The common seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is anything but. Found only in Australia’s temperate coastal waters, this spectacular seahorse relative — also called the weedy seadragon — grows up to 18 inches long and is painted beautiful colors and whimsically festooned with teardrop-shaped skin flaps.
As a passionate diver since 2009,I planned a Galápagos liveaboard trip for November 2024. The logistics included considerations for being a solo female traveler in her 60s and dealing with my trepidation about cold water with heavy currents.
Divers generally use lift bags to raise submerged objects to the surface. The lift bag is filled with gas until the object exhibits neutral buoyancy so divers can bring it to the surface with minimal exertion.
Many divers top off a trip to the Southern Red Sea by watching a rotund dugong snuffle through seagrass meadows in about 25 feet (7.6 meters) of water.
Action cameras are a common compact solution for capturing great video and occasionally stills. With multiple camera brands and plenty of available accessories — including filters, lenses, and lights — it has never been easier to get great footage.
It doesn’t seem so long ago that I rolled into Key Largo, Florida, with a Nikonos II camera and a darkroom sink in the back of my Chevy van to figure out how to make a living as an underwater photographer. Things have changed since 1978, and underwater photography is not the novelty it was when I started.
There is a magic art to keeping divers’ attention long enough to impart safety-critical information. Talking about the cool things you will see is easy, but briefings also contain vital information that will keep your divers safe.
Recreational diving is a fun and relaxing sport meant to be enjoyed. But what happens when things don’t go as planned: Your mask comes off, your regulator gets knocked out, or someone in your group runs out of air?
You check in at the dive shop, sign your waivers, get your gear on the boat, and set up your BCD on your first tank for the day. The divemaster introduces you to your dive buddy for this trip — a total stranger from another part of the world who is here for the same things you are: great diving and returning home safely.
In 2021 Peter Buzzacott, PhD, of Curtin University in Perth, Australia, received DAN’s Alfred Bove Research Grant for Cardiac Health in Scuba Diving. What began with a simple proposal has since developed into a training network for the next generation of scientists and led to a research network between Curtin University and Fiona Stanley Hospital in Western Australia.