HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: geary%cfa3.DECNET@CFA.HARVARD.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Bonaire for the holidays
Date: 8 Oct 92 11:41:55 GMT


              HOLIDAY TRIP TO BONAIRE
       19 DECEMBER (Sat.) to 3 JANUARY (Sun.)

I still have an empty two-bedroom apartment with kitchen available
at the Carib Inn.  Ideal for two couples or a small family.  Great
diving from both boat and shore, and inexpensive too.  Contact me
for details on the accommodations, diving, best airfares, etc.

John Geary
geary@cfa.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: krentel@cs.rice.edu (Mark W. Krentel)
Subject: strobes
Organization: Rice University, Houston
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 19:54:40 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I asked if anyone had opinons on strobes.
I only got 3 responses, but they had consistent opinions:

   Good reviews for Ikelite 150 and 225.
   Good reviews for B&H and Adorama (mail order places).

   Bad reviews for Helix and Morris.

No one else does underwater photography?  
Has anyone ever used an Ikelite Ai or Ai/n and are willing to tell
me what they think of it?

I emphasize that the above data is on a very small sample size (3).

Mark Krentel
Rice University
Houston, Texas
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: adb@herboid.uucp (Anthony DeBoer)
Subject: Re: Bringing it up again (seasickness)
Organization: Linda's Dragon Memorial Society
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 22:18:06 GMT

Joseph Crunk <joseph@shogun.smos.com> writes:
> [ re Scop patches ] ... The drug can be absorbed when the patch
>is applied anywhere on the body. The usual application site is behind the
>ears because the skin there absorbs the drug best.  ...

Not that I've had much problem with seasickness (mostly down south; lake
motion up here I'm used to), but I was wondering, is there a preferred
spot for drysuit wearers where it'll stay dry (ie. what parts of the body
are runners-up for absorbing the drug properly, after the ear, modulo any
wet locations on the head and hands?  And for wetsuit divers, how much of
a problem is it when a patch becomes wet?  Or should you toss out the one
you're wearing before a dive and put on a fresh one afterwards (or maybe
re-use it)?  Is there any problem with wearing one under increased
pressure at depth, such that you shouldn't even if you can keep it dry?
-- 
Anthony DeBoer   NAUI # Z8800, D5482 | Why watch TV, when Netnews provides
adb@herboid.uucp | adb@geac.com      | 100% of your daily requirement for
uunet!geac!herboid!adb               | trivia and meaningless entertainment?
From: zwbm07@hou.amoco.com (Walter Moore)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: RFI: Hammerheads & the Flower Gardens
Date: 15 Oct 92 13:15:49 GMT
Reply-To: zwbm07@hou.amoco.com
Organization: Amoco

In article 1@sscvx1.ssc.gov, schludermann@sscvx1.ssc.gov () writes:
>
>has anyone been on those trips to the gulf of mexico for the hammerhead
>breeding?  It's sometime in the winter and located near the flower gardens.
>
>Kris


I've never been, but I seem to recall it being during Feb. and Mar.
---
TTYL & TANSTAAFL ---------------- Walter Moore 
      Internet: zwbm07@hou.amoco.com

..SCUBA divers do it with depth...blub...blub...blub...
From: ray@tsw.UUCP (Ray Izumi)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: strobes
Date: 15 Oct 92 20:49:30 GMT
Organization: The System Works, Redmond, WA

In article <Bw4nB4.FEH@rice.edu> krentel@cs.rice.edu (Mark W. Krentel) writes:
>A couple of weeks ago, I asked if anyone had opinons on strobes.
>I only got 3 responses, but they had consistent opinions:
>
>   Good reviews for Ikelite 150 and 225.
>   Good reviews for B&H and Adorama (mail order places).
>
>   Bad reviews for Helix and Morris.
>
I must have missed your earlier post on this question. Here's my $0.02:

I agree on the Ikelite 150 - a great strobe. But I don't care for the
Ikelite camera tray and arm system. They are too wide, especially if
you put a second strobe on the tray, at which point you are wrassling a
beast that is wider than your body. But I do like their quick release
handle, which makes it easy to detach the strobe and arm for hand-held
shots.

I also have a See & Sea YS50 TTL, about equivalent to the Ikelite M
strobe. I like it for macro work and occasional flash fill, and have
even had fair results using it with a 20mm lens. Two of these would
be ideal for macro work. But again  I don't care for the tray and
arm setup. I think you really have to get a machinist to make a rig
if you want the ideal tray/arm system.

