Diving – A Start Up
October 17, 2009 by webadmin
Filed under SCUBA Related Articles
Diving - A Start Up
By Bina Bakshi
Dolphins with a smirk on their faces glide alongside your boat & when you see them you know why they are called the Mona Lisas of the ocean. They have an enigmatic smile plastered on their faces perpetually! Diving is a transcendental experience. The silence & the colors of the deep beckon you as you sink down at a speed determined by the pressure you can feel in your ears. You are hit by the vastness & the shadows of the ocean as you begin your descent...you finally realize what it means to be completely alone yet serene!
Although the sport appears to be risky & adventurous, only the diver can harm himself underwater. Due to ignorance & being in a hurry. Before you don your diving suit & air-tank, you check your basics to see everything is functioning as required. You are made aware of life underwater, the personality (poisonous, angry ones.), & appearances of the objects you will encounter underwater. The Sea Cucumber, though a pretty black & orange in color is poisonous, so no one touches it. But on the ocean floor, a lot of us divers play football w/ it, when there is a lull in activity. Sharks though maligned by the film JAWS never accost you, infact they keep so much distance that you end up chasing them to get a closer look!
The leftovers from your lunch (fish bones, chicken pieces) go into the doggy bag around your waist. When you are down below you use these to attract schools of fish to shimmer around you as you frolic with them. Or the bones are held out to coax the fearsome but shy More Eel to come out from behind the coral rocks. The scorpion fish is a strict no-no. Looks like a colored rock & if you stamp on it, it stings you a shaft of poison.
It is required of every diver that he educates himself about life underwater...so he can enjoy & be cautious too. The only time divers are vulnerable is during the descent & ascent in the ocean. Since there is difference in pressure as you begin going down, you sense out your speed depending on the reaction of your eardrums.
Once you reach the ocean floor (which is at 15-20 Mts. for beginners) the instructor tests you. He may close the valve to your breathing apparatus, pull off your mask or give you signals to see your competence in a tough situation. When the mask is pulled out water rushes into your eyes, but if you are calm you can find your mask, pick it up & wear it again. All this at a depth of 10-15 Mts.! If you panic and start shooting up, or stop breathing you are never certified as a diver. Besides being brave one learns never to panic underwater. You are also taught how to help your partner (one always dives in pairs, never alone) incase she is having a problem or she signals for help.
There are times when one has had to abort a dive ...while the rest of the pack continues descent, which is a heart-breaking situation for any diver. You go up & wait in the boat & fry in the Sun till the divers come back o tell all the gorgeous things the saw down below! Because only today they saw a Shark or Stingrays or a Turtle!
You have the Oriental Sweet lips (w/ lips like Mick Jagger's), Napoleon Wrasses, Parrotfish, Lionfish, and Clown Triggerfish & Pillow Starfish who abound the coral Reefs. When you come back up you can see the sun filtering down to you, a beacon on the surface.
Diving is a lifetime experience. The beauty is preserved diligently by each diver, who never litters the ocean & picks up debris, which is non-bio degradable, bringing it to the surface to be taken back in the boat. The bonding between divers world over is deep because they consider their sport as sacred!
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Getting To The UK’s Best Dive Sites
Somewhat of a closely guarded secret, the scuba diving in the UK is superb - with a coastline of thousands of historical shipwrecks to discover, encounters with playful seals, beautiful drifts though glorious underwater scenery full of soft corals and plentiful marine life.
One of the hotspots for UK diving is the Orkney Islands - the harbour at Scapa Flow is visited by divers from all over the world to explore the sunken World War 1 battleships of the German fleet - puposefully scuttled under command of the German admiralty in 1919 to avoid surrendering the ships to conquering British forces. From the Orknies it is also possible to dive St Kilda, well known for its birdlife, and the underwater marine life is no less spectacular.
There are at least 10 locations in the UK where it is possible to dive with seals, but the most popular has to be the Farne Islands off Northumbria. Here you can pretty much guarantee an encounter with a playful seal or two and experience the thrill of diving through gullies, along underwater cliffs and through fields of atmospheric life supporting kelp forest.
The soft corals and sponges that adorn the cliffs of the Farnes can be seen all over the UK. There are beautiful dives in particular around the south west coast of the UK which the Gulf Stream keeps supplied with plenty of nutrients. The Manacles in Cornwall has reefs, drop offs and pinnacles covered with jewel anemonies and colourful fish, and I haven't even mentioned the Scillies with wrecks, reefs and walls decorated with corals, sea fans and sea squirts. Similarly divers come from all over the world to visit the Skelligs in southern Ireland with its consistently clear waters perfect for underwater photography.
Larger marine life is out there - some divers are lucky enough to witness the annual migration of the basking sharks, or the occasional dolphin or sunfish. For me personally an encounter with a seahorse off the coast of the Isle of Wight was a moment I will never forget.
So how do you access these dive sites? Dive charter boats on divesearch are waiting to take you there, visit the clickable map to find one and research the useful links you need to plan a trip and refresh your diving skills or start from scratch. And did I mention 10% off teepee holidays in Jersey with BleuSoleil when you book through divesearch?
Catherine Darton
Discover fabulous UK diving and friendly skippers near you at
http://www.divesearch.co.uk
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Snorkeling in Akumal, Mexico
Akumal Bay is known for its assorted species of sea turtles which use the area for breeding, feeding and rearing their young. This provides an optimal chance to see the animals in their natural habitat, including the many colorful species of fish and plant life.
Snorkeling and scuba diving are perhaps the favorite activities to pursue during a trip to Akumal, but snorkeling is a less physically demanding and technical option. With a brief instruction course and a good area choice, snorkeling is relatively easy for even first-time beginners.
One popular area for snorkeling in Akumal is the Yal-ku lagoon. This area is an extremely rare environment where fresh water meets with salt water from the ocean. The combination of the two types of water is called a "halocline" effect.
Only very specific species can survive and prosper in this halocline bay, and the mixture of salt and fresh water supplies creates an changed appearance of the water itself. Many species found in this area are not found anywhere else in the world, and have been shown on many travel channel specials in recent years.
Casa Cenote is a lagoon featuring mangroves and unusual fish displays. Many snorkelers find the fossils in Cenote at Dosojos quite fun for a day of exploration. Many of the fossils seen at Dosojos date back to Mayan civilizations that once occupied the area.
Snorkel lessons are usually a good idea forfirst-timers prior to going to one of these sites. Although the activity is easy, some find that they are uncomfortable with the equipment or unsure how to best view the underwater scenery while safely using the equipment.
A popular activity for locals and tourists alike is night snorkeling. Typically, a flashlight is used in conjunction with traditional snorkeling equipment for this activity.
Many species which are not seen during daylight hours can be seen when snorkeling after sunset. This is typically because they are night-feeders or resting during the day.
The octopus is a perfect example of this spectacle. Octopuses only come out to feed at after dark, and change color when a flashlight beam is focused on them. Virtually all of the life seen at night are safe for snorkelers, so night snorkeling is a safe activity as well.
Plant life and some types of fish are also luminescent at night. This creates greenish lights glowing either continuously or flashing at night - quite a view for one who is only used to snorkeling during the day!
M Gravlee is a retired newspaper publisher who spends several months a year traveling.
http://vacationsurfer.net/Mexico/
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