This is also found often as a pornographic niche – the cheap movies with the stories taking place in supposed exotic locations (but are actually filmed in someone’s back yard). Take the pretend-plot and token prop, the soundtrack with thumping dance music and the sexual orgy. But that’s not what we’re talking about here.

We’re not talking about a bunch of people larking about but about the serious pursuit of naked diving. Is this an activity common amongst divers? Is it growing in popularity? Some of us were dying to find out. We’re enlightened adults and support all activities that enhance life – without embarrassing others, right?

Naturism/nudism/clothing optional

Naturism is the celebration of living without the hindrance and inconvenience of clothing. Sure that sounds good. How does it work in scuba diving?

What’s good about nude diving?

Imagine, no neoprene rash, no fussing and struggling to squeeze into that old wetsuit that you bought before that weight gain.

But seriously, diving naked has some real virtues. For one thing, because there is no exposure suit between the elements and your skin, you must be extra cautious and practice good buoyancy control. If you are careless, you WILL feel that brush with fire coral or bump with the sea anemone. Too many divers use the wetsuit as their armour against their surroundings. Many dive sites ban the wearing of gloves because divers become more careless and too tactile with gloves. If wetsuits were banned, the diver-made damage to reefs will probably become a rarity.

Careful where you dive naked

Don’t do it where it’s physically dangerous or where local customs don’t take too kindly to these sorts of transgressions from the dress code.

In order to stay adequately warm for a typical dive – lets say 40 minutes – the water temperature would have to be 34C/F equivalent. Cold can be a hazard so beware of the signs of hypothermia.

Try it

There are resorts and dive operators who cater to this niche. A search online should yield up a list of choices for your next holiday if you’re feeling clothing optional.

Here is a quote from a Spanish naturist site, a warning about some hazards associated with nude diving:

“It is men who risk the only hazards unique to nude diving. Feeding fish is not recommended by male divers. More than one has reported being bitten on the male appendage by some fish that perceived it as a meal. Men are advised to protect themselves if surrounded by fish large enough to bite.”/blockquote>

Hmm. Makes sense. But surely, they’re being overly cautious? A male member isn’t unique in protruding. What about fingers or the nose?

As for me, I’ll stick to my wetsuit. I tend to get cold quickly and besides, there are plenty of opportunities to take it all off after the dives. Hail the hot tub and the apre dive activities.

If anybody out there’s a seasoned naturist diver or has tried it – as a sport and not in a pornographic video – please let us know.

If you found this useful, please see Sea Forever, a website dedicated to oceans and green living at http://www.sustainablewaters.com

Lou Kawakami is a consultant with a keen interest in the oceans and environmentally-friendly living. She has an extensive background in marketing, education and social policy. In addition, she is a scuba diving instructor who has travelled a bit.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Kawakami

Obviously, we don’t want to be the ruin of the beautiful oceans that we’re so fond of exploring. Unfortunately, some popular dive spots have become ruined over time because of poor management and irresponsible divers.

Skills, training and knowledge

Responsible scuba divers possess adequate skills. This requires practice and training for good buoyancy control. This is important especially when diving sensitive environments like coral growths and shipwrecks. You should avoid disturbing marine life, touching them – unless you are certain it is safe and OK for both you and the marine life – and getting in entanglements. Many organisms are vulnerable to even the slightest brushes.

Planning and preparing for dives is vital – don’t put yourself or others in danger – not to mention marine life.

Dive within your means (training, ability and confidence level). You should be familiar with your equipment and know how to use it.

Your equipment should be streamlined. Dangling gauges and accessories are hazardous to you and to marine life.

Take specialist training – you need additional knowledge and training to dive overhead environments (such as caves and wrecks) or to venture to greater depths.

Responsibility and good practice underwater and on land

Do not take souvenirs and artifacts. You may – often unknowingly – be disturbing marine life by taking items out of the water. Collecting is also prohibited by law in many areas. Follow the popular saying: “Take only pictures and leave only bubbles.”

Learn about marine life in the areas you’ll be diving. Listen to professional guides, safety briefings and dive briefings.

Respect local customs and laws. If the reefs are out-of-bounds, there is probably a reason.

