Seaview Scuba

Night diving. Don't be afraid of the dark!

2011-09-23T14:31:00.001-04:00

The PADI Night Diver Specialty Course

The sun is setting earlier now. This means that doing a night dive may not entail a late night of rinsing and putting gear away. Divers who have early morning jobs, may still be able to dive during the week and make it to work on time.

The PADI Night Diving Specialty Course is designed to teach the fundamentals of organizing and planning a night dive.

Many of us have been diving in the same area for years. As the seasons change, the area may look slightly different but we still know what to expect. A night dive completely changes a divers view of the site and adds some extra challenges. Navigation is a bit harder without daylight. The natural navigation references that we may use on regular dives are no longer visible. Even keeping track of depth changes and cylinder pressure becomes more challenging while using a dive light.

Why dive at night? Is it exciting? You bet!

The variety of marine life that comes out at night is amazing. It is not uncommon to see lobsters out of their holes and squid hunting together. On several night dives in Stonington Borough, we have seen skates, sea robins and northern puffers. Many divers say that they prefer night dives because they would never see the same things during a daylight dive.

Sign up today for your Night Diving Specialty Course and schedule your three exciting adventure dives.
Contact Sharon or Mike at seaviewscuba@sbcglobal.net

For more information about this and other PADI specialty courses:
http://www.padi.com/scuba/padi-courses/diver-level-courses/view-all-padi-courses/night-diver/default.aspx

Ready....set....rescue!!

2011-05-06T14:49:00.000-04:00

The PADI Rescue Diver course is the next step toward becoming a dive leader. After completing the Advanced Open Water course, the Rescue Diver course helps you to develop the skills needed to help others. During a combination of classroom and open water sessions, a diver learns how to recognize and manage the stressful situations that may lead to a diving emergency. A series of simulated dive accident scenarios, allow for development of rescue skills and techniques in a safe and controlled environment.

A good dive is the result of good planning. Some components of pre-dive preparation may be:

1. Checking weather conditions for the location and time of the dive.
2. Upon arrival, divers should look over the dive site for potential problems and/or hazards.
3. Before arriving at the dive site, prepare and inspect dive gear.
4. As a buddy team, plan the dive. Agree on factors such as maximum depth, time, navigational direction and purpose of the dive. (ie. spearfishing or photography)

The PADI Rescue Diver course is designed to give you the knowledge and confidence to handle most diving emergencies. As a certified Rescue Diver, you will start to become aware of possible factors that could ruin a dive or put divers at risk. If a dive emergency does occur, you will have practiced the techniques for rescuing both panicked and unresponsive divers.

Seaview Scuba is conducting the next PADI Rescue Diver course on June 7th and 9th. Please call 860-442-7279 or e-mail us for details on this exciting and important course.

Things to see.........

2011-04-30T13:12:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite times to dive. The springtime brings a resurgence of sea creatures that have been absent during the long and cold winter. If you dive all year long, you will notice distinct differences in the species of marine life that appear seasonally.

There are two types of anemones that come out in the spring. The burrowing anemone (Ceriantheopsis americanus) lives in a soft tube in the bottom sediment. Only the tentacles are exposed as they open to sweep in passing food options. The tentacles quickly withdraw if a diver disrupts the surrounding area.

The frilled anemone (Metridium senile) or common anemone, attaches itself to rocks, shells or wood. The body column is smooth and has a distinct collar below the tentacles. The area around the mouth is comprised of hundreds of small slender tentacles that give the anemone a feathery appearance. These anemones are found in colors like brown, orange and white. Very nice for underwater photography.

Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, Rhode Island is where we go see the anemones. For more information, contact us at seaviewscuba@sbcglobal.net.

Be prepared......to scuba dive!!!

2011-03-11T18:21:00.000-05:00

There is an exciting new opportunity for the Boy Scouts of America......................the Scuba Diving Merit Badge!!

Working in co-operation with PADI*, the Scuba Diving Merit Badge is a challenging and exciting addition to the already numerous opportunities of scouting.

Seaview Scuba is proud to work with our local troops. We offer a Youth Program discount and we can design a schedule around some of the busiest schedules. Our PADI Open Water Diver Course consists of 4 classroom sessions, 2 pool sessions and 4 open water dives. As part of the exciting pool sessions, the scouts will learn the basic skills of diving, like regulator recovery and mask clearing. In the ocean, students will learn the fundamentals of navigation, the "buddy system", and fish identification.

