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Author Archives: Doug Lord

Goin’ Fishing (Options for the Non-diver)

Posted on by Posted in Dive Trips

Goin’ Fishing, since we can’t spend all of our time underwater while on vacation.  We have to find other activities to fill our time when we can’t be diving.  Like many other four state divers, I grew up fishing, swimming, boating, and canoeing on the lakes, rivers, and creeks in our area.  As a diver, I’ve always tried to go by the take only pictures and leave only bubbles philosophy.  Though I have invited about every lobster I’ve seen while diving to dinner. But alas, none have taken me up on my offer. I get a bit of fishing fever when I see the fishing boats coming and going or the sport fishing tournaments.

Cozumel 2019

My parents went with me on the February 2019 Group Dive trip to Cozumel. My dad said that he would like to go deep sea fishing.  Continue reading→

Uh, I don’t feel so good

Posted on by Posted in Did You Know

You’ve arrived at your tropical paradise vacation destination, or maybe you’ve been there for a few days then one morning you wake up not feeling so well.  Maybe it was something you ate or drank, that’s not agreeing with you.  Perhaps your head and sinuses are stopped up.  This is not how you wanted to spend your days on vacation.  Nothing is more miserable than being on vacation and getting sick.

Now, let me get in my disclaimer here, I’m not a doctor, nurse or any other type of medical professional, nor do I play one on TV.  I have gotten sick a few times on vacation though.  Everything from sea sickness, to just a common cold, and several things in between I’ve come down with it while on vacation. Continue reading→

But It’s Dark Out There…

Posted on by Posted in Underwater Life

You’ve arrived at your tropical ocean destination and perhaps have even done a day or two of diving already and then somebody asks if you’d like to go on a night dive in the ocean.  Why would you want to go on a nighttime ocean dive?  It’s dark out there.

Ocean night dives are one of my favorite kind of dives to do.  The reef comes alive at night, literally, most of the hard corals that look like a rock during the day come alive with polyps and are actively feeding at night.  These pictures of corals at night with the fluorescent lighting show the polyps really well

Continue reading→

Hydros Pro Review

Posted on by Posted in Scuba Products

Hydros Review

At the November 2015 DEMA show, I saw my first Hydros BCD prototype. I thought that it looked really good and that it should make a great BCD. I didn’t need a new BC at the time, as I had an X-TEK BC that I was perfectly happy with. Two years later I started thinking that I need a new BC for travel and warm water. I signed up for a two-week dive vacation in Cozumel and I really needed to reduce the weight of my luggage. I decided to go ahead and purchase the Hydros.

Fast forward a few weeks and I’m sitting in the lobby of Hotel Cozumel & Resort. More than 40 dives later and I’m getting ready to return home. I think that I gave the Hydros Pro BC a good work out. Overall I’m very happy with the BC.  The fit of the BC is superb, thanks to the way the BC conforms to your body. Even with my 19cf pony tank attached to the tank strap, the BC did not roll around. The BC I purchased was a large and it was more than big enough for my frame.

Features

One of the features of the Hydros BC is that is customizable. You can adjust it to custom fit you.

  • add pockets
  • attachment points
  • change color schemes

Continue reading→

Hello from Cozumel

Posted on by Posted in Dive Trips

Hello from beautiful Cozumel.  We’re sitting in the lobby of Hotel Cozumel.  We hear a rumor that you may have ice back home.  Don’t worry we have ice here too, in our drinks.

Our trip started with a 5 am flight out of Tulsa. After arriving in Cozumel, and getting through the airport and immigration, we took a short bus ride to the hotel.  We checked in, grabbed a bite of lunch, and then headed to the swim beach to do our checkout dive and maybe another dive or two.  Then back to the room to unpack, clean up, and off to dinner.  After a wonderful and exhausting day, it was time to head off to the room to get some much need sleep.

Up early the next morning for a 6:30 am breakfast, then to meet the dive boat at the dock at 7:45 to get loaded and off before 8:00 to Cozumel’s world-famous dive sites.  Continue reading→

Snorkeling

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Doug snorkeling with his dad in Cozumel

Snorkeling

What’s a great way to introduce someone to the underwater world?  What’s a good way to explore shallow dive sites?  What’s a good way to spend your surface interval?  What’s sometimes the best way to get close to some of the most skittish marine life?  The answer to all these questions is snorkeling!

If you’re visiting a tropical location that has SCUBA diving, there’s a pretty good chance that the same dive operation that you’re using on your vacation, can also take you to a dive site that is also good for snorkeling.  Why would you want to do that, you ask?  If you have a friend, parent, or significant other that has traveled with you that would like to see the underwater world, but doesn’t want to or can’t SCUBA dive.  Snorkeling can be a great way to introduce and to share the underwater experience with your friend. Continue reading→

What You Should Know Before taking a Camera SCUBA Diving

Posted on by Posted in Scuba Education 1 Comment

But I Want To Take My Camera

But, I want to take my camera.

There are many things that a person needs to know or understand before they take a camera with them scuba diving. Here are a few of the things that you should consider before taking a camera with you under the waves.

Cameras and their housings are mechanical devices, they will fail. If a housing can flood, it will flood, it’s just a matter of time until it happens. Whether it be due to operator error, or material failure sooner or later a camera in a housing is going to get wet. Remember when deciding to take a camera with you underwater, if you can’t afford to replace it, don’t take it underwater.

Around the shop, we hear a lot of people ask, when should I take a camera with me on a dive? We normally tell people that they need to have at least 50 dives before they take a camera on a dive. Then we usually hear, 50 dives!? Why so many? There many reasons why we recommend that someone should have at least 50 dives before they take a camera with them underwater.

The biggest reasons are water comfort, buoyancy control, gear comfort, and air management. All of these reasons directly impact your safety and well being on a dive. Conversely, these issues will directly impact your ability to get good underwater photos and videos. All these issues are also interrelated, in that a change in one will affect the others. Continue reading→