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Tag Archive: scuba

Lessons of the Day – Rescuing a Scuba Diver while Freediving

Filed under: Lessons from the Ocean — 3 Comments

June 18, 2015

Rescue1C My gut said, “Don’t do it” and all of the alarms in my head were going off. That’s why I chose to participate in the dive that may have helped two people avoid injury or worse.

One of my freediving friends invited me to go out on a dusk-to-night dive with her and a scuba diver off of a precarious dive spot. I was immediately alarmed because that meant that there would be a solo freediver and a solo scuba diver; a combination that just didn’t sit well with me. Through text messages, I learned that the scuba diver was new to diving and it sounded like the two of them were going to be making the dive with or without me. Something disastrous was brewing and my gut instincts told me that I needed to be there. Continue reading →

Tags: DAN, dive buddy, Diver Down, diving, freediving, Rescue, scuba, scuba accidents, scuba diver, scuba diving, scuba safety

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Being Alert: A Subtle Lesson in the Rescue Diver Course

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November 2, 2014

RapidAscent_4

“I queried those at the back of the boat about whether Al had gone into the water on purpose, fallen in by accident or something else. No one could say. Confusion threatened to overtake the situation.”

A San Diego SCUBA instructor described the above brief moment on a live-aboard in a recent article he wrote regarding a dive accident where a diver entered the water without his dive buddy, became unconscious and immediately sank to 84’ (25.6 meters). Continue reading →

Tags: DAN, divers alert network, diving, ocean, open water, Rescue Diver, rescue diver course, scuba, scuba accidents, scuba diver, scuba diving, scuba reading, scuba safety

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Dive Buddy Assessment – Increasing Safety with a New Dive Buddy

Filed under: Diving — 2 Comments

September 13, 2013

Chris had just over 100 dives under his belt and thought himself to be an experienced diver, though he hadn’t dove in over a year. He recently moved back to the west coast from Oklahoma and joined a local diving group. Eager to dive as soon as possible, Chris buddied up with Nick, a stranger from the dive group. Nick was glad to learn that his new buddy was experienced because he was barely just certified with fewer than 20 dives. Though Nick dove the local waters, he still wasn’t quite comfortable with his new skills and wanted to make sure that if something went wrong, a more experienced diver would be there to assist. Since Chris hadn’t dove in the area for some time, he was glad to be buddied up with someone who was more recently familiar with the site and he was happy to help out a newly certified diver with adding some dives to their logbook. They reviewed hand signals and did the proper buddy check procedures before entering the water.

Unfortunately, this dive would put one of these divers in the emergency room. Continue reading →

Tags: "find a dive buddy", DAN, deep blue, dive buddy, divers alert network, diving, ocean, scuba, scuba accidents, scuba diver, scuba safety

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Lessons of the Day #2

Filed under: Lessons from the Ocean — 1 Comment

July 26, 2013

Dive Date Undisclosed

When I woke up, my diving radar told me that I wouldn’t be diving today. Slightly disappointed and a bit skeptical, I put my gear together and drove out to the beach to see for myself. Sure enough, conditions looked sketchy and divers attempting to get past the breakers were coming back in beaten and tired, but glad for their decision. Those that made it past the breakers said that the dive wasn’t even worth the effort as the visibility was sub-par (usually less than 5-7 feet).

My buddy and I called the dive and I watched in awe as the rest of the morning unfolded. Continue reading →

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Two Worlds

Filed under: Freediving — 8 Comments

July 18, 2013

We lay face down in the water, relaxed, peering through the depths of the ocean, heart slowing, perched on the boundary between two worlds. We inhale one final breath, slipping into the liquid world, fighting the upward pull of the world filled with our cares. We ease into a gentle glide with the ocean’s embrace, enveloping us and pulling us deeper – deeper into ourselves. We are one with the blue. We are freedivers.

We may dive for many reasons such as competition, hunting, photography, and almost always pleasure. In my search for knowledge Continue reading →

Tags: apnea, big blue, breath hold diving, deep blue, diving, freediving, mammalian diving reflex, misconceptions, ocean, outdoors, scuba, scuba diver, spearfishing, swimming, vegetarian, water

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Building a Passion – Overcoming Fears

Filed under: Adventures in Diving — 1 Comment

May 17, 2013

A year ago yesterday we embarked on our journey to the ocean by taking swimming lessons. My best friend had a fear of the water which he overcame by getting in the pool. Today, he’s a confident swimmer who has in one year not only overcome his fear of the water but now eagerly looks forward to the next time he can get in. We went from the pool to snorkeling every weekend and finally getting our scuba diving certifications. Neither of us had spent any time in the ocean in nearly two decades and even then, we’d never go past the surf. Diving is a passion that changed our lives but most importantly, overcoming our fears helped us to accomplish dreams. We encourage you, no matter what it is, to overcome your fears and a whole new world will open up to you. Continue reading →

Tags: apnea, diving, fear of the water, fears, freediving, outdoors, scuba, scuba diving, snorkeling, spearfishing, swimming, swimming pool

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Lessons of the Day #1

Filed under: Lessons from the Ocean — 1 Comment

April 28, 2013

I finally got the opportunity to break my personal best of 41′ on one breath. Today, I made it to 52′.

