Scuba diving pictures

Are you passionate about Scuba Diving?

From my first dive I knew I was hooked!! This page is dedicated to everyone who loves SCUBA DIVING!

Feel free to comment on your experiences. I would love to receive your photo's as well.

I am so excited about this trip.... There is so many things to do. I need a pair of booties, old ones got lost when I moved, and thinking about bying myself a pair of gloves.

Still need to sort the finances out aswell.

My friend is taking his camera with again, so I will be able to upload some nice pics again.

My diving club is diving in Ponta De Ouro this weekend. Unfortunatly due to work I was unable to go with. I will update this blog during the week with pictures from the dive.

So you will be able to see new SCUBA DIVING PICTURES from their dives in Ponta De Ouro later this week.

I have made this page for SCUBA DIVING PICTURES !!!

On my other HUB I will be looking at different SCUBA DIVING EQUIPMENT, affordability etc.

Please send any info or tips along!!

Dispelling 10 Popular Myths About Scuba Diving From LeisurePro

Myth #1: Scuba diving is only for people who are good swimmers.

False: In fact, many divers are not good swimmers. Scuba equipment and the gravity-less nature of being underwater, make moving through the water less strenuous.

Myth #2: Scuba divers are prone to shark attacks.

False: Most animals are afraid of things they don't understand. The bubbles created by scuba equipment keep most underwater animals away--including sharks. In 2006, 31 dog attacks resulted in death, whereas only 4 shark attacks resulted in fatalities - none of whom were scuba divers.

Myth #3: Scuba diving is a male-dominated sport.

False: Today, 50% of all new divers are female. Scuba diving appeals to a diverse group of people -- regardless of age, gender or physical ability

Myth #4: Scuba diving is a dangerous sport.

False: Individuals engaged in recreational scuba diving (U.S. & Canada combined) had only 88 fatalities compared with 700 from boating, 3,200 from swimming, 33,100 from home injury and 44,800 from motor vehicles in 2004.

Myth #5: Scuba diving is an adult-only sport.

False: Sport diving imposes no legal limits on age, but most diver training organizations require candidates to be 15 years old for full certification. Of course, there is always the exception to the rule, and many 11, 12 and 13-year olds who are physically and mentally capable of handling the heavy equipment and the training can be taught to dive.

Myth #6: In the Northeast, scuba diving is a "summer-time only" sport.

False: Special diving equipment, such as "dry suits" enable enthusiasts to dive regardless of water temperature - and stay warm in the process. In addition, in the in the fall and winter, the Gulf Stream warms Northeastern coastal waters making visibility clear and very appealing. Summer beach pollution is also not an issue during these seasons.

Myth #7: People who care about the environment should not scuba dive.

False: The more people are aware of the underwater environment the more they can appreciate it. Seasoned divers often take up underwater photography as a way to greater appreciate nature's underwater beauty. Experienced divers also understand that touching the reef is not safe or good for reef life and take a "hands-off" approach.

Myth #8: Scuba diving is not for people who are claustrophobic

False: Some who are claustrophobic can still enjoy scuba diving. Others dive to overcome their phobia.

Myth #9: Divers need to spend a lot of money on scuba equipment.

False: LeisurePro recommends starting off slowly and, during training, only buying the (personal or basic) essentials, such as mask, fins and snorkel. Combined, these can cost less than $100. In addition, online scuba stores offer deep discounts to make the sport more appealing to the masses.

Myth #10: Scuba diving is not a sport.

False: Scuba Diving requires training, specialized equipment, a uniform (Wetsuit), concentration, skill, teamwork working with a dive "buddy", knowledge and practice.

As a result of my problem with my ears I've been looking for a solution. Many have come to mind. Ear caps, ear muffs, special masks with ear cups (pro 2000 mask) and even consulting an ear specialist. And ofcourse as we might have thought I was told the only thing to sort out my ears would be surgery, hence no more diving for me.

Your middle ears are dead air spaces, connected to the outer world by the eustachian tubes running to the back of your throat. When you fail to increase the pressure in your middle ears to match the building pressure around you, the result is pain and potential damage to the delicate mechanisms of the ear.

The key to safe equalizing is opening the normally closed eustachian tubes, allowing higher-pressure air from your throat to enter your middle ears. Most divers are taught to equalize by pinching their nose and blowing gently. Called the Valsalva Maneuver, it essentially forces the tubes open with air pressure.

The better way is to use the throat muscles to pull your eustachian tubes open the way nature intended--by swallowing. You already do this hundreds of times a day--just listen for that faint "pop" you hear about every other gulp. The rapid pressure changes of scuba diving, however, are more challenging. You need to help this process along.

• Listen for the "pop." Before you even board the boat, make sure that when you swallow you hear a "pop" in both ears. This tells you both eustachian tubes are opening.

• Start early. Several hours before the dive, begin gently equalizing your ears every few minutes. Chewing gum seems to help because it makes you swallow often.

• Equalize at the surface. "Prepressurizing" at the surface helps most divers get past the critical first few feet of descent. It may also inflate your eustachian tubes so they are slightly bigger. Not all medical authorities recommend this, however. The lesson here is to pre-pressurize only if it seems to help you, and to pressurize gently.

• Descend feet first. Studies have shown a Valsalva Maneuver requires 50 percent more force when you're in a head-down position than head-up.

• Look up. Extending your neck tends to open your eustachian tubes.

• Use a descent line. Pulling yourself down an anchor or mooring line helps control your descent rate more accurately. A line also helps you stop your descent quickly if you feel pressure.

• Stay ahead. Equalize often, trying to maintain a slight positive pressure in your middle ears. Don't wait until you feel pressure or pain.

• Stop if it hurts. Your eustachian tubes are probably locked shut by pressure differential. Ascend a few feet and try equalizing again.

• Avoid milk. Some foods, including milk, can increase your mucus production.

• Avoid tobacco and alcohol. Both tobacco smoke and alcohol irritate your mucus membranes, promoting more mucus that can block your Eustachian tubes.

• Keep your mask clear. Water up your nose can irritate your mucus membranes, which then produce more of the stuff that clogs.

There are two other problems with the Valsalva Maneuver: It may not work if the tubes are already locked by a pressure differential, and it's all too easy to blow hard enough to damage something. Divers who experience difficulty equalizing may find it helpful to master some alternative techniques.

• Toynbee Maneuver. With your nostrils pinched or blocked against your mask skirt, swallow. Swallowing pulls open your eustachian tubes while the movement of your tongue, with your nose closed, compresses air against them.

• Lowry Technique. A combination of Valsalva and Toynbee: while closing your nostrils, blow and swallow at the same time.

• Edmonds Technique. While tensing the soft palate and throat muscles and pushing the jaw forward and down, do a Valsalva Maneuver.

• Frenzel Maneuver. Close your nostrils, and close the back of your throat as if straining to lift a weight. Then make the sound of the letter "K." This forces the back of your tongue upwards, compressing air against the openings of your eustachian tubes.

• Voluntary Tubal Opening. Tense the muscles of the soft palate and the throat while pushing the jaw forward and down as if starting to yawn. These muscles pull the eustachian tubes open. This requires a lot of practice, but some divers can learn to control those muscles and hold their tubes open for continuous equalization.

This article was written by Patric Simon, friend and diving budy.