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Basic Kit List
Although when you first start to dive you will probably hire club equipment, as it is usually included in the price of the course, it is a good idea to start accumulating your own kit if you plan to carry on. The order in which I list things below is probably a good order to get your kit in…
Mask and Snorkel
Masks come in all shapes and sizes and can range from about £10 to £700 depending on style and technology. Something in the £30 to £40 mark should get you a decent mask that will last. If possible, try using different types of mask at your school before buying one, so you know what style and shape works best for you.
If you have a prescription, you can get lenses for your mask that are made especially for you allowing you to see everything underwater – which makes for a much more enjoyable dive! You can wear contact lenses, but if your mask floods, there is a good chance your contacts will get washed away. Obviously that can be a problem if you have a strong prescription and can’t see enough to surface safely.
Sometimes you can buy a snorkel with a mask as a set. They are much of a muchness really, some have one way output valves at the bottom near the mouth, and others have splash guards on the top. Go with what ever you feel like really! With PADI, the snorkel is an essential part of your kit, but BSAC regard the snorkel as optional.
Wetsuit, Gloves and Hood
The type of wetsuit you will want will depend completely on where you will be diving. You can get long ones,
shortones, one piece, two piece. Personally, I have a two piece consisting of a full length wetsuit that is 8mm thick and a shorty that is 7mm. These can be worn one at a time or both at the same time depending on the temperature of the water. In Australia, I just wore the long one, when I was in Guernsey, I wore both!
Another thing to look out for is whether the wetsuits are wet or semidry. As far a I know, most diving wetsuits are generally semi-dry. This means that they have seals at the ankles, wrists and neck, so once the wetsuit has filled with water, it is held more effectively against your skin, so once your body has warmed it, it won’t go anywhere.
Some wetsuits come with a hood built in, or with a separate hood as part of a package. Make sure you get one of these, even if you plan on diving only in warm countries. We all know the well known saying that you lose most of your heat through your head, well underwater it is 10 times worse! Diving at night when the temperature may well be quite a bit cooler than the day, it will be handy to have one.
Similarly with gloves, they are good to have incase it gets a bit cold. Although you maybe asked specifically not to wear gloves when diving some dive sites such as wrecks or reefs. This is supposed to stop you from touching and so preserving whatever it is you are diving.
Boots and Fins
There are 2 types of fins. One you wear boots and put your fins on over the boots, and the other type is the combined one where you put fins on bare feet. If you will be diving in colder water, boots and fins will be the better option as the boots provide more insulation against the cold. In warm water, either type would do. Personally I would recommend getting boots and fins, if only for the fact that you can protect your feet while walking down a rocky beach for a shore dive! Plus you can use the boots for other activities other than diving – I use mine when I go windsurfing!
Diving with a Period
One thing that seems to worry women above all else is the possibility of a shark attack when we are on our period while diving! Personally, I had never even thought about it – and I was diving in the Red Sea with a period one year. So we’ll talk about that, and we’ll also discuss increased risk of DCI/DCS (decompression illness/sickness), taking medications such as Norethisterone, OCP (oral contraceptive pill) or painkillers, using tampons and other issues you might encounter while you are diving with your period (of course this info could be useful to men too so you can pass it on to your lady buddies!)
Shark Attack!
Okay, first thing is first – statistically, you are not at any disadvantage by being on your period when it comes to getting a sharks attention! There are stories of women diving for 10 years and never having any incidents involving sharks while they were on their period and there are also stories of women saying the fact they were on their period got a sharks attention. While it is true that sharks can smell blood in the water from a long way away, the blood molecules have to physically get that far, which will take some time. Plus there would have to be a fair amount of blood in the water for the sharks to think a snack might be on the cards and the amount of blood you might leak would be negligible (you stop bleeding when you get in the water anyway).
