Archive for the ‘Scuba Diving News’ Category

Diver death mystery – Cumberland Courier Newspapers

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THE family of a Terrey Hills woman who died in a scuba diving accident while holidaying in Fiji have spoken of their struggle to find out what happened in the minutes before her death.

Amy O’Maley was separated from her dive instructor and found 18m below the surface while diving at the Beqa Lagoon on December 29.

The instructor resurfaced without the 28-year-old, leaving her under water.

She was later dragged to the surface unconscious and unable to be resuscitated by her boyfriend, Dale Kennedy, and other tourists.

Ms O’Maley’s younger sister Christine has since travelled to Fiji to speak with the operators of the Beqa Adventure Diving company but said they have not been able to tell her exactly what happened.

She is awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination.

The case is now being investigated by Fijian police and the diver training organisation PADI.

Back in Australia, Ms O’Maley’s friends and family have celebrated her life at a remembrance ceremony in Manly.

Guests were urged to wear bright colours and bring along a flower to throw into the water at Shelly Beach.

In a post on social networking site Facebook, Christine O’Maley described her sister as an inspiration.

“She was one of the most big-hearted, bright and beautiful people on the planet,” she said.

“I’m sure she is now one of the brightest stars in the sky.”

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New zoning rules start today – Coff’s Coast Advocate


 

  New zoning rules start today 28th February 2011

      SEAGOING Coffs Coast locals and visitors are reminded that changes to the zoning plan for the Solitary Islands Marine Park come into effect tomorrow.

New marine park zoning rules for the Solitary Islands come into effect from today


SEAGOING Coffs Coast locals and visitors are reminded that changes to the zoning plan for the Solitary Islands Marine Park come into effect tomorrow.


Solitary Islands Marine Park manager Nicola Johnstone said the new zoning plan protects the important natural and cultural values of the marine park while providing for a range of sustainable uses including beach activities, swimming, surfing, commercial and recreational fishing, scuba diving, whale and dolphin watching, research and other activities.


“Signage at key points such as boat ramps and zone boundaries has been updated and a new detailed zoning plan user guide is also available,” Ms Johnstone said.


“Marine Park officers will be out and about helping people understand the new arrangements.


“Changes include increased protection of deep reef communities in sanctuary zones, reduced complexity of rounded zone boundaries particularly around the islands, and improved access to key fishing spots near Bare Bluff, Groper Island and Minnie Water Back Beach.


“The new zoning plan follows a detailed review and two consultation periods between 2008 and 2010 that included over 80 meetings and information days; more than 7500 submissions were received providing feedback and comment from marine park users.”


Ms Johnston said extensive research, some of which has been recently published in the scientific literature, involving seabed habitat mapping, biodiversity assessments, targeted studies on key fish species, assessments of pests and disease, and cultural, social and economic studies underpin the zoning changes.


Maps of the new zoning plan are on display at the libraries in Toormina, Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga, as well as at Coffs Harbour City Council and the Grafton National Parks and Wildlife Office.


“Zoning plan information will also be available at a range of local outlets, the marine parks web site, local tourist information centres and the Solitary Islands Marine Park Office.


“Anglers and spearfishers should obtain a copy of the zoning plan user guide to ensure they don’t fish in sanctuary zones.”




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Ministry will go under water – Pensacola News Journal

Debbie Norris and Fed Barona kicked the idea around periodically but never acted on it.

Then, two life-altering events kicked them into high gear, and they soon will be offering scuba diving lessons to people who have disabilities. As their organization’s motto proclaims, “A dip in water can change everything.”

The two longtime divers are 11th-grade Sunday school teachers at First Baptist Church. They see their new endeavor as a ministry, opening the underwater to people with disabilities ? teenagers in wheelchairs, wounded veterans, even blind people.

The nonprofit organization, Achilles Divers, recognizes the mythological warrior Achilles, who was killed when an arrow struck his heel, his only vulnerable spot.

