- Back to Brac in 2020!!
- Innovations in Scuba Diving
- End of Dive Season Dive, BBQ, Swap Meet, and Raffle
- Lady Diver Looking for a Luxury Dive Getaway
- Seasick?
- Red Tide
- College Recruiting
- Oldest Diver Record Smashed By 99-Year-Old
- Test Your Knowledge
- No-Fault Dive Insurance
- Newsletter Delivery Options
- Email or Address Change?
- NEW 2020 DESIGN: T-Shirts For Sale
- The Super-cute Axolotl Is Also a Ruthless Carnivore
- Active Divers Guidelines & Policies
ADA 2020 Dive Trip to Cayman Brac Beach Resort
All meals, 17 dives and free Nitrox
July 18-25, 2020
--by Daryl Johnson
One
of the great things that happen when you plan international trips is
that after a while the resorts start contacting us with deals. This
year, we were approached with a “Pre-DEMA” special that was only
available before the DEMA show where we usually look for trip
bargains. And since we have already been to this resort before we
know how good the resort and diving will be at the Cayman Brac Beach
Resort. It also has a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor (Trip Advisor review) to back up its
reputation.
The Cayman Islands are a great destination but are very expensive when it comes to dining out- that is what makes this deal so good since it includes all meals!! Here is what is in the ADA package:
7
nights Beach View Room, breakfast, lunch, dinner daily, welcome rum
punch, manager's cocktail reception, free WIFI, hotel tax and
service charges, round trip airport transfers. 6 days of 2-tank
morning boat dives, 5 days 1 tank afternoon dives (total of 17
dives), free Nitrox. Use of tanks, weights, belt and dive computer.
No diving the afternoon prior to departure.
There
is a non-stop flight from Miami with fares below $300 currently
available (not included, you must book your own airfare) which makes
this super easy to get to. Ten lucky divers can join us for $1689
per person, double occupancy (single supplement is an additional
charge). Just click the button below to put your deposit of $100
down now, with the final balance due May 1st, 2020 (check only for
final payment).
Final payments can be mailed to:
Mauricio Smith
PO Box 163303
Miami, Florida 33116
See you there!
Dan & Daryl
WAIT-LIST ONLY
The Cayman Brac Trip is SOLD OUT. It sold out in three days.
If you would like to be placed on the waiting list, send an email to Daryl at diverdaryl@bellsouth.net. The waiting list will be cleared sometime in April. Members will be contacted in the order their emails were received by Daryl. Be sure to include a valid email and phone number where you can reached. Also, include the names of the people to put on the Wait-List.
Some of us are stuck with using scuba technology from the Seventies (or even before, Lon), when buoyancy compensators changed from vests to jackets and repetitive dive tables were waterproof cards instead of computers. However, there is always something new coming along in the way of dive equipment, so, once in a while, it is good to catch up on the newest innovations.
How would you like to dive with self-propelled fins, sort of like one of those electric scooters on the downtown sidewalks? Are you a deep diver with different decompression parameters than the standard computer tables? Now you can plan repetitive dives based on your own personal profile. There are new innovations for underwater photographers. How about an underwater drone to catch the best view from above or around your subject? Tired of lugging heavy metal tanks from the car to the boat? We may not be that far from tankless diving. It may be a while until we see such new scuba gear in common use, but new stuff like that is on the verge of recreational use.
Amphi is a
monofin with a built-in thruster, which pushes the swimmer through the
water. It is a hybrid propulsion, powered partially by human muscles
and partially by electric thruster, the same concept as an electric
bike or Lime scooter, only for the underwater application. The
manufacturer says: “You know how awesome it feels to snowboard down
the slope – the sensation of being one with nature is similar with our
fin - you feel like flying through the water.” The swimmer/diver
attaches their feet to the Amphi unit and is able to smoothly
transition between muscle-powered and electric propulsion. Amphi
detects the strength of the kick and adds or subtracts power
accordingly. This allows the person to go between aggressive,
sport-like machine, and relaxed cruising pal. Hey, if I can move
forward just by wiggling my toes, sign me up for an Amphi.
A new French
innovation is coming to the market with a brilliant idea: open scuba
diving to the field of personalized decompression. To do this, a team
of experienced engineers worked for many years on this issue to design
a unique and patented technology consisting of an acoustic sensor
connected to a smartphone application and a server with specialized
data analysis and processing. O'Dive is very easy to use, once your
dive is completed, you will have to position the sensor and make two
sets of 20 second measurements. Once completed, the data is passed to
the O'Dive's servers for analysis and returned to your application. It
is up to you to evaluate and improve your diving conditions to
minimize the risk of decompression sickness.
The FIFISH V6 by QYSEA is the world’s first
omni-directional consumer underwater drone. Utilizing its patented
six-thruster engine, the V6 is able to maneuver in six orientations.
From 90° tilts to 360° spins, FIFISH V6 has the capability for all
possible angles of movement. The drone's revamped camera system is
optimized for underwater filming, delivering 4K UHD footage in a 166°
wide-angle lens, complemented by 4,000-lumen LED headlights, auto
color-enhancing algorithms and HDMI live streaming. Furthermore, FIFSH
V6's VR head-tracking mode offers a deeply immersive experience for
its users, providing full control of vision and movement with a simple
shift of the head.
We also see innovations related to tank-less scuba diving such as the ORB (Oxygen rebreather) helmet and oxygen absorbing crystals capable of drawing oxygen from the surrounding water and delivering it to where it is needed. Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark say they’ve invented a crystal that pulls oxygen out of the air and even water. Apparently, just a spoonful of the stuff can suck up all the oxygen in a room. A new oxygen absorbing crystal has the potential to make scuba diving without a tank possible. The key to this is a new crystalline salt made from cobalt, which absorbs oxygen at a concentration of up to 160 times the air we breathe. In addition, it has the ability to later release the oxygen in low oxygen conditions or when exposed to heat. In a press release, study author Christine McKenzie likens it to the hemoglobin in our blood, which uses iron to bind and release oxygen in the human body.
Regardless of how it is ultimately used this crystalline substance combined with new technological applications certainly can make life easier for scuba divers in many ways if even as a component in rebreathers or to just simply reduce the need for compressed air tanks.
We may not be far from dive equipment that makes us look like astronauts out for a spacewalk, with our movements controlled by our eyes and limitless bottom time. I always get questions about my dive gear such as “Oh, do you still have one of those?” If I have a piece of gear you don’t recognize, however, don’t just assume it is forty years old: It may be from the future.
When: Saturday, November 16, 2019
Who: Active Divers Association members,
prospective members, family, and friends.
Where: Phil Foster Park, 900 Blue Heron Blvd, Riviera Beach, FL 33404
Price: Free to members, $10 for non-members
Time: Meet for beach dive at 8:30 a.m., in the water at 9:30, BBQ at noon.
MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN RAFFLE PRIZES. MUST RSVP TO WIN PRIZES
Bring your gently used dive gear for sale or swap at our annual swap
meet!! Please note: No warranty is implied or expressed for equipment
acquired at this event. The Active Divers Association is not
responsible for the safety of functioning of any equipment purchased
or acquired during this event. 
Contact Lon at 305-251-4975 or lon@diverlon.com to sign up. Deadline is November 10 for RSVP. We will dive the Blue Heron Bridge, named the Best Shore Dive in the US. We will meet at 9:00 a.m. to take advantage of the tidal change. Rachel will lead the shore dive to the best sites at the bridge. Bring all your own gear, tank, weights and a dive flag if you have one. The park has picnic tables, bathroom, and outdoor showers.
We will have the BBQ and raffle, rain or shine. BBQ will include burgers, dogs, chicken, extras and all beverages. There is no fee to enter the park. For shore diving, park near the beach and picnic tables.
New Member Special is Only $10!
For current members of Active Divers, the BBQ, dive, and raffle are free. For those who have never previously belonged to Active Divers and newly join Active Divers on November 16th (at a highly discounted rate of $10 for the 2020 dive season), the BBQ will be free! Non-Active Divers 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.
Purchase the $10 new member special via PayPal by clicking here and following the directions on the website. Non-member guests may also advance purchase the BBQ by clicking here.
We have a
female Active Divers member looking for a roommate to go on the
Annual Dive Cruise December 7-14. It is a spectacular itinerary on
the Sky Princess, the largest and newest ship in the Princess fleet.
The dive cruise is a round trip from Fort Lauderdale on December 7,
2019 for seven days and stops at four great dive locations: Grand
Cayman, Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel, and it is available now for
$1027 per person in a balcony (The low price interior cabins are
already sold out)! That’s only $147 per day per person for your
lodging, transportation, entertainment and all the food you can eat.
Try and match that price any other way you can to get to all these
dive destinations!!!
If you are interested, please act quickly as this ship is filling up and getting dive excursions will become more difficult the closer to we get to the sail date. Please give me a call at 954-591-1161 or drop me an email at diverdaryl@bellsouth.net ASAP.
