As the son of a Veteran, I am proud of the fact that my father served in the military. His actions helped to preserve the foundation on which this country was built. This pride extends to uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends who also served in the various branches of the military. They chose to offer their service in a capacity that we civilians can scarcely imagine. We have cried with those whose loved ones paid the ultimate sacrifice of giving their very lives in the line of duty. While we remember the heros who died for our country we often overlook our living heros. Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are two campaigns where military personnel have returned with injuries received during their military service. These heros, may or may not, be able to make a smooth transition back to the lives they had before their injuries. The musician now missing a hand. The former athlete now confined to a wheelchair. The parent unable to hold their child with two arms. The road to recovery is more often than not long and not without struggle. This is not without mental anguish to themselves as well as those who love them.
There is a program that has been gaining noteriety being run by a dedicated staff of volunteers that are determined to make a difference with injured service members. This is but one of their passions, their second passion is SCUBA diving. They have combined these passions into what is now the SUDS program. SUDS (Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland is the result. The program is for injured service members of OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to help improve their lives. The program allows injured service members to learn to Scuba Dive and earn their scuba certification through SDI (Scuba Diving International).
One of our major scuba manufacturers, Oceanic, has decided to jump on board and support SUDS. Oceanic has introduced the USA Patriotic line of scuba and snorkeling gear. Masks, fins snorkel and bags in red, white and blue and stars and stripes. Oceanic has committed 7% of the sales from the USA line to be given to the SUDS program. That is a wonderful commitment from a company that is not too proud to recognize, thank and reward those Veterans who have done so much for us. SnorkelingOnline has decided to join in by committing an additional 13% of sales from the Oceanic USA line purchased through us. In purchasing items from the Oceanic USA line, you will not only be showing your patriotic side, you will also be thanking and helping those who gave so much of themselves for the ideals of this great nation.
As the son of a Veteran, I am proud to see this and to be a part of it. To all the Veterans and to those still serving “Thank You.”
The Oceanic USA Line will be released the week of May 14, 2012
While cruising on You Tube, I found an awesome video on a boat of snorkelers who ran into a pod of orcas with a baby. Throughout my travels, I have never seen in the wild, orcas. For us to see them, we would have to go to our local aquarium, which ours is the Shed Aquarium to see these beautiful creatures. Enjoy the video.
Who doesnt love and respect National Geographics, most of us grew up with them and sat close to the tv when we were little with our mask and snorkel on and could not wait until we could jump in the water with the beautiful underwater creatures. Here is an awesome video about the humpback whales with their calves that were found in the Silver Bank, Dominican Republic. The Silver Banks is one of the few areas in the world that you can legally get in the water with these mammals and they are always near by from January through April, but hurry as permits are limited. Visit Aquatic Adventures for more information.
Just when you think there is no more kindness in people, something good happens. Have you ever lost something and thought it was gone forever? Most of us have and its not a good feeling. I have recently read two articles that showed both extremes, the good and the bad and taught me a good lesson.
The good – Dale Rohlf from Oahu, Hawaii, in his spear time, he enjoys putting on his snorkel and mask and heading into the ocean looking for lost treasures. Dale is different from others; he will actually try to hunt down who the owner is of the treasures, mainly jewelry. All the hotels know who he is and who to send people to when they have lost jewelry while swimming or snorkeling. This article proves what lengths Dale will go to in order to return items to people, Snorkeling in Hawaii, Found Class Ring from 1936.
The bad – Kiri Malli from Sri Lanka spends much of his time at Polhena beach snorkeling for lost jewels. Kiri is trained to look for people on the beach in distress trying to find lost jewelry and that is when he moves in and pretends to help, he is also trained to remember the exact spot the jewelry was lost. He admits to making sure the people dont find the item and later, after they have left, he goes back to the spot puts on his mask and snorkel and finds the jewelry. Unfortunately, unlike Dale in the previous article, Kiri will not be trying to find the owner he does this strictly for profit. Read more at Hunting For Gold at Paradise Beach.
The lesson to be learned here is not to wear jewelry while snorkeling. There is a good chance you will lose something and a very slim chance you will ever get it back.
When we think of the word crystal, we normally associate it with fine glassware. So putting crystal into the name of a snorkeling mask, one would assume it would be referring to the lenses. This is not the case with the Cressi Big Eyes Evolution Crystal. The “Crystal” in the title is not referring to the lenses of the mask at all, it is referring to the silicone mask skirt. We already know that silicone is a better material to use in mask skirts, but what makes the crystal silicone so special? The Crystal silicone is actually softer than conventional silicone. This means that the mask will conform to a wider variety of facial features and facial sizes. The Crystal silicone is also more resistant to the ugly yellowing that happens to silicone over time and the clarity of the Crystal silicone gives a less closed in feeling. Using a softer silicone can have its drawbacks because the mask skirt still has to be able to support the frame and lenses of the mask. Cressi added internal ribs at strategic support points to compensate. The Crystal silicone is also used in the mask skirt which makes it virtually invisible on the head. If you were the least bit cloudy on Crystal Silicone, I hope that I have made everything “Crystal” clear. Purchase your Cressi Big Eyes Evolution Crystal mask today, you wont be disappointed!
As the son of a Veteran, I am proud of the fact that my father served in the military. His actions helped to preserve the foundation on which this country was built. This pride extends to uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends who also served in the various branches of the military. They chose to offer their service in a capacity that we civilians can scarcely imagine. We have cried with those whose loved ones paid the ultimate sacrifice of giving their very lives in the line of duty. While we remember the heros who died for our country we often overlook our living heros. Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are two campaigns where military personnel have returned with injuries received during their military service. These heros, may or may not, be able to make a smooth transition back to the lives they had before their injuries. The musician now missing a hand. The former athlete now confined to a wheelchair. The parent unable to hold their child with two arms. The road to recovery is more often than not long and not without struggle. This is not without mental anguish to themselves as well as those who love them.
When we think of the word crystal, we normally associate it with fine glassware. So putting crystal into the name of a snorkeling mask, one would assume it would be referring to the lenses. This is not the case with the