After completing the Open Water Diver Course, the requirements for completion of the Scuba Diving Merit Badge include completion of the Swimming Merit Badge and First Aid Merit Badge.

A PADI Open Water certification is a great start to a lifetime of adventures under the surface of the oceans, lakes and quarries. Once certified, the opportunities for advancement are endless. Some colleges and universities even offer credit programs for PADI certifications. Certified Rescue Divers have opportunities with local dive rescue teams or can opt to continue on to professional levels.

For more information, please call Mike or Sharon at 860-442-7279

*Professional Association of Dive Instructors www.padi.com

Choosing the right gear.......

2011-01-08T12:35:00.000-05:00

How do I go diving today and stay comfortable?

If I go out today, it will be in a trilaminate drysuit with my Fourth Element Arctic undergarment. I will also be wearing a 7mm hood and three finger mitts. The key to a successful dive in January, February or March is planning. When I arrive at the dive site, my gear is already set up. This means that my BC and regulator are on the cylinder, my mask is defogged, my fin straps are loosened and my weight system is ready for donning. The less time I have to spend with last minute preparations, the better able I am to stay warm....especially my hands.

I dress like I am going to the arctic circle with layers of thermal protection, a hat and good thick gloves. I am able to change into my drysuit in the van, but if I didn't have that option I would be just stepping out for a moment to get into my drysuit. Keep your head covered until you are ready to put on the drysuit hood. Always protecting your hands will allow for more dive time after you are submerged.

Hands....My biggest weakness for diving in the winter. I use three finger mitts with velcro straps. The velcro straps can be cinched to keep the flow of water to a minimum. I glued the straps on to the gloves myself. I have also used hand heaters inside the gloves to give me a little more warmth and extend my dive time. The only reason I will cut a dive short now is because my hands are too cold.

How cold is too cold? When you start to shiver or have pain in your hands, it's time to get out of the water and get warm. After the dive, I take care of myself first by leaving my gear set up and focusing on getting warm and comfortable again. If I allow myself to get too cold or uncomfortable, I know that I won't want to dive anymore. "Work smarter not harder!"

Once again dressed for the Arctic, I put away my gear and joke with my dive buddies about what "hard core divers" we are. I am warm, dry and pleased with my diving adventure. Springtime is four months away, and there is no way I can stay out of the water that long!

The festive Christmas Tree Worm....

2010-12-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

photo by Michael Mulford

Christmas tree worms are tube dwelling annelids (worms) found in tropical ocean waters all over the world. They have beautiful twin spirals of plumes or gills that are used for feeding and respiration. The Christmas tree worm is the most easily recognized polychaete (Greek- with much hair) worm because of their shape and range of vibrant colors. They can be found in orange, yellow, blue and white.

The worms have two spirals, both shaped like Christmas trees. The spirals consist of radioles or feather-like tentacles used for feeding on particles of food or plankton. These tentacles of cilia (fine hairs) are also used for respiration and are sometimes referred to as gills.

Christmas tree worms feed by catching particles of food and plankton as it goes by in the water. The food is passed down a groove or ciliary tract by little hair like extensions. These hairs generate water currents to move along food and mucus to the mouth. As food particles are sorted, larger particles are discarded and sand is stored to be used for tube building.

The Christmas tree worm is anchored into a burrow that bores into live coral. When male and female worms reproduce, they cast eggs and sperms into the water. The eggs are fertilized and the growing larvae settle on to a coral head. The worm then builds a tube on the surface of the coral. As the coral grows, it buries the tube in the skeleton of the coral. The worm is then protected by the coral with only its head showing.

The worms are very sensitive to disturbances. The slightest touch or shadow causes the worm to quickly retract the feather like tentacles. As a scuba diver approaches with a camera, the worm may quickly disappear. If the underwater photographer waits about a minute though, the feather like spirals re-emerge slowly and majestically.

The PADI Underwater Digital Photography specialty offers a lot of helpful information on how to capture photos like this for yourself.

Come in to Seaview Scuba and talk to our specialty instructor about opportunities for training. You may even decide to go on a Seaview Scuba dive trip to guide you to the best photo opportunities.

A few of Mike's favorite things......

2010-12-02T14:18:00.000-05:00

No.....not whiskers on kittens! Although Mike "loves" to hear about my cats......not!

