DEMA 2009 DIVE SHOW - Part II Overview In Photos

[ricki]

Back to the show floor of DEMA 2009, and on to ...


Big thanks to these guys, http://www.bigshipwrecks.com/ and http://www.reefmakers.com/!
They brought off the sinking of the Vandenberg off Key West, FL about with a lot of help. What a great addition to the artificial
reefs of Florida.



An aerial video of the sinking


I was able to scooter free dive the wreck the first day it was opened to the public. Was hoping to catch the paint white, dishes intact
for some video'ing. More background on the wreck at the link above and at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=6019



Fast Buck Freddys on Duval in Key West went all out with a full window display devoted to the Vandenberg Project.


Here is the video I shot on it free diving that first day. It gives you a look at the entire surface superstructure. Didn't do a lot of
penetrations though.








Still shots I took while scooter free diving over the Vandenberg with the GoPro WIDE





Thanks again for the great wreck guys! Anxious to get back to video it again in even better blue water viz.




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Bob on sled descent in 1967 as captured by LIFE Magazine


Bob Croft was at the show as well by the Performance Free Diving booth, http://www.performancefreediving.com/. He is a legend in American free diving, accomplishing impressive
breathhold dives in the 1960's. He even swapped record attempts with Jacque Mayol off Ft. Lauderdale around 1968. Bob started using
buccal packing in the late 1950's developing substantial added breathhold capabilities. I had never met him before but growing up diving
off Ft. Lauderdale had heard stories about him for a long time.



Bob at DEMA, October 2009


LIFE Magazine wrote about Bob's breathhold diving in 1967. You can read the article at: http://tinyurl.com/bobcroftinlifemag



Photos from: http://www.life.com/

I purchased a fascinating DVD from Bob, it was a 1960's program titled "Adventure, The Deepest Dive." It was narrated by award
winning journalist Charles Kuralt. If you are into the history of diving this is a must have. You can contact Bob directly to purchase copies of the DVD at: croftra@yahoo.com








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Moving on to BonicaDive, http://www.bonicadive.com/ . These folks have developed their own video camera system and
dually redundant underwater housing. The primary and secondary underwater housings are shown above.


The 1080-COMB-G8V15 is shown here, equipped with the dedicated LED movie light. This is what they have to say about it:

"High Definition Video Resolution: 1440x1080P 30 frames per second & 1280x720 60 frames per second
5 Megapixel Still Photo
Housing Rated 180 feet. Silicone Skin Rated 12 feet
Built-in manual focus lock option
Underwater Housing and Waterproof Silicone Skin Protection
Bonica Video Light G8V15 - 1500 Lumen LED Light

Comes in Soft Travel Bag ideal for traveling as airline carry-on luggage"


Video is titled "Footage from 1st generation Bonica DV (VGA): Shark Dive in FL"


Video is titled "Bonica Camera footage: Divers Scootering in Cayman"



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Cobalt Coast Resort (http://www.cobaltcoast.com/) and Divetech (http://www.divetech.com/), my
favorite diving destination on Grand Cayman. These folks are located out of the way at West End, Grand Cayman but with a front
row seat on a very nice section of mini drop off and major wall. The dive shop as the name implies is fully equipped for tech to
SCUBA to free diving and they have instructors for all three disciplines. Their Tech Week is world famous along with other notable
events. The Resort is well appointed, comfortable, low key with a nice restaurant on premises.


The resort

More about Cobalt Coast, DiveTech and diving in Grand Cayman at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4615









Here is the first video that I shot while scooter free diving. Apologies for the limited image quality, it was back in 2007 with a
housed Olympus 877 sw.





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The "Pocket Buoy," http://pocketbuoy.com. This is an ultra compact and light storable diver flag buoy. Good for travel
or just for folks that are tired of carrying a lot of stuff in the back of their car or on their boat. It is completely deflatable, collapsible
and yet assembles into a highly visible buoy system in no time. The added stability of the inflatable buoy allows a longer flag staff
equating to better visibility.








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This gentleman with the El Cid, Ceiba Beach Resort (http://www.elcid.com/ceiba_beach/) sold me both of these excellent books for $15. great deal. They explore the reefs of
Cozumel and the karst terrain, cenote/caves of the Yucatan mainland. The books are published by http://underwatereditions.com/
I was planning on visiting Palancar reef for the first time in 36 years within a week of the show. Still lots of low priced cruises out there.
Cozumel was a great diving destination almost four decades ago, still is too.



Haven't had a chance to assemble the clips into a longer video dealing with scooter free diving the Palancar wall. So, in the interim,
here are two smaller video clips shot along the drop off. Full length video with editing coming soon!





Both of these videos were shot with the GoPro WIDE camera. Pretty remarkable image quality for under $200. USD including housing?







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On to Doc's Pro Plugs & Pro Tunes, http://www.proplugs.com/

I had heard about this years back for kitesurfers, to try to avoid developing cold water related ear problems. Apparently they even
help you equalize while diving. Here is what Doc has to say about their use:

"- Developed and designed by a surfing physician since 1977
- Doctors recommend Proplugs
- Prevents surfers ear, swimmers ear, and eardrum rupture
- Helps ears equalize under water
- Low price, high quality hypo-allergenic earplug
- 8 preformed sizes for lifetime protection
- No messy, sticky putty lost in ear canal
- The ONLY earplug which does not disrupt earwax or obstruct the canal"


A plug being fitted into place


You can see the plugs at work underwater in this video




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Here is an impressive diver propulsion device, the SeaBob for recreation and the Rotinor unit for military and commercial purposes.
More about the SeaBob at http://www.seabob.com/ and in the video below.



A look at the SeaBob recreational unit in action in clear blue water


These devices are not inexpensive but the reported performance is astounding, 10 mph speeds underwater? There is some drag
associated with travel at any speed, even more so in this case. You wear a windsurfing seat harness clipped into the unit to take
the strain off and allowing your arms to be used for steering only. If the unit is set for deeper submergence, you can dial in depth
limits, etc., and you are diving at speed it pays to equalize hands free.


Here's the Rotinor or military/commercial diver transport device.








http://www.rotinor.com/movie.html
Here is a video of the military/commercial unit. It comes with onboard Nav systems, sonar and is rated to 60 m. More at: http://www.rotinor.com



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Be sure to checkout the first installment on DEMA 2009 at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=8939

.

[ricki]

Ran into Bob Croft at the dive show in Port Everglades recently and again online. He has a great DVD of the TV show on his revolutionary free diving in the late 1960's. A few still captures from the DVD appear in the post above. You can purchase copies directly from Bob at: croftra@yahoo.com