Tampa Bay Florida Scuba News, Current Month

[ ENTRY ] [ CALL ME ] [ DIVE CLASSES ] [ DIVE CALENDAR ] [ DIVE GEAR ] [ DIVE LINKS ] [ DIVE TRAVEL ]
[ E-MAIL ME ] [ FEEDBACK ] [ FLORIDA DIVING ] [ FAQs GULF DIVING ] [ FAQs MANATEE SPRING DIVES ]
[ FAQs 2-3 DAY DIVE COURSE ] [ FORWARD ] [ FUN STUFF ] [ MANATEE SNORKELING/DIVING ] [ MENU ]
[ NEWSLETTER] [ PHOTOS 1 ] [ PHOTOS 2 ] [ REFER ME ] [ MY RESUME ] [ SEARCH THIS SITE - THE WEB ]

Greetings from Capt. John, Tampa Florida November 2002 Newsletter

This Newsletter contains:

1) Current Conditions Gulf of Mexico ~ High Winds/Seas, Southern Derby and a Fatality
2) Diver Breaks Underwater Record ~ Underwater for 10 Days!
3) PADI vs Diverlink ~ PADI Files Suit Against Web Based Dive Resource!
4) Dive Travel and Classes ~ Trips and Classes November 2002 to January 2003
5) Christmas is coming! ~ Let us quote you on your dive gear gifts this year!
6) Cool Websites ~ The unsinkable Tug and Wacky Web.... more

**CURRENT CONDITIONS**

Forget Golfing ~ Go Gulfing! Every Wednesday with Captain John!

Diving in the Gulf has been no fun most of October and November. We have had high winds and high seas that have kept most of us at the dock except for those breaks in the weather that have allowed us to get out. Vis has been poor for several days following the "blows" and water temperature has been dropping with fronts passing through to the mid - seventies.

But Florida being Florida the old saying, "if you don't like Florida weather, wait 15 minutes, it will change", is true and we hope for better weather in the months to follow.

My friends placed in the Southern Open Spear Fishing Derby. Capt. Gene Heidenreich finished 2nd overall. My other pals Ben Pitta and Brian McGarry placed and got a nice write up in Florida Sportsman for an in water assist to another diver that had drifted away from his boat. See: http://floridasportsman.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=21618

On Sunday of that same weekend we had an unfortunate diving fatality off of the Sea Fox Dive Boat docked in Dunedin, Florida. See info at: http://www.sptimes.com/2002/11/12/NorthPinellas/Man_dies_while_on_div.shtml The cause of death has not yet been announced. The US Coast Guard and PADI as a matter of routine are looking into these matters.

"A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned," he said, "for he will be going out on a day he shouldn't. But we do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drowned now and again."
--JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE, THE ARAN ISLANDS (1907)

I will be diving the Gulf off of Clearwater every Wednesday throughout the winter so come join me.
I will be diving Crystal River every weekend and more and more manatees are showing up every day.

Please check my 3 month calendar to keep up with what I am doing and plan a dive with me ~ check: http://www.scubatampa.com/calendar.html

**DIVER BREAKS UNDERWATER RECORD**

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African scuba diver has claimed a new world record after living underwater in a steel tank for 10 days, eating through a tube and watching the skin on his hands shrivel.

Tim Yarrow was cheered by hundreds of onlookers on Saturday when he climbed out of the tank measuring three by 2.3 metres (about 10 ft by seven ft), where he had stayed in a Johannesburg shopping centre since November 6.

"The first three days were hell. Absolute hell," an exhausted Yarrow said, showing his wrinkled hands.
Yarrow, 30, spent 240 hours underwater on scuba apparatus in a controlled environment without surfacing. That beat 212 hours and 30 minutes, set in 1986 by Michael Stephens of Britain.

Greg Wharram, who operates a local dive shop with Yarrow, said they had contacted the Guinness Book of World Records beforehand and will now file papers to make the record official.

They hatched the idea in their shop seven months ago. The attempt required meticulous planning. Yarrow was fed a low-fibre liquid diet through a tube, like a hospital patient.

Body wastes were "not an issue, Wharram said: "It was liquid in, and liquid out."

A doctor went into the tank daily to check on Yarrow. "The nitrogen build-up in his system was negligible," Wharram said. The water was kept at 30-40 degrees Celsius (86-104 degrees Fahrenheit) to prevent loss of body heat.

Yarrow did not sleep the first few days because of a poor-fitting facemask. Then he switched to a mask allowing him to breathe through his nose. "It was a lot more relaxing and I could get some kip," he said.

Would he do it again?

"Not in a hurry. If someone else breaks my record. Fair play to them," Yarrow said before he was wheeled away to a waiting ambulance for a hospital check-up.

**PADI SUIT AGAINST DIVERLINK**

For years Diverlink has been a popular resource site on the web for divers. In February of this year PADI filed suit against Diverlink for defamation, slander and injunctive relief after Diverlink published a " Comparison of Agency Requirements for Open Water Diving". See http://diverlink.com/newdiver/agencycomparison.htm for the article.

According to PADI, the article does not correctly describe the training skills that PADI requires and that the article defames PADI. The article suggests that NAUI and the YMCA are better training agencies than PADI. Please review the complaint at: http://diverlink.com/suit/complaint.htm

On Monday, November 18th the courts will hear a motion by Diverlink to dismiss the suit and an anti-SLAPP suit filed by Diverlink. (The United States and California constitutions grant every person the right to participate in government and civic affairs, speak freely on public issues, and petition government officials for redress of grievances. Yet, individuals and community groups are often sued for exercising these constitutional rights. These suits are known as "SLAPPs," or "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation." )

**DIVE CALENDAR**

Information on Dive Classes, Dive Trips and related information can be found at my new page at; http://www.scubatampa.com/calendar.html This calendar is up-dated daily so bookmark it an visit often to stay up-to-date.

Open Water Class Schedules for November 2002 to January 2003: http://www.scubatampa.com/calendar.html

Manatee Snorkel/Dive $30.00/$50.00 per person, one tank dive and snorkeling with the Manatees. Manatee Dive info at http://www.scubatampa.com/manatee.html

**CHRISTMAS GEAR **

Let us review your Christmas Wish List. We handle Zeagle, Dacor, SeaQuest, US Divers, AB Biller, JBL and many others... we will meet or beat any advertised price on new warranted products, plus we offer a one year in-shop warranty on used gear and customer satisfaction guarantee.

**COOL WEB SITES**

Tropiocal Storm Sites ~ Two real great site for info on tropical storms sites are at: http://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/PUBLIC and http://152.80.49.216/tc-bin/tc_home.cgi

Don't Try This with your Boat ~ Unsinkable Tug Boat. These photos are amazing, they take a while to download so be patient. Go to: http://koti.mbnet.fi/~soldier/towboat.htm

The Wacky Web ~ Here are some wacky sites: What time is it? Go to: http://www.bigfatbaby.com/newfun2/flash/saddam.swf and Nose ~ Go To: http://www.nobodyhere.com/justme/nose.html

PayPAL -- Send money via check or credit cards on-line to any e-mail address. It's easy, free and secure. I am a member. Join now and get $5.00. Contact: PayPal ~ Send and Receive Money On-line:
https://www.paypal.com/refer/pal=john.r3%40ix.netcom.com

Previous Newsletter ~ Last month's newsletter go to: http://www.scubatampa.com/nl.10.02.html includes Dolphin Encounter.

Tanks, BCing you!

SUNSATION DIVE CHARTERS

Captain John L. Russell 3, Tampa, Florida
PADI MSDT 40957, MDEA MI 2098
813-966-6525 (Office)

Please visit my Florida Scuba Diving Website, Bookmark it and Visit
Often! http://www.scubatampa.com

Have a Scuba Website? Join the Promote Scuba Webring!
http://www.scubatampa.com/promote.html

PayPal ~ Send and Receive Money On-line:
https://www.paypal.com/refer/pal=john.r3%40ix.netcom.com

You are receiving this newsletter because you have signed my guestbook, written to me for information or requested to be on our mailing list. I respect your privacy. If you wish to be removed from my mailing lists send an e-mail with remove as the subject. If you want previous copies of prior month's newsletters send me an e-mail with previous as the subject.