“It was the perfect metaphor,” says Barona, 38, a project manager from Gulf Breeze.

Last July, Barona dived off the pier at Quietwater Beach. The tide was surprisingly low, and he hit the bottom, breaking his neck and paralyzing him in the water.

“I was pretty sure I was going to die,” he said.

A 6-year-old girl saw him and called out to a young woman who had just recently passed a lifeguard course. She kept him afloat until paramedics arrived.

At first, doctors said there was an 80 percent chance he would be quadriplegic. Barona, however, vowed to overcome those odds. By October he was home again, and now he does fine despite a slight limp.

But the sailing got rougher. In November, his 19-year-old son, Alecs Barona, was in a car wreck. He, too, broke his neck; his left leg was amputated below the knee.

While Barona’s son was in the hospital, he and Norris agreed, “We have to do this now.”

Norris, a legal secretary, beams as she talks about diving and the disabled.

“I feel so lucky, blessed and fortunate, and I want to share that,” said Norris, 48.

She and several other Pensacolians took lessons this month so they can teach people with disabilities to dive. In the water, disabled people can be more buoyant and mobile than they are on land ? great for feeling free and optimistic. Both Baronas have resumed diving, much to their delight.

For Achilles Divers, there was training, insurance and paperwork to handle, but Norris and Barona are almost ready to begin the program next month.

As Norris said, “We want to touch as many lives as we can.”

For details, See Achilles Divers on Facebook.

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Seven new species of fish revealed by genetic analysis

ScienceDaily (Feb. 5, 2011) — Things are not always what they seem when it comes to fish — something scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and the Ocean Science Foundation are finding out. Using modern genetic analysis, combined with traditional examination of morphology, the scientists discovered that what were once thought to be three species of blenny in the genus Starksia are actually 10 distinct species.

The team’s findings are published in the scientific journal ZooKeys, Feb. 3.

Starksia blennies, small (less than 2 inches) fish with elongated bodies, generally native to shallow to moderately deep rock and coral reefs in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, have been well-studied for more than 100 years. It would have been reasonable to assume that there was little about the group left to discover. Modern DNA barcoding techniques, however, suggested otherwise. While trying to match larval stages of coral reef fish to adults through DNA, the team of scientists noticed contradictions between the preliminary genetic data and the current species classification. Further investigation revealed that the team was dealing with many species new to science, including the new Starksia blennies

via Blenny bonanza: Seven new species of fish revealed by genetic analysis.

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Oysters Vanishing on Overharvesting, Disease, Researchers Say

Oysters are disappearing from coastlines around the world because of overharvesting and disease, researchers said.

An estimated 85 percent of global wild oyster reefs and beds vanished in the past 20 to 130 years, according to a study led by Michael Beck, lead marine scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz. His team examined oyster reefs in 144 bays across the world, historical records and national catch statistics in a study published in the February issue of the journal BioScience. The condition of oysters was rated as “poor” overall.

via Oysters Vanishing on Overharvesting, Disease, Researchers Say – Bloomberg.
Oysters at Risk: Gastronomes’ Delight Disappearing Globally

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Newly discovered deep sea lobster

Discovered by an international trio of scientists, the lobster, Dinochelus ausubeli, lives in the deep ocean water  near the Phillipines. The lobster has movable, well-developed eyestalks and an inverted T-plate in front of its mouth. But its most striking feature is a mighty claw with a short, bulbous palm and extremely long, spiny fingers for capturing prey. Dinochelus is derived from the Greek words dino, meaning terrible and fearful, and chelus, meaning claw. All told, the Census of Marine Life sponsored 540 expeditions over 10 years, carried out by 2,700 researchers from more than 80 countries. It was, Ausubel says, the biggest project in the history of marine biology.

via Newly discovered deep sea lobster.

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Scuba diving: an underwater pursuit for the whole family – msnbc.com

Relax and breathe!

