Spearfishing

Spearfishing is a great way to add more dimension to your diving. If you’re new to the sport, there are a few things to learn besides getting your diving skills up to par. Spearfishing can be done while free-diving or scuba diving.

Spearfishing with scuba can be challenging, but in places like California and Saskatchewan, it is legal and an acceptable way to go. Besides basic scuba certification, you don’t need any special diving skills. Practice diving to hone your skills. Once you are comfortable with your actions beneath the water, you can concentrate on your hunt.

Others feel the best way to spearfish is to free-dive with a snorkel. Free-diving allows you the stealth to sneak up on your quarry that scuba just doesn’t allow. If you want to pursue spearfishing to its heights, you’ll eventually need to switch from scuba to free-diving, as some of the most desirable fish cannot be caught with scuba.

But, there are some species that are fine for scuba spearfishing. Rockfish, lingcod, sheephead and calico bass may be good choices off the coast of California. Burbot is a common choice in Saskatchewan. All of these fish provide tasty meals that will be all the sweeter for having hunted them down yourself. That is the true heart of spearfishing. Instead of sitting above the water’s surface in a boat or on a dock angling for whatever may take your bait, you enter the fish’s environment. You pit yourself against your quarry. Instead of fishing, you are hunting in an alien environment, armed only with a small speargun or pole spear. Instead of sitting back, drinking a beverage and chatting while you wait for a fish to take your bait, you are the hunter. You search through the rocks and plants beneath the water’s surface, matching wits with the creatures that make these areas their home.

This is what makes spearfishing appealing to its many fans. You are hunting for probably the freshest fish you’ll ever eat. You get to dive, hunt for your dinner, and then take it home to eat. Sure beats going to the fish market!

You’ll want to practice. You can use floating targets that can be weighted to the bottom of your local swimming hole. You’ll want to aim for the meatiest part of the fish right behind the gill. Use a pole spear at the beginning. This is a simple tool with a rubber band at one end and a spear on the other. It is fired by pulling the band tight while holding the pole and releasing the spear at the right time. Pole spears are cheap and simple, yet can be used on many types of fish effectively. Their limits primarily lie in that they are not suitable for large fish or long distances. When you are experienced with a pole spear, you may want to consider moving up to a small speargun.

Before you hunt, learn to identify your quarry. You don’t want to shoot a fish that is illegal or protected.  Only bag the amount of fish you can eat in a short amount of time. This prevents overfishing and waste. Always dive with a buddy for safety purposes, and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying your new sport as frequently as you can.

Technical Diving

Do you love being in the water and want to see what really goes on underneath? Have you ever wanted to try technical diving? If you do, you should spend a day or two diving and having fun in the water. Technical diving provides a thrill that everyone should be able to experience at least once!

In any case, in order to become a technical diver, you have to undergo specialized training and have the correct equipment. There are numbers types of technical training organizations all over the world that train those who want to get into technical diving. A few of these are, IANTD, NAUI, TDI and PADI DSAT. Remember, before you can do any type of technical diving, you have to be properly trained and certified; this is a safety precaution that should not be overlooked. This ensures that you know what you are doing so that you can dive without putting yourself or others at risk. Once you have gotten your technical diving certification, you’re ready to go enjoy the water.

If you’re new to diving, you probably don’t know too much about technical diving and what it really is. Even though the two words “technical diving” has been around for centuries, it is only recently that they have been paired into a type of dive. For decades, people have been doing technical diving without even knowing it.

Technical dives take divers to new depths, literally! It is a much more advanced branch of recreational diving and with it you learn skills that set the technical diver apart from the traditional recreational diver. Your learn things such as advanced buoyancy control, how to trim out more efficiently, how to manage your breathing gas better. Examples of this type of diving would be closed circuit rebreather diving, cave diving, cavern diving, ice diver and wreck penetration diver just to name a few. If you’re looking for a clear definition of what technical diving is you probably won’t find one. Just know that it isn’t like your ordinary recreational dives that some enjoy.

In many cases with this type of diving, you will find a diver has two tanks, each with its own regulator. This is because technical divers can reach depths beyond 130 feet beneath the surface. They need the extra tank because they have to deal with decompression stops, which prevents him/her from going back to the surface of the water as quickly as a normal diver would be able to. The second tank acts as a backup and the diver has an increased supply of breathing gas for those deeper more extended dives.

You will usually find that divers who spend a lot of their time technical diving are generally in caves and also the interior of a shipwreck and they dive in both fresh and salt water. These divers dive where there is limited or no access to a surface or some sort of natural light.

Usually, those who are technically diving spend much more time in the water than those who scuba dive for recreation. If you are looking for a thrill in the water, try out technical diving. Though it is a little bit more complicated than your sport diving, you are sure to have fun!

