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The ambiguity of an SAC expressed in units of pressure over time is the absence of a measure of volume. If a diver says that he breathes at the rate of 2.5 psi/min he has not told us anything useful until we know what size tanks he is breathing from. The math is simple - no more complicated...

I generally refer to my gas consumption rate as my SAC and reckon it in the units SCF/min because SAC is what most divers call it and I work in imperial units. I realize that there is confusion when referring to SAC or "surface air consumption" because of the differing definitions of the term...

This little narrative illustrates how a small problem can escalate into an emergency. While this incident had a happy ending, it might well have turned out differently. Last weekend I took some divers out to dive the shipwreck, S.S. Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a 215 foot long steel freighter that...

I know of no reason that would make it dangerous to to a breath hold dive and then switch to scuba for an ascent. It might, in fact, be more problematic to dive down breathing such a small cylinder of gas and expecting to have enough to then make a safe ascent. One wonders how much one can...

I haven't noticed any change in the visibility of ocean waters in the 37 years I have been diving but the change in local waters has been nothing less than amazing. Much local diving is done in quarries, gravel pits and open mines that have ceased production. The visibility in these bodies...

We installed new moorings on a few of the Waukegan area wrecks over last weekend. We put lines on St. Mary and Lady Elgin. There was already a midship mooring on S.S. Wisconsin. We put a second mooring on the stern. Enjoy, and please be courteous.

A while back I was researching a recent shipwreck for a magazine article I was planning to write. It took me two freedom of information requests to the Coast Guard. It was almost two years before I got the information I was looking for, and what I got was highly redacted.

The name of the course, "Open Water Diver" has nothing to do with the fact that the students are being taught to dive in an environment with no overhead obstruction. The name was picked for marketing reasons to differentiate the entry-level course with four open water dives from the previous...

In the early days of scuba training the entry level course was simply called "Scuba Diver." In those days scuba training was dominated by those who had the pools in which to train divers such as the YMCAs. Scuba training was accomplished through long training courses in classroom and pools...

There are two kinds of divers, those who pee in their wetsuits and those who deny they do it.

Thanks for the video. It brings back good memories and sad ones. I dove this wreck with Bill Prince and Phil Patz shortly after she was discovered. On that dive, we found the name board to positively establish her identity. Now, Bill and Phil are no longer with us.

Exactly. At this level, if you think you need some kind of certification you definately are not ready to do the dive. Asking the question is a disqualifier.

They were not exactly my buddies. They were just other divers who showed up that day. This annual dive attracts divers from all over the area. Yes, it was incredibly stupid, but it provided amusement for the rest of us and continues, I think, to be a good story.

In Chicago, we have an annual but unofficial New Year's Day dive. For a number of years it took place just north of Navy Pier where there is a concrete wharf. The drop to the water is about 6 to 8 feet. On this particular New Year's morning there was some ice cover so the first thing we did was...

The instructor dives alone. The students dive with the instructor.

Eddy current testing is done on aluminum tanks only.

I just got my new MMC in the mail on Friday. The Coast Guard had my application for less than two weeks. It was received in Toledo on March 24 and my MMC went out from West Virginia on April 6. Thanks to those who gave me good pointers, including Tony (tekdvr2) and Mike Fiedler I had all my...

When most people say that they are "into sports" they mean that they like to sit on their a*ses, eat chips and drink beer while watching highly paid entertainers play games.

If you want a good SDI Wreck course, find an instructor who also teaches the TDI Advanced Wreck Diver course. Talk to him about how he approaches the SDI course. The SDI Wreck course should be considered as the first step in wreck diving, much the same as a Cavern course is the first step in...

Yes, that is definately short notice. I had the opposite problem last time. I got the letter asking me for a new survey about the same time I pulled the boat out of the water for the winter in November of 2008. I called the surveyor right away so I could get it done before it started snowing...