It is probably no surprise to anyone who has read any of my previous articles that I am besotted with my Scuba Pro Jet Fins. I am a fairly recent convert to Jets, having skirted around them, using other inferior fins throughout my diving career. I have tried many other fins and found some were effective, others were gimmicky and some were simply not sturdy enough (I snapped a fin in half towing two divers in a current, don’t ask me which brand they were…<coughs>Cressi<coughs>)

Jet Fins, a Diving Institution In Their Own Right

I don’t want to preach that Jets are the only fins for every diver, quite the reverse is true. Jet Fins are really, really good for the right diver in the right circumstance. They have served a large sector of the diving community diligently for well over forty years and show no sign of fading away. I aim to illuminate some of the Jet’s excellent features and warn those divers away who would be hampered by their specific attributes.

History

The Jet Fin was born in 1964, fathered by the great Georges Beuchat and was an immediate success – they sold over 100,000 units in the first few years (those were big numbers back then because there were only a fraction of the divers there are today). The Jet Fin came in full foot and open foot styles, though the full foot pocket design very quickly faded away.

The Originals, Beuchat Jet Fins

The Jet Fin didn’t achieve it’s peak until the 1970’s when Scubapro bought the rights to the design. They took the concept and proceeded to popularise the fin with the US Navy and other commercial diving operations. Being as recreational diving has mostly evolved from commercial and Navy diving, the Jets came with it.

What makes the Jet Fin’s history so amazing is the fact that they haven’t undergone much in the way of change since their creation in the mid sixties. The idea of a product moving into stasis like this, especially in an equipment intensive industry like diving where everyone wants the latest gear, is unheard of. There have been, and will be, thousands of designs and styles of fin that will endeavour to propel divers underwater in new and exciting ways, and yet there will always be Jet Fins which are perennially in the top leagues of fin performance.

Because the Jets are so popular there have been many copies put on the market. A notable copy is the Aqualung Rocket Fin, though it has been proven time and time again that the ScubaPro Jet Fin is far superior to all of its rivals in terms of flexibility, durability and in comfort under load. SP Jets are a unique specimen in our society of throwaway goods, they were built to last…and last they have!

Copies - Aqualung Rocket Fins

Design

So, what makes these fins so unbearably fantastic? Well, there are a few key points that have made this fin such a success:

• Material – Jet Fins use a rubber compound that is flexible enough to provide excellent thrust, stiff enough to transfer all the diver’s leg energy into pushing the water backwards and robust enough to take literally any punishment a diver can throw at it. Jet Fins will last a diver’s lifetime, and probably serve their children’s too.
• Vents – Although vents in fins are fairly commonplace now, they were seriously revolutionary when they were first released. The vents, placed at the end of the foot pocket, allow water to pass through on the recovery stroke but force water backwards on the power stroke. This improves efficiency while maintaining the integrity of the stroke.
• Foot Pocket – The foot pocket on the Jets is something of an Achilles’ Heel (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist it…no more puns from here on) in this fin. The pocket is squared off to fit drysuit boots better, though this can lead to some abrasive discomfort of the top of the foot (being as feet aren’t square). Even when wearing some thick drysuit boots there have been comments on the poor pocket design. I personally find the pocket very comfortable as my foot is quite wide, so I appreciate the rectangular opening. For a while there were also some problems with choosing the right size of fin, though Scuba Pro listened and added a new, bigger size to accommodate large men’s feet in bulky boots.
• Spring Straps – These are the cherries on the top of this super fin, and are what made me fall in love with them. As standard, Jets come with an adjustable rubber strap which, after an extended session of fiddling with the strap to get it to your size, will serve you well as far as straps go. However, if you take the time and spend a little extra cash, you can buy a pair of add-on spring straps that replace the original stock rubber bands. It does take a bit of man power with some pliers to get the old straps off but once you’ve secured the new springs in place the you will be in for a treat – nothing fits quicker than a pair of Jets with spring straps. They are secure, comfortable and ridiculously convenient!
  

  Jet Fins With Spring Straps, a Match Made in Heaven!

Who They Were Made For

Jets are surprisingly versatile. They are good for almost every diving application and will hold their own against any modern dive fin in any benchmark test. However, they excel in some applications and are not the best choice for others.

Of course anyone can use Jets, but not everyone will have the same experience with them. I can say broadly that Jets are perfect for divers who use powerful kick strokes. If you prefer to use lighter, rapid kick cycles then Jets will probably feel sluggish and bulky. They work well for most styles of finning though they are fantastic for frog kick because you kick less frequently but with more power in each stroke. You should also consider your buoyancy distribution when considering Jets because they are very negative in the water which drags your feet down. If you already have heavy legs then Jets might compound your problems and have you hanging vertically during your dive.

I don’t want to make these fins gender specific but it’s hard not to broadly class them as a masculine fin. They suit the heavy kick strokes of a man, and deliver the thrust a big man requires to propel him through the water, though my opinions are biased being as I am male, 190 cm tall and weight 95 kg.

The fact that Jets have been almost exclusively adopted by the navy and the commercial diving sector speaks volumes about what type of diver would benefit from them – someone who needs thrust, durability, control and convenience. When you need heavy duty, Jets deliver.

Pros

• Durable - I’d say that even though Jetfins are well known for their abilities under the water, the real reason they are so super famous is their unbelievable longevity. They manage to provide the same levels of performance as modern day technical fins while being massively more strong and robust. I have never seen a pair of Jets worn out or snapped. They don’t get sun damaged, salt eroded, chlorine discoloured, travel battered, coral gouged or split. They are the strongest pieces of dive gear that you will ever own and with no care whatsoever they will last a lifetime.
• Simple – This relates to the Jet’s durability but deserves its own mention. The Jets, being moulded in one piece, from one compound, are unable to have “component failure” being as there are no screws, welds or connections to break as happens so often with modern fins.
• Powerful - Jetfins = power…enough said? Not quite, though it is pretty much their trademark party piece. They have big, fairly stiff paddles that displace large quantities of water and are flexible enough to provide added thrust by flicking the fin tip at the end of the kick stroke.
• Controllable – This, along with the afore mentioned power, is a real draw for the commercial divers. The Jetfins are very comfortable under extreme load situations but they also provide a large amount of feedback when doing delicate manoeuvres (such as back kicking in a wreck or gentle frog kicking over heavy silt). It’s one of my favourite features about the fins, you know just how much water you are displacing and where it is going.
• Quick to Don – With the standard rubber straps they take the same amount of time to put on as any other open heel fin, but with the spring straps installed they are just about the most convenient fins available on the market.
• Iconic – This might be a strange reason to buy a pair of fins but Jets have a real level of credibility that other, more senior divers will take seriously. I read a quote on a blog post once which said something to the effect of “if I see a guy with a pair of Jets with some scars on them, I think: ‘yeah, I’ll dive with him.’” This doesn’t mean that Jets are a shortcut to serious diver credibility, but they help.
• Squat – This feature is a must for cave and wreck divers and other divers who work in overhead environments. The Jets are broad and short which means that even the most clumsy of us are able to avoid kicking our buddies and the silt-covered floor. They are great for performing some more advanced kicking strokes, such as the helicopter manoeuvre.

