A long time ago, we pointed you to the incredible panorama shot inside Bali's Tulamben wreck. Created by stitching together more than a dozen images shot underwater -- and inside the wreck -- zooming around the pano is almost as cool as swimming around inside the wreck. Almost.

If you're looking for some more virtual dives, check out these cool panoramas:

1. Mal Yeo -- the same photographer who shot the Tulamben pano -- has created an amazing image from 75 feet below the surface at Halifax Park, Australia. Prepare to see LOTS of fish.
2. Andreas Kampf has a series of 9 underwater panos that rival Yeo's in their beauty and artistic-ness. In my opinion, the Fesdu Wreck is especially gorgeous, but they're all worth investigating.
3. Alexandra Albin has created a small but well-lit pano of a wreck dive off Catalina Island.
4. Undersea features half a dozen effective underwater panos, including a nice one starring a cuttlefish.
5. Scott Highton managed to capture a gorgeous over-under pano in a Florida spring.

Of course, as photographic equipment -- and photographers -- become more sophisticated, we'll probably see more underwater panos in the future. Dip your hand in a bucket of water, and it'll be just as relaxing as a dive trip. Almost.

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?

I'm excited to be going diving this weekend. The water in South Florida is still warm; the weatherman is reporting clear skies; and I won't be sitting behind a desk! However, in my enthusiasm to get wet, I don't want to overlook some basic things that could save my life, my buddy's life, or simply work to make our weekend more enjoyable. To that end, I'm already thinking about the diving. Here are five things I plan to do before and during the dives to help ensure we have the best dives possible:

1. I'm going to listen to the dive briefing and understand what is being said. Before we hit the water, we'll discuss what route we'll take and try to anticipate any problems we might encounter. This way, both my buddy and I will be extra aware of what issues might arise, how to deal with them, and how to return to the boat.
2. I'm going to make sure my gear works by going over it the night before -- and again in the morning. More importantly, I'm going to look over my buddy and his gear before we get in the water, so I'm absolutely certain, for example, how to ditch his weights, and where his purge valve is.
3. Prior to getting wet, we'll agree on hand signals to use -- especially ones that indicate stress, discomfort, or panic -- and I'll look for them throughout the dive.
4. During the dive, I'm going to enjoy the fish and the marine environment, but I'm also going to keep an eye on my buddy, making sure he's nearby and diving safely.
5. If I see my buddy exhibit pain, fatigue or stress -- or if he calls the dive before I'm ready -- I'm not going to complain that he's ruining my dive. Instead, we'll abort the dive together, perform a steady, slow, controlled ascent together, do our safety stop together, and head for the boat. Together.

That's the Top 5 things I'm going to keep in mind in terms of buddy diving this weekend. Have I forgotten something? Is there something I should add to my list?

For decades, divers have been testing the limits -- of both themselves and their gear -- breaking out of their comfort zones, and exploring the underwater world and their relationship to it. While many divers are happy cruising shallow reefs, looking at the pretty marine life, well-lit by the sun's rays, and then casually breaking the surface and heading back to the dive boat, others find this experience monotonous. I mean, after you've done this a few times, aren't you ready to ratchet up the adrenaline a little? Maybe try some unusual, deep, or steep, wrecks; dive in frigid Antarctic waters; cruise past the stunning Eye of the Needle; or brave the Pacific's deep water currents, which are also filled with sharks? In the spirit of Brendan O'Brien's piece in Divernet, in which he recounts some "extreme dives," I thought I'd mention a few extreme dives, too.

• For many people, an "extreme" dive probably means diving very, very deep. Navy diver Daniel Jackson recently plunged to 2000 feet performing a solo test-run of the Navy's new Atmospheric Diving System suit. He compared the experience to witnessing a "star show."
• Freediver Guillame Nery recently finned down more than 350 feet on a single breath -- and then returned to the surface. Using no ropes or sleds (i.e., the Constant Weight Discipline ), the Frenchmen accomplished this amazing feat in just under three minutes.
• If diving deep isn't extreme enough for you, maybe Louise Trewavas's stunt will get your blood pumping. Hauling a shirt and an ironing board down to more than 450 feet off Dahab, Egypt, Trewavas recently broke the world record for extreme ironing underwater. Maybe watching the video of her record-setting effort will provide some insight into why anyone would do this. And then again...
• In 2005, Rob Lalumiere led a nine-man technical diver team to set a new deep wreck diving world record of 633 feet. After reaching the deck of the USS Cooper (in 7 minutes), Lalumiere placed a commemorative plaque on the ship, to honor the men who died there in 1944.
• If we're talking "extreme," it doesn't get more extreme than diving with great whites. While cage diving is popular -- especially in South Africa and Mexico -- swimming freely among the world's fiercest fish has gained some visibility lately, thanks to Jacques Cousteau (and *cough* Dave Salmoni).

Of course, these are just some examples of "extreme diving." Have you ever been on a particularly "extreme" dive? Tell us about it!

In a sense, any dive site that boasts a shipwreck is an underwater museum. Frozen in time, a wreck is a snapshot of maritime technology. However, more than just a glimpse at a ship's engineering, underwater archaeologists are able to learn about the culture that used it; reconstruct ancient shipping routes; or unravel some of history's mysteries. Even in the best case scenario, though, most sites only have one or two wrecks, which most people wouldn't call a "museum."

However, there are a number of places where harbors have flooded, or entire cities have dissolved into the sea, allowing history buffs, scuba divers, or average tourists to travel into the past and see what life was like "back then." The real beauty of underwater museums, though, is that while "regular" museums remove ancient artifacts from their resting sites, submerged museums preserve them, intact, and in context.

Okay, so you need a vacation. But it's summertime, and the kids are out of school. And grandma has refused to watch them is busy doing something else. You can't leave the kids behind...but you have to find a destination that offers activities that'll keep the kids safe, interested, and -- let's face it -- occupied. Where to look? No worries. Divester has you covered. In this Divester Fivester, we point you to several kid-friendly resorts that offer tons of really great kid-friendly attractions. The hard part will be deciding which destination to visit.

In my opinion, summertime is the best time to go on vacation. Nobody's pre-occupied with planning or shopping for other holidays. The kids are out of school. And even though it's hot during the summer, I like it: the heat slows me down, and I feel like I spend more time looking around me and enjoying what I see. Yes, indeedy, I do like summer travel.

Among the best part of summertime travel, though, is the fact that it's off-season for many locations, meaning you can find super deals to great destinations. In other words, summer is a great time to sample destinations you might not otherwise be able to afford. Alternatively, summertime travel rates can provide you with the opportunity to pack in more activities during the trip. Either way, you win!

To that end, we did some searching, and here are our picks for summer's best beach and dive deals:

If you're getting your summer dive trip planning going, and you can't quite figure out what you want to do this year, then you might want to take a look at the following list. I've scrounged for some of the most amazing, once-in-a-lifetime trips, and I've selected what I think are the five coolest dive trips of the summer. Three are organized, meaning you'd be with a group. Two are suggestions of cool trip ideas for the next few months. Check it out, and let us know if you have a better trip idea!