--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CCZ00009 Date: 08/22/95 From: JOHN BRIENZA Time: 10:58pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Gov't at it again To all the diver in Massachusetts and all other divers in the USA. It looks like government is trying to get into diving. Has anyone seen House Proposal No. 3779? This looks like it is going to be a SCUBA tax. 3779 is an act authorizing the certification of underwater and scuba divers and organization of volunteer teams for scuba divers. The bill was brought up by Mr. Bosley a Representative from the North Adams district of Mass. It was created in an effort to help establish funding and training guidelines for volunteer rescue teams in rural Mass. Currently Bill 3779 is making its way past the Mass. House Committee on Ways and Means and on to the floor for debate. The buzz in Boston is the bill could quietly makes its way into law over the next 60 days. This is just a small bit I got from the July's issue of Dive Training Magazine page 8, an editorial by Sean Combs. Read it! If govn't takes over one state, it will be almost sure all other will follow. I feel this is something that the dive industry does not need. John --- * QMPro 1.52 * [\] Dive Club, Long Island, New York [/] --- QScan/PCB v1.17b / 01-0404 * Origin: [\] Neptune's Realm [\] 516-724-0218 [\] (1:2619/221) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CCZ00010 Date: 08/17/95 From: JOHNATHAN BUTCHER Time: 12:02pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Puppies Healthy ,Quality Puppies Avaliable In All Breeds Show dog, House dog's Every Is Avaliable Call 1-800-777-7521 or Write To Johnathan Butcher For more Information --- Maximus 2.02 * Origin: Berkshire County Fire & Ems Lanesboro,MA (1:332/115) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CCZ00011 Date: 08/27/95 From: MONTE RINKENBAUGH Time: 03:47pm \/To: WAYNE SCHANDELMEIER (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Question. Wayne I dive more than most people and I dont think my eyes are big. but good question... if I find out some information on the big eye theory I will rite you back.... Big Guy --- Squish v1.11 * Origin: Nikonos V BBS Kansas City 816.746.6911 (1:280/266) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CCZ00012 Date: 08/27/95 From: SEAWITCH Time: 04:34pm \/To: RALPH BUTTIGIEG (Read 1 times) Subj: tanks RE: tanks BY: Ralph Buttigieg to Terry Smith on Wed Aug 23 1995 09:56 am > If I understand this right, steel tanks have the advantage of weighing less > the given capacity and are less bouyant, therefore divers need less lead n > their weight belts. But what are the disadvantages? Do they cost more? I'd say they run about $239-259 vs $99 for aluminum. ALso they are more subseptible to rust. However, it'll take alot more than that to get me to go back to alum. I love my little steel tanks. SeaWitch .s --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: Dolphins PlayGround, Where divers come to play! (1:103/980) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CC^00000 Date: 08/28/95 From: LOU VALLONE Time: 08:10pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Dan Homepage For those of you with InterNet access, DAN has a new homepage: http://www.dan.ycg/dandir.htm It has medical FAQ and a number of other good services. dive SAFE, 15 4 3 Lou, Imperial Wizard: Warm Water Wimps International VALLONE@genesis.duq.edu ... [\] Dive safe, Surface sound. [\] ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- Tear here --- * Origin: [\] Diver Down BBS [\] Ft. Lauderdale, FL (1:369/134) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CC^00001 Date: 08/28/95 From: LOU VALLONE Time: 09:21pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: Coral Harbor Review Place: Coral Harbor, New Providence Island, Bahamas Date: August 14-21, 1995 Operator: Dive, Dive, Dive Advertised as the only dedicated dive resort on the island, Dive, Dive, Dive (hereafter aka D3) has 12 bungalows, 6 newly remodeled and 6 older units. I stayed in the cheaper, which showed a bit of wear and tear, but had all necessary components for comfort: separate bedroom with 2 singles; full bath/shower; kitchen with full refrigerator, stove, microwave and coffee maker; living/dining area with 2 day beds, couch and chairs; outdoor propane gas grill; large closet space, several chests of drawers; AC; b&w TV. Maid service daily. There is a central rec room, and a gear room for wet stuff, pay phones in the patio area, complete dive shop on premises. There are 3 boats, rather standard type dive setups, quite adequate for diving when not too crowded. (Nitrox Diver: 6 maximum; Sea Wind: 15 max; Sea Dancer: 20). They have their own compressors, including Nitrox fills. In short, all that is necessary to support diving. A package deal (pp dbl occ) this week ran $595, which included the room and 6 morning 2-tank dives guaranteed. A tank of Nitrox is $10 extra. Night dives are $50. Afternoon dives are free, if there is room on the boat (They pick up divers from several hotels on the island especially for afternoon dives, e.g., resort courses.) A cooked local lunch can be ordered for $6 and delivered when you get in from the morning