Showing posts with label scuba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scuba. Show all posts

What's a good girl to wear?

23 July 2009 Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The pool session.

This is probably the first time since childhood swimming lessons you'll be asked to participate in a class in a bathing suit. And for those who are not avid swimmers or pageant models, this may be one of the toughest parts of your open water class.

The bathing suit. One piece? Two piece? Shirt over? Shorts over? Full wetsuit?

Ideally, if you have a light wetsuit (1mm or 3mm shorty or full) it's not a bad thing to wear in the pool. Though the pool is usually 82 - 86 degrees Fahrenheit, water pulls heat away from our body much faster than air, so women without extra insulation can become chilled during a two hour pool session.

Bikini? Not really the best bet. In the scuba industry, chances are you'll have a predominantly male staff working with you in the pool. Distraction for this group rates high when a female student dons a bikini. Let them focus on scuba instruction.

One piece. Much better choice than the bikini, however, you are going to be doing two skills which deserve some attention in this article.

The first skill, Alternate Airsource with ascent to the surface. You'll be giving the other person your alternate airsource, then reaching with your right hand to grab the shoulder strap of the BCD for ascent. This can be uncomfortable if matched with an unknown male student if too much cleavage is revealed.

The second skill, Tired Diver push, requires your buddy to fully inflate you and have you lie on your back while they put their regulator in their mouth, one of your feet on each of their shoulders and push you towards the edge. Their head is right in line for a stellar crotch shot, and now is not the time for any creepage or slippage from a bathing suit.

My favorite outfit is a pair of board shorts with a rash guard top. I usually wear a swimsuit underneath, for added modesty, as a rash guard is not opaque enough without an undertop. The rash guard provides chest coverage, as well as preventing chaffing from the BCD straps. The board shorts make all underwater swimming free from the worry of a swimsuit out of place.
If a bikini is available, it's a great underlayer, as any needed stops at the restroom are easier in a two piece.

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College Credit for PADI Classes

03 May 2009 Labels: , , , , , ,

When I was in college, I was not...well, shall we say, "athletically gifted". I've always lived by the philosophy, if it's flying at you, DUCK! So, volleyball, softball and basketball were never sports I spent very much time with.

I did take PE in college...one quarter of badmitton and two quarters of golf. This taught me to be savvy in the boardroom, as I wasn't going to be making any points on the course.

One of the reasons I'm a PADI Instructor is the high quality of educational materials PADI provides to the students. The PADI education department takes their position seriously, to the point, certain PADI courses are recommended by the American Council of Education f0r college credit.

According to the PADI website:

A university or college may use the ACE credit recommendations in a variety of ways. The institution may apply the credit to your major replacing a required course. They may also use the credit as a general elective to possibly waive a prerequisite course.

Universities and colleges that accept ACE credit recommendations for PADI or EFR courses typically handle them like transfer credit. Transfer credit is often awarded without an additional fee. This may save you tuition fees while at the same time allowing you to possibly meet graduation requirements.

For more information, check out the PADI site HERE , then sign up for the next GirlDiver scuba course for a college credit which really WILL open up a new world!

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UW Photo Club - How to attract loyalists to your dive shop

22 March 2009 Labels: , , , , , , ,

If I were to have a store...

The GirlDiver model will never have a "traditional shop". It's just not part of the plan. While I would, eventually, like to have a "learning center", we will not have a scuba store as the industry see's scuba stores.



One of my favorite stores in the Northwest is Underwater Sports Federal Way. These guys do alot of things very right. They hold club meetings on the same day every month, so people can attend, they offer trips locally and abroad, they have a knowledgeable staff that DIVE and instruct classes.





Their newest "done right" is the Underwater Photo Club. They had an initial meeting last fall, where pro photographers led the meeting. The group of fledgling uw photographer wanna-be's left the meeting dazed and confused. In the discussion of F Stops, white balance and aperture, most just wanted to know what the difference was between the all of buttons on the back of their cameras. This wasn't a college class.





In comes Britany Shelton, new instructor extraordinairre!! Britany has only been teaching scuba for a few months, so she doesn't know that you can only do things the way things have always been done. She wanted to learn more about underwater photography. So, she started the "one meeting club" up again. AND DECIDED TO LEAD IT.





