Scuba Diver Dies 30 Miles Off Barnegat

Gene Wite, 42 of Middletown Delaware, died yesterday afternoon despite a dramatic rescue attempt at sea by a Coast Guard helicopter crew 30 miles east of Barnegat. The story identifies the Tuna “Seizure” (actual name Seazure) as a fishing boat while it’s actually a dive boat, so I don’t know how many more inaccuracies are in the article. Here’s the link:

Scuba diver dies despite rescue attempt.

WW2 B-17 BlackJack

Here’s a video of a dive on the B-17 bomber BlackJack that crashed in Papua, New Guinea. George Prezioso, the plane’s radio operator and ball turret gunner was the featured speaker at our dive club meeting last week.

The wreck lies in 150 feet of water and is incredibly well preserved.

Very Special On The Bottom Meeting

The next meeting of On-the-Bottom is scheduled for this Wednesday, May 6th at 7:30 p.m.  The meeting will be held at Illusions, at the Sheraton in Mahwah.  The guest speaker will be George Prezioso who flew aboard the B-17  Black Jack that went down in the waters around Papau New Guinea July 11, 1943.

Blue Water Divers recently had a trip to PNG and some in the group had an opportunity to dive the sunken B-17, and after their trip they decided to do a bit of research and found that not only was George aboard the plane when it went down, but he was alive and well and living in New Jersey.  George is making a special trip to Bergen County to present to OTB. There will be the usual raffle–and maybe even a birthday cake to help George celebrate his recent birthday.

The next meeting of On-the-Bottom is scheduled for this Wednesday, May 6th at 7:30 p.m.  The meeting will be held at Illusions, at the Sheraton in Mahwah.  The guest speaker will be George Prezioso who flew aboard the B-17  Black Jack that went down in the waters around Papau New Guinea July 11, 1943.

Blue Water Divers recently had a trip to PNG and some in the group had an opportunity to dive the sunken B-17, and after their trip they decided to do a bit of research and found that not only was George aboard the plane when it went down, but he was alive and well and living in New Jersey.  George is making a special trip to Bergen County to present to OTB. There will be the usual raffle–and maybe even a birthday cake to help George celebrate his recent birthday.

Video: Cuttlefish Attacks Octopus

Crazy for Shark Fin Soup

I saw this online a few weeks ago without any translation. Since I don’t understand the language, I can’t vouch for what she’s supposedly saying, but here it is anyway:

Upcoming Events

This Wednesday, April 1st is the On The Bottom Dive Club’s monthly meeting. The club will be meeting at Illusions at the Sheraton in Mahwah.  The guest speaker is Mark Snyder who will present a show of some of his amazing underwater photos and giving tips on how he got them.  

In addition, Mark will be teaching two U/W photo courses for Blue Water Divers in April–giving away some of his secrets!  He will be highlighting many of the topics contained in his seminars.

In addition, this Friday, April 3rd, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions will be giving a special presentation on his live-aboard in Australia. Mike’s long-time associate, Ron Stevens (aka Rogest) will be showing some of his original artwork.  Both have agreed to donate some prizes to the Raffle– a trip aboard the Spoilsport AND some original artwork!!!

Friday’s presentation will be at the Sheraton, but check with TV monitors in the lobby to see exactly where.

Beneath The Sea 2009

Mark your calendars. Friday March 27 through Sunday March 29 is Beneath The Sea Dive Expo at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. For details, check out the website.

Beneath The Sea 2009 Divers of the Year

From an email that I received from Armand Zigahn, Executive Director of Beneath The Sea, Inc.:

Edward A. Betts – Education: Edward Betts of the American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI) has been at the forefront of recreational NITROX development, purity, safety standards and education. Ed has done more than any single person or training agency to provide the most advanced and professional NITROX training programs, equipment and services worldwide. Beginning in 1988, ANDI has trained thousands of divers and has expanded to include offices in The United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Sweden, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Greece, Japan, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Republic of Maldives, Republic of Philippines, Latin America, Middle East, with its home office in Freeport, Long Island. Ed’s work in portable hyperbaric chambers has also changed that industry and has made low cost portable systems possible for a larger number of people in remote areas of the world and available to patients unable to afford conventional hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Dr. Glen Egstrom – Service -Glen Egstrom has been a professor at the Department of Physiological Sciences at UCLA SINCE 1954.  His teaching responsibilities at UCLA and as a staff member for 52 diving and aquatic medicine courses and 39 Underwater Instructor Training Courses  orldwide, havefocused upon performance physiology, environmental kinesiology, aquatic kinesiology, applied anatomy and biomechanical analysis. As Director of the UCLA Underwater Kinesiology Laboratory from 1964 to 2000, his research projects included the UCLA Diving Safety Research Project that involved studies of the biomechanical, physiologic, psychologic and procedural aspects of aquatic performance. His honors include The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society’s Oceaneering International Award for Outstanding Contributions to Biomedical Research in 1985 and their Craig Hoffman Memorial Safety Award in 1995, The Diving Equipment Manufacturers Association Reaching Out Award for Diving Safety Education in 1988 and induction into their Hall of Fame, the Divers Alert Network/ Rolex Diver of the year award in 1994 and as an Inaugural Inductee into the National Association Of Underwater Instructors Hall of Honor in 2000. Glen has authored and co-authored over 100 publications related to aquatic sports and scuba diving safety.