That could be the mantra for de-stressing everyday life. But here on tiny Grand Turk Island — part of Turks and Caicos (www.turksandcaicostourism.com) — where many believe Columbus first made landfall in the New World, the words are PADI dive instructor Hilary Sutton’s instructions to my 19-year-old daughter, Melanie, as she prepares to do her first of four open-water dives that will lead to her certification as a scuba diver, joining her dad, brother and me, and some 18 million PADI divers around the world.

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We’ve come to the 16-room Bohio Resort (www.bohioresort.com/) so that Mel can complete the course she started online at www.Padi.com. That we’re getting a few days of just mom and daughter time is an extra plus. PADI is the largest dive organization in the world. (You have the option of taking the $120 online course and completing it at a resort or sign up for a classroom course — typically more expensive — that could also include the confined and even open-water portions of the instruction.)

We meet best friends Emily Needham and Carla Kadzin, two young women from Long Island, who took such a class before they arrived. Needham said she spent last summer, “with a textbook in my hand rather than a drink. It was more intense than we thought and that made it more interesting.”

Resort diving course
They took the course courtesy of Emily’s dad, John Needham, a diver who wanted to encourage his daughters to embrace a sport he enjoys. Over the next four days, his older daughter, Catherine Brigham, and her husband, Harry, are completing their course (it costs roughly $450) along with my daughter Melanie, learning how to manage their scuba gear and get water out of their masks without surfacing. They practice skills, like sharing air and replacing their mask, towing another diver in the pool or off the beach.

“As a divorced parent, I don’t have as much day-to-day interaction with my family,” explains John Needham, a marina owner, who paid for the diving courses, as well as the trip for everyone, including his non-diving wife and another close friend. “That makes a trip like this all the more special.”

“This is the first family vacation we’ve had in eight years,” said Catherine Brigham, acknowledging she was nervous about being able to complete the course once she got in the ocean. (She did just fine.) “This is so special,” she said. “I’m grateful this is something that we can share from now on.”

Like tennis, golf or snow sports, diving is a life sport and one that can be shared with kids (they can get their junior certification at age 10, though you must be 13 to take scuba lessons online and 15 to upgrade to PADI Open Water Diver certification) and adult children. Before committing to the course, try out diving with a brief (less than three hours) resort course to see if it is something you’d like to pursue. Brigham added that she was glad for a family vacation where they are doing more than “staring at each other.”

They didn’t come seeking fancy digs. In fact, it’s just the opposite — simple rooms painted cheery, bright Caribbean colors, the beach so close you go to sleep and wake up to the sound of waves and a barefoot beachfront bar that offers a can of bug repellent, because you will get bitten, especially at dusk. The restaurant is just as casual (we eat all of our meals here) and you can order anything from a pizza to lobster quesadillas to fresh grouper and steak. Thanks to South African Chef Jurika Mehnde, it is considered the best on the island. “My goal is to not put on shoes the entire week,” joked Scott Flaherty.

The Turks and Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (www.tcspca.tc) can even arrange for you to adopt a puppy or kitten that has been temporarily living with “foster parents.”

‘One big party underwater’
Scott Flaherty, here from Richmond, Va., with his wife Melissa, explains that divers seek out resorts where the diving is stellar and the dive operation safe. These islands, of course, are surrounded by one of the most extensive coral reef systems in the world (65 miles across and 200 miles long) and under the National Parks Ordinance vast areas have been designated as marine park. Here on Grand Turk, the reef is just 500 yards offshore, which means there are no long boat rides to get there and between dives we can return to the resort for the required surface interval.

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Bohio managers Tom and Ginny Allan, Canadians in their 50s, treat us all like family. We make instant friends with the other divers, sharing meals, rum punches and, of course, dives where we are awed by the underwater life along the Grand Turk Wall — the varieties of coral, the sting rays, the flounder hiding in the sand with just their eyes visible, the octopus on a night dive.