And I have also had pretty good luck with B&H and Adorama, but they
will always tell you  that they have an item in stock when in fact
they either a) don't really know or b) are lying. To compound the
misery, they bill your credit card immediately, and you wait weeks
for you "in-stock" item to arrive. But I have returned defective items
to both and was well treated in that respect. So, just don't count on
getting anything from them in a hurry.

The best photo mail order outfit around is Camera World of Oregon;
unfortunately, they don't sell any underwater photo gear.

Hope this helps.
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ray Izumi, The System Works, Redmond, WA     206-823-4685      uunet!tsw!ray
"No amount of not finding something proves it doesn't exist."
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: 6845400@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM
Subject: Learn to dive
Organization: Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc.
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 21:16:32 GMT

There are a few other dive shops around that offer lessons besides
Wet Pleasure.  One thing to remember to do when you are inquiring
about the cost of scuba diving lessons is "the complete price!!!".

Some shops will offer lessons a an unreasonably low price, pin them down as
to what the course includes, some will include the rental of gear needed
for ocean diving, or one place used to offer lessons for $85, but that did
not include the diving done at the ocean only classroom and pool work (they
are no longer in business).

There is one store in Mountain View called Penninsula Diving Center at 1015
West El Camino Real, another on 1130 Saratog Ave. called Any Water Sports, I
know they give a Naui Certification. I've shopped there for all kinds of
things but I took my received my Padi Certification for Pacific Offshore
Divers in San Jose.  My Naui Certification was received from a store no longer
in business, there was many many years between the two certifications.
You can e-mail me if you want to talk more.

Thanks,
Kathy
------------------------- Original Article -------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: eric@smos.com (Super nice guy)
Subject: Where to learn how to dive
Followup-To: rec.scuba
Keywords: learning
Organization: S-MOS, Inc
Distribution: ca
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 23:34:15 GMT

Hi!

Well, I am thinking of getting into the world of Scuba Diving.  I live in the
Bay Area and I'm looking around for a good deal to learn how to scuba (I have
tried it before but it was just a simple 2-day class to learn how to dive in
a shallow place).  Anyway, I was looking around (I live in Mountain View),
and a place called Wet pleasure seems to be giving a good price (class for
$89.00, books + dive table + misc for $35.00, rental for class + openwater
for $69.00 and dive certification for $20.00).  Most other places seem
to charge about $250 for the above.  Now, I have a few questions for
you experts out there:

1) How is the class from Wet Pleasure?

2) How is the price compared to other places?

3) I have heard that for the open water, the instructor sometimes charges
above and beyond the course cost (another $50-$100).  Is this true?

4) Are there any other places that I could take the course that are
cheaper/better?  I'm just looking for a simple PADI/NAUI open water
certification.

5) Do you have anything to suggest to a novice?

Thank you very much for any help!!

Eric (please email to: eric@smos.com)



Newsgroups: rec.scuba,sci.med
From: fgz@kodak.pa.dec.com (Federico Genoese-Zerbi)
Subject: Fat not a contributing factor to the onset of DCS?
Reply-To: fgz@kodak.pa.dec.com (Federico Genoese-Zerbi)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 16:35:20 GMT


I apologize if this is a repost.  I'm not convinced my original
one made it....


__________________________________________________


It has become somewhat of a diving community shibboleth that obesity
is a contributing factor to the onset of decompression sickness (DCS).
Yet I remain unconvinced....

Those who subscribe to this notion point to the fact that fat is
poorly perfused, and therefore is slow in offgassing (it's also slow
in ongassing -- but this part is often glossed over).  Yet this fact
alone should not make for an added risk of DCS.  If the tissue's half
time is appropriately modeled by the tables or computer being used to
plan dive profiles, then it should be no more a risk factor than any
other slow (or fast) comparment.

And, in the end, I find the experimental evidence that obesity is a
contributive factor DCS to be lacking, which is the ultimate test..

While it is true that DAN statistics do show correlation between being
overweight and being hit, other numbers contradict this.  

First of all, the increased likelyhood is not geometric with
percentage of body fat.  If body fat were a significant (even, as is
suggested, primary) factor in DCS, then this would be expected.  This
is because the theory holds that any amount of fat provides some
chance of being a site for an embolus.  With a linear increase in this
amount, one would see the opportunity for the development of an
embolus increase geometrically.  If we use the coin toss analogy --
where getting heads means we get decompression sickness, this becomes
apparent -- more fat is analogous to more coin tosses.  Then after one
toss, the odds of not having DCS are 50%.  After two tosses, the odds
of not getting DCS are 25%.  After 3 tosses, the odds of not getting
at least 1 hit, drop to 1/8, or 12.5% and so on.  This is not the
pattern that we see in humans with increasing amounts of body fat.