1. Ikelite PC lights......... durable and reasonably priced. Three sizes to choose from.

2. PADI Digital Underwater Photography Specialty.

Start the course on-line and finish with two ocean dives with your PADI Master Scuba Diving Instructor.......Mike.

3. Spring straps......replace your current fin straps with the easily donned spring straps. A great stocking stuffer!!

A few of my favorite things........

2010-12-01T12:43:00.001-05:00

Although Mike and I are not as rich as Oprah, we decided to put together a list of our favorite things. Don't get excited, there will be no car give aways or paid vacations to Australia. Our list will probably not make you cry, jump up and down or wet yourself but.........

1. Fourth Element..........anything they make! Hoods, gloves, wetsuits and drysuit undergarments. If you saw Mike and I this season, you may have noticed that we were dressed head to boot in Fourth Element. The quality of their neoprene is excellent. If you see us this winter, we are wearing the Fourth Element undergarments under our drysuits. I actually wear mine outside for shoveling snow too....so warm!!

2. Scubapro MK17/ G250V...........the workhorse! One of the best products ever made is the G250 second stage from Scubapro. This balanced adjustable second stage delivers air with little inhalation effort and great air flow. Combining this with the environmentally sealed MK17 first stage means that this regulator is ready for any and all diving conditions. Mike and I both dive this regulator system. We may even have two or three of them!!

3. Aladin TEC 2 computer......multi-gas computer. Easy to operate and download. Mike has the Aladin Galileo Sol air integrated computer, and it is wonderful. It even has a digital compass program !! I have been diving the TEC 2G for years now. No additional software is needed to download profiles of your dives....so no addition $$ on cradles. The price is very reasonable and the computer is very easy to use and understand. A computer like this is perfect to bring on a dive trip if you don't want to bring your BC and regulator.

More favorites to come........

"Get the lead out!"

2010-11-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

Brass diving boots circa 1920'S

The most common problem for new divers is understanding how much weight they actually need. Several factors are involved in determining how much lead will have to be worn into the water.

Are you diving in salt water or fresh water?

-You will be more buoyant in salt water than fresh because salt water is denser. The addition of salt to fresh water increases the density by 2.5%. This means that salt water weighs 2.5% more than an equivalent volume of fresh water.

What type of wetsuit are you wearing?

-Neoprene is a synthetic material that was invented by Dupont in 1930. In diving applications, neoprene provides insulation from the cold because the material is "foamed" with nitrogen gas. The gas pockets cause the material to become very buoyant, so a diver must compensate by wearing weights. The thicker the neoprene, the more weight that is needed to offset its positive buoyancy. A diver wearing a 7mm wetsuit with boots, hood and gloves will need a lot more weight than a diver in a 2mm shorty wetsuit.

A more current style of weight belt!

What are my choices?

There are several new options for weight systems available. Of course, the most important feature of a system is that it can be released with ease in an emergency. The standard weight belt with a right hand release is still common. Many manufacturers make weight integrated BC's with quick release pockets to make divers more comfortable.

Integrated weight system

Need help?

Most divers rely on information obtained in certification courses. A detailed logbook will remind you how much weight was needed in both the pool and ocean training.

The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course is a great continuing education course. This course teaches you how to determine the exact amount of weight needed to be "not too heavy and not to light."

Proper weighting allows you to move smoothly through the water, hover vertically or horizontally and conserve air.

For information on Advanced Openwater and Peak Performance courses, contact us at: seaviewscuba@sbcglobal.net

We are going hunting....scallops.

2010-11-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

Scallops are mollusks, like clams and oysters. They belong to a group called bivalves, meaning the shell consists of two asymmetrical halves joined by a flexible ligament called a hinge. Scallops are found in both bay waters and the sea. The habitat of a sea scallop is a bottom composition of rough cobble, shells, or coarse sand. They do not attach to anything but instead move through the water by opening and closing the shell for propulsion. The muscle that controls the hinge of the shell is large and meaty, and also the goal of our hunting trip.

