GoTravel

          I firmly believe, if done correctly, traveling to a different country or just across the US is as valuable a learning experience as my sixteen years of schooling. Granted, it is a different set of lessons, but they are no less important. I love to travel and it is one of my goals in life to see as much of the world as I can. Traveling is part of the sport of scuba diving. As much as I love diving Monterey and Carmel, the travel junkie in me is always longing to enter bodies of water I have not encountered yet. A group from Scuba Squad was in Roatan this week and I could not be more jealous looking at their photos and videos.
           I just started reading a book Sky gave me for my birthday titled “Off Track Planet’s Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy,and Broke.” This is not the only travel book I have read but, as you may have noticed from the title, this one is quite different. The book is informative and interesting, but it is also laugh-out-loud funny at times and not for the easily offended. One of the most valuable lessons in this book can be found in the introduction. The authors outline the six most common excuses people have for not traveling and why their excuses are lame.
           The first excuse I feel is particularly relevant is “I can’t afford it” (Planet, 2013). The authors refute this excuse by saying if that is the case, redefine what it means to travel. If you are a broke newly-graduated student such as myself, the most expensive thing you buy should be your plane ticket because “you can learn everything about tango in Buenos Aires, catch some good karma at the Chao Phraya temples in Bangkok, and get crispy brown at clothing-optional Greek beaches- all for free.” Another excuse I know I have heard is “no one will understand the words that are coming out of my mouth” (Planet, 2013). To this the authors say, “you can resort back to your baby body language in foreign territory and get by fine” (Planet, 2013). They also say if you speak English you can be pretty sure, in most places you go, someone will probably be able to understand you somewhat. The last excuse I want to mention is “I don’t have the time” (Planet, 2013). This is an excuse I have used in the past and I like the authors’ counter. They say “add up your morning commute, time on Facebook, and those days you’re just too bored with life to get out of bed. What does that equal?” (Planet, 2013). Wouldn’t you rather be in Roatan than sitting in your car on your way to work or in bed on Facebook? It is not that I do not have time to travel, it is that I have not prioritized my time in order to make it happen. These are just three of the excuses this book debunks. After reading the intro I feel I have no valid reasons to not make my goal of traveling the world continue.

Planet, E. of O. T. (2013). Off Track Planet’s Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press.

How much do we know about our dive gear?

We all use our dive gear on a regular basis, but how much do we really know about each piece? I attended a SCUBAPRO Product Knowledge Seminar hosted by Joe, who is the Northwest Regional Representative, and an Intro to Tech Workshop hosted by René, who is the SCUBAPRO Technical Training Manager. The seminars were both incredibly interesting and valuable. They were animated, informational, and efficient, and Joe and René kept our attention using the occasional interjection of humor. I really enjoyed that both of these very knowledgeable professionals made staying in my chair rather challenging during parts of the seminar because I was laughing so hard.

The Product Knowledge Seminar gave SCUBAPRO dealers and their employees an opportunity to learn more about SCUBAPRO products and policies, as well as obtain resources for their dive facilities. We got to see the new SCUBAPRO MK25/S600 with the deep blue PVD finish, which is a gorgeous, balanced regulator with guaranteed high scratch and corrosion resistance, as well as other new products such as SCUBAPRO’s Evertec LT drysuit and Litehawk BC. Joe passed these items around the room so we could all take a closer look. Everyone chuckled when Joe warned us that everything, even the mask, fins and wetsuits, were all “non-working display models.” It was very exciting and interesting to see and learn more about the new gear released in 2014 and to get a preview of some new equipment for the upcoming year of 2015.

The Intro to Tech workshop gave anyone in the dive industry who is interested in dive technology the opportunity to disassemble the components of a regulator system and an Air II and then reassemble them. We were also educated about the technical features and care for dive equipment such as the assorted valves and connectors present on the BC. It was an excellent chance to better understand how the gear operates and see if you might want to pursue a job as a technician in a dive shop. For every technical piece of information René gave us, he also added in a story to illustrate his point. The most memorable anecdote was one to demonstrate that every piece of equipment is tested rigorously to be sure it will not malfunction, even under the most bizarre conditions. René recounted his visit to a SCUBAPRO factory in Italy; he was walking through and came across a man testing a first stage on a motorized apparatus. The machinery was secured to the hoses, spreading them apart and lifting the tank attached to the them into the air. When René came into the room the tank was pulled up to a height above his head. Taken aback by this abusive test of the gear, he asked why it was being tested in this way. The man replied in a thick Italian accent (René does great impressions), "we must think of all of the stupidities of the diver" and he was testing it because this is how divers drag their tanks from the ocean onto the boat. René told us to this day he has never seen anyone drag a tank by the hose onto a boat. Regardless, it is nice to know our gear is tested against stupidities. 

I highly recommend the SCUBAPRO Product Knowledge Seminar and Intro to Tech Workshop not only because it is fun and interesting, but because Joe and René are fantastic instructors and very entertaining

The Show

From one point of view, the Open Ocean exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium might look like a tank full of fish, but from another viewpoint it looks like this:

It was noticeable, just from the behavior of the fish, something was about to happen. I felt like I was standing at the top of the lawn at Shoreline Amphitheatre, watching the crowd as they waited for a show to begin. The Mahi Mahi turned a brilliant sunset gold, like the pretty high school girls who look good even when they aren’t dressed up but, who layer on the sparkly make-up and don their highest heels for a special occasion. They zoomed along, cutting the surface of the water just as the high school girls would cut through the pit to the front of the crowd, because no one minds a pretty young girl bumpin’ up against them. The two Hammerhead Sharks were swimming ovals around the back of the tank just as the hot high school guys would walk along the back of the pit, wanting to follow the girls, but knowing it wouldn’t be as easy for them to make it through the crowd.

The rays were lying on the bottom of the tank just like the slightly older girls at the concert who have less to prove than the high schoolers and would rather lay out a blanket on the lawn than be jarred around and have beer spilled on them in the pit. Similarly, the White Tipped Shark was swimming close to the bottom of the tank like the slightly older guys who have been to many shows before and know it isn’t worth it to push your way to the front, because you get a better view if you stay up near the seats anyway.

The bait ball reminded me of the kids up on the lawn who do not really understand what is going on but who feel the growing excitement and can’t help but run around and around and around . . . The Mola Mola was all over the tank, disappearing and then reappearing on the opposite side, kind of like the bizarre hippy lady who wanders around the amphitheater and seems completely harmless, but who you prefer to stay away from regardless. The Tuna were the security guards, big and in charge and not afraid to jump into the fray.