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- Inside Scuba Issue #2
Inside Scuba Issue #2
Byron Conroy & Andy Deitsch
February 25, 2024
Welcome to issue #2 of Inside Scuba
What’s happening in this edition?
- Deep Dive - Exploring the Benefits and Drawbacks of Sidemount
- Dive News
- Liveaboard Review - Emperor Harmoni
- Photography Tips: Using Ambient Light
- Dive Site of the Week - The Military Museum: Aqaba, Jordan
- Video Highlight
- Summary
In our deep dive section, we take one story and deep dive to provide our thoughts on the topic and to give at least a couple of perspectives. We hope this will give you pause for thought and we’d love you to join in the discussion by commenting.
Exploring the Benefits and Drawbacks of Sidemount Diving
My journey as a diver began in traditional BCD PADI single tank open water diving, but my quest for improved trim and buoyancy led me to explore various diving styles. Encounters with sidemount divers in Mexico ignited my fascination with this configuration during its early days, characterized by limited equipment options but an undeniable allure. Transitioning to cold water diving, I mastered the drysuit before delving into tech diving, ultimately excelling in Advanced Open Circuit Trimix in sidemount configuration.
Embracing twinset diving in Iceland provided a smoother learning curve, given my background in single tank backplate and wing diving. A pivotal tech diving expedition to Truk Lagoon revealed practical limitations of both twins and sidemount configurations, prompting my investment in a JJ CCR (Closed Circuit Rebreather). Today, I navigate various diving setups, including sidemount, single tank, 12L twins, and 7L twins, while prioritizing underwater photography over deeper dives.
Through firsthand experience with diverse diving techniques, I've gained invaluable insight into their respective strengths and weaknesses, informing my approach to diving and equipment selection.
So what exactly is Sidemount?
Sidemount diving is a diving technique that involves wearing the scuba cylinders on the diver's sides rather than on their back. Sidemount is usually conducted with two tanks, however a variation known as "monkey mount" is sometimes used for one tank. Many of the benefits are reduced when diving with just one tank though.
In each issue of our newsletter, we will curate some top dive news from around the world. Links to each of the original articles are available.
Explore South Florida's urban diving scene with Gabriel Jensen as he uncovers the world of nudibranchs thriving in canals, under bridges, and along busy roadsides. Check it out at Dive Photo Guide.
Secret Chicago: Diveheart plans to build the USA’s deepest swimming pool in North Chicago, offering adaptive scuba and scuba therapy for people with disabilities and veterans.
FLKeysNews: “The first survey of Florida’s reefs after an ‘apocalyptic’ marine heat wave offers a bleak picture of the future of the State’s renowned corals - and the restoration efforts to save them.”
March 16-17, 2024 Boston Sea Rovers will be held in Danvers, MA. A great speaker lineup includes well known names such as Jill Heinerth, Fabien Cousteau, Cristian Dimitrius, Joe Romeiro and Faith Ortins. A highlight of The Sea Rovers annual clinic is the Film Festival. This year Maxwel Hohn, Jill Heinerth and Brian Skerry will be taking to the stage.
MIT Technology Review: “Meet the divers trying to figure out how deep humans can go. Figuring out how the human body can withstand underwater pressure has been a problem for over a century, but a ragtag band of divers is experimenting with hydrogen to find out.”
Not necessarily news, but if you enjoyed seeing Alex Dawson’s winning shots in UPY as we highlighted in last week’s special edition article, you might be interested in hearing a podcast from 2021 where Alex talks more about his photography.
Liveaboard Review: Emperor Harmoni
When it comes to maximizing diving opportunities, there’s no better way than embarking on a liveaboard adventure. Life aboard consists of a rhythm of sleeping, diving, eating and repeating the cycle. Unlike resort-based diving vacations, liveaboards offer the chance to explore a variety of dive sites across a larger geographical area. With extensive experience diving around the world, I recently had the opportunity to explore Emperor Harmoni, a 157 ft (48 m) vessel based in Indonesia. Our itinerary explored the central and Misool regions of Raja Ampat, however, the boat offers other itineraries such as Komodo, and the Banda Islands depending on the time of year.
MY Emperor Harmoni. Photo credit: © Kevin Hanson
Vessel Overview
Emperor Harmoni, one of two ships operated by Emperor Divers in Indonesia, is crafted from Sulawesi ironwood in the traditional Indonesian pinisi style. This vessel, launched in September 2022, is equipped with modern amenities and safety features, including two 400 HP Yanmar engines for enhanced redundancy. With a crew of 22 and a capacity for 24 guests, the ship offers ample space and comfort for diving enthusiasts.
Diving Experience
The diving experience aboard Emperor Harmoni is exceptional, with typically three dives a day and occasionally a fourth dive depending on the location and schedule. Divers prepare for diving on the dive deck at the rear of the main deck where each diver has their own personal space and crate.
Emperor Harmoni ensures a seamless diving experience with its well-organized logistics and attentive crew. Three zodiacs equipped with 50 HP engines are utilized for dive operations. All dive gear is efficiently loaded onto the zodiacs at the stern of the boat, which are then lowered into the water by cranes. Divers are only required to carry their masks and meet the boats by the stairs at the bow of the boat, simplifying the process and minimizing exertion.
Mastering Ambient Light For Captivating Underwater Imagery
When new to underwater photography people always are asking what lights they should buy, video lights, strobes etc. Now I will be the first to tell you the importance of such items, however there is one huge factor people over look; the source of light that on all of our photos … natural light. Before worrying how to handle additional lighting it’s well worth fully understanding natural light and how to work with it before learning how to blend it with artificial light, which will be the subject of this weeks tip.
When we talk about Ambient light, we mean the sun. Now the sun can add so much dimension to a photo, it can bring out the natural colors of a wreck, it can be used to capture sun beams. But the main consideration for you to begin with is to always know where the sun is and decide if you want to shoot with it or against it.
A natural light shot, the only artificial light being the divers torch
Unveiling History: Dive into the Depths of Aqaba's Military Museum
This issue, we're delving into the depths of Aqaba, Jordan, to explore the intriguing Military Museum dive site. We’ll uncover the history behind the site, dive details, and essential tips for your underwater adventure.
Historical Insights:
The Military Museum site in Aqaba holds remnants of military hardware strategically placed in formation to create an artificial reef. These twenty-one relics, provided by the Jordanian Armed Forces, including tanks, helicopters, an ambulance, armored vehicles, and an anti-aircraft battery, have a unique story to tell. They were submerged on July 24, 2019 to commemorate the Battle of Aqaba during the Arab Revolt in 1917, providing a one-of-a-kind underwater museum experience.
In this week’s video highlight, we bring you a story from Coventry, CT in the US where wreck diver Richard Simon discovers a submarine from the early 1900’s. The full article can be found here.
Summary
Your feedback and engagement make this community stronger, and we're eager to keep exploring together in the issues ahead.
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, please share it! If you received this from someone and aren’t yet subscribed, please consider subscribing. Thanks for your time, stay safe, keep exploring, and we'll see you in the next dive!
Andy & Byron
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