Diving in the Dark, Discovering the New

Diving at night seems simple, right? You just need a flashlight? Well, there’s a bit more to it than that, and if it’s limited visibility, depending on the cause of that limited visibility, a flashlight may not be enough. It’s time to learn a bit about how to deal with it. All of the major…… Continue reading Diving in the Dark, Discovering the New

Master Diver: Be More

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

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