Passport Changes

On June 1, 2009, new passport requirements go into effect for border crossings within the Western Hemisphere. Click on the title of this post to go to the website that lists all the important changes. For scuba divers, this is important as U.S. citizens will now need to present a passport or a passport card when entering the U.S. from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico, and Canada. This is part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Has anyone traveled with the U.S. Passport Card (as opposed to a passport)? Just wondering if there's any benefit to it.

Thanks!
Jenny

Packing a Diver's First Aid Kit

So I'm packing for Belize, and I'm not going to get caught in a foreign country without an adequate supply of medications and first aid stuff this time. I'm getting together some items for my kit, and I'd love your input.

My first stop on the Internet was DAN - Divers Alert Network - to see if they had any helpful suggestions, and of course, they did. They emphasize the importance of protecting yourself from malaria, so the first thing to go into my bag is going to be mosquito repellant.

Here's my list so far:
Mosquito Repellant
Calamine Lotion
Benadryl
Hydrocortisone Cream
Dramamine
Motrin
Decongestant
Nose Spray
Band aids
Neosporin

DAN lists the various potential concerns with medications here: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/article.asp?articleid=84

Does anyone have any further suggestions?
Thanks!
Hugs and fishes,
Jenny

BELIZE

I've just booked my next dive trip for the spring, and we're going to Belize.  It's my first time there, and I can't wait to get back into the water.  I'm ready to plan dives and adventures, so any tips are welcome!  Click on the title of the post to read an article about a new dive shop at Las Terrazas resort in Belize.  I'm not staying there, but it sure looks nice!

Apparently Belize is home to the second largest barrier reef in the world as well as the Great Blue Hole that can be seen from outer space.  

Hugs and fishes

Jenny 

Sunken Treasure

A new law has recently opened Greece's coastline to scuba divers, and archaeologists are worried that artifacts may be discovered and taken by underwater treasure hunters.  Experts believe there are ancient ships dating back to the first century B.C. as well as numerous antiquities just waiting to be discovered.  Has anyone done any diving in Greece?

It would be very exciting to discover history underwater, but it presents a dilemma - should scuba divers be permitted to scour under the sea for sunken treasure?

Click on the title of this post to read the article.

At the Movies: TAKEN

TAKEN - a new action movie starring Liam Neeson - is currently in theaters.  Luc Besson, the son of two scuba diving instructors, is one of the writers of the screenplay.  What caught my eye in this article is that Besson directed a diving film called "The Big Blue."  Has anyone seen it?  Has anyone seen "Taken" yet?  

I haven't seen a lot of great diving films, but I'll be checking out "The Big Blue" as soon as I get the chance and will report.  Nice to be back in the blogosphere.

Hugs and fishes, 

Jenny

Divelog: Palancar Gardens / Chankanaab Reef

Today was a SCUBA dream! Our first dive day in Cozumel, and it was fantastic! Palancar Caves, followed by Chankanaab Reef. A great way to begin over a week of diving one of the world's best locations.

I have to back up a bit and explain that after trying on my Mares BCD, I exchanged it for a SeaQuest Libra travel BCD. The Mares looked great, but I could tell it would chafe my neck. So today I broke in the new SeaQuest Libra BCD. It has back inflation with integrated weights. Before today, I've always rented my BC -so I was excited to see if this improved the dive.

This morning we didn't have to wake up at 6 am to wolf down coffee and breakfast and lug our gear to a car and drive to a dock. Instead, we walked right out of the hotel room onto the beach at 7 am, had a leisurely breakfast on the water, and walked about 25 feet to the dive boat in time for an 8:15 departure. Scuba Du - the onsite diveshop at the Presidente Intercontinental - was fantastic. The dive masters are extremely professional yet easy-going. It's no wonder they have a top PADI rating. On our boat, we had divemasters Sarah (who spoke French, English, and Spanish!) and Giovanni (our divemaster who was simply the best I've had the pleasure of diving with). They helped us set up our gear quickly and correctly and had every detail covered.

Palancar Gardens was our first destination, and it was gorgeous. Incredible coral formations, grouper, sea turtles, and a nice current that made finning almost completely unnecessary on the entire dive. Both of today's dives were drift dives as Cozumel is famous for its currents. It was a multi-level dive: we started around 40 and went as far as 80 ft. deep. The water was as warm and as clear as I've ever seen. I wore a 2 mil. shorty wetsuit and I was perfectly comfortable.

