I made my first dive with a dry suit in open water on December25th, 2005 off the east side of Big Mosquito Island in Jeju Korea. I had done a couple pool exercises the weekend before and figured it shouldn’t be a problem.
Our first dive was to 100 fsw. I was using Nitrox EAN 32 for this dive. The islands off this area of Jeju are old volcanic vents which the magma cooled and solidified in. Over a few millennium, the outer dome eroded off and left the solidified magma like a monolith rising from the sea bed almost 200 fsw below. This is wall diving. Read the rest of this entry »
Last time we talked about surface air consumption rate and how to calculate it using an Aluminum 80 cylinder. But what if you change to a different sized cylinder? This time, I”ll show you how to convert your Surface Air Consumption Rate to Respiratory Minute Volume so you can calculate bottom time with different sized cylinders. Read the rest of this entry »
Perhaps one of the most difficult concepts for beginning divers to grasp is Surface Air Consumption Rate or SAC. Don’t feel bad, many seasoned divers also have difficulty with this. So, what is it and why do I need to know it? Read the rest of this entry »
A new movie about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. This is something most of us have known about but have heard very little of. I do remember Seashepherd offering to pay anybody for the most graphic footage of the event they could film a few years ago.
Dolphins, like sharks, are a top predator in the oceans. Without them, we can only guess what ecological damage would happen.
The DVD will be available soon on Amazon. I’m going to put it in my collection right between Sharkwater and Blue Planet.
Save Our SharksThings are really bad when you see things that happen like in this video. Sharks are being killed at alarming rates around the world mostly to supply the demands for shark fin soup in the East. This situation needs to change quickly if we want to have any chance of saving our sharks before they’re gone forever.
Well, it’s happened once again. Discovery Channel is broadcasting Sharkweek. Unfortunately, I’m not excited about this.
First, the previews seem to paint sharks in the typical villain role. Maybe it’s a way to get us to watch but it really sends the wrong message. Sharks have more to fear from us than we do from them. There have been several documentaries over the last few years, namely Sharkwater, which document this.
The show also seems to focus on the handful of species that can and have been known to attack people. There are thousands of species of sharks which are incapable of inflicting any major harm on humans. And they aren’t interested because we’re to big for them to eat. But the handful that fill an important niche in the ocean ecosystem – killing and eating larger prey – are focused on because they sometimes attack people.
There are many of us here in Korea who have dove with the sharks at the Busan Aquarium. Mike Jones of Scubainkorea.com takes both certified and non-certified divers in the Aquarium for 30 minutes with large Sand Tigers, Lemon Sharks, Leopard Sharks and Rough Out Dog Fish. Twenty animals in all not to mention Pauly, the Grouper, the sting Rays, and the Snappers and Yellow Fin that the Lemon Sharks refuse to eat (much to the dismay of the accountants at the aquarium).
Participants go in for a variety of reasons. Most come out with the same conclusion; sharks are cool. For a large percentage of these people, this is the final reason they need to get certified if they’re not already.
That’s a conservation message. Wouldn’t it be nice if Discovery Channel took the same approach?
Well, Beth and Devin finished up. I know this post is overdue, but better late than never. Beth went with us twice since being certified and Devin once. They are both going to Jeju on Columbus Day for their first tropical experience.
Well, there hasn’t been a lot of diving since the end of June due to the Monsoons. In fact, there hasn’t been any. But it looks like it’s going to stop in another week. So, we’ve decided to get another Open Water course in before Typhoon Season starts.
Cost is 700,000 which includes student materials, all rental equipment for the entire course, four confined water dives and four open water dives. You will be required to complete the academic portions of the course online at SSI’s web site. We will provide you with instructions on how to login when you sign up. The schedule is as follows:
Sat, Aug 15th – Meet at the Doo-Ryu park swimming pool. Review knowledge reviews from the online course, take test. Confined water 1 & 2.
Sun, Aug 16th – Open Water 1 & 2 on East Coast
Sat, Aug 22nd – Confined Water 3 & 4 at the Doo-Ryu park swimming pool.
Sun, Aug 23rd – Open Water 3 & 4 on East Coast
(course locations and schedule subject to change if the weather doesn’t cooperate)
Sign up deadline is July 3rd. Contact Frank or Bob from wetROKsdiving at info@wetroksdiving.com.
After several trips to northern East Coast for getting and/or teaching courses, recently made 2 trips to KangRung and Sockcho area for fun dives. Visibility surely was A LOT better than further down south (Daejin, Janggil, etc) but were surely very cold.
7 Celcius in July !
Bottom composition and marine lives – abundant
Diving operations – well systematized
Believe it or not the Staffs carry all gears to and from the boat.
Briefing was brief but to the point.
I liked it a lot.
Come to Seoul or directly to Sokcho on Friday evening
Can have 2 fine days of diving on weekend.
Doc recently conducted an Instructor Trainer Seminar at the Daejin Sports Center. The course ran from December 19th-27th, 2009.