“It was one big party underwater,” Carla Kadzin said excitedly one morning after the first dive. But with diving, like anything else, all doesn’t go as planned. Emily gets a cold and can’t dive the next day; Carla has a problem with her ears.

Everyone, meanwhile, cheers on the novices. We’ve just finished the most spectacular dive of the day called “anchor,” so named for a 10-foot anchor deep in the water that is probably more than 100 years old. Somehow, I miss seeing the anchor but am awed by the swimming sea turtle, hog fish, huge grouper, an underwater eel garden and all kinds of other big and little fish — blue and purple, silver and spotted.

“Let me introduce our newest PADI diver,” instructor Hilary Sutton says when we get back on the small Bohio boat. After six sections of e-learning, two mornings in the resort pool and beach and four dives mastering the equipment and skills, Mel is now a certified diver. We all applaud. She grins.

If only we didn’t have to go back to the snow.

For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow “taking the kids” on www.twitter.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.

© 2011 Eileen Ogintz … Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

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Getting tanked – UK The Kentucky Kernel


Discover SCUBA – Images by Kentucky Kernel

By Kirbye Meaux

Accompanied by an oxygen tank and a snorkel, UK students discovered how to breathe underwater.

Lexington’s New Horizon Dive Center held a scuba dive training session Tuesday night in the Lancaster Aquatic center pool.

“Anybody that might have an interest with scuba or want a little orientation to breathe underwater is more than welcome to dive in!” KHP scuba instructor Mike Sullivan said.

“The experience is good for anyone interested in aquatic biology or environmental science,” said Ed Gabe, a New Horizons employee who has been diving for nine years. “It’s a good angle to experience especially when doing underwater research.”

Before the course began, more than 40 students signed up to get into the pool.

While some students spent time learning how to clear their tank’s regulator, others were interested in learning how to level their bodies with the pressure of the water.

Sophomore Caleb Fligor said he would like to experience breathing underwater, while sophomore Nathan Hudson said he wanted to learn how it feels to be an astronaut.

A student organization called CAPPS was started to promote scuba diving and organize dive trips for its members, UK?student Nick Capps said.

“I did it last year and I learned about UK’s KHP class and other information about where you can go to get certified,” senior Andy Whitney said.

“I want people to embrace a new experience,” said Travis Land, New Horizons Dive Center owner.  “It’s a good way to open people’s eyes to a whole new world, which, by the way, is the coolest job in the world.”

“I think people should do it because it’s a super unique experience,” Gabe said.  “It’s the chance to experience weightlessness.”

For any information on scuba dive courses, go to www.NewHorizonsDiving.com.

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SF Man Arrested For Abalone Poaching Three Times In Three Weeks – The San Francisco Appeal

handcuffs.jpg A San Francisco man has been arrested for his third abalone poaching violation in as many weeks, a California Department of Fish and Game spokesman said.


Qiong Wang, 31, was arrested Saturday in Van Damme State Park on the Mendocino coast three miles south of Mendocino, Fish and Game spokesman Patrick Foy said.


Fish and Game wardens watched Wang and David Trevors, 28, of San Francisco, for two hours as the pair allegedly kayaked into the ocean and used scuba gear to collect 55 abalone, Foy said.


The men allegedly stashed the abalone near the beach and drove to the Sub-Surface Progression dive shop in Fort Bragg to return their rented kayak, Foy said.


Wardens arrested the men at the dive shop and recovered the abalone and Trevors’ vehicle. They also seized the pair’s dive gear.


Wang and Trevors were booked into Mendocino County Jail for felony conspiracy, the taking of abalone for commercial purposes, and other charges, Foy said.


On Feb. 12, Mendocino County sheriff’s deputies stopped Wang for speeding on state Highway 28 near Boonville, Foy said.


The deputies found two wet duffel bags containing fresh abalone in the back seat and contacted Fish and Game warden Don Powers, Foy said.