Cons

• Heavy – There is no way I can hide the fact that Jets are freaking heavy! They often manage to make other divers say: “oof” when I pass them the fins. They are a nightmare for traveling and make all logistics just a little more awkward.
• Negatively Buoyant – Now, before I hear a roar of indignant yells telling me that I am repeating myself, I’m not. The Jets are not just heavy, but they are also really dense which makes them sink like a stone in water. This is fine if you are wearing a buoyant drysuit, but in a 3 mm shortie you might find you drag your feet. It might be that you have very positive legs (or do when in an exposure suit), in which case you will find this a pro, not a con.
• Poor Snorkelling Fins - For the vast majority of divers this won’t make a bit of difference, especially to commercial divers and others of that ilk. However, it’s quite surprising how often I’ve been required to go snorkelling to aid a search party looking for a lost camera or weight belt. I’ve also found that a good snorkelling fin often turns out to be a good surface swim fin, which is much more applicable to our staunch diver crew. Basically, Jet Fins are too heavy to keep at the surface and to kick out the water.
• Foot Pocket – I’ve already mentioned the problems with the foot pocket, so to ensure this doesn’t compromise your experience with Jetfins I suggest you try them on with the boot you’d normally wear. Don’t accept a spare pair of boots in the shop, make sure they fit over your own personal boots. Some thick soled boots might force the top of your foot to rub against the rim of the foot pocket and some thin boots might rattle around in that big pocket.
• Spring Straps Are Not Standard - This is a minor concern but it is a concern non the less. I have seen many, many posts on scuba discussion forums about how to pry the spring straps off and how to fit the new ones. It takes some elbow grease, I’ll leave it at that. I’ve seen some DIY guides that show how to make your own spring straps, something I’d be interested in trying out myself one day.

If you are a Jet fin fanatic, have a Jet based story or have a question about this most iconic of SCUBA gear then please feel free to share in the comments section below.

By Jamie Campbell

The sea, being massive, can pose some logistical problems to a diver. Some dive sites require a diver to simply stagger off the beach into a beautiful coral reef or drop off, whereas some are much less accessible and require a boat to get to them. I am very partial to using a boat for diving as I find the sites tend to be a little less worn out by snorkelers, the above water locations (if near land) are more pristine and the boat is a nicely convenient place to set up your gear (versus setting up out the back of a truck or on a sandy beach). I am also acutely aware of how many people have never dived off a boat, or, have been on boats but don’t know the first thing about them. I hope to impart just a little marine knowledge throughout this article and possibly convince a few of you who are staunch shore divers to give boat diving a try.

Sailor’s Terminology

Anyone who speaks English will be familiar with many navel terms such as port and starboard, or galley and helm. But, could you place them on a diagram of a boat? If you were asked to go to the head, would you go to the wheelhouse by mistake? Let’s have a quick glance at some common marine language.

Bow – The front of the ship, the part where Leonard De Caprio and Kate Winslet ruined a perfectly good disaster movie.

Stern – The rear of the ship, the frothy part.

Port – The left hand side of the boat if you are facing the bow.

Starboard – The right hand side, not port…

Windward – The side facing the wind, the place not to throw up at.

Leeward – The side away from the wind, here’s where all the green faces go.

The Head – The WC, the bathroom, the gent’s, the throne, the porcelain god, etc…

Galley – The boat’s kitchen, but often not much more grand than a gas stove.

Wheelhouse – The cabin in which the helm (or wheel) is located, and occasionally a drunk captain if pirate stories are to be believed.

Transom – The flat platform at the stern of a boat that often acts as a diving platform, also where an outboard motor is attached to on a zodiac.

Rail – The fence that stops you from going overboard when being sick.

“Chunder” – Derived from “watch under”, shouted when using the leeward rail for evacuative medicinal purposes.

Classes of Boat

Boats are used for so many applications that there is a huge variation in design, shape and size of vessel. Because they are so different in design it is important to know what types of boat do what and how they do it (for instance, you wouldn’t want to book a diving trip on a Zodiac if you are very prone to seasickness being as they are very unstable)

1. Zodiacs (Inflatable Water Craft)

• These boats are usually between 3m to 6m long.
• A Zodiac is normally constructed from two big inflated tubes that form an arrow, this then has either a soft or hard hull between them. The deck may also be hard or soft. They require a hard transom (rigid plate) to affix the outboard motor to.
• They are almost unsinkable because the tubes are comprised of many individual compartments that are independent from each other. If one is torn, all the others remain buoyant.
• A zodiac is very sturdy and easy to tow behind a larger boat, but they are tricky to board and alight (especially from the sea) and they are often cramped for space.
• Only good for short trips on calm sea (if you value your spine or your constitution)
  

  Zodiacs are small, fast and robust.

2. Hard-Hull Small Boats (Skiffs)

• Usually ranging from 5m to 7m in length.
• Boats of this size are usually small dinghy style craft with medium powered outboard motors.
• Because this category of boat is used for many activities, it is best to use a specially designed diving boat so that there is plenty of deck space, a good dive platform and ample tank racks.
• These boats are still pretty small and are not for use in open, rough seas. They probably won’t have any place to make food or a suitable toilet.
• Seasickness nightmare as they tend to roll more than zodiacs.
  

  Quick and agile but very cramped, skiffs are only good for short trips

3. One-Night Cruisers

• These vessels range from 5m up to 10m in length
• They are called “cruisers” because they are able to accommodate people for at least one night with basic amenities. (Think of a floating camper van and you’ll have the right idea)
• These boats will take around 8 divers in relative comfort. They may use power or sail to get there. These boats are a little more stable than the dinghies and will have the appropriate facilities to make food (a galley) and use the toilet (the head).
  

  Cabin cruisers provide much needed facilities for longer trips

4. Live-aboards

• These ships can be anywhere from 10m in length to hundreds of meters.
• These dive boats are designed to be lived on for anything from one night to three weeks. They may have anything from a few divers up to a few hundred. These are the big converted fishing boats right up to mega cruise liners
• Because of their size you will likely have your own cabin with full amenities. Often there will be other activities on offer such as windsurfing and island trips.
• Most huge ships are incapable of reaching delicate dive sites without damaging them or grounding the vessel, so it is common to dive from smaller craft when going on a big cruise liner dive holiday.
  

  Big live-aboards are luxurious but you won't be diving solo...

Advantages of Boat Diving

Space – Unlike the back of a truck or the boot of a car, a dive boat is customised to accommodate bulky dive gear and aid the donning and doffing of awkward dive equipment. This space is also more secure than a car or beach (being manned by boat staff, rather than leaving a car by the side of the road or in a parking lot unattended).

Better Waters/Sites - The water off a beach is often poor for diving, usually the current/tidal systems off a mainland stir up sediment that can be avoided by simply going beyond them. A boat has the luxury of being able to go directly to the best site within its range.

Galley/Head – This might sound silly but the boat’s ability to serve a warm meal when it’s cold or a plate of sandwiches after a battling a hard current can really improve diver morale. Likewise, getting caught short on the beach with no toilet for miles can put a real downer on a good day. My personal favourite thing about diving from a boat is the fact that most of them have fresh water showers to wash the salt off – this makes me feel much rejuvenated after a long time in the brine.

Back Up Equipment/Tools/Medical Gear – A well stocked boat will be able to provide a rudimentary fix for almost any problem ranging from a missing O-ring to a contaminated tank to a nasty jelly sting. Even the most prepared shore diver’s car is unlikely to have a fix for every problem, and crucially it is unlikely to be anywhere near as handy as a boat (who wants to spend ten minutes getting into the water from the shore only to find that they have a leaky power inflater and need to walk all the way back through the surf and up the beach to change BCD, assuming they have a spare.)

