Scuba Addict
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Resort Review
Sunbreeze Hotel, Ambergis Caye, BELIZE
I had done a live aboard dive trip to Belize a few years ago and loved it. We dive elbow reef, lighthouse reef and many other fantastic wall dives.
Thats what i thought when i was booking my trip here at Sunbreeze , only to be disappointed that those walls were a two hour boat ride away.
They have a nice reef, (no house reef by the way) and no shore diving . However all the dive sites were a convienient 5 minutes away.
San Pedro ( la isla bonita ) is far from it, it is dirty, dusty and need lots of improvements, we did rent a golf car for 3 hours , which is all you need as you can only go an hour each way on the island ( the roads are not paved ad full of bone jarring potholes). We went during the off season and the visibility was only 50 feet, lotsof particulate matter, which really affected photography. No overcrowding of boats, which they had 4 of. We did not do the blue hole as it was costly and I have dove some of the best holes in the bahamas.
[ 2 Comment(s) ]
Undercover Diver
Turks & Caicos Explorer II Review
In 2007, Explorer Ventures is celebrating its 20th year in the live aboard industry. The Explorer Fleet covers five different dive destinations:
When the live aboard topic comes up, you hear fellow divers say, “All you do on a live aboard is eat, sleep and dive.” Until you have actually had your first live aboard experience, you truly don’t have a complete understanding the experience. Living in
[ 4 Comment(s) ]
Misc. Article
Sharkwater Movie Review
Sharkwater is a film by Rob Stewart. It is a documentary style film that covers the shark finning epidemic. Shark finning is the process of catching sharks, and cutting their fins off. Sharks are typically thrown back into the ocean alive without fins where they sink to the bottom and drown.
Shark fins are most widely in Shark Fin Soup - a Chinese delicasy. Once reserved for the wealthy, Shark Fin soup is now commonplace with the recent Chinese economy boom. Considering there are virtually no laws restricting the finning of sharks, and the high prices paid for the shark fins - it has become a very profitable ocean industry, especially in the Caribbean.
[ 0 Comment(s) ]
Photo & Video
Fisheye Fix Light HG20DX Review
While looking for a lighting solution for use with my Seatool video housing, I came across some people who had used the Fix Light HG20DX as video lighting, and they were pleased. For a purchase price of $419.00, it was quite expensive for a single "flashlight" style of light, but I went with it because it was less expensive then a full video lighting system. I also purchased the Fisheye rotary shoe base for $60 to connect it to my video camera.
The light shipped to me and was missing several parts. I was told by the distributor that this happened with several orders, and was shipped the missing battery, charger, rubber battery cap remover, etc. Once I got everything, I was able to crank this thing up.
The battery charger has a wierd quirk. I fully charged the battery. I had 4 green LED's that indicated it was fully charged. I left it on the charger for a couple more hours and came back to it and it only had 2 LED's lit - indicating a half charge. Strange. This also happened one other time when we were charging it on a trip. In addition, on 2 occassions, the battery claimed a full charge - but would not power up the light. Taking the battery out and placing it back on the charger for a couple of seconds, then back into the light made it work again.
[ 0 Comment(s) ]
Resort Review
Scuba Club Cozumel Review
March 2007
I went to Cozumel in March of 2007 with my son. We stayed at Scuba Club Cozumel and dove with the in-house organization, Scuba-Cozumel. This resort is all about diving and as the motto of the resort states, " a dive resort ran by divers, for divers ", that is pretty much the extent of the activities. The resort has an all-inclusive meals plan and the food is not bad at all. No beverages are included in the all-inclusive plan ( alcoholic or otherwise ).
The rooms are not bad but neither are they luxurious either. They do not have televisions but they do have wireless internet access. The beds are not very comfortable but they are not so bad as to preclude a good nights rest.
[ 3 Comment(s) ]
Misc. Article
Lost Baggage - What Is Wrong?
I usually save my rants for another of my websites, but I have reached the limits of my understanding and patience with the airline industry. What is wrong?
We just returned from Turks & Caicos, and for the third trip in a row our luggage has been lost. Our luggage was lost on our trip to Fiji in April, and also lost on our trip to Roatan, Honduras last October.
The reports from the US Department of Transportation's - Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) claim that the incidence of delayed or lost luggage is about 8 incidents for every 1,000 passengers. So you basically have just under a 1% chance of having lost luggage (BTS Press Release).
[ 0 Comment(s) ]
Tips & Tricks
Airfare Deals and Travel Tips
I just found a great website that I thought I would share. Rick Seaney is the founder and CEO of FareCompare.com - a great site that keeps you on top of airfare deals. He also has a personal blog that is really cool as well: www.rickseaney.com
In his blog you will find interesting articles such as "Travel Myths: Prices Go Up on Weekends", "New York's Passenger Bill of Rights", "Northwest Airlines: Over a Quarter-Million Unserved" and one that has particluar interest to me since I am 6' 5" tall: "Have No Fear, Knee Defender is Here" about a product that attaches to your fold-down seat tray that keeps the seat in front of you from reclining into your knees!
[ 0 Comment(s) ]
Misc. Article
INCREDIBLE! 'Tonic Immobility' - Shark Week Episode.
I thought I had seen it all when it comes to sharks. I was way wrong!
This years Shark Week on Discovery Channel, ended wiith "Sharkman" - an incredible story of a man who not only swims unprotected with Great White sharks, but he touches... strokes... and even puts them in a sleep-like trance using a gentle touch. Out of all the Shark Week programs this year - this is the one that you just can't miss - whether you are a fan of sharks, or not.
[ 2 Comment(s) ]
Misc. Article
Scuba Personalized License Plate Ideas
Just got new license plates for Jennifer's (ScubaChick) car! "SHARKB8" - I snuck over to her work and ripped her old ones off, took them to the DMV, got the new plates, ran to the dive shop and grabbed the Scuba Diver frame, returned to her work and put the new plates on her car. I think they are really cool - and now I need my own license plates.
GOT IDEAS?? I have a sporty silver car, and was thinking of the following:
SHARK
NARCD
NARCED
DIVER...
[ 5 Comment(s) ]
Misc. Article
The TSA is Brilliant!
The Transportation Security Administration. Wow! What a wonderful use of our tax dollars! An agency specifically designed to: "protect the Nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce." Essentially, this is an organization that completely defeats it's own mission by being "politically correct". Their motto should be "Our mission is to defeat terrorism by not offending anyone, and preventing any form of water and/or deodorant from entering any form of public transportation."
After the tragic events of 9-11, I was willing to give up some freedom for the extra bit of security it would provide. Unfortunately, my idea of security included attempts to stop the blowing up of airplanes and other acts of real 'terrorism'. What we have accomplished is the thwarting of accidentally spilling your water bottle mid-flight and keeping the elderly from making their flight with senseless 'extra security' checks.
[ 2 Comment(s) ]