If you haven’t ever been seasick, be prepared, it will happen. The
best is to be prepared. Yes, Boy scout stuff does still work. The
first time will be a surprise if you never have been seasick. You
start to feel uneasy, start sweating, and then: I have to throw up.
DO IT. It is a great relief. Just recall that adage of downwind and
over the rails. 
It first happened to me by surprise on a cruise. It was rather windy and then it came on. Now I know what to do. First is you are aware you do get seasick take the medication that works for you before you board the boat. Otherwise it won’t have time to work.
You need the right medication so it may be a bit of trial and error. But you will find the magic pill. You might even find that the night before is best, depending on medication.
But suppose we are sick on the boat? Well. Avoid the exhaust fumes, if possible. Get to the middle of the boat and stare away from the boat, towards the horizon. Then once the boat stops, GET OFF, I know this is hard but I have learned the hard way.
Can you develop this on a shore dive? Yep, I did that also. Throw up into the regulator, rinse and get out of that surf zone. You will soon feel better with all there is to concentrate on with a shore dive.
In October, the Active Divers Association hit the Miami-Dade college campus in Kendall. Students with scuba certifications were encouraged to learn more about our club and to sign up at the reduced student rate.
Look for future recruiting drives for students in the Spring.
Active Divers visits Miami-Dade
College, Kendall\ Campus in October
It is becoming more prevalent every year. It will continue to do so because the problem started with us. We fed fertilizers into the ground and then erosion has washed them into the oceans. This upsets the ecosystem and red tide is the result.
Red starts by killing the good bacteria and then the bad bacteria are left over. Thus, poison. Yes, I put it simply but that is the short story of the cause.
The result is abandoned seaside cities of tourists and water loving people. Worse are the dead sea creatures and loss of sea life. If they don’t die they are poisoned. Yes, your thinking is correct, they are no good to eat.
That leads to the loss of the local economy which lives on the fishing and various water sports. As it happens more often the losses pile up, the people don’t come and the industry dies.
Is there hope? Yes, the scientists are working on it. Let’s hope a clear and simple solution presents itself in an inexpensive way. Now about the seaside sand you are walking on, well, that’s for another day. But that isn’t good either.
--by Sam Helmy, Deeper Blue, October 10, 2019
At 99 years old, in September, 2019 Bill Lambert became the world's oldest scuba diver on record.
Read about it in Deeper Blue by clicking here.
Cosmetics often have ingredients of dubious value. Several studies have found various oils and emulsions derived from sharks in cosmetics.
Read about it in The Miami Herald by clicking here.
Want your newsletter delivered via snail-mail? Contact the webmaster and request a printed copy. Be sure to put "Active Divers Newsletter" in the subject.
If so, please email or call us with your current information. You may send an email to: Dr. Dan Baeza, Membership Chair at ActiveDiversInfo@gmail.com. You can also call Dan at 954-260-8225 and leave a message with your new contact information.
Tipping is a rather personal thing. Sometimes we tip for good service, sometimes out of a sense of obligation, and sometimes out of peer pressure. Should you tip your crew? An article written by Tec Clark and published in scubaguru.com explains the whys and wherefors behind tipping your boat crew. The link below will take you to article:
Active Divers T-Shirts For Sale
We've revamped our logo! Show your pride in the best dive club anywhere and pick up a tee with a brand new logo. Hover over the t-shirt to see the logo in detail. Sizes small, medium, large, xlarge, xxlarge. Some tank tops available also. All shirts are $10 each, or 3 for $20 in sizes Small to 2XL.
CALL LON AT 305-251-4975 AND PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!. Lon will deliver it to you on your next dive
Believe it or not, that is not Photoshopped, but rather an amphibious creature called an Axolotl. Read more about it at How Stuff Works
How many species of sharks are there in the world?
a. Less than 50
b. 225
c. Over 400
Did you know that Active Divers offers dive insurance? You may have noticed the "Dive + Insurance" option when purchasing a dive on our schedule page. For a $5 fee at the time of booking your local dive, you may insure your dive fee against any unforeseen problem that could preclude you from making the dive.
If for any reason you are unable to attend a local dive for which you are scheduled and have paid the insurance, Active Divers will credit your dive fee to another date. The $5.00 insurance is non-transferable and non-refundable.
For more information, see the "Active Divers Trip Cancellation Insurance" description at https://activedivers.org/Guidelines.html.If you have additional questions, please send us an email message at ActiveDiversInfo@gmail.com.