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

One Month Anniversary!

Hi everybody! It's been exactly one month since we first debuted our blog, and so many of our new friends have given us a fantastic welcome to the online SCUBA community. To thank you for all your kind comments and for dropping by so often, I thought I'd give you an underwater hug. Have a great day.


Hugs and fishes,
Jenni Mo

P.S. We graduate from law school on Friday!

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

SCUBA's Good For You!

The Guardian just ran a story about the health benefits of SCUBA v. Swimming.  You can read the entire story on Guardian's website by clicking the title of this post, but here are some highlights:

Swimming:  Increases appetite.   Swimmers gained an avg. of 5 lbs. when put on a 3 month program for weight loss.  Oops. 

SCUBA:  Swimming with fins is like water-based weight training, firming the thighs!  Weight loss?  Excellent - Someone weighing 70kg burns 13 calories a minute, putting a 45 minute dive at 585 burned calories!!  (For those of us Americans  - 70 kg is 154 pounds).  That is the equivalent of a Carl's Jr. Famous Big Star Hamburger (580 Calories), or 2 Glazed Chocolate Crullers from Dunkin Donuts (560 calories) or 5 Heineken beers (550).  Wow!  

Both are good for lung capacity.  Swimming is better for an upper body workout.  As you all know, we don't really do much with our arms at depth.    

The last time I burned 585 pounds in 45 minutes, I was on a treadmill listening to terrible techno music, sweating like crazy, and thinking there had to be a better way.  Well there is!!

Personally, I eat very healthy and I don't drink - especially before a dive (or even the night before).  No wonder divers look great in a wetsuit!  We're working hard out there!

Hugs and fishes,

Jenny Mo 

Scuba Camp?

What do you guys think about this one? A live aboard scuba camp for teens... interesting!

Check it out here:
http://www.gobroadreach.com/programs/scuba_diving_camps.asp

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

Three Down - One to Go!

I just finished a final that was so confusing and hard that I cannot describe it other than as my worst school nightmare for three hours in slow-mo. Yeah, honey, THREE hours of nothing but essay - corporate law no less. So, that was the end of my third final. I have one more next week.

After that I will be a free woman! I might paint my face blue :) As a celebration, I am taking the rest of the night off from thinking and going to dinner with some old friends from home. I think there are few things on the planet as wonderful as old friends that know you so well, it's almost hard to keep the conversation going because you already know EVERTHING about each other. I love that. So, hats off to old friends and being (almost) done with finals!

Hugs and fishes,
Kari

P.S. Once I'm done with finals I get to start my SCUBA certification... so excited! I've even started calling / e-mailing local shops for price quotes. Don't worry, I blog all the action :)

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

Divers Have Been Rescued

As we posted two days ago, 8 divers were missing in Taiwan. Psychosolodiver (http://psychosolodiver.com/) commented about the rescue today and gave us a link - the 8 missing divers in Taiwan have been rescued after 40 hours! This is such wonderful news, and an answer to our prayers. Click on the title of this post to read the full story from The China Post.

Hugs and fishes,

Jenny Mo

Northern California Diving for Abalone

So there seems to be more to do in Silicon Valley than just conquer the tech world and tour vineyards. It's ABALONE season! I don't exactly know what this means, but if you click on the link above, it will take you to a story in the Mercury News (Silicon Valley's Daily Planet) that will more than adequately inform you of all things abalone.

Apparently, these things are a delicacy. There are a lot of restrictions like - you can't use scuba gear! You have to just free dive (that's diver speak for just holding your breath and going to the bottom until you need to come up for air - I don't see the point, but I guess these Abalone people are into it). And get this! Standard visibility is just 5-6 feet! So basically, you can't see anything, you have no tank or reg or any way to breathe, and temperatures can be in the upper 40s! (That's Fahrenheit - 4 degrees Celsius!) You also need particular gear (including a mollusk scraper) and a sport fishing license. You're only allowed 3 per day or 24 per year, and there's a black market for these little sea critters of up to $100 per abalone. It's also pretty risky because they have to rescue about 50 people per season.

Has anyone ever done this who wants to weigh in? I love diving, but I'm not going through this for shellfish. Also, their numbers are dwindling. Here's a pretty good report on the ecological issues regarding abaolone:

www.werc.usgs.gov/ coastal/abalone.html

Thanks to that website (U.S. Gov) for the photo as well! Very educational. Also, thanks to my marine biology professor in college because I still remember that mollusks have radial symmetry (and I think they're gastropods, too!).

Hugs and fishes,
Jenny Mo

Shorty

One final exam down, one to go.  Kari, Traci, and I all took the same exam today, and what a beast!  So to take our minds off of it, I'm including a photo of me in a shorty wet suit.  I have to say, it's not the most attractive look.  There's something sleek and catlike about the full wetsuit.  The shorty wetsuit looks more like you're a superhero with a bad dry cleaner.  However, O'Neill wetsuits are the best ones I've tried.  They fit well, and they hold up year after year. I have two wetsuits and they're both O'Neill - I have a 5 mil full suit and this 3 mil shorty.  I don't have a drysuit yet.

The good thing about the shorty is that it's a lot easier to get in and out of.  It's also light and a little more comfortable.  I just don't feel quite as spectacular in it though.  How many wetsuits do you own?  Any favorites?  And lastly - would you ever wear a rental wetsuit?  I wouldn't! Not after I learned that people don't always bother to use the "head" on a dive boat.  

Hugs and fishes,

Jenny Mo

8 Divers Missing in China

Eight vacationers went missing on a SCUBA trip to the popular dive destination on the coastal tip of Taiwan at Chihsingyen (Seven Star Rock).  Six men and two women were last seen around noon two days ago, and search and rescue teams have been unable to find them.  Strong currents may have swept them further out to sea.  Click on the title of this post to read the full story.

Thoughts, hopes, and prayers for a safe return. 

Jenny Mo

Countries That Have Visited (thanks for the love)

Thus far, we've met new friends and rad divers who've stopped by TwoTank from the following countries (in order of most hits): USA, Canada, Russian Federation, Guam, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Finland, Argentina, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Northern Marina Islands, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and France. WOW! It's been fun "chatting" with you online and admiring your scuba shots. The next best thing would be to have you show us the best dive sites in all those amazing places. That's the beauty of the web - we can live the adventure with each other! Keep diving, shooting (pictures), and sharing :)