Panic Leads to Diver Fatality

AS A WILDLIFE OFFICER, I spend countless hours on the water. As an instructor for the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), I have also spent a lot of time teaching and diving.

two pro divers

Low Platelet Count and Diving

Before you dive, you and your doctor should consider some possible effects of having a low platelet count. In some cases, it may affect the body’s ability to clot properly in response to injury.

Hand holding blood sample in vacuum tube for hematological analysis.

Oskar Frånberg

OSKAR FRANBERG LEADS THE RESEARCH GROUP in marine systems engineering at the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, and is managing director of the Swedish National Underwater Technology Center. This father of three is an engineer by training and has been active in dive research, especially rebreather physiology, for more than 20 years.

Frånberg shows off his harvest after freediving.

River Diving

MANY DIVERS AND NONDIVERS ALIKE envision the ideal scuba dive as a coral reef in warm, clear water surrounded by a myriad of beautiful fish. River diving, on the other hand, is drastically different and not for the faint of heart. 

divers with diver flag buoys

I Didn’t See That Coming

MY HUSBAND, BARRY, AND I got our dive certifications in Cozumel, Mexico, in 1994, and since then it has been one of our favorite destinations. We spent three weeks diving there in the summer of 2001, following our routine of running, exercising, and diving twice a day. 

Dr. Dario Gomez and some of his staff at the Costamed hyperbaric chamber