If you need any more reasons after all that you could also include the fact that the vast majority of sharks wouldn’t be remotely interested in a human meal at all – they eat fishes, seals and other marine creatures. If you still don’t believe me – read this - Sharks as Predators of Humans
DCI/DCS
While there are studies linking the first week of the female cycle with increased risk of DCI,most of these studies were conducted in the aerospace industry and for medical hyperbaric therapy, so hasn’t actually been done in relation to sports diving. However, there are several in recent times that have been to do with diving, and instead of trying to tell you about it, I’ll just quote:
The third and largest study (St. Leger-Dowse M, Gunby A, Moncad R, Fife C, Morsman J, Bryson P) of its kind was published this year in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The work was carried out by the UK-based charity, the Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC), which, for 25 years, has been conducting research on the effects of the undersea environment on humans. One project has involved collecting female-specific data from recreational divers for the past 16 years, starting with a comparative study between men and women divers in the early 1990s.
In this latest study (I headed up the research team) a large number of female recreational scuba divers kept diving and menstrual diaries for up to three consecutive years. This was a Herculean task started in the 1990s and designed to study any interaction between reported problems during diving (RPDD) and the day in a typical 28-day menstrual cycle. Five hundred and seventy women took part, with 61 percent returning diaries for the full three consecutive years. More than 50,000 dives with more than 11,000 menstrual cycles were recorded, making this the largest study of its kind.
Sixty five per cent of women reported at least one problem during diving, including an inability to cope with equipment; feeling colder than usual; inablilty to control buoyancy; symptoms of DCI; feeling unwell; and an inability to cope with low visibility.
Additionally, there were reports of feelings of nitrogen narcosis, inability to clear ears, and feelings of uncertainty and panic. Because of the way the data from the diaries were gathered, we knew the time in every single menstrual cycle of every single dive, and therefore we knew the time in the cycle of every reported diving problem.
So although there might not be a direct link – you could find yourself having one or more other problems with diving at any given point during your cycle. So us women need to look after ourselves and make sure we know where we are in our cycles and when we are likely to run into difficulties while diving.
Norethisterone
Although I don’t condone taking any kind of drug that interferes with your hormones (my Mum is a hormone specialist!), many women do use Norethisterone as a way of postponing the period until they are back from their holiday or diving trip. There is no problem with having your period while diving, but some women take it in order to avoid the extra hassle/potential mess! There is no danger in taking this drug, nor in not taking this drug – it is completely your choice!
Oral Contraception Pill
Again – I don’t condone these pills, but there are many reasons why women might take these from slowing heavy periods to contraceptive reasons, but other than throwing your normal
hormones out of whack, they won’t cause any damage with regards to diving. I’m so not going to keep writing, otherwise I’ll start to sound like my Mum! :) Not that that is a bad thing of course – I’l always being told how I look like her – but I think you might get bored! (If you are interested you can find some articles on how hormone therapy affects your natural hormone levels at www.bio-vitality.com – I’ll let my Mum tell you!!)
Painkillers
If you are crippled by period pains or even any other kind of injury, the first thing you need to make sure is that you are confident you are capable of diving – is anything going to hinder you rescuing your buddy? If you have to take painkillers, that’s fine, but you don’t want to take anything that will give you side effects such as feeling sleepy. Anything that advises you not to operate heavy machinery after taking probably isn’t a good idea to take while diving. You need to be sure that you have both the mental capacity and physical capacity to cope with just about anything that presents an issue during your dive. Other than that – no probs!!
Tampons
One thing I hear a lot about is how tampons blow up to gargantuan proportions when they get wet, but if you put them in before you get in the water (do I need to say that??) then when you get in the water, your vagina seals and no water will get in. From the point of view from within your vagina, you wouldn’t know whether you were in the water or not – omg, what a picture that conjures…
There is no danger to wearing a tampon from it swelling at all due to the water, and similarly there is no risk with DCI from wearing a tampon. People have also raised the question as to weather it creates an air pocket and therefore a squeeze with pressure change. The answer is that apart from the fact that there would not be any air in your vagina, a tampon is not airtight, so air can get past it in both directions if it needs to – so no worries there either!
