Picture from Destination360.com

With summer just around the corner, we think about family vacations. I came across this great article on Snorkeling in Dominica and it brought back great memories of my trip to Dominica. Dont forget your snorkeling gear!

Dominica is a wonderful island and has one of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. The variety of fish and corals are beautiful and the island has more than just fantastic snorkeling. As the Dominican Tourism Board says: Steaming valleys, and the world’s 2nd largest boiling lake, 365 rivers rushing to the sea, national parks, lush vegetation and a UNESCO World Heritage Site! “Domineek-ah” invites you to Explore! Hike! Discover! And below the sea, the clear Caribbean waters, volcanic formations and rich marine life make for exceptional diving, snorkeling and whale watching.

There is plenty to do on the island of Dominica for the whole family. Watch this video, dont forget your snorkeling gear and dont forget to invite me!!

To watch more great videos, go to Discover Dominica.

Picture by Reuters

Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims in Japan. Because our love for snorkeling takes us across the world, we must understand mother nature and the risks of earthquakes and tsunami waves. The following is an email we received from TravelSafe. Although we might not live in a tsunami or eathquake area, it is important to know your surroundings that you travel to and follow local officials directions on where to go and what to do. And this is also a reminder to always carry travel insurance especially if you pay big bucks for your snorkel vacation.

An 8.9 earthquake hit Sendai, Japan in the middle of the night, sending off tsunami warnings to more than 20 countries, including the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii. A tsunami warning issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has been widened beyond East Asia to include Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, North, Central and South America and the rest of the Pacific Ocean. Tsunami waves have already hit Hawaii, and residents in coastal areas were evacuated to refuge areas at community centers and schools while tourists in Waikiki were moved to higher floors of their high-rise hotels. On Call International urges those in the affected areas to monitor and follow all emergency recommendations from local officials until the danger has passed.

Tsunamis can rapidly flood coastal areas with devastating results. Areas at greatest risk are those less than 25 ft/8 m above sea level and within 1 mi/1.6 km of the shoreline. If you’re in a coastal area when an earthquake that lasts 20 seconds or longer occurs, first protect yourself from the earthquake: Drop, cover, and hold on. When the shaking stops, move quickly to higher ground away from the coast.

If you are on the beach and the water suddenly and dramatically recedes from the shoreline, a tsunami may be imminent. The approaching wave may be visible as a churning line of foamy water, but it may not be visible at all until it strikes. Don’t delay to collect belongings: Run for higher ground immediately, or climb to the highest floor of a multistory, well-built building. Be careful to avoid downed power lines, and stay away from buildings and bridges from which heavy objects might fall during an aftershock. A last-ditch survival tactic is to climb as high as you can into a sturdy tree or climb onto the roof of a building. Tsunamis often occur as multiple waves of varying size, so do not return to an affected area until you’re certain the danger has passed.

Tokyo’s Narita airport has partially resumed flights after closing following the earthquake. Officials from the airport said some departing flights were now taking off from the airport, but that it was not accepting arrivals following the worst quake in Japanese history.

Japan Airlines said the airports of Sendai, Iwate Hanamaki, Yamagata and Aomori were shut. All Tokyo area trains were halted, while the shinkansen bullet train service in the quake-torn areas has been suspended.

You may not be currently signed up for natural disaster services with On Call International; however, On Call is interested in the safety and well being of your students, employees or other interested parties. We are willing to offer our assistance services should you have people in need. Please contact our Global Response Center at 800-407-7307 or via email at mail@oncallinternational.com to notify us of any student, employee, etc. who needs assistance.

We are going to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. National Geographic TV made this video and if you cant get to Australia this week, put your snorkel gear on and relax… but dont forget to breathe through your snorkel or your snorkeling mask will get fogged!

A question was asked, When is the best time to snorkel? High Tide or Low Tide?

Our Snorkeling Expert, Roy, explained that if you snorkel in a high slack tide, it is usually the best time because the water is nearest the shore. Now if you chose the to snorkel during the low tide, you would have to walk out farther from the beach to get to the water. You can also risk getting hurt on pieces of coral that would be exposed or closer to the surface of the water when the tide is low. Now if it was high tide, those same corals would be deeper and you could snorkel over the corals.

Here is a great article, Snorkeling From The Shore that will explain more about high and low tides.

Please, take a snorkel dive flag with you when you go out into the open waters. This cool snorkel dive flag hooks onto your snorkel and shows boaters that you are in the water. What reminded me to tell you about this life saving product?

I just read an article about a snorkeler who was snorkeling in a popular spot in Phuket, Thailand. A speedboat ran the tourist over and dragged him for over a mile before the captain stopped. The guy is fine well not counting the bruises and he did lose his snorkeling mask, snorkel and fins. This gentleman is very lucky!

Read more about the snorkeler who was run over by a boat. And if you are interested in Phuket, here is a list of the best snorkeling in Phuket.

Check this out! So I am sure that everyone has had salmon on their plate at one time or another. And I am sure that everyone knows that salmon swims upstream, but did you know that you can snorkel with the salmon? Now how cool is that?

Paradise Found Adventures offers Snorkeling Tours on the Campbell River which is 3.5 hours from Victoria, Canada. The owners, Brad and Jennifer Brock, have been voted by the Canadian Tourism Commission as one of the best outdoor adventure trips in the country.

Here is a great article from Andrew Flemings experience.

