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Scuba Articles > Airworks
Entanglement Training for Self-Reliant Divers Entanglement Training for Self-Reliant Divers
Airworks - 6/27/2023 6:00 PM
Learning how to control panic while scuba diving, particularly for Self-Reliant or Solo divers, is a much-needed skill that may one