Hydration
We know that de-hydration can exacerbate DCI problems, and we also know that it can be easier to get dehydrated during “that time of the month”, so make sure you stay hydrated when you are diving with your period – especially if you are on holiday and are diving in a warmer country than you are used to!
I think I’ve covered most people’s worries in this article, but comment if you have any questions!
Winter Diving
I just had to share this with you, I found it on the BSAC website:
Winter Diving
If I have a favorite time of year to go diving it has to be in the early part of spring as new life is just starting to get going. However, a very close second is winter diving, especially in Scotland.There is little to match a crisp February or March day with a sharp frost, or even snow on the ground, for clearing away the cobwebs and giving you that good to be alive feeling. The anticipation of entering the mirror calm but apparently black water is tempered by an expectation of the chill it will offer, only to be rewarded by the relative warmth of the water and the sheer enjoyment of being in this unique environment that few people get to see. The only difficult bit is the reluctance to leave the water for the cold of the surface and getting changed. But the final reward of a post dive drink beside a roaring fire in the local hostelry and the smug satisfaction of a rewarding day’s activity put the final icing on the cake.
Jim Watson (BSAC Safety & Development manager)
It reminds me of when I was learning to dive – we were down at Horsea Island in Portsmouth doing our early sheltered water dives – in January I remember it was hard to get out of bed because I knew how freezing it was outside, but I did get out of bed – and I was first in the water. It was freezing cold, but boy I felt great when I was out and dressed again.
Diving Chihuahua
Wish I could kit my poodle up like this – I’m sure he’d love to join me on a dive! 
Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
Sphyrna lewini
Introduction
The Scalloped Hammerhead is the most common species of hammerhead that you will find in coastal regions.
Where Will I Find Them?
Warm and tropical coastal waters between about 46 degrees North and 36 degrees South are the waters in which you will usually find these sharks. They often come close to shore and into enclosed bays and estuaries, but you will also find them out at sea down to a depth of around 275 meters.
What Do They Look Like?
Most hammerhead that divers encounter are 2 to 2 1/2 meters in length, but the average length of males is about 3 meters and for females, it is a little longer. The largest recorded length is at least 3.7 meters and it is thought that there are a few individuals that maybe over 4 meters.
The Scalloped Hammerhead can be distinguished by the arched front edge of the head that has a prominent central dent. You can see from the picture below the difference between the Great Hammerhead and the Scalloped Hammerhead.
The skin of the shark is a uniform grey, brown-grey or olive on the top, fading to white on the underside. On young sharks, the edges of the pectoral fins are darker, and they usually lighten up as the animal gets older.
What Do They Eat?
Scalloped Hammerheads generally feed on bony fishes, squid, octopus and cuttlefishes, but also sometimes eat lobsters, shrimps, crabs, other sharks and rays and occasionally the odd tasty diver. Oops, sorry – I didn’t mean that last bit 
What is Their Usual Behaviour?
These sharks tend to stick together in groups, which may be for feeding and reproducing reasons. Although some people say their group behaviour is for protective reasons, these sharks have few little threat from predators when they reach full maturity.
Humans have little to fear from Scalloped Hammerheads as they are not aggressive, and any incidents involving humans were probably more to do with fear on the shark’s part. So don’t scare the poor little sharky – if you do…I have no sympathy!!
What is Their Conservation Status?
The Scalloped Hammerhead is classified as Lower Risk/near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This means that they are not Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable, but they are relatively close to qualifying for Vulnerable.
References
www.marinebio.org
www.sharkinfo.ch
SCUBACRAFT
The SCUBACRAFT seems to be all over the web this month, so I thought I’d join the hoards of people who wish they had one of these things!
