Achieving SSI’s Master Diver rating isn’t just about stacking certifications—it’s a commitment to growth, practice, and responsibility as a diver. It represents one of the most meaningful milestones for a recreational diver and goes far beyond classroom instruction. There are some who see it as just collecting certification cards, and some divers approach things like…… Continue reading Master Diver: Be More
Frenzy to Focus: Diving Emergencies
Stress and panic management and learning to focus is part of the SSI Stress and Rescue class. Other agencies call it Rescue Diver. Intro Every dive is potentially dangerous. A large part of all training for scuba diving involves how to deal with things that go wrong. It starts in our open water class and…… Continue reading Frenzy to Focus: Diving Emergencies
Down into the Briny Deep
I took my PADI Deep Diver class in the winter, in frigid water. It was not, however, briny water as all my diving at this point has been in freshwater lakes. My first intentional dive below 60 feet was in water that was around 41° Fahrenheit (that’s 5° Celsius). Yes, I said intentional – in…… Continue reading Down into the Briny Deep
The Frankenstein BCD or How I Improved My Trim
This one is going to be more pictures than most. I still cannot believe this actually worked. I went diving with a new dive buddy, Ronnie. He’s an SDI instructor that lives a couple of towns over from me. After diving, he made an interesting observation. He said my trim was good but that I…… Continue reading The Frankenstein BCD or How I Improved My Trim
Breathing Better with Nitrox
Normally when diving, we breath compressed air, which is 20.9% oxygen, 78.1% nitrogen, 0.9% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and 0.06% a variety of other trace gases. The gases beyond oxygen and nitrogen really don’t matter, so we tend to focus on the oxygen and nitrogen content. What is Nitrox Enriched air, or nitrox, is compressed…… Continue reading Breathing Better with Nitrox