Crew – This is a really under appreciated part of boat diving that can really make a difference to a diver’s comfort and safety. A boat might only have a captain or it might have a full compliment of boat hands and Divemasters who can prepare dive equipment, assist a diver into the water, organise dive parties and help clean up when the day is done. A helpful boat crew will make a good dive into a great one.

Entries/Exits – As mentioned earlier, entering and exiting the water from the shore can be both time consuming and dangerous in bad conditions. Whereas getting in and out from a boat is quick and convenient. It means that if a problem with the diver’s gear occurs the offending item can be replaced quickly.

Reduced Surface Swims – A dive boat will aim to put its divers right on top of the dive site which means less tired divers and more time diving on the good stuff rather than looking at sand on your way there. In an emergency situation a boat can come to the diver’s aid rather than having to exit the victim through surf from a long distance away.

Social Atmosphere – Dive boats are a veritable melting pot of different cultures and languages brought together by one passion. Where else could you see a web designer from Bangkok talking frantically about diving in the Maldives with a Norwegian lumberjack? Even if the diving was terrible you might meet a fellow diver who will have you in hysterics within five minutes of meeting him, you probably won’t get that on a beach.

How to Deal With Seasickness

Okay, I’ll confess, boat diving is not all roses and chocolate Easter eggs – sometimes it is made miserable by the green goblin of seasickness. Seasickness afflicts a large portion of people who use boats for diving. It happens for a number of reasons and has nothing to do with how much of a man you are. I know many macho men who laughed at me when I offered them seasickness tablets, the next time I saw them they were leaning over a rail and making funny noises. Seasickness is not a weakness and it can be prevented with the proper technique.

The Night Before – It should be an obvious statement to suggest that an experimental curry the night before your Open Water course begins is a bad move. As is sampling the area’s local wine, especially if it comes in three litre bottles. Hangovers really don’t work well with boats, even in calm water, and cancelling on a dive operation twenty minutes before the boat is due to leave just because you have a hangover is not cool either. If you want to drink then don’t book a dive for the next day.

The Morning Before – So, you’ve made it this far and you’re feeling good. Make sure you stay that way by avoiding an unsteady breakfast. Go for simple and non-volatile things like toast and cereal. Avoid coffee if you can and don’t go down the greasy fried breakfast route either. This is also the time to look at the directions on your anti-seasickness medication – often they need to be consumed at least an hour before stepping on the boat. Ensure you pay attention to this, they are little use to you when you are turning green. You should also take this time to sort out any delicate gear such as cameras or navigational maps because doing this on the boat is a shortcut to the Shrek theatre of guttural noises.

Prevention is better than cure, but take them well in advance!

On the Boat – Now you are on the boat and feeling good, don’t forget to pay attention to your stomach. All the old remedies help: sit in the middle of the boat, lower decks tend to rock less, stay out of engine fumes, stare at the far away horizon or another distant point and don’t read or mess with that camera!

If You Get Sick – If, somehow, you manage to get sick despite all my advice, you should redouble your efforts to only look at distant points. Consider standing up and countering the boat’s motion by riding it like a surfboard (bend your knees as the boat rises to keep your body still). If non of this works then a tactical tummy manoeuvre might just help you through the worst of it, in which case don’t use the toilet (for a number of reasons – mess, queues, bad smells make you feel worse etc.) use a discreet leeward rail (not into the wind, have the wind blow away from you) down stairs. Ask someone to come with you so they can catch you if you pass out and need to be dragged away from the perilous rail.

Closing Thoughts

I wanted to leave you with a reminder that boat diving is what diving is all about, it is the essence of why we dive – adventure, engineering, the beauty of nature, fun, social stimulus and laughing at that macho guy hurling his guts over the side of the boat.

By Jamie Campbell

Diving is a sport with a huge community of active participants. Most of those participants have been well trained and are well informed about the important truths of the activity. There is a small percentage of, mostly very novice, divers that have somehow gotten the wrong end of the pointer stick and harbor fears or misplaced notions about diving that are false and potentially dangerous. I have compiled a small list of usual misconceptions that I often come across on the boat or in the shop.

Diving is just swimming with a tank

Diving is a lot more than simply swimming around underwater, breathing from a tank. For one thing, people who are poor swimmers can be great divers and great swimmers can be terrible divers. Swimming doesn’t make you think about buoyancy, how to use equipment properly, how to navigate tricky dive sites, dealing with low light and poor visibility.

When you go swimming you start the second you jump in and kick your legs. When you go diving you start your dive before you get in the water. If the dive is tricky then you might start planning the dive the day before. You will be setting up gear, getting tanks filled and plotting routes. Diving needs planning which is what sets it apart from swimming. Never sell diving to friends by telling them is just swimming with a tank.

A lot more than just swimming...

SCUBA tanks are filled with oxygen

I don’t think I could count the number of times I’ve heard novice divers try to be smart and refer to the contents of a SCUBA tank as oxygen. I’m not sure where this misconception comes from but it’s amazing how many fresh divers make this mistake.

I will now, in an attempt to bludgeon this fact into the subconscious of every diver and non-diver alike, state quite clearly that the gas in a SCUBA tank is either compressed air (the air around us shoved into a tank very hard) or a blend of two or three gasses (nitrogen and oxygen at different percentages and sometimes helium in serious tec diving). If, by some massive error, a diver was to go down with only oxygen in their tank they would quickly fall prey to some form of oxygen toxicity which is extremely dangerous, especially pulmonary O2 toxicity.

Go diving with this and you'll be in trouble!

The biggest danger in diving is running out of air

Scuba diving is characterized by the fact that a diver will go underwater and breath from a finite air source. The fact that air can “run out” has sparked the imaginations of many, many new divers and non-divers alike. The idea that your air supply would simply stop, leaving you entirely without a lifeline gives people the creeps.

I understand the worry and can sympathize with it – it is a real risk that could cause harm. Though it is by no means a big risk, assuming you follow good diving practices and never dive alone. The number of errors a diver would have to make to end up with no air is formidable, and then you add this to the fact that a trained diver is shown how to breathe from another diver’s air supply or make a controlled and safe ascent if the other diver is unavailable. Out of air accidents are uncommon and should trained for but not feared.

Air is used up at the same rate as on the surface

This is another one of those items of dive theory that makes a big difference to a diver’s ability to plan dives and make responsible decisions when underwater, yet it is often missed out of early dive tuition because it is deemed unnecessary to a diver’s safety.

I will spare you the diving physics 101 lecture on why air is used up faster the deeper you go, simply put, the gas you breath gets denser as you go down so you get more air in each breath and thus you finish your tank faster. There are a lot of new divers out there who simply do not realize this correlation which leads to all sorts of problems and often a nasty revelation further down the line.

“I’ll just head to the surface if I have a problem”

The above is an actual quote I heard from a diver, said about ten minutes before he went on his deep dive for his advanced course…safe to say I sat him down and gave him the hard truth very plainly.

A non-diver or novice diver will assume that it is perfectly acceptable to go to the surface when they have a problem. Especially when they see that they are only twenty meters from the surface. This feeling that safety is only a thirty-second swim away leads to the most scary of diving accidents – uncontrolled ascents. A panicked diver might think that all problems are solved when they break the surface but that is obviously quite incorrect. A fast assent is bad news and massively increases the chance of the diver getting DCS. Eighteen meters per minute, end of lecture.

