Search results

Yes, it's a bit of hyperbole, but not a ton... "I know that some people are adamantly opposed to genocide, and that's fine, but..." "I know that some people are adamantly opposed to blood diamonds, and that's fine, but..." "I know that some people are adamantly opposed to clear cutting the rain...

Not just a permanent scar. But a permanent scar that typically takes all the money that is supposed to be injected into the local economy, but is usually owned by foreign interests and moves any money spent in one country to another country while paying the local workers the absolute bare minimum.

I like how they are they are arguably the most ecologically destructive things that humanity has ever constructed. I like the conspicuous consumption that creates enormous amounts of waste. I like the black and grey-water disposal all over the reefs that have been dynamited to create berthing...

I wear transmitters for sidemount and my Teric on my left wrist. Very occasionally I'll have a lost comms from my right tank for a few seconds. But I have very long arms. And moving my hand a few inches closer to my body (such as when I'm checking pressure) the signal picks right back up...

Folks always seem to get testy when I link to blog posts instead of copying the text here. Apologies to those of you it upsets. A- When I try to copy it the formatting goes haywire. B- It exceeds the maximum character count. Also, Mods: I couldn't quite decide on quite the right place to...

Unfortunately several industries in Mexico (most relevantly, banking and insurance) are incredibly insular and don't work easily with international systems. What that translates to is a lot of people thinking the counter people at the rental agencies are scamming them by not accepting their...

Excellent question! This is one of those things everyone struggles with at first. And it all comes down to the same thing as every other task you may find challenging: Buoyancy. The reason your sac rate sky rockets is because you’re so task focused you revert to that “first learned” muscle...

Roger from XOC-Ha here. Sorry to say we don't have availabilty in early June (we've got some time in early July, but then not until later into fall). But there are a LOT of really good operations in the area. Protec, Under the Jungle, Underworld Tulum, etc, etc, etc... there's a ton of great...

Safe blind jumps are like safely saddling a unicorn. Not a real fu<king thing.

It's actually pretty easy given provided you know: A - an accurate RMV accounting for... B - average depth C - your distance from the exit D - are OK with a bit of math If you know your distance from the exit you can calculate how much gas you would need to get home from there using average...

I admit, I'm probably thinking about this question/post more than I need to. https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/safe-spaces

To folks dismissing the conversation completely as absurd or a stupid question... In my experience (recreational guide and instructor for 10+ years, technical instructor and guide for ~10, cave instructor and guide for ~5) OW divers tend to be a LOT scarier in terms of their safety or lack...

Neither is inherently safe, per se. Both OW and cave diving come with their risks. And the truth of the matter is that there is increased risk in cave diving. However, that said, cave divers tend to be much more highly trained to mitigate the increased risk of that environment. As such they...

Gold line here almost uniformly means "Cavern Tour Line." Given the HUGE numbers of cavern tours that take place every single day in the area it is much easier for less experienced divers to keep an eye on and for guides to say, "If you're on a line that is not gold, you are in the wrong...

I am not even kind of raising money for myself. Every penny will go to CREER (Comité Regional de Espeleobuceo, Ecología y Regulación) If you like cave diving in the Riviera Maya (or just "normal diving" on the second largest barrier reef on planet Earth) a contribution to protect this uniquely...

+1 for alcohol. Ripped that idea off from the She-P practices. Keep a small squirt-bottle of it in the car, apply, dry, and immediately put on the cath. Never had a single blow-off since I started doing it. Working dive instructor... so I'm wearing one damn near every day. In the heat of the...

X2 This. Immersion diuresis happens because suddenly you don't have gravity pulling more of your fluid (mostly blood) to your feet. Plus, you're suddenly chilled, so you vaso-restrict. These two factors shunt lots of fluid back to your core, which your body suddenly reads as a major fluid...

You've left your Christmas shopping to the very last minute, haven't you? You figured, "It's fine! I'll just go to the scuba store tomorrow or the next day and get some regulators for that special diver in my life and they'll love them!" May I make a shopping suggestion, rushed though you may...

The butts of your sidemount tanks will get lighter as you breath them down. The Jets will offset that. Yea, you’ll be footheavy at the beginning of the dive. But at the end of the dove you’ll be happy they’re there.

I second the thanks to @JustCavin' for willingness to come forward with their experiences. (edited to add: Especially in the face of what must have been a horribly core-shaking experience at the very least, if not a great personal tragedy. For both of which you have my sympathies.) It's the...