Scubaism

It is estimated that more than 2.5 billion balls are lost in action each year in the United States, many of which accidentally make their way into water hazards via swing-challenged golfers. And with every slice, hook and chili-dip shot comes opportunity for ball divers.

Although the amount of balls a diver can collect varies greatly depending on the course, it’s certain there’s no shortage. The used-ball market is a $200 million industry, after all.

Greg Siwek, co-owner of the Golf Ball Outlet Company in Boca Raton, Fla., told the New York Times in 2002 that an eight-hour shift can yield as many as 10,000 golf balls. He estimated his company was on pace to collect a million balls that year alone, many of which were slated to be re-sold to driving ranges.

Diving for golf balls also can be dangerous, as divers can get tangled in reeds, roots, trees and grasses. They can even get trapped in mud. The weight of a diver’s air tank, weight belt and bag of balls also can wreak havoc below the surface. According to Scuba Diving Magazine, two ball divers drown in 2001—- one in North Carolina and another in Florida.

Golfers beware: The more water a ball takes on, the heavier it gets. And that not only affects performance, it also could render a water ball illegal by U.S. Golf Association standards, Snell said. A recent study by Golf Digest revealed that a two-piece ball submerged in water for eight days traveled almost six yards shorter than a new ball. It lost another 3.3 yards after three months.

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You like dancing, you like scuba. How about scuba dancing? Check out this video of Doug Silton and Dax Hock exploring the possibilities of underwater Shim Sham and Lindy Hop.

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If you’re thinking of starting a non-profit scuba diving club, follow this discussion in Scubaboard, started by Wildcard, a scuba instructor in Puerto Rico. It discusses some ideas about starting a diving club.

We are looking at starting a scuba club. We have support from the local shop but little else. Here is our rough plan so far. Limit the club to 20 active members at any time, buy in is $500. These funds will be used for start up and to buy a boat we have been looking at. Just an older Whaler in good shap that can dive 6. As members come and go as we will here often, the club will buy back your membership and resell it to the next person so the seller is not stuck trying to deal long distance.
Members would pay, say $20 each to use the boat and nonmembers $40, just throwing those numbers out, nothing solid yet. We still have not worked out priority use of the boat, liability, ect.

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Nick Corcoran relates a diving incident when he had used a pony cylinder. But because his regulators are all the same make, he had mistaken his pony regulator for his main one. Lesson learned: make sure the pony regulator is recognisably different.

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To help spread awareness on dealing with stress and panic underwater, Dr Michael Ong, medical director of Hyperbaric Medical Services at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore, has started a blog for divers to share their experiences on diving accidents and fatalities.

There’s not much there now, except this informative entry about effects of diving on the cardiovascular system.

A person who is physically fit may not be necessary fit to dive. The underwater environment is stressful to the cardiovascular system.

• As the depth increases, the air that is breathed gets denser. More effort is needed to breathe in and out. The heart would also need to work harder by pumping at a greater strength than what it is normally used to.
• The dense cool air under pressure can also cause problems to the sinuses and to the lungs especially those who have a history of asthma (even childhood asthma) or rhinitis (running nose). Some of these problems can be life threatening e.g.
  • Pulmonary barotrauma
  • Cerebral air gas embolism
  • Sinus barotrauma
  • Aural barotrauma
• A proper medical screening and education is able to allay the fears of the new diver and increase his enjoyment and appreciation of diving and make him want to come back for more!!!

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There was a heated discussion on Scubaboard recently when someone asked if he really needed a spare bottle. Many issues were discussed including buddy dependency, buddy communication skills and air consumption skills.

mattboy posted:

“Why do you think you’re going to run out of air?” You must answer that question first, and then think about the situation carefully. You’re going to find that in normal rec diving with normal OW training, a pony simply is a solution to a problem that does not exist. The spare air is worse, because it’s a false solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

I’m trying to come with an analogy, here’s a “sort of relevant” one: Many people attempt to climb very high mountains with O2 bottles. Certainly, for some people in trouble very high on a mountain O2 can save their life. But, overall, more people probably die at high altitude because they rely on the O2 to get them in places that they can’t get out of safely.

