Stay ConnectedWoody and Gus love exploring underwater caves and discussing all things Scuba. Woody has been diving since the 70s and is also an Instructor Trainer and a Normoxic Kiss Spirit CCR instructor. He has earned 12 PADI Awards of Excellence as an instructor, and has a staggering 7,500+ dives under his weight belt. Gus started diving in 2018, became an instructor in 2020, and cave diver in 2021.
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3605 Sandy Plains Road
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Marietta, GA 30066
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The Cave DPV Certification is one of the toughest technical diving certifications to attain!
Those of you who have followed our podcast/ YouTube channel for a while are probably aware that we tried to achieve this certification earlier in 2021 and it was a total disaster.
We discussed this on great detail the last episode of this podcast.
Today we give you all an update on our progress and share our stories on the toughest scuba diving credential we've ever worked for.
A few months ago Woody and Gus bought some amazing DPVs (Diver Propulsion Vehicles) with the intent of using them when diving the Florida caves which in most cases are springs and a bit of a workout to swim against.
So the guys showed up to class, with minimal practice, a leaky dry suit, and new dive gear configurations, what can possible go wrong?
Well, apparently, everything!
Central Florida is the home of 'Cave Country' and since we live only 4-5 hours away we get to cave dive there often, but we have many friends who live in Cave Country and dive their caves constantly, almost daily in some cases.
We were wondering why we and thousands of other people continue to dive the same sites over and over, and also, how come 'Cave Country' attracts so many non-cave divers?
We interview Joe Cocozza, a local cave diver who is also the owner of the Pod Diver Lodge and host of Pod Diver Radio. Joe is an amazing host, a scuba instructor, and a huge wealth of knowledge regarding cave diving and scuba diving in general.
Links:
Pod Diver Lodge: https://www.poddiverlodge.com/
Pod Diver Radio: http://poddiver.org
This episode was recorded on video too! If you are interested in seeing our pretty faces and hand signals you should head to our YouTube channel and check it out!
Today we talk about the main pillars of scuba diving and what can you do to conduct a self-assessment of your skills as a diver and determine whether you are a good diver and/or what areas you need to work on in order to take your skills to the next level!
In this episode we discuss "Diver's Cemetery" which is located in Dahab, Egypt. We discuss why it is so dangerous, why should some people stay away from the site, and why we would absolutely love to dive it!
We had the wonderful idea to go diving in the Gulf of Mexico, in February, on wet suits.
The water temperature was 63 degrees (17 celsius) and lets just say we had some problems...
We learned our lesson and wanted to share with you what happened and how you can avoid running into some of these issues.
It is no secret that we are addicted to diving. And just like many divers out there we are members of Facebook groups and forums where diving is discussed 24/7.
Occasionally you see questions from people asking about the limits of diving on air. We see things like "Has anybody gone past 130 ft/40 m on air? There are some wrecks I want to see but they are below those limits so I wonder what would happen if I just went for it on air?"
And of course, a question like that is only followed by a jungle of misinformation led in some cases by "experts" who are happy to announce how often they dive "super deep on air without issues" because "they never get narked".
We like diving deep, so we understand why other divers want to go below recreational depths, but we do it safely!
We wanted to discuss what it takes to dive deep and share some potentially lifesaving knowledge and facts with divers that want to be able to dive deep like us.
On this episode we talk about our plans over the next couple of weeks, exciting news about DPVs and lights, a failed rebreather experiment, and we cover a story detailing what happens when a diver surfaces and is separated from his boat.
We also talk about the gear we use to mitigate this risk.
For our One Year Anniversary episode we wanted to talk about something we are super passionate about, Cave Diving!
We spent a week in Cozumel with an amazing group of divers from the KISS Rebreathers Tech Diving Team, so we invited 3 world-class Cave Divers to join us on this episode.
We discuss what's the path to become a cave diver, cave diving unbreakable rules, what happened to most people who died in caves, and shared some funny and interesting stories from dives in the past.
