A Lesson from Sidemount Divers Sidemount diving has taken the diving community by storm. The popularity of this style of carrying tanks has grown tenfold in the last few years. Now rebreather divers are taking a lesson from sidemount divers to help them streamline their bailout bottles. Standard stage rigging generally hangs bailout tanks nearly perpendicular to the diver’ s body. This is neither streamlined nor conservation-minded. It is far more effective to mount your tanks in a way that aligns them with your body. There are numerous ways to achieve this, but here are two simple solutions: 1. Use…
Brian Hurricane Smith interviews Jill Heinerth about her new book, Women Underwater which she co-authored with Reneé Power. Heinerth describes why they felt the need to write a gender specific scuba manual. Listen to the podcast here.
There are few things I love more than shooting people… underwater! When I am home in North Florida by the crystalline underwater springs, I love to arrange private photo experiences for interested divers or teams. For some people, it is a chance to learn more about underwater photography. For others, it gives them a beautiful portfolio of shots to share with friends. I also arrange to shoot professional video content for teams and individuals who want some HD footage they will treasure. I can accommodate teams of up to three divers in the cave and more if we are shooting…
Women Underwater reached out to dive professional Rosemary Lunn of The Underwater Marketing Company to ask about challenges in learning how to dive a new rebreather. She offers some personal experiences and candid advice for others who want to take the plunge. Rosemary Lunn: My greatest challenge with equipment has got to be with rebreathers. I seem to be fortunate to be in the right place at the right time on many occasions when it came to rebreathers. I have a definate love / hate relationship with this piece of kit. My first rebreather dive was in Stoney Cove in 1996 on…
Our first shipment of books just arrived and are now available for order. This first batch of 40 will be signed by both authors! We can’t always get together for signing, so these will be special! We met on the side of the road and signed them in the back of my 1996 Volvo! We’ve built on the work of others and want to recognize some of the great people that helped make Women Underwater possible. In 1979, Susan Bangasser and Jeanne Bear Sleeper published the first book to specifically reach women divers. In 1992, Ella Jean Morgan and Erin O’Neill…
My first primary light for cave diving was so heavy I had to mount it on two large D-rings and hang it from the bottom of my tanks. The bulky rectangular housing concealed two large sealed lead acid batteries. A hefty cord lead to a metal light head that could double as a sledgehammer. One day it switched on in the van and burned a hole in the carpet before I could get it shut off. I used to wait to the very last moment possible before turning the light on, well into the cavern zone, trying to save every…
DEADLINE FOR 2015 WOMEN DIVERS HALL OF FAME SCHOLARSHIPS AND TRAINING GRANTS IS NOVEMBER 28, 2014 The Women Divers Hall of Fame™ (WDHOF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and raising awareness of the contributions of outstanding women divers. WDHOF provides educational, mentorship, financial, and career opportunities to the diving community throughout the world. Each year, WDHOF awards scholarships and training grants that provide financial and educational support to individuals of all ages, particularly those who are preparing for professional careers that involve diving. Scholarships are offered in conservation, marine biology, underwater archaeology, and journalism, graphic arts,…
ALERT DIVER, the prestigious and excellent publication of Divers Alert Network recently reached out to me with some questions about how I view dive safety. Establishing a culture of dive safety is of great importance to dive leaders and is central to Divers Alert Network’s mission. They’ll be sharing these thoughts and those of other experts in coming issues of their magazine. ALERT DIVER: Recreational diving culture; what does it mean to you? JILL HEINERTH: Sport diving is a community made up of many different subcultures. These small groups of divers are knitted together by their shop, club, charter operator…