Tag Archives: SCUBAPRO

The Scuba Blog had it’s first post in September 2013 about our trip to Mermet Springs in September 2013. We’ve come a long way since that first post. We’ve celebrated 2 Halloweens, 2 Thanksgivings, 2 Christmases, 2 New Years, multiple diving trips to Cozumel, Beaver Lake, Mermet Springs and other many other places. There has been good weather, bad weather, sunny weather, cold weather. We’ve had scuba educational posts, try it posts, and even posts about the enforcers. There have been posts introducing all the employees of Extreme Sports Scuba, all the kids who dive with Extreme Sports Scuba and now we’re on to learning about our adult divers. As you can tell a lot of things have happened since September 2013 and that first blog post that went live, but I’d like to mention another mile stone we’ve hit is the Blog has hit its 100th post. Can you believe there are 99 other posts on the blog about lots of events and educational opportunities that have been experienced through Extreme Sports Scuba.

For our 100th post we thought it might be fun to expose you to 100 facts about Scuba Diving. I know 100 facts sounds like a lot, but remember, we’ve hit a mile stone and there are a lot of good facts, trust me, I’ve been doing my research. Now I’m not going to take all the credit here, nope, I’ve had help from Deb Weston, Justin Weston, Doug Lord, Rachele Lord, Scott Dawson, Joshua Gilmore and Aerielle Cupp. I hope you enjoy reading this 100th post as much as I have enjoyed piecing it together. And just think… some day when you’re on a trivia show and that 1 Million Dollar Question comes up and it’s about Scuba Diving, you’ll have the answer and you can thank us :). Enjoy!

1. 1- Evidence of using diving scuba bells as far back 4 b.c. recorded by Aristotle.

2. 2- U.S. Navy developed Dive Tables in 1959

3. 3- Decompression sickness was originally known as Caisson disease among bridge and pier workers of the 19^th century. (1870’s)

4. 4- Diving is constantly changing.

5. 5- Before they used neoprene for wetsuits, they just used grease.

6. 6- Man has introduced lionfish to North America via the aquarium trade.

7. 7- This subsequent carelessness has resulted in invasive populations that are harming the marine ecosystems and economies of costal North, Central and South America.

8. 8- Lionfish are a tasty intruder with moist, buttery meat that is sure to make your mouth water.

SDI/ERDI Facts

9. 1- SDI was created in 1998.

10. 2- SDI course materials are state-of-the-art; the materials are lavishly illustrated with photography and graphics.

11. 3- We have streamlined the course materials to let students study the essential academics with an emphasis on practical diving skills learned in both the pool and open water environment.

12. 4- SDI is the only scuba training and certification agency to require students to be taught with modern dive computers from the onset of training.

13. 5- SDI staff is always looking forward and striving to be the innovators in scuba diving education.

14. 6- Diving solo is not for everyone or for every situation.

15. 7- Divers who enjoy taking still photos or capturing the motion of underwater life on video will often prefer to be a solo diver, as it disturbs the environment less and allows them the time they need to capture the images.

16. 8- There are also those who like to solo dive for the safety aspect, such as those going spear fishing.

17. 9- ERDI is the Public Safety Diving (PSD) agency that trains police, fire and other public safety organizations in search and rescue techniques in just about every submerged environment known.

18. 10- ERDI trains departments on how to make and maintain their own PSD teams along with being the only public safety diving training agency that has their own insurance and endorses it’s own standards.

19. 11- All ERDI programs are OSHA and NFPA compliant.

20. 12- Many of the ERDI programs can be taught at several levels in accordance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

21. 13- The level of participation in the practical portion of the course will determine the final level of certification.

22. 14- The classification levels are: Awareness, Operations, and Technician.

23. 15- All ERDI programs are available to public safety professionals regardless of their position within a department.

24. 16- The SDI Scubility Diver Program is designed to give physically disabled divers the necessary skills and techniques used to conduct open water dives in conditions similar to their training without the direct supervision of a SDI Scubility instructor; however, some SDI Scubility divers require supervision of a qualified SDI Dive Buddy.