Inflate for up, deflate for down

Almost every student wants to use their power inflater as some sort of elevator button which takes you exactly where you want to go. This is an understandable misunderstanding being as the obvious logic suggests that an inflated jacket will allow you to go up while a deflated jacket will help you sink. This is true, but ridiculously dangerous. A buoyant assent is very difficult to control and will most likely injure the diver by sending them up too fast. It goes against logic to state that you must deflate your jacket to go up and deflate to go down, but that’s the facts… I didn’t make the rules.

Remember: deflate down, deflate up

I can just do a “re-compression” dive if I get DCS

Here’s a myth that applies to some of the more experienced but misinformed divers, if you get decompression sickness from missing a safety stop or from ascending too fast then you can simply strap on another tank of nitrox and jump back in to finish your deco stops. This is a fallacy, to fully allow nitrogen to come out requires 100% oxygen, a cocktail of drugs and intravenous injections and a very carefully controlled hyperbaric chamber to gently surface you over a period of hours. If you try to do it DIY in the sea you will end up freezing to death, go into shock or simply get too thirsty to do any good. Don’t waste time, go straight to a chamber.

Anyone can wreck/cave/deep dive if it’s within their depth rating

This is another big issue with the slightly more experienced divers – “the diver card says I can dive to thirty meters so that means I can dive any wreck, drift dive or cave system that falls within that range!” It also means that, although I learn to dive in a three millimeter shortie in the Maldives I can easily do a night dive in a dry suit in Norway… Nope!

Don’t hide behind a dive card, it simply states you have been given basic training to a certain standard, it is not a free pass that allows you to forget your responsibility – if it is beyond your abilities then train for it first and then go for the dive. Challenging dives are great but only when you are fully prepared for them.

Sharks will eat you and your whole family if dip your toe in the water

Ok, this is a short one. Everyone knows that sharks hate humanity and are actively building water filled suits so they can amass a land army and hold us hostage for our indiscretions toward the underwater environment…or maybe not.

Sharks are big animals that will protect themselves if they are threatened but this is no different from any other animal. They are not actively seeking to gore us Jaws style, nor are they going to steal your car keys and go drink driving. I think sharks are awesome creatures that deserve respect, not fear. I am much more worried about jellyfish than sharks…those things give me the willies!

This is the only exception to the rule... sharks with lasers are scary!

When disassembling your gear you should blast your first stage

I saved my biggest pet peeve for last. When you take your gear apart after a day’s diving you should always use a blast from your tank or a clean towel to dry your dust cap on your first stage to ensure there is no grit or water that could destroy the delicate inner workings of the regulator. What you should not do is blast air from your tank into the open first stage as this does not purge it clean, it forces drips of water and grit that have fallen into the opening since you took the regulator off the tank right into the filter and gradually this ruins your first stage.

Your Thoughts?

I hope this guide to misdemeanors and poorly informed myths has been informative and might have reminded you of a few anecdotes where these exact things have been said or even practiced. If you have any of your own diving myths that bug you then please feel free to write them in the comments section below so we can all benefit.

By Jamie Campbell

We go diving to see the underwater world. We want to gaze at a whale shark cruising above our heads, we want to ogle as a manta ray glides below our feet and the chance to glimpse a sea turtle is a big excitement for any diver. What links all these statements is our sight, when we go diving we want our vision to be as close to that of the surface as possible so we can watch the animals of the deep do what they do best; amaze us.

Obviously our sight is poor underwater because our eyes are not adapted to directly interpret light in liquid. Thus, we require a thin layer of air around our eyes to allow them to focus and to maximise comfort (I find salt water on my eyeballs very unpleasant). So, we wear masks to protect our eyes from the water and to give us the best possible view of our aquatic wonderland (or just your dive computer if the visibility is bad…).

The following is a guide to the basics of choosing, using and caring for a mask – your peephole into the sea.

Shapes – Masks come in a huge range of shapes and sizes and each have their own advantages and drawbacks. Some styles are almost extinct whereas other designs are becoming chic SCUBA fashion.

• Single/Double Lens – Older masks had only one large square glass view box which offered limited view range. The single lenses of today are stretched downwards (towards the cheeks) and wide (towards the ear), this gives them a very large sight angle. They can be prone to breakages because of their large plate of unsupported glass. The double lens mask aims to overcome this by splitting the lens into two large view goggles. This gives the lens more support making it more resilient to stray gear banging against it in a kit bag. This extra durability comes at the cost of a (slightly) narrowed viewing angle.
  

  Old Single Lens Mask

• Wraparound – A wraparound mask is one where a single lens has been manufactured with side windows to widen the divers view considerably. This gives the diver a three dimensional space to peer into the abyss from – a real advantage when working with students or novice buddies as you can easily ensure they are still with you by glancing out the corner of your eye. They often have a shorter vertical viewing angle – which means it could be harder to see your gauges.
  

  Wraparound - Scubapro Crystel Vu

• Frameless - This is a fairly new mask design trend which entails the removal of the large bulky frame that holds the lens in place in traditional masks and uses the lens itself as the structural body with the skirt being glued directly onto the lens. This makes for an even larger view range, lighter mask and better storage flexibility but sacrifices durability as the lens is a large target to break and is unsupported.
  

  Frameless - Sherwood Scuba Rona

• Low Profile – Most modern mask designers strive to make the mask’s profile as low as they can, this means that the mask has as little air space inside it as possible. This makes it easier to clear because less air is needed to force the water out. They usually achieve this by bringing the lens as close to the wearer’s face as possible.

Materials – Masks are heavy use items that arguably affect the quality of a dive more so than any other item of equipment, therefore modern mask manufacturers use a range of different materials to achieve light, comfortable and durable pieces of gear.

• Plastic – When used in making mask skirts (the part that touches your face) this material tends to be inflexible which is detrimental to its comfort and effectiveness. All but extinct, only used in the cheapest masks.

• Silicone - Modern masks are almost exclusively made with this material as it is durable, stretchy, soft, cheap and fairly neutral to skin. Silicone is used to make the skirts and straps on most masks. The quality of the silicone can be tested by simply comparing the softness of the skirts. If it is very soft it will mould to the contours of your face better and feel more comfortable (though it may be less tear resistant).

• Glass – Almost all masks use glass for the viewing window because it provides greater clarity than plastics while still remaining very strong. The lens is tempered glass to resist shattering and will take a great deal of punishment. Prescription lenses are also available and are made from glass.

Straps – A mask must be watertight, even during fast swimming and in heavy currents which means that it must be held onto your head with some force, while remaining comfortable and being adjustable for the huge variation in diver’s head sizes.

• Silicone - Most mask straps use a silicone strap that splits into two at the back (at the crown of your head) to spread the load and keep it stable. The straps are usually adjusted by a notch and ratchet system that allows the diver to loosen the strap, hold the mask in place and then pull the straps tight. The ratchet will keep the straps at this tightness. The system is well known but not particularly suited to delicate adjustments, nor threading the strap into the ratchet after removing the strap (which might be necessary to affix a snorkel to the mask).
  

  Silicone Mask Strap

• Covers - Divers like to modify their gear. They want to know what gear is theirs in a busy boat, they want to be instantly identifiable under the water and they want to be at least semi-individual. There are approximately a billion mask strap covers available on the market today to help serve this need. The covers are simple neoprene sleeves that fit over the silicone strap to make it more comfortable by padding the thin straps and by reducing the amount that a mask strap pulls your hair. They also come with every bad diver joke ever told scrawled across them – each to their own I guess…
  

  Neoprene Mask Covers

• Velcro™ – To take the idea of modifying your mask further I’d recommend using a Velcro™ mask strap. It fits into most mask ratchets but doesn’t use the ratchet to hold the strap in place, instead it uses Velcro™ to secure the strap. This means that once the diver has found the right size (which is easy – you can be millimetre perfect) the strap never needs adjusted. At the crown there is a neoprene patch like the strap covers that allows the strap to stretch and fit comfortably. This is my personal choice.
  

