REEF recently announced their field survey schedule for 2007. If you haven't ever taken one of these trips, maybe now's the time to consider it. Not only are they fun, educational, and conservation-minded, they're tax deductible! Who ever heard of taking a tax-deductible dive trip?! Thanks, REEF! Upcoming trips include:

• Grand Turk, February 17-24 -- 7 nights/8 days - $990
• Tortola, British Virgin Islands, April 14-21 -- 7 nights/8 days - $974
• Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, May 22-27 -- 5 nights/6 days - $TBA
• St. Vincent, June 9-16 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,050
• Key Largo, Florida*, July 7-14 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,093
• San Juan Islands, Washington, July 23-26 -- 4 days/3 nights - $818
• Kona, Hawaii, August 4-11 -- 7 nights/8 days - $1,485
• Woods Hole, Cape Cod, September 11-16 -- 6 nights/5 days - $509
• Bonaire*, September 22-29 -- 7 nights/8 days - $1,063
• Utila*, October 20-27 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,110
• Anguilla, November 10-17 -- 8 days/7 nights - $975
• Cozumel, December 1-8 -- 8 Days/7 Nights - $544

All prices quoted are per person, based on double occupancy. An additional $300 REEF fee will be added to each trip to cover the cost of the group leader, seminars, survey materials, and data management. For more details, you know where to go.

*Trip led by Paul Humann, recent inductee into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.

Meet the Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel. Its friends call it the WAM-V. This new, spider-like watercraft features ultralight, flexible catamarans and a modular design that allows for a variety of applications. The WAM-V has ocean-crossing capabilities with a range of up to 5,000 miles; very low fuel consumption; low draft; and minimal wake. With room for 12 passengers and an optional dive platform available, this 12-ton, 100-foot vessel may be the coolest, sportiest dive boat on the planet. Attach a video camera to the tip of one of those catamarans and send the feed into the cabin, and people will be screaming, "Faster! Faster!"

[Via Gizmag]

Earlier today, Abalone diver Eric Nerhus was diving in murky water off Australia's southern coast when a 10-foot-long white pointer shark (a.k.a., a great white!) seized him by the head. Claiming his lead-lined weight vest protected him from the brunt of the nuzzling, Nerhus told friends that he escaped from the shark's jaws by stabbing and clubbing at the creature's head and eyes with an abalone knife.

Nerhus immediately surfaced and clambered onto his boat with the aid of his son. He was soon transferred to the local hospital, where he is reportedly in stable condition.

If you've never been on a dive trip dedicated to finding and diving with sharks, here's your chance: Wetpixel is running two charters to the Bahamas in July, 2007. The first trip (July 10-21) is for the purpose of finding and shooting oceanic white-tips. Successful in 2006, there's no reason to think that they won't find them this year -- as well as (possibly) tiger sharks, reef sharks, dolphins, and more. Amazingly, on board the boat will be Eric Cheng, Tony Wu, and Alex Mustard. Be nice, and they may give you some photo pointers.

The second trip (July 23-31) is a "classic" tigers-and-dolphins trip, combining a traditional shark expedition with dolphin experiences and the chance to see lemon sharks, reef sharks, and *maybe* even hammerheads and bulls! For the lowdown on what these trips are like, check out Eric Cheng's past trip reports. I know 2 people registered for this particular trip, and they're super-excited about it.

Participants will travel with Jim Abernethy, aboard the M/V Shear Water, a small liveaboard leaving from West Palm Beach, Florida. Space is limited, so book soon. For more information about the trips, or for registration information, head over to Wetpixel.

Designed specifically with sailors in mind, the Velocitek S10 would be handy for people who own/run dive boats, as well. Featuring 2 over-sized buttons and 2 large digital read-outs, the S10 is a waterproof, "high-accuracy GPS Speedometer / VMG Sensor with a 10 hour GPS data logger." Designed to work seamlessly with both Google Earth and GPS Action Replay, the 0.45-pound unit allows users to download, view, and analyze the GPS data recorded while on the water.

Capable of recording latitude, longitude, time, speed and heading, the tiny unit -- fabricated from bomb-proof polycarbonate -- is waterproof to 75 feet. Although I don't think you could dive with it to that depth and expect it to record data, you could easily strap it to a float and tow it with you on a shallow dive, or *maybe* stick it in your pocket as you snorkeled. Unfortunately, the $299 unit is XP-compatible only.

