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THANK YOU. The knee-jerk conjecture on this thread is beginning to boil my blood a bit. I've been on the Shearwater twice myself, and found these to be some of the SAFEST dives in my entire career, having swum with various sharks all over the world....

Whoa, whoa, whoa - you're based in SF, and your local diving isn't Monterey/Carmel?? For shame! ;) (In all honesty, I've been to a few places around the world, and the kelp forests of Carmel stand up to anything I've ever seen (Galapagos, Cocos, Fiji, Bahamas, etc.). It's the one perk of living...

I'd watch that. I love octos. :dork2:

Wow - I hadn't realized just how anatomically accurate Spongebob's pal Squidward was! :D I love seeing the mini-Cthulhus on my summer dives, but didn't see any this year. :(

FWIW, most of my diving in Monterey & Carmel (CA) is solo. I don't even get disapproving glances from other divers anymore. I've even done Monastery solo (*gasp!* horrors!!!); it's about knowing your skills, the site, and the appropriate conditions. (I also recommend a healthy number of dives in...

HUB, meet large, freshly-sharpened knife..... ---------- Post added December 16th, 2013 at 01:36 PM ---------- Of course all of these companies - certifying agencies included of course - need to make money, and that's fine; allow me to propose an alternative: what about, say, "DICO" = "Dive...

I noted the remains of several "wasted" stars, on 11/23 along Wharf 2, in Monterey (part of Del Monte Beach); they appeared to be short-spined sea stars, but may have been very badly degraded ochres. I did not notice any wasted remains later that day slightly farther north, at the...

I've done this trip, and it's awesome - but I've also done "wild" encounters (Cocos, Galapagos, Socorro, Hawaii), which are also awesome, it's just a different thing; this environment is still "wild", these are still predators in their own element. The DMs and feeders know these sharks rather...

I'd have to say it's less about the depth than your training and comfort. Have you taken a Stress & Rescue class? With good fitness and proper training there is no reason you couldn't safely solo dive to 60ft (-if there were any issue, you could make a safe ascent within one minute).

I and my friends & colleagues have been freediving with oceanic whitetips, and it's fine. (Check out EpicDiving.com) I feel much more threatened by walking across the street to my office and being hit by some idiot driver on their phone than by ANY shark I've dived with (23 species and...

Apologies if this is not the right forum; I've been searching all over for any information and I figured the regional forums might be best for something as specific as this. Also, apologies if I'm being naive in taking the travel agent's word for it when all evidence seems to be to the...

I truly appreciate this discussion (and others of the like), and I don't usually have much to add that hasn't been said - but I do have something to add here. I dived with "BAD" (Beqa Adventure Divers - not a great acronym under the circumstances) back in '07, for a week with their truly awesome...

To this point (also made above), I would simply point out: compare the sheer number of baited dives done - rather safely, I must add - by Abernethy compared to the "incidents" that have occured. Do you still drive a car? Knowing how many people are killed on a daily basis in and by cars? Do...

This is a very sad event indeed, and all hopes that the diver recovers fully - not just of a sense of communal empathy, but as divers we also know how much we would all want to get back in the water as soon as we can, and I hope this guy gets to return to pursuing his passion. And on the...

I've put a couple hundred dives on my Suunto D9, and I'm pretty happy with it. I like knowing the consensus is that Suunto=conservative, because I don't beat myself up if I push its limits - I try to dive a smooth, solid profile, as it were, but sometimes I ascend too quickly, or stay too long...

Thanks for the post; I heard the call when it happened, while I was aboard another boat, and I was wondering what happened. I remember watching the BH2 gear up that morning, while waiting for my own charter. Best wishes to the family and friends.

according to the other thread ("Sunday Breakwater Accident"): "the injured diver was revived & breathing thanks to other divers."

I was DM'g a checkout class this weekend at the (Monterey) Breakwater. While filling out logbooks with the class in the parking lot with the instructor late this morning (Sun, Sept 13), I noticed several people jogging toward the main stairs to the beach; I moved off to have a look, and saw...

I can't wait to try the SW-N's the moment they come to my LDS! I fell in love with the aesthetics the moment I saw them (okay, I'm a sci-fi buff), and the ScubaPro vid on YouTube shows some good paddle action that appears to be quite powerful and useful. My one gripe (listen-up ScupaPro, et...

I was recently certified as a DiveCon (combo DM/Asst Instr.), and initially did it as a "next step" in my overall training and experience. I've since come to actually enjoy working with students in the ocean, and I analyze my diving more than ever now (not OCD micromanaging, but I'm just much...