Newsletter

October 2015 Edition

Line

In This Issue:

End of Year Event
ADA Dive Cruise Update
Scuba History
Master Scuba Diver vs Divemaster: What's the Difference?
Tips to Dive Wreck Safety
Epic Night Dive Goliath Grouper Encounter Off Small Hope Bay
Christmas Wish List for the New Diver
Delicious Salmon Almondine
Scuba Diving and Exercise
How to Pack Your Dive Bag
Checking for Air Leaks
You Might be a Redneck Diver if...
Diving with Grandkids
Email or Address Change?
Newsletter Delivery Options
T-Shirts For Sale
ADA Guidelines and Policies

FREE BBQ, FREE DIVE !! PRIZES

When: Saturday, Oct 10, 2015

Who?: ADA members, prospective members, family and friends.

Where: John U Lloyd State Park, Jetty Pavillion, 6503 N. Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, Florida 33004 1.5 miles north of Sheridan St. on A1A

Time: Park opens at 8:00 AM. Meet for beach dive at 9:00 AM, BBQ at noon.

MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN RAFFLE PRIZES. MUST RSVP TO WIN PRIZES.

Bring Your Dive gear for Sale or Swap!!

Call Jerry at 954-990-9534 to sign up, deadline October 7th for RSVP. For beach diving, bring all your own gear and a dive flag if you have one. Bring lobster gear as this is a good lobster spot. The reef is about 100 yards off shore. The pavilion has covered shelter, very nice bathroom, showers, and changing room. We will have the BBQ and raffle, rain or shine, unless a hurricane threatens. BBQ will include burgers, dogs, chicken, extras and all drinks. A small fee is charged to enter the park ($4 for single occupancy vehicles, $6 for 2-8 persons per vehicle), free parking at the pavilion. Non-ADA members and non-family members may attend but will be asked to contribute $10 for the BBQ. They may also dive, but are not part of the ADA dive group and not eligible for prizes

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ADA Dive Cruise Update

--by Daryl Johnson

In less than two months the first annual ADA dive cruise will depart from Port Everglades!!! The ADA group has 9 cabins on the Emerald Princess so this actually could be the largest international dive trip ADA has ever booked. For those that are on the cruise, our Cruise Planner, Karin Bradder( 800-901-1172, extension 41643) has assured me that all of the divers have been booked on the two tank certified scuba dive in Grand Cayman, Roatan and Cozumel. I do urge all those booked to go online to www.Princess.com and go to “My Princess”, “Cruise Personalizer”, “Excursion Reservations” and check to make sure that you have the appropriate excursions reserved. And of course, the non-divers have excursion options to choose as well!

For those of you who have not been on a cruise ship before or never sailed on Princess Cruise lines, here are a few pointers:

You must have a passport to check in.
You need to go online and print out your luggage tags and your boarding pass.
Boarding is from 12:30 to 3:00 PM with a 4:00 PM departure. If you get on early the lunch buffet is open so you start over eating right away! If you are late, well you are in trouble.
There are two “formal nights” but you can stay in “smart casual” all week if you want- the fashion police will not haul you off. If you want to eat in the Horizon Court buffet no special dress is recommended so you can pretty much decide how casual or dressy you want to be.
Parking is available at either Park ‘N Fly or Park and Go at reduced rates versus the cruise terminal parking and they drop you off right where you need to go- highly recommended!
You will get tickets to your excursions in your cabin- be sure and look them over to make sure they are right, and be sure and follow the instructions on when and where to meet
DON'T FORGET YOUR C-CARD!.
And finally, Princess allows each passenger to bring one 750 ML bottle of wine on board for consumption in your cabin with no corkage charge. You need to bring it in your carry-on baggage and they will x-ray it and direct you to an area where you can declare it for no charge.

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Scuba History

--by Jerry Kosakowski

The history of scuba diving is very well documented as far back as 1535. Jacques Cousteau was quoted as saying “It will happen my friends, surgery will affix a set of artificial gills to man’s circulatory system–right here at the neck–which will permit him to breathe oxygen from the water like a fish. Then the lungs will be by-passed and he will be able to live and breathe in any depth for any amount of time without harm. It will happen, I promise you.”

It appears as if Jacques Cousteau’s vision came true with the development of scuba diving. Actually, scuba diving or the idea of diving has been around for quite some time. In the 1500’s Leonardo Da Vinci designed the first known scuba diving apparatus. His drawings of a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus appears in his Codex Atlanticus. There is no record of Da Vinci ever following through with his design though.

You can go back even further into this history of scuba diving. Aristotle discussed the possibility of developing what eventually came to be known as a diving bell. A diving bell was a cable-suspended airtight chamber. It looked much like its name sake “the bell”. As the bell was lowered under the water the pressure of the water would keep the air trapped inside the bell. Hoses fed down from the surface would send in compressed gases. His not only allowed the person to breathe but compensated for the gases that were being released from the bottom of the bell. Without this compressed gas, the bell would partially fill with water. The diving bell was one of the earliest inventions for under water exploration. Around 1531, an Italian explorer Guglielmo de Loreno developed the first true diving bell which he used for exploring sunken ships.

S.C.U.B.A stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. So we can see why it is so much easier to say you’re going scuba diving. People have been exploring the ocean since the beginning of time. Man ventured into the ocean for fish and other marine life. People have been practicing holding their breath underwater for as long as we can remember. The ocean and what it holds has always captivated us. Everything from a food source to simple curiosity over marine life and sunken ships, it’s all fascinating.

In earlier days, reeds were use to breathe underwater. This however was limited since you could only go right below the surface. An attempt was also made to breathe from an air filled bag. The only problem was that divers were breathing back in carbon dioxide. Advances were being slowly made in the diving world and during the 16th century, France and England, had both created leather diving suits and with the aid of manual air pumps divers were able to go to depths of about 60 feet.

The 19th century brought great advances in underwater exploration. With the research completed by Paul Bert from France and John Scott Haldane from Scotland we learned more about the effects of water pressure on the body. Their work also help to define safe limits for compressed air diving. Technological advancements in the areas of compressed air pumps, carbon dioxide scrubbers, regulators and more made it possible for divers to stay under the water for longer periods of time. There are typically two types of scuba diving, open scuba diving and closed scuba diving. Open diving allows the diver to breathe air from a cylinder and the air blown out goes into the water and rises up to the surface.

Closed diving is where the diver breathes in from a tank and then the blown air is released back into the tank where it is recycled to breathe again. This is also known as using a re-breather. Scuba diving has been used for personal recreation and has been adopted by our U.S. Military for their teams like the U.S. Navy Seals. One thing is for sure, the world of scuba diving is an amazing adventure unlike any other you will ever experience.

The following historical time line will walk you through some of the advancements made in underwater exploration. Although there were many advancements throughout our time, this calendar highlights some of scuba diving and underwater explorations historical moments:

Scuba Diving History Calendar of Events

1535 – Guglielmo de Loreno created the diving bell.
1650 – First air pump created by Guericke.
1691 – Edmund Halley created another form of the diving bell with weighted barrels. This was connected with an air pipe to the surface.
1715 – John Lethbridge developed an underwater cylinder. The cylinder was supplied via an air pipe from the surface with compressed air.
1837 – Augustus Siebe set the standard for many dive expeditions by sealing a diving helmet to a watertight diving suit.
1843 – The first diving school was established by the Royal Navy.
1865 – Benoit Rouquayrol and Auguste Denayrouse developed an underwater breathing apparatus. The tank connected to a mouth piece was strapped to the divers back. The diver was linked to the surface by a hose that pumped fresh air into tank.
1911 – Draeger of Germany introduced the re-breather to the world.
1933 Yves Le Prieur created a demand valve that connected to a high pressure air tank. This allowed the diver to be independent from the hoses that connected them to the surface.
1943 – Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan created the first Aqua-Lung.
1948 – The Aqua Lung regulator was imported to the United States.
1956 – At the University of California introduces the first wetsuit.
1959 – The first national Scuba Diver Certification program was presented by the YMCA. In this same year the Underwater Society of America was also formed.
1960 – National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) was formed by Al Tillman and Neal Hess.
1961 – John Gaffney forms the National Association of Skin Diving Schools (NASDS).
1966 – John Cronin and Ralph Ericson found The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).
1970 – Scuba Schools International (SSI) is created by Bob Clark.
1971 – The Stabilization Jacket is introduced by Scubapro.
1980 – Duke University presents a safe diving program known as the Divers Alert Network (DAN).
1985 – The sunken wreckage of the Titanic was found.
2001 – By diving to 308 meters, John Bennett breaks his own world record. By Jerry Kosakowski

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Master Scuba Diver vs Divemaster: What's the Difference?

--by Rachel Davis, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer

After you complete your Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver certification, what's next? That depends on your goals: recreational diver vs professional. Master Scuba Diver is the terminal certification for the recreational diver. According to PADI, less than 2% of non-professional divers hold this rating. It represents accomplishment of significant experience and training.

How do you become a Master Scuba Diver? It consists of five specialty courses from the adventures in diving program such as night, deep, navigation, drift, fish ID, etc. The courses can be completed in 1 to 3 dives depending on the specialty. The training is experiential and no test is required.

The Divemaster rating, on the other hand, is the first professional rating in the PADI system and leads to Open Water Scuba Diver and beyond. The training consists primarily of mastering 24 demonstration skills taught in the open water diver course. The Divemaster must also possess rescue skills and pass a rigorous water skills fitness evaluation. The Divemaster candidate must have 60 logged dives and pass a written exam. Divemasters work assisting instructors and on dive boats as mates. Many go on to become diving instructors, as the rating of Divemaster is the prerequisite for Instructor in the PADI system.

Whether you choose the recreational or professional track for advanced dive training, it's important to keep learning and training of sharpen skills and stay safe in the water.

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Tips to Dive Wrecks Safely

--by John and Rachel Davis

Safe Descents:

Wear gloves to protect your hands from barnacles, and fishhooks
Hold on tightly to the rope because you might encounter unexpected current at any depth.
Pull yourself along the line to save air.
Don't free descend, even if there's no current at the surface. There could be current deeper down.

Orienting on the wreck:

If possible study a map of the wreck and know which line you're coming down on.
Make a visual note of characteristic landmarks to remember which line you came down on.
Know where you are in relation to the bow and stern.
In case of buddy separation, reunite at the ascent line

Air consumption and bottom time:

Remember the rule of thirds: 1000 psi to descend, 1000 to explore and 1000 to ascend.
Dive the deepest part of the wreck first. Explore progressively shallower.
Keep a close eye on your no-stop time. If it gets low, explore shallower.
Stay close to your buddy throughout the dive in case of regulator failure./li>

Safe Penetration (Please Note: Penetration of a wreck is at the discretion of the dive operator and may not be allowed. Always follow the dive operator's safety instructions when wreck diving. The Active DIvers Association does not condone or encourage wreck penetrations, and any diver choosing to penetrate a wreck assumes all risks of of doing so.)

Only enter spaces where you see a clear and visible exit.
Use a flashlight to explore darker areas.
Make sure you have no gauges dangling that could get caught on something.
Make sure the opening is large enough to accommodate you and your tank. Beware of narrow passageways.

Environmental considerations

Beware of sharp metal edges and debris.
Make sure you always carry a knife or scissors in case of entanglement.

Safe Ascents

Always ascend up the line you came down on. But if you can't find it then any line will do.
It's prudent to make an additional safety stop at 50 feet, air permitting.
if the current blows you off the wreck or if you can't find an ascent line then ascend slowly, make your safety stop, deploy your safety sausage at the surface and wait to be picked up.

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Epic Night Dive Goliath Grouper Encounter Off Small Hope Bay, Andros

--by Connie Crowther

The beams of our lights emitted a greenish glow as we five divers sank beneath the surface of the black night waters off Small Hope Bay, North Andros, Bahamas. The undersea terrain was easily discernible in the bright glow of our collective lights as we descended along the anchor line of our dive boat to the wreck of the Marion 50-70 feet below. The U.S. Navy construction barge and crane from the AUTEC base in Andros was sunk as an artificial reef in the late 1980s.

My buddy Jim Naro and I soon separated from the other divers and made our way into the inverted wreck, adjusting our buoyancy to prevent silting. We had done a day dive on the same wreck and had observed that one entire section of the barge had collapsed and could not be exited. At the end of the corridor, Jim abruptly halted and turned to me, his eyes wide as saucers, and motioned with his light. Nestled behind the metal uprights of the wreck was the biggest fish I had seen so far, a 6-foot Goliath grouper whose weight we estimated to be 400+ pounds. Its eye, bigger than a baseball, followed us as we moved carefully along the passage, just 3-5 feet away. We watched its fins and gills gently moving. Although it would have been a thrill to watch the massive fish swim, we were glad that it didn’t move.

Laws of physics dictating that no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time flashed through my head. And we knew we had only one way out, behind us. We watched quietly in awe for much of our dive, then moved slowly away, marveling at what we had seen.

We were anxious to compare notes with the other divers when we got back on the boat and around the beach fire at the Small Hope Bay Lodge. As fate would have it, the other three divers explored only the outside of the wreck and had not even seen the beautiful giant grouper.

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Christmas Wish List for the New Diver

--by Dr. Dan Baeza

book So, you have a new diver in your life that you want to buy a gift he or she can use, but you don’t want to break the bank. What to do? Well, there are numerous opportunities to get the perfect gift beyond the big ticket items: regulators, buoyancy compensators, and the like. While most new divers have the basics, mask, fins, and snorkel, there is a world of trinkets and gadgets that can bring a diver much pleasure. For example, how about “Reef Fish Identification” by Paul Humann? It’s available in a water-resistant version for about $38 and includes thousands of photos and sketches of Caribbean reef fish.

If a book doesn’t strike your fancy, then how about giving your diver a wheeled dive bag? Scuba gear is great in the water, but not so much fun if you have to drag it 100 yards to the boat. A wheeled mesh gear bag is the perfect gift at less than $100.

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Delicious Salmon Almondine

--by Roy D. Wasson

This is a recipe for my favorite seafood dish at a neighborhood restaurant I visit no more than once or twice a day near my office. The chef and the manager of La Loggia Ristorante in downtown Miami have shared the way they prepare Almond Salmon, which ADA members can now enjoy for a lot less than the $18 per serving La Loggia charges.

Ingredients:

8 ounce Filet of Fresh Salmon
Egg Beaters
Flour for coating
Slivered Almonds
2 ounces White Wine
2 ounces Butter
Juice from ½ Lemon

Coat salmon filet with flour. Dip coated filet into egg beaters. Press moistened filet into almonds. Saute in olive oil using medium skillet for 3 minutes, almond side down. Flip over and place, almond side up into baking pan. Bake for 7 minutes at 350 degrees.

While baking prepare sauce using butter, white wine and lemon juice. Drizzle sauce over cooked fish and enjoy! Goes well with broccoli and cheese sauce.