[Via Waterlog]

How many times have you slipped into the water, hoping, wishing, praying that you might get the chance to see a dolphin during the upcoming dive? I know I have. Unfortunately for me, the only time I've ever seen dolphins on a dive is when I went snorkeling off Bimini with the express purpose of finding and snorkeling with dolphins. And even then, we motored around for hours until we finally found a pod. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to find dolphins more easily?

According to his trip report, Simon Rogerson recently went on a dive trip with Jim Abernathy, who's hatched a clever plan for ensuring -- well, for helping to increase the chances -- that divers will get to see dolphins. Using a FIB -- a flying inflatable boat with wings and a giant propeller -- Abernathy launches the boat from the surface of the ocean and cruises 1000 feet in the air, looking for pods of the animals. When he finds them, he calls the coordinates in, and the boat makes its way to the animals.

What a cool idea. It sounds like almost as much fun to ride in the FIB as it does to swim with the dolphins.

I like traveling light but that means making a conscious decision to re-use certain articles of clothing...but I never spare the underwear. Whether there is a washing machine nearby, or not, I bring plenty of skivvies.

That could be changing thanks to the U.S. military and our tax dollars which funded research to reduce the cleaning cycle of underwear. Scientists have found a way to keep underwear hygienic for weeks by attaching nanoparticles then treating them with chemicals which repel water, oil, and bacteria.

While this may mean I can take one pair of boxers on my next liveaboard trip, what about B.O.?

[Via LiveScience]

We mentioned Jim Spears yesterday. In addition to being one helluva an awesome underwater shooter, Spears is also an accomplished kayak diver. Having picked up the sport on Maui in 1994, Spears claims kayak diving is an excellent and inexpensive way to reach dive sites that are too distant to safely qualify as shore dives.

On his website, Spears explains about the kayak he uses for dive kayaking (a Scrambler XL); recommends equipment useful for dive kayaking; discusses how to rig your kayak for launching; expounds on how dive kayakers get geared up, and -- most importantly -- details how they get back in the boat after a dive. If you're interested in learning about the not-as-popular-as-it-should-be sport of dive kayaking, check out Jim's meticulous website.

In a move surely to aggravate the growing submersible hydrofoil market (here and here), Australian Justin Shoobridge has created the self-proclaimed "first semi-submersible" dubbed the SHARC. The Semi-submersible Hydrodynamic Aquatic Recreational Craft was created out of a need to stay dry while enjoying the water.

His dubious work colleagues watched him set sail in his $5,000 creation after countless hours constructing the plywood and styrofoam vessel. It seemed to stay afloat judging by the photo.

[Via Swim at Your Own Risk]

As a nice counter-balance to my previous rant blasting things about dive boats that drive me crazy, I found a tidy little how-to concerning dive boat etiquette. While most experienced divers should know all of these unwritten rules, I believe that it's most often experienced divers who break the rules. Among the etiquette points I found most valuable were:

• Arrive early, so you don't make everyone else late.
• Bring onboard only what you need.
• Listen to the dive briefing.
• Store items in their proper places.
• "Don't dunk masks in the camera rinse tank."

The article also states, "Don't try to walk in your fins... Carry both fins in one hand so the other is free to hang on." I found that interesting, because many boats prefer that you put on your fins at your seat and then do the Dive Boat Shuffle to the stern to perform your giant stride.

I love the sensory experience of a boat ride. In fact, one of my favorite parts of going diving is enjoying the boat ride to the dive site. Being on the boat, watching the waves, looking for marine life on the surface, and feeling the gentle rise and fall of the craft as it skims the surface makes me giddy. Of course, knowing that I'm heading off to do some diving is a great feeling, too.

However, I have to admit that there are several things I dislike about boat rides. For example, I dislike it when:

1. People use the precious dry storage real estate that the boat offers to store regs or other dive gear that's made to get wet. That space is for things that are meant to stay dry, people -- like a towel.
2. People rinse their masks in the camera storage. I know it's a small thing, but you're just not supposed to do it.
3. People use the fresh water hose to shower off between dives -- and then spray everybody on the boat. Step to the side, folks, and spray over the edge of the boat -- not into the boat.
4. People brag the entire dive trip -- about how awesome their photos are; how expensive their last dive trip was; how they would handle a shark encounter; etc. Zzzzz...
5. People chit-chat through the dive master's briefing. I want to know hear where the cool stuff is, and I can't when you're blabbing.

