Industry luminaries remember diving legend Phil Nuytten, OC, OBC, DSc (hon), LLD (hon): magazine publisher, engineer, innovator, artist, businessman, eccentric, raconteur, magician, writer, husband, father… and—first and foremost—diver. By Jean-Michel Cousteau, Friend As a world-renowned dive pioneer and undersea explorer, Phil Nuytten was an inventor, entrepreneur, artist, President and founder …

By Wayne B. Brown The liveaboard scuba diver. Are they different from lake divers, shore divers, day boat divers? While we all share a passion for this great sport, how we get wet is a road that can be mapped, with detours of course! The majority of liveaboard scuba …

Editor’s note: Among other Zen practices, Steve is an ardent disciple of the metric system. For those of you who aren’t, try an online surface gas consumption calculator such as www.divebuddy.com/calculator/sac.aspx Q: Sandra, Open Water Diver In your book Six Skills, what made you mention the importance of breathing? How is that a special …

Many of our fellow dive buddies around the world are or were part of their country’s military. So, today, in honor of Veteran’s Day (U.S.) and Remembrance Day (Canada), DIVER would like to graciously thank all the military men and women around the world for their honor, commitment, and …

By Steve Lewis (Originally published in Fall 2022 issue). Participate in DIVER’s survey here. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of making it through to the safe and comfortable side of an emergency, scuba diving is way different to most other outdoor adventures. It’s not like back-country …

Words and Photography by Drew McArthur Over the last ten years or so, diving sidemount has become all the rage. After decades of lurking in the depths of cave systems around the globe, it’s almost like one day it crept out of its hole and became seduced by fame …

By Ana Dragu Because there are not many testimonials of people with autism attempting scuba diving, I want to share a personal story, the journey my autistic son made under the care of a very helpful and professional instructor. A journey to not just enabling him to dive, but …

Words by Cristina Zenato As a firm believer that “one size does not fit all”, I’ll start my first column in DIVER by highlighting some of the considerations a diver should take before embarking on a shark diving trip. I’ll start with picking the operator.  As divers, we are …

Words by Steve Lewis I can’t recall what the original meeting was about. Probably something to do with training schedules or core standards or perhaps what flavour wings we’d order later that evening at ‘beer night’, but I do recall the head of the agency running up the stairs, swinging …

Words by Steve Lewis What a strange year 1994 was; not as famous as 1984 perhaps, and certainly not even close to the strangeness of 2020, but memorable in its own sweet way.  The movie Forrest Gump was released in 1994 and—at the other end of the interest spectrum—it was …

When a hyperbaric emergency happens, divers want to know that a chamber is always available nearby. Problem is, it isn’t. Words by Dan Orr In the Winter 2012 edition of Alert Diver Online, Divers Alert Network (DAN) published an article authored by Dick Clarke of National Baromedical Services entitled, …

Joe Grabowski is bringing adventure, science, and global exploration into classrooms around North America Interview by Jill Heinerth Just over five years ago, I visited a small classroom in Guelph, Ontario, to visit with the kids and their teacher Joe Grabowski. He spoke to me about his dream to …

By Steve Lewis I was blind to the possibilities…and all the time it was staring me in the face. Every few circuits around the sun, some well-meaning public-relations maven sends out a press-release notifying the dive industry of yet another innovative technology or wonderfully-conceived piece of dive kit that will …

Demystifying Dive Computers Words and Photography by Jill Heinerth In my previous article I looked into incident reports that fell outside of the data gathered by organizations such as DAN. In this article, I’m going to dive into the physiology of decompression, gradient factors, and conservatism strategies. When you …

By Steve Lewis There are few simple questions more difficult to answer than “How much is a rebreather?” More so if the person asking advice is a rebreather newbie about to buy their first unit. On the face of it, all that’s required is a straight dollar amount. Let’s …

By Jill Heinerth The cream of the crop of the diving industry are respected for their work in exploration, science, education, and engineering. They have been bent, and so have I. Each year, members of Divers Alert Network (DAN) receive a link to review the Annual Diving Report that chronicles …

By Steve Lewis I can’t recall which Charles Dickens character I am misquoting—I believe it is Ebenezer Scrooge from the novella A Christmas Carol — but the gist is this: “Income one pound; expenses 19 shillings and 11 pence; outcome bliss. Income one pound; expenses one pound and one penny; outcome misery.” Which …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau and Holly Lohuis Twenty years ago my team and I had the vision of creating a marine conservation organization, Ocean Futures Society, with the mission to explore our global ocean, inspiring and educating people throughout the world to act responsibly for its protection. Since 1999 we …

