hold, hold your breath…

Friday, April 24, 2009 23:28 | Filled in Uncategorized

normal_d5

Well i know we’re talking about scuba, but i thought that you guys would find this interesting ..

So free diving which also called “apnea diving” (apnea means “stop breathing” in Greek), or breath hold diving is different from our world, the SCUBA world.

SCUBA stands for : self contained underwater breathing apparatus, or to simplify it for you : MACHINES.
The free diving is being done in a few different categories , such as assisted weight, constant weight in which you are suppose to dive as deep as you can

and make it back to the surface.

Static apnea (in a pool) where the point is to hold your breath

simply as long as u can!

The current static apnea world record for men is : 10 minutes and 12 seconds!!! think of it – 10 minutes without breathing.

NO LIMITS is a type of free diving which accessories including SPARE AIR can be used.
This is an exciting world of complete silence (remember, no scuba = no bubbles) and harmony.

Check out Wikipedia for the rules history and a lot of information about this Extreme sport:

speakouttanyastreetermonofin_919

Put Another Dollar In – Padi

Friday, April 24, 2009 12:57 | Filled in Uncategorized

Since i got asked more than once – I decided to brighten this issue…

Let me elaborate : PADI stands for Professional Association of Diving Instructors. That’s at least what it was 40 or so years ago when it was established. Now days, in the scuba world they laugh at PADI and give it names like : Put Another Dollar In. They compromise on standards, and they are truly capitalists. There’s so much politics to in, more than there’s scuba in it.

So yes, PADI is the biggest organization. Yes they make a lot of money, BUT to associate PADI with safety is like associate a vegetarian with a a piece of steak.

So when u r in a look of a dive buddy, make sure he’s QUALIFIED and not just CERTIFIED. Certification doesn’t mean that he or she really knows anything regarding scuba.

So in your inquiries for a dive instructor, school and certification, look for quality, and not quantity.

There are other organization out there and to be sure they’re recognized, you need to go to the WRSTC site ( world recreational scuba council ).

If they are recognized, you are safe and u can dive anywhere in the world without any problem.

To be fair, I have met good PADI instructors as well in my life (most of them also work for other organizations ..) .

So the underline of all of this – don’t disqualify other organization and don’t be obsessed with PADI. Look for a quality experienced facility and instructor. If it’s a PADI facility, it might be a good one, but it’s not automatically good JUST because it’s PADI.

Hope you got enlightened a bit and got better understanding of this issue.

A link you may find supporting what i just explained :

PADI-vs-SSI

About the organizations i work with :
Acuc
Naui

A while after writing this post, i was cruising in the net and saw that article…

the site is out of air, will change tanks and go back deep down…

Friday, April 24, 2009 10:18 | Filled in Uncategorized