Hmm...in looking back over my list, I see that it's inconsiderate people who drive me nuts -- not the dive boat. What about you? What gets you fired up about being on a dive boat?

Unless you're Jean-Michel Cousteau, or you work for the US Wildlife Service, you ain't getting into the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. The largest protected area under US jurisdiction and the largest marine sanctuary on earth, the NHIMNM boasts more than 7000 species -- one-quarter of which exist nowhere else in the world. Although divers used to be able to reach Midway -- a large atoll in the island chain -- to explore the area's marine life, the area has been off-limits for about 5 years. Remote, untouched, pristine, and glorious, this place might be a diving wonderland -- if only divers could get there.

Amazingly, divers may soon be able to get there! According to Hawaiirama, the three governmental agencies that co-manage the Sanctuary just released an interim plan that will allow visitors to, um, visit as early as mid-2007. (According to the Seattle PI, the Sanctuary could accommodate 30 visitors per night in 2007, and up to 50 visitors per night the following year.) For now, appropriate activities will include snorkeling, kayaking, walking tours, and visits to the historic military sites located on the island. Okay, so snorkeling and diving aren't the same thing, but if things go well, maybe they'll lift some of the restrictions.

If you're interested in getting yourself out to Midway to see what all the hubbub is about, then you should check out the interim plan and comment on it by the February 6, 2007, deadline.

It's been far too long since we checked in with Foots and his Lost City of Atlantis project. Thankfully, this weekend, he emailed me some photos of the first child of Cayman's Lost City. If you're wondering why children need to be included in this project, bear in mind that no community can grow if it doesn't have children within it -- even if that community is made of molded concrete.

The "real-world" child honored as the first to take a place in Atlantis is Joseph Musumeci, III, the grandson of Joseph Musumeci, Sr. (pictured).

Joseph Musumeci, Sr. is a long-time resident of the Brac and the retired two time mayor of Swedesboro, New Jersey.

However, what I really want to know is: Why was this child honored as the first child of Atlantis? Does he have great grades? Is he especially polite? Was his room the cleanest? Foots, please help me out!

UPDATE FROM THE MOTHER OF THE FIRST CHILD OF ATLANTIS...SERIOUSLY:

Indonesia's Raja Ampat ("The Four Kings") is a dive destination I ache to visit. Referring to four large jungle-covered islands with the faraway-sounding names of Batanta, Waigeo, Mysool, and Salawati, Raja is part of a 600+ islands-and-islets archipelago west of Bird's Head Peninsula. Not only is Raja at the heart of the richest marine area in the world, the topside doesn't look too shabby, either. Unfortunately, I haven't yet had the chance to visit this underwater wonderland that features dozens of WWII wrecks and zillions of fish, including wobbegongs, mantas, sweetlips, surgeonfishes, and fusiliers -- not to mention the four different species of pygmy seahorses. <Sigh.> Four different species!

However, Andrea and Antonella Ferrari -- whose excellent new book A Diver's Guide to Reef Life is finally available on Amazon after a long delay -- HAVE been lucky enough to visit this paradise, and their recent trip report only serves to fuel my longing. Although getting to remote Raja Ampat is not easy, diving (and relaxing) in what may be the world's most beautiful place with only a handful of other divers should certainly make the trip worthwhile. And for the chance to see four different species of pygmy seahorse, I'd venture that the Ferraris' pronouncement that the diving is "simply incredible" is probably an understatement.

This afternoon, I hit the Florida Dive Show in West Palm Beach. While the FDS is an excellent opportunity for the general public to see lots of new dive gear in one place, I was a bit disappointed with the affair since I had just returned from DEMA: it was about 1/10th the size of that event. That said, there were a couple of different, interesting things on display. For example, one of the most interesting -- and most expensive -- items on display was a Patten Inflatable Boat.

Available in 15, 17, and 19 foot models, Patten's inflatable boats feature removable, stackable flooring and a zippered hatch that covers a through-the-floor dive hole. Rather than rolling over the side of the craft, divers simply drop through the floor and begin their dive. Can you say "James Bond"?