The other forgotten factor is fitness.  It is possible to be
extrememly fit yet obese.  But the majority of obese individuals are
not very fit.  And since the studies I've seen suggesting a link
between obesity and DCS do not eliminate fitness (which could've been
quantified rather than briefly mentionned as a "potential player") as
a confounding factor, they would seem exceedingly flawed.

The final straw, in my opinion, is that women for any given fitness
level have a higher percentage of body fat than men.  Yet it has
become clear that, despite the grim warnings of the "fat is bad for
diving" zealots, women seem to have no added risk of DCS than men.

So in summary, I've come to the belief (maybe I'm wrong, I'm dying to
see some good discussion on this topic -- which is why I'm bringing it
up) that fat is a non-issue when it comes to hyperbaric exposures,
except to the extent that it affects fitness levels.

Comments?

F.
From: peterson@hpl.hp.com (Chris Peterson)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Wrist vs. Console computers ?
Date: 16 Oct 92 18:19:32 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Palo Alto, California

Yet another reason (IMHO) to avoid wrist-mounted anything... including watches 
on the outside of the wetsuit.  I have never failed to snag my BC on a 
wrist-mount guage when attempting to "whip off" my BC during practice rescues.

I have tried several doffing methods such as threading one's wrist through the
shoulder hole and placing one's arm in a "hammerlock" behind one's back and
sliding the BC off that arm.  

Only popping the shoulder clips (on BCs equipped with them) has not resulted 
in consistent snags.  However, the buckles are not always cooperative, some
are easier to use than others, etc.
-- 
Chris Peterson                                      e-mail: peterson@hpl.hp.com
Research Computing Services                  hpdesk: chris peterson / hp1900/ux
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories                              phone: (415) 857-6432
Palo Alto, CA USA                                           fax: (415) 857-5686
Xref: sparky rec.scuba:5475 misc.kids:25972
From: mjohnson@zeus.calpoly.edu (Mark S. Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba,misc.kids
Subject: Re: Any recomendations for dive gear for kids?
Date: 13 Oct 92 20:26:05 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Mechanical Engrg. Dept., California Poly. State U., SLO

I just took my son to Anacapa Island to snorkel on his seventh
birthday. He loved it. Garibaldi are now his most favorite animals in
the universe, I think :-).

Details

Date: 4 October 1992

Air Temp:           75 F
Water Temp:         64 F
 
Thermal protection: 3mm/2mm Oneil surf suit, size 10 (a bit big for him)
                    cost: ~$100.

                    (Shorty surf suits for kids can be rented
                    in these parts for about $10/day)
                         
		    2mm "rash guard" booties (help his fins fit, too)
                    cost: $20 at a surf shop

                    6.5mm hood, extra small, rented from a dive shop ($3)

(Except for the hood, my son uses this gear while bodyboarding, too.
He got cold a couple times at Anacapa, but he just jumped out and
warmed up in the sun and got right back in. His wetsuit gave BOTH of
us a secure feeling because of its buoyancy.)

Mask and snorkel:   Voit (??) purchased at Big 5
                    cost: ~$25

                    This mask has the "quick adjust" straps common
                    now on most adult dive masks.  This is VERY handy
                    for helping your child adjust/readjust his/her mask,
                    especially when you're both in the water.

Fins:               adjustable for sizes 1-5 made by ???
                    purchased at Big 5
                    cost: $20

Boat trip:          Island Packers out of Ventura
                    express trip to East Anacapa Landing, 12n-5pm
                    $32/adult, $20/child

So, like diving, outfitting your kids for snorkeling is not all that
cheap in California, especially given wetsuits that are quickly
outgrown.  However, my son and I both agree that this little snorkel
trip was the most fun we've ever had together.

Dive shops don't seem to carry much gear for kids, and if they do, it
can be expensive ($65 masks).  If you get the "better" stuff at a
sporting goods store you should be all right.  Dive gear is only
seasonally available at some sporting goods stores, so you might need
to start shopping NOW or wait till spring.

Good Luck,
Mark

-- 
Mark S. Johnson        mjohnson@stn9.me.calpoly.edu      (129.65.19.9)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: gat@robotics.jpl.nasa.gov (Erann Gat)
Subject: Re: Shark Stories
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 20:02:48 GMT

In article <Bw4FB0.Jwq@news.udel.edu> chic@chopin.udel.edu (Robert L Chiccarine) writes:
>	Divers rarely ever see sharks. This is sad, because
>    they are one of the most graceful of creatures.

