Living a Diver's Life

Bob Bennett enjoying life below 130' on a Dive Rite O2ptima Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) Photo: Tara McNaylor Fred Stratton Instructor and Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Close your eyes and remember the first time you breathed underwater. A brilliant, heart-pounding experience you wished would never end.  Your recreational scuba certification enabled you to venture forth into a previously impenetrable world.  The word recreation derives from the Latin word  recreare   meaning create again or renew. I certainly feel refreshed and renewed during every dive. Do you? Lost that Loving Feeling ? Do you still feel the rush of anticipation before your dives and excitment when you descend?  Perhaps you've been certified for a while and, although you still enjoy diving, you yearn for a new adventure. Do any of the following apply to you? - You've been wall diving to 130' and felt the lure  of deeper dwelling flora and fauna....

Poseidon, Greek god of the sea Fred Stratton Instructor and Repair Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Several customers have asked us  "Isn't it better to immerse cylinders in water when you fill them?"   The short answer is an unequivocal no .  According to Greek mythology, the god Poseidon is responsible for ocean storms. When displeased, he strikes his mighty trident against the earth, wreaking havoc on the high seas. Of course modern sciences like meterology and oceanography clearly explain tsunamis, storms, and typhoons. Science also explains quite lucidly why filling compressed gas cylinders in a water-filled bin has disadvantages, but you wouldn't know it by surveying the scuba industry and scuba divers. Myths abound about the advantages of submerging cylinders in water before filling them. This article will burst the bubble surrounding wet fill operations and explain what divers should look for in their local dive shop's fill stati...