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How To Pack Your Dive Bag

-- by Lon Von Lintel

Assuming you have a soft-sided, zippered, non-mesh bag to be used for boat diving in warm tropical waters, here are the steps to pack your bag to maximize protection for your gear:

Step 1: Fins on the bottom, as they are probably the most durable items you have, and can take some abuse.
Step 2: Skins, swim suit, shorty wet suit, booties, are next because they can cushion more fragile items.
Step 3: Mask, computers, dive lights, and any other items that need protection.
Step 4: Your regulator should go next, coiled so the hoses aren’t pinched or bent on a severe angle.
Step 5: BCD is last, because it is the first item to be used in assembly of your dive gear. Wetting the tank straps several minutes before attaching to tank will allow the straps to expand, as they will underwater, and preventing tank slippage.

It may not need to be said, but under no circumstances should weights be packed in your dive bag. If you use a weight belt, carry it separately. If your BCD has integrated weights, transport them in a small bag designed for that purpose.

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Checking for Air Leaks
--by Lon Von Lintel

Assemble regulator onto tank valve.
Turn on air.
Observe pressure reading.
Turn off air.
Observe pressure reading.
If pressure reading drops quickly, there is a serious leak.
Reassemble regulator on tank, repeat process.
If no cause is evident and no solution available, abort dive.

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Scuba Diving and Exercising

--by Jerry Kosakowski

The average person works off approximately 300 to 400 calories during a gym workout. My workouts may be a little less ambitious, probably 200 calories. I’m always amazed at how long I have to stay on the treadmill for those 200 calories, and the work involved is not easy. It just seems like work.Now what does a dive entail? It is believed to burn 10 to 15 calories during one minute of an average dive. Wow, what am I doing at the gym? I really do not enjoy the workout but I love diving. I guess that is why I love summer. Let’s put this in perspective. One hour of diving is going to burn 600 to 900 calories for a dive. A normal two tank boat dive will burn 1200 to 1800 calories. Hey, I can skip 6 to 9 trips to the gym or be a little aggressive and burn off that winter fat that will return next year. Better then that is the fact that I thoroughly enjoy every minute of the dive and lose weight while doing it. And this does not take into account lugging those tanks around from the house to the car to the boat and back, or swimming against the current, or diving off the beach for a real workout. Scuba: It's not just fun, it's a great workout!

Editor's note: Check out the scuba calorie counter at Scuba Calorie Calculator

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You Might be a Redneck Diver if...

The front of your wetsuit has a large number 3 on instead of Mares.
Instead of velcro on your BCD, you have a large metal buckle.
Your octopus you have a siphon hose.
Instead of lead weights, you have zip lock baggies filled with #2 shot.
You think Jacques Cousteau is an athletic supporter made in France.
There is a gun rack integrated on your BC.
You have fin marks on your living room carpet.
You use a tire gauge instead of an SPG.
Your dive knife is a Bowie knife.
Your two teeth won’t hold your regulator in very well.
Instead of a neoprene hood, you have a "John Deere" hat

--Excerpted from http://www.scubalessonsinc.com/funny.html

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Have You Moved or Changed Email Addresses Lately?

If so, please email or call us with your current information. you may send an email to: Dr. Dan Baeza, Membership Chair at dmbaeza@bellsouth.net. You can also call Dan at 954-260-8225 and leave a message with your new contact information.

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Newsletter Delivery Options

Want your newsletter delivered via snail-mail? Contact Carol Cox at ccox911@att.netand request a printed copy. Be sure to put "ADA Newsletter" in the subject.

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ADA T-Shirts For Sale

Show your pride in the best dive club anywhere! Sizes S, M, L, XL, and XXL. Some tank tops available also. All shirts are $10 each. CALL LON AT 305-251-4975 AND PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!

Diving with Grandkids

--by Jerry Kosakowski

Ok, it isn’t going to appeal to all members but looking at our group, there will be enough. This is one of life’s pleasures. You pick them up, dive and take them home. In between is pure fun unless you are the nervous type and worry about them. So, first get them some great instruction. I’ve used Rachel Davis and have found her to be outstanding with the kids. She also covers extra material just for the kids. This will help you relax that they are good divers.