Here in southern California horned sharks are quite common.  The biggest
one I've ever seen was about two feet long, though between 12 and 18 inches
is more common.  They usually lie on the bottom, and you have to poke at
them to get them to move.  (I usually am content to let them lie still.)
When they do swim around, they invariably swim away from you, and look
quite pretty doing it.

Erann Gat
gat@robotics.jpl.nasa.gov
From: sc5@prism.gatech.EDU (CSEPLO,STEPHEN P)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: World PADI compatibility
Date: 16 Oct 92 16:29:29 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

Interesting about the problems you had with the PADI diver. It sounds
to me like more a problem with the individual than training. You only
get out what you put into school of any type.

-- 

The Mad Hata  

"Hey, Mon....Tako Kichi!"
From: jms@carat.arizona.edu (A virtually vegetal non-entity)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Sea of Cortez
Date: 13 Oct 92 23:21:00 GMT
Reply-To: jms@Arizona.EDU
Distribution: world,local
Organization: University of Arizona MIS Department - Mosaic Group
X-Lunar-Date: 0 days, 14 hours, 27 minutes since the full moon
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.50A

In article <1992Oct13.195445.5085@mixcom.com>, kkwwkk@mixcom.com (TA Shaw) writes...
> 
>Can anyone tell me about diving the Sea of Cortez in the November
>or December time frame.  Is this time period good or bad for
>diving.  What are the best areas to be diving?  And finally
>I've heard people talk of seeinf sea lions, manta rays, whales,
>etc....is there are time of the year that would increase one's
>chances of seeing them?
> 
The Sea of Cortez is always good diving in the winter.  Last year, November
middle-of-month, the temperature was a chilly 74 degrees.  That's cool
enough that the pelagics come back in.  Right now, it's 85, which is a little
warm (not enough O2, I've heard, or perhaps they just like it cooler). 

Sea lions: they never leave.  Belching, farting, honking, snorting, and
blapping, they're always happy to see you on San Pedro Island.

Mantas: Well, you can see SMALL mantas any time.  Big mantas are hard to
find. 

Whales: Never seem 'em while diving, although we have spotted them 
swimming by while on board a boat.  I don't have much information here.

Look in the archives under "Guaymas" "San Carlos" "Puerto Penasco"
"Rocky Point" "Cabo San Lucas" and "Himlaya" to see some dive spots
on the Sea. 

jms


Joel M Snyder, 1103 E Spring Street, Tucson, AZ, 85719 
Phone: 602.882.4094 (voice) .4095 (FAX) .4093 (data)
BITNET: jms@Arizona  Internet: jms@arizona.edu  SPAN: 47541::telcom::jms
Yow!  I'm imagining a surfer van filled with soy sauce!
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: smckenzi01@cc.curtin.edu.au
Subject: Computers,Tables,Bottom Timers.
Organization: Curtin University of Technology
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 00:42:53 GMT

  With all this talk of computer use, and mistakes using tables. It seems
to me that I see a lot of divers nowadays supposedly diving to tables that
"fudge" their bottom times in their calculations. This appears to be because 
"we" get used to not having to check times at the beginning of the dive.

	How are these people, diving with a computer, going to have any idea
what their bottom time is if their machine fails ?

	I wear my aladin pro for repetitive, not deep diving, and still
observe the longest S.I.'s that I can, however a cheap digital bottom
timer on my BC hose is desirable for those dives in my area that will
probably never exceed table limits. Does anybody wish to throw in their 
two cents and comment on the best value for money bottom timers ?
(This includes watches that have this function).
  
Matthew,       
___________________________________________________________________
Matthew Hepburn McKENZIE     Phone : +61 9 382 4819    ~  .-_!\  ~
38/216 Cambridge Street      Fax : No, sorry.          ~ /     \  ~
WEMBLEY  WA  6014            32.00.00 S  115.50.00 E  ~  \_.-._/ ~
AUSTRALIA           Email: SMCKENZI01@cc.curtin.edu.au ~      o  ~
From: leej@sgi.com (Lee Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Staying alive at depth!
Date: 15 Oct 1992 23:15:48 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: diver.asd.sgi.com

In article <1992Oct15.225338.24194@col.hp.com> stevem@col.hp.com (Steve Meyer) writes:
>First, you had better take a basic cavern course, followed by 
>a basic cave course, followed by a cave course that introduces
>you to the use of doubles.  Then decided whether you really 
>want to take a DV into a cave.  

