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SCUBA Vacation Checklist

There is nothing worse than getting to that dive destination after saving up money and vacation days to find you forgot that one thing that makes a good vacation great from sun glasses and lotion to fins and extra fin straps. This list comes from experience. Many of these things I have forgotten and many more my travel companions or students have forgotten. As often as not it is just a matter of overlooking the obvious and not lack of knowledge.

This list is a starting point. Feel free to tell me what I forgot to add and I will add you it to the list... with proper credit ,of course.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

I hope this helps and make sure you send me pictures of your trip.

Tom

Sea Lampreys in Great Lakes

Just when you though it was safe to go in the water.

Sea Lamprey: The Battle Continues

http://www.global-adventures.us/2010/02/24/sea-lamprey/

Chicago (Global Adventures): Scuba divers exploring the Great Lakes are now warned to pressure wash all gear before using it in other bodies of water to avoid spreading the sea lamprey, an invasive species that destroys native lake trout populations by attaching themselves and drawing blood and nutrients from the fish. Victims typically die from excessive blood loss or infection.

“Invasive species are deadly to the ecosystem and costly to control,” said Elizabeth Latenser of Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. “Without natural predators or a niche in the food chain, invasive species are able to out-compete native fish for food and habitat.”

Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is a predaceous, eel-like fish native to the coastal regions of both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The species is native to the inland Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain in New York and Vermont. It is not clear whether it is native to Lake Ontario, where it was first noticed in the 1830s, or whether it was introduced through the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825.

Most scientists believe that sea lamprey entered Lake Erie through the Welland Canal about 1921. It did not take long to spread to Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior. In the 1940s and 1950s, they contributed to the collapse of the lake trout, whitefish, and chub fisheries. Annual catches of lake trout in Lakes Huron and Superior dropped from 15 million pounds to 300,000 pounds by the early 1960s. While the population has been reduced by 90 percent in most areas due to chemical control, the St. Marys River is still considered a “hot zone.”

The life cycle of sea lampreys is anadromous, like that of salmon. The young are born in inland rivers, live in the ocean as adults, and return to the rivers to breed. Young emerge from the egg as larvae, blind and toothless, and live that way for 3 to 7 years, buried in mud and filter-feeding. Once they have grown to a certain length, they metamorphosize into their parasitic form, after which they migrate to the sea. They become sexually mature after several years, stop feeding, and return to freshwater rivers and streams to spawn.

Through public outreach, educational programs and the invasive species exhibit in the Local Waters Gallery, the Shedd Aquarium encourages the public, including scuba divers, to take action and help to prevent the spread of invasive species.

Crawling Back To Life - a story of hope for the reefs.

I found this at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/01/sewage-santa-monica-bay.html If is nice to hear good news about the reefs.

Greenspace
Environmental news from California and beyond

Crawling back to life
January 12, 2010 | 5:43 pm

Surf

You have to be a scuba diver to see the difference, but areas of Santa Monica Bay that were historically fouled by sewage discharges are making a strong comeback.
The new State of the Bay report notes the revival of bottom-dwelling marine life in the wake of treatment upgrades at the two big wastewater plants that empty into the bay several miles from shore.

Diver surveys have documented sea animals and plants on the sea floor “where really it was barren before,” said Shelley Luce, executive director of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, which issues the report every five years. "I think this is one of the more remarkable recoveries we've seen," she added. "It's right up there with the return of the bald eagle and brown pelican."

Maybe not as visually dramatic: We're talking about snails and worms and other invertebrates crawling back into areas that for decades lacked the oxygen to support all but the most pollution-tolerant sea life.

In 1998, Los Angeles' Hyperion plant upgraded to full secondary treatment and four years later the Los Angeles County sanitation districts' plant did the same. The more advanced process scrubs out most of the solids that had been previously pumped into the bay, consuming oxygen as they decayed.
Now the outfall areas, off Dockweiler State Beach and the Palos Verdes Peninsula, "have a healthy and diverse community that resembles more pristine areas," Luce said.

But historical contamination from DDT and PCBs persists in bay sediment, and urban runoff continues to pollute bay waters.