Basically, it is a boat that is capable of going 50mph on the surface of the water, and can then dive to a max depth of 50 metres! As it isn’t an enclosed vehicle, the driver/skipper and any passengers will have to wear scuba gear – but talk about making an entrance to a dive site! You can just imagine that – all these people who have got up early so their boat can get a decent spot near a wreck, then you pop up a bit later and just dive – IN YOUR BOAT – to the dive site, park up and go for your dive! Brilliant!
There are two models planned – the SC3 – which is a 3 seater, and the SC6 – which is, yes you guessed it – a 6 seater! The SC3 is currently in the prototype stage and the SC6 is planned, but not been built yet. Predicted timeframes suggest the first few should be delivered to their new owners by the end of 2010. The prices aren’t advertised on the website, but different sources say that the price is around £100,000 or $164,000.
So a 2011 delivery date will give me a chance to save a bit of money
If you want to know more -have a mooch around their website: www.scubacraft.com
DVD: The Big Blue
Summary
Jacques and Enzo spend their days as young boys free diving in the Med until Jacques’ father dies in a tragic accident. Years later Jacques is working with some scientists who monitor his almost dolphin-like state while he is diving. He meets Johanna who has come to sort out an insurance issue. She has to return home before she gets to know Jacques, so when she hears that Jacques will be in Italy for some diving championships, she makes up a story to get her firm to send her to Italy. Enzo is also there at the championships – he actually orchestrated for Jacques to be there. The story is essentially about the difficult relationship between Jacques and Johanna as well as the rivalry between Jacques and Enzo.
Review
It’s long! I think this is one you should watch if you are interested in diving, if only so you can say you’ve watched it. I found it a little long, but I did quite enjoy it. I also know people who thought it was a waste of time. If you have the opportunity to watch it, give it a chance – some of the underwater cinematography was captivating – but then I wish I lived underwater, so there you are!
IMDB link: Le Grand Bleu
Where can I buy it?
Amazon links to both US and UK stores:
BSAC
BSAC stands for the British Sub-Aqua Club.
To steal a paragraph from their website:
We are the UK’s leading dive club and the sport’s National Governing Body, providing an internationally-recognised diver training and development programme via a network of clubs and centres across the country and overseas.
They formed in 1953, and their primary role is to promote safe diving practices within the UK, as they are also the National Governing Body for Underwater Activities. There are BSAC courses for the whole range of divers, from beginner to advanced:
Ocean Diver
This course provides the essential knowledge and skills needed to prepare for open water diving. The Ocean Diver course prepares for this in the safety of a swimming pool or sheltered water and an introduction to open water in a controlled, safe manner. Experience and confidence will be gained under the guidance of a qualified instructor. Maximum depth – 20m.
Sports Diver
Sports Diver training builds a sound foundation of open water diving skills and experience with structured, practical lessons. Qualified Sports Divers are ready to take part in dives with other Sports Divers or higher. Depth can be built progressively to a maximum of 35m after qualfying.
Sports Divers can embark on the first stage of the route of instruction.
Dive Leader
Dive Leader training covers responsibilities and safety of leading other divers. Practical lessons will give divers confidence to deal with emergencies. Leading a dive will develop enjoyment, confidence and experience as a diver.
Depth can be built progressively to a maximum of 50m after qualfying.
Dive Leaders are eligible to progress to Open Water Instructor.
Advanced Diver
The Advanced Diver course further develops knowledge and skills. Divers gain experience in planning dives at different sites and different circumstances. Additional experience will be gained in using small boats, chartwork. navigation and many other related skills. BSAC consider this grade as being a fully trained diver.
Advanced Divers are eligible to progress to Advanced Instructo
First Class Diver
BSAC’s highest diving grade which requires a higher than average level of theoretical knowledge, organisational and personal diving skills. BSAC First Class Divers are assessed through nationally conducted examinations.
You can find your nearest club by clicking here
