… Great Whites aren’t around here. Other, smaller ones are. There may be some whale/dolphin pod watching tours out east in Hualien and Ilan or Taidong. Taiwanese in general are not normally shark petting extreme sports types, except for a few mountain men in mountain sports, or extreme bikers. If you get yourself a boat you can try and be the first one!

You can find some other ex-pats informally playing street hockey, check forumosa.com to see when they are playing. Roller hockey may eventually have enough people playing it to get organized teams into it.

I would check with forumosa,com about the costs of hockey equipment in Taiwan. It probably is possible to deck yourself out with street hockey/roller hockey gear but I would suspect it is more expensive than out in Canada.

There are basically no ice rinks in Taiwan outside of Taipei, I have heard rumours of one still operating up in Taipei, but I don’t live there, it sounds like you already know where it is. Perhaps Kaosiung still has one?? The one in Taichung closed in 2002 or 2003, and nothing has replaced it to my knowledge.

If you are looking for extreme sports out here, there is whitewater rafting, kiteboarding clubs, bike touring clubs, windsurfing clubs, paragliding… forumosa should have some links there… check the compass.com as well in the past they did some highlight issues on those all. Triatholons are also around. Golfing is possible if you like blowing large amounts of cash.

I tend to stick to my bodyboarding and hiking, with some light bicycling and running. And scooting.

I am looking to purchase my first dive computer and I am having a little trouble sorting through the seemingly endless assortment that is available. I am looking for one that has the ability to be hooked up to my computer (mac compatible) and upload all the information about depth, air consumption, time, etc to something like an electronic log book so I can save all the information from my dives. If possible I would like it to have a program with it for me to enter in information about the dives it uploads information about like location, what I saw, etc.
Thanks for any info!

There are a few options. The first thing that you will find is computers are priced all over the place. For ones that have the features you are looking for, you will be paying a bit more. The main reason is you will need one with "Air Intergration" in order to do anything with air consumtion. —- But these can sometimes be very handy underwater as well. Most can on the fly calculate how many minutes of gas / safe time is left in your tank. There are 2 types of air intergrated computers. Wireless and regular. The regular will have a hose and will replace your spg. The wireless kind will have a knob sized transmitter that screws into a high pressure port. (where your spg is now) and transmit to a wrist mounted computer. This kind is more expensive than the regular.

The other thing is whether or not you are nitrox certified today, i’d recommend getting a nitrox computer. They can do air or nitrox / so if you decide to go nitrox later you will have the right equip.

If you are looking for a good AI (air intergrated) computer, the Sherwood Wisdom II is a very good computer. Aris and Scuba Pro make decent wireless computers.

Look online as well as your LDS for computers because the prices on the same model could be very different.

Good luck…

Based on this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPvTOwxCecM

~Soul Strings~

O chortling child, forth cutting from your wavering hymn,
The shrill breath of an untimely babe, plucked of flourishing limb.
All of voice you strike a heart, a water arrow of soul deep whim,
I dab at your throat, and cast out a song. Fainting voice of the violin.

Viola thumbs, a crooked cradle of mortal limb, an arch of bone,
Upon which mahogany craned necks faint into death’s clone.
The middle child, struck down her pyramid spine, she hath flown-
Silver slim tresses, a curl of collared neck, sighing upon her throne.

Brother. His redwood shoulders, curved aside an acre of chest,
Forth thunderous from his echoing ribs, the pulsing core of eagle nest.
Your bleeding moan a mellow ocean, dug not from the land of zest…
A whale kiss, my Cello kin, of scarlet soils, the first one blessed.

Who observes each fleeting thread of opal chorus? Striking this place,
This pale, rolling earth. Marking this air, his feather fingers here by trace-
A captivation of music. A dove grey mouth, an instruction of grace,
Shallow strings unto ebony depth, falling forth from space.

It’s really good.Are you sure you are supposed to put that many periods though? If you look at famous poets poems they normally only have a couple.

I want to start scuba diving, want to know where to go maybe abroad locations aswell??

Its a bit of a diffcult question to answer.
The UK has a huge variety of dive sites and almost anywhere you can get wet will have something that makes its someone’s personal favourite place to dive. It will depend on what kind of diving you enjoy, wreck, wall, drift…

The variety in marine life also plays a huge part, Lundy Island with its seal colonies is fantastic, but my best UK dive was a chessel beach, spent 20 minutes in the water at 4m with an adult dolphin playing around us. Mind you I also love exploring all of the wrecks that make the UK such a great dive location. But I’m equally happy trolling up and down the pier at Brighton picking up litter and watching the wrasse playing with the crabs.

I’ve recently been diagnosed with epilepsy but I’m not prepared to give up my scuba diving. I’ve accepted the inherent risks, and will take precautions such as not diving till my medication is up to a reasonable level. I’ve also accepted that should I have an underwater seizure I’m pretty buggered. I just wondered if others with epilepsy have advise on how they have continued to dive in as safe as possible a way.

It’s supposed to be illegal to get a SCUBA licence or keep one after you’re diagnosed with epilepsy. However, if you’re dead set on not telling, please wait until you’re seizure-free for at least 6 months before you venture out there and don’t do more dangerous dives. Please please. For your own safety.

My wife has always wanted to learn to scuba dive, but she has a perforated eardrum from a series of bad infections when she was young. She is concerned that if she does go, it will rupture her eardrum and she will lose her hearing. Our doctor is not sure what will happen, and I can’t get any straight answers from the guy that runs the local dive shop. Is there some kind of a cover or plug she can wear to protect that ear when she dives. This is one of her dreams to learn this, and I really want her to be able to learn.

the link on answer one seems to say maybe, maybe not. I don’t scuba, but I have ear drum damage from water skiing and every time I swim / dive deep (maybe 15-20 ft) my ear starts to hurt. like the pressure is too much. I also lost a bit of hearing so maybe the healing thing didn’t go so good. at this point I know I probably will fall on the ear again and do the damage again. i gotta think if she tries scuba lesson she’ll know pretty fast if the ear will be a problem. don’t scuba lessons start in relatively shallow water?

Leeward group
Northwest of Papeete
Original name of location meant "First Born"
Inhabited by Polynesian settlers around the 4th century
Has a calm and crystal-clear area of water
Famous for snorkeling and scuba diving but be careful or you might become lunch
Has a French frigate

Hint: During WWII this location was used as a military supply base, an oil depot, and airstrip

It is the island of Bora Bora, or as Wikipedia puts it:

"Bora Bora is in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island, located about 230 km (140 miles) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 m (2,385 ft). The original name of the island in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning "First Born"; an early transcription found in 18th- and 19th century accounts, is Bolabolla (or "Bollabolla").

The major settlement, Vaitape is on the western side of the island, opposite the main channel into the lagoon. The products of the island are mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and coconut trees, which were historically of economic importance for copra."

My father was stationed aboard a series of small ships ranging from an LST to various small cargo vessels, beginning as a Lieutenant (j.g.). and ending the war as a Commander. They picked up and delivered "toilet paper, jeeps and generals" to various South Pacific islands after the battles had ended, so he saw all the hot spots once they had gone luke warm. At least that’s what he tells us when we ask "What did you do in the war, Daddy?"

He liked Bora Bora. He didn’t like Rabaul for some reason (he has never said why). He is neutral on the subjects of Truk, Yap and Guadalcanal.