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Don't forget to sample the Goose Island beer or dive some of our Lake Michigan shipwrecks.

Remember that although your O2 meter reads to tenths of a percent, your reading is only accurate to +/- 1.0%. In reality, if you get within 2% of your target value you are just fine. Diving is very far from an exact science.

As a charter boat captain, I have to make a quick assessment of divers who come on my boat before I can decide what wrecks they may be qualified to dive. Certification level and certification agency are only two factors that I consider. In fact, they are not at the top of my list. That said...

I always put my instruments (except for my SPG) on my wrists and would never even consider a wireless data connection. Others have stated the reasons for these preferances. I have found, however, that when renting or providing computers to students or newbies, it is better to use console...

I have seen signs on boats that say, "Loaded spearguns will be thrown overboard." In Lake Michigan, I don't get spearfishermen on my boat but if I did I would display such a sign and I would throw loaded guns overboard. No second chances.

It is generally not a good idea to tie off your line to the anchor or anchor line. It is better to tie off to something near the anchor. That way, if the anchor moves, your line will not be broken, You will still be able to return to where the anchor was when you started and if the anchor has...

The technique you use is entirely dependent on the size and layout of your boat. I would love to be able to tie my boat up solo, but I can only do it when the seas are dead calm.

Dick still holds court every night, but he has moved east a few feet to a table near his chamber facility.

SopraSub is a scuba equipment vendor headquartered in the Czech Republic. They have offices in several countries incuding the US. Their HQ in here is in West Palm Beach. I spent some time talking with them at DEMA. Their US operation seems to be a bit small at the present but they will...

There was no "Basic Open Water" in 1976. The Name "Open Water" was coined in 1979 or 1980 by PADI and was not used by other agencies for several years after that. I was first certified as a "Scuba Diver" in the YMCA program in 1973. I became a YMCA instructor in 1978. I added a PADI...

It is interesting that you bring up the Sherwood Blizzard. The blizzard was a winner in cold water from the beginning but did not sell well to warm water divers because of its name. It was rebranded as the Oasis for sale to those who wanted to dive the tropics. If you read the marketing...

When I took my entry-level course spg's were not common. My instructor told me to go up when it starts to get hard to breathe.:)

I hold certifications from five different technical agencies. In each case it was because the instructor I wanted to take a class from was affiliated to that particular organization. Choose your instructor first. The agency just comes along with him.

Perhaps I should have appended, "in the US." Of course, the "nation" I was referring to was my own.

The club I belong to is not associated with a dive shop but it is a teaching club. In fact, it has been teaching diving since it began in 1957. Yes, that is two years before there was a national certification agency. Having both diving and teaching programs in a club helps to give purpose to...

I do not remember what computers we were using, just that they were all different. I am told (I am not a computer professional.) that PC's use separate math processors to handle numerical calculations. Those math processors are likely to be different and act slightly differently in different...

What are the parameters/categories? In the technical category, Gunilda would have to make the list just for bing so beautiful and well preserved. The steamship, Wisconsin, and the rail car ferry, Milwaukee, make very challenging technical penetration dives but also offer good advanced...

You should not get too hung up on the exact numbers. Your computer is just a guide. Use whatever numbers it gives you conservatively and you will be doing as well as you can. I once was working out a dive plan on my laptop along with two of my buddies. We were independently planning the...

I try to strap tanks in in a vertical orientation. That keeps them protected from damage and also from having their valves knocked open. (Which is a far more common occurrence.) When I have to position tanks on their sides for transportation, I usually orient them so that their valves are facing...