For those who are in the Chicagoland or the D.C. area, you can fly non-stop to Grand Cayman roundtrip as little as $238.00 roundtrip (not including taxes). For more information and make your reservation, go to Cayman Airways. Need accomodations? Go to the Cayman Tourism for specials.

Make sure you have your snorkel gear and go have fun with the beautiful creatures underwater!

Photo @ William Garvin

In Chicago, it is getting chilly, to chilly to snorkel or at least for me. But to continue with my fun hobby for the rest of the year, where can we go that is inexpensive? Florida has many great locations and they do have great State Parks. Grab your snorkel set and lets go for a trip!

The Blue Spring State Park is west of Orange City and is a spring that has a constant 72 degrees water temperature. Because the spring is a safe haven warm water refuge for the  West Indian Manatees, the park is closed to snorkeling (and all water sports) from Nov 15 – Mar 1.

Now if your goal is to snorkel with the manatees, go to Crystal River in Florida. Here is a great video that you and the family will enjoy. It was produced by Birds Underwater Inc. Dont forget your snorkel set!

The Tuscan Archipelago is a large marine reserve formed by seven splendid islands: Elba, Giglio, Giannutri, Montecristo, Gorgona, Pianosa and Capraia. In order to access some of these islands a special permission is necessary, while Montecristo and Pianosa are
interdicted to divers, although not to snorkelers.

Here we will focus on two of these seven islands: Elba and Giannutri. Although each island (and much of the Tuscan coast) offers splendid waters and sea bottoms to snorkel, these are an excellent starting point that offer plenty of choice for a full snorkeling holiday in Tuscany.

Elba Island
This is by far the largest island of the Tuscan archipelago, offering 147 kilometers of coastal line. The crystal clear waters and the many rocky bottoms make it a popular snorkeling and diving destination. The Scoglietto di Portoferraio is located immediately outside the
Portoferraio bay (max depth 25 meters – 82 feet). Especially during the spring months you will meet many amberjacks and large stretches covered with sea fans.  If you are interested in octopuses, morays and lobsters, snorkel around Capo d’Enfola and Scoglio della Nave (max depth 42 meters – 137 feet). 50 yards from the coast you will find the Punta del Nasuto, a large isolated rock that hosts lobsters, corals, conger eels and breams (depth 12 to 47 meters – 39 to 154 feet).

The Secca del Careno is located between Capo Sant’Andrea and Formiche di Zanca. To reach the shoal you will need a private boat. These open sea rocks are met at about 14 meters (45 feet) from the surface and offer a large variety of fish and colored sea sponges. While you are
at it try to make it at the Formiche della Zanca, a group of isolated rocks further out at sea which offer a splendid fish variety and large lobsters at shallower depths.

A more accessible location is the Relitto di Pomonte (max depth 12 meters – 39 feet). From the beach of Pomonte reach the Scoglio dell’Ogliera, where lays the relict of the Elviscot cargo, wrecked in 1972 during a sea storm. The large number of fish and sun beams over
the relict offer a splendid environment to explore.

At Scoglio della Corbella large rocks and grottoes form a suggestive underwater landscape populated with sarpa salpa, scorpion fish, octopus, anemones and crab varieties. The depth varies from 8 to 42 meters (26 to 137 feet).

Picchi di Pablo is located near Punta Bianca. You will need a private boat to reach the spot. The depth varies from 2 to 35 meters (6 to 114 feet). Here you will find many orange parazoanthus, yellow sea fans, and coral, which are located deeper.

Giannutri
This c-shaped island is very small and almost completely inhabited. It is reached with a daily ferry from Porto Santo Stefano. In case you want to prolong your stay to explore the sea bottom at ease, be aware that no camping is allowed and there are no hotels. However, there are some Tuscany apartments available for rent. There is one small grocery shop and one pizza place. On the other hand the natural environment and sea bottom are spectacular.

Located 100 yards from the coast is the relict of Anna Bianca, wrecked here due to an explosion in 1971. The ship broke in half and the two pieces can still be seen today at 40 meters (131 feet) of depth.

Audacious snorkelers can reach the engine room of the boat with a flash light and admire the spectacular variety of fish that inhabits the ship.

Punta San Francesco reaches a depth that varies from 15 to 40 meters (49 to 131 feet). Swimming away from the coast you will get at a series of rocks covered with algae and hydroyds, and populated by nudibranchs of various colors. The many holes and grottoes accommodate moray, octopus, and grouper.

Some safety advice: When swimming away from the coast always remember to observe the signaling rules. In Italy the marker buoy should never be any further than 50 meters (160 feet) from you. Never tie the marker buoy with a rope to your body, as you risk being carried away by incautious boats. Boats should never be at less than 100 meters (380 feet) from the marker buoy.

Respect these rules and have great fun snorkeling in the beautiful see of Tuscany!

Matt Kachinksky lives in Italy and reviews Tuscany Apartment rentals while experiencing life in the land in first person. His dream is to buy some Tuscany apartments on the coast torrent and enjoy peaceful winters and snorkeling summers.

I checked out the iPhone Apps that are available for the findings of Fish and there were over 330 available applications. Sure there is a lot of games and even trailers for movies but you do know that you can download other apps for the iPhone and not only with Apple.

Looking for a Reef Fish Hawaii with over 159 fish and Reef Fish Hawaii also offers apps for Snorkel Hawaii the Big Island, Snorkel Kauai and Snorkel Maui Lanai & Molokai. All versions do have a fee but they also offer a free mini version.

Or do what I do, carry the FishFlips ID Books (around the wrist) or carry the Reef Creature or Reef Fish Pocket Pocket Guide.