Text by Susan R. Eaton The Allies had a plan to crush Nazi aggression using gigantic iceberg aircraft carriers built in Canada’s north. Code named Habbakuk, the scheme was eventually torpedoed and the prototype vessel sank in a remote Rocky Mountain lake. Most shipwrecks are frozen in time, but …

  By Donnie Reid Before she sank in a storm October 14, 1901, the sternwheeler, A.J. Goddard, was a workhorse ferrying people and cargo along the Yukon River during the Klondike Gold Rush era of the late 1800s. Like many other craft designed to service the huge influx of people …

  By Jill Heinerth Once a technique exclusive to elite cave explorers, sidemount diving today is trending in the ranks of recreational divers. Versatile and comfortable, the rig merges a specially designed wing with a harness and thanks to companies such as Hollis, Dive Rite and Golem Gear, they’re …

  Some divers handle it better than others, but underwater we all deal with it for better or worse Text by Bret Gilliam The following continues a discussion on diving and stress that appears in the current issue of DIVER Magazine, Volume 37 Number 8, now available on newsstands. …

It can be hard to get excited about a light. They are after all, just things that make dark places a little brighter. For some, a dive light is not always an essential piece of gear. For cold water divers, wreck or night divers, they are as essential as …

Poseidon Poseidon Tech Retail TBA The world’s first rebreather with a fully automatic bailout system (redundant back-up rebreather), switches from primary to secondary without missing a breath. A built-in secondary dive computer ensures nothing is lost in the switch. Available beginning November 2012. www.poseidon.com  TAT7 iPhone Scuba Case $84.95 …

Second in series of reports on Rebreather Forum 3 by Michael Menduno. Dr. Andrew Fock, head of hyperbaric medicine at The Albert Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, himself an accomplished rebreather diver, took the RF3 stage Saturday morning with an important and sobering presentation on the risks of rebreather diving, …

Kim Mikusch Smith from Canadian KISS Rebreathers talks about safety, accessibility and why you should be interested in rebreather diving. For full article on Rebreathers and the Future of Diving, see DIVER Vol37 Issue 3 or click here. For more information on KISS Rebreathers click here.      

Rebreathers are rapidly growing in popularity, below is a list of international manufacturers. If you know one we don’t, send a web link to mail@divermag.com Ambient Pressure CCR 2000 Divematics Draeger ExtendAir HB Technology Innerspace Systems Corp Kiss Rebreathers rEvo rebreathers Silent Diving Steam Machines Titan Dive Gear VR …

By Michael Menduno 1680: Giovanni Borelli conceives the closed circuit rebreather. Believed recirculating air through copper tube cooled by seawater would allow impurities to condense. 1726: Stephan Hale developed a device for surviving mine disasters. The helmet contained a flannel liner soaked in sea salt and tartar as a …

Sixth in series of reports on Rebreather Forum 3 by Michael Menduno. The diving media and interested Rebreather Forum participants were treated to a preview of the lovechild spawned by Poseidon and Dr. Bill Stone, CEO of Stone Aerospace. Called the Poseidon TECH (DIVER Volume 37 Number 4), the …

Fifth in series of reports on Rebreather Forum 3 by Michael Menduno. Similar to 02 sensing problems discussed in a previous RF3 report posted here, divers must contend with issues concerning PCO2, which has been dubbed the “dark matter of rebreather diving.” High PCO2s (0.03 bar and above) can …

Fourth in series of reports on Rebreather Forum 3 by Michael Menduno. In addition to training and creating a culture that reinforces safe rebreather diving practices, experts agree that a number of safety issues might be resolved through better engineering of the equipment itself. Indeed, this is the thinking …

Third in series of reports on Rebreather Forum 3 by Michael Menduno. Veteran explorers and educators Jill Heinerth and Terrence Tysell chaired an open discussion on training at the Rebreather Forum, encouraging participants to present views on a host of training related topics. In keeping with the RF3 theme, …

First in a series of reports on Rebreather Forum 3 by Michael Menduno. Rebreather Forum 3 staged in Orlando, Florida, saw the convergence of a rebreather diving ‘who’s who’ to discuss and debate this life support system that is hailed as the future of diving by some and anything …

OCEANIC B.U.D. $329.95 This universal backup dive computer with its patented dual algorithm will closely match your primary computer. Clip it on and forget it. But if you need a backup, count on your B.U.D. www.oceanicworldwide.com AERIS Atmos BC $535.95 A rear inflation BC with wrap-around air cell design …

Scubacraft is one of the world’s most advanced watercraft and the ultimate in dive vehicles. It can power you out to your favourite dive site at a surface speed of 40 knots plus – almost 75kph. Once you’re there, Scubacraft submerges, and you enjoy the exploration ‘flight’ from the …

