• Dive Philippines,  Diving

    World Ocean Day

    Happy World Ocean Day Has anyone else wished you a Happy World Ocean Day yet? It seems every day someone or another had declared a national day, there are well over 1,500. Some are trivial, while others bring attention to important issues. World Ocean Day was developed from a concept proposed by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development and the Ocean Institute of Canada back in 1992. Today is recognized by many countries and organizations worldwide including the United Nations. In the 1960s and 1970s, water pollution was a growing problem, with our waters reaching crisis status. The Great Lakes became so polluted that it was unsafe to eat fish…

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  • Diving,  Guide for New Divers

    Your First Scuba Dive From a Boat

    Your first scuba dive from a boat can be a very challenging dive. Many times it happens while still learning to become a scuba diver. In this case, it rapidly becomes something you are accustomed to. However, if you learned to dive at a location that has great shore diving or are diving at a quarry or small lake, you may have many dives before having your first scuba dive from a boat. Sabang Beach, Puerto Galera photograph by Charles Davis Your first scuba dive from a boat can be a challenge for a new diver. You will need to follow safety protocols. There are different methods of entering and…

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  • Diving,  Product Reviews

    SMACO S400, An Alternate Air Source?

    SMACO S400, Will It Be Your Alternate Air Source? You may be wondering how I came about reviewing the SMACO S400. Life has some interesting twists at times. As the end of the year approached, I started to plan what type of vacation I wanted to take in 2023. One of the trips I decided on was a scuba diving liveaboard. Looking over the conditions of the trip, I saw they allowed solo diving for properly qualified divers. Therefore, I added getting certified as a solo diver to my goals for the year. Each accreditation agency that offers it has a different name for it, however, the requirements are basically…

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  • Diving,  Product Reviews

    An Underwater Scooter, The Perfect Holiday Gift

    The LEFEET S1 Pro, The Perfect Holiday Gift The Holiday season is rapidly coming towards us, and you may be thinking of what special perfect holiday gift you should give your favorite scuba diver, even if that diver is you. Maybe you should be considering an underwater scooter also called a diver propulsion vehicle (DPV). Many scuba divers have been in awe of underwater vehicles. They were devices that only advanced scuba divers and often commercial divers would use. They could get divers over incredible distances in short periods of time, going 4 or 5 times faster than a diver could on their own. There were some downsides. First, they…

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  • Diving,  Product Reviews

    Test Diving the LEFEET S1 Pro DPV

    A few years ago, I did a beta test and then a review for the LEFEET S1. Earlier this year, the company asked if I was interested in reviewing their updated model the LEFEET S1 Pro underwater scooter. They shipped me one of the first production models, with the understanding that I would produce an honest review. They expected that, as my original review did have some negative comments. Test Diving/Driving Conditions I had originally planned on taking a dive vacation in late March, however, the current travel conditions pushed that back. My new plan became a 2-week cruise with some planned scuba diving and snorkeling days. These are the…

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  • Diving,  Product Reviews

    Unboxing the LEFEET S1 Pro

    LEFEET Diver Propulsion Vehicle A few years ago, I did a beta test for the LEFEET S1, and then when the product was about to be released, I did a review of it. I really enjoyed that diver propulsion vehicle and got many great dives from it.  After I moved to St Michael’s I did not have much storage space and kept my dive equipment in rented storage space. It was not until we had a few cold snaps that I remembered that my DPV was still in storage along with the battery. The cold killed the battery. When I went to order a new battery, I found out that…

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  • Diving,  Guide for New Divers

    Learn How To Scuba Dive

    You Want To Learn How To Scuba Dive   Scuba diving is one of the few leisure activities that you must be formally trained to do. To learn how To scuba dive is not that difficult but it does require mandatory training. Getting started is fairly easy, but you may have many questions before you feel you are ready. Most scuba divers when they learn how to scuba dive start as autonomous divers. An international standard that allows divers to dive with a dive buddy without supervision. There are hundreds of training agencies around the world using this standard. A common name for this is Open Water Diver.   These…

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  • Cruises,  Diving,  Travel

    Scuba Dive from a Cruise Ship

    Scuba Diving from a Cruise Ship Scuba dive from a cruise ship Why not scuba dive from a cruise ship?  A Cruise vacation might not be seen as an option for a diving vacation, however, it can be. Millions of people each year spend their vacations on a cruise ship. Once considered a vacation for the rich or elderly, the cruise ships now see passengers in every age group and in many economic groups. Some ships are small with only a hundred passengers or even less. Many of the new cruise ships have well over 5,000 guests onboard. Warm weather destinations are some of the most favorite cruise destinations, however,…

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  • Subic Bay,  Subic Bay Dive Sites

    Concrete Ship Wreck of Subic Bay

    A Concrete ship of the same class as YON-146 The Concrete Ship Wreck of Subic Bay YON-146 World War II saw many interesting ship building activities, Concrete Ship building being one of them. Since the large ship yards were turning out capital ships, the corn field ship yards created the LST. These ships yards got that nick name because many of them had been farms before the war. Far inland, they used the nations waterways to get the ships to the coast. All this ship building put a strain on the production of steel. Steel production limits meant critical items were often delayed. Fuel barges being one of them. Concrete boats…

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  • Aqwary,  Subic Bay

    Hey it is 2016

    Aqwary Dive Update WOW, can you believe that 4% of 2016 is gone already? Like everyone, I made New Year’s Resolutions, well no mine are goals. A few are writing related. Looking over my writing for the last year, I saw a few shocking items. I wrote 4 ebooks but they were all ghost written. My own lifestyle book only had one new chapter completed. Only a few articles that I wrote are with my byline. So in 2016, I will “hire” myself to write. I will add me into my work schedule. A couple are scuba diving related. One and many who know me will laugh, I will take…

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