Powers found 36 red abalone, five of them undersized, as well as five scuba tanks and scuba diving gear in the trunk of Wang’s car, Foy said.


Wang was booked into Mendocino County Jail for possession of abalone for commercial sale, and his Toyota sedan and dive gear were seized as evidence, Foy said. He was released from jail Feb. 14.


While they were investigating another crime, Petaluma police also contacted Wang and Trevors in Petaluma on Feb. 2, Foy said. The two men were allegedly in possession of five abalone during closed season.


The abalone season closed Dec. 1 and will reopen April 1.


Wang was cited for several misdemeanors, including over-limit and out-of-season takes, Foy said.


Wardens have noticed an increase in abalone poaching over the past few years on the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts, Foy said.


Fish and Game Assistant Chief Tony Warrington said that for many abalone poachers, the profit from selling illegal abalone outweighs the risk of getting caught.


James Lanaras, Bay City News



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Simply Scuba Awarded Retailer of the Year Second Year in a Row by Diver … – American Banking News (press release)

Simply Scuba Awarded Retailer of the Year Second Year in a Row by Diver Magazine Readers


Simply Scuba triumphs once again by winning this illustrious title for the second consecutive year.

(PRWeb UK) February 25, 2011


Simply Scuba are pleased to announce they have retained the title of Dive Retailer of the Year for 2010, awarded by Diver Magazine. Simply Scuba is just one of the many candidates that are nominated for this award, so the company are over joyed that the readers have voted them the best retailer once again.


The Diver Awards are one of the most honoured awards for retailers to win because they are based on customer feedback, so it offers a real sense of achievement for the winner. Other categories which make the diver awards include Product of the Year, Brand of the Year, Destination of the year and so forth.


Simply Scuba was founded by husband and wife, Gerrard and Jo Dennis and it is just one of seven online stores which make up The Simply Group. Simply Scuba was their first store, but the company now includes Simply Snorkel, Simply Swim, Simply Hike, Simply Beach, Simply Sweat and Simply Piste, all stores excelling in their own rights.


Simply Scuba dedicates itself to offering customers complete confidence in buying online. They strive to make it as easy and as informed as they can for buyers, whether they have bought from them before or whether they are new to the online buying experience. To achieve this they offer a wide range of services including product demonstration videos to offer customers a better insight into the products, as well as free size exchange on selected items, 28 day returns policy and price match policy.


This Retailer of the Year has an extensive range of scuba diving gear from top brands in the Scuba Diving industry to offer its customers. It’s every scuba divers paradise to shop at this online store where they can find everything they could possibly need for their next scuba diving holiday.


Gerrard Dennis, Managing Director of Simply Scuba said: “We’re so happy to have won the award for the second year in a row. You don’t often hear all the good things customers have to say about their shopping experience, so receiving this award is like a pat on the back from the public. It shows that the effort and hard work our staff do on a daily basis is being recognised by our customers and we couldn’t ask for any more than that.”


Simply Scuba not only offer a top notch service and competitively priced scuba diving equipment; they go above and beyond to share their knowledge and experiences with their customers. Visitors to the site will find a vast range of dive reviews, buying guides, diving school information, diving holidays and much more. What’s more, Simply Scuba have a great online community where you can share your photos, information and even ask them questions through Facebook and Twitter.


For all these reasons, it’s clear to see why Simply Scuba won this prestigious award and the force behind this top online retailer couldn’t be more over-joyed and have vowed to try and make it a hat-trick for 2011.


NOTE TO EDITORS:


Simply Scuba is just one of the seven sites making up The Simply Group owned and overseen by Gerrard and Jo Dennis. The team of 28 employees are located among the Whitstable and Faversham, Kent locations and are dedicated to a level of service on par and better than any other retailers in the niche markets regardless of the size of the staff. Today the sites’ turnover is above £5M. Images available upon request.


Contact:


Chris Corfield (Marketing Manager) DDI-01227 284343 chriscorfield(at)thesimplygroup(dot)com


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