Text by Ian Stalker Lionfish that venture into Dominica waters may end up on a journey that transforms them from predators to prey to pendants. Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans but were introduced into Caribbean waters inadvertently or otherwise and have become a major problem …

By Chris Adair, with Kirk Krack The process of harvesting, fishing, and gathering your meal from the ocean and bringing it back to share at the table with friends and family is something that has been passed from generation to generation, and something we hope to continue to pass …

Aging divers and divers with physical limitations could find freedom within their gear configuration… Words by: W. H. “Hank” Halliday Recent issues of DIVER have featured sidemount diving: one focused on the need to practice skills and the other related to cave diving. I suggest a third, covering a …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau and Holly Lohuis I have written extensively about my fascination, respect, and love for orcas. I believe they are our counterparts in the sea. Orcas are intelligent, they live in culturally rich families known as pods, speak different languages and dialects, and express feelings of empathy …

Words By Steve Lewis Even if you’re a cold-water diver, there’s a strong case to be made for doing your next advanced diver training in warm water (read tropical or sub-tropical temperatures). Let me explain. When we think about what we expect to get out of technical diving classes, …

My name is Kevin James, the diver not the comedian, I’m a British Army Veteran having served as a Military Policeman and then a Physical Training Instructor specializing in scuba diving. Leaving the service as a Warrant Officer. I am based on Long Island in the Bahamas. I use …

By Steve Lewis Choosing an instructor? Well, there are scores of blog entries and posts on various scuba forums giving advice.  Much of it is good; some of it is excellent. It can certainly help put you on the road to making a good choice, the right choice. Of …

Words by Drew McArthur / Photography by Jim Catlin What better way to end a pleasant day’s diving than by hitting a bar and ordering some vacation food? While you’re there, why not kick back with an adult beverage, too? The bar staff of whatever establishment you care to decompress …

By Kirk Krack & Ashley Futral Chapman  There is little conclusive evidence supporting mainstream advice that women should stop diving (with compressed air) during pregnancy. The lack of science backing up the counsel is partly due to the fact that experimenting on pregnant women is unethical. That and endless …

  Jill Heinerth has spent a lifetime travelling the globe on expeditions and filming projects. In the Summer issue of DIVER she offers us her top 101 expedition tips to make your adventure more relaxed and earth-friendly. Here are a few of our favourites… Checklists: I’m a fan of …

By Michael Menduno   RAID’s co-owner is on a mission to make diving sexy again. He’s passionate, experienced, and brings a fresh point of view. Don’t underestimate Paul Toomer… By creating a new market for diving, PADI co-founder & former CEO John Cronin—reportedly the first person to rack up …

Text and Photography by Jill Heinerth Originally published in Volume 40, issue 7. Click here to subscribe. Pioneering Scuba diver Marjorie Bank never made it to my age. She died prematurely, the result of a massive heart attack. As a younger diver, I was inspired by her career and charisma. She …

First annual event scheduled for July 18 to attract more women to scuba diving To build awareness and increase interest in diving among women, PADI has launched a “Women in Diving” initiative, including the inaugural PADI Women’s Dive Day scheduled for 18 July 2015. The international event is geared …

Text by Bret Gilliam Photography by Andrey Nekrasov Let’s clear the air – You can get bent while breath hold diving. Sam Espinosa parked his battered pickup truck full of yellowfin grouper, snapper and a smattering of big pelagic fish in front of my office and, with obvious difficulty, climbed the …

A new study suggests fish are behaviourally complex and possess a mental capacity that can match or exceed other vertebrates A paper just published in the scientific journal Animal Cognition states that “fish perception and cognitive abilities often match or exceed other vertebrates.” Dr. Culum Brown, a professor in the …

We sincerely hope you don’t, but our intrepid contributor, Stephen Weir, has taken steps just in case, and he’s not alone Text by Stephen Weir If at some point in the future someone who is not my dentist gets up close and personal with me and they see my …

Most people have at least one phobia and some can can be dangerous for you and your buddy. Know what triggers your fearand how to stay in control in spite of it  Text by Madeline Ricchiuto When you first hit the water, either taking the Great Leap off the …

Tonnes of fuel oil were recovered from the aging wreck but the Coast Guard says it will monitor the remote site for leakage Text by Robert Osborne Grenville Channel is the very epitome of west coast beauty. Rugged, heavily forested mountain slopes plunge precipitously into the deep, dark water …