Two particular details to mention: (1) I was under-weighted - I only brought 8 lbs. and I needed 10. I struggled with buoyancy most of the dive and kept floating upwards. It became a real problem when I tried to do a 3 minute safety stop toward the end, and simply couldn't stay down. I don't know if it was the air expanding in my tank or the back inflation, but combined with the fact that I was underweighted, I didn't manage more than a minute at most. Fortunately, no harm done. (2) I kept getting stung by tiny jellyfish. Nothing serious, but they felt like pinpricks. Gloves are strictly prohibited in the area (as I discovered when putting them on), and naturally the jellyfish went straight for my hands. The stings didn't leave any marks, and I didn't feel them at all once I surfaced.

Once we surfaced, I realized that the back-flotation meant that it was far easier to lay on my back horizontally than to try to bob up and down in a vertical position where I had to keep treading water to stay upright.

On our second dive, we headed over to Chankanaab Reef after a brief surface interval when the dive crew brought us fresh cantaloupe and bananas. The Reef was gorgeous, although it was not as spectacular as the Palencar Gardens. Still, there were incredible colors, coral, grouper, and we even saw a massive Barracuda just hanging out. While we were down, a brief rainstorm passed over us. We could see the raindrops on the surface, but the visibility was still remarkably good. What a great way to ride out a little rain! This time, my weight was correct and I had gotten used to the back flotation to the point where my buoyancy was clearly much better. The currents were strong, but staying with the group was easy. Properly weighted, I was able to do a 3 minute safety stop with no problem.

A short boat ride to the dock at the hotel, and we were back in time for a nice lunch and a nap in the sunshine. We met a couple of nice divers - Jeff and Julie from Houston - which is always a plus.

The photos (taken yesterday) with this post are of the restaurant and Scuba Du - right on the beach, steps from each other and the hotel room. I can't imagine anything easier.

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

O Dark Thirty

Hello everyone,

I'm up and at 'em this morning, ready to get in the water. I'll be going to Cozumel in a couple weeks. To prepare for many diving adventures, I've decided to do a refresher course with Eco Dive Center. I took classes with them in early 2005 when I first got certified, and they're great. Even though I feel pretty good in the water, I have a new BC, and there are a couple of general safety things I want to go over because, thankfully, I've never had to put much of the safety training to use. So hopefully later today I'll have a few funny photos of me in a giant swimming pool in full gear. I'm now just trying to decide whether to wear a shorty or a full suit. Even though it's just a pool, if you're in it long enough, it can get cold!

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

Stay Focused

Quick post for today, then I'm off to study.

I read an article (click above for link) about a non-profit organization that offers SCUBA certification for people with disabilities, and I wanted to share it here. An excerpt:

"Inspired by his older brother, Bobby Muller, a paraplegic Marine Corps combat veteran from the Vietnam War, for whom diving represents freedom from his wheelchair, Roger incorporated Stay-Focused in January 2003. In addition to becoming PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) certified, Stay-Focused divers participate in workshops, sample parasailing and riding wave runners, and enjoy recreational outings on Grand Cayman."

The non-profit's website is :
http://www.stay-focused.org

Have a great day!
Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

SCUBA SHOW

Long time no see!  We have been very busy studying for the upcoming California Bar Exam which we're taking at the end of the month, so we haven't had much time for posting.  However, I was able to get away for a couple of hours to attend the SCUBA SHOW in Long Beach a couple of weekends back!  

Apart from the fact that the Convention Center was also rented out by Jehovah's Witnesses on that particular day, the Scuba Show was fun.  Nothing against Jehovah's Witnesses or anything, but they had rented out the entire Convention Center's parking structure and made Scuba Show visitors find alternate parking. The bathroom lines were also very long!  If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.  Next year, Scuba Show planners, please try to pick a day when there aren't thousands of people from different groups competing for parking spaces and toilets!  