This Exosuit is production model 001 and the first in a series of three designs from Nuytco Research of North Vancouver, B.C. From the first ergonomic mock-ups and tests to its unveiling last month, the Exosuit has been in development for a decade. It’s the latest generation atmospheric diving …

With James Cameron’s record breaking solo dive to the Mariana Trench now faded into media obscurity, it is now up to the Chinese to further push interest in ocean exploration and technology. China’s Jiaolong, has arrived at the Mariana Trench for a series of six dives. The Xiang Yang …

When robots take over the world where will you be? Until now the water has always been a safe bet. Few robots venture forth into the seas, after all you never saw the Terminator in Speedos. Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed ‘Swumanoid’, a robot that …

Lake Minnewanka has a rich history. There are recorded archaeological sites showing pre-contact occupations that cover an entire 10,000 year period. Artifacts have been found from the early, middle and late pre-contact periods. The Minnewanka site is one of a series of such early sites in the lower Bow …

The latest deployment of NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) has begun with the international crew of aquanauts entering the habitat, Aquarius, yesterday for a twelve day mission. Aquarius, the world’s only undersea laboratory, is located in about 63 feet (20 metres) of water, three and a half miles …

The world’s largest dive training agency thinks they are, and they’ve developed courses for the rec and tec diver alike. Here, the agency’s Vice President of Rebreather Technologies, Mark Caney, weighs in on PADI’s new direction, the rise of a new ‘Type-R’ recreational rebreather, and the voice of opposition. …

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), the world’s largest scuba training agency, has expanded its course offerings in recent months to include recreational rebreather instruction. What follows is the continuation of an interview with Mark Caney, PADI’s Vice President of Rebreather Technologies, published in the current issue of …

Test your Titanic knowledge in this interactive quiz… [mtouchquiz 1]        

When you’ve been compared to a root canal and dubbed “Little Caesar” by your cohorts, it’s little wonder that you might feel a wee bit maligned. What’s more, you’re the writer, producer and director of a long awaited film that’s behind schedule and over budget and the studio is …

Frustrated because your spotting light spooked the critter… again? Light & Motion’s SOLA 600 Dive Focus Light offers a solution that, with a spot of undersea irony, will have you happily ‘seeing red’ all the same. Text and Photography by Jett Britnell I’ve used an endless assortment of submersible …

Seduced by the call of the deep, technical divers Heleen and Laura face-off with that most fundamental challenge of extended duration diving: the call of nature. With their solution in hand – well, not so much – word is now spreading and the sisterhood, to no one’s surprise, is …

Jarrod Jablonski talks with Michael Menduno   Credit Where Credit Is Due In my interview with explorer Jarrod Jablonski in DIVER Vol. 37 Number 1, I incorrectly stated that Jablonski and his team from Global Underwater Explorers were the first to video the USS Atlanta in 430 feet (130m) …

First on deck since the arctic claimed her 150 years ago, Parks Canada underwater archaeologists find HMS Investigator laden with artifacts in the shallows of Mercy Bay, beneath a diminishing polar ice pack. Text by Peter Golding Sam McGee from Tennessee ‘was always cold, but the land of gold …

Found! They think. Swedish tech divers believe they’ve discovered the wreck of the legendary and elusive Mars, flagship of their country’s navy, almost five centuries ago. Archaeologically, the find would be of global importance. Text by Richard Lundgren – Photography by Ingemar Lundgren   The Year of Our Lord, …

The Cayman Islands had a good Christmas last year with arrival of the USS Kittiwake, a wreck to be enjoyed by everyone. Text by Stephen Weir   For the dive industry Santa Claus rode into Grand Cayman on Christmas Day, not in a sleigh but on board a barely …

Reserves are going down, which may mean prices go up? And how might that affect the future of mixed gas technical diving? The answer is up in the air. Text by Jeremy Heywood and Lee Newman   The future of mixed gas technical diving may be uncertain due to …

It’s an inside job – to be sure – but it’s the emergency rescue kit taken on every dive that keeps the ‘never say die’ attitude alive! Text by Bret Gilliam – Illustration by Amber Kurtz   AP – Four Russian scuba divers who were swept away by strong …

The Bathyscaph Trieste Story DIVER contributor Don Walsh is the deepest man alive, co-piloting the bathyscaph Trieste to the deepest point in the world ocean – the Challenger Deep in the western Pacific’s Mariana Trench on January 23, 1960. No human has returned to this abyssal region since then …

High Definition TV looks better all the time. Recently, a Red One camera in a Gates housing was used at Vancouver Film Studios to shoot an episode of Sanctuary, the technology’s underwater debut in a dramatic television series production. Text by Ian Seabrook – C.S.C.   Professional underwater cinematography …