Stamina Exercises -

400 yard swim with no swim aids

15 minute tread

800 yard swim with mask/fin/snorkel

100 yard diver tow

Diver Rescue – Unresponsive, non-breathing diver

Dive Skills Evaluation

Equipment assembly

Pre-dive safety check (BWRAF)

Deep Water Entry

Buoyancy check at surface

snorkel-regulator/regulator-snorkel exchange

five-point decent

Regulator recovery and clearing

Mask removal, replacement and clearing

Air depletion and alternate air source use

Alternate air source assisted ascent

Free flowing regulator breathing

Fin pivot (neutral buoyancy)

Five point ascent

CESA

Hover 30 seconds

Underwater swim without mask

Remove and replace weight under water

Remove and replace scuba unit underwater

Remove and replace weights on surface

Remove and replace scuba unit on surface

Practical Application – Mapping project, gear exchange, Dive Master instructed programs

or

Internship

The dive master course typically takes 4 months to complete.

Once you become a dive master you can teach discovery scuba diving, skin diving, and snorkeling courses. Some agencies such as NAUI even allow you to teach underwater photography and spearfishing courses. You can also work as a dive master on a boat or for a dive center. Becoming a dive master opens you up to the professional side of scuba diving and gives you the chance to begin teaching others about diving.

The same lesson can be learned in Rescue Class, which not only teaches you to assist and help others in crisis, but learning to recognize problems before they get out of control. You learn a lot about yourself, as well.

Even classes like Photography and Spear Fishing can be helpful. Good bouyancy is amust for shooting first class pics and spear fishing encourages an appreciation for reef ecology and fish ID.

Besides…just taking more lessons adds comraderie, confidence, not to mention meeting new dive buddies.

“Okay  Pa. Every year, I have to listen to your annual lobster story tale (no pun intended). Let’s get it over with, so I can survive another year without your yammerin’”.

“Ma, this stuff is important, so listen up. Lobsters get their name from the rose thorns all over their body they like to stick you with. They use their long antennae to scare off predators, whip the stuffing right out of an eel, don’t ya know. The small antennae are called antennules and they are used to sense movement and “taste“ the water around them. The spiny lobster differs from his northern neightbor, trading in the claws for a pair of sharp horns above his eyes. Lobster blood is colorless, but when exposed to the air turns bluish.

Lobsters are nocturnal…meaning they are busy doing their business while we are sleeping. Now, them bugs start getting frisky around March and they play house until August. The girls take a tidy little packet of good stuff (hey, no blushing here, Ma) and when our girl feels like it, she tears it open and has some fun. One female can carry up to 1.7 million eggs. Unfortunately, our poor girl has to hall all them eggs around for about four weeks. The kids are ready to go when the eggs start to turn brown. Mama lobsters are not very good parents, cause the kids just run wild. Eggs can travel thousands of miles, (they could be immigrants from Cuba or Belize, Mexico even, bi-lingual bugs or even dual citizenship) before they settle in sea grass where they dine on small crabs and snails.

Teenage lobsters form gangs and the adults get disgusted and with them bad boys and head out for the reef. About this time, the adults add clams and sea urchins to their dinner menu.

At about two years old, their carapace reaches about three inches. When they grow, they shed their shells by taking in water to expand their body. A lobster can molt 25 times in the first seven years of life. Once they reach the three inch size (legal size as dictated by regs issued in 1982) they molt about once per year, but at that time they can increase their weight up to 40%. They say a lobster can grow to three feet or more and can live up to 15 or more years.

Lobsters can live several days out of the water if kept cool and moist. Lobsters can live in depths up to 1,650 feet. That walking thing you saw on the TV is done when the water starts to get colder and visibility drops. I ain’t the only bug enemy, Ma. I’ve got to fight off  groupers, nurse sharks, rays, turtles, eels and octopus and it isn’t no picnic. Okay, any questions”?

“Just one more question, Pa. What’s the difference between mini lobsters and regular lobsters?”

For more information on diving with Eco SCUBA to hunt for lobster, click here.

Photo Courtesy of: Vivekk00

Lobster season is right around the corner! Don’t miss out on the best deal around. We will take care of everything! Your license, a Guide, your lobster gear, great dives at some of the best lobster sites in the keys.Eco SCUBA wants to show you the best lobster experience out there! Why worry about what you forgot. We’ll take care of it al!

THE HUNT IS ON!

Mini Season – July 28-29
Regular Season – August 6 – March 31, 2011

Pricing Information

Click a trip in the pricing table below to make your reservation.

Important: While Eco SCUBA will do everything we can to put you on the lobster and make your experience as easy as possible, we cannot guarantee that you will catch lobsters.

If  you’re diving in the Keys or Florida, most dive leaders are paid a flat wage for the trip, but it’s not much, so tips supplement their income, much the same as wait staff in a restaurant. Of course, poor service…no tip.  How much does one tip? Usually, the tip runs $5.00+ per crew member. Normally, tips are shared equally between the staff.  I have been on boats where I only wanted to tip one deserving crew member. I have given that person the tip, stating that it is meant only for him. Don’t forget if you are taking a class, your instuctor is tipped separately from the boat crew.

If you’re diving in the Carribbean or Mexico, generally dive crew’s live on tips (only). You don’t tip…they don’t eat. Some crew might admire a piece of your equipment that you might give in lieu of a tip (I always carry an extra dive light for that purpose).