Extreme Sports Scuba Facts

25. 1- Locally owned and operated.

26. 2- Family Owned.

27. 3- We were opened in 1997.

28. 4- Platinum ScubaPro Dealer.

29. 5- Top Performing facility in 2011.

30. 6- Top instructors for Scuba Diving International (SDI) Grady and Deb in 2012.

31. 7- We support and train local rescue teams.

32. 8- Our first store was less than 200 square feet.

33. 9- Took one of the largest groups to Mermet Springs, 60 people.

34. 10- We’ve been at our current location since May 2003.

ScubaPro Facts – Scott Dawson, ScubaPro Rep

35. 1- SCUBAPRO was founded in 1963

36. 2- SCUBAPRO USA is currently located in El Cajon CA

37. 3- SCUBAPRO invented the first BC inflator / octo combo in 1979 called the Air2

38. 4- SCUBAPRO invented the first adjustable second stage in 1969 called the ADJ 109

39. 5- SCUBAPRO invented the first balanced second stage in 1977 called the Pilot

40. 6- SCUBAPRO invented the first balanced adjusted second stage in 1985 called the BAL ADJ

41. 7- SCUBAPRO invented the first balanced flow thru piston first stage in 1963 called the MK 1

42. 8- The Jet Fin by SCUBAPRO was the most efficient fin on the market for years, still sold today.

43. 9- Dick Bonin and Gustav Dalla Valle were the founders of SCUBAPRO

44. 10- The founders of SCUBAPRO bought the rights to the name SCUBAPRO from Healthways for one dollar.

Sealife camera Facts – Joshua Gilmore, Marketing Manager

45. 1- SeaLife developed their first underwater film camera in 1993.

46. 2- The first digital SeaLife camera, the DC100, was introduced in 2001 and featured 1.3 megapixels.

47. 3- From 2003 – 2007, SeaLife offered the Sharkdiver, a reusable 35mm film waterproof camera.

48. 4- SeaLife shot video of the Mini II camera being run over by a Jeep to show off its rugged exterior – the camera was completely unscathed.

49. 5- A Wide Angle Lens, like SeaLife’s Fisheye Lens, is a great way to stay close to your subject but still get everything in the shot – perfect for wreck or reef scenes.

50. 6- Lighting is the most important element of underwater photography – without it, pictures and videos will lack color and appear overly blue.

51. 7- A flash releases a strong burst of light at one time and is great for still photography, while a video light is a constant source of light that works best for shooting underwater video and as a dive light.

52. 8- The SeaLife AquaPod is an extendable camera monopod that allows underwater photographers to get close to dangerous and easily frightened creatures.

53. 9- SeaLife offers the free eBook Underwater Photography Made Easy, offering tips and techniques on underwater photography basics.

54. 10- The new SeaLife Micro HD is the world’s first permanently sealed and flood-proof underwater camera – with no doors or openings that could allow the possibility of a leak.

Facts about Cozumel:

55. 1- Cozumel is only 189 Square Miles

56. 2- Population: 72,000

57. 3- Capital is Sanmiguel

58. 4- Largest Mexican Atlantic Island

59. 5- Jacques Cousteau called Cozumel “one of the most special places to scuba dive in the world.”

60. 6- Cozumel Reef National Marine Park was established in 1996

61. 7- Hurricane Wilma was recorded the most powerful hurricane to hit the island in 2005

62. 8- Visitors to Cozumel site diving as their favorite experience

63. 9- Cozumel is 3^rd largest most populated , most important tourist island in Mexico

64. 10- Cozumel is located 12 miles off coast of Yucatan Peninsula

65. 11- Cozumel underwater wildlife is ABSOLUTELY amazing and visibility is between 100-200 feet depending on the season.

Dive Flag Awareness

Boaters

66. 1- 100 feet – if you are in a river, channel, or inlet and see a dive flag, keep your boat at least 100 feet from the dive flag.