I'll be the first to say that this is the blind leading the blind. But that's the reason for it's success.





As Britany sets out to educate herself on underwater photography, she invites the club to go along. Each month the club meets together for "the lesson". This is the culmination of one month of research for Brit...and she takes it very seriously. She becomes the expert at "the rule of thirds" or "white balance"...whatever the "lesson" is going to be.





They have the lesson, then receive an assignment. Maybe it's Sunflower Starfish. Over the next month, the group needs to shoot a Sunflower Starfish and try to make it different, or use the lesson, to achieve one stellar shot, which is then shared the next month at the PhotoShootOut.





I'm not into underwater photography, but if I were, this is the place I'd be. If you are, and you're in the Pacific Northwest, stop by to check this group out. It's how a Photo Club should be run! Good job Brit...and I LOVE your enthusiasm!!!

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The 1 Thing All Women have in Common

20 March 2009 Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


The one thing all women have in common: XX chromosones.


That's it...that's all. Other than that, we're all pretty individual.


I'm a female in the scuba world who likes land excursions. I don't want to dive five dives per day for seven days. I want two dives per day and an afternoon in the jungle. Or maybe five dives one day and the Mayan ruins the next.


Does that mean ALL women want land time? No.


One of my diving friends only dives tropical. She won't brave the chillier waters of the Puget Sound, no matter what I've tempted her with. It's too cold and the gear is too heavy.


Does that mean ALL women want to dive tropical and look at brightly colored fishies? No.


We're as different amongst ourselves as each of the sea creatures we gaze upon. And while the dive manufacturers have discovered that we exist, we are still seen as 1.


We don't all want pink on our BCD's and wetsuits. Though some of us do.


We don't all have a size 8 hips, chest and torso. Though some of us do.


Even amongst the size 8's, we are not the same.


The manufacturers who market to us are starting to come around. We'll know we've arrived as female divers when the "female specific" lines become a little more "female general" and see us as separate and uniquely built consumers who don't all fit into 1 mold.

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MaST Program

07 March 2009 Labels: , , , , , , , ,


Today the water in the Puget Sound was choppy. Uh...no...it was downright surf like. And while California divers brave the surf and think nothing of it, my Advanced Open Water class chose not to breach the surf, rather, we did a bit of surface fish sighting.


The MaST program (Marine and Science Technologies) is a pet project of mine. Based at the old commercial training dock at Redondo Beach in Des Moines, Washington, it offers the public, both here and away, a look under the water of the Puget Sound.


I've been the Volunteer Dive Coordinator for the program and have gone on collection dives for tank residents. My interest in the center is two fold.


First, it offers kids, the most important generation in any time period, a chance to develop an appreciation for marine life and an understanding of why we need to preserve the marine habitats where we live.


My other interest is in building a program. The MaST program is headed towards having a diver in a full face mask with a camera film and talk to kids on the surface about the creatures they are encountering. Not only the kids dockside...but kids as far away as South Africa, via the technology that is available to us today.


For more information on this program see HERE or to get involved with help as an interpreter or diver, contact me and I'll get you placed in the program.

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What a difference a year makes!

27 January 2009 Labels: , , , , , ,


My friend, Sacha Blue, was clicking through her internet, unable to sleep...when over on my "GirlDiver MySpace Blog" she came across an entry written exactly one year ago today.



"It's snowing, sleeting, frigid...and I've got students out for Open Water dives. The instructor most responsible for my upbringing as a diver once said, "Instructors are never cold, tired or hungry." I don't agree.While I'm not going to whine to my students about it...I AM going to acknowledge that "Yes...we are cold and tired. And...the water will be here another day." I have a student who came over 500 miles for training with me. And he said he'd rather make the trip again than to get too cold. Cheers to him!My new goal...to have built a big enough instructional business by December, that in December and January, I'll take a bit of land time. One of my staff can take those classes.Someone else can tell the students that they're not cold in 35 degree weather."


While the significance to her was a bit different, I'm sitting in Mexico today with students in 80 degree water. I haven't built a big enough staff to take over classes, but I'm confident the staff is coming. I DO have staff now. Last year, Leigh Ann was my only staff, and now I have a complete team. And today....I won't be telling my students they are cold.