Our guests for this show are Doug Ebersole, Bryan Buescher, and Mike Young who in addition to being one of the world's greatest cave divers and explorers, he invented the rebreathers we all dive and absolutely LOVE.
Here's what we've been up to over the last two weeks, pus our plans for New Year's and we review some of our favorite articles from 2020.
Nowadays you can achieve the rank of Master Diver - or perhaps even Instructor - without ever diving in the Ocean, or at night, or deep!
So we decided to come up with a challenge for divers out there...and those who can complete it will join a very exclusive club.
Today we talk about twenty polarizing dive related topics you probably have heard of on dive boats, dive forums, and online dive groups.
Tune in to hear us discuss many topics that have turned many dive buddies into enemies!
Special Guest: Doug Ebersole!
It is no secret that we are HUGE FANS of our rebreathers, and a lot of of you have asked us to do an episode about rebreathers.
We wanted to answer the most common questions like:
In order to share as much expertise and knowledge as possible on this episode we invited Georgia Hausserman, PADI's Tec Diving Consultant and Instructor Examiner to help us answer these questions.
We were underwater A LOT over the last month, so we wanted to give you an update on what we've been up to, plus talk about "Technical Diving" and how can people make a transition from Recreational Diving.
If you've ever been curious about what it would take to be able to dive beyond Recreational limits (I.E. Deeper, Longer, Caves, etc.), this episode is for you!
Scuba diving is SUPER EXPENSIVE!
Cave diving is SUICIDAL!
You CAN'T mix and match gear from different manufacturers!
It's WAY CHEAPER to buy online vs. a local dive shop!
Which ones of these are truths and which ones are myths?
Tune in to find out!
Woody's is finally out of the water and he's back on the show talking about Dive Specialties. We discuss the ones we find super useful or even critical, and the ones that we don't find as critical.
This past weekend I attended my Instructor Evaluation. This is a two-day test where you have to prove you have what it takes to be a certified Open Water Instructor.
I didn't attend the IE alone, there were two of us being evaluated, so I invited Megan Beazly to join me in sharing how our IE weekend unfolded.
We ended up talking about our dive careers, why we decided to become instructors, and which instructors and mentors influenced our lives over the years.
Woody has been diving a LOT lately, so I took the opportunity to give you an update on what we've been up to, plus we review the Must-Have Tools for a Safe Dive according to Scuba Diving Magazine.
Do you agree with this list?
Article: https://www.scubadiving.com/keywords/scuba-diving-safety/26-must-have-tools-safe-dive
This past weekend was a busy weekend for us, we were scheduled to go diving in North Carolina but a Tropical Storm cancelled all of our plans, so we were forced to improvise and gamble on a trip to Pensacola, FL instead. What could possibly happen when you just decide to bypass "planning and logistics" and just go with the flow?
You'll have to listen to find out.
We also answered 20 questions that brand new divers or Open Water students might be afraid or too embarrassed to ask their instructor.
Pensacola Dive Operators we used:
Shark Quest: https://www.scuba-dive-pensacola.com/
H2O Below: https://ussoriskanydiver.com/
Two weeks ago there was no episode of DIVE TALK and we wanted to share the reason why we skipped an episode.
We also took the opportunity to discuss and review the new dive computer from Shearwater, the Peregrine.
In this episode we tackle scuba gear. We discuss what is the minimum required gear to get scuba certified, the minimum recommended, and also differences between cheap and expensive gear.
Gear is one of those things you have to deal with throughout your entire dive career so this episode is for everyone!
Although the Georgia Aquarium recently lost the title of World's Largest Aquarium, it still holds the largest exhibit in the world, the Ocean Voyager with 6.3 million gallons of water housing 4 amazing Whale Sharks, giant manta rays, and hundreds of other species. In addition to Ocean Voyager, other galleries in the aquarium such as Tropical Diver, Cold Water Quest, River Scout, and Dolphin tales add dozens of habitats that must be cleaned and maintained, and with animals that must be fed and supported 24/7.
