Scuba Diving Blog

I just saw a Help Me Howard story on WSVN channel 7 in Miami, FL where a lady named Theresa has stumbled across a kerosene leak in her yard. She reported it to the city and DERM (Department of Environmental Resources Management in Miami) came out to investigate. They told Theresa that it was an environmental hazard and that the tank would need to be removed. She called the companies that were provided to her and was told that the cost would be approximately $8,000.00.

Theresa was able to drain the tank to prevent more damage, but still needs to remove the tank. Because she does not have the money, she went to Help Me Howard for help.

DERM has so far not helped her with this cost and, for every day that she is not in compliance, DERM can begin to bill her, increasing the cost exponentially. They can even put a lean on her house if she is unable to pay it. Theresa will be forced to use her retirement account to pay to have this tank removed.

I have written to channel 7 to ask if they have an address that people can send them money to be forwarded to Theresa to help. As soon as I get a response I will post it for everyone who wants to help.

Hopefully all the neighbors in Theresa’s area who have tanks buried in their yards will have them drained before they have this problem. In the meantime, my heart goes out to Theresa and the environment being impacted. If you would like to help, please send whatever you are able to spare to channel 7. They will then send the money to Theresa (and probably do a follow-up story.)

More information to come when I hear back from WSVN’s Patrick Fraser…

To Update:

I have heard back from Theresa who has provided me with an update. She is not soliciting donations, but is very appreciative of the gesture. Right now she is waiting on DEMA to provide the Notice of Violation. Until she receives that, the company that is going to be doing the work (and at a lower price) is unable to start the job. Hopefully the folks at DEMA, who are the people in charge of these environmental impacts, will get their act together and provide this notice of violation before there is any more damage…

Seeing lobsters while scuba diving is of course a highlight of most dives. That is why it is crucial that the rules and regulations during Lobster Season is followed.

With that said, I am posting this years rules and regulations to provide divers with the guidelines they must follow, not to encourage more people to go lobstering.

*** To participate in Lobster season, you MUST have the proper lobstering license***

Mini or Sport Season extends two days in July – this year the 25^th & 26^th.

The bag limit in Monroe County and Biscayne Park is 6 per person per day. The limit for the rest of Florida is 12 per person, per day.

Night diving is prohibited during mini season in Monroe County.

Possession Limits during mini season

On the water – equal to the daily bag limit.

Off the water – on the 25^th – daily limit, the 26^th – double the daily limit.

Regular Season begins August 6^th, and ends March 31^st.

The bag limit during regular season is 6 per person, per day.

All lobsters must be larger than 3” carapace measured in the water. You MUST have in your possession and USE a measuring device at all times. Any lobster 3” or smaller, must be safely released before leaving the water. Removing the tail from a lobster in the water is strictly prohibited. For more information on measuring a spiny lobster, please visit the following website…

http://myfwc.com/marine/Fishing_Measurement.htm#lobster

*** No Spears, Hooks, Piercings, explosives

*** No egg-bearing (berried) lobsters.

Lobstering is prohibited in the following Florida locations:

Everglades National Park – mini & regular season

Dry Tortuga’s National Park – mini & regular season

No-take areas in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary – mini & regular season – for more information in the Keys, visit the following website – http://floridakeys.noaa.gov

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during Mini Season

All of this information can be viewed at: http://myfwc.com/marine/lobster.htm

If you are looking to travel to Bonaire, or have already traveled to Bonaire (and therefore are dying to go back), then you should take a look at the new website created by Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA Bonaire), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the Bonaire National park.

The website includes information about the parks, and, what I have been looking at for the last hour, a list and description of dive sites separated by location. I now realize just how many times I will have to go back to visit all the sites, but the Hilma Hooker and Alice and Wonderland will always be my favorites…

Visit the website at… http://www.stinapa.org/

The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) and the Divers Alert Network (DAN) have come up with guidelines for diving safely with diabetes.  I have copied a summary of the guidelines from the DAN website below.  For the complete guide or for a copy of the published book, Diabetes and Recreational Diving: Guidelines for the Future, please visit DAN’s website at www.diversalertnetwork.org