Um, I think some wires were crossed due to international differences in
the abbreviation expansion algorithm.  I believe the original author was
referring to DV as Demand Valve (what we call a regulator).  It confused me
at first as well because here in the States, DV (more typically DPV) is
a Diver (Propulsion) Vehicle.  

I think the original author would *definitely* want to take *his* idea of
a DV into a cave  :-)

Regards, Lee

Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: dave@hpdstma.ptp.hp.com (Dave Waller)
Subject: Re: "Safety violations..." continuation...
Organization: Hewlett Packard
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 16:58:56 GMT

In article <1992Oct11.060948.18639@nntp.uoregon.edu>, davidw@cie.uoregon.edu (David Weingarten) writes:
|> 
|> What do you all feel about this?  I'm not going to take any action until
|> I get a chance to talk to Dennis Graver, but I'd like to know your opinions
|> and suggestions.

Sounds like she's trying to play hardball. I'd say you really should follow
this up, insistently.

|> (Oh, and I talked to one of the students today, who expressed concern that,
|> since she was not evaluating people individually, but rather as a group,
|> that some members of the group could "sneak by" without learning some of
|> the skills.  I did not have to prompt him for this concern, he expressed
|> it entirely on his own.)

This is your best defense. The concerns expressed by a student will carry
more weight than your own it would seem to me. If you can get this student,
and better yet, a few more, to submit a written complaint in coordination
with you efforts, you would be in pretty good shape, it seems to me.

In other words, if you, as an instructor candidate, presumably knowlegable
of the mandatory standards being violated, can back up your concerns with
written witness accounts of the students, the instructor in question will
be hard pressed to defend her reprehensible activities.

-- 
Dave Waller
YMCA Instructor
From: smcneil@metro (Shannon McNeil)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Shark Stories
Date: 16 Oct 92 03:53:16 GMT
Article-I.D.: ucc.1992Oct16.035316.6487
Organization: Sydney University Computing Service, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Diving at Holmes Reefs, 200km east of Cairns (Great Barrier Reef)
I came face to Hammer with a 4+ METRE (ie. Huge) , you guessed it,
hammerhead.  Well, there was a thin nylon net separating us.  They
called it a "shark proof cage".  What comedians.  It ignored us 
all completely, preferring to nibble at the frozen bits of fish 
we had thrown overboard (they forgot to take them out of the freezer)

Shannon "I prefer steel cages" McNeil
smcneil@angis.su.oz.au
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: glp@fig.citib.com (Greg Parkinson)
Subject: Dominica Info Wanted
Originator: glp@merlin
Organization: Citibank IBISM
Distribution: world,local
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 20:40:02 GMT


I'm interested in going to Dominica at the
beginning of March, 1993.  I'm a new diver and
my partner doesn't dive but does snorkel.

Any info about dive spots and/or where to stay?

Thanks


-- 
Greg Parkinson                  Phone: 212-657-7814  Fax: 212-825-8607
Citibank,111 Wall Street        E-Mail: glp@fig.citib.com
New York, New York  10043
The opinions expressed are my own and not those of the big 'ol bank.
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: sdodd@OES.ORST.EDU (Stephen M Dodd)
Subject: Re: Weight belt oops at 50'
Organization: Oregon Extension Service, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Or.
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 02:10:42 GMT

In article <183879@pyramid.pyramid.com> dgoodin@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Dianna Goodin) writes:
>
>Okay, I'm newly certified and don't know all the ins and outs yet, but why
>did it take 10 minutes for someone to come to your rescue? I thought that
>no matter how good you get that you should also dive with a buddy.
>

    OK, I have to admit that this group is a little far from
    recreational diving.  I have over a hundred solo dives from the 70's
    when I made some money diving.  I have never been to the reef out of
    Newport when everyone stuck religiously with his buddy.  It is just
    strategically too difficult.  These guys are hunters. 

>If it takes 10 minutes for your buddy to realize your not around, I think
>I'd have problems diving with them. 
>

    They did.  But, my buddie went to get the others after he saw me
    grab the anchor.  It was several minutes before they all returned
    and started looking for the belt.  My primary buddy stayed with me
    through that.

    I cannot fault a one of them.  Your buddy is not responsible for
    your life.  He is responsible for his first.

>
>Dianna

    Steve

-- 
- Stephen M. Dodd, System Analyst, Oregon Extension Service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sdodd@oes.orst.edu          Internet          Oregon State University
503-737-3550                                  Corvallis, OR 97331