Snapping Turtles
THE ANCESTORS OF MODERN SEA TURTLES shared the oceans with ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs during the late Jurassic period 150 million years ago. Their descendants now inhabit reefs and oceans around the world.
Alert Diver Issue: Q4 2022
Autism and Diving
My son is on the autism spectrum and wants to learn how to scuba dive. Will his autism be a problem? Everyone with autism is unique and must be evaluated independently. There will never be an all-inclusive recommendation. First, all decisions must be made by you, properly trained dive instructors, and the physicians who are […]
Foam Rolling for Recovery
RECOVERY IS AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT OF TRAINING. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can happen 24 to 48 hours after a workout, and divers don’t want to be distracted by DOMS during their next dive. To improve muscle imbalances, relax muscles, increase mobility, and reduce soreness, try foam rolling. Foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial […]
Peter Bennett
MOST DIVERS KNOW PETER BRIAN BENNETT, PHD, DSC, AS THE FOUNDER OF DIVERS ALERT NETWORK, through which he brought significant changes in how we understand and enact dive safety.
The Trip of a Lifetime
IN 2018 AND 2019, MY HUSBAND AND I traveled to 50 locations in 35 countries over 14 continuous months, spending more than 250 hours underwater to research a dive travel guidebook for National Geographic.
Confessions of a Yahoo Diver
A COMMERCIAL DIVER FRIEND TOLD ME YEARS AGO that people like me — recreational divers who do commercial diving work — are often referred to as yahoos.
I was always comfortable underwater and, at 78 years old, still am.
Practice Crucial Skills
WORKING AS A MATE ON DIVE BOATS for the past 22 years has allowed me to be a part of many interesting situations. When teaching scuba classes, I use one particular situation as evidence of the importance of maintaining skills through regular practice.
After the Accident
Being involved in a traumatic event can take a toll on everyone: dive professionals or rescue divers who perform a rescue, lay providers who help with CPR and first aid, and dive buddies or bystanders.
Do I Need Medical-Grade Oxygen?
DAN INTRODUCED THE FIRST standardized emergency oxygen course for divers as lay providers in 1991. More people trained in oxygen delivery means that providers in dive locations worldwide need to have emergency oxygen units available. Obtaining oxygen refills, however, is an ongoing problem …
Empowering Adaptive Divers
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, you make lemonade, as the saying goes. Such was the case for Jen Overturf. She suffered a spinal injury at her sixth thoracic vertebra from a dirt-biking accident in 2003 that left her paralyzed from the waist down. After the accident …