Table 1: Guidelines for Recreational Diving with Diabetes - Summary Form1
Selection and Surveillance
• Age ≥18 years (≥16 years if in special training program)
• Delay diving after start/change in medication
- 3 months with oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA)
- 1 year after initiation of insulin therapy
• No episodes of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia requiring intervention from a third party for at
least one year
• No history of hypoglycemia unawareness
• HbA1c ≤9% no more than one month prior to initial assessment and at each annual review
- values >9% indicate the need for further evaluation and possible modification of therapy
• No significant secondary complications from diabetes
• Physician/Diabetologist should carry out annual review and determine that diver has good
understanding of disease and effect of exercise
- in consultation with an expert in diving medicine, as required
• Evaluation for silent ischemia for candidates >40 years of age
- after initial evaluation, periodic surveillance for silent ischemia can be in accordance with
accepted local/national guidelines for the evaluation of diabetics
• Candidate documents intent to follow protocol for divers with diabetes and to cease diving and
seek medical review for any adverse events during diving possibly related to diabetes
Scope of Diving
• Diving should be planned to avoid
- depths >100 fsw (30 msw)
- durations >60 minutes
- compulsory decompression stops
- overhead environments (e.g., cave, wreck penetration)
- situations that may exacerbate hypoglycemia (e.g., prolonged cold and arduous dives)
• Dive buddy/leader informed of diver’s condition and steps to follow in case of problem
• Dive buddy should not have diabetes
Glucose Management on the Day of Diving
• General self-assessment of fitness to dive
• Blood glucose (BG) ≥150 mg·dL-1 (8.3 mmol·L-1), stable or rising, before entering the water
- complete a minimum of three pre-dive BG tests to evaluate trends
 60 minutes, 30 minutes and immediately prior to diving
- alterations in dosage of OHA or insulin on evening prior or day of diving may help
• Delay dive if BG
- <150 mg·dL-1 (8.3 mmol·L-1)
- >300 mg·dL-1 (16.7 mmol·L-1)
• Rescue medications
- carry readily accessible oral glucose during all dives
- have parenteral glucagon available at the surface
• If hypoglycemia noticed underwater, the diver should surface (with buddy), establish positive
buoyancy, ingest glucose and leave the water
• Check blood sugar frequently for 12-15 hours after diving
• Ensure adequate hydration on days of diving
• Log all dives (include BG test results and all information pertinent to diabetes management)
1 For full text see: Pollock NW, Uguccioni DM, Dear GdeL, eds. Diabetes and recreational diving:
guidelines for the future. Proceedings of the UHMS/DAN 2005 June 19 Workshop. Durham, NC:
Divers Alert Network; 2005.

A couple months ago, my husband, two friends, and I went to Venice, Florida to go diving. It was recommended to use by a divemaster/captain friend of ours.

We went on “The Hammerhead” boat through Florida West Scuba School and had the time of our lives. If you’re looking to find Megalodon fossils, this is the place to go. The area is a prehistoric feeding ground for sharks.

We found dozens of different size shark teeth fossils and my husband even found a 2 inch Megalodon.

To learn more, or to charter a dive, go to www.floridawestscuba.com

Have a great time!

A friend of mine is getting married next summer in Hawaii and they are going to be going to Maui for their Honeymoon. They are both divers, but have never been diving in Maui. She had asked me what the diving is like in Maui, and since I have never been to Hawaii at all, I only knew what I have seen in the dive magazines.

So, after doing some research online, I came across a great website almost instantly. If you’re interested in Maui diving, here’s where you should start…

http://www.maui-scuba.com/

If you go, tell me how it is and send pictures!!! I will make it there eventually…

The Manta Network has created the first underwater camera to be placed permanently underwater and be controlled by a computer or a boat up to 10 miles away. If you have not heard about this or would like to learn more, go to www.manta.org or you can register to receive email updates at www.oceanpresence.net

Some family members of ours (hemhem Donna) have been pressuring us to create a blog. So, after a few months of us going back and forth deciding if we wanted to dedicate the time and energy into it and trying to figure out what we would blog, we thought what better than scuba?

I have been diving since 95 and my husband, since 98. That doesn’t seem too long, but we have gained a lot of experience through the dive program at Barry University, which is run by instructor Sharon Kegeles.

Our dive logs together are mainly comprised of sites in Florida, being as we live there. We have also traveled to Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba, St. Maarten, St. Thomas,and I can’t forget the exciting waters of Lake Erie, where I was certified. But it won’t end there…

Using this blog, my husband and I plan to provide up-to-date information to the ever-changing and constantly growing field of scuba diving. We will also provide you with a portal to share your experiences with other divers.

Please be patient in the beginning. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are very excited. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.

If you have any suggestions, or anything you would like to ask us to look into, please feel free to email us at info@scubadivingblog.net