By Jonathan Willis Multiple 12-foot, 1,500 pound tiger sharks approach us out of the blue, puppy-like, sniffing around looking for treats. This describes the scene at a well-known dive site called Tiger Beach, near West End, Grand Bahama Island, where I spent several days attempting to learn all that …

Citizen scientists around the world are being urged to share their anchor ‘finds’ following the relaunch of an online resource that aims to be the world’s biggest public record of these iconic objects.  The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) has relaunched the popular Big Anchor Project following a generous public …

  By Dr. David Sawatzky Rebreathers are becoming ever more common in the diving community, and in diving fatality records.  I wanted to write a column on rebreather fatalities but immediately realized that it would make no sense to most divers unless they had a good, basic understanding of …

  Text and Photography by Jill Heinerth The bright lights attached to the Betacam broadcast camera snapped to life and the news show’s producer exchanged a nod with the cameraman. A local translator deciphered the meteoric Spanish into broken English and awaited my response. I had just climbed 6,000 …

By Author Mike Seares LIGHTS! CAMERA! SUB ACTION! came about from a desire to tell the story of working in an industry where remarkable things can happen, all in a day’s work. ​The aim of the book is to give the reader a sense of what goes on in …

Text by Gregory Thomas   Searching for human remains, weapons and other crime scene evidence in zero visibility is a duty ‘deeply felt’ by the volunteer Alameda County Dive Team A middle-aged woman paused at the end of the pool, between laps, and studied the man in the next lane. …

Eric Vohr takes a private jet to explore Indonesia’s Eden – Wakatobi   Sometimes, you have to travel to the end of the world to find spectacular diving; Wakatobi Dive Resort is one of those places.  The name Wakatobi is a portmanteau of the four main Tukangbesi Islands in …

There’s nothing worse than gearing up a boat dive only to have your tummy lurching within minutes of leaving the dock. Fly & Sea Dive Adventures are there with you… Choose the right destination Don’t choose a destination where you have to hit the open ocean in the middle of monsoon season …

The Maldives Islands lie Southwest of India. Scattered across the equator in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the gem-like islands of the Maldives depict the rare vision of a tropical paradise. Palm fringed islands with sparkling white beaches, turquoise lagoons, clear warm waters and coral reefs teeming with …

Text by Hillary Hauser Fifty years ago December a 1,020-foot (311m) dive off Catalina Island, California, changed everything. Hannes Keller’s revolutionary accomplishment accelerated a new age of deep sea diving, but the daring exploration came at a price   On his sixtieth birthday Hannes Keller flew a Russian MIG …

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 …

Far beneath the waves, glistening under the new moon, the mood strikes right for two fish in love. Swimming side by side and holding tails, seahorses engage in a ritual of love that is both fascinating and magical. Seahorses, named for their “horse-like” head, are actually fish despite their …

Text and Illustrations By Jill Heinerth I have never figured out why so few North American technical divers wear helmets. Perhaps helmets never reached the Pantheon of hip here? Divers in other parts of the world would never consider exposing their scalps to the ceiling of a cave or wreck …

Text by Jill Heinerth Ask a rebreather diver what drives their rebreather and they will undoubtedly tell you, the oxygen sensors. These annually disposable devices are critical to creating a safe breathing loop and yet when not functioning properly can reduce a $10,000 investment in life support to a …

The Diving Almanac is the ultimate authority on diving exploits and history, but what’s the story behind the stories? By Jeffrey Gallant I was dreaming of overnight success… Reality struck at my first DEMA Show where I met veteran publisher Rick Stratton who looked me straight in the eye and said: …

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 …

Will reactivate initiatives lead to a SCUBA renaissance? Text by Robert Osborne, photography by Jill Heinerth It was a magical moment that Wendy Truman will never forget: the end of a dive in Belize.  She was hanging on the down line for a safety stop “when I heard a kind …

By Dr. David Sawatzky In the last three columns I reviewed vision underwater, common refractive errors, and reading glasses/ contacts.  In this column I will finish the discussion of vision and diving by looking at various mask options for correcting your vision while under water. Do You Need to Correct Your Vision? Diving with a …

A chance meeting on a Florida beach became a lifetime friendship between contributor Ellsworth Boyd and 1950s pinup favourite Bettie Page Text and Photography by Ellsworth Boyd The year was 1957. I was lifeguarding in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, one of a dozen Ocean City, Maryland, beach patrol nomads who …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary We use a Swiss Army knife on ALL assignments. First, the plastic toothpick of this old companion is the best O-ring removal tool ever made. Second, other components such as the screwdrivers, scissors or tweezers always come in handy. As Michel was unscrewing …