This year, the scallop excursion begins on a cold morning in Gloucester, Massachusetts. We board the boat with the blustery wind in our faces and prepare for the 1 hour boat ride to scallop territory. The boat captain, Steve always lets us know that we may not find any. Scallop population varies from year to year. A scallop may live as long as twenty years and during that lifetime produce as many as 270 million eggs. Some years though, populations are more scarce.
Our dive begins with a giant stride into water that is 51 degrees. The depth of the dives is about 50 feet and this year visibility was only about 10 feet. In the past we have had great visibility but colder water. I think I prefer warmer water. As you swim along the bottom, the scallops are on the sand making it easy to pick them up and put in your game bag. A thirty minute dive will usually yield about 50 to 75 scallops depending on the site. Once the dive is over, the bag is tied off to the flag and the diver uses the flag line to ascend. On the surface, Captain Steve brings the boat over with great skill to pick up each diver. The boat comes straight for you then turns at the last minute to put the boat ladder within reach. Captain Steve has had many years of practice and it shows. Once all the divers are aboard, the boat circles around to gather up all the scallop bags. Some divers prefer to schuck the scallops while on the boat, while others wait until later.

The end result though, is something pictured here. A lightly sauteed scallop with asparagus and a glass of wine. The perfect ending to a great day of diving.

Destination.....Volund.

2010-11-03T17:22:00.000-04:00

This morning, I was up before the sun scraping the ice from my windshield. Soon, the charter boats in the area will stop running until the spring. I was lucky to get in on one of the last trips of Atlantis Dive Charters. Today's destination was the Volund.
The SS Volund was a Norweigan Freighter built from iron and wood in 1899. It was constructed in Norway and used to transport plaster to Nova Scotia.
On September 26, 1908 it collided with the steamer Commonwealth and sank. Fortunately, no one was killed as a result of the accident.
The wreck of the Volund sits upright and mostly intact in Long Island Sound. The wreck is very dark and covered with a layer of easily disturbed debris. It is a long slow descent to the wreck and once you reach the bottom, a lot of the structure is covered in Northern coral polyps and sea stars. After a tour of the bow section, my dive buddy Pat ran his wreck reel to the stern. Along the way we passed two anchors, the engines and the helm station. We then swam over the back of the wreck and dropped down on the rudder and propellers. The depth at that point of the dive is 107 feet. I was very fortunate to dive with someone so familiar with the site. It is hard to navigate a wreck site the first few times out, especially on a dive site that is so deep and dark.
I thoroughly enjoyed this dive today. It was a wonderful way to end the local wreck season. Now, on to Gloucester for scallops!!

A very spooky dive......a Halloween treat.

2010-10-21T17:34:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I dove the Larchmont. Located 3 miles Southeast of Watch Hill, this is the wreck of a paddle wheel steamer sunk in 1907. The story of its sinking is very sad. On an extremely cold and stormy night in February, the Joy Line Steamer "Larchmont" left port in Providence en route to New York. The winds were strong and the seas very rough when the Schooner Harry Knowlton ran into its side. The two ships collided with such force, they were momentarily stuck together until the rough seas tore them apart again. The gash in the Larchmont was so large that icy water began rushing into the lower decks immediately. There were 150 passengers and 50 crew members taken by surprise when the ship started to sink. Only 19 people were able to survive the freezing conditions. All of the survivors were treated with frostbite and pneumonia.
The dive itself is also a bit spooky. One hundred and three years later, there are just skeletal remains of the paddle wheeler. (No, thankfully nothing of the victims..) It is one of the darkest New England dives I've done. We started out with Atlantis Dive Charters on an absolutely perfect morning. After my dive buddy Pete and I did our giant strides, we started to follow the anchor line down. Normally the light from the surface still lets you see down to the wreck site. On this dive, the surface light cuts out after about 70 feet, leaving you dependant on your dive light. Bob, our Divemaster set the descent line perfectly on the remnants of a paddle wheel. Pete and I set down briefly in the sand at 122 feet to get our bearings. Gary, the captain of Atlantis had told us about the pieces of wood with brass nails that could be found. The site is so dark however, I wanted to keep the ascent line close at all times!! We swam around for a while, looking at the fantastic variety of marine life. The picture above, is the real view of where we ended the dive. After a long slow ascent, we surfaced and agreed that this had been an awesome dive.
Next week....the Grecian with www.atlantis.nu

Great expectations...

