Just got two of these Oxycheq Raider 3W LED backup lights to replace my current ones. Mainly, I got these to replace my older backup lights that were a bit too big on my dive harness, I wanted something a bit shorter without giving up burn-time or brightness.

These lights are bright, as bright as a 10w HID cannister light for 1/10 of the cost, i.e. $700 for a HID cannister and $70 for one of these LED backup lights.

I’m taking them on a trip in a couple of weeks and plan on putting then thru there paces.

Check out this YouTube video comparison.

This 14ft monster was caught in a Thai river after an extensive search by a biologist looking to study them. They have a 15inch arrow-shaped barb on their tail that can penetrate thru bone. They feed on clams and shrimp by detecting their electrical signature with special sensors and bury themselves in the mud as a defense.

The biologist who studied them claims that these creatures may be the largest freshwater fish in the world.

There are unverified accounts of individuals growing well over 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) in weight and more than 20 feet (6 meters) in length

Surpisingly, they exist in a rivers in heavily-populated areas and aren’t on the local menu because they are extremely hard to catch. The one caught in the picture gave birth shortly after being captured and was released without harm.

Read

This is pretty cool if they do it, it will make finding new shipwrecks a whole lot easier. But like Google Mars, I’m not exactly sure how they are going to sell ad space on it.

The company has assembled an advisory group of oceanography experts, and in December invited researchers from institutions around the world to the Mountain View, Calif., Googleplex. There, they discussed plans for creating a 3D oceanographic map, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The tool–for now called Google Ocean, the sources say, though that name could change–is expected to be similar to other 3D online mapping applications. People will be able to see the underwater topography, called bathymetry; search for particular spots or attractions; and navigate through the digital environment by zooming and panning. (The tool, however, is not to be confused with the “Google Ocean” project by France-based Magic Instinct Software that uses Google Earth as a visualization tool for marine data.)

Article on Cnet

A short piece aired near the top of 11pm news Sunday night on Channel 8 here in San Diego, ca I have not been involved in discovering or researching this, I involved in the video shot.

The wreck is the Cape Charles (previously referred to as the “workboat” by some). It was discovered in January 2007 by Ray Arntz and Gary Fabian while they were searching for the nearby TBM Avenger (http://ub88.org/avenger.html). Tyler Stalter and other divers found the wreck shortly afterwards and have done several dives on the wreck to establish its identity.

Tyler Stalter says:

“After many dives the SDTechDiving.com team has finally identified a 110’ long, steel hulled vessel off Point Loma. This vessel is sitting upright and intact on the bottom in 165’ of water. After hours of bottom time we were finally able to gather valuable evidence to use to identify the unkown wreck. Al Bruton was able to provide some valuable insight into how the vessel wound up off Point Loma. The vessel in question, “Cape Charles” sunk in San Diego bay. It was slated to be re-floated and towed to wreck alley for disposal in the late 80s. En route to wreck alley the vessel capsized and sank in 165’. Her tumble is evident in the debris strewn around the wreck and the gash in the bow from the towline. Another link is the abundance of large inflatable “lift bags” to float the wreck in the bay for towing which are all over the exterior and even the interior of the wreck as well. After reviewing all of these clues it is our opinion that the wreck we have been diving is in fact a 110’ ft hulled vessel known as the Cape Charles. This is the perfect wreck for any technical training in the San Diego area. Several decks to penetrate and some very cool features such as the large intact crane on the aft deck, debris field and its unique placement just off the tip of Point Loma will make this a very popular wreck for technical divers.”

Dive Report:
We dove it Saturday morning at slack tide. Vis on the wreck was about 15′. Temp was 50F. We dove trimix due to the depth. 25min bottom time, 70min total runtime with deco. Some people dove rebreathers, some dove open circuit doubles plus deco gas.

VIDEO:
KFMB doesn’t have the broadcast video on their website, but here is the raw video (not including Tyler’s studio interview):
http://rogerbly.s3.amazonaws.com/video/cape-charles_iphone.mp4

(NOTE: this video is 100MB, 10min. Can be viewed in Quicktime, VLC, Totem, or any mpeg-4/AVC/H.264 player. In Quicktime, best to use File->Open URL… with the above URL. That way you can watch while it downloads.)

This is awful but I hope people don’t go shark crazy again.

A Coast Guard helicopter is being sent to assist Solana Beach officials after a fatal shark attack was reported there this morning. A man was killed in the apparent attack, officials said.

The HH-60 helicopter crew has been dispatched and is going up in support of lifeguards and other emergency crews.

“It is not an active search-and-rescue,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Clinton Dotson. “We will help clear the area … and see if we can spot the culprit.”

http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/breaking/2008/04/coast_guard_to_assist.html

This was shot by my dive buddy John Walker in May 07. The location is just outside of Akumal on the Yucatan peninsula. 

Tush Kupaxa is an awesome cave. Located on Mexico’s Yucatan Penninsula along the Maya Rivera. Way off the beaten path, this cave hosts an enormous about of prehistoric remnants, including BONES.

This wreck/artificial reef was used as a missile tower test platform for submarine based warfare. They would load a missle into it, sink it underwater and launch the missile. Of course, when the Navy was finished with it, the ceremoniously dumped it into the ocean as an artificial reef, very close to the Mexican Border.

This website/blog is written by and for woman scuba divers. It features trip reports, photos, tips and gear reviews that focus on women who scuba dive.

Pretty cool idea as most of the dive industry is male-focused.

http://www.miss-scuba.com/

This is from a couple of years ago and the video quality isn’t great but it gives a quick introduction to the KISS rebreather.

The KISS rebreathers are like the rEvo in many regards some highlights:

• Easier to travel with
• include an integrated bailout value (BOV)
• have 3-independent oxygen displays
• non-integrated harness and wing
• easy to repair as most of the parts are off-the-shelf from places like REI/HomeDepot

It lacks:

• the modular scrubber
• integrated HUD
• tool-less maintenance chassis, the KISS needs tools

These units are about the same in cost but know that both of these units are sold in units other than the USD so the price for these units fluctuates as the United States Peso Dollar moves.