We invited Jonathan Langham to the show, he is the Dive Safety Officer at Georgia Aquarium. We wanted to learn more about the complexity behind managing dive operations at the Aquarium and most importantly, how to do it safely!
Do you want to dive in the Ocean Voyager?
Here's everything you need to know: https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/experience/journey-with-gentle-giants-dive/
In this episode we discuss all the ins and outs of "GOING PRO".
Many divers decide to become a Divemaster or an Instructor and we wanted to dive into all the details behind requirements, best practices, and the personality and experience required to become a Dive Professional.
If you are like me, you have questions about diving...questions that only a Doctor can answer.
In this episode, world-class diver and Physician Doug Ebersole answers my Top 10 Medical Questions about diving!
For this milestone episode we decided to talk about an amazing and absolute crucial piece of the marine ecosystem, SHARKS!
We had the honor to interview William McKeever, a shark expert and author of Emperors of the Deep: Sharks-The Ocean’s Most Mysterious, Most Misunderstood and Most Important Guardians.
To learn more about Mr. McKeever, the book, or Sharks, visit: https://emperorsofthedeep.com/
Weeks ago, before the whole country started shutting down due to Coronavirus, we went on a quick trip down to Florida since Florida was reporting only a few cases at that point and everything was still working.
On the last episode we talked about the things no one likes to see other divers do, this episode is the total opposite of that.
This episode is all about all those things we love to see every diver doing.
Weeks ago, before the whole country started shutting down due to Coronavirus, we went on a quick trip down to Florida since Florida was reporting only a few cases at that point and everything was still working.
During this trip we witnessed several things that are common with divers all around the world. And when you see those things you want to say "Hey man come on, don't be that guy".
We started receiving suggestions via email and messages at DiveTalkMedia.com and we decided to tackle one of those suggestions on this episode.
We are talking about women in Scuba diving, and we interview Terri Broome, who discusses her personal experiences and some of the challenges she has faced since she started diving.
In the world of SCUBA diving, gear has not been the only thing that has evolved over time. The way we teach people how to dive has also changed dramatically.
In this episode we discuss the best approach to training, differences between teaching in confined water vs. open water, the role of the instructor inside and outside the class, and how inclusive can we be when it comes to people who want to dive with disabilities.
In this episode, we put together our list of the Top 10 things in our SCUBA Diving Bucket List.
What's on yours?
Scuba Diving Magazine published an extensive article detailing the best dive destinations, liveaboards, operators, and resorts as selected by 5,000+ divers.
We go over these destinations and add our own insights and on-site experiences.
Article:
https://www.scubadiving.com/scuba-divings-2020-readers-choice-awards-rank-worlds-best-diving
This is Part 2 of our conversation regarding Scuba Diving Safety.
In this episode we tackle an article from Scuba Diver Life detailing the Top 10 Rules for Safe Scuba Diving and we add our own best practices and thoughts along the way.
Article: https://scubadiverlife.com/ten-rules-safe-scuba-diving/
Video mentioned during the episode: https://youtu.be/W30cufYc_ZI
Please subscribe and leave a review for the show on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or any platform you use, it will help us gain visibility and continue growing our reach and number of listeners.
Finally, the topics we discuss in this show are meant to be debated openly with other divers, so make sure you mention the show and the things you learned in this episode to other divers on your next Scuba Adventure.
Safe diving!
This is part 1 of our conversation about Safety.
There is a lot of content out there about safe diving and how to react in case of emergencies, but are those articles and even courses realistic?
We share our thoughts on what we consider to be a safe diver in the real world, as well as some stories from real dive emergencies that sheds light into why it is so important to not be complacent and make safety a priority.
For our inaugural episode, we discuss Dive Agencies, their role in our industry, and the things they do well and not so well.
We will explore whether selecting a specific agency for training matters, certification reciprocity, digital training resources, and whether agencies should venture outside dive training into travel and SCUBA diving vacations.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments about this episode, email us at info@divetalkmedia.com
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