Scuba Class 6/28/08-6/29/08

Saturday

The pool at Shawnee Mission North was one busy place this weekend!  There were 3 different classes being held simultaneously!  Fortunately for us, the pool there is a big one, and there was plenty of room for all.  We didn't even bump into each other!   Mike and I assisted one of my favorite instructors,  Beau, with the biggest class.

The class consisted of 10 eager students who all did a great job.  Saturday we covered the usual...   appropriate gear assembly, entries, gear donning,  purging the regulator (2 methods), retrieving the regulator (2 methods), mask clearing, and buoyancy skills.  Most got to work on ear clearing and proceeded to the deep end to practice their skills in the deeper water.  One remained behind, as 'in the mouth -  out the nose' breathing was quite the challenge for her.  Mike went with Beau and the class, while I stayed behind with the one student to let her get used to the idea of breathing under the water.

For my student, as with many students, anxiety was playing the largest part of the problem.   Sometimes it takes a little longer for people to get comfortable with the procedures, or just to get comfortable with the idea that they're depending on equipment to breathe underwater.  Clearing the water out of one's mask always proves to be the biggest challenge.  That's usually where I come in.   I always hang back with the students having a little more of a problem mastering their skills or relaxing in the water.  I generally try to provide a 'no pressure' experience, because pushing a student too fast can lead to even more anxiety, which only worsens their problems.  It's very important that the first experience with SCUBA, even in the pool is a good one.  Without a lot of patience, and letting people get used to the idea at their own pace, you can push students away from what I consider to be one of the most awesome experiences in  life.   Proceeding at their pace, even if it takes more than a weekend to complete it, in my opinion, is the best way to introduce someone to the sport.  Honestly, I much prefer to work with the more challenging students, as I get a great sense of accomplishment helping people relax, and being around during their "ta-dah" moment, when everything falls into place, and they're finally relaxing and 'getting it'.

My student ended Saturday on a great note.  She finally made it through her skills in the shallow end, and came down to play with us in the deep end.  She learned lots, and was obviously feeling more comfortable by the end of class.  We still had a ways to go to get there, but she had made giant strides from the beginning to the end of class.  The rest of the class was a group of fish and made Beau look smart, as usual :)  Everyone had smiles on their faces when leaving which was a very good sign that they would return the next day, and complete the confined portion of their SCUBA training.

Sunday

Didn't know if my 1:1 student would feel more comfortable entering the pool on the second day, or be just as nervous the first.  She came into class with a smile on her face, but still had some trouble getting started with flooding and clearing her mask.  After much practice she was finally able to pull the mask completely off and place back on her head to clear it.  YEAH!!!  Suddenly there was a change in her demeanor.  We proceded toward the deep end and she performed every skill I asked her without hesitation!  She whizzed through the air sharing, the emergency ascent and even donned and doffed her gear underwater.  Even though it took her awhile to get her gear back on, there was never any panic, she just calmly worked it out, which was where I wanted her to be.  For starting the weekend taking 2 hours to master regulator purge and retrieval, she finished with a bang!!  I was so proud of her!   She overcame her fears, and actually finished her skills with enough confidence to head to her open water class in 2 weeks.  She had a trip to Costa Rica planned, and I think she might make it in fine form!  One other student spent some time with me just on mask clearing, but after adding a mask strap to her gear, her task became so much easier, and felt much more comfortable with the idea.  Funny how just a little tweak here or there makes a big difference.  Everyone else in the class passed with flying color with Beau and Mike's assist.  Our class did so well, that Michael actually ended up helping a young boy in another class that was in the pool, also.

All in all fears were conquered, skills were mastered, and there was a lot of fun had by all.  They all planned to complete the open water portion of their training either down at Beaver Lake in Arkansas, or on their upcoming vacations.  They were 1/2 way to becoming certified divers, all with great potential to do so.

Mike and I are looking forward to our next class.  Will keep you posted on the details!