Rebreather

Rebreather for Scuba Diving

Have you ever gone scuba diving with a friend or family member? Even if you haven’t, you have probably seen the tanks that the divers have to carry with them while swimming so that they are able to breathe underwater. Recently, there is a new device that scuba divers can take with them while in the water. It’s called a rebreather.

What is a rebreather?

A rebreather is a small electronic device, though a little bit more expensive, that is much smaller than tank. The advantage of this device is that it is much lighter and much more compact than a tank is. Even though these devices are more costly, they are proving to be much more efficient.

How does the rebreather work?

The rebreather works much different than the normal underwater tank does. The rebreather is able to provide gas that has oxygen as well as recycled gas that is exhaled by the scuba diver. As the diver breathes, the body takes in oxygen and produces carbon dioxide. With this device, the exhaled gas is able to be recirculated so that it can be used over and over. The rebreather is able to absorb carbon dioxide so that the diver does not suffer from carbon dioxide poisoning. Through scrubbing, carbon dioxide is absorbed and oxygen is put in its place. Because the device is able to used previously used air, the rebreather is much easier to carry while diving. The recycling of the air makes the volume of the whole device much less.

Who invented the rebreather?

Though the rebreather hasn’t been around for too long, the concept of being able to use previously used oxygen has been around a long time. In 1620, a man named Cornelius Drebbel from England was able to make an oar-powered submarine. As silly as it sounds, studies done on his invention were able to show that the submarine was able to re-oxygenate the air inside of it. Though not done the same was as a rebreather re-oxygenates the air, the concept of using air that has been used for decades.

Getting more into the concept of the rebreather itself, a man named Professor T. Schwann was said to design something similar in 1878 in Belgium. Henry Fleuss is noted for making the first positively known rebreather that was able to store oxygen and also absorb carbon dioxide at the same time. His invention was used to save miners.

What are the advantages of a rebreather?

The biggest advantage is that this device is very economical when it comes to using gas. Another great thing about the rebreather is that it is generally hassle-free. Divers don’t have to worry about carrying big tanks with them to go scuba diving. The rebreather is great because while in use, the diver is only exposed to about 1% of CO2 in the oxygen that is inhaled. The rebreather is also known to be able to produce not as many bubbles. This is great for those who are looking to get close to animals or take picture underwater.

Deep See Diving

Make A Splash in Deep Sea Diving

Deep sea diving is an exciting endeavor for many around the world. This is the practice in which an individual descends into water that is considered to be relatively deep with every intention of remaining in the area for an extended amount of time. Those that engage in this particular activity implement the use of various tools, such as an apparatus, that allows for breathing to achieve the goal of exploring the deep for long periods at a time. If you would like to pursue diving in the deep ocean waters, or you are new to the activity, this article may prove to be especially helpful to you. Here, you will learn how many, and even you, can make a splash in deep sea diving!

Why Is Deep Sea Diving Popular?

There are a number of reasons why deep sea diving is popular. Many people enjoy this activity because it allows them the unique experience of fishing in an underwater environment. It is not uncommon to fish for items like pearls, various types of sponges that can only be found in the depths of the sea, and interesting, rare pieces of coral. There are quite a few that must engage in this activity in order to perform the work in their professions. Examples may include those that have to recover vessels that have sunk, those that are on search and rescue teams, and those that construct items like bridges and docks. Law enforcement and military personnel may also have to pursue this activity.

Deep Sea Diving Equipment

There are many different pieces of equipment that may prove to be necessary and/or convenient for those that wish to engage in the activity of deep sea diving. The following list details some of the supplies that you may need to have on hand prior to indulging in the murky, mysterious depths of the ocean:

1. Protective diving goggles and/or mask

2. Dive bags

3. Flags for safety for deep sea divers

4. Air hoses

5. Air hose links

6. Breathing regulators

7. Deep sea diving lights

8. Deep diving footwear

9. Diving weights

10. Scuba diving fins

If you are looking to dive, pay special attention to your equipment. These are considered to be tools that may mean the difference between life and death in the lonely depths of the ocean.

Deep Sea Diving Dangers

If you plan to descend into the wild waters of the ocean, it is absolutely essential to ensure that you know and understand some of the basic deep sea diving dangers that may occur. By educating yourself on these issues, you may be able to take the proper precautions to avoid them. If they do occur, with a little bit of knowledge, you may be able to successfully handle them. These dangers include:

1. When diving, the equipment that you use may have a potential for failure. It is important to pay special attention to everything you use in the way of equipment to ensure that it is safe and is not considered a potential life threatening set of tools.

2. Hypothermia may be experienced during diving. This is when the body temperature drops quickly and drastically when introduced to cold, deep waters.

3. A syndrome which is a result of rapid compression, called “High-Pressure Nervous System” may be experienced. Vomiting, breathing problems, and even complications of confusion may be experienced.

This is just a small list of the many dangers that are associated with deep sea diving. If you are interested in pursing this activity, be certain that you learn as much as you can. This will ensure that your deep sea diving experience is a pleasant and memorable on