Shark!!!

“Shark!!!”

 

-Nobody likes to hear about them when they’re swimming, let alone see one in the water with you.  But, when you’re scuba diving, MOST of the time, it’s cool to see one or a few or even a bunch!  Non-hungry, small and timid sharks don’t often eat scuba divers and that’s just science.  My how scuba diving can change the way people think about the ocean’s treasurous creatures.  And in a good way!  Myself included.

Before my thinking was changed, my family and I went on vacation to Akumal, Mexico years back.  None of us were scuba certified at the time, other than my show-off wife!  So, ocean activity comprised mostly of snorkeling and swimming in really close to shore.  And during one exciting time while we were splashing around in the very warm sea as I remember clearly, my daughter right next to me, let out a piercing and crisp shriek…, “SHARK!”; then proceeded to hop onto my back, with her legs and arms locked around my neck and torso for protection selfishly all her own.  That word, screamed in that manner, about made me come out of my skin.  Mind you that the movie JAWS screwed up my psyche along with any chance of me having a long distance ocean swimming career.  I wasn’t going to be much help to my daughter or myself if I didn’t quickly get a grip with calm perspective and fast restorative action back to clear thought and surroundings analysis.  Also, reminding myself here, that Akumal, Mexico is an absolute haven for sea turtles to do their egg-laying, hanging out and swimming around very close to the beach.  I mean that these turtle creatures are all over the place.  We saw many dozens of them, may over a hundred.  Daily!  -These last sentences being the important bits of information my brain was able to process which was able to bring me worry-relief during my body’s fight-or-flight computational environmental triage.  Were we about to get eaten by a big ass scary shark or not?!  The answer after about five seconds of wonder while my daughter was hanging for dear life around my neck was… nope.  My learned offspring followed up her one word of information for me, “shark”, with a comment that it must have been a turtle that bumped her.  No shark after all.  After hearing that new info, I began to nervously laugh and happily torture my kid for having put me through shark fear.  All’s well that ends well!

Fast forward to today.  I actually want to see sharks while I’m in the water,,, scuba diving!  -Still not while I’m swimming though.  I can’t stand the thought of being a tasty fishing bobber just hanging out there waiting to get bump tasted by an inquisitive sea cleaner.  Yuck!  Bad thoughts.  Having the scuba gear on and hopefully a camera rig with defensive big flash system in my hand out in front of me, brings me a minor sense of invincibility to shark attack.  I much prefer the latter feeling.  Sharks are extremely well designed and awesomely cool animals that nature got right.  They’ve been around for millions of years and hopefully they’ll be around for millions more.

If you want to feel better about being in the water with sharks and want to enjoy Shark Week on the Discovery channel during the summer time much much more than you ever have, you need to run out and get yourself certified to scuba dive!  I’ve never ever met a diver that thinks that diving is JUST OKAY.  They all LOVE it.  See what all the craze is about, settle your shark fears, enjoy Shark Week more.  These are all valid reasons to go scuba diving.  I can’t wait to do it again.

Go sharks! 

saltydog@sd

This is the dive signal for, “Shark”.  For this signal and many others, make sure to check out the Salty Dogs Dive Signals located HERE…

 

NITROX – Enriched Air Diver

So, is it worth it to go through an Enriched Air Diver course to be able to suck on Nitrox while scuba diving?  We always see those alien yellow and green stickers around on tanks that usually Instructors and Divemasters like to wear on their back.  What the hell are they?  -They’re tanks that are filled with Nitrox (A mix of Nitrogen and Oxygen).  Well, my tank of AIR is also filled with Nitrogen and Oxygen, what’s the difference between their stickered up tank and my plain-Jane regular ol’ aluminum missionary style beige tube thingy, you ask?  Their Nitrox tanks are filled with a different mix of Nitrogen and Oxygen, more Oxygen than what you find in regular AIR.  The benefit to rocking Enriched Air = Nitrox while SCUBA diving is that by increasing the Oxygen in the Oxygen to Nitrogen ratio, you’re taking in LESS Nitrogen and extending your allowable bottom time.  Cool, huh?!  Absolutely!  What an awesome tool to have in the box when you’re on a nice long dive trip racking up the day-after-day two tank and three tank dives!  Lessening the Nitrogen load on your body during such a holiday is a good thing.  However, there is some give and take to keep in mind when scuba diving with Nitrox so, don’t ever think about diving with Nitrox without taking an Enriched Air Diver class and getting yourself certified.  And hopefully no reputable dive operation would ever sell or rent you a Nitrox setup without verifying that you’re indeed certified.  None of us would do something idiotic like that anyways.  We’re all extremely respectable Salty Dogs here wanting to keep our families and ourselves safe to dive and have fun another day!

Also, you should use a dive computer when running Nitrox.  Remember this article I posted a little while back…

OCEANIC VS. SUUNTO VS. MARES DIVE COMPUTERS FOR 2017 – OCEANIC MALFUNCTION DURING TEST DIVE

The PADI Enriched Air Diver course took about 2.5 hours of study and another 2.5 hours of classroom work including exam.  I went through the class with my daughter and had a good time talking about getting too much Oxygen and SCUBA diving.  Also had a fun lunch with my kid afterwards.  Not a bad day in my logbook.

Go out and get your Nitrox cert!  It’s a good time.

-saltydog@sd

 

Check out these pics…

 

 

 

 

The programme is complimentary; however

“The programme is complimentary; however, space is limited
and we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment”

“The dive sites are in some of the most exotic and pristine
waters in the world. The exact days and dive locations will be
determined by tides and local conditions. The notification of
the locations will be announced on board”

These are two quotes taken from the SILVERSEA brochure.  The taste wetter also explains that you need to be at least Advanced Open Water Certified from an accredited Certification Agency.

I like “complimentary” diving programmes!  Makes me wonder exactly how much money we’re talking about having to shell out for the cruise itself…  I’ll bet LOTS!  Maybe when I get rich I’ll take the time to find out how much one of these ‘cruises’ even costs.  In the mean time, maybe I’ll open up one of those Carnival Cruise get-ya emails that I receive about daily and see what the latest cruise, $300 drink package and family snorkel will cost me these days.

If you’ve recently won the lottery, are made of money or average scuba diving travel seems to be a monumental let down these days, make sure to check out SILVERSEA right now and part with that wad of cash that’s been weighing you down lately.  Also, if you have ever been on a SILVERSEA voyage or know anybody that has, please do post a comment here and let us all know how good the travel life really can get!  I guess that I’m curious to know more now.  😉

Check out the SILVERSEA EXPEDITIONS PDF:

DivingExpeditionsVoyages2016-2017

 

-saltydog@sd

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh73BAF-quw

Jason deCaires Taylor does it again off Canary Islands, Spain!

Jason deCaires Taylor is a sculptor that gets to play in the ocean.  What a crazy cool concept and execution that he’s pulled off at multiple points around the globe, lowering his pH Neutral Cement sculptures into the sea for divers or those with a glass bottom boat to appreciate.  His latest ocean art awesome spot is located right off Spain’s Canary Islands.  Check out this video and see if it doesn’t look like a very cool dive spot to visit!

For information, contact:

MUSEO ATLÁNTICO LANZAROTE

 

Welcome to Divetech!

If you are ever in the area of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DiveTech as a dive operator choice.  It’s a top shelf operation with really good people running the show.  They run ScubaPro rental equipment and even have lovely accommodations for rent.  My family and I had a super terrific time diving with the DiveTech crew.  Nice facilities, nice boat, great people.  It was a slam dunk decision for us to choose this operator for most of our diving while on Grand Cayman.  The costs were reasonable as well.  All of our SaltyDogs.com crew had a great time!  Check out some of our pictures…  Fun times!!!  Photos taken with SeaLife Micro 2.0 and SeaDragon 2500.  The SeaLife Micro 2.0 housing leaked on a 65 feet dive, I would NOT recommend the camera to anybody.

DiveTech, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

-saltydog@sd

 

Guardian Of The Reef

Everything’s OKAY!

Green Moray Eel

These dive tattoos are EXCELLENT!  They stayed on throughout a bunch of dives before showing any wear.

DiveTech’s pretty pink dive boat.  🙂

 

 

 

Spyderco Salt H-1 Steel Knife Shows NO RUST!

I love knives!  We use knives on a daily basis so we should all be appreciators.  Maybe you like spoons more than knives…  me, I’m a knife guy.

Here’s a knife that I recently took diving with me in my BC, in the Caribbean for two weeks.  On purpose, I never rinsed the knife with fresh water.  WHOA!  Who would do a crazy thing like that?!  Me.  But only because of the manufacturer’s claim that the knife does NOT rust.  The knife we’re talking about here is the Spyderco Salt H-1 Steel Knife and it’s a helluva blade for under a hundred bucks!  I liked it so much, I bought my brother one.  If you’re looking for a great knife for scuba diving, look no further.  Here it is.

-saltydog@sd

 

Knife after two weeks of diving in the Caribbean and not rinsed with any fresh water!

 

Eating and Drinking Before Diving

Everybody knows that it’s not a good idea to drink (alcohol) before going diving.  But, what happens when you eat a LOT of food before you go?

Remember how our moms always used to tell us to wait thirty minutes after eating our lunch/snacks/dinner/whatever before going back into the pool?  Back then I always seemed to have a super natural ability to detect when my mother was full of shit with her notes on what’s best for child rearing. That bit about how I shouldn’t go back to my fun swimming activities until the stroke of thirty minutes later was no exception.  Somehow science or natural selection successfully debunked that silly 30-minute-no-swim-rule over the years since I’ve been a kid and I do feel vindicated!  Well, I felt vindicated until scuba diving during a food mishap this last Summer while on vacation with my family.

It was after the first of a two tank dive afternoon that my kids reminded me that we all needed to go eat some lunch or we might all expire from Bataan Death March type malnutrition.  Being on the water does make you hungry!  So, we all decided to try out the menu at Ramon’s dive center/hotel/restaurant which is on Ambergris Caye in Belize.  The menu there looked really good and the food turned out to be excellent!  We were so hungry that I ordered what seemed at the time to others seated at the table, dishes from every part of the menu.  -I consider myself to be a food snob and really, every item that we ordered was exceptional and impressive…  So, I ate what I considered to be my fair share of what was delivered to our food huddle, A LOT OF FOOD!  That turned out to be a DUMB DUMB DUMB idea to eat so much!

Right after lunch I paid the check and gathered my Salty Dogs dive group in order to muster for our next diventure, the second tank exploration of our two tank afternoon.  I felt like a whale I was so full.  Miserable full.  Instead of concentrating on the fun of the upcoming scuba dive, slipping into a full-on food coma was all that was on my mind.  Oh, another thing to tell is that I like spicy food.  I mean I like really really spicy food.  Thai Hot when it’s appropriate!  At that lunch it wasn’t a Thai Hot day, but it was locally Belize grown chili pepper day.  Habaneros get hot, don’t they???  I screwed myself royally with that lunch.  Me being a glutton purchased me the life-like feel of what a manatee must go through when pregnant and experiencing a severe case of HEARTBURN!  Trying not to burp and throw up repeat chili offenders into my reg at 65 feet on that second dive of the day, reminded me that eating right before swimming AND scuba diving, should be managed properly by smart mom types and not by Gore-Garth type ravenous neanderthals like myself!  Remember to watch what you eat and drink before each dive.  Like my mother told me many times before, don’t do as I do, do as I say!

Yesterday was my Mom’s birthday.  She’s not around anymore to read this so, I think it’s safe to put down on the Internet for all to see here…  My Mom really did know best.  Happy Birthday Mom.  We sure do miss you!

 

-saltydog@sd

 

Free Mares Dive Computer and Free Gear

Our latest newsletter is on its way to your inbox!  Make sure to check out our latest contest giveaway because you will have an unlimited amount of chances to win some free Salty Dogs gear and a Mares Smart Dive Computer & Watch!   Tell us about your wildest diving adventure and you could win some very cool products.  Do you have a bunch of wild diving adventures to share?  Well, tell us about them all and increase your chances of winning!

In growing our online Salty Dogs community-family in order to share our love for everything diving, we intend to run a lot of contests and give away many many free products, come become a Salty Dogs Member and have some fun with us online and around the globe.  Remember that membership is FREE!  So, CLICK HERE and SIGNUP today!

 

For your free Salty Dogs membership, CLICK HERE.

Enter to win free gear here…  CLICK HERE to WIN!!!

-saltydog@sd

 

 

Man and Woman buy bigger boat and new underwear after shark attack

Have you ever been cage diving with Great White sharks?  Sounds crazy doesn’t it?!  Well, there are dive operators around the globe that specialize in showing you JAWS up close and personal and in 3D.  One such operator is SharkQuests.com and for only $86 USD, they’ll do their best to show you a Great White shark and a great time.  Talk about a rush!  Shark dives are the new roller coaster rides!

 

Why choose them to take you cage diving?  Here’s why:

  • No diving certification or previous experience required.
  • We offer the option of air supply into cage for qualified divers during the winter season.
  • Groups are limited to no more than 18 so that we can maximize your diving time.
  • A safety record spanning more than 15 years.
  • The option to be picked up and dropped off from any address in the Cape Town area.
  • Find a better price? We promise to match any written offer that you bring to us before booking.
  • Most importantly, we are so confident that you will see Great Whites that should there be no sightings, we will give you a voucher to come back and try again, free of charge.

For more information on this dive operator, hit up their website at:

http://www.sharkquests.com/one-day-trips/shark-alley-express

Related image

Image result for great white shark images

Image result for great white shark images

Caradonna Dive Guide 2017

Check out Caradonna’s 2017 Dive Guide!  It’s a fantastic day-dreamer’s guide to paradise and diving fun.  I want two of everything listed.

Click here to view Caradonna Dive Guide 2017

 

Turtle photos taken by ScubaDo just off the west coast of Grand Cayman with a SeaLife Micro 2.0 and SeaDragon 2500 light before the SeaLife housing started leaking and taking on water.  Dive operator was DiveTech.

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