However, once we were in, Christina and I had a great time running around the booths and checking out all the gear.  I was particularly impressed with Mares new women's line.  Also, a company is now offering full face masks with integrated communication systems.  The regulator is also integrated into the mask, so you don't have to clear the mask the traditional way.  How do you feel about communicating under water?  I have to say, I enjoy the peace and quiet down there!  

I really miss posting and reading your comments, and I look forward to this study mania coming to a close.  I'm trying to book a dive vacation for the end of August, so all suggestions are welcome!!  Hope everyone is well!

Hugs and fishes,

Jenny Mo

Shipwreck Discovered

Two men have claimed to have discovered a very old shipwreck - the HMS Ontario, a British 22 gun warship that was lost in 1780 during the American Revolution. The men, Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville, have not disclosed the location, but have spent $100,000 on equipment and 3 years searching for this "holy grail" of shipwrecks. The ship was lost when a sudden gale swallowed it. Lost for over 200 years and now it has been discovered. Brilliant. Approximately 5000 shipwrecks have been discovered in the Great Lakes.

The men have explained that the ship is still considered a war grave (120 souls were aboard when it sank) and belongs to the British government. When I first learned of the HMS Ontario, it reminded me of our first year exam in Real Property because we had a similar fact pattern- interesting to analyze who might have a rightful claim to anything aboard the ship. Click on the title of the post to read more and see a grainy photo of the shipwreck.

Sorry we haven't posted in a long time. The bar preparation is intense! However, we're all trudging along and looking forward to an August dive trip and more time to post!

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

Keeping Time

The title of this post links to an article about a new Rolex watch that can be used while diving. It's called the Rolex SeaDweller Deep Sea, and it looks amazing. It got me thinking - first, I need a watch. It's one of the mandatory pieces of gear that divers must wear on all dives. I have been naughty, though, and I admit I haven't really worn one lo these many scuba years. I have a nice watch, but I think I need a cheap and cheerful one that I won't worry about at depth. Am I wrong?

According to this article, the Rolex Sea Dweller deep sea is waterproof up to 12,800 feet! This is truly a beautiful watch. However, I'm curious - what kind of watch do you wear when diving? Are dive computers replacing dive watches? Is the money better spent on a dive computer, a dive watch, or does a diver need both these days?

I haven't invested in a dive computer yet because I always just count on my buddy or the dive master since my only experience is with groups of divers. However, I'm definitely going to get my own before my next dive trip. So feel free to post away about what kind of dive computer and/or watch you recommend.


Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

SCUBA is not a crime!

It's been far too long since our last post, but as you can imagine, graduation festivities and bar preparation has left us each with almost no time! However, I had to post this as soon as I saw it. According to the story:

"A Tofino man was recently sentenced in Port Alberni provincial court to 60 days in jail for unlawfully possessing scuba diving equipment contrary to a prohibition order. Gilgamesh Derick Palm also received an additional two year snorkeling and scuba diving prohibition, after pleading guilty to contravening an Order of Prohibition made under Section 79.6 of the Fisheries Act.
Convicted for the second time for possessing northern abalone in 2001, Palm was handed an eight year Order of Prohibition, which prohibited him from engaging in snorkeling or scuba diving activities. However, fishery officers determined in March 2008 that he was in contravention of the order, as he was in possession of scuba diving equipment. Because of conservation concerns, abalone fisheries have been closed in BC since December 1990. Northern abalone was declared a threatened species under the Species at Risk Act in 1999. Killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking abalone is prohibited under SARA, which aims to prevent endangered and threatened wildlife from becoming extinct or lost from the wild, and to help in the recovery of these species. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a press release that one of the largest threats to northern abalone survival is the continued unauthorized harvest, and surveys of northern abalone, including areas accessible only to remote communities, show no sign of recovery."

Sounds like he needs a good lawyer! Too bad we're still studying for the bar. Who knew a person could be on SCUBA probation??

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

Ice Diving in the White Sea

I ran across this story in the Wall St. Journal online, and it's incredible! Mark Schoofs wrote the piece and is the diver. The video is truly breathtaking. And the White Sea Center has two captive Beluga whales that played with the divers.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

"But the cold harbors danger. Valves can freeze, either blasting a diver with free-flowing air or shutting off the air supply altogether. Every air tank for ice diving has two valves, not the standard one for warm-water diving, and the mouthpiece valve has a freeze-resistant design. Even so, I encountered an emergency. I wore a vest that inflated and deflated to control buoyancy, and a valve on it froze open, ballooning the vest and sending me straight up. I was pinned against the ice, unable to swim freely, with the air in my tank rapidly flowing out. The safety of the terrestrial world was less than a foot away but walled off by impenetrable ice.