Some things I learned along the way: The ocean is like life, timing is everything – and sometimes timing just sucks and you lose a mask, so deal with it.

The best way to deal with an obstacle, like a giant 6′ wall of water, is to face it head on; ducking and holding on for dear life is acceptable.

Even if things don’t start off quite the way you hoped for, with persistence, you can still reach your goals – just don’t take your eyes off the anchor line or you’ll drift too far away.

52′ is great and I’m definitely ready for 60’+ but I know and respect my limits…Respect your limits – you still have to make it back to tell the story.

And finally, there’s no place like home – the big blue – even in its murkiness.

Tags: apnea, breath hold diving, freediving, ocean, outdoors, scuba, spearfishing

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Exorcism of Five Feet of Terror

Filed under: Adventures in Diving — Leave a comment

December 31, 2012

I was terrified that he was terrified. When I looked at him swimming toward me, pale as the moon with his eyes wide in fear, arms flailing and mouth gaping open, I knew I had to do something. I needed to make water fun. Continue reading →

Tags: Fear of water, fears, freediving, neuro linguistic, PADI, scuba, swim test, swimming, swimming pool

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Dive Masters Don’t Make Smarter Divers

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October 20, 2012

Someone recently told me that they were buddied up with a Dive Master during a boat dive and upon surfacing realized that they were too far away from the boat to surface swim back. The boat ultimately had to navigate past another watercraft and pick the divers up, resulting in much embarrassment and humiliation. The person telling me the story trusted that since their buddy was a DM, that they should have better navigation skills and should have been able to navigate back to the boat close enough to avoid the aforementioned scenario. How could a DM get lost? Continue reading →

Tags: cave diving, Diver Down, drysuit, Michael Ange, open water, scuba, scuba accidents, scuba books, scuba reading, scuba safety

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Evolving Back to the Water

Filed under: Diving — Leave a comment

October 12, 2012

There is nothing quite like looking into the eyes of someone who is sharing their last dive adventure and seeing the sparkle of passion light up their soul. That sparkle (sometimes coupled with a far-off, dreamy stare) was one of the first things I noticed when talking to scuba divers about their fervor for the water and the things in it. The second thing I noticed was that there was something about that enthusiasm that went deeper and drew me further into their eyes than when I spoke to anyone else about their favorite pastime. Continue reading →

Tags: apnea, breath hold diving, DAN, deep blue, divers alert network, diving, freediving, mammalian diving reflex, scuba, scuba diver, spearfishing

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Tag Archive: scuba

Lessons of the Day – Rescuing a Scuba Diver while Freediving

Being Alert: A Subtle Lesson in the Rescue Diver Course

Dive Buddy Assessment – Increasing Safety with a New Dive Buddy

Lessons of the Day #2

Two Worlds

Building a Passion – Overcoming Fears

Lessons of the Day #1

I finally got the opportunity to break my personal best of 41′ on one breath. Today, I made it to 52′.

Some things I learned along the way: The ocean is like life, timing is everything – and sometimes timing just sucks and you lose a mask, so deal with it.

The best way to deal with an obstacle, like a giant 6′ wall of water, is to face it head on; ducking and holding on for dear life is acceptable.

Even if things don’t start off quite the way you hoped for, with persistence, you can still reach your goals – just don’t take your eyes off the anchor line or you’ll drift too far away.

52′ is great and I’m definitely ready for 60’+ but I know and respect my limits…Respect your limits – you still have to make it back to tell the story.

And finally, there’s no place like home – the big blue – even in its murkiness.

Exorcism of Five Feet of Terror

Dive Masters Don’t Make Smarter Divers

Evolving Back to the Water

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Tag Archive: scuba

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I finally got the opportunity to break my personal best of 41′ on one breath. Today, I made it to 52′.

Some things I learned along the way: The ocean is like life, timing is everything – and sometimes timing just sucks and you lose a mask, so deal with it.

The best way to deal with an obstacle, like a giant 6′ wall of water, is to face it head on; ducking and holding on for dear life is acceptable.

Even if things don’t start off quite the way you hoped for, with persistence, you can still reach your goals – just don’t take your eyes off the anchor line or you’ll drift too far away.

52′ is great and I’m definitely ready for 60’+ but I know and respect my limits…Respect your limits – you still have to make it back to tell the story.

And finally, there’s no place like home – the big blue – even in its murkiness.

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Tranquil Deep – eMail List From the Depths

Follow me on Twitter

Archives

Recent Posts

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Meta

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Blogs I Follow

Copyright © Tranquil Deep. All rights reserved.