Scuba Diving Blog & Forum
Oceanic whitetip shark vs great white shark are two shark species that mostly do not come face-to-face in the oceans, as they each prefer different sea temperatures. Great white sharks are on average 3.5 times larger by weight than oceanic whitetip sharks, but they are both formidable carnivores.
Hawaii has great white sharks visit during the months of January through to April, which is when the waters around Hawaii cool down to below 24°C (75°F). In the summer months great white sharks leave the Pacific waters of Hawaii, as they generally prefer water temperatures between 12-24°C (54-75°F).
There are around 40 species of shark at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but the most common sharks found off this coast of the USA include spinner sharks, sand tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, bull sharks, blacktip sharks, tiger sharks and great white sharks.
Yes there are liveaboards with underwater scooters in the Red Sea and Truk Lagoon. These include the Red Sea Tala liveaboard, the Red Sea Nouran liveaboard and the Truk Master Truk Lagoon. Underwater sea scooters make for longer dives as you save energy and use less air on your dive.
Tiger shark Tarantino at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas likes to be petted like a dog by shark conservationist Jim Abernethy. But not all tiger sharks like to be petted, so don’t rush out and start petting them yourself.
There are great white sharks in the Caribbean and it’s thought they come to breed in the warm safe waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But the scientists are still researching why the largest predators of the oceans visit the Caribbean when they normally prefer cooler waters.
After scuba diving with a bikini under a wetsuit you’re best to wear thin non-water absorbing board shorts or synthetic shorts like the Patagonia Micro Planning shorts. Combine this with a similar fabric t-shirt and you’re good to go. Even better is to wear a waterproof neoprene bikini or swimsuit that doesn’t get wet!
The depth a person can dive without a wetsuit depends on various factors, such as water temperature, individual physical fitness, and diving experience. In general, cold water reduces a person’s ability to dive deeper, as the body loses heat faster, and can lead to hypothermia.
The Forgotten Islands, which are also known as the Southeast Moluccas (Maluku Tenggara), are a part of Indonesia. These islands are made up of a 1,000 kilometre (625 mile) long chain of archipelagos which stretch from Flores or Timor across to West Papua on the island of New Guinea. The best and only way to dive the Forgotten Islands is by liveaboard dive boat, which will take you to this very remote and isolated chain of islands. The best time to scuba dive the Forgotten Islands is in the dry season, which is from June until November. See below for the best liveaboards for dive trips to the Forgotten Islands.
Scuba diving Antarctica is about the pristine clear waters and about enjoying one of the richest bio-diverse ecosystems on the planet. But whilst the answer is yes you can scuba dive Antarctica, it’s not for beginners. To dive Antarctica you will need prior experience of cold-water diving and of diving using a dry suit. Plus I recommend a minimum of 30 dives including those in cold water.
Scientists have only as recently as 2015 discovered that a small gecko-like lizard that lives next to streams in the mountains of Costa Rica appears to have evolved a kind of scuba tank. This scuba diving lizard can stay underwater for long periods, where it was originally thought it was holding its breathe. The river anole can remain submerged for at least 16 minutes. It does so by blowing out air into a bubble and then re-inhales this air whilst underwater.
Rays and sharks are closely related. They are both cartilaginous fish, meaning they have cartilage for skeletons rather than bones. Sharks and rays both have gill slits or clefts and don’t have a swim bladder. They both have dermal denticles which are modified “scales” covering their skin referred to as shagreen. They also have ampullae of Lorenzini sensory organs called electroreceptors in common too.