One of the most spectacular but little known events along the Florida reefs—as well as around the world—is the annual synchronized spawning of corals. Yes, corals do have sex to reproduce and to observers it looks like a brilliant underwater fireworks display.  In the middle of the night several …

Text by Albert Podell The days and the dreams of my childhood were dominated by the events of World War II. The Nazis and the Japanese were an existential threat to our way of life, and we celebrated our every victory and adored our military heroes. My favorites were …

Shearwater Research, responsible for the rather excellent technical computers Petrel and Petrel 2, have released a new and improved desktop application cunningly called Shearwater Desktop. Available for both Mac and Windows users, the new software offers an improved user experience, making it easier to implement firmware updates. Firmware is a vital part …

At 30, Becky Kagan Schott’s already an Emmy winner but the over achieving cinematographer believes the best is yet to come Interview By Michael Menduno – First published Volume 38 Issue 2   Talent plus personality. That’s how clients and colleagues explain 30-year old Becky Kagan Schott’s rapid ascent in the …

Many DIVER readers would have seen small, yellow scuba tank water bottles infiltrate all corners of the globe. What a lot of people aren’t aware of is that they were originally intended to house every sea lovers favourite tipple, rum. Time to rejoice rum lovers – they soon will. Tank Rum is the …

Social media websites are among the most popular on the world wide web. They can be powerful tools for dive businesses, or just fun – for a sea of divers. Text by Russell Clark Facebook www.facebook.com We’ll start with the best known and the second most popular website on …

The brand new Red Sea Aggressor cruises down the southern Egyptian coast to dive sites remote and iconic, and they do it in style Text by Michele Westmorland When I told friends and family here in the United States I was headed to Egypt to dive the Red Sea, …

Women Underwater – The Comprehensive Guide for Women in Scuba Diving provides detailed suggestions, tips and hints regarding equipment choices, medical issues and the unique social factors challenging women in this male-dominated sport. Drawing on decades of experience as instructors, consultants and expedition leaders, co-authors Jill Heinerth and Reneé …

Underwater archaeological preserves reveal history of this sunny, seafaring state Text by Franklin H. Price For a landmass almost completely surrounded by the sea, it’s no big surprise that maritime history figures prominently in its story. It’s certainly true of Florida, southernmost of the continental United States and with …

SeaLife Micro HD 16GB $399.95 Micro HD+ 32GB WiFi $499.95 The newest addition to the SeaLife range of user-friendly cameras is the ultra compact Micro HD. Unlike most cameras this is a sealed unit – no openings, no O-rings, no memory card ports and, therefore, no risk of flooding. SeaLife’s trusted ‘piano key’ design makes …

Hitchin’ a ride on the Red-eye Medusa By Jett and Kathryn Britnell Named for the telltale ‘red eyespots’ ringing the base of its tentacles, the Red-eye medusa (Polyorchis pencillatus) is one of the prettiest jellyfish in British Columbia’s Emerald Sea. These ocelli are actually tiny light-sensitive receptors that help …

Visibility notwithstanding, dive masks are the solution… for human beings By Dr. David Sawatzky The eye is really just a complex, living camera.  The main parts of the eye are the cornea, iris, lens and retina.  The cornea is clear and has no blood supply.  It protects the eye …

Text and Photograph by Andy Murch While hunting for skates on a featureless sea floor around Madrona Point on southern Vancouver Island, B.C., I came across this sunken tree trunk with its cover of  gigantic orange plumose anemones. These anemones are usually white, but under certain environmental conditions (like …

Lowepro DryZone 200 US$283.86 ‘A drysuit for your gear’ claims the world’s first waterproof soft-sided camera backpack. TIZIP zipper system, rubber covered sealed seams, adjustable dividers, mesh pockets and a lifetime warranty. www.lowepro.com Ikelite RX100 III housing $550 Sony’s RX100 III is a first rate compact camera that produces …

Canadian manufacturer Aquatica has taken the plunge (no pun intended) into the MFT market and introduced the AE-M1, an enclosure tailored for the Olympus OM-D E-M1 (the more potent version of the legendary M5). This is a big step considering the resources needed to develop an entirely new housing …

Mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses promise a bright future By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary With modern featherweight carry-on allowances and large, tendinitis-inducing camera housings, many people opt not to shoot large DSLRs. If you don’t care about the status symbol associated with the bigger/heavier ‘pro’-look cameras, there are …