Blue Dragons 

Equipment: Sony a7RV camera, Sony 28-60mm lens at 49mm, a Nauticam WACP-C wide-angle conversion port, Nauticam housing, Retra Pro X strobesSettings: 1/250 sec, f/22, ISO 400Location: Sea of Cortez, Baja California […]

Blue Dragons

Homemade Dive Gear

The “Historic Dive Helmets” article from the Second Quarter 2024 issue of Alert Diver triggered memories of my father, Burton Stewart, and his best friend Leno Prestini. In 1935 they crafted their […]

Prestini and Stewart preparing to dive

Used Rebreather Scrubber Disposal

Sorb, or scrubber, plays a critical role in rebreather diving, as it is responsible for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the diver’s breathing gas. Small granules or pellets absorb exhaled […]

Sorb becomes saturated with calcium carbonate after prolonged use

Rewilding Coral Reefs 

Rewilding is a popular term in conservation circles, but what does it mean, and is it appropriate for coral reefs? Should divers be clamoring for reef rewilding? Does it represent […]

Nesha Ichida watches Seren, a wild leopard shark

Close-Focus Wide-Angle Photography

Most of our experiences in digital photography are somewhere between one end of a spectrum and the other. Underwater photographers often make an either/or distinction when describing how we shoot, […]

Banggai cardinalfish in Lembeh, Indonesia

No Plan B

Van Morrison dropped his 34th album, Born to Sing: No Plan B, in 2012. David Fleetham, now 48 years into his career as a professional underwater photographer, reflects on that […]

manatee

Diving After a Nissen Fundoplication

I am a 57-year-old male who is planning to undergo a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication for refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and a hiatal hernia. Is the procedure considered an absolute […]

stomach illustration

Diving in Remote Areas

Diving has inherent risks. The human body was not designed to be underwater, and drowning, decompression illness, barotrauma, hazardous marine life injuries, and preexisting health issues all require an emergency response. Diving in remote areas introduces additional risks, especially access to medical care.

remote destinations

A Tourniquet Saves a Diver’s Life

A recent dive trip changed the lives of everyone involved, and I hope this story might help save another life.  About 30 days before the trip, I was talking to […]

applying a tourniquet

A Critical Look at No-Decompression Limits

As a hyperbaric physician and dive instructor, I’ve been around a lot of dive accidents, and I’ve spent decades educating divers and treating decompression sickness (DCS).

dive computer
Indonesian