This is the second danger of ice diving: To ascend to the surface, one must return to the ice hole. Out of air and wearing close to 100 pounds of gear, even 25 yards underwater can be a long, even lethal distance. Each diver is secured to a rope connected to two other people: a buddy in the water and a tender on the surface. My buddy saw my trouble and gave the emergency signal: Four yanks of the rope, and our tender hauled us in. We skated along the ice's underside, a sensation so fun and beautiful that I forgot the danger. Up on top, our tender doused the valve with hot water from a thermos, and we resumed our dive."

Click on the title of the post to read the entire piece.

Hope everyone is well. We're done with finals and gearing up for graduation on Friday!

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

Above and Below

Sunrise on Maui. At the Grand Wailea, they have beach dives right off the hotel. One of the things I love about diving in Hawaii is that waking up at the crack of dawn isn't so difficult thanks to the time change. (For me it's 3 hours behind). I'm happy to get up and go diving first thing in the morning. This is what it looks like above the water and below the water on the same day.

Let's all wish the girls good luck on their exams. I'm finished now, but they still have a few to go!

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

Diver ESP

Everyone has one - a story about how you just got a little "feeling" that you should or shouldn't do something.  I am a big fan of listening to my intuition.  My story involves Miami, Florida in March 2007.  I flew to Miami, and we were booked to go on a dive - the U.S.S. Spiegel Grove - in the Keys.  I went to dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant the night before, and it was great - until I started throwing up in the middle of the night.  I didn't get much rest, and I woke up with a bad feeling (besides just throwing up).  I had a really terrible sense of doom, but I wanted to do this dive.  After all, I had traveled all this way and I wasn't going to get another chance during that trip.  

If you've ever been to the Speigel Grove, you know that it's a huge war ship, and portions of it are in over 120 feet of water.  I've done deep dives, but I'm a little more psychologically comfortable at 80 feet max.  However, I had seen magnificent photos of the ship, and I couldn't wait to take my own so I was willing to - ahem - take the plunge.  (Did I just say that?)

Anyway,  I went to the dive shop.  The weather was awful - gray, gloomy, rainy.  But, again, I had traveled so far, and rain doesn't really affect diving once you're under.  Plus, the boat was taking divers.  If the boat goes, why shouldn't I?  Again, terrible sense of doom.  That plus the bad seafood the night before plus the terrible weather made me do something I had never done before - cancel a dive.  The shop was kind enough to refund my money.  I moped around the rest of the day, wondering if I had made the right call.  The next day, I picked up my newspaper outside my hotel room and discovered that three divers died on the Speigel Grove on the dive I was scheduled to do at the time I was scheduled to do it.  They had apparently penetrated the wreck without tying a line, bringing extra air canisters, or having a guide.  One of them made it back, but three of them got lost inside the ship.  They had to send down an extraction team the following day.  It was awful.  I don't know if I would have penetrated the wreck or not because I tend to be a pretty cautious diver.  However, these guys were experienced and certified - probably more experienced than me.  I'm really sorry for those divers and their families.  

The reason I bring it up is because I think it's really critical to listen to your intuition with SCUBA.  It's also critical to respect your buddy's feelings about a dive, too, and to never pressure your buddy.  Do you have any stories of DIVER ESP?
Hugs and Fishes,
Jenny Mo

April Fav Blogs

April was a blast! Here are the five most popular posts from April (as measured in comments). We had fun, hope you did too :)

First of all, you guys loved Jenny's Mo's first official underwater post:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/down-line_12.html

Also, "Feeding Frenzy" was a hit with the web crowd:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/feeding-frenzy.html

"Feeding Frenzy" was not to be outdone by "TwoTone Tan Lines"
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/twotone-scuba-tan-lines.html

Both with four comments. Moving into the three comments category, we had the very, very sad event of a shark attack in San Diego. Thanks to the community for helping us honor this gentleman in his untimely death:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/suspected-great-white-shart-attack-san.html