2010-10-07T17:12:00.000-04:00

Once you achieve the status of "certified diver", there are a few things you need to do. In order to improve your skills and make diving easier, find a buddy with more experience or take an advanced diving course. The only way to improve is to keep practicing. Diving with someone with more experience will help you to avoid the common mistakes you could make as a new diver. Enrolling in an advanced diving course will allow you more training time with navigation, use of the dive flag, boat diving, night diving and other new experiences under the guidance of a PADI Instructor.
As a certified diver, you are now responsible for keeping up with your skills and physical conditioning. We all know that diving can be strenuous on some occasions, so a good fitness regime is important. Keeping your dive skills refreshed means that if a problem does occur, you will be less likely to panic or make bad decisions.
After any dive, think about the different stages and if you could make any improvements. How could you make the entry and exit easier? How could you use less air and minimize the movements of your hands and fins? Are you a good dive buddy? How much weight do you really need? Just a few things to think about...

It's not over.......

2010-09-28T17:25:00.000-04:00

Some of the best New England diving occurs after the summer is over. The visibility increases because there is less particulate, like fish eggs and algae in the water. The thick eel grass dies down, but the water is still warm enough for a lot of sea creatures to be moving around. Night dives bring out an abundance of lobsters, sea robins, squid and the possibility of tropical fish.
The water temperature in the fall is often warmer than the air temperature. Also, donning a thicker wetsuit is less strenuous in the cooler weather. Although you will not perspire as much getting into the water, bring an extra sweater for after the dive. There is nothing better than enjoying the outdoors on a fall day! We can expect the water to be warmer than 50 degrees into late December.
The fall is also a great time to start practicing with a drysuit. As drysuit prices continue to fall, it might be time to think about extending your season. We dive all winter and sometimes use our drysuits on deeper summer dives. (ie. U-853) Wearing a drysuit requires a bit more training, usually starting with a pool experience before getting into the ocean. If you are interested in discussing the benefits of drysuit diving, give us a call or e-mail. We would be happy to set up an introductory session for you.

You say fluke, I say flounder.......you say summer, I say winter...

2010-07-14T18:58:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest mysteries of the sea (or maybe just to me) is how to tell the difference between winter flounder, summer flounder and fluke. To solve one question, summer flounder and fluke are the same fish. Summer flounder are found in coastal waters from the southern Gulf of Maine to Florida. The Summer flounder, like other species of flatfish have both eyes on one side of its head. Fluke (aka summer flounder) are considered left-handed because both eyes are on the left side of the fish. To clarify, look at the fish as a whole with the dorsal fin ("back-bone"on top. To figure out which side is left or right, imagine the flounder turned on edge like a regular fish with its eyes above the mouth. If the fish has eyes on the left side of the body it is a summer flounder. If the eyes are on the right side, it is a winter flounder.The fish pictured above is a winter flounder we took a picture of at Ft. Wetherill, RI.

A weekend of diving....

2010-05-22T11:40:00.000-04:00

This Sunday we will be completing an Advanced Openwater diving course. The last two dives will take place at Ft. Wetherill State Park in Jamestown, RI. The PADI Advanced Course consists of five specialty dives and is designed to fine tune your abilities after completing your Open Water course. Last Sunday in the pool, the students completed the Peak Performance Buoyancy workshop. We worked on proper weighting, specialized finning techniques and hovering. We also spent time learning how to use lift bags and pony bottles. These two pieces of equipment are frequently used on deep and wreck diving adventures. Thursday, we completed the navigation and night diving specialty requirements. On the night dive we saw lobsters and northern sculpin. The objective of the navigation dive was to be able to do some underwater exploration without getting lost in low visabilty conditions.
This Sunday, we anticipate beautiful weather. It may even be........hot!!! This means that the ocean water is getting warmer and more suitable for long comfortable dives. The deep dive is located on a wall and allows us to gradually reach a depth of 80 feet. The wall is covered with gorgeous anemones and it is common to see skates, sea robins, and tube worms. This is also a great dive for the underwater naturalist and photographer specialty courses. For more information on the Advanced Openwater Course, go to our website. http://www.seaviewscubact.com/

Sexy Saturday - Is there something in the water?

2010-05-08T14:40:00.000-04:00

"What is all that stuff in the water?" This is a common question after completing a spring time dive. The good news is, during the summer months you will see a lot more fish and lobsters. The bad news is, right now you are swimming through their eggs and larvae!
Ichthyoplankton is the scientific term for the eggs and larvae of fish that are found near the surface of the oceans. Most fish larvae drift along with the surface currents until they are developed enough to swim on their own. New England lobster larvae spend the whole summer as free-swimming plankton near the warmer surface layer. Horseshoe crabs produce thousands of eggs and there are many species of jellyfish floating through the water column at all depths.
So what are we swimming with? The list is amazing. Recent studies of Long Island Sound*, have found the larvae from different species of flounder, hake, mackeral, scup, butterfish, horseshoe crabs, lobsters and more. We also see hydromedusa, siphonophores, comb jellies and moon jellies. (all non-stinging)
So next time you go out to Stonington for a dive.......

*http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ct/mtapa/moheganefha.pdf

When animals (fish) attack!!!!

2010-05-01T13:15:00.001-04:00

On our recent trip to Cozumel, I was bitten by a Damselfish! No blood was drawn, but I am sure that if I had not been wearing a full 3mm wetsuit, I might be missing a tiny area of skin! Notoriously territorial, the many species of Damselfish are not afraid to attack divers and chase away intruders. This is very impressive for a fish that is usually only 3 to 6 inches long. Their tiny mouths are lined with sharp teeth.
Damselfish are very aggressive and quickly attack anything within their proximity. After laying approximately 200,00 eggs the female swims away and the male takes over to guard the eggs, attacking everything in sight until they mature and hatch.
I feel special though. The chance of being bitten by a fish underwater is slim. Most fish rely on clever color changes to blend into the environment and avoid being seen by predators. Other species rely on speed and maneuverability to make a quick escape. Pipefish and Seahorses are protected by thick scales and bony plates that make them hard to ingest. The Porcupine fish inflates a spine covered body and Scorpion fish, stingrays and Stonefish have venomous spines to discourage predators.
Most fish are carnivores (meat eaters) that eat shellfish, worms and other fish. Oh, and the occasional diver!

Sexy Saturday "What's love got to do with it?"

2010-03-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

The lobster is a solitary animal. They roam the sea floor looking for food and possibly a fight. When two lobsters meet, there is always a challenge for territory and some fights that occur are "to the death." The only time two lobsters may inhabit the same burrow is during a brief mating encounter. Once a female has molted and her shell is still soft, she may allow a male to tickle her shell (or fancy) with his antennae. If she is receptive, the male lobster enters the burrow. While raising on his tail and claws, the male uses his legs to flip the female over. The male lobster has a pair of hardened swimmeretts, or fins that he will use to pass a gelatinous blob of sperm to the female. The female has a recepticle on her shell located along her swimmeretts which will be used to store the sperm until fertilization. The female can store the sperm for several months until the egg-laying season in July and August. When a female produces fertilized eggs she fans them away to disperse with the current. These planktonic larvae float along the surface for 4 to 6 weeks. After molting five times, they are about an inch long. At this time they swim to the bottom to start their sedentary lives.
The female lays about 50,000 eggs during a mating season, but only 2 will generally survive to a legal catch size for lobstering. It takes 5 to 7 years for a lobster to grow to be one pound.

Sexy Saturday - Horseshoe Crabs

2010-03-12T18:48:00.000-05:00

It's almost time for the horseshoe crabs again. In the cold winter months, they go to deeper water and bury in the mud, waiting for spring. (Like the rest of us!) As we start diving regularly again, we always see mating pairs of horseshoe crabs scooting around on the bottom. Here is their story;
The American Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) is not actually related to a crab at all. They are more closely related to scorpions, ticks and land spiders. They are however, one of the longest surving species, with a design basically unchanged in 250 million years. Their hard curved shell makes it difficult for predators to turn them over and they can adapt to big changes in temperature and salinity. A horseshoe crab can go without eating for almost a year if necessary.
Each spring during a new moon or full moon high tide, male horseshoe crabs start migrating in toward the shoreline. Once the females start to arrive, the males release a pheromone into the water to attract them and use their compound eyes to spot a potential mate. Once a female has been selected, the smaller male uses a glove-like claw to attach to her shell. The female then drags the male in toward the beach. Every few feet on shore, the female digs and deposits as many as 20,000 eggs. The male fertilizes the eggs as he is pulled over the nest.
A female may lay as many as 90,000 eggs each season, but with very high predatory rates only about 10 percent survive to adulthood. The eggs of the horseshoe crab are an important source of food for migratory shorebirds, and many species of fish feed on larvae or recently molted juvenilles.
For more information, NOAA has a whole website devoted to the the horseshoe crab. http://www.http//www.ceoe.udel.edu/horseshoecrab/

The best is yet to come.......

2010-03-09T11:35:00.000-05:00

We went scuba diving on Sunday. How could we resist a sunny day with temperatures in the fifties? It was wonderful. Although the water temperature was only 37 degrees, we knew that it was the last time that it would be that cold. Now, with each passing day of warmth, the water will get warmer and warmer. Drysuits will be put back in the closet and the wetsuits will be donned.
The visabilty on Sunday was great, allowing us to drift apart while still keeping an eye on our buddies. We saw sand worms starting to wiggle about and a few very small creatures which we will have to look up in our reference books.
We are looking forward to a great season for diving this year. There are wreck dives scheduled and our Advanced Diver course starts next Tuesday. If you are interested in a refresher course, call us or e-mail. There is so much great diving to be done in our area, and it would be our pleasure to help you experience it.
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Sexy Saturdays

2010-02-27T15:50:00.001-05:00

STOP in the name of love........ The Stoplight Parrotfish is a coral reef dwelling fish that can change sex. These fish are generally located throughout Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean. In the initial phase of life, the Spotlight Parrotfish could either be male or female. In many cases, all fish begin life as females and change later in areas that lack breeding males or females. Fish in the initial phase are usually drab colors of red, grey, brown or black. After the third year of life, a female may change into a male. This is refered to as the "terminal phase." A male that was once a female is called a "Supermale" and will generally pair with one female to spawn. A male that has not changed is called a "primary male" and will generally mate with several females. A Supermale is very colorful with combinations of bright green, yellow, blue and red.
The Spotlight Parrotfish spawns all year long, but has greater activity during the summer months. Males and females migrate into deeper areas of the reef to spawn. The fertilized eggs are negatively buoyant and hatch within 25 hours to release larvae. These larvae have no eyes, mouth or pigmentation for the first three days.
A Spotlight Parrotfish can live up to ten years and can also undergo sex reversals at any time during their terminal phase.

"I wanna live forever...."

2010-02-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

The fish with the shortest lifespan is the Pygmy Goby. This fish is hatched, grows up, reproduces and then dies within 59 days. The Pygmy Goby (Eviota sigillata) is typically found in the Great Barrier Reef, or on the shallow reefs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Hatched from tiny eggs, the young gobies have been vigorously protected by their father. A male goby will watch over the eggs while fanning them with his fins to provide more oxygen. Once they develop as ocean larvae (3 weeks) , they settle onto a coral reef and grow to sexual maturity (10 days). During her short lifetime, a female will lay three clutches of about 130 eggs. This means that the Pygmy Goby species produces a new generation every 49 days, and up to 7 generations a year.

The Pygmy Goby is only about 1/2 inch long. In order to determine age, scientist cut into the goby's "otoliths" or small stones in the head. These stones record the fish's age with growth rings, much like measuring the age of a tree. Scientist attribute the "live fast, die young" pattern as an evolutionary response to predation. The gobies lose at least 1/12 of their population every day to natural predation.

A "Valentine" Sexy Saturday

2010-02-13T10:25:00.000-05:00

"Do you take this seahorse....."

That's right, a seahorse mates for life. In the wild, a seahorse will pick a partner for one or more breeding seasons. The courtship of a seahorse is a lovely display of color and dance. Several days before mating, a seahorse couple will link tails and swim together in synchronized movement. They change colors with vibrant displays that last for hours. In fact, even after the breeding season has ended, a seahorse couple will greet each other daily with a dance display before separating for the rest of the day.
During the mating season, the males prepare their brood pouch by filling it with water. As the male opens his pouch wide, the female "docks" and deposits 200 to 600 eggs during their dance. The male then swishes his body back and forth to distribute the eggs within the pouch. The male then holds the developing babies for 3 to 6 weeks. When the babies are ready to be released, the male suffers labor pains as he pumps and thrusts to expel the tiny bodies. The baby seahorses are generally one centimeter long and must immediately fend for themselves. Please see the January 15th blog on this site for a picture of this event. Although a seahorse will only live a few years, a mating couple can produce between 50 and 200 babies each mating season. Happy Valentines Day!

Sexy Saturdays

2010-02-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

Are there male and female jellyfish?

The answer is "yes". Jellyfish have reproductive organs called gonads. When the time comes to make new jellyfish, a male releases sperm through its mouth into the water column. A passing female siphons some of the swimming sperm and fertilization occurs within the body or in brood pouches. These brood pouches are located on the oral arms of the jellyfish. After some early development, small swimming larvae leave the body or brood pouch. Once in the water column, they attach to solid rock or shells on the sea floor. They transform into polyps which feed on microscopic organisms passing by. Eventually these polyps multiply and form stacks of larvae discs called ephra. After months of development, each of these stacked ephra break off and develop into a adult or Medusa jellyfish.

Homboldt Squid in California waters

2010-02-04T13:03:00.000-05:00

The Homboldt Squid were first discovered deeper than a thousand feet in 1997 by submersible cameras. There were only sporatic sightings throughout the years, until this week. As of last Friday, fishermen off the California coast have been catching their limit of these Jumbo Squid also known as Diablo Rojo (Red Devils).

The squid are normally found in depths of 660 to 2300 feet in the Humboldt Current area of South America. Some researchers attribute their new presence to changes in populations of both predators and prey. The drop in Pacific Hake population, a species of whitefish is affecting their normal food source and forcing them into shallower water. Overfishing of sharks, large tuna and swordfish allows the Jumbo Squid to hunt more easily.

These Jumbo Squid have a life span of just one year, but can reach as much as 100lbs. and up to 6 feet in length. They hunt in schools of 1200 or more and can swim at speeds up to 15mph. It will be interesting to track their activity now that they have "made contact" with humans. There is no way of knowing how long they will be around, but with so many anglers out trying to catch them, probably not very long.

Cozumel, Mexico

2010-01-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

Close your eyes.......no wait....read this first.

Imagine getting off the plane and feeling a warm tropical breeze on your skin. That breeze can touch you because you are wearing shorts and a t-shirt, not the four layers you are currently wearing. You squint against the bright sun as you don your sunglasses. A friendly Mexican staff member offers you a cold cerveza or an icy tropical punch. As you walk to your suite, you stop to dip your toes in the largest pool on the island. That evening you feast at one of the restaurants in your all-inclusive meal package. You relax and laugh with your friends and new dive buddies.

The next morning you do a giant stride into the clear ocean waters of Chancanab Reef. You find yourself surrounded by Queen Angelfish and Blue Tangs. Under some of the reef formations you find Nurse Sharks and the Splendid Toadfish. Later in the week you find yourself drifting effortlessly through the water, floating by the Santa Rosa Wall and The Devils Throat.

At the end of the day you sit by the pool and enjoy the sun with a good book.

Okay....now close your eyes.......April 20th through 27

For details go to www.seaviewscubact.com

2010-01-24T19:21:00.000-05:00

On Friday, Ken and I (Mike) went out for our first New England dive of 2010. Just a shallow dive during the day to see what we could see at Stonington point. We thought we would head north and keep our eyes open for any new glass. The water temperature was 39 degrees and the visibility was terrific. On our 46 minute dive, we saw a lot of different sea stars and crabs. There were also plenty of lobsters in the pots. We are planning to do it again next friday.
2 thumbs up to my 4th element arctic wear undergaments. NO chill at all on the dive.

2010-01-18T08:53:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, for our first confined water session of 2010 we had a full schedule. 5 new OW students, 1 OW refresher, 1 Drysuit introduction, 2 get the cobwebs out/get ready for vacation/does my suit still fit divers, and 1 where is my drysuit leaking pool diver. All of the students did a fantastic job and it felt good for us to get back to teaching after a holiday break. Looking forward to next Sunday!

incredible photo

2010-01-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

While our first PADI OW Class of 2010 was was watching the chapter 1 video, I decided to check out the Seaview Scuba Facebook page. One of our friends has posted THE MOST INCREDIBLE photo and I am going to try to paste it here.

Practice makes perfect...

2010-01-15T15:18:00.000-05:00

We all take Scuba Diving lessons for the promise of adventure. We want to breathe in the underwater world and see things our non-diving friends can't imagine. Like skiing however, we will never be able to get all the way down the hill without practice. After completing your open water sessions and receiving your certification card, you need to dive again and again to hone the skills needed to be a proficient diver.

On the ski slopes, the Diamond and Double-Diamond trails present the challenges for an avid skier. In diving, the challenges may be night diving, navigating back to the beach or exploring a wreck. Within diving, accomplishments are measured in perfection of buoyancy, navigation and air consumption. Just as a skier tries to avoid a fall, the practiced diver tries to prevent touching a coral reef, stirring up sediment, running low on air or getting lost.

In this new season of diving, challenge yourselves to be better divers. We know that diving is hard, but so are most sports that we begin. Invest the time and effort and you will be rewarded with increased confidence and more bottom time.