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The List

30 October 2008 Labels: , , , , , , ,

50 things to accomplish by Age 50. Deadline: October 1, 2017.

Build a million dollar business, not for the money, but more as a benchmark of serving others
Live on a sailboat
Live in a foreign country
Have Christmas in a snow laden cabin
Swim with Stellar Sea Lions in Hornby
Experience kite surfing
Learn to watercolor
Trek thru Nepal
Ride an elephant thru the jungle
Get my motorcycle endorsement
Buy a motorscooter
Spend the winter in Colorado
Raft the North Platte River
Canyoneer in Bryce Canyon
Ride the Seattle to Portland bike ride
Take Kiley to New York for Christmas
Take Micah to New Orleans for Jazz
Spend a stormy winters day at Kalaloch Lodge
Stay at the Bellagio
Learn to build websites
Get into photography for my own articles
Finish my quilt
Get dressed to the 9’s with a place to go on New Years Eve
Join the Tacoma Elks club
Girlfriend trip with Kathy
Return to Trinidad…skip Tobago
Eat bushrat and see the Zambezi in Zambia
Donate 20 classes to worthy causes
Dive the Bermuda Triangle
Put together a scuba program to help at-risk teen girls
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Volunteer 7 days straight at the Tacoma Rescue Mission at Christmas
Learn to both shoot and load a handgun
Create 20 web videos promoting scuba as a “fun” sport for women
Dive the Artic
Put together a “teen toy drive” for teens at the Family Shelter at Christmas
Dive Palau
GirlDiver West Coast Tour
Visit Indonesia
Blog for 50 days straight
Bike thru Vietnam
Attend a gala charity event
Ireland…pubs, dives and castles
Ride in a helicopter
Dive the North Carolina Wrecks
Ice Diving
Dive with an aggressive species of shark
Design and plant a yard…and stay there long enough to watch it bloom
Freedive
Thailand Girl Tour…massage, aromatherapy, yoga, culinary delights…oh, and a bit of diving too!

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50 by 50

29 October 2008 Labels: , , , , , , , , ,


My friend (and student) Sacha Blue introduced me to a new way of goal setting. A goal is simply a dream with a deadline, so Sacha, at 28 years old, came up with the 30 things she wished for by age 30. Her dream list can be found here.


I’ve passed thirty…and forty. So, luckily, I’ve a bit of time until I hit 50, and to undertake such a huge list, I’ll need the extra time.


A dream with a deadline. At 50, when I look back over my list, I’ll have amazing memories of adventures and people met along the way. Things accomplished that, perhaps, would have remained dreams, if not for the deadline.


To accomplish this list will be relatively easy…even though the list itself is pretty staggering. But if I break it down into chunks…yearly samplings of 5 or 6 things, then it becomes manageable. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.


Tomorrow I’ll post the list…but today…think about those things that need to go on your list. If you don’t make your own, please continue to check in on mine…as someday, hopefully you’ll join me on creating an amazing life.


The ones others watch on t.v.

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Scuba Barbie?

27 October 2008 Labels: , , , , , , , , ,


This past week was DEMA 2008. The industry convention where money is traded among the dive empires to offer new gear, travel and clothing to the masses.


I was there as an editor for XRay Magazine. (Love press badges!!) My assignment? What’s new and exciting in the world for GirlDivers?


It was this simple question that I posed to the seated gatekeepers at the front of the major equipment manufacturer displays. The two unsuspecting parties would look at each other, as if I were speaking Swahili, and repeat,”New and exciting for GirlDivers?”


After usually being redirected several times to any sales representative not protected by a meeting with a dealer, I would be shown a pink mask…a pair of pink fins or a BCD with a decidely male cut…oh, but it’s got pink trim!!


Really? Is that all it takes to sell us gear? Pink?


Now, I realize, my site is pink. And if you’ve gotten this far, you’re probably either a pink fan, or wondering if the rosiness of the site ever ends. But for this site, it’s a marketing thing. You know you’re on a “girl-focused” site because of the color. It’s a draw.


However, if the content of this site was just “general scuba”, well, then you might as well change the site colors back to basic black. The inner workings of the site, or the dive gear, must be true to the colors, or it’s just another attempt to fool us into thinking they care.