Dr. Jose Jones, – Education. Jose’ Jones’ childhood fascination with the ocean and marine animals was realized when he volunteered for a combat swimming course while in the military at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Thus began a lifelong association with scuba diving and oceanography. During his senior year as an undergraduate, Jose’ formed the Underwater Adventure Seekers Scuba Diving Club (UAS). . Jose’ holds a PhD in marine biology from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He studied marine invertebrate biology as a National Science Foundation Fellow at the Duke University Marine Station in North Carolina. He also studied marine science for nearly two years at the University of Queensland, Australia as a Fulbright Scholar. He spent many days on the Great Barrier Reef studying, diving, and photographing marine life. Jose’ has written many publications in his field and holds over a dozen copyrights on his underwater slide and video series. He has produced several underwater videos, including one entitled “Dive and Tour Morocco” which was shown at the Paris Scuba Show. He, like many other men, has applied the skills he acquired in the military to civilian life and taught others. He holds three instructor’s certificates: The Atlantic Skin Diving Council, CMAS, and PADI. He has been a PADI Instructor for twenty years, and his personal training includes military, British Subaqua (in Australia), CMAS, and PADI. He has logged over 5000 dives worldwide and certified over 2000 divers from Africa to Australia without charging a cent. Many of the hundreds of students certified by Dr. Jones have traveled the world with him to dive.  After receiving over a hundred letters and phone calls, Dr. Jones decided that the time was ripe to organize black divers nationally. Through his efforts and the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) became a reality in January of 1991.Dr. José Jones has gone deep and wide in the marine world as a scientist, scuba diver, institution builder, and public servant. His vision, commitment to excellence, and dedicated leadership has enabled him to create opportunities for many other people to experience the wonders of the sea and expand their horizons. Dr. Jones’ career as an educator and scientist spans thirty-seven years. For twenty-five years he taught at the University of the District of Columbia as a professor of marine biology and environmental science. He also served as Chairman of the Department of Environmental Science, Dean for the College of Life Sciences and Provost and Vice President of the University. Dr. Jones holds a masters degree from Howard University in Aquatic Biology and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University in Marine Biology. He was a three-time Fellow of the National Science Foundation. As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied Marine Biology at the University of Queensland, Australia and dove the Great Barrier Reef for two years.

Stewart Snyder III – Service I was introduced to H.S.A. by Robert Daullary of Underwater Discovery Inc. ,Toms River NJ while serving as Handicapped Children’s Chairman for the Lakewood Elks Lodge #1432, Robert asked me to bring some special children down to the pool to swim and try scuba. The day went GREAT; all fifteen children made it to the bottom of the pool and didn’t want to leave there. Children that couldn’t walk on the earths surface were able to move about freely underwater. After seeing this and their smiles, my own challenge began with the quest to become an H.S.A. Instructor. I am happy to say that since that time I have been in the water with over a thousand handicapped individuals, and have met some of the best people in the world. The Instructors, Divemasters, and Dive Buddies I have worked with and who have worked with me, are the best in the world. I have traveled to Bonaire, Costa Rica, Cozumel, the Florida Keys and other exciting places to do Instructor Training Courses.

Lee Selisky – Service Lee SELISKY IS the Founder and CEO of Sea Pearls, Inc., a major dive industry manufacturer located in Minnesota. Sea Pearls, Inc. is known for its manufacture and distribution of scuba diving weights to wholesale customers in the recreational scuba diving industry. The SPI division makes a wide range of custom die-cast lead components for industrial, medical, and military customers. Selisky is a former Board Member and President of the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) and  is an active voice in the scuba industry. Selisky is an avid boater and diver with a special interest in the shipwrecks of Lake Superior. Lee takes a keen interest in the history of diving equipment, especially that of commercial hardhat equipment. Lee is the past Chairman of the Historical Diving Society, USA. He also served on the Board of Governors of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame in the Cayman Islands. Lee currently serves on the Board of Directors of Divers Alert Network.

Diver Grapples With a 12 Foot Tiger Shark To Save a Friend

“Plunging a knife in again and again, diver Craig Clasen grapples with a 12ft tiger shark to protect a friend. For two hours he wrestled with the giant, spearing it seven times, even drowning the beast before eventually finishing it off with a knife.”

For the rest of the article and the photos, check it out here.

So, is it for real? If it is, he’s lucky it didn’t have a laser mounted on its head!

/obscure reference?

Renting Versus Buying SCUBA Gear

Here’s a great article by Karen Berger on the subject:

Renting Versus Buying SCUBA Gear

Wish I had this when I started out.