Posts Tagged ‘scuba diving’

K2 Adventure: Scuba Diving Colorado

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

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Colorado is a landlocked state hundreds of miles from the nearest coast, but you can nonetheless take pleasure in scuba diving; Colorado has a number of lakes and rivers that can offer challenge and enjoyment. A Colorado scuba or snorkel diving family vacation is not as far-fetched as you may surmise. For all those who are "hard-core" about their scuba diving, Colorado lakes and rivers are just as good as anyplace in the globe.

The City That Drowned
One of the much more intriguing locations for a Colorado scuba diving family vacation is Horsetooth Reservoir southwest of Fort Collins. In 1946, the federal Bureau of Reclamation chose to drown the town of Stout, based along the La Poudre River. By 1949, the dam was finished and Stout, which had been established only seventy years earlier as a camp for stone quarry workers, had to be abandoned. The remains of the city are still beneath water at the lake’s southern end; with suitable training and dive gear, Colorado scuba divers can enjoy a fine adventure.

Historic Mining
Following outfitting at their nearby Colorado scuba diving equipment supplier, scuba divers may possibly wish to head for the higher nation to the historic mining community of Leadville, in which scenic Turquoise Lake is correct close by. The lake provides some exceptional opportunities for exploration by way of scuba diving; Colorado’s mining market was the heart and soul of the state’s economy for decades. Provided the close by town’s historical significance, who understands what exciting artifacts a diver may encounter on a Colorado scuba diving holiday?

Obtaining Your Dive Gear
Colorado has its fair share of merchants that sell correct tools, staffed by experienced personnel who also offer certification courses. Colorado diving equipment suppliers can also give you insight as to exactly where in the state to go. If you have the time and cash to go even more afield, however, the very good folks at Colorado scuba diving equipment supply shops can also arrange scuba diving vacations to other, much more exotic destinations as properly.

In any event, you will will need to be certified prior to you go scuba diving. Colorado demands are just as stringent as other spots in the U.S., and this of course is for your personal protection; you’ll need to have to know about the regular hazards, protection practices and how to correctly use and care for dive products. Colorado divemasters and senior divers local to the area can take you on this adventure and assist you in getting prepared for the scuba diving colorado specialties you will need to enjoy your vacation.

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K2 Vacation Ideas: Cruises & Scuba/Snorkel Diving – The Ideal Match

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

So you have made a decision to go on getaway. You like tropical destinations, you want to relax a bit, release pressure of the every day life, but you’re also in for some adventure? What would the perfect getaway appear like for you. . . you good looking and smart K2 Member of the Tribe?

Scuba diving cruises is your solution. With a cruise ship you check out locations all above the planet, which includes some of the very best tropical scuba diving locales.

On a scuba diving cruise you can appreciate the climate, the food and the luxury of the cruise ship. But possibly you also like buying or perhaps you are on family vacation with somebody who like purchasing. No issue, options adequate to shop on the cruise ship alone or at the neighborhood shops when stopping at the ports.

If you are seeking for adventure you truly ought to go scuba scuba diving while on cruise vacation. While you visit all individuals great scuba diving places there is practically nothing that must hold you back again. Cruises often visit some of the very best scuba diving areas close to the globe: the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Australia, Hawaii, Jamaica, Malta, Mexico, Egypt, and Thailand. There is a purpose way scuba scuba diving is turning out to be far more and far more well-known.

Do you know that you can have your scuba & snorkeling gear shipped directly to your vacation?

It is as easy as calling us up and giving us your drop dead date, we will handle all of the details and have your brand new watersports gear waiting for you at your destination.

Several cruise ship companies have agreements with the neighborhood scuba diving operators to book scuba scuba diving sessions on the ship itself. The excellent issue about this is that the diving trip is organized by way of the cruise company and the ship won’t leave if for some purpose you arrive back late. But don’t be concerned if your cruise company doesn’t offer you such support. You can often guide you diving sessions just before leaving on holiday. There are adequate choices on the net to do this very simple. Often these neighborhood dive operators even offer you choose up and drop off providers from and to the ship to make every thing simpler.

If you live from evening to evening and just sense like you want to dive some working day, you can always publication the working day by itself when you quit at a seaport.

Now here is something we hope you will really like:

Scuba Diving Hand Signals

K2 News: Nude Snorkelling Record Attempt to Help Great Barrier Reef

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K2 Hmmm: Scuba Diving now deemed “Hazardous Activity” in Cali

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

SCUBA diving is now officially a “hazardous activity” that the government is not liable for, under a new law authored by Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point.


The law, AB 634 was signed Tuesday by Governor Schwarzenegger and releases the state and local governments from liability in lawsuits associated with SCUBA diving. The bill passed in the Legislature without a “no” vote.

Under existing law, public entities and public employees are generally not liable when a member of the public participates in various “hazardous” recreational activities, including kayaking, surfing, waterskiing, white water rafting, and windsurfing. The bill officially adds SCUBA diving to the list of activities defined as hazardous.

“Fear of frivolous lawsuits has hampered efforts to expand recreational activities in many communities,” Harkey said in a statement. “I am pleased that Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law our legislation reducing liability for local and state governments while allowing for more recreational activities such as SCUBA diving, aiding coastal economies, the environment and the state of California.”