There were well over 500 vendors at DEMA. I was able to complete my assignment and find 6 things new and exciting in the dive world for girls. Stay tuned to XRay Magazine where the November issue will show the newest finds for girls.

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New Sunscreen Ratings

24 June 2008 Labels: , , , , , , , ,


Last night my friend Kathy and I attended a skin event at Gene Juarez put on by Skin Authority. After an information session, accompanied by cheese and wine, we were treated to a glycolic acid peel and an infusion of antioxidants. We were then introduced to skin products that would help our individual issues.

My issue? Spending 20 hours per week in the water, either chlorine or salt, with sun baking my face…well, that’s my issue.

If you’ve read my article about skincare, you’ll know I’m well aware of the affects of the sun on aging and skin cancer. I write in the article about SPF, however, SPF only tells you how long you can stay in the sun without “burning” your skin layers.

We’re talking UVB rays, when we’re talking burning. They burn, they tan…they’re not only the BAD ones. It’s the UVA rays we need to be careful of, and until now, there was no way to tell if a sunscreen had the UVA protection.

Oh, they say they do. And they have the right ingredients so they “may”. However, we can tell if a sunscreen is a SPF 5 or an SPF 30, right? Not so with the UVA protectants, until now.
The FDA has come up with a 4 star rating system. All sunscreen manufacturers have until May 2009 to have their product tested and products relabeled.

What will the new labeling tell you?

The following outlines the sunscreen label changes:

A four-star rating and description on the main product label reflects the amount of UVA protection.

“Sun protection factor” is now “sunburn protection factor.” The SPF rating continues to reflect the level of UVB protection. “UVB” is placed near the SPF rating on the main product label.
The highest SPF number increases from SPF 30 to SPF 50+.

Sunscreens must include the following warning: “UV exposure from the sun increases the risk of skin cancer, premature skin aging, and other skin damage. It is important to decrease UV exposure by limiting time in the sun, wearing protective clothing, and using a sunscreen.”
Sunscreen labels instruct users to apply the sunscreen “evenly” and “liberally” or “generously” and reapply at least every two hours “to avoid lowering protection.”

Skin Authority is the first line to have the 4 star rating…and it’s 4 stars.

My opinion? Well, I’ll give it a try. It’s water resistant, so I’ll be wearing it starting today, and reapplying after my dives.

I also picked up their vitamin C lip balm to add sun protection and healing to my lips. I can tell you that it tastes citrusy…and left my lips very hydrated!!

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Shark Fin Soup

10 March 2008 Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


My roommate came home from the Asian market today with a banana flower. This is the flower, that left to bloom and change, will eventually bear banana fruit. Not sure what we’re going to do with the banana flower, but I’m sure I’ll find it in a dish on a table near me soon.

She mentioned that she almost got a shark fin to make shark fin soup with. I gasped…

Now I know that my roommate does her part in helping the earth with recycling her garbage, using rainbarrels in our yard and putting the eggshells out for the slug control. But would she really purchase shark fins?

One of my favorite Save the Sharks organizations is WildAid out of California…and they report:
There are 400 species of shark, and many are used for their fins. Blue, hammerhead and silky sharks are the most highly traded in Hong Kong. Mako and thresher are also popular, and great white is also used. All these species are found off the California coast.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says over 100 million sharks, skates and rays are killed every year. We figure that’s just half the total, because another half is unreported. This total threatens sharks because they reproduce slowly, more like mammals than fish. Some sharks only have 1-2 pups every other year, and they may take nine or more years to mature.

Shark populations are quickly declining — the dusky-shark population in the U.S. Atlantic has declined 90 percent. Sharks are the apex predators that keep everything else in balance.

My friend, Shawna Meyer frolics among the Humboldt Squid with her boyfriend Scott Cassell (of Discovery Channel fame). They note that the fish populations are being devastated in larger areas all the time because the sharks aren’t around in big enough numbers to control the Humboldt Squid. The Humboldt will go through and eat everything in its path…and must be controlled by our larger, apex friends. Without sharks, the worlds oceans are in trouble.

I told my roommate “NO.” No shark fin soup…or I’ll take the recycling and throw it in the dumpster, use fresh water on the garden and leave the lights on needlessly.

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