h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

i am *never* going diving...

Hehehe. I was trying to emphasize the fact that this stuff is fully avoidable, as long as you keep your wits about you. For instance, the hazards from too much oxygen or nitrogen are due to diving too deep or too long. The outer limit for rreacreational diving is 45meters. However, you're not likely to find anything at 45 meters worth exploring, unless there's a wrecked ship or plane down there. Corals prefer to exist in shallow waters, and I've not seen much of anything resembling a coral bed below 30 meters. Besides, the water also filters sunlight, to the point where ceertain colors start to disappear... by the time you reach 30 meters, everything is orange and red, unless you shine your own flashlight at it. So the bottom line is, there's nothing to see down there, so don't go down there.

And as for the animals... don't drag yourself along the coral, and you won't accidentally bump into them. Everything is perfectly content to leave you alone... except for sea turtles, of course, they're very curious and friendly. As long as you're not stupid enough to dangle your fingers directly in front the turtle's snout, it'll be content to swim alongside you for a while.

where are you from and where do you dive? have you been to many locations?

I'm from Southern California currently, but I recently moved here from Hawaii, and it is there I got most of my experience. I lived on Oahu, so I dove all the way around that island, from shore and from boats. I also managed to make a pair of scuba pilgrimages to Maui, and dove several sites there. Lastly, I made one trip to the island of Mauritius, and got in a couple of dives while I was there. Overall, I've got about 50 dives to my credit, and they include wrecks, caves, spear-fishing, and bug (lobster) hunting expeditions, as well as generic exploratory dives. It's been a year since I've been able to dive, though, since Southern California's sites all have to be reached by boat, and I don't know any other divers here, much less one with their own boat. Still, I intend to get my gear wet sometime, because Catalina Island (just off the coast of California) has a diving experience that I've never encountered and anxious to try... kelp beds. I just have to convince my little brother (currently living in Hawaii) to get his dive certification, and then I'll have someone to make the trip with when he comes home for a visit.

Anyway, this article, and its brother (about scuba equipment) were really just a chance for me to wax nostalgic and temporarily relieve the addiction... just like coral, scuba diving has a way of getting under your skin.

This article is obvously written by someone who has never dived in cold, northern waters - where I would list cold, bad weather and zero visibility as the biggest dangers! Still, it's amazingly good fun though and I find its really good stress relief - almost as though you leave all your worries behind on the surface and totally concentrate on the environment you're in. All the things that make it dangerous also mean that it is an environment in which you are priviledged to be. That raerst of things in the modern world - an environment in which man is not at home. All the weight and gear is still annoying though!