-- Bettina Boxall

Photo: A surfer in Santa Monica Bay. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Caymans train divers to fight lionfish invasion

Copied from http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-45170520100105

By Shurna Robbins

GEORGE TOWN (Reuters) - More than 300 scuba divers have been certified to catch red lionfish in a race to prevent the invasive and voracious species from consuming all the young and small fish on the Cayman Islands' famous corals reefs.

DiveTech, a diving operation in the British Caribbean territory, is running a boat each week to specifically catch the fish. Licensed fishermen also collect them on regular boat trips and dives from the shore.

"We tell them, this is not a pleasure dive and they are hunting fish," said Simon Dixon, a lionfish hunter and scuba instructor for DiveTech,

Divers typically work in teams of two, using plastic nets, gloves and sometimes sticks to capture the fish, which has a large head with reddish-brown and white stripes and elongated, venomous spines. Without careful handling, it can cause a painful sting.

"You have to be slow and careful and you have to treat them with respect. We have found they are quite clever. So if you move too quickly and scare the fish off, they will remember you and when you get close again they will retreat immediately," Dixon said.

Native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, red lionfish have no natural predators in the Caribbean and can produce 30,000 eggs each month. Within five weeks they can consume all the juvenile and small fish on a reef, threatening the delicate ecosystem, said Mark Hixon, a marine biologist at Oregon State University.

The species was first spotted in the Cayman Islands in early 2008 and quickly multiplied. Some 600 red lionfish were removed from Cayman waters in the last year, but the effort may not be enough to push back the invading fish, experts say.

Bradley Johnson, a research officer with the islands' Environment Department, said the department was receiving reports of more of the species in the waters and that their sizes also were increasing each month.

"They have been caught in all habitats around the islands including dive sites down to 120 feet (36 metres), shallow waters and in the North Sound. We have also confirmed reports from as deep as 300 feet (91 metres)."

BEATING THEM BY EATING THEM

Hixon, the Oregon State biologist, will travel to the Cayman Islands next month to scout reef sites and meet with government officials in preparation for a research project sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

"At present, the only solution to the invasion is for divers to remove lionfish from the reefs," Hixon said. "We are also working in the Pacific Ocean to study lionfish in their native range to determine why they are uncommon there relative to the Atlantic and Caribbean."

Turning the red lionfish into a seafood dish, as has been done in the Bahamas, is another possible control method. Cooking destroys the toxins in the meat, which has been compared to grouper and snapper.

"Lionfish are tasty so the government can help by encouraging a lionfish fishery. There are even expensive restaurants in the U.S. serving lionfish as a top-dollar conservation dish," Hixon said.

Scuba divers are prohibited from catching fish on most reefs surrounding the Cayman Islands, but regulators have made an exception for the red lionfish because of the threat it poses to marine life.

Environment Department staff train and license volunteer divers to safely catch the fish, which are then turned over to the government for collection of DNA and tracking.

U.S. government researchers believe the red lionfish was introduced into Florida waters during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 when an aquarium broke and at least six fish spilled into Miami's Biscayne Bay.

In recent years, its population has exploded along the U.S. eastern seaboard and the Atlantic islands of the Bahamas and Bermuda, and throughout the Caribbean into Puerto Rico, St. Croix, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba and Belize.

First-time sightings in 2009 occurred in Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras and Aruba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

DiveTech said it intends to continue running the lionfish boat trips as long as there is enough local interest to support it.

(Editing by Jane Sutton and Paul Simao)

Why Do Divers Fall Off the Boat Backwards

And, from Iowa comes this joke about two Minnesotans, Ole and Sven, who are sitting in a boat watching fishery biologists from the University of Minnesota prepare to enter the water with scuba diving gear so they can conduct an underwater study of the lake's fish population.

After the divers plunge from the boat into the lake, Ole turns to Sven and asks, “Why do scuba divers always fall backwards off 'der boats?”

To which Sven replies, “Well, you know, if they fell forwards they'd still be in de boat!”

Sounds pretty logical to me.

OLD SCUBA PHOTOS

Check out some of these old Scuba Photos of Joe Little in Lake Michigan from the 60's. Very cool! Photos were sent in from his daughter, Robin Olufs. Thanks!

