Magazine Articles

Controlling buoyancy is a key component of your diving safety. The physics of floating and sinking are simple concepts, yet achieving practical control of your buoyancy when outfitted with scuba equipment and immersed in water is an entirely other matter. Each change in equipment affects your buoyancy. As your dive equipment grows more complex, the more att...

Midwest Scuba Diving—“First Aid Kits: Are You Prepared?” The best way to handle an injury is to prevent it from ever happening, but being prepared to handle an incident is an absolutely essential component of every diver’s emergency action plan. Every diver should be equipped with both the training required to assume a leadership role in an emergency as...

Seasickness and Scuba “Keep your eyes on the horizon.” It’s advice often shared with divers who are looking a little queasy while out on the water. If you’ve tried it, you may be able to attest to the value of that advice. But why does it work? Motion sickness occurs when the brain receives conflicting information about the body’s position. There a...

In a world where more divers are starting to integrate technical elements into their standard diving regimens, it has become increasingly important for divers to understand the physiology of oxygen toxicity and how to decrease its risk and maximize their safety. What is Oxygen Toxicity? When you breathe oxygen, it reacts with the body’s naturally...

Midwest Scuba Diving DAN Diabetes & Diving Check your glucose and jump on in—the water is fine. Over the last several years, studies have debunked the myth that all divers diagnosed with diabetes cannot safely continue to dive. In June 1994, the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and the American Diabetes Association formed the Diabetes and Diving...

Descend a few feet, pinch your nose and breathe out through your nostrils, and you feel that satisfying pop as your ears equalize. Descend a bit further and repeat the process. Equalizing during a descent becomes second nature to many divers, but sometimes, it’s not that simple; congestion and poor execution of equalizing maneuvers can inhibit the process an...

David is an experienced diver with hundreds of logged dives. He surfaces after his safety stop following a dive to 90fsw for 30 minutes. The dive was not overly strenuous, but he feels extremely fatigued. Within 20 minutes of surfacing, David notices an unusual pain in his shoulder. The pain does not subside and he has no history of injury. He feels lighthe...

LEARNING TO BREATHE I’m at the Loves Park Scuba, doing my first scuba training. As a true claustrophobic, I’ll see if it works. Diver Dan starts me off with a “snooba,” a hybrid of snorkeling and scuba, where the swimmer breathes through a mask connected via a long tube to exterior tanks. You can take this off at any point, because the main problem people h...

When scuba diving you see a lot of things underwater. Often in the beginning, some of those things can seem pretty intimidating. Being around and sometimes interacting with some of the wildlife that you may run into can be a bit different from what we are used to on land. It is not very common, for most people at least, to run into wild animals that are of ...

As divers, we’re taught the perils of alcohol and diving and that drinking and diving don't mix. What about other drugs — specifically the over-the-counter (OTC) variety — and diving? Is the line so clear-cut about OTC medications that are designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as safe for the short-term treatment of ailments? With literally...

Where would the great pastimes be without their myths and legends? After all, it’s the tall tales and exaggerated stories that keep disbelieving eyes wide and doubting ears open for more. Diving is no different. The myths and misinformation floating around our sport are abundant, partly because divers love to tell stories – the more outlandish the bett...

The turkey leftovers have been finished, the gifts have been exchanged, and as 2010 winds down, our gaze turns toward the year to come and the changes we plan to make. As you compile your list of resolutions this year, keep in mind these fitness goals to enhance your diving in 2011. Not too cold, not too hot : Warm up and cool down before and afte...

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink? Well, you’d better have a solution to that problem, because hydration can play a key role in a diver’s health and safety. Most divers have heard the “dehydration is bad” lecture, and some are even familiar with how a lack of proper hydration can play a part in dive injuries like decompression illness (D...

The divers never know what they will meet under water during a dive trip. As the experienced divers use to say, the sea is not an exhibition. You can expect many species, but maybe you won't have any stunning sightings in a week- or you will see something totally unexpected. The Red Sea has a key role since the very first visits of the pioneers of diving...

The story of the fishing charter, Fin Seeker, is the story not only of the capricious and savage power of the Great Lakes but also of the heroism of a charter captain and members of the US Coast Guard rescue teams. Early on a crisp spring morning in 2008 six employees of Nova Communications of Geneva, Illinois arrived at Waukegan’s north harbor. It w...

by Roger J. Barski Founder and Director of the Nautical Archaeology Group – Great Lakes Region. www.NagTeam.Org Note: Click any photo to see a larger view. There is an old saying that goes something like this; “It is much easier to teach an archaeologist how to dive than it is to teach divers archaeology.” Since the 1950’s, when this statement wa...

Download Issue #7 (Low-Res PDF) Single Pages Format - better for printing Spread Format - better for online viewing Articles: Cover: NAUI - 50 Years of Diving History and Still Growing! Destination: Palua - Half A World Away Sunken Treasures: The Straits of Mackinac - A Ferry Trip Through Time How Regulators Work Health & Fitness in Sc...

Download Issue #6 (Low-Res PDF) Single Pages Format - better for printing Spread Format - better for online viewing Articles: Cover: Great White Shark Adventure Reverse Dive Profiles Sunken Treasures: Dredge No. 6 Martin Stepanek and Niki Roderick Destination Puerto Rico More Great Backscatter Photos Safety Stop: Dick Hecht

Download Issue #5 (Low-Res PDF) Single Pages Format - better for printing Spread Format - better for online viewing Articles: Cover: Diving the Vernon What is Technical Diving? Diving Fitness: Weight Control Diving Medicine: Hypothermia DIR, A Diving Mindset Twice the "Backscatter"! Safety Stop: Kevin L. Vaughn, PADI Master Instruct...

Download Issue #4 (Low-Res PDF) Single Pages Format - better for printing Spread Format - better for online viewing Articles: Cover: Dry Tortugas, Secret Reefs Midwest Diving: Haigh Quarry Diving Fitness: Fit For Scuba Diving Medicine: Flying After Diving Diving the Schooner, St. Mary Dive Buddy: Master Scuba Diver Safety Stop: Ralph...