rad fins

I got my new fins this week. They're rad. So, I took them to the Coral Casino's pool for a little test drive. 50 meters underwater is no thing for these fins. Easiest underwater lengths I've done.
What I ended up getting was C4 81 VGRs. The Italians were in no rush to ship them. It took about 9 weeks, during which time the model I originally ordered was discontinued. But I won't complain - they're awesome. I did a fair amount of research before committing to these fins. If you're in the market, you should peep my notes.
Here's Bridget making the fins look good:

Tijiguas

Because someone told me Tijiguas "has the best visibility in town", I dove there yesterday. And while that same person purported visibility like "35 feet" at times, it looked like everywhere else in town yesterday. Maybe like 2 feet better visibility. That translates to 3 feet total. I dove at depths between 20 and 30 feet with Elhanan and the word I will use to describe it is 'murky'. Let me say, if you live in Hawai'i, DO NOT MOVE. It doesn't get any better.

again, this author is rad

Unraveling the Mammalian Diving Reflex, Part I
DeeperBlue.net - September 3, 2002
Unraveling the Mammalian Diving Reflex, Part II
DeeperBlue.net - September 26, 2002

"When freedivers dive deep they activate a set of physiological reflexes that act as the first line of defense against hypoxia. Collectively termed either the diving response or mammalian diving reflex (MDR), the mechanism controls the shift of blood to the brain and heart, functioning in tandem as an important oxygen-conserving mechanism, not only in freedivers, but also in whales, penguins and seals (Figure 1). In fact, this amazing physiological phenomenon was first observed in deep diving mammals as early as the 1900's, but until as recently as the 1950's it was thought that humans did not possess the reflex." - Erik Seedhouse

pulmonary barotraumas

The Risks of Ascent
DeeperBlue.net - December 2, 2002

"For an equivalent change in depth the risk of barotrauma is greatest near the surface, a fact explained by Boyle's law. A breath-holding free diver rising from 33 feet to the surface experiences a change in ambient pressure from two to one atmospheres. If the lungs fully expand within the chest cavity the lung volume will double. By contrast, a 33-foot rise from 99 to 66 feet depth (i.e., from 4 to 3 atmospheres) would maximally increase a free diver's lung volume only 33 percent, posing less risk of a barotrauma." - Erik Seedhouse

a little somin' somin' to get me psyched

Blue Water Hunters
nokaoiMagazine.com - June 7, 2008

"I watch him descend headfirst into the blue, his long black fins gently waving, graceful as an ulua. His body drops straight down, impossibly deep. I can’t believe he doesn’t have a tank. I start counting, 1, 2, 3, 4… I get to 60 and stop counting. He’s still down."

great white shark sighting in L.A. - decidedly not rad

sighting of a great white shark
L.A. Times, unleashed - June 2, 2008

"The Orange County Register reports on a sighting of a great white shark, spotted two miles offshore near Doheny State Beach Sunday by a whale watching charter boat."

shallow water blackout kills

Broomfield pool drowning victim was training to become Navy SEAL
Broomfield News - May 31, 2008

"(Drew) had just passed an initial SEALs triathlon assessment a couple of days earlier, and was most likely practicing a 50-meter underwater swim while holding his breath..."