Ciao for now!

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Another World - Life Below the Waves

By Simon Andrew

Man by nature is not designed to breath underwater, and it has taken many years of experimentation for people to create stable, safe life support systems for us to do just that.

Nowadays, the underwater world is open to almost anyone, although it is recommended you have a basic medical first before undertaking any training.

Scuba diving is a multi-million pound leisure industry, and the range and style of equipment available publicly is vast. Should you wish, you can even customise your equipment with style and colour.

With a little special training, you too can experience life under the waves.

Many training agencies exist worldwide for people to gain the skills needed to dive safely.

You can even combine a holiday with your training. The choice of destinations with warm clear waters to dive in is huge. Typical destinations are Australia, The Maldives and Egypt; all are a haven for wildlife and an experience not to be missed.

Once your basic training is completed you are able to participate in any number of dives to wonderful destinations and dive sites. Divers trained to a basic standard however, are usually limited to the depth they can dive to.

You can extend your education beyond basic diving to many levels.

Learn more about advanced techniques that you would need for more challenging and deeper dives, how to cope in an emergency, or, how to train other people to dive too!

It is even possible now to capture memories from dives by using off the shelf camera equipment and housings for the cameras that are now a fraction of the price professionals would have paid just a few years ago. You can then share those memories with loved ones and friends in a variety of ways. The internet allows you to post your images online for all the world to see and comment on.

There are many resources on the Internet to find out more about scuba diving, including forums where people participate in a wide range of subjects from how to start to the very technical aspects of advanced diving.

I have been leisure diving for over eleven years and traveled to Egypt and South-East Asia on numerous occasions and even produced videos to promote tourism and diving in those locations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Andrew
http://EzineArticles.com/?Another-World---Life-Below-the-Waves&id=1270753

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How to Control Soreness After a Scuba Dive

By Darrell Young

How many times have you came home from a scuba diving trip and felt really sore for a couple days. The reason for this might be several things. You might be getting older, you might not be participating in diving on a regular basis, or you might not be getting the proper exercises. If you don't want to get into bodybuilding to build muscles, you might think of just keeping yourself limbered up to feel good. Here are some stretching routines I use daily.

(1) Shoulder Stretch: Grasp the ends of a towel and stand erect with your arms straight and the towel resting across your upper thighs. Slowly move your hands upward and to the rear, "dislocating" your shoulders and allowing the towel to come to rest across the backs of your thighs. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement 5-8 times.(1) Jogging in Place or Skipping Rope: You can do either of these forms of aerobic exercise for 3-5 minutes, starting with a slow cadence and working up to a relatively quick pace for the last minute or so, but don't over do it at first.

(2) Alternate Toe Touches: Place your feet a bit wider than shoulder width and extend your arms straight out to the sides and parallel to the floor.Bend forward and twist to your left so you can touch your left foot with your right hand. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement to the other side. Alternate sides until you have done 12-15 reps to each side.

(3) Push-Ups: Support your weight on straight arms with your body straight. Lower your body down until your chest touches the floor by bending your arms. Push yourself back to straight arms length. Repeat the movement until you have done as many as you can, and again don't over do it at first, try to work up to at least 25 or more.

(4) Hamstring Stretch: Stand erect with your arms down at your sides and your feet about six inches apart. Bend forward at the waist, reaching downward to grasp your angles with your hands. Pull your torso toward your legs until you feel a painful sensation in the back of your thighs ( Hamstrings ). Back off an inch or so on the stretch and hold this position for 20-40 seconds.

(5) Head Circles: Stand erect with your feet set shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips. Relax your neck and drop your head forward to your chest. Move your head to the right in a circle to the side, back, left side, and again to the front. Continue this circular movement for 3-5 repetitions. Reverse and do the same number of reps in the opposite direction.

(6)Calf Stretch: Stand about two feet away from a wall facing toward the wall. Place your feet about shoulder-width apart, keep your torso and legs in one straight line, and reach forward to place your hands on the wall at shoulder-height and shoulder-width apart. Try to move your heels toward the floor to stretch your calves. If you can comfortably place your heels on the floor in this position, you should move your feet about 6-8 inches more away from the wall. Hold this stretched position for 30-60 seconds.

You can do these stretch movements everyday, or when you can work them in your weekly schedule. After staying with these routines for a few weeks, you'll notice the difference the next time you dive.

I hope some of the subjects I've covered will shed some light on your quest to become the best scuba diver you can be. It's never to late to pursue the beautiful art of scuba diving. It's for the young and old. Just make sure you have the physical requirements and the ability to make sound judgment, and always take a buddy with you to dive. For your equipment needs, advice. tips and information on this great hobby, visit my website at http://www.scuba-pro-tips.com

Darrell Young

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darrell_Young
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Control-Soreness-After-a-Scuba-Dive&id=1266526

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Scuba Diving in the Maldives - Thila’s, Atolls and So Much More!

Scuba Diving in the Maldives - Thila's, Atolls and So Much More!
By Mark J Burns

Many of the world's top diving destinations claim to offer a truly unique form of diving, however few are able to substantiate it as easily as the Maldives. From the moment you first enter the water in the Maldives, you are surrounded by an almost magical underwater kingdom. A myriad of colourful reef fish, incredible corals exist alongside a wide variety of larger marine life including manta rays, whale sharks and many, many others. In fact, it is estimated that over 26 different types of shark can be found in the dive sites in the Maldives including the whale shark, the tiger shark and the hammerhead shark.

It is the unique geography of the Maldives that allows it to offer such incredible diving. The tops of an ancient submerged mountain range, the coral reefs and atolls of the Maldives now stretch across some 500 miles of the Indian Ocean from north to south.

The scuba diving in the Maldives tends to fall into two distinct categories, kandu diving and thila diving. Thila diving tends to focus around large coral formations or reefs which top out just under the surface of the water. These thilas allow divers the opportunity to dive or drift with the currents across and around these large reefs, often providing spectacular views of the prolific marine life and coral formations just below the surface. There are a number of excellent dive sites in the Maldives, which offer this thila type of diving. Some of the better known thila dives include Maaya Thila on North Ari Atoll, and Okobe Thila, together with its resident population of huge Napoleon wrasse.

The second type of diving for which the Maldives is well known is kandu diving, where divers can drift with the currents along the channels between the islands or reefs. In a typical kandu dive, the divers will enter the water just outside of the lagoon, allowing the currents to carry them into the calmer waters to be found inside of the atoll. With these currents drawing nutrient rich water into these channels from the open ocean, these kandu dives often provide the best opportunities to spot the various species of rays, sharks and other pelagic marine life which can be found throughout the waters of the Maldives.

Marine life throughout the Maldives is prolific, with an incredible array of tropical reef fish to be found throughout the region. Bannerfish, parrotfish, butterflyfish and surgeonfish mingle easily with the larger Napoleon wrasse and triggerfish which can be found here. Fans of the larger marine life will also find rich pickings in the waters surrounding the Maldives, and a wide variety of sharks and rays can be found throughout the hundreds of beautiful dive sites in the Maldives.

The climate in the Maldives does vary slightly between the north and the south atolls, with the Northern regions experiencing more extreme temperatures, and the southern atolls experiencing a slightly heavier average rainfall throughout the year. Water temperatures in the Maldives tend to remain consistent, ranging from 27 degrees to as warm as 30 degrees. The region experiences two monsoon seasons, which run from December to March, when the Maldives experience the warmer prevailing winds, and the wetter monsoon season which runs from May through to November.

If you are considering diving in the Maldives, it is highly likely that your resort will have an affiliated dive centre on the island. Recent years have seen an increase in the reputation of the region as one of the worlds best dive sites, and today there is a highly developed and extensive network of dive centres in the Maldives.

Mark Burns is Director of Scubaworld.tv, a large scuba diving holidays and scuba diving courses web site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_J_Burns
http://EzineArticles.com/?Scuba-Diving-in-the-Maldives---Thilas,-Atolls-and-So-Much-More!&id=1266732

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Wreck Diving in the Caribbean

By Greg Deskin

One of the best Caribbean wreck dives is the wreck of the C/S Charlie Brown on the island of Statia (St. Eustatius). Statia is only a quick 10 minute plane ride from Saba. I truly love vacationing on Saba. It is well away from the crowded reefs like Bloody Bay Wall on the Cayman islands or Palancar reef on Cozumel.

In its hay-day the C/S Charlie Brown spent almost 50 years lying fiber optic cable around the world. She was built in 1950 and is 327 feet long with a beam of about 41.4 feet.

The wreck of the Charlie Brown lies in 98 feet in water lying peacefully on its side. This wreck offers advanced divers, wreck divers, and underwater photographers the opportunity of a life time to watch everything from sea turtles to nudibranchs on the outside of the wreck.

For those of us who are more advanced, exploring the lone hallway that runs down the middle of the wreck is truly breathtaking. This hallway is wide open and runs about 120 feet through the wreck. Once inside you must visit the cable tanks and galley or move all the way forward to explore the reel room.

Unlike most wrecks the Charlie Brown was purposefully sank to form an artificial reef. But, she was not completely salvaged before the sinking. This now provides a look and feel of a real ship wreck.
Now, a little about how to get to Saba to start this dream vacation; Saba is what is called the Dutch Caribbean. The best way is to book your airfare to the island of St. Maarten. (SXM). Once you are on St. Maarten you will have two choices on getting to Saba:

• Take the Winair flight to Saba
• Take the 2 hour ferry to Saba.

Everything is really close. Saba is only 5 square miles while Statia is 8 square miles. You can get to most dive sites within 15 minutes. Saba is a volcanic island with spectacular lava tubes underwater. The best way to truly explore these Dutch islands is to start at Statia for a couple of days, then move on to Saba and end up at St. Maarten. St. Maartin has a great rain forest and this makes a great day to decompress after all of the diving.

For more information on scuba vacations, visit our website - http://www.scuba-info.com/Scuba-diving-vacation.html

Greg Deskin has been a PADI Course Director for over 12 years. With thousands of certified students, he has been asked many questions about scuba and scuba equipment. You can visit his scuba website at http://www.scuba-info.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Deskin
http://EzineArticles.com/?Wreck-Diving-in-the-Caribbean&id=1268606

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Adventure Sports

Since we are affiliated with Adventure Sports of Kansas City, I would like to share some information about our local dive shop.

Adventure Sports is a full service dive shop servicing the Kansas City Metro Area.   The shop services anyone who wishes to pay a visit, schedule a class, or even participate in SCUBA travel.   They opened in 1987 and have been offering scuba training, travel, repair service, air fill station, rentals and equipment sales ever since.  They offer certifications in PADI, SSI, and NAUI.

Both Shannon and I are from the land locked Midwest.  To get our diving fix we often make short trips to the Adventure Sports lake house on Beaver Lake in Rogers, Arkansas.    Beaver Lake is actually in a dry county so the boating traffic is generally at a minimum. This enables divers to experience relatively clear water, and safe diving conditions.  The lake house can sleep about twenty-five people (maybe more).   They advertise that they can sleep twelve comfortably, but if you willing to pack the sleeping bag you can bring 24 more of your favorite friends. :)     The dive weekends include lodging, and diving comfortably from a 40' barge style dive boat with plenty of room for divers and all their gear.    If you wish to find out more information about Beaver Lake, wikipedia.org has some great information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Lake_(Arkansas).

For more information about Adventure Sports, please visit http://www.adventuresportskc.com.

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Scuba Cat

Cats can scuba like us..

