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 …

SS Atlantic: The White Star Line’s First Disaster at Sea By Greg Cochkanoff and Bob Chaulk SS Atlantic was lost in 1873, 39 years before the iceberg infamy of Titanic, her corporate sibling. Though different, the magnitude of both tragedies, each with great loss of life, commanded world headlines. …

SEALAB is the Right Stuff for inner space, a story of how a U.S. Navy program sought to develop the marine equivalent of the space station and in the process forever changed man’s relationship to the sea. While NASA was trying to put a man on the moon, the …

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 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 …

Descending is an exciting new weekly TV show now airing on Canada’s Outdoor Life Network, and featuring some stunning underwater video from around the world. Descending is an offshoot of Departures, another OLN adventure series showcasing the relationship between two travelers and all that is revealed to them as …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… This round up of “Little known facts about the ocean” has some great statistics. Read article. Source: Marinebio Post Valentines Day blues? Maybe this picture of …

Ablaze with what appears the reflection of a dazzling fireworks display, the eyes of a Red Irish Lord (Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus) add to the brilliant colouration of this striking species of sculpin. Its typically vivid coat can vary from hues of orange through red to magenta and into striking pinks …

Two hundred billion gallons of foaming seawater swirl through Sechelt Rapids on each turn of the tide in this constricted, islet-strewn passage on Canada’s Pacific coast. In the aerial view to the northwest, looking from Sechelt Inlet toward Jervis Inlet, a 13.5 knot ebb roars through the shallow gap. …

The Muskallonge or Muskie, as she is affectionately known in diving circles, is not so well known in her watery grave as she was in service on the Seaway. Then, she was touted as the largest tug on the Great Lakes. Built in 1896 at Port Huron, Michigan, she …

Winter diving weather along the British Columbia coast is not infrequently overcast but when the sun peaks through the clouds up there in the sky, divers can be rewarded with the best visibility of the year. This photo was taken during such a winter’s day in Agamemnon Channel, which …

Finish divers Eelis Rankka, Tommi Salminen and Jukka Pelttari made this stunning video in lake Saarijarvi, Finland. Over the last few weeks the video has popped up on every social network site and email you can throw a stick at. It’s rare a diving video becomes an internet phenomenon, …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… A very nice video on global reef restoration, made for the PADI Sea the Change Conservation Contest in 2011 it is still worthy of a mention Watch …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… UK wreck HMS Victory to be explored by Florida based salvage company Read article. Source: chron.com Would you eat dolphin or manatee? Popularity for these animals …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… What better way to clean up an oil spill than with magnetic soap… Read article. Source: New Scientist A nice video to help ease you into …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… 3.5 ton underwater statue disappears from Italian coast. Read article. Source: The Daily Telegraph Australian cave divers set new records. Read article. Source: Nelson Mail Sounds …

Don’t worry, we’re not tying to sell you a new exercise bike or diet plan. Women’s fitness magazine, Shape has revealed that SCUBA diving can help you burn 400 – 500 calories per dive. Although this may not be news to anyone that has done a long surface swim, …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky A seizure is a sudden surge in electrical activity of the brain that alters how an individual feels or acts for a short period of time.  In a classic ‘grand mal’ seizure a person looses consciousness, all of their muscles contract for up …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky In this column we will look at the breath-hold diver who suddenly looses consciousness in relatively shallow water.  These individuals often die from drowning.  This phenomenon has been called ‘shallow water blackout’ but the term should be avoided – it’s confusing.  Initially shallow …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky Frequently, I receive reader questions. The following (edited) enquiries raise several issues of interest. Does Nitrox Have a Taste? Should Nitrox taste any different from regular air? I’ve noticed a difference. Air is odourless and tasteless in contrast to Nitrox, which I found …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky In the last two columns I reviewed inert gas narcosis.  High Pressure Neurological (Nervous) Syndrome (HPNS) is a similar problem that is experienced on deeper dives.  It is a difficulty that recreational divers will never experience but advanced technical divers are increasingly performing …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky Every diver knows that when they go diving they need to pee.  They also know that any cold water diver who claims never to have peed in their wetsuit is either lying or has logged very few dives. Finally, it’s fair say that …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky In the last column I talked about the reasons urine production is increased while we are diving and what we can do about it.  In this column I will continue that discussion by looking at other reasons divers are almost always dehydrated during/after …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky In any discussion on dehydration, the topic of electrolytes must come up.  So what are electrolytes?  In Stedman’s medical dictionary an electrolyte is defined as “any compound that, in solution, conducts electricity and is decomposed by it; an ionizable substance in solution”.  Ions …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky All of us enjoy diving or we would not be doing it. Often we feel better when we are diving. A subset of divers seem to really enjoy diving deep on air. Is diving addictive? Narcosis is a fascinating topic and supports the …

Diving Medicine By Dr. David Sawatzky Every year approximately 100 people die in North America while diving, and another 100 die while diving in the rest of the world.  Diving is a relatively high ‘risk’ activity.  By that I mean there are many ways in which you can be …

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 …

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 …

Wearing a blackout mask Diveheart founder Jim Elliott had an epiphany of the senses. In that tactile moment he understood that diving is not for eyes only. Text by Andrew Leibs – Photographs Courtesy Diveheart   On the surface, scuba diving seems purely visual. The very phrase conjures images …

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 …

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 …

In fact, this Australian World Heritage Area is much more than a lagoon, and whether you’re above or below the water Lord Howe Island can take your breath away. And its remote location offers surprising marine life encounters. Text and Photography by Justin Gilligan  I cycle barefoot down an …

Text and Photography by Scott Johnson Sometimes our imaginations – our very souls – cry out for more.  We need to escape routine, to discover a place so unpredictable it makes the magical world of Harry Potter seem dull by comparison. That’s how I found myself struggling against the …

This Philippines World Heritage Site in the remote reaches of the Sulu Sea is a wonder of marine biodiversity, where monsoons limit diving to just four months each year. Plan ahead! Text and Photography by David Fleetham I’ve travelled the world to photograph sea life for over 30 years, …

There’s nothing like a big critter dive to get the adrenaline pumping – even before you hit the water. The sailfish and sardines off Mexico’s Isla Mujeres is one for the logbook! Text and Photography by Jesse Cancelmo The bait ball was under attack and as I surged through …