Don't forget that Chicago's Our World Underwater is scheduled for the weekend of February 9-11. According to the press release on Scuba PRWire, this year's show will host over 200 booths featuring dive destinations, training agencies, equipment manufacturers, apparel and dry suit companies, and a variety of regional dive centers. Don't like crowds? You might want to steer clear, as OWU anticipates between 15,000 and 17,000 attendees.
Packed with educational seminars and workshops, the event will also feature a pretty smokin' film festival, emceed by Stan Waterman (geez, he's everywhere!). Moreover, the winners of the Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Underwater Competition will be announced Saturday night. The show opens Friday night at 6 and runs through the weekend. Admission is $10.
If you're a diver who's looking to get involved in some conservation efforts on your next dive trip, consider heading to the Komodo National Park. The Park's Conservation Fund has teamed up with a marine biologist to install throughout the Park environmentally-friendly "Manta Ray mooring balls," which are drilled into sand patches or rubble areas. There are already 14 mooring balls in this Park; the newly-formed alliance wants to install up to 30 balls, which will protect the reef system from anchor damage by local fishermen, big liveaboard dive boats, and visiting yachts.
The Park is seeking qualified divers -- in other words, Nitrox-certified and capable of working at 100 feet -- to assist with the installation. Participants will learn multiple skills, ranging from rope splicing to operating an underwater jack hammer. Although the trip is work-oriented, there will be time "for the occasional leisure dive." Interestingly, the organizers hope to film the project for use in other conservation projects and awareness campaigns. You'll be a movie star!
The trip is from February 18-26. Only 4 spaces remain. The cost of the trip -- which includes shared accommodation in air-conditioned cabins, meals, diving, tanks, weights, and presentations -- is $800. For more details, check out the National Park's website or the Coral Reef Alliance.
This weekend, a group of Missouri divers raised money for their local American Red Cross chapter. No, they didn't hold a bake sale. They didn't sponsor a raffle, either. Instead, they participated in an underwater poker tournament organized by the Calypso dive center.
In exchange for a $25 buy-in/donation to the Red Cross, participants received scuba gear and tanks for the afternoon. Those who weren't playing could watch the card-play over a live feed coming through a monitor inside the Calypso. Apparently, participants collected hundreds of dollars for the Red Cross, which came to the rescue of the community after a tornado slammed through the area in 2003. No doubt the participants used waterproof playing cards for the game. I wonder if they drank beer from their SCUDAs?
As promised, the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame inducted the class of 2007 into its hallowed halls this past weekend. Sadly, I wasn't able to make it to Grand Cayman to cover the event, but apparently it went off without a hitch. Nobody threw drinks. Nobody caused a scene and demanded a refund. No food fights broke out. Rather, the event -- emceed by the great Stan Waterman (himself inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000) -- was serene, pleasant, and polite.
Of course, the Hall of Fame is still only a virtual Hall and has no actual brick-and-mortar facade...yet. During the induction ceremony, however, Minister Charles E. Clifford announced that, "The Ministry and Department of Tourism will work with the board to make the Hall of Fame vision a reality." Can't wait to visit!
In November, Divester reported on an underwater poker tournament-slash-fundraiser in Colorado. Organized to assist a Marine reservist on his third deployment in Iraq, the High Plains Scuba Center raised $1600 for Brian Ivers and his family. This past weekend, some of the same folks got together for another round of underwater festivities. Instead of playing cards, though, about 30 certified divers ranging in age from 13 to 60 competed in the 11th Annual Scuba Olympics. This year, the event also served as a fundraiser for Tyler Carron and Nikko Landeros, two high school wrestlers whose legs were amputated after they were struck by a car. According to Scuba Olympics Coordinator and High Planes Scuba Director Mark Williamson, all the money collected from the $10 Scuba Olympics entry fee are being given to the families of the boys to help cover their medical bills.
What happens at a Scuba Olympics? In one event, divers had to swim through a series of rings without touching them. In another event, divers were required to assemble a bag of wooden parts, nuts, and bolts underwater. Among the other events staged were the Pin Pong Push, the Dart Throw, and the Golf Ball Crawl. If you're interested, David Buffalo walked away with the gold at this year's Olympics. But all the participants are going to receive Divester's coveted Hero of the Week Award!
Sadly, this is not an April Fool's post. It's only January.
AOL, Divester's parent company, has decided to retire several of its smaller, less profitable long-running blogs at the end of the month. Unfortunately, Divester is one of those blogs.
I want to say thanks to everyone who reads Divester regularly and who has helped make it the best recreational dive blog on the Web, as well as the preeminent centralized, generalized news source for the dive community. In addition to the readers, I also want to thank my buddies here on Divester for working so hard with me.
So where are Divester's writers heading next? We'll let you know on January 31. In the meantime, please keep reading. There's still more good stuff coming!
On the weekend of February 17, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society will hold its annual "Dive Into the Past" event. Friday night is an informal movie night, during which anybody can screen a film or TV show (no, you can't show Ferris Bueller's Day Off; it has to be relevant to the theme). On Saturday, the event really gets rolling with presentations ranging from an overview of the wrecks and geography in the Straits of Mackinac to a discussion of The Wreck of the Rouse Simmons. There will even be a talk concerning the sinking of the Oriskany, which isn't in the Great Lakes -- but should be.
The event will be held at the AmericInn Hotel and Mermaid Entertainment & Event Center in Mounds View, Minnesota. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 at the door. Check out the complete list of speakers and exhibitors if you're curious.
The United States Apnea Association recently confirmed that Theo Ivanovic set a new national record in the freediving discipline of Dynamic Apnea with a performance of 167 meters (547.9 feet) on November 12, 2006. This performance surpasses the previous record of 149 meters, also held by Theo.
During a dynamic apnea performance, the freediver travels horizontally under water, attempting to cover the greatest possible distance. Propulsion aids are not allowed, although the diver may use fins. At the conclusion of his performance, Theo remarked, "I cannot think of any other sport where fellow athletes are less competitive with and more supportive of each other." Easy for him to say, since he broke his own record.
The Vaquita porpoise can be found in only one place on Earth: the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. Scientists are meeting this week in California to discuss the threats faced by this critically endangered mammal whose population numbers between 100 and 300.
This small porpoise can grow to five feet and is often killed in fishing nets, however it's the level of toxic pollutants from the Colorado River which are an even greater concern. Last year, the Chinese River dolphin was declared extinct due to the high levels of pollution in China's Yangtze River.
If you live in San Diego, stop by the Birch Aquarium tonight at 6:30 PM for a two-hour presentation and dialog with over 50 scientists monitoring these, and other, endangered marine mammals.
Want to go diving in June but don't know where to go? If you're an underwater shooter, you might want to head to Bonaire. The crew at Reef Photo has organized a trip to the island, and they're bringing their brains along with them (which is quite the opposite of what I do when I go diving). Reef's staff will be available for one-on-one hands-on help with camera gear and techniques during the week. Moreover, award-winning shooter Rand McMeins will also be on the trip, providing inspiration and advice.
Reef will be carting A/V equipment to the island to facilitate the sharing of the day's images every evening. Warning to the competitive: this is not a competition, but allows divers to share what they experienced throughout the day. Heads-up for the competitive: they are sponsoring a "best shot" contest at the end of the week. If you're interested, the package runs $1025 and includes:
Each year, juvenile green sea turtles call the Gulf of Mexico's San Padre Island home. They congregate in a warm shallow bay, but a recent drop in water temperature left many comatose and immobile. Over three dozen turtles washed up on beaches and rescued by volunteers at Sea Turtle Inc.. Using heat lamps to raise their body temperature, the turtles were "resurrected" as eyes opened and flippers flipped. After a good scrubbing they were sent to munch on lettuce and swim in a warm tub (webcam).
The show Steve Irwin was filming when he met an untimely death is airing this evening on Animal Planet. The 90-minute documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, will be narrated by Philippe Cousteau who was with Irwin during production. Afterward, stay tuned for Crikey! What an Adventure which is a 30-minute tribute to Steve Irwin's life. Neither show is purported to cover the topic of stingrays.
Next week, seven divers will be inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame. Five of those divers -- Neville Coleman, Rodney Fox, Carl Roessler, Paul Humann and Ralph Erickson -- will be honored for their outstanding, international contributions to the sport of scuba diving. The other two divers -- Cornell Lloyd Anthony Burke and Darvin Ebanks -- will be honored for their huge contributions to the Cayman dive scene. The induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, January 25th at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort. Cocktails start at 6 pm with dinner and Induction Ceremony set to begin at 7 pm -- unless some crazy conga line breaks out or something.
The following night, the Hall of Fame is holding a film festival, which will present films ranging in theme from whales to the Titanic, from the discovery of a new species in the Asia/Pacific region to surviving a horrific attack from a Great White shark. If you haven't already secured your tickets, it's probably not too late to go.
Some jobs don't seem so bad. Imagine being a research scientist diving in the Maldives with the sole purpose of observing manta rays to study their reaction to an ever-evolving ocean. Maybe catch a glimpse or two of other big fish like whale sharks and hammerheads. Unlimited dives in 80 F water.
Thanks to the Manta Network this isn't just a job for the academic elite. On these trips they allow a limited number of the public to participate as research assistants and they're looking to fill spots for the 12-day trip starting July 16th. It's not free a trip though...it'll cost you US$3,250 (plus airfare) for 12 days on the MV Sea Spirit. Imagine the bragging rights and the satisfaction of making a difference for the mantas.
If the timing doesn't work for you there's still room on an expedition leaving January 23 (view PDF) and another in August.
After 137 days in captivity and 600,000 visitors later, this 6 foot 4.5 inch fella was released into the Pacific Ocean yesterday. He enters the record books as the second white shark to be held in captivity for more than 16 days, but the stay was 61 days shorter than his predecessor.
In mid-April his tag will automatically release and send data to scientists so they can track his journey across the globe. The data will be published on TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Pelagic) if you're into that sort of thing.
Don't forget that Chicago's Our World Underwater is scheduled for the weekend of February 9-11. According to the press release on Scuba PRWire, this year's show will host over 200 booths featuring dive destinations, training agencies, equipment manufacturers, apparel and dry suit companies, and a variety of regional dive centers. Don't like crowds? You might want to steer clear, as OWU anticipates between 15,000 and 17,000 attendees. 
If you're a diver who's looking to get involved in some conservation efforts on your next dive trip, consider heading to the 
This weekend, a group of Missouri divers raised money for their local American Red Cross chapter. No, they didn't hold a bake sale. They didn't sponsor a raffle, either. Instead, they participated in an 
As 
In November, Divester reported on an 
Sadly, this is not an April Fool's post. It's only January. 
On the weekend of February 17, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society will hold its annual "
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Want to go diving in June but don't know where to go? If you're an underwater shooter, you might want to head to Bonaire. The crew at 
Each year, juvenile green sea turtles call the Gulf of Mexico's San Padre Island home. They congregate in a warm shallow bay, but a recent drop in water temperature left many comatose and immobile. Over three dozen turtles washed up on beaches and rescued by volunteers at 
The show 
Next week, seven divers will be inducted into the 
Some jobs don't seem so bad. Imagine being a research scientist diving in the Maldives with the sole purpose of observing manta rays to study their reaction to an ever-evolving ocean. Maybe catch a glimpse or two of other big fish like whale sharks and hammerheads. Unlimited dives in 80 F water.
It seems like only yesterday when the 