We had some fun advice from Jenny Mo and web friends about proper mask clearing. I've not been diving in the ocean yet, so I can only "picture" what you guys are talking about. However, it seems like you all did an amazing job describing what I should do once I get certified! If you missed it, check it out here:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/loosen-up.html

We also have one more post that was the most "fun" for us... we love making connections online and we really found some great scuba friends in the midst of my ode to Traci's love of mermaids!
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/traci-who-loves-you.html

As you can tell, we are all nearing the end of finals, but we are still pretty school focused so the blogging has been hit or miss. Soon after finals, Z and I will be getting certified so that will be fun and funny all at the same time :) We have our fingers crossed that we will be taking an all girls dive trip before the summer is out, but we will keep you posted! Any ideas? We need to go somewhere that is a long weekend away from the US.

If you have a favorite friend on TwoTank you can get the posts by author as follows:

Jenny Mo: http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Jenny%20Mo
Traci: http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Traci
Z (who has been studying A LOT): http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Z
Me (Kari): http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Kari

Hugs and Fishes,
Kari

Nudist Vacations?

Oh, boy.  Where do I begin?  The New York Times Travel Section has a story this week, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem," exposing the growing trend of nudist travel.  Apparently there are all-nude luxury resorts from Mexico to the Caribbean.  This growth industry  is estimated at $440,000,000 last year.  There's even an all-nude Hawaiian cruise scheduled for 2010.  And - get this - they are referring to a such trip as a "nakation." 

There is absolutely no way I would ever do this.  Yes, I'm modest.  But even more importantly, I really don't want to see other nude people frolicking on a cruise ship or lunching by the pool or playing volleyball / water polo or whatever (like in this photo).  However, I think I've figured out why this is becoming popular.  Who wants to go through all the hassle of bringing luggage to an airport these days?  With the nudist vacation, lost luggage is a thing of the past!  Besides, is being nude for a week really that much more embarrassing than having a full body scan at your local airport security checkpoint?   Probably not, unless you're taking a trip with your parents or your boss.  The main problem I foresee is managing to fit a sufficient amount of sunscreen into those Ziplock bags they make you use now.  Click on the title of the post to read the full article in the NYT.

So today's discussion - would you go / have you ever gone on a "nakation?"

Hugs and fishes,

Jenny Mo

TwoTone: SCUBA Tan Lines

Fellow Blogger Maldives Live commented on the post "Loosen Up," saying that the mask mark is not as bad as the scuba tan. I'm inclined to agree, so I'm posting a photo of what can happen when you leave the bottom half of your wetsuit on and unzip the top half and scrunch it down on the boat ride home! As you can see, top half - fabulous, bronze goddess tan. Bottom half? Dita Von Teese. Note to self: Always take wetsuit completely off after the last dive.

Hugs and fishes,

Jenny Mo

Yo Quiero Scuba Dive

Cruel and unusual or just funny?  You be the judge.  Click on the title of the post for more info.

Hugs and Fishes,

Jenny Mo

Loosen Up!

I tend to wear my mask a little too tight when I'm diving. It always seems like the tighter it is, the more it will keep the water out. However, that's not the case! If it fits correctly, it forms a seal, especially at depth with the pressure. I also tend to clear my mask too often because I always think I'll be able to rid it of those few little drops at the bottom. This, too, is a bad habit and I'm pretty sure that when my mask flooded the last time, I was broken of that bad habit. As you can see from the photo (8 hours after my dive) I still have lines on my face from the mask.

For those of you who may be new to diving, here's a bit of mask clearing 101. Why would you ever clear a mask? You might want to deliberately get some water in your mask, or "flood" it, when you're on a dive if you happen to fog up. Or, you may get some water in your mask accidentally and want to get rid of it. Here's how: All you have to do is look up to the surface, take a breath through your regulator, and blow out through your nose as you gently push the top of the mask, tilting it and lifting the seal from the bottom away from your face. The air from your nose completely clears it. The most important thing is to make sure you're looking to the surface at all times so that water doesn't fill it back up as you're clearing it. This is one of the things you'll learn in your certification course, and you should definitely always take a certification course before you dive.

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo