I just love it when some smart person comes with a entirely new and unique way for me to hurt myself.  Zapata Racing has created the absolute coolest personal water craft (PWC) accessory ever.  Some are calling it the "Dolphin", Zapata calls it the "FlyBoard."  You strap this board to your feet then use the jet from your PWC to push you through the water and into the air.  The FlyBoard is going to run you around $7000, plus you will need a 100+ horse power PWC to power the whole thing.  The guy in the video has some sort of customized jet board thingy - he speaks some language that I don't understand so I don't know if he talks about his craft in the video.  He does use a standard jet ski some and that is what they point to on their web site.  Check it out:

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.

Everybody should add the Rickshaw Run to their bucket list.  It as close to a prepackaged "ordeal" as any ordeal hunter could want.  Check it out: http://www.theadventurists.com/

I have done a little windsurfing and have always wanted to try kite boarding.  I was talking with a friend about signing up for kite lesson and he mentioned a Kitewing.  I didn't know what it was but I was interested.  He had seen a picture but didn't really know much more.  I did some looking on line and found the manufacturer's site: http://www.kitewing.com/.  It looks sort of like the sail off a sailboard except it is more hang-glider shaped.  It looks like fun and it could be used with multiple different "rides."  Here's one of the many YouTube videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vmjf82Oq_Q&NR=1.  Looks like another fun toy to spend some money on - just what I need.

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!!!

Thanks to http://www.idahohotsprings.com, my family paid a visit to Skinny Dipper Hot Spring near Banks, Idaho.  The springs were awesome!  There are multiple pools that were constructed by creating dams across a narrow ravine.  The hot water is captured in a pool at the top where it enters a pipe.  Cold water is also routed into a pipe at the base of a waterfall near the top of the ravine.  There are valves near the various pools that allow you to control the temperature - AMAZING!  The lowest pool (which is the first you come to) is easily big enough for a dozen people and plenty deep for a great soak.  The hike is steep but short (less than a half mile) - very scenic and totally worth it.  Basically, you park at mile marker 4 on highway 17 outside Banks then follow the trail and signs on up.  For more detailed directions, I'll leave it to http://www.idahohotsprings.com.

My daughter's soccer team had an end of the season party at Bodies in Motion, which has an indoor high ropes course.  It was exhausting, but was a BLAST!

A high ropes course is a specialized obstacle course that is up in the air.  There are various climbing, balancing, and swinging elements that must be negotiated.  There is also some sort of belay system setup so that people won't fall and die.

The course at Bodies in Motion has six different platforms that are joined by obstacle sections.  Also, there are cables running over the obstacles that you clip into (that is the belay system).  When you reach the next platform, you just transfer your clips to the next cable section and work through the next obstacle.  Probably my favorite obstacle was a series of six or seven wooden swings that you could walk across fairly easily once you got the rhythm - if you hesitated too long, you lost your momentum and it became really tough.  Some of the obstacles required a person to be taller than my daughter and her friends so they had to work together to push/pull each other through.

The downside was that it was indoors at the top of a big room so it was really hot.  High ropes sauna anyone?

The high ropes course can be a fun challenge as well as a great team building exercise.

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

Mud runs are quickly growing in popularity, but many still don't know what a mud run is.  There is not an exact formula for a mud run, but in general a mud run is a running race that involves military-style obstacles.  Technically, they all should include some mud along the way too - often in the form of a giant mud pit that you must crawl through.  Typical obstacles include things like walls that must be climbed, tunnels to crawl through, and balance beams to cross.  Distances are typically in the 5K to 10K range.  A mud run is not a true multisport adventure race, but they are certainly quite the adventure.  I think they are a blast!  If you haven't tried one yet, I highly recommend it.  You won't be disappointed.  You can check our race calendar and map to find a race near you.

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.