Scuba Diving Holidays : Don’t Drink and Dive!

James    scubadivingholidays     diving, PADI, Scuba, Scuba Diving, scuba diving holidays, Scuba diving in Egypt, Scuba Diving Tips

If your going to have a drink then don’t get behind the wheel. Equally important should be the message to everyone with a PADI qualification off on scuba diving holidays to lay of the juice before they head below the waves: An obvious message but one that sometimes is not taken seriously.

Diving in Egypt leave the booze till later. Image Flickr/Derek Keats

For many, the whole concept of a holiday is to go somewhere hot on the coast and pass the time either in the water or at the bar – looking out the window onto a drizzly, cold, grey European winter, who came blame them.

However, if part of your holiday by the sea involves scuba diving then you have to take responsibility over your condition before you go swimming with the fishes, or you may find yourself down there for good…

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Geographically embarrassed : Is it Red Sea or Dead Sea?

Mark Pawlak    ash     Dead Sea, Diving Holidays, Diving in the Red Sea, Egypt, Jordan, red Sea, Scuba, Scuba Diving, scuba diving holidays

There are a number of travel trivia questions that always turn up in quizzes and conversations. And every time they have you scratching your head in a, ‘I really should know this’ kind of way. Well, we’re looking at the places and countries causing this confusion, starting with the Red Sea / Dead Sea mystery.

Diving in the Red Sea, not a dead sea Image: Flickr/derekkeats

As it’s likely to be a geography question that reveals your confusion, let’s start with location then explain more about these two very different places – pay attention, we will be asking questions…

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A scuba virgin diving in Australia

Robert Ince    scubadivingholidays     australia, diving, great barrier reef, Scuba, Scuba Diving, shark diving

I think I’ve been forgotten. I’m sitting at the back of the boat, wetsuit-clad legs dangling into the Pacific, and attempting to look back with a heavy oxygen tank on my back to see if I’m going to get a partner for the dive or not; my first scuba dive, and I’m diving in Australia. You see, one must go down in a pair, but due to travelling alone the odd numbers in the group means I’m waiting for someone to accompany me. The rest have already gone ahead.

Scuba: More fun and safer in a group. Image; Flickr/ Daquella manera

My nervousness is palpable, but I’m also possessed with a sense of excitement and anxious anticipation. Scuba has its dangers, as does the Pacific… The laid-back tour guide eventually, and somewhat reluctantly, offers to join me and we’re soon off into the deep blue below.

This is the Great Barrier Reef, one of the wonders of the world, it’s a few kilometers off the coast of tropical North Queensland in Australia, and I’ve come on a day trip from Cairns to the Outer Barrier Reef – ideal for the traveller short on time and perfect for anyone new to scuba diving. Many day trips will focus on the Inter Reef Gardens, and reefs close to places such as Michaelmas Cay, Fitzroy Island and Green Island. In short, diving paradise.

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Scuba diving or skydiving: can you take the pressure?

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     diving, freefall, mountain climbing, mountaineering, parachuting, Scuba, Scuba Diving, trekking

Other than both featuring the word diving, these two sports seem largely unrelated. After all, throwing yourself out of an aircraft and swimming underwater couldn’t be more different.  However, scuba diving and skydiving share one significant challenge: pressure.

Yes, height above or below sea level affects the body – something any mountaineer or climber will tell you. When climbing to elevation the air thins, making it harder to breathe.

Trekking in Nepal, or sat in a plane climbing into the clouds, you may begin to notice altitude sickness when you pass 8,000 ft – as your elevation increases, the air pressure decreases, reducing the amount of available oxygen. Deep sea diving or scuba diving also stresses the human body: the deeper you go, the greater the pressure on your lungs.

Oxygen breathed from a scuba tank is at a higher pressure, and when you return from a very deep dive you need to spend a little time at set depths adjusting to the changes. That’s why returning from the deep, divers need to ‘decompress’ as their bodies move up into the ‘lighter’ water above them.

Briefly, the human body can be pushed to extremes, but when it comes to elevation above ground and depth below sea level, it really has its limits.

If you know about how the human body reacts to these challenges, drop us a comment – we’re always keen to hear from experts who can add their knowledge.

We’ve also got a new skydiving blog starting: 1,000… 2,000…3,000 Check Canopy!

Waterproof camcorders: tough enough or digital bluff?