Do not litter or throw objects into the ocean. Litter is a hazard to marine life and to people. You can also help by picking up refuse and recyclables on the shore. Get involved in cleanup campaigns on shore.

Take advice from local professionals and follow their instructions.

Dive with responsible operators. Do some research. There are various national and international certifications and awards for dive shops, schools and resorts for good environmental practices.

Get involved with conservation projects – either in your local community or during your travels.

If you found this useful, please see Sea Forever, a website dedicated to oceans and green living at http://www.sustainablewaters.com.

Lou Kawakami is a consultant with a keen interest in the oceans and environmentally-friendly living. She has an extensive background in marketing, education and social policy. In addition, she is a scuba diving instructor who has travelled a bit.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Kawakami

Have you done much cold-water wreck diving? If you’re used to Caribbean diving, this is a whole different experience. You’re going to want to get trained and certified for drysuit, and you’ll want to either buy one (check eBay), or find a shop that has one for rent in your size. You can try, but it’s really hard to rent a drysuit. If not integrated in your drysuit, you’ll also need a hood, gloves, and boots. If the conditions are just right, you might get away with a 7mm wetsuit on shallower dives, but when the water temps at depth get down into the 60s, 50s, and even 40s, you’ll be uncomfortable without a drysuit. You’ll need open-heel fins (slipper fins don’t work well with boots), main and backup lights, a tank light, and a wreck reel. Signaling devices are also a good idea, such as a safety sausage or a whistle. Many wreck divers carry a knife or shears, too, in case of entanglement. If you want to do more serious wreck penetrations, you should train for Wreck certification, too – you’ll live longer.

I’m not some serious, expert, North Atlantic wreck diver – I’ve only done two 2-tank excursions here in the NY Metro Area, and three dives one day in Lake Michigan (which is surprisingly similar), but I’ve logged over a third of my 91 dives at a cold local quarry called Dutch Springs, plus two at another quarry called Brownstone. I’ve also done the PADI advanced and Rescue courses, and completed the specialties to earn PADI’s Master SCUBA Diver certification, but I have no professional or technical training. I know I’m only a couple of North Atlantic wreck dives ahead of the rank beginners, but from my experience, I have two suggestions…

First, I’ve seen some rank beginner OW divers get into circumstances beyond their comfort level, and it makes for an unenjoyable (if not dangerous) situation for them. Education and experience will always be an advantage. Don’t stop at OW – take AOW certification – it’s not a terribly brilliant course of study, but it will give you experience in five different skill areas. U/Nav taught me to check my compass periodically, keep track of my surroundings and landmarks, and measure distance by time, air pressure, or fin kicks; until then, I always used to just blindly follow a dive master like a tour guide – it made me more self-reliant. Wreck taught me to lay and take up a line, ways to avoid stirring up silt, and to be aware of situational hazards. Drysuit and PPB taught me how to better control my buoyancy and trim. Night taught me to use lights and signals, and to be comfortable in low-visibility environments – it made me more confident. Deep, Multi-Level, Altitude, and Nitrox helped me understand more about the physiological effects of diving – awareness of my own body and mind help me prioritize and make better conscious choices, even while stressed, rather than let situations own me.

Most (albeit not all) instructors and many advanced students are also some very good divers, worthy of emulation. Spending more time training with them will improve your diving in ways beyond just the content of the training courses.

Second, take things one step at a time and don’t get in over your head. I had already completed Rescue certification, a bunch of the above-mentioned specialties, and 60-total dives, including many in the cold-waters of Dutch Springs and Brownstone before I ever went out on a North Atlantic wreck dive. Visibility was just past arm’s length and the water temps at depth were 59-degrees (in late July!). I’d gotten used to such temps at Dutch Springs, but add in low viz, chop, current, a touch of sea-sickness, and the lack of personal space on a “cattle” boat, and you’ll see how the stress and task-loading start piling on. Reflecting back on it afterward, I realized that there were a lot of mistakes my buddy and I made on that dive, despite all the training I’d had at that point. Everything turned out well, but tying our wreck reel to the anchor line was a classic newbie error, for example. My buddy was less-experienced, and was relying on me, to some degree, since I had some fraction of the requisite skills for the circumstances. If I had to advise anyone else getting into such diving, I’d say, take it one step at a time:

1. Get AOW and Drysuit certified
2. Get a drysuit and get used to it; practice the Drysuit controls, buoyancy, and trim in a pool
3. Practice more at a protected local quarry or lake
4. Practice more skills and/or earn specialties for Night, U/Navigation, Deep, and of course, Wreck
5. Practice night dives
6. Practice laying, following, and taking up line with a buddy; using a wreck reel is a skill all it’s own, and you can even practice it on the silly little wrecks at your local quarry or lake
7. Do some local night dives at your quarry or lake and try the line exercise again with a buddy – get capable of using a reel and lights at the same time
8. Once you’re good at it, look for some deeper wrecks; everything is more challenging when you’re cold and deep – once you’re comfortable with that, do it again on a night dive
9. Last, but not least, before you go on your first serious open-ocean cold-water wreck dive, I can’t overstate the value of Rescue training; don’t think of it as training to enable you to save lives – think of it as training to make yourself a better, more-aware diver. Before my Rescue class, I used to be just another tourist on a dive boat – now I get my gear squared-up early and I’m more aware of the divers around me. I can observe and help the less-experienced divers, and watch and learn from those more-experienced. An important lesson from the Rescue course is to foresee and avoid situations where rescue would become a necessity.

Brian Blum is the founder, president, and chief consultant at Maverick Solutions IT, Inc. Maverick Solutions provides affordable IT consulting and technology support services, primarily to schools, NFPs, and SO/HOs in the New York Metro Area. Maverick Solutions is the alternative to keeping your own in-house IT staff, and we’d be happy to help you get more value from your existing technology investment. Visit our Website to learn about the services we offer, or read our blog, Maverick Ramblings, for assorted tips, tricks, and information of technology interest. When he’s not geeking it up, Brian enjoys SCUBA, skiing, cigars, travel, reading, and motorcycling. He’s a PADI-certified Master SCUBA diver with specialty certifications for Wreck, Deep, Night, Nitrox, Drysuit, DPV, U/W Navigation, U/W Naturalist, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Altitude, and MultiLevel. He’s been logging recreational dives while trying to decide whether to pursue technical or professional certification next.

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The Oriskany reef lies off the coast of Florida and is not recommended for novice divers as by US Marine Law it has to be a minimum of 55 feet navigational clearance from the surface to allow shipping to pass comfortably over it.

Having said that it is that far down you do not have to go down very far to get a good view of it. The massive air craft carrier is very awe inspiring site under water and although it had only been there for a short time in relative terms a lot of fish and reef organisms have made it there home.

Although I’m an experienced Wreck Diver I did not plan to go into this wreck merely to observe from the safest outside distance was enough for me. This was a really strange feeling to just above the top of the island of the flight deck.

These artificial reefs are going to transform the diving industry and also do a lot for the oceans ECO system, we need to see more developments in this field as more and more of the reefs that are current around the world do get damaged by inconsiderate divers.

By replenishing and conservation of existing reefs we may enjoy the spectacular array of life that manages to exist within the depths. I must admit I would quite like to do a wreck dive and penetrate the vessel just to see the varieties of fish that have made it there home. Not a deep penetration as this is highly not recommended but more of just inside to see a hanger deck.

This would require technical diving skills and a lot of good experts to get advice from before tackling this proposition I hope to be able to come back to this wreck within the next two years as a to have a more intense experience with this wreck.

The Oriskany when it was reefed landed in the upright position as this is an air craft carrier and the top of the ship is broader than the base it was not known if it was going to do this. It’s good that it did because it’s more familiar shape that seeing a wreck on its side.

I have dive many wrecks some of the best ones can be found at Scapa Flow in Shetland Islands. After the war a lot of German ships were scuttled there and remain as wrecks they are very popular with divers but it’s a hell of a long way to go to get there. You sometimes think about flying but that cuts down the amount of diving you can do, as most of the Scapa Flow ships are deep dives too.

I hope to find some more artificial reefs to explore and take more photos and keep a good record to see how these artificial grow in diving popularity.

Andy Bolton 41 Liverpool UK England

Automation Engineer | Divemaster | Website Designer | Musician | Hot Air Balloonist | Author Mostly Harmless, Enjoy Travelling and trying new gadgets.

Accident Claims | Compensation | No Win No Fee

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