Dive Right In

Explorer/Cinematographer Wes Skiles Dies

Cave. technical and recreational divers throughout Florida are mourning the loss of film maker and explorer Wes Skiles. Wes died suddenly on July 21, 2010, while working on project off Pompano. A native North Floridian, Wes grew up exploring his local springs and cave systems. He became an active scuba diver at 13 and was certified as a cave diver at 16, and as PADI Open Water Instructor in 1978. As an experienced cave diver and instructor Wes preached to students of the true dangers of the “Overhead Environment.” More….
 

 

JVC Picsio Shines

This past fall we told you about the JVC Picsio FM-1, a deck-of-cards-size, eight-megapixel still camera that also happens to be a 1080p, HD video camera as well. Packaged with a compact housing from Ikelite, this miniature wonder was one of the hits of the past DEMA Show. And, with a suggested retail of just $460, it’s no wonder why. We’ve been playing with the Picsio for several months now, and would like to share — both visually and verbally — what we have discovered. More….
 

SAC Rates and Cave Diving Bailout

At least 99 out of every 100 divers who read this article won’t be able to use the information it provides. Even among certified cave divers, what we cover here applies only to those who use Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs) or rebreathers. Nevertheless, if you have gotten this far, it’s likely you have at least a general interest in cave and tech diving. If so, you just might find the subject matter interesting and — who knows? — it might just apply in some way to the kind of diving you do. More….

Give the Airlines the Finger. Drive and Dive Florida Instead.

First the airlines reduced the checked baggage allowance from 70 pounds per bag to 50. Then they started charging for that second bag. Then the first. Recently, one airline attempted to start charging for carry on bags. Could it get worse? Yes. In Europe, some airlines will charge you a whole euro if you want to go to the bathroom on flights under one hour. Then there is the hassle of having to check in hours early, and waiting in endless lines at security — while a TSA employee stands by menacingly with a machine that is all too reminiscent of one of those alien probes from science fiction. More…

Trawling Through St. Augustine's History

Plodding up and down the coast with their outstretched arms, the shrimp trawler has become a seaside icon throughout the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Painters, poets, writers, and musicians have recorded shrimp trawlers to feed our nostalgic interest in harvesting the sea, but little has been done to record the history of shrimping, the boats, and the families who built and operated them. St. Augustine doesn’t claim to be the birthplace of modern shrimping, but for much of the 20th century St. Augustine was the shrimp boat capital of the country. More….

 

Did You Know?

• Florida is home to more divers, more dive stores and more dive boats than any other dive destination.

• More divers visit Florida every year than any other dive destination.

• With over 1,300 miles of coastline and thousands of rivers, lakes and springs, Florida has more dive sites — and a greater diversity of dive sites — than any other dive destination.

• Florida is the only major dive destination most USA divers can either fly or drive to.

• If you lined up Florida’s six most popular wreck diving sites end to end, they would stretch for nearly 3,000 feet. (The hundreds of diveable wrecks the state offers would stretch for miles.)

If you dive and you haven’t discovered all that Florida offers, you are — quite literally — missing the boat.