AB 634 was created with shipwreck SCUBA diving in mind, specifically because diving on shipwrecks can be “hazardous, requiring special training and equipment beyond that for normal SCUBA diving,” according Harkey’s announcement. Because the government will no longer be held liable in lawsuits where a SCUBA diver was injured or killed while diving, coastal communities will be more likely to create more artificial reefs that benefit both adventurous SCUBA divers and the environment. Currently, California only has three ship-based artificial reefs.

The legislation was a two-year process and was backed by California Ships to Reefs, a nonprofit organization advocating for fishing and diving tourism along the California coast. AB634 takes effect January 1, 2011.

To find out more, log on to Harkey’s website at  http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/73

Read more: Dana Point Times – SCUBA Declared a Hazardous Activity to Limit Government Liability Frivolous Lawsuits

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K2 How To’s: Underwater Videography (Part 1)

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

Scuba Diving is such a phenomenal experience that most of us are left with the desire to record what we just experienced.  While some people prefer to journal or for those with an artistic inclination to paint pictures of what they saw, Underwater video and photography is undoubtedly the best way of recording those precious moments underwater.

However, many people have been dissuaded from trying out this option because of the intricacies involved or the amount of training that is required for one to be able to have a good photo shoot.  Luckily for these, we now have cheap but high quality video that one can use to go exploring.  This bears the advantage that taking a video underwater is as easy as it is taking one on land and so one does not need extensive training or experience.

That said many people do not have an idea of where to start in terms of what kind of underwater camera equipment is needed and where one can source it from.    This introduction to underwater videography is meant to furnish you with information that will guide you to acquire the diving equipment you seek.  I intend to first of all give some facts and then thereafter make some recommendations.

Before you purchase your underwater camera, you will need to ask yourself the following questions which are:

1.  How much can I afford to spend?

The amount of money at your disposal for buying the equipment will greatly determine what you can be able to get and what is out of your reach.  Depending on the other factors that we will discuss below you can go ahead and work with what you have already or you can choose to save a little bit more so as to get what fits your purpose adequately. According to most scuba diving equipment reviews, the cost will range from $1,500 to$20,000 for a full set which includes a standard video camera as well as an underwater housing designed specifically for the camera.

If you want to try it out first before you make the investment and already own a camera you can buy a splash bag, put your camera inside and go and have a nice time in the water.  It is also possible to buy fully submersible cameras although they are more expensive.  However, it is important to note that the difference in price does not denote a significant difference in the quality of your video.  My suggestion would be to spend an average amount of around $5,000 and then add to this value depending on the other factors below.

2.      What is of interest to me?

The underwater environment is regarded by many divers as a whole new world on its own.  Most of planet earth is covered by water and one has an extensive array of aquatic wildlife and landscapes to enjoy.  Different aspects of this world are of interest to different people and this will determine the kind of scuba and snorkel  equipment that you go for.  Therefore you need to ask yourself what is of particular interest for you and then get the suitable equipment.  For example, depending on whether you intend to carry out day or night dives you will need 3 chip cameras for low light shooting or you will require interchangeable lenses so as to be able to shoot macro or wide angles.

If you just want a general video shoot simply go for the cheaper options because as discussed the quality is just as good.  If you are not sure you can opt for a cheaper system that you can grow with.

To be continued….

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K2 How To’s: Scuba Diving 101-For The SCUBA Curious

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Now that you are interested in Scuba Diving here are some important pointers that will serve to guide you as you embark on this thrilling underwater adventure.  Scuba is an acronym which stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus which is a system that allows divers to breathe from an air tank/scuba cylinder on their back and exhale into the water.  This affords you the amazing opportunity to explore the underwater life which simply put is an out of this world experience

You do not need to be a professional swimmer so as to enjoy the pleasures of Scuba Diving but you should be able to swim/snorkel comfortably in water.  As you will discover with time once in the water it is advisable not to swim a lot so as to reduce the rate of using up of the air in the tank.  You also need to be in good health with most courses require that you fill out a medical form to attest to your state of health.

It is advisable that you get certified.  You can either take a certification course or a resort course.  The certification course can be obtained from one of the sport’s major organizations, PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) or NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors).  The course is 20 hours and costs about $800, which includes the cost of renting the diving gear for the duration of the course as well as making the required dives, and bears the advantage that the certification is valid for life.

The course has a classroom component where the theory is taught like what to do when you are low on air or what to do when your mask is filled with water.

One does not move to diving directly but rather experiments with snorkeling which is also known as skin diving.  This allows one to get used to the basic diving gear like the mask, snorkel and fins and gives one an idea of how it is underwater.  This is usually done in a swimming pool setting under the guidance and strict surveillance of the instructors.  One then tries out the diving and eventually gets to dive in the open water.  One can choose to advance their training as they get more experienced and desire to be more adventurous.

The resort course is where you can get to dive to a maximum depth of 33 feet but only when accompanied by an instructor.  This has the unique advantage of allowing you to try it out first and determine if you like it before investing the time and money required for the certification course.

Diving gear is generally divided into two categories; required and gadget.  The required are things like the mask, fins, snorkel, buoyancy compensator, regulator, weights and a dive computer.  These are necessary for any dive and if you are considering regular diving it is advisable to get your own mask and fins as a tight fit for these is important.  The gadget gear comprises those things that are needed for a particular kind of diving for instance cameras and lighting for underwater photography.

All that said I must state that the most basic fact about Scuba Diving is that it is a phenomenal experience worth trying and, inevitably, worth engaging in with friends and other Scuba Diving lovers.

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