Natalie Ashett    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts, Travel Gear     camcorder, cameras, climbing, Scuba Diving, white water rafting, whitewater rafting

Guest blogger Natalie jumped at the chance to test the latest generation of waterproof camcorders designed to take the rough and tumble of adventure sports…

Adventure sports and technology don’t always go hand in hand. Being able to climb to 3000 ft is no mean feat, but it’s not always the best environment to start fumbling around with gizmos and gadgets.

Waterproof HD pics and clips

Being able to record stunning vids of the Great Barrier Reef while snorkelling, or pictures of your friends’ faces while you’re white-water rafting is usually a good enough reason to get clicking – but what do the clips look like? And how do these ‘ruggedized’ movie makers perform under pressure?

The problem with mixing expensive equipment with adventure sports is that there’s always a chance that your precious piece of kit could end up in gadget heaven. Drum roll the clever people at Panasonic who’s latest range of hard-wearing, waterproof, touch screen cameras and upright HD camcorders are designed to be used ‘in-action’.

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Beach Holiday: Why black sand is sometimes the best sand

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     beach, beach holiday, Canary Islands, hawaii, puerto rico, Scuba Diving, Surfing, Windsurfing

Most people’s idea of a beach holiday includes time spent wasting time on a white sandy beach. Well, there are plenty of spots around the world that serve up exactly the same beach experience, just without the white sand – and why waste time when there’s wind and waves in which to play?

Here are three destinations with black sand beaches to go on your next travel itinerary.

Canary Islands

As well as the miles of pristine light sand, these islands have a dark side. On the north shore of Tenerife, there’s La Grañosa and Los Roques (the later very popular for scuba diving) as well as several bays and ways to the sea that are dusted in black sand.

Gran Canaria also offers beach life in black and white, as does the east coast of Fureteventura, an island that’s one of the windsurfing capitals of the world.

Black sand beauty Image: Flickr/Ryan Devenish

Hawaii

One of the most beautiful, and sought after island holiday resorts sports a black sand beach. Visitors swim up to 800 miles to rest on Punalu’u beach – that’s the sea turtles that come to lay their eggs here. The black sand is so prized it’s illegal to remove it, so stick to wandering and marvelling at the scenery.

Puerto Rico

If surfing is your sport, you may have heard of Playa La Boca in Puerto Rico. Just east off this black sand beauty is a great point-break best suited to experienced surfers. The beach here runs west from the mouth of the river, and runs for miles till it whitens past the distant headland.

Black sand beaches are formed as boiling larva meets the ocean. So, if you’ve black sand under foot, you know that where you’re holidaying was once a bubbling, flowing mass of volcanic sludge (the heat you feel searing through your toes just comes from the sand’s absorption of sun rays – in case you were getting worried for a minute!)

The world’s top 3 dive sites

James    scubadivingholidays     diving, Diving Holidays, diving sites, Scuba Diving, shark diving, snorkelling

What makes a great dive site. Fish? Wrecks? Clear blue water? Here is my choice for the best three places in the world to rubber up and get wet.

3 – The Great Blue Hole – Caye Caulker – Belize

There are many Blue Holes around the world but this is the best. The reef at 14m is great but in the centre is the hole that drops 150m throughit. At 25m there is an overhang with stalactites and stalagmites as well as reef and hammerhead lemon sharks welcoming you into this strange subterranean world. With 60-metre visibility, water doesn’t get much clearer than this paradise for divers.

2 – The Thistlegorm – Ras Mohamed – Red Sea – Egypt

In 1941 a Scottish supply ship went down off the coast of the Sinai Peninsular. The Allied Forces loss was a wreck diver’s gain. This 131-metre long wreck contains all its original cargo including rifles, trucks and even full train carriages. It lies in only 20 metres of water, on a fish-covered reef in the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea. And there is over 30 metres of visibility. The currents can be strong around the wreck so it has some technical challenges too.

1 – Barracuda Point – Sipadan Island – Malaysia

Sipadan is a Mecca for divers. Limited numbers of permits ensures this tropical dive island remains an isolated paradise with 14 main dive sites, many of which could make a top ten list. Barracuda Point is alive with white tip sharks, clown fish, countless turtles, parrot fish and many more. An incredible diversity of fish inhabit this wall of reef that that drops off 2000ft into the abyss below. It gets its name from the swarms of Barracuda that hang like a silver living.