If you dive in California, the tip is often built into the trip because divers usually bring their own gear and tanks. Most divers also change their own tanks between dives, so most crew are on board for assistance and emergencies. If you get rescued…a tip is certainly appropriate.

There is a weird phemomenom regarding rescues. In all my years of executing rescues, I have found that victims do not tip for the assistance. Interesting….

My instructor friends in Spain tell me  that if you’re diving around the Red Sea, some crew feel a tip is an insult…so ask before you give a gratuity.

But…when in doubt and the crew or the instructor has done a nice job…tip.

SDA - Bad

On-line classes allow you to work at your own pace and avoid the classroom situation. This can be good or bad. I believe the computer is no substitute for the classroom, with all its questions and camaraderie. Sometimes other students ask the same dumb question that was in your head. Sometimes they ask good questions you never thought about, but were glad they asked. I have the attitude that if I pay a bundle of money for a dive class, that instructor better be standing in front of me…doing their job. Students also need to meet their instructors to see if the bonding process can kick in. If not…get another instructor.

Now, here’s the problem with some of the “Other” on-line schools…you can take the class, but a NAUI, PADI, SSI, SDI or any other recognized agency instructor cannot or will not accept this on-line class. You would probably be required to retake the classroom portion or at least be stuck with a review. Add…it will probably cost more money.

There are many good agencies and even more great instructors to choose from. A dive shop close to where you live is the perfect place to start. They may have several in house agencies like NAUI, PADI and SSI.

If you’re really set on an online class, my opinion is…go with SDI or PADI.
If you’re learning through your home shop, you can expect to do classroom and pool there, get a referral from your home instructor and go someplace tropical do your open water dives and you’re certified.

I quote, ”The high number of diver deaths, including yet another  scuba diver killed by a boat, underscores the unacceptably high risk of scuba diving in Florida, America’s most dangerous dive destination”.  A small blurb is written about each of the divers and an alleged cause of death. This year’s mini season list was five men, 36-60 years of age. Accidents ranged from problems under water, diving solo, to being hit by a boat (was more than 150 yards from his boat, was not towing a dive flag and don’t forget waves concealing heads). . The article fails to address the reason for the deaths.

Another article headlined, “Dying for lobsters: Diving accident kills ninth Florida bug diver”. This article said this diver was on a hookah rig, wearing a weight belt, surfaced in distress, sunk and drown when her family was unable to rescue her. Questions fly into my head: hookah divers are not required to be certified, so was she aware of the dangers of diving, was she over weighted, did she have adequate training to drop her weight belt in am emergency, where was her dive buddy, was there emergency equipment and a rescue plan on the boat?

SCUBA instructors spend inordinate amounts of time emphasizing some of the simple rules: never dive alone, never hold your breath, be familiar with your equipment, plan your dive and dive your plan, do weight checks, have a rescue plan, have proper equipment to affect a rescue, watch your depth and time, don’t push the tables, no alcohol when diving and of course, if you hear a boat, stay down until the either stops or the sound fades.

The article failed to mention: Florida and the Keys is the number one dive destination in the world, with over a million divers visiting every year. It claimed 26 diving deaths or injuries in the last five years occurred in Florida. It didn’t mention that many diving victims are sedentary, in poor physical condition, smoke, drink , dive once a year on vacation, didn’t bother with a refresher class, didn’t have their gear serviced and generally feel that they have been diving for twenty years (with 30 dives logged) and some “whippersnapper” dive shop employee can’t tell them anything.

My sympathy goes out to the diver’s family, friends, co-workers, dive shops, the people who had to recover a body, the people who tried to rescue and the people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. A diver assumes the risk and a lapse in judgment and focus can have devastating effects. In the nineteen years I have been diving, I am aware of only a handful of accidents that were NOT due to operator error. Of course the article never addressed any of these issues. I guess that wouldn’t be sensational enough to print.

That said, I am surprised at the variety of equipment available for this sport. The basic pole spear is a great way to start. Our dive shop just got in a new variety of pole spear. The band can be moved up and down the spear shaft. It has some unusual spear tips with it. I’ll be interested to see what other hunters think.

I’ve heard a lot of lively conversations on wood versus metal guns, tip styles and different manufacturers. Once agreed that wood wins out, the discussion moves on to wood type (teak, mahogany, padouk, purple heart) and another hour passes. All this ongoing communication has resulted in the formation of a web site (spearboard.com), a club and a tournament hosted by Norman Vogel from the Rooftop Café, held in the spring (usually April or May) in Key West. California has tons of spear fishing contests and I have greaty respect their cold-water sport.

A lot of locals have their own boats, but many utilize dive shops. Most shops will put a trip together for four hunters. Many times staff will set up a trip and let locals know. Local recreational hunters are scarce during the winter months. The water is too cold for their taste. It is rare to find a local diver on board in January and February.  I must admit that I’m shivering in a 6mm wetsuit in 75 degree Florida water and wondering how I ever survived California’s 55 degree water.

Pole spears, band guns, pneumatic guns, Hawaiian slings, rock points, chisel cuts, ½ inch bands, 5/8 inch bands, the possibilities are endless and can be very confusing for the beginner.

Winter is a great time to take a spear fishing class and tune up the gear for the coming spring. . Stop in any of the dive shops to schedule a class, check out your equipment and pick up some new spear bands and tips. Diving is always continuing education and a class or a refresher makes you a better, safer diver.

Safety tip: Never leave your boat unattended. One diver should always be on board to render assistance. It’s no fun surfacing behind the boat in current, drifting away and there is no one to notice.