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Tag Archives: Ocean

Underwater Statues in Cozumel – Sylvia Earle

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For those of you who went to Cozumel, did you have a good trip? We can’t wait to hear all about it!! Today, I figured we might stay in Cozumel. Last week we discussed the Statues that are underwater near Cozumel Marine World. In fact, we focused on Jacques Cousteau. After that post went live, I got a message that they actually dove that site last Wednesday. How fun is that? Today, let’s look at another one of the statues. Today we’ll focus on Sylvia Earle.

Underwater Statues in Cozumel

Sylvia Earle Statue in Cozumel Mexico

Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle was born August 30, 1935, in Gibbstown, New Jersey. As a young child, she and her family moved from New Jersey to Florida. Her parents were outdoors fanatics and ecstatic when she showed an early interest in outdoor exploration. That love led her to earn an associates degree from St. Petersburg Jr. College, a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, a Master’s of Science and Doctorate from Duke University. Continue reading→

Underwater Statues in Cozumel – Jacques Cousteau

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As most of you know (and if not I’m letting you in on a secret) we still have a group trip going on in Cozumel right now. Who is jealous? Especially of those who went for 2 weeks and missed out on the nasty cold weather last week. Since we still have a group in Cozumel, I thought it might be fun to do another post on Cozumel.

Today we’re going to feature the Statues that are underwater just to the right of Cozumel Marine World.

The Statues of Cozumel

Last year when we had a group down there, Deb and I were diving off the shore from the Cozumel Marine World Pier. That day we had a couple different groups go out. Everyone kind of dispersed in multiple directions. Deb and I went right. Not too far from the pier, we came across three statues. We knew one was Jacques Cousteau, but the other two were a mystery. Once we were back, I started doing some research and we found out that the woman statue was Sylvia Earl and the other male statue was Ramón Bravo. So the question is, just who are these people? I’m so glad you guys ask these questions ;).  Today let’s focus on Jacques Cousteau.

Jacques Cousteau

States of Cozumel - Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau is kind of known as the Father of SCUBA Diving. Continue reading→

Hello from Cozumel

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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→

Foreign Travel Tips – Forgotten Items

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Since there is a group of people getting ready to leave the country and head to Mexico, today is the perfect time to address some of the most commonly forgotten items.

C-Card.

Never Leave Home Without It! Okay, that might be a bit extreme, but if you are going on a dive trip, this is your ticket between getting to dive and not getting to dive. So maybe that should be restated to say, never leave home on a dive trip without it.

One good backup plan is to get yourself registered online through SDI so that you can download a digital copy. Remember, this card is the difference between giant striding off that boat and sitting there riding the waves. Continue reading→

Boat Diving Etiquette

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Be considerate to other divers as well as boat personnel by following these suggestions:

Tips on Boat Diving Etiquette

  • Arrive early. Be on the dock in plenty of time to board the boat. Don’t keep everyone else waiting. We’ve learned in the past that the boat personnel knows Grady and they arrive earlier than he tells them.
  • Have your C-card and waivers filled out and ready to hand in. Better yet, stop by the dive shop and turn these items in ahead of time.
  • Be prepared. Have all your equipment in your mesh bag and ready to hand to the boat personnel. Don’t come dragging your equipment to the boat piece by piece. That’s not to say some pieces won’t fit in your bag, but don’t bring a BC then go back and get your fins and then go back etc, etc. Have it all with you and ready to go.

Continue reading→

Why Choose Extreme Sports Scuba

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We have heard for years that for a business the most important thing is location, location, location. In our case, that is not all there is to it. It is how you treat people. By word of, Facebook, and other avenues, people have heard about Extreme Sports Scuba because of our friendly, family oriented atmosphere.

On more than one occasion, people have sought out our business bypassing other SCUBA stores in the process. I can’t speak for them, but I knew this was home the minute I came through the door. I sure hope they feel that way too.

A Story of One Couple

Here is a story of a couple we worked with last fall before they went on their trip to Hawaii. All pictures of text messages and pictures have been approved for our usage in this post.

We worked with a couple for their open water dives this past October. They bypassed several shops to work with us because of his past experience with us. So maybe, location isn’t always a total factor when deciding who to get certified through.

Because of everyone’s schedule, they did their open water at Beaver Lake during the Pumpkin Carving Weekend. That particular weekend happened to be a very cool weekend, but they survived and were certified divers by the end of the weekend. We were not only able to finish their open water but by the end of the weekend, we were also friends. We all can use more friends and good dive buddies, so it was a win-win situation as far as I was concerned.

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→

10 Composition Techniques

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Composition. This is a term you hear a lot thrown around in the photography sector, but what does it mean? Well, technically it means the difference between a good photo and a great photo. But let’s define the term first.

Composition: (noun) the nature of something’s ingredients or constituents; the way in which a whole or mixture is made up.

When dealing with art, a picture in this case, the composition can actually take your photo from good to great. While some people swear that a great photo is created by the camera, some of that really comes from the photographer knowing what they are doing. I’ve seen great photos taken by “crappy” cameras (not my words but other peoples).

10 Composition Techniques

  1. Rule of Thirds. Make sure you know the rule of thirds. Divide your picture up into thirds both up and down and side to side. Pictures tend to look better if the focal point isn’t dead in the middle but hits one of those points where the lines cross in the rule of thirds.
    Rule of Thirds - Morey Eel coming out of coral in Cozumel
    Continue reading→

You Want to Become SCUBA Certified… Now What?

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Extreme Sports SCUBA dive Trailer

You want to become SCUBA certified, now what? As a dive instructor, the thing that I most enjoy is seeing new divers come out of the water with a mile long smile, realizing what they have just accomplished. But the question is,

What does it take to become an “Open Water SCUBA Diver?”

First, you must sign up for the class. Come by Extreme Sports SCUBA to sign up for the course and fill out waivers and file folder. While you are here, you will set-up classroom and pool schedule. Don’t let that word “classroom” scare you off! At the time of sign-up, you are given “homework,” an open-water manual and knowledge questions to take home and read and answer at your own convenience. Again, don’t let that word homework scare you off. It’s not scary, promise.

There are five chapters,

  1. Underwater Environment
  2. Physics/Physiology
  3. SCUBA Equipment
  4. Skills Development
  5. Planning Your Dive.

After this is complete, you will come in for 2 classroom sessions. Each of these sessions are about 3 hours in length. Then, time for your 2 pool sessions. However, we will schedule more sessions if needed, and don’t feel bad if you feel you need more time in the pool. We want you to feel comfortable and we want you to succeed. The pool sessions take about 2 1/2 hours.

Remember: Our goal is for you to become comfortable in the water and be able to perform all the skills with ease.

Continue reading→

Keeping SCUBA in the Family

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Drake Weston turns 18 today, Happy Birthday to you.

And today’s blog post is about Drake.

What is it like to teach a family member to SCUBA dive?

When you have a family that is in the SCUBA business, you end up at one time or another teaching another family member to SCUBA dive.

Drake, grandson of Grady and I, grew up around SCUBA. With a father and grandparents as instructors, it was known that eventually, he would learn to dive as well. He started out using a Sassy (surface assisted youth unit) when he was around 5 years old. He even got to use it in Cozumel.  Continue reading→