Over the years, while operating our live-aboard dive boat, we had to face the challenge of recruiting good staff. I have come to realize that, as a veteran in the dive business, there is a service that I can now provide to both job seekers and boat operators: I can... More »

It never ceases to amaze me what level of useless stuff people will bring on a dive vacation. You're going to be on a boat or a resort for a week or two where the uniform of the day is shorts, bathing suits, and tee shirts. Keep it simple. One... More »

July 16, 2009 Dear DocV, My father was a US Navy diver/Submarine Service from the late 40's to the early 70's. His duties included escape training tank instructor and saturation diving as a member of the original Deep Submergence Group. He is currently 77 years old and previously diagnosed with Alzheimers. Recently,... More »

Greetings from Copenhagen, December 11 We traveling divers love the island nations - Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Solomons, the Maldives, and those in the Caribbean - and the island nations are speaking in a very loud voice in Copenhagen.  Their argument, as I heard the ambassador from the Cape... More »

I arrived in Copenhagen Tuesday afternoon, excited about engaging in the historic UN Climate Conference.  While you know me as the editor of Undercurrent, I'm here in my new capacity to organize the International Court for the Environment Coalition in the U.S. Quite simply, a movement is underway to create... More »

Take a good look at yourself before you critique any "old fart". While at the DEMA diving trade show awhile back, I met an old French diver who lived in Bonaire. He was exhibiting some paintings he had made of various wrecks around that Caribbean island. They were beautifully contrived scenes,... More »

Many divers have seen a chamber either in photographs or in real life, but very few have ever had occasion to be in one unless they were being treated.  As a result a certain "mystique" has developed about chambers and many divers regard them as hostile and menacing environments.  Briefly,... More »

When I am not diving solo I prefer to dive with a female buddy, and have been fortunate enough in my career to have dived with some of the world's great Women Divers. Valerie Taylor, Eugene Clark, Leni Riefenstahl, Norine Rouse, Annie Doubilet and, of course, Dinah Halstead among them.... More »

Diving used to be a fairly laid-back and non-confrontational leisure activity. In fact, in the early days most divers were generally considered to have a few screws loose but that was part of the appeal. The idea that diving was inherently a flirtation with a real or perceived danger was... More »

In July I was fortunate enough to yet again venture along the Great Barrier Reef north of Cairns and out into the Coral Sea. I've made this cruise several times on various boats including Mike Ball's Spoilsport, the private Super Yacht Bullish, the now sadly missed Nimrod and Underwater Explorer,... More »

I was recently asked this question: "Dear Doc, I broke my hip. Because of my relatively young age, the doctors decided to pin the femoral head to the neck instead of doing a replacement. My question: Are there treatments which will speed the recovery? (I have access to oxygen.)" My response was as... More »

There are certain people that you instinctively know are in control of situations. Some may be natural born pilots who could land a washing machine on a trash can lid. The ship captain who could bring in a cargo when the rest of the fleet hid in port from the... More »