  Velcro Mask Strap

Fit – Now that you know which mask you want, you need to try it on, because if it doesn’t fit perfectly then it’s not the mask for you. Fit is key to choosing a mask.

• Fitting - To fit a mask you must first move the strap the front of the lens and brush your hair from your face. Next, hold the mask against your face and gently, and for a prolonged period, inhale through your nose. The mask should suction to your face closely and with no apparent air gaps. Follow this with a test of the mask’s comfort by putting it on properly with the strap in place, adjust if necessary. Feel the weight of the mask, move your head around and test your range of vision. Try looking at your waist, where your gages will likely live or over your shoulder at imaginary divers. If there are any pinch points, especially on the bridge of your nose then this mask is not for you.

• Troubleshooting - A mask can cause a range of problems for the novice user:
• One perennial problem is a diver getting a sore point on the bridge of his nose, this is often caused by a double lensed mask that has a too small nose pocket, the solution to this is to use a larger, single lens mask.
• Hair is the enemy of a perfect seal around your face. Always remember to brush any head hair out from your forehead. If you have long hair then you will likely tie your hair back anyway but pay particular attention to your fringe to avoid unnecessary leaking.
• A less easy hair problem to solve is for those gents that dive unshaven – a beard or moustache will let in an uncomfortable amount of water unless properly treated. The simple solution is to shave off the whiskers but this is not to everyone’s taste (divers are a vain lot) so the best tip is to use some Vaseline™ or wax to help make a seal around your facial hair (not ideal, but better than diving blind).

Care – Once you’ve tested all the masks in the shop (this isn’t an exaggeration – really try every mask) and found your dream visor you will want to keep it in good, working condition. Masks are simple to look after but easily forgotten in a gear cleanup.

• Defogging - A mask must offer clear viewing (even if the sea doesn’t) so a fogged lens is as much use as a soluble dive computer. Divers have a hundred ways of fixing this problem but tried and tested works best for me. I toothpaste the inside of the mask lens when I fist get it to remove the manufacturing film. Just apply and smear standard toothpaste all over the lens and then, after a few hours, rinse it off (pick a toothpaste that smells nice – you will smell it for the first couple of dives!). Once the lens is prepared you have two options – either use a defogging spray which are very effective but are a little pricey, or use good old-fashioned human saliva. Spit onto the lens before the dive, rub it around and don’t wash it off. The saliva resists the fogging.
  

  Mask Defog Spray

• Cleaning – Always rinse your mask after use, even in the pool or freshwater. Once in a while you should give your mask a good soak in warm, soapy water and give it a light scrub. Never use any abrasive cleaners, or boiling water. A disinfectant is a good choice for getting rid of tropical mould – use a medical disinfectant if possible.

• Storage – Once you’ve cleaned your mask you should store it somewhere dry, room temperature, out of direct sunlight and away from heavy objects that might bang it. Consider using the box it came in (most are designed to be used as a case) for protection and possibly put some silica gel packets in with it to keep it dry. Try to keep the mask’s shape while storing to prevent deforming.

By Jamie Campbell

With 110,861 square kilometers, Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean. It is located in the northern Caribbean, to the south of the Bahamas, east of Mexico, west of the Haiti and north of the Jamaica.

Cuba’s nature is incredible. The island is decorated with unique plants and trees. No other place in the world is gifted with such splendid nature.

The main island of Cuba, with set of coral reeves and tiny islets, possesses unbelievable flora and fauna. These islets, surrounded with coral thickets, represent huge interest for fans of scuba diving due to excellent conditions. There are no strong sea currents here. The quiet and warm water is so transparent, that it is possible to see everything on the distance of 30 meters. Great visibility and favorable weather are your constant companions in almost all the diving areas.

As the island shelf is rather close to the surface, and the climate of Cuba is almost tropical, the water temperature is 75,2-83,3 degrees by Farenheit (24-28,5 degrees on Celsius) all year round. The waters, surrounding the island, are ideal for any type of scuba diving – researches of reeves, day and night dives on depth of 130 foots (40 metres) in coral gardens, where you can find a set of attractive places: caves, vertical walls, tunnels, underwater slopes, narrow channels, remains of the ships, etc.

Contrasting colors cause invariable delight, abounding with coral formations, which are a habitat of 500 kinds of fishes, 200 kinds of sea sponges, a big variety of molluscs and Crustacea, jellyfishes and seaweed.

Scuba diving in Cuba will be one of your best deeds in life. Cuba offers you a wide variety of diving destinations with amazing underwater views.

The Gardens of the Queen with 33 diving destinations: The chain of the islands at the southern coast of the province of Sego de Avila is surrounded with sea currents and a rich coral reef – home for numerous claw-shaped ones. This is the only place in the western part of the Caribbean sea, where turtles still come to postpone eggs. Flower and brain-shaped corals can be observed much in this place. They involve a considerable quantity of bright coral fish, such as fiber-fish, soldier-fish with black strips, grumblers, shafts. In deeper waters it is possible to find turtles, sharks, blue marlins, tunas and sword-fish.

Kayo Koko with 20 diving sites: Kayo Koko is often named a huge natural aquarium or a natural paradise. Many visitors claim, that it is difficult to find other place in the Caribbean Sea where they can see so many beautiful species of fish. While diving in Kayo Koko you’ll come across red fish-parrots, grumblers and amber fish, royal and other kinds of angel-fishes, anemones and prickly lobsters.

Maria La Gorda with 39 diving places: The remote enclave, located in the western part of the island, on the peninsula of Guanaakabibes, is world-famous reserve of biosphere. This district is known for its legends about pirates, the truthfulness of which proves to be true anchors, old guns and other treasures lying at the bottom of the sea.

Santa Lucia with 35 diving destinations: Santa Lucia is one of the best and longest beaches on Cuba. It is located at the northern coast of the province of Kamaguej, where numerous coral formations closely approach the coast. The territory intended for scuba diving, lasts from cape Maternillos to Kajo Sabinal, and includes remains of old shipwrecks. You need some 5,6 minutes to reach the nearest coral belt. It contains crests in the height of 33 foots divided by lower sandy sites.

Trinidad with 21 diving places: Trinidad beaches are the best ones at the southern coast of Cuba. The underwater world in this area is gorgeous: colonies of corals, sandy crests to 16 foots in height, tunnels and a sandy bottom. Here, it is possible to find congestions of the Black coral, a big variety of sea sponges, branchy and plumose jellyfishes, simple fanlike and tropical fishes.

Varadero with 32 diving destinations: Varadero is the best-known resort in Cuba. It is stretched along the northern coast of the Peninsula de Icacos, in the northern part of the province of Matanzas. The diving territory lasts from the Matanzas bay to the western edge of the archipelago of the Gardens of the Queen. The territory is rich in coral formations and wide variety of fishes. The two most popular places on this resort are the Blue Chasm; an underwater cave of 230 foots in diameter, located among reeves of the Cadiz bay and the sea park, which occupies a territory of 2 square miles and exhibits a motor boat, a frigate with guns, a transport plane and several shipwrecks.

Havana with 72 diving sites: Havana is the capital of Cuba, a beautiful coastal city. There are four international centers of scuba diving in Havana, occupying territory in 62 miles at length and almost in 2 miles at width. It is possible to find remains of the shipwrecks here. Some of these sunk ships have been declared to be a part of the national historical heritage.

