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Florida Dive Sites: Free of oil ?

Posted by Scuba Herald on Jun 13th, 2010 and filed under Scuba Industry. 

We know how fragile is the scuba industry, we depend on the elements, the weather.. the visibility… but not it seems we also have to be aware of .. oil !

And this is a very serious concern for all the dive centers in Florida and diving operators worried about the health of the dive sites in the area. But so far things seem just fine.

Florida officials and tourism industry executives are juggling two missions, working to protect the shore from oil spreading from the April 20 spill in the Gulf of Mexico while assuring tourists that the state’s 825 miles (1,327 kilometers) of beaches remained safe so far. Hotels relaxed cancellation policies for wary guests while updating photos on websites to show beaches that remained pristine.

“I’ve talked to hoteliers and it’s not so much that there are cancellations — it’s the reservations line,” Grover Robinson, chairman of the Escambia County Commission, said today at a press briefing. “The phone just isn’t ringing.”

In addition to being Florida ’s No 1 industry, tourism accounts for 21 per cent of the state’s sales tax revenue. Snorkelling is a $239 million industry here. Scuba diving is worth $45 million and recreational saltwater fishing $5 billion.

So if you are planning to dive in Florida : Just do it… there is no oil in the water… so dive in and support the operators.

The World’s Most Remote Hotels

Posted 10/01/2010 6:30 am by Ron Hogan

Welcome to the place where sleeping with the fishes isn’t a threat, it’s a privilege.  After all, you’ve paid to sleep there, so you may as well enjoy it!  The above-pictured hotel, the Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida, tops the Forbes list of most remote hotels. In case you can’t tell, the hotel is not just underwater, it’s a staggering 21 feet underwater and can only be accessed via scuba diving!

It’s cool and all, and I’d love to stay there, but I don’t know if it’s the world’s most remote hotel.  I mean, once you learn to scuba dive, you can go there any time you want.  There are other hotels on the list, like Kokopelli’s Cave in New Mexico or Winterlake Lodge, that might be even more remote.  Kokopelli’s Cave is in a cave near the remote Mesa Verde National Monument in New Mexico , while Winterlake Lodge is on Alaska ’s treacherous Iditarod Trail, which is one of the most difficult trails in the world.  And there’s always North Korea , home of the ghost hotel, which Westerners are forbidden to travel to.

I guess it all depends on your definition of remote.  Either way, odds are nobody unexpected is going to be interrupting your peace and solitude.  Plus, the rooms themselves are pretty sweet, even when compared to the world’s sexiest hotel rooms.

 Let's plan a trip there!!!

How to help the environment when scuba diving

by Elizabeth M. Young

Scuba divers possess a unique gift and skill set that would be of great help in monitoring, sampling, observing and improving the aquatic environment. They have the capacity to go into places that most of us would never see or hear about if it were not for their desire to explore and to experience the watery worlds.

The helping part of scuba diving begins with preparation. Scuba divers can ask the experts or they can do online research into the area of their interest. When they know what to look for, have some extra training in taking pictures or videos, or even get training in how to do some of the basics, such as counting, measuring and so on, they can go on a dive with some specific goals, understandings and outcomes in mind.

By joining a scuba diving organization or  that has environmental awareness and preservation in mind, it is much easier for new and experienced divers to get education, information and support for helping to keep the environment healthy.

Scuba divers can tell of changes in fish populations and the health of coral reefs. They can document the condition of aquatic plants and animals. They can identify, document and report evidence of waste dumping or bad fishing practices that damage or destroy coral formations. Finally, scuba divers can monitor the progress of new reefs, especially artificial reefs.

With more study, academic support and official help, scuba divers can develop skills and understand the required procedures for taking basic samples of water, aquatic plants and soil while they are enjoying a dive. Then they can prepare or properly store the samples that will be submitted to those who can do further analysis and study.

Diver's logs, photos, videos and notebooks can provide valuable information about areas that the academics and governments might not be able to observe or monitor during a particular season. By learning and refining skills for observing, knowing what to look for and knowing how to properly document observations, divers can be trained to provide information that is collected during the trip to the dive site, the dive itself and the return trip. 

Finally, the mere appearance of more divers encourages government tourist agencies and ocean management agencies to set aside protected areas that provide healthy, well populated parts of the aquatic environment that contribute to the economy. Diving tourism, itself, can be responsible for the preservation and continued health of many great diving sites and arenas.

Under pressure: German diver sets breathtaking record

A German man has broken his own world record for holding his breath under water after managed to remain submerged for 15 minutes and two seconds.

Tom Sietas, a 30-year-old engineering student from Hamburg exceeded his own Guinness record time by 37 seconds at the world free diving championships in New York.

Emerging from his single-breath dive, which was watched live on US national television, Mr Seitas said: "I'm hungry". He prepared for his record-breaking stunt with a five-hour fast which helps to slow his metabolism.

While his feat went virtually unnoticed in his native Germany, he was celebrated in New York by stars such as Jennifer Lopez and Michael Jordan.

Mr Sietas began free-diving over a decade ago after a scuba diving instructor he met on a holiday in Jamaica recognised his extraordinary ability to hold his breath.

He has since held a total of 12 world records.

Tim has informed us that he is getting really close to this record ;D