67. 2- 300 feet – if you are in open water and see a dive flag, keep your boat at least 300 feet from the dive flag

Divers

68. 1- Flag etiquette – remember to place your dive flag before submerging and be sure to remove the flag when all divers exit

69. 2- 100 feet – be sure to always surface within 100 feet of your dive flag

Top 10 Posts on Extreme Sports Scuba Blog

70. 1- Instructor Interviews – Deb Weston – Meet one of our feerless leaders Deb Weston!

71. 2- Try it Tuesday – This was the very first post on our Try it Tuesday’s I wrote. I was still learning about this blog and what direction to take it. Let’s go back and experience a Try it Tuesday!

72. 3- Instructor Interviews – Grady Weston – Meet one of our other fearless leaders Grady Weston!

73. 4- Instructor Interviews – Dan La Due – One thing about it, we have great instructors here at Extreme Sports Scuba. Check out Dan’s post, he may or may not “drive the short bus” (find out what that means)

74. 5- Try it Tuesday – Nevada Boy Scouts Edition – January 2014 the Nevada boy scouts came down and gave scuba diving a try.

75. 6- Diver behind the Blog – Nicole Willoughby – So usually everyone else is in the hot seat getting asked questions. I did write a post introducing myself because Deb asked me to, but I’d like to tell you that Doug Lord plans to put me in the hot seat… stay tuned!

77. 8- Mermet Springs September 2013 – If you’ve never been to Mermet Springs diving, be sure to check this post out. It’s a lot of fun!

78. 9- 16^th Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Event – If you need a little extra challenge on carving a pumpkin, try carving one underwater!

79. 10- Come Try Scuba – Try it Tuesday – February 2014 – It is a lot of fun to try scuba diving, especially in controlled conditions. You’d be quite surprised that most anyone can do it and if you need the “short bus” Dan’s the man!

The top 10 diving movies as rated by Sportdiver.com

80. 10- Sphere (1998)

81. 9- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

82. 8- Into the Blue (2005)

83. 7- The Frogmen (1951)

84. 6- Thunderball (1965)/ For Your Eyes Only (1981)

85. 5- Men of Honor (2000)

86. 4- The Deep (1977)

87. 3- The Abyss (1989)

88. 2- The Big Blue (1988)

89. 1- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

Kayak Facts

90. 1- There are two types of Kayak’s, sit-inside and sit-on-top of kayaks.

91. 2- Sit-inside kayaks place your center of gravity inside the sidewalls of the kayak and your legs are under the deck. This keeps splashing to a minimum as well as keeping your legs fairly warm and dry.

92. 3- Sit-on-tops are more for warmer weather paddlers as you will get wet, but they are great to hop off of for a cool down swim, then jump right back on and continue to your destination.

93. 4- Long skinny kayaks are great for speed and tracking where shorter wider kayaks are very stable and maneuverable but not as good with tracking and will be a bit slower.

94. 5- Flat bottom kayaks are very stable but slower where as v-shaped kayaks will be faster than a flat bottom.

95. 6- Most generally a sit on top of kayak is more stable than a sit inside kayak and will run in shallower water, which is better for rivers and streams.

96. 7- Advantage to buying a kayak from a local dealer, the local dealer can handle the warranty in house where as a larger warehouse store requires shipping the kayak back to them which could get a shipping cost upwards of $150-200.

97. 8- A common misconception with kayaking is you don’t have to roll a kayak over (that has to do with white water kayaking). In recreational kayaking if the kayak rolls over you get out/off, flip it over, get back on and continue kayaking.

98. 9- Fishing off a Kayak allows you to get to most places a boat won’t let you.

99. 10- Watching and reading about Kayaking on the internet is not always the most reliable source unless you know where the facts are coming from. Northwest River Supply started in 1972 has a great learning page with facts and videos to help with any questions that you might have (or going in to your local dealer!!).

And last but not least, the 100th fact…

100. If there’s food, they will come.