-MJ

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Back in the Swing of Things

It has been a while since Shannon and I have been in the swing of things.    I will not blame it on the over inflated gas prices....I wish I could.    To be honest, we have just been so busy as we purchased a new home.

Next weekend will be the first weekend in a while that we will be assisting future divers in the pool.  We are excited about it and can't wait to get suited up and in the pool to start assisting the instructor with his students.   What is even better, we will be heading down the Beaver Lake with Adventure Sports to assist divers in the open water in August.   Not only is this fun for us, it will get us prepped for our upcoming trip to Curacao in the fall.   We do plan on assisting in more pool classes this year.   We will keep you posted.
-MJ

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Why Learn to SCUBA Dive?

by Javier Melendez

Have you ever considered taking up SCUBA diving? Perhaps you are thinking about it right now? Or maybe the thought of taking up such a dangerous activity has never crossed your mind? Why would you seriously want to try diving or much more actually learn how to do it? Who can do it? What qualifications do you need? Where can you do it? And what can you actually get out of such an activity?

These are all valid questions. So here's where I try to answer them!

Why Learn How to Dive?

SCUBA diving offers a multitude od benefits to its participants. You can dive all over the world, in all types of climate and in all temperatures of water: although extremely cold water diving is probably best left to commercial divers, researchers and lunatics! As a result you can dive in some very exotic places, which tend to provide the most stunning underwater scenery that you could possibly hope to imagine.

As with any physical sport (and SCUBA diving in my opinion is a sport, albeit not a competitive one), diving helps to keep you fit and healthy, although of course you do need to be in a relatively good state of health and relatively fit in order SCUBA dive.

SCUBA diving will bring you into contact with people from all walks of life from all over the world. Dive training teaches you that you should never dive on your own as you never know when you might need a helping hand. Diving then is a recreational "team" sport, and so is a great way to meet people and get to know them really well in a relatively short period of time.

You do not have to be a strong swimmer to become a SCUBA diver, however you should be able to swim to some degree. If you cannot swim you should definitely consider learning how to do so if you want to become a recreational diver.

Recreational SCUBA is also accessible to most people: most recreational "open-water" dive training courses are open to people from the age of 15 through to seniors (assuming they are fit and healthy). Diving is also open to all sexes, offering no performance advantages to either its male or female participants. Also as diving is not a competitive sport, there is nothing to win or lose making it a much more enjoyable shared experience for everyone.

What Qualifications Do You Need to Dive?

There are several bodies that offer varying degrees of certification. The main recreational diving bodies are PADI, NAUI, CMAS and BSAC. The most widely recognized diving qualifications are awarded by the PADI organization (PADI stands for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors). Most dive comapnies the world over will accept PADI accreditation as proof of your ability to dive and most of them will also be able to put you into contact with a PADI approved training center if you want to learn how to dive or you wish to upgrade your existing qualification and/or level of ability. Most intensive learner diver qualifications can see you ready to dive within a couple of weeks whereas a part-time course might take a couple of months.
The cost of diving courses can vary enormously depending upon the part of the world in which you are learning to dive. One thing is for sure though: cheapest is not necessarily the best. Make sure that you learn with a reputable, approved organization and that you are confident that they can deliver the kind of training, safety precautions and equipment that you require. As a standard kit requirement, you will need a mask, snorkel, weights and a weight belt, bouyancy control device dive tables and of course your sub-aqua breathing apparatus. Your training center may include this as a part of the cost of your course or they may change an additional rental: always make sure you know exactly what you are paying for when you sign up to your course.

I think the best reason for learning to dive is that it can open up an amazing world full of color and wonder, where you will encounter nature at its breathtaking best. SCUBA diving for many is an almost spiritual experience providing a relaxing break from the over-water world. If you have never considered SCUBA diving, now might be a good time to think about it. If you have considered it before... what are you waiting for?

Javier Melendez writes for many websites including Try-Diving. His recent articles concentrate upon PADI schools.

Article Source: http://www.articlegarden.com

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DrySuits for Scuba Diving

by Abir Roychowdhuri

Exploring the world under the sea is always fascinating. But to move freely underwater is not so easy as to move on the land. To be alive under water one has to carry a tank full of oxygen as breathing is not possible under water for human being. Beside that the tremendous pressure and different temperature of the water in deeper are much more different from the land.

For Scuba (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving the divers, boaters, sailors, swimmers, Water Adventurers, surface-water sports persons often use these things besides the full tank of oxygen:

1.    MASK
2.    FINS
3.    SNORKLE
4.    DRY SUIT and so many things.

Maintaining body temperature is one of the biggest problems for the divers. Dry suit is a kind of apparel, which gives the wearer protection from the water to his skin. Dry suits are used to prevent the water entering. Drysuits are used where the temperature of the water is between –20c to 150c.

There are three types of dry suits:

1.    Membrane dry suits
2.    Neoprene dry suits
3.    Hybrid dry suits

1. Membrane drysuits - are mainly built of thin materials of vulcanized rubber or a compound of nylon and butyl rubber. These types of dry suits do not give any real thermal protection in colder water. And these dry suits do not stretch, and needed to be oversized to the joints to give the wearer flexibility at the time of movements. Sailors and boaters who are likely to be out of water prefer these membrane dry suits. Membrane dry suits are easy to wear and put off. Membrane drysuits are mostly used in the spring.

2. Neoprene drysuits - offer the thermal protection in the colder water, keep the buoyancy. Neoprene is thermal insulating material, made of heavy-duty fabric and that fabric is coated with rubber or Polyvinyl chloride better known as venyl. The neoprene dry suits are considered better in comparison to membrane dry suits. Neoprene has some better properties, which make this more useful, chemical-resistant, more stretchable buoyant and waterproof. Neoprene drysuits give greater thermal protection even if there is a leak. Neoprene drysuits are mostly used for water surface sports and in the cold water.

3. Hybrid drysuits - are made by the combination of the membrane material and neoprene material. In hybrid dry suits, the upper part of the suits is made of membrane material and the lower part starting from the waist is made of Neoprene materials. So that the tight fitting lower part of the dry suits gives the comfort to the wearers to kick the water to move a distance when they are swimming. And the loose upper part of the dry suits lets the wearer to free movement of their arms. Hybrid drysuits are mostly used for water surface sports and in the cold water and where the divers are going deeper.

Modern drysuits are having a waterproof zippers & hydro gloves. The zippers are mostly located across the shoulder lines or in the front of the torso, to wear the dry suits easily. Drysuits may have the hydrogloves, permanently attached to the drysuits or with attachment rings. Modern drysuits have the air inflation valve, which empowers the diver to control the buoyancy of the suit by injecting air from the diving regulator to get rid of squeeze under deep water. A drysuit is worn over an insulating undersuit.

A modern drysuit has an air ventilation valve, which allows the diver to release the higher-pressure air from the suit when they are coming out of the water. Ventilator valves may be automatic or manual. It is used as the pressure relief valves. Most of the automatic ventilators are located at the shoulder of the dry suits and the manual ventilators are located at the wrist.

A modern version of the two-piece drysuit is manufactured at Customworks at Idaho. These two-piece drysuits give all sorts of comfort to the divers, boaters, swimmers, sailors, cave divers and the water adventurers. They are making the drysuits considering the needs of its users.

About The Author:

Abir Roychowdhury is a professional Internet Marketer & Sr. Executive SEO of KarmickSolutions.com. WWW.Hydroglove.com is the online resource for Scuba Gears, Diving Equipments and provides an expanding line of Rubber Molded DrySuits, Dive Kits, HydroSuits, HydroGloves, wetsuits, snorkles, masks fins, all are made for collectors, surfers, swimmers and vintage divers.

Article Source: http://www.articlegarden.com

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