Ale of Koloni with 56 diving destinations: This destination is known for its bewitching legends about the buried treasure. The waters are rich in unique fish and sea-plant species. Ale of Koloni is a great diving spot not only for professional divers but for beginners as well. You shouldn’t dive too deep in the waters of Ale of Koloni to admire “the buried treasure”. The shallow places are not less entertaining and gorgeous.

There are numerous scuba diving classes held at almost all Cuba diving spots. With the help of experienced and watchful divers you’ll learn the tricks of scuba diving in a rather short period of time. Later on, you’ll be given a certificate of diver, which means that you will be able to dive at any of the above mentioned places.

As you see, there is a great deal of hidden sights in Cuba’s waters. Each of you is gifted with a chance to dive in the wealthy waters of the island and admire the treasures of this huge natural aquarium.

Solomon Islands is often called “natural paradise” because of their splendid nature. These islands is like a fairy-tale: silent, colorful and kind.

Like other Pacific islands, Solomon Islands attract tourists’ attention with their great diving spots. The tropical walls and coral reefs together with WWII wrecks make Solomon Islands an incredible scuba diving destination.

The water temperature in Solomon Islands is perfect throughout the year, let alone the visibility,  that’s up to 30 meters.

The warm, transparent, sparkling waters are a home for various marine treasures: wrecks, enormous fish, colorful corals, mantas, a great number of fish species, like anemone fish, angel fish, butterfly fish, humphead parrot fish, barracuda, big-eye traveler and so on and so forth.

There are a number of wonderful scuba diving destinations in Solomon Islands: Tulagi, which is said to be the “wreck capital of the Solomon’s”, Maravagi Resort, Guadalcanal, Uepi Island, Munda and Gizo.

Gizo and Uepi are the most famous and popular diving destinations among the scuba divers all over the world.

While diving in Gizo you’ll witness not only wonders of marine flora and fauna but also historical wrecks.

Scuba Diving in Gizo is a real pleasure. You do not need even wear a wetsuit, as the water is very warm. You just need something to protect you from wall, reef and animal stings. What refers to the visibility, it rarely reduces from 30 meters.

The coral reefs are inhabited by unique marine animals and plants. The colorful coral reefs and golden sandy bottom, decorated with starfish, won’t let you stay indifferent.

Gizo is surrounded by a network of coral reefs. There is a great deal of unexplored reefs and walls, caverns and wrecks. Some of them are still inaccessible to humans. Well, you can be the first to dive into these sites and reveal the unrevealed.

Now, let’s speak about the wreck diving in Gizo. Your Gizo dive may become an unforgettable excursion as throughout the history, and especially during WWII many planes and ships have sunk in this area.

Toa Maru is the most famous wreck diving site in Gizo. It is a huge Japanese freighter that lies in Kololuka Bay. The freighter’s length is almost 100 meters, so a single dive is not enough for a detailed examination of the wreck. The bow of the freighter is at 12 meters depth, while the stern is at about 37 meters’.

This wreck is very often compared with the wreck of the President Coolidge in Vanuatu because of its approachability and numerous equipments that are still present onboard: tanks, cement bags and jeeps.

If you are an experienced diver, you can penetrate into the wreck and dive into the engine room. However, bear in mind that the dive won’t be easy and you’ll have to put much efforts for safely to dive through the impassable holes.

There are also two sunk planes in the waters of Gizo, that are worth diving. One of the planes, the Japanese Zero fighter, is rather close to the shore and accessible to most divers.

There are many diving centers in Gizo, that can support you in your dive. If you are a certificated diver, you’ll easily get the allowance of diving the wrecks of Gizo waters. The starters have to “bear” the presence of the instructor.

I’d also like to speak about Uepi, which is another great diving site in the Solomon Islands. Uepi stands out for reef diving. The reefs are densely inhabited by different fish species and other marine animals. Within your dive you’ll come across turtles, Uepi hammerheads, eagle rays and mantas. Uepi is also rich in marine flora. The walls and reefs are decorated with showy sea-plants and stones.

Uepi has three prominent wrecks that lie in Wickam Harbor. These are the Japanese freighters that were sunk by the USA during WWII. Marine plants and animals have already found their places on the wrecks, thus beautifully decorating the latters.

Uepi dives are, as a rule, long-lasting, as the divers always find numerous things to entertain themselves. Water temperature is about 28−30 °C.

If you still doubt whether to visit Solomon Islands or not, I assure you to do that. You’ll  enjoy yourself fully not only in the warm waters of the Islands, but will also find a lot of joy on the beaches and in friendly villages. After diving the opulent waters of Solomon Islands, you can continue your vacation on the sunny beaches of the islands.

In short, if you’d like to have an unforgettable active pastime, Solomon Islands can and should be your choice.

When one is addicted to smoking, it is nearly impossible to make him understand the damages smoking causes. It seems that nicotine blinds the wise. Many people all over the world change their lifestyles because of smoking. Singers spoil their beautiful voices and cease singing, dancers leave their favorite hobby because of breathing problems, and numerous sportsmen give up their activities because of their weakened organisms. The same and much more refers to scuba divers.

Effects of smoking are especially significant for the people who are engaged in scuba diving. The review of the scientific literature, devoted to the reactions of body to smoking and predilection for nicotine, shows, how smoking can have affect on your capabilities while diving. And though the restrictions caused by the influence of tobacco on health are vary depending on intensity of smoking, tobacco always makes a certain impact on human health.

Have you heard about Framingem research? Framingem research is the most extensive studies concerning the impact of smoking on human’s health. Five thousand people have been intensively observed in the course of 34 years. Thus, the researchers collected a considerable amount of statistical information on smokers. For instance, a smoker of thirty years may reduce his life by 5 years smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Lung, skin, stomach, pancreas, mouth and throat cancers are common illnesses among smokers. Lung and heart diseases, temporary lameness and apoplexy are also frequent among smokers. In short, smokers put their lives under a grand risk.

Smokers, as a rule, have great problems with inhalation caused by the defective function of the lungs. The lungs of the children, having started to smoke at the age of about 14, 15 are greatly damaged. As compared with non-smoking children, only the 92 percent (at most) of their lungs effectively function. The saddest thing about all this is that this loss of functions is an irretrievable one.

It’s obvious, that divers should have a very good breathing system not to come across to any serious problems while diving. Violations of blood circulation may have harmful effects on the withdrawal of inert gases and oxygen delivery of muscle tissues, which significantly affects the safety of divers. As a result of smoking the bone tissues are weakened, which can cause high blood pressure.

Now let’s learn about how tobacco smoking can lead to such dangerous consequences. According to the studies, the cigarette smoke contains four hazardous substances: carcinogen, irritants, nicotine and toxic gases. So how do the above mentioned substances impact on human’s organism?

Carcinogens, the primarily polycyclic aromatic alcohols, are the main cancer creators. They greatly influence the areas that are in direct contact with the cigarette smoke. Besides, they can affect the organs due to the blood stream.

Irritants cause unbearable cough, tumor formation and bronchial mucus in the lungs of the human.

Nicotine is also a very powerful enemy of humans. It penetrates into the body, thus poisoning the brains. As a result, the nervous system and the human brain undergo considerable changes. Nicotine causes addictiveness towards cigarettes both physically and psychologically. Together with cigarette smoke people inhale poisonous gases, including carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, cyanide and carbon.

