I enjoy reading the normal scuba diving magazines as much as the next guy, but I recently set out to find something more.  I wanted a publication that explored cave diving, wreck penetration, and other aspects of technical diving.  At first I found Advanced Diver Magazine (www.advanceddivermagazine.com) and it looked like exactly what I wanted, but it turned out to be out of print.  Well, there's some good to go along with that: they've actually gone "green" so all their content is available online.  For free.  They nolonger follow a typical "publication" format; instead posting individual contributions as they come.  If you are into any aspect of technical diving, I highly recommend checking it out.  There are both traditional articles as well as some great videos.

Next, I came across another free online publication at www.techdivingmag.com.  I had setout looking for a paper publication that I could pack around with me, but this may actually be better.  I am trying to embrace the technology.  Tech Diving Mag "publishes" a quarterly online magazine as a PDF that you can download.  Now, I am not big on reading stuff on a computer screen as a substitute for paper, but in this case, I was able to copy the PDF into my iTunes library and synch it into the iBook app on my iPad.  Perfect.  I had already been transfering to the dark side e-subscriptions with Backpacker and Islands magazines.  This PDF to iBook system doesn't automatically get my new issue to me, but it is close now that I "Liked" Tech Diving Magazine on Facebook.

If you haven't tried it yet, I recommend giving e-subscriptions to any sort of digital reader a chance.  I was skeptical at first too.  In reality it is quite nice.  True e-subscriptions through iTunes or reader apps like Zinio just show up on your iPad, they are searchable so you can quickly find an article that you remember reading, and they automatically save your place.  Plus they can be read from anywhere without needing an internet connection.

The PDF to iBook (or other PDF reader app) solution takes a slight amount of work, but carries with it a monster advantage: FREE-ness!!!  Now I am hungry to find more free publications that I can get to my iPad.  To be continued...

Ever since I read Diving into Darkness, I have been intrigued by Dave Shaw's "proving grounds" in South Africa: Komati Springs.  Komati Springs is a flooded mine that consists of a central pit that provides open water conditions down to about 160 feet.  The pit also connects to a multilevel cave system that has been explored to a little over 600 feet - some of this exploration is touched on in Diving into Darkness.  Don Shirley (Dave's mentor and eventual dive buddy) still offers technical diving courses, including cave, at the mine.

If you are like me and you live too far away for a quick trip to South Africa, here's a video I found of a couple diving in Komati Springs.  The video is a little dark, but it still gets my heart pumping a little faster.

Check out Don's operation: http://www.technicaldivingafrica.co.za.

I have written before about the abandoned missile silo in Washington.  Today I found this video of the dive: http://vimeo.com/18197984

-- definitely worth checking out!!!

Silent Scuba in western Washington is offering a "Rebreather Review and Experience" on June 26th.  This is a chance for people to come learn about and try some different rebreathers.  Here is some more information: http://www.silentscuba.com/lib/content/flyer_info_single_page_jun_26_2011.pdf

I was talking with some dive buddies the other day and we ended up trying to answer the question, "Where would you dive if you could only dive one place?"  Well, that question was tough and there were some battles in different directions that were as funny as they were pointless.  The discussion did inspire me to come up with my list of picks if I could dive only four places (not including local sites).  I felt that it would be most appropriate to try to come up with four sites that offered different things so I could get the most our of my own "Final Four."

Truk Lagoon
Toward the end of World War II, allied aircraft attached the Japanese Combined Fleet while they were anchored in Truk Lagoon.  The result is a wreck diver's paradise.  There are over 50 ships sitting on the bottom - many of which are well within recreational limits.  Some of the smaller boats and numerous planes that were shot down are shallow enough for snorkelers to investigate.  There are many world-class wreck dives in the lagoon, and I am sure everyone has at least a few favorites.  One of the common standouts is the Fujikawa Maru, an aircraft ferry that still has planes in its easily accessible holds.  Other wrecks have trucks, tanks, and other heavy machinery still strapped down.

Great Barrier Reef
The world's largest reef may be stretching the definition of a "spot" - it is 1,500 miles long and encompasses over 100,000 square miles of diving area.  That's part of what makes it a good choice on my list.  Also, the Great Barrier Reef has TONS of aquatic life to see.  There are over a thousand different species of fish.  It's got sea snakes (not my favorite), sharks (not a big fan of those either), rays, turtles, monstrous grouper, dwarf minke whales, and beautiful tropical fish like Nemo.

Akumal, Mexico
The Yucatan Peninsula is riddled with underwater caves and their sinkhole openings called cenotes.  It is hard to pick a single "best cave diving" location, but it is impossible to overlook the area around Akumal as a candidate.  The water is typically crystal clear and doesn't have near the current that many of Florida's spring fed caves exhibit.  The water is warm for caves - around 75 degrees.  New caves and passageways are being discovered all the time - that's right, you can still EXPLORE here!  The Mayans viewed many of the cenotes as gateways to the spirit world; and, there are amazing artifacts that can be seen (seen, not touched or taken) while diving.  Many of the cenotes are surrounded by dense jungle and can really only be reached by divers who entered the cave system at another cenote.

Antarctica
I am one of those crazy (or just stupid) guys who truly enjoys ice diving.  There's something wonderful about cutting a hole in the ice and diving in to see what lies in the clear waters underneath.  I wouldn't want to give up ice diving all together and my other spots are a bit too tropical for ice outside of a drink, so I figured why not go all out and head to McMurdo Sound.  There are only a few companies that run dive charters to McMurdo, but they do exist.  Visibility is amazing: 500 feet is common.  There are plants and animals that live only in the waters of Antarctica.  Oh, speaking of the waters, the water temperatures are as cold as 28 degrees.  These cold waters actually help many species grow to huge sizes that are unseen anywhere else.

Shadow Divers is a very entertaining book about some New Jersey divers who find an unknown German U-Boat and set out on a journey to identify it.  If you aren't familiar with the story, you should be: check out Shadow Divers.  It is an amazing story that is BASED on a true story.  The heroes of the story are legendary divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler.  I absolutely loved this book and everyone that I have shared it with has loved it.  And then I did some more reading and that's when I realized that there might have been some embellishments in the story.

If you have read Shadow Divers and don't want to ruin your perception of the story then you should just stop here (I often wish I hadn't read more).  WARNING: There will be spoilers in the following content.

The next book that I read was The Last Dive - which is a story about the Rouses (the father-son pair who died in Shadow Divers).  This book is also an excellent read.  The two stories overlap when the Rouses died diving on the mystery U-Boat.  The basic story of the tragic dive is the same between the two accounts (both of which are essentially Chatterton's account) with one glaring difference: Shadow Divers has Chatterton trying to convince the rescue crew to leave the dad (Chris) and take the son (Chrissy); while The Last Dive has Chatterton convincing them to take both.  Seems like a small detail, but I thought it was odd that the two stories had opposite renditions of this point.  I did some looking online and nobody had a great answer as to which was the truth.  But, my heroes were still heroes.

Then I read Shadow Divers Exposed.  As you can guess from the title, the version of the story from this book is wildly different from that told in Shadow Divers.  Many of the heroics attributed to Chatterton and Kohler were actually performed by other people.  The book is much less fun to read, but is worth it if you are into knowing the actual truth.  For the most part, it comes across as a childish attack by the author (Gary Gentile) against people who ended up being more successful than he did.