dive (a meat or fish entree, peas and rice, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, corn and beans are typical sides - 3 with each meal.) There is a local restaurant in town, with a bar, local standards. Avery's in Adelaide will also come pick you up to eat supper there. They will rent you their car (it runs :-} ) for $10 a day. A cab ride to Cable Beach is about $25. You can ride their van for free whenever they are doing hotel pickups and there is room, and they get and take you to the airport. The staff is competent, courteous, friendly. Sometimes the boat will have a captain and a DM; for small groups, only one staff member. They will allow you to dive your own profiles and style, once they have assessed your ability, or they will "babysit" on request by having you follow the DM. In my week there, I made 26 total dives: 12 as part of the package; 3 night dives extra; 11 freebies (I could not get on the PM boat twice, because the larger boat was down with transmission problems the latter part of the week.) One night dive was made with Nassau Scuba Centre, whose dock is 50 ft. from D3. My deepest dive was 100 fsw, my longest 75 minutes. 18 dives were made on nitrox, at a cost of $80 extra to me, since I used a 100 cu. ft. tank at 3500 psi and therefore made both the deep and shallow dives of each boat trip on the same tank of gas and they threw one tank in as a bonus. They will give an intro to nitrox and a free tank trial dive to any in-house guests. They also will certify you in nitrox, and if you complete training, the remainder of your package dives are nitrox at no extra cost. Their dive sites are the common south ocean ones: Bond wrecks, Cessna Wall, Wreck on the Wall, Pumpkin Patch, Goulding Cay, Tunnel Wall, Will Laurie Wreck, Razorback, Propeller Reef, etc. All of which I have reviewed before in July of 1994. There are a couple of spots new to me that we did: Bahama Mama: A new wreck which they put down this year, a 90 ft. mail boat that is near Runway Wall. This dive is a triple banger: you can do the Wall, do the boat, and throughout it all be accompanied by a school of caribbean reef sharks! I spent one dive alone, getting no further than the anchor line for 50 minutes in 50 fsw while 9 sharks kept swimming around me, close enuf and long enuf for me to be able to identify 4 by sight: 1 with a hook in his mouth, 1 with a broken right jawbone, 1 with an isopod on his 3rd left gill, 1 with a shredded left pectoral fin. As long as I was alone, they were within reach. When other divers came by, they swam out of sight, but always returned when things were quiet. I did this dive 3 times :-). Schoolhouse: a shallow dive that was featured in National Geographic a few years ago: 2 circular reefs in 30 fsw, filled with abundant life and coral. We did this (by request) several times as the day shallow dive, and once as a night dive. SouthWest or Lost Reef: another shallow dive that is out past razorback. It is pretty virgin territory being out of the way and rarely dived. We had 2 dolphin escort the boat during this dive, but they swam away when we entered the water. I saw green, spotted and golden morays; eagle, southern and sting rays; nurse and reef sharks; turtles; dolphins; scorpion fish; large cushion sea stars; octopus; and all the usual tropical stuff, including slipper lobster and one rare Maine type lobster. They were filming the movie "Flipper" while we were there, and on 3 different sites I wandered onto their "set" (ignoring their u/w signs, and trash that they had littered the bottom with) and got chased off while they were filming. A couple of times I found their sets while they weren't around - fake kelp, and huge plastic man-eating clam, fake swim-thrus, and a bunch of other stuff that basically messed up the scene. I hope that they clean up after themselves when they are done. Counting airfare (an Apple charter out of Cleveland - call 1-800-LEAVE-TOWN and ask for Alan Wilson, he brokers Apple flights from all gateways at a discount) the package at D3 (call 1-800-368-3483 and ask for Ray, he owns D3; mention my name to both and they'll know you learned it here); food, ground transport and a couple of nights at the casino - I spent a little under $1200 US. The weather was humid, in the 90's, a few thundershowers, the water temp 83 F (wore only my skin and polartec hooded vest :-} ), seas sunny and calm, viz always at 60+ and no noticeable current on any of the dives. Short version: except for the bugs that thought on me DEET was sauce, it was a great dive vacation. ABCD, BCNU Lou Vallone, Imperial Wizard: Warm Water Wimps International VALLONE@genesis.duq.edu ... Warm Water Divers do it deeper - and longer! lfv, www from pgh. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- Tear here --- * Origin: [\] Diver Down BBS [\] Ft. Lauderdale, FL (1:369/134) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CC^00002 Date: 08/29/95 From: JOE DELAHOUSSAYE Time: 12:35am \/To: DAN MISIASZEK (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Rules for diving I really don't care how many tours in NAM Don has but it appears that you do. This is the type of comments I'm addressing. You speak on what you have gotten from others and they may be wrong. I have read several of your comments and just expected a little more conservative view from someone who made it their business to help find these people who may have not been qualified or certified or experienced. Personally I have been trying to keep other's from getting into trouble by not really discussing TECH diving and other advanced diving features. I keep seeing Skin Diver Mag writing about advanced diving techniques but they at least put a disclaimer in their article. I believe you see a lot of new divers looking for facts and ideas on these info BBS's. I would just rather see our death rates while diving continue to go down. I have never lost a diver and would hate to. Even more I would hate to see a diver get an idea from a BBS and die. I just really got steamed over your comment on fear or adrenalin rush being needed. I really just enjoy the relaxation and sights. I get cooled down enough with out your suggestion. You are right that we all have opinions. The difference of opinions seems to be how they are perceived by others. You have placed yourself in a position that would lead others to think you are responsible and concerned. I just think you stepped over the line and sounded too MACHO. Be safe and careful. You seem to have a good organization just don't say something you may regret later. Good Luck. --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: Shots Fired....BBS (214)203-9274..Garland, Texas (1:124/2151.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CC^00003 Date: 08/27/95 From: MARC AVERY Time: 09:16pm \/To: LEE BELL (Read 1 times) Subj: Re: Public Safety Divers LB>I'd like some dive shops to get a crash course in filling tanks along LB>with the novices. Many shops seem to think they're doing me a favor by LB>overfilling my wife's standard 80's (rated for 3000 PSI) or my compacts LB>(rated at 3300). I don't need extra air, I seldom use all I have. I do LB>need to know my tanks haven't been pushed past what was intended. Unless there has been a change recently, for the first 5 years of a tanks life the tank may be filled to 10 percent over the rated pressure. If the tank hydros well the + stamp after the date indicates it is still rated for the 10 percent overfill for the next 5 years. Back in the olden days of only steel tanks, it was not unusual for one to see a second 5 years of + fills authorized. 3300 psi is just a 10 overfill and is okay during the first 5 years. Or for any subsequent 5 year period after a hydro test in which the testing agency stamps a + after the hydro date. Marc NAUI DM 5660 --- * OLX 2.1 TD * HANGING - An early Western form of bungee jumping. --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: HANGER 18 BBS (206) 538-0381 (206) 538-0382 (1:3408/36.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CC^00004 Date: 08/27/95 From: MARC AVERY Time: 09:36pm \/To: TERRY HOWARD (Read 1 times) Subj: RE: RULES FOR DIVING TH> My buddy starts swimming up. He buries his head, throws his arm TH>out and starts kicking. He kicks... and he kicks... looks up and he's TH>several feet *behind* where he started! Down goes his head... now he's TH>doing a full power kick, furiously beating the water, using his arms to TH>pull himself along the side of the boat; he again looks up (I noticed TH>his face was getting pretty red), a little progress. Having come several TH>feet, he tries again; (this really was funny, kind of like "one step TH>forward, two steps back" routine) and he's covered another two feet... TH>This goes on for about half a minute, his facial expression one of TH>amazement, his breath wheezing through the snorkel; while I'm dangling TH>from the anchor line watching him claw his way through the water: and TH>laughing my head off. Sounds a little like the Echo Board south of Bainbridge Is. --- * OLX 2.1 TD * We have sent the forms which seem to be right for you. --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: HANGER 18 BBS (206) 538-0381 (206) 538-0382 (1:3408/36.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 186 SCUBA Ref: CC^00005 Date: 08/28/95 From: LEE BELL Time: 02:42pm \/To: TERRY SMITH (Read 1 times) Subj: tanks Oh well, it was a thought. Seems to me that you mentioned Catalina as a manufacturer at one time or another. Since my tanks are made by Catalina, I wonder if they are any different. One or more of the tanks I'm speaking of might be the same as the ones you're discussing. While my tanks are called Compact 80, they're actually slightly less at the rated 3,300. For all I know, my tank might be your 100 if yours is rated at a higher pressure. Those manufacturing dive equipment are not above selling the same thing at different prices if they can find an apparently logical reason for the price difference and can get away with it. Case in point is my "underwater whistle). Yes, it's a plastic whistle designed so that it can be used underwater. I paid a pretty good price for it as an underwater whistle and have seen the same one, by the same manufacturer, sold as a "sport whistle" for less than half the price. Lee --- PCBoard (R) v15.21/M 2 * Origin: The Cross Roads BBS Ft. Lauderdale, Fla 305-791-9325 (1:369/97)