The irritating substances, present in cigarette smoke, may cause chronic inflammation of alveoli. Consequently, the body begins to produce proteolytic enzymes that deplete the alveolar tissues. The cigarette smoke so much weakens the lungs’ function, that the latters become incapable of protecting themselves from outer damages. The longer the human breathes the smoke, the more he damages his lungs.

In other words, the gaseous metabolism is being broken, and the air or other gases do not reach the blood for exchange. For checking the function of the lungs a test is organized: a forced expiration volume per second (FEV1). This is the amount of the air that you can breathe out in one second. Framingem studies have shown that the smokers’ FEV1 is declined to 80% from normal. These function changes reduce the effectiveness of ventilation.

Nicotine is a real drug which is dangerously addictive. It causes the formation of platelets and fibrinogens that block small blood vessels. These factors increase the risk of diving and decompression. The heart rate is increased. So is the oxygen consumption. The heart vessels are compressed, thus making serious obstacles for peripheral circulation. The violation of peripheral circulation leads to even more problems, such as extremely high blood pressure and poor blood circulation on the periphery of the body.

While diving in the cold areas of the water, the divers start to freeze. In this case it is very important to have normal blood circulation, especially in the joint areas. Researches have shown that smoking significantly reduces the circulation of the blood vessels. As a result, the gas exchange worsens and the risk of decompression increases.

Smoking can also lead to hypoxia. Chronic hypoxia means constant control, taking no risks, no extreme lifestyle, and consequently no scuba diving.

Smokers and their diver-buddies should consider not only long-term influence on health, but also immediate consequences of smoking during the dive. Take into consideration the high probability of death connected with sudden cardiac arrest, decompression, barotrauma as well as other illnesses connected with the expansion of lungs. Considering all the risks and diseases connected with simultaneous smoking and diving, what possible justification (except the addiction) can exist to continue to smoke? People who have the unhealthy drug addiction should be encouraged and inspired to address for help to be released from the bad habit.

Note that most deaths are associated with cardio-vascular system. Cardiac arrhythmia, myocardial infarction and stroke occur quite often because of damage caused to cardio-vascular system. Now, taking into account all this, I would like to ask if a smoker can be a good diver and reliable companion while diving. Will he be able to help his friends in case of need, or wouldn’t he be the one who always creates problems?

When nervous, the heart begins to accelerate faster, and the breath rhythm increases. Increase of a heart rhythm is the number one reason that leads to the increased rate of oxygen consumption by a cardiac muscle, and the smoker’s heart begins to cope with the increasing oxygen requirement with difficulty. As a result, the gas exchange in the lungs worsens, the gas expense increases, and the ability of rendering assistance to other divers decreases. The list of how smoking leads to deterioration of gas exchange and creates potential for decompression illnesses, is very long.

The lungs are directly damaged by smoking. Tests show, that the volume of the ventilation of the lungs, as well as vital volume of them (it decreases for at least 10 %) decreases. Together with the decrease of the lungs’ functions, their ability of deducing vials falls, and the risk of decompression illnesses increases.

While diving the human body undergoes numerous changes. One of these changes is the mammalian diving reflex. This means that while diving the human heart is put under a great strain. This very thing explains the numerous heart attacks occurred under the water. Smokers, of course, have a much higher risk of having heart attack than the non-smokers. Just imagine how dangerous the combination of smoking and mammalian diving reflex may be.

I want to warn one thing to all people. If you want to be a good diver, never start smoking. Each cigarette may affect your organism in this or that way. Of course, there are very many divers who claim that they feel great, though once they used to smoke. Quitting smoking indeed improves the state of a human organism, but the damages the smoke causes are never cured.

Now summing up everything, let me bring out the damages smoking may cause to you:

• Lung diseases
• Heart diseases (increased risk of cardiac attacks)
• Throat diseases
• Cancers
• Violation of gas exchange in the organism
• Violation of blood circulation
• High blood pressure
• Chronic cough
• Weakened joints
• And many, many other illnesses smoking may cause.

As you know, scuba divers pass a very serious medical examination before being allowed to dive. Unhealthy people are almost always deprived of the right to dive.
As you see, smoking and scuba diving are two very different things. They can never be safely combined with one another.

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Scuba diving at night is something different, something unbelievable and indescribable. But I promise to do my best to tell you what a night dive is.

Night dive may sound some kind of scary to people who haven’t dived in the dark, but it is much more interesting and enjoyable than any other type of diving. The underwater life thoroughly changes at night. There are very many things you’ll see only at night, things you can’t witness during the daytime. Those who once dived at night want to return to it again and again.

The reefs awaken with new species of plants and animals. Crabs and lobsters are especially active at night. Everything around is glowing in the silence of the night.

Diving at night is a real adventure, and I advise every diver to try it. Bear in mind that you should be well-prepared for the night dive. Let me give you some valuable advice on diving at night.

First of all remember that you shouldn’t dive too deep at night. A night dive is a shallow dive as a rule. Do not get too much engaged in the activity. Always keep shallow.

If you are diving for the first time take an experienced diver with you. Do not dive alone at night,  never. Better to dive in the area that is more or less familiar to you. This has two advantages. You’ll feel more comfortable and you’ll see how the same place becomes a completely different thing at night.

Check the equipment fully before diving and take several dive lights with you. You just can’t do without them, especially if there is no moon that night. Get a primary and a secondary light with you. You never know what may happen, so it’ll be safer to have at least two dive lights with you. If you are a professional diver and it’s not your first night dive, it’ll be great to turn off the light for some time and enjoy the darkness of the underwater world.

You’ll be a very fortunate diver, if it happens to be bright moonlight the night you are diving. In this case you should switch off your light for at least several minutes and see how beautiful the reflection of the moon is in the waters.

Do not hurry while diving at night. As I’ve mentioned there’s a great deal to enjoy during a night dive, so take it slow. With the help of your flashlight you’ll certainly notice that the coral is even more colorful than it is during the day.

Before entering the water elaborate signals among the group members to better understand each other in the silence and darkness of the underwater. Be very careful and attentive towards your diver-buddies. Do not separate from each other. Keep close to one another. Besides, take care not to aim your lantern light directly to someone’s eyes. It’ll strongly bother your buddy and blind him for a short while.

Now two words concerning descending into the water and ascending back to the surface. While descending at night keep very close to your buddy or buddies, if you are diving with a group. Most dive masters would advise you to descend in vertical position. You’ll easily avoid obstacles in this way. Keep your flashlight brightly switched on and aimed downwards to see where you are diving. Be careful not to damage the coral.

The same I can say about ascending. Keep close to one another and keep your light upwards.

Before wishing you an interesting and enjoyable night dive I want to add several more things concerning your physical position. If you feel that something is wrong about you, sickness, tenseness or unassertiveness do not dive. No matter whether you have a very experienced and reliable comrade you shouldn’t dive.

I’d also advise you to pass a medical check-up before a night dive. Without hesitating I can say that you need to be in a perfect state to be allowed to go on a night dive.

Today there are numerous scuba diving services that organize night dives. They have night diving courses for divers of any degree. However, if you are a starter I’d not advise you to dive at night. It may scare you. Besides, night dive demands more carefulness, attention and, why not, experience of a scuba diver.

I see you have already made up your mind to have a night dive in your favorite area. Is your equipment in a good position? Do you feel comfortable in it? You haven’t forgotten about several lights, have you? Are your buddies reliable? Do you feel well? Then why are you still reading this? Hurry up for a real adventure!

The water area of Mauritius can be named a real museum. This museum is full of ancient ship wrecks, caverns, cliff faces and coral reefs. While diving in the waters of Mauritius you may run into sharks, whales, dolphins, barracuda, tuna, rays, eels, turtles, bass, red-snapper, lobsters, lionfish, parrotfish, sergeant-major fish, crabs and boxfish (remember our favorite hero in the cartoon “Finding Nemo”). The rich vegetation will make your dive a real adventure.

Mauritius is a great diving spot in the Indian Ocean. All divers all over the world come here for scuba diving. The main reason for this is that the weather is nice all year round, and you may dive whenever you want, no matter whether it’s winter or summer.

Divers themselves claim that the best season for scuba diving is from November to March. The temperature of the water as well as the visibility is what each diver would like to have. Summer is also a good time to enjoy scuba diving, but there’s one problem: cyclones are very frequent during summer months. Tropical storms may occur and last for days.

I’d not advise you to dive from January to April. The days are hot and damp, the water is rough. Cyclones are also frequent.

As I’ve already mentioned visibility in the underwater is about 20 – 25 meters. In a favorable weather it can become 40 meters. Water temperature ranges from 20°C to 30°C depending on the season.

The weather is more or less calmer in the west coast of the island. That is why the west coast is considered a better diving destination than the east one. The east coast is a colder and rougher area, which is caused by the Trade Winds. However, no one can ignore the picturesque and splendid diving sites of the east coast.

There’s a coral fringing reef system all around the island. The system breaks in several places. The largest break is between the Souillac and the Bouchon and Flic and Flac. Souillac and Bouchon are on the Southern coast, while the Flic and Flac is on the West coast. An unbelievable view opens within this break. However, only experienced and professional divers are advised to dive this reef.

Each geographical zone of the island has its own peculiarities and characteristic features.

The South-West coast is rich in dolphins. There are two famous diving sites to admire at Flic and Flac: the Cathedral and the Rempart Serpent. The Cathedral is a miraculous combination of cavities, caves and arches. Rempart Serpent is worth seeing for the diversity of its fauna: scorpionfishes, stonefishes, lionfishes, moray eels and so on and so forth. This area has also shipwrecks really worth diving: “Tug II“ and the “Kei Sei 113“. The two of them are located at Flic-en-Flac. Besides these two crafts there’s also “Hoi Siong”, which has recently sunk off the coast of Ile aux Bénitiers. These are wrecks that can be easily dived, but there are also several shipwrecks that are nearly impossible to dive, especially if you’re not an experienced diver: the “St-Gabriel”, the “Orient”, and the “Carp“. The three of them are too deep for diving.

The North Coast of Mauritius is also full of scuba diving sites, such as Peter Holt’s Rock, Stenopus Reef and Roches Baleines. Diving in these sites you’ll witness real wonders that are hidden under the water. The flora and fauna of the area is unique, let alone the shipwrecks that have become attractions for all the divers: “Hassen Mian”, “Stella Maru”, “Silver Star”, “Amar”, “Star Hope”, “Water Lily” and “Emily”.

The East coast is a real diving place for extreme diving. You should be a real professional to be allowed to dive in here. The reefs are difficult to dive, besides sharks and whales may accompany you during your underwater journey.

This is only a little part of all the diving sites you may come across in Mauritius. When in Mauritius you can contact a scuba diving center and get advice according to your physical state.

However, you shouldn’t worry if you don’t know how to dive as Mauritius offers numerous shallow diving sites for the beginners. Besides, the scuba diving centers provide groups of professional divers, who accompany you during the marine journey, supporting you every single second. There are also centers that organize scuba diving lessons for those who are eager to learn the tricks of diving.

In my opinion Mauritius scuba diving is a must for each and every diver. Half of the island’s beauty is sheltered under its waters. You do want to miss it, do you?

Vanuatu is in the South Pacific Ocean, 500 km east of Northern Australia, not far from New Guinea. It is a chain of about 82, 83 small islands. Some of them are inhabited some are not. However, most of them are worth seeing because of their rich tropical nature and diving destinations.

Tourists are most fond of Vanuatu because of its climate that ranges from 22°C to 28°C. Never too hot and never too cold. A real place to enjoy your days not only on the beaches but under the water as well.

When in Vanuatu you can attend scuba diving courses and be taught the whole fineness and details of diving art you’ll later need during your diving in the big blue ocean. These courses are quite affordable and have become a common thing in Vanuatu. People are being trained to dive in the pool. Later on they feel more assert and free in the ocean.

All this doesn’t mean that you’ll dive the ocean only fully handling diving skills. You shouldn’t at all be an experienced and professional diver to enjoy scuba diving in Vanuatu. With the help and support of Nautilus Scuba, one of the best diving centers, you will fully enjoy your dive even a starter. Nautilus Scuba will provide you with everything you need for a safe and secure diving: dive boats with the best modern equipment, let alone the amicable staff, that will accompany you during the whole time.

With Nautilus Scuba you’ll certainly have an unforgettable and a highly memorable dive. The staff will take you to places really worth seeing. You will witness world-famous wrecked planes and boats. It’ll also give you the opportunity to have a night dive. Those who have already had a night dive, will assert that no diving can be compared with the one made at night.

Among numerous scuba diving destinations Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, located on the main island of Vanuatu, Efate, is the most popular diving destination among all the divers. All scuba divers would give everything to once dive in the transparent and unpolluted waters of Port Vila. The water is so clean there, that even without diving you can easily see the underwater world: the exotic water-plants combined with colorful tropical fish.

The climate is mild there. That very thing makes Port Vila a place to have a great diving time. The semi-tropical climate makes Port Vila not only an appropriate scuba diving place but also a great spot for fishing and sailing.

Nautilus Watersports is not the only scuba diving service that you can turn to. Meridian Charters and Big Blue Scuba Dive are other scuba diving centers in Port Vila that can make your diving trip a real adventure.

With the help of the above mentioned diving centers you will witness things that are gifted with real historical value. Let me introduce some of them to you.

MV Semle Feddersen is a cargo-carrying craft that was sunk in Mele Bay in 1985. The incredible visibility here gives you the opportunity to admire the ship from a distance of 60 meters. The boat has now become a home for water-plants and fish. As a result it has become a real exotic and gorgeous sight famous in the underwater world.

Star of Russia is another pride of the ocean. It’s a craft that has been made by Harlan and Wolff of Belfast, the builders of the Titanic. The craft sunk in the early 1900’s, when it was sailing from England to Australia. The visibility here is not so good, but the divers can swim through the ship body which is almost 80 meters.

During your dive in Port Vila, you’ll see wonders of nature, wonders that are hidden under the water, far from everybody’s glances. Among these miracles are Mele Reef, Blacksands reef and caves, Fila Island reef, The Cathedral and Ollies Lolly. And this is only a small part of everything you can see during your Port Vila diving.

When speaking about Vanuatu diving one can’t help mentioning about Espirito Santo. Espirito Santo is the largest island of Vanuatu and a great diving destination with an outstanding visibility.

Espirito Santo is a prominent diving spot full of numerous underwater sights. The waters of the island guard the wrecks of WWII. The most famous of the wrecks is perhaps the SS Coolidge. The merchant ship sunk in 1942, having become one of the most desired scuba diving sights so far. As a result of several earthquakes, the ship has been divided into several parts.

Espirito Santo is not only a great place for divers but a real paradise for spending honeymoon and family vacations.

As you see, Vanuatu will never let you get bored. Are you an adventurer who is tired of the land life? The underwater world of Vanuatu is waiting for you.