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Divers Alert Network has a new programme called Diving Emergency Specialist (DES) that rewards divers for continuing their education in advanced diver emergency aid specialties.

To earn this recognition, divers must hold current certifications in:

• Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries (or equivalent)

Plus three of the following:

• Advanced Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries (or equivalent)
• First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries (or equivalent)
• AEDs for Scuba Diving (or equivalent)
• On-Site Neurological Assessment for Divers (or equivalent)
• Remote Emergency Medical Oxygen (REMO2™)

If you have taken a Diving Emergency Management Provider class, it must have included Advanced O2 and that must be reflected on your certification card.

You must also hold:

• a rescue-level certification or higher with your training agency; and
• current CPR and first aid certifications.

This program is open to any diver.

To receive this recognition, submit your application directly to DAN Training with photocopies of all the required certifications and the USD$20 application fee.

DES recognition includes a:

• plastic Diving Emergency Specialist certification card;
• DES certificate; and
• DES shoulder patch.

As a DES recognized diver, you will also receive:

• invitations to preview future DAN Online Seminars before they are released to public at no charge; and
• a coupon good for 10% off oxygen units or accessories.

Sportdiver.com adds that the DES programme runs from June 1 – Dec. 31, 2007. During the Quest, when DAN is notified of a diver’s achievement of DES, that diver will receive a specially designed T-shirt and ballcap prize package. In addition, the diver will automatically be entered in a drawing for a DAN Gift Certificate worth $250*.

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Unfortunately Malaysia is in many ways an ultra conservative fundamentalist country with non-nonsense additude toward nudity. So there aren’t any opportunities to sunbathe naked.

But who says you can’t dive in the buff when the only ones looking at you are the fish! So while it’s difficult to find a boat with a cooperative crew to charter, there’s nothing stopping you from doing a shore dive and disrobing underwater to enjoy the complete feeling of water on skin.

But do take care:

1. Watch where you are kneeling or swimming near coral. There are sharp coral.
2. Sometimes you will cross a chilly thermocline. But it only drops two or three degrees Celsius, so just swim away from it if you can’t bear it. Otherwise the water in Malaysia is quite warm, especially near the surface.
3. Make sure it’s not jellyfish season. Exposed, you’re more prone to their stingers.
4. Guys, watch out for schools of fish. You never know when one of those buggers will go for yours!
5. And if you see another diver, just wave!

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The Timesonline has an article encouraging divers to hit the gym for diving.

Being fit helps you tackle the rigours of scuba diving such as managing well in strong current situations and carrying heavy tanks. Having strong lungs, thanks to a good cardio workout, also helps improve air consumption and prolongs diving enjoyment. And if that wasn’t reason enough, the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii reports that physically fit people are less likely to get the bends, especially when strenuous exercise is performed 24 hours before diving.

I have a workout routine made just for diving too, but it’s somewhat more heavy going than the routine that Timesonline suggests.

1. My warmup is 20 minutes on the cycle on back/shoulders days — I use a quickly increasing level of difficulty, to push my quads, hams and glutes. On legs day, I use the rowing machine with increasing levels of resistance.
2. I alternate between a legs days and a back/shoulders day. On legs day, I do three sets of squats on the smith rack. Then I perform three sets of calf lifts on the standing calf raise machine. I use 200 lbs throughout my calf workout and push to intensity on the second set and failure on the third. I finish off with good mornings using a barbell, focusing more on stretching my hamstrings than on my lower back. My lower back gets a pretty good workout too.
3. On back and shoulders day, I start out with three sets of lateral raises using heavy dumbells. Then I hit the lat pulldown for three sets. Then the smith machine to do three sets of shoulder raises. After that, three sets of dumbells rows. Before I leave, I try three sets of trap raises, using the heaviest weights my hands can grip without letting go. If I seem to do more on my back and shoulders day, it’s only because squats wind me out and I take more time with those.

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