CAVERN DIVING

Interested in cavern diving? Want to learn more about it? Click on the following link to read "The beginners guide to Cavern Diving"

Don't forget Sea Lions will be offering a Cavern Diving class in October. Sign up today!

BAHAMAS BAN CATCH AND SALES OF SEA TURTLES

Soups, stews and pies flavored with chunks of sea turtle meat will soon be illegal across the 700 islands of the Bahamas.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

SEA LIONS PHOTO CONTEST ENTRIES

Here are the pictures that were submitted so far. Please vote for your favorite. Don't forget to send in yours!



GREEN MORAY EEL




JUVENILE SPOTTED DRUM FISH




BARREL SPONGE




FISH ON REEF


PADDLE FISH




DIVERS WITH BARRACUDA


TRUMPET FISH

HELP OUR PLANET!

Climate change is a serious threat to coral reefs. Please sign this petition from our friends at the Center for Biological Diversity and ask the U.S. Senate to pass a strong climate bill!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2054

Which sunblock protects my skin - and the sea?

http://www.squidoo.com/sunblockandsea


Which sunblock protects my skin - and the sea? Click on the above link

MASK FOG?

Sick of that mask fogging up? Click on the following link for some great tips.
http://www.squidoo.com/MASKDEFOG

FANTASTIC DEAL FROM SCUBAPRO

Find out how you can get 100% credit back on your SCUBAPRO mask, fin, and snorkel purchase toward a SCUBAPRO UWATEC dive package (Buoyancy Compensator, Dive Computer and Regulator System) at the same Authorized Dealer. Act soon, this offer ends 10/15/09. Contact Sea Lion For more details.

Yellow Submarine in Lake Superior

Tom's notes: I love the hand rail.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/128311/


Published August 21 2009

Duluth man will explore Lake Superior in his yellow submarine

Lifelong tinkerer Dean Ackman and a crew of friends and family slipped a one-man submarine into the Knife River Marina on Thursday for a test drive.

By: Janna Goerdt, Duluth News Tribune

Driver after driver craned their necks for a better look as the sleek steel machine passed by them on Highway 61 through Two Harbors.
Top hatch, rear propeller, bottom ballast tanks, bright daffodil color — could it be? Yep, it was a real-life home-built yellow submarine, on its way Thursday to the Knife River Marina for a test of its lake-worthiness.
Lifelong tinkerer Dean Ackman and a crew of friends and family slipped the submarine into the water and came up with some good news and some bad news. The good: The 6,000-pound submarine was nicely balanced in the water, bobbing steadily up and down and not side to side. The bad news: A new leak had sprung somewhere in one of the main ballast tanks. Oh well, Ackman said. It was no reason to be discouraged.
“If it was easy, everyone would want to do this,” he said as he and the crew secured the submarine on the trailer for the 30-mile trip home.
It’s taken Ackman nearly three years of cutting, rolling and welding sheets of high-density steel in his workshop in Brimson to get this far. Aside from a car headlight, the electronic equipment and some salvaged Trex decking, Ackman has had to hand-craft each part of the two-man sub.
“You have to enjoy doing that,” Ackman said. “There are no submarine stores.”
Ackman said he has long loved exploring beneath the surface of Lake Superior. But scuba diving in the lake’s 39 degree waters is cold and uncomfortable, and divers can spend only a limited time in the depths.
His solution: build a personal submarine. When all the bugs are worked out, Ackman said he will be able to spend up to six hours at a time tooling around the lake. With help and advice from other members of the worldwide Personal Submersibles Organization, he has brought his latest dream almost to the launching point.
Ackman’s son, Adam, said he wasn’t surprised when he learned his dad was building a submarine.
Years ago, “he started with a remote-controlled submarine,” Adam Ackman said. The six-foot-long sub dipped just a few feet below the water, but it worked.
Dean Ackman has piloted just one submarine in his life. Two years ago he took a spin in Lake Michigan in one — also painted yellow, like most personal subs, for high visibility — and he was hooked.
“You’re free and loose,” Ackman said. And safe, he said; personal submarines have multiple safety factors built in. The submarine runs on batteries, but doesn’t depend on the batteries to ascend and descend. And even if every other safety factor fails, a submarine pilot can always slip on a scuba mask and tank, open the hatch and swim for the surface. Once the leaks are all sealed, Ackman will start a series of up-and-down dips, called “tea bag tests,” he said, “until you get comfy.”
He needs to find a horn for the sub to be in full compliance with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource’s watercraft registration guidelines.
Then he will spend the winter smoothing and polishing the yellow steel hull, waiting for spring and dreaming of hour after hour moving free and loose beneath a big, cold, exciting lake.

Untrained Divers, Surface Supplied Air and Lobsters

Tom's note: This article points out the dangers out there 1)diving on scuba OR surface supplied air without proper training. Note the Husband tried to pull her up by the airline that she was using to breath. 2) the danger of the lobster season where many divers with little or no experience loose concentration while looking for lobsters and do not return. Just look at all the deaths that occur during the short lobster season. The same thing can happen if a diver is distracted by other activities such as photography. Dive safe.

Scuba diving or hookah rigs carry equal risks, experts say
By Emily Nipps, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, August 12, 2009
________________________________________
As authorities search for the body of a St. Petersburg woman who disappeared while lobster fishing in the Florida Keys, her family is left with many questions.
Before disappearing Saturday while diving near Big Pine Key, Louann Greene, 33, was using a hookah rig, an underwater breathing device that requires no certification and is commonly used by tourists or first-time divers.
"I've lived here for 20 years, and I've never heard of these hookah things," said CeCe Ingle, Greene's sister-in-law. "If people are putting their lives on the line, there need to be some kinds of precautions in place. Who regulates them, if anybody?"
No one regulates hookah rigs, which essentially do the same job as scuba diving tanks. Most diving experts agree that hookahs are no more dangerous than scuba gear, and that there is nothing illegal or wrong about hookah rigs.
Like most open-sea ventures, they say, it boils down to a simple rule: Proceed at your own risk.
"There are no state and federal laws governing diving," said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro. "I mean, you would think it's good common sense that you would need some training before doing something like that."
The commission does enforce some diver safety, such as requiring dive flags to be displayed and policing boater speeds in diving areas. And some self-regulation occurs in the diving world.
Many dive equipment shops, for example, will not fill a scuba tank or rent gear without seeing a diving certification card, obtained from a recognized training organization. For liability reasons, Bill Jackson's, a sporting goods store in Pinellas Park, won't sell its scuba gear or hookah rigs without seeing certification.
Most diving charter boats refuse to take out people who aren't certified, said Capt. Mike Miller, who runs a dive charter boat out of Seminole Marina. Some do crash "resort courses," involving a few hours of classroom and water instruction for noncertified divers.
Lobster season, especially the popular two-day miniseason that takes place a week before regular season, is known for accidents, Miller said.
Five people died in various diving mishaps last year. Four died in 2006. Miller couldn't recall a season in recent years without a death.
But generally, Miller said, "diving is safer than bowling."
"It's safer than tennis and golf," he said. "It's when people go outside the boundaries of training that injuries happen."
The hookah rig, while common for those who skip training, isn't necessarily the enemy, experts say.
Experienced and certified divers sometimes favor the device, which provides compressed air taken from the atmosphere. Advocates find it ideal for depths of 90 feet or less. They say it is less cumbersome to breathe through a tube connected to a compressor than it is to carry a heavy tank on one's back.
Hookahs have been blamed in lobster diving fatalities in the past. Last year, 32-year-old Carlos Urruchaga of Miami died using one during the two-day lobster season, and 66-year-old Joan Radford of Coconut Grove died during the 2006 mini¬season after using the hookah system.
It's still unclear exactly what happened in Greene's case. When her husband tried to pull her in by her air hose, it quickly became clear that it was no longer attached to his wife. The last time her family saw her, she was crying for air, and then she sank.
Times staff writer Jessica Vander Velde contributed to this report. Emily Nipps can be reached at nipps@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8452.

Mares Recall

Tom's note: I saw this on the internet. To the best of my knowledge no computers of this model have been sold through Sea Lions Dive Center.

MARES Diving issued the following announcement earlier today:

MARES DIVING URGENT SAFETY NOTICE NEMO AIR QUICK CONNECTOR 0-RING

Please be informed that we have discovered a quality issue on the O-ring assembled on the Nemo Air quick connector.

Under certain circumstances, the O-ring can fail and consequently Nemo Air may start leaking through the Quick Connector. As a result, there is a continuous, albeit slow, loss of breathing gas and Mares has decided to issue a voluntary product recall. After intense internal tests Mares has identified a new O-ring of different material, color and hardness that can be retrofitted onto the Quick Connector of any existing Nemo Air.

We take this matter very seriously, but we would also like to point out that this issue is covered by the EN250 norm, which requires a 0.3mm opening in the high- pressure hose fitting. As a result, the hose is designed to ensure a slow enough gas release; which should allow the diver to complete a safe emergency ascent.

NONETHELESS FOR THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF YOUR CUSTOMERS AND TO AVOID POSSIBLE DANGEROUS ACCIDENTS: STOP ANYONE FROM DIVING WITH A QUICK CONNECTOR SUBJECT TO THIS VOLUNTARY RECALL UNTIL THE EXISTING O-RING IS REMOVED AND SUBSTITUTED WITH THE NEW GREEN COLOR ONE.
THE CURRENT O-RING FROM THE NEMO AIR QUICK CONNECTOR (O-RING IS BLACK OR BROWN) MUST BE REPLACED ONLY WITH OUR NEW O-RING THAT IS A DIFFERENT MATERIAL, HARDNESS AND GREEN IN COLOR.

Affected products and codes are:
Finished goods
414158 – DIVE COMPUTER NEMO AIR
414159 - DIVE COMPUTER NEMO AIR W/COMPASS
Spare parts
44200771 – HP HOSE W/QUICK CONNECTOR NEMO AIR
44200770 – QUICK CONNECTOR ASSY. FEMALE NEMO AIR

Please contact an Authorized Mares dealer/Service Center in your area to schedule the retrofit of the O-Ring of your Nemo Air Quick Connector. If you do not want to perform the above service procedures, please contact our customer service department at 1-800-874-3236 for a return authorization number. You will need to provide the unit(s) serial number(s).
NEMO AIR QUICK CONNECTOR O-RING MUST BE REMOVED AND SUBSTITUTED WITH THE NEW O-RING.

For detailed information please go to: www.mares.com

AUGUST SPECIALTY CLASSES

DRY SUIT
Classroom, Friday August 7th at 6:30PM
2 Dives Sunday August 9th at Haigh Quarry at 11:00AM

WRECK DIVER
Classroom and Dives 1 and 2 at Haigh Quarry, August 29th or 30th at 8:00AM

PEAK PERFORMANCE BUOYANCY
Classroom and 2 Dives at Haigh Quarry, August 22 or 23rd at 8:00AM

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHER
Classroom and 2 Dives at Haigh Quarry, August 22 or 23rd at 8:00AM

ENRICHED AIR NITROX
Classroom will be held on Wed, August 19th, 6:30PM.

UNDERWATER NAVIGATOR
Classroom and Dives 1, 2 and 3 at Haigh Quarry, August 29th or 30th at 8:00AM

EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONSE (CPR/FIRST AID)
Classroom will be held on Thursday, August 20th, 6:00PM.


Can't make the dates listed? looking for other specialties?
Contact Sea Lions Dive Center for more info.

SEA LIONS FIRST ANNUAL UNDERWATER PHOTO CONTEST!

Submit your best photo for Sea Lions Dive Center's annual photo contest! Send it by e-mail, or bring it into the store. All pics will be posted in the newsletter/blog and the winner will be determined by you! All you have to do is cast your vote.

One grand prize winner will receive a Padi Specialty course of their choice and picture will be hung in the Store! Send in your best Pic by September 10TH.

JAMAICA TRIP PICTURES

Divemaster candidate Tom Anderson took some nice shots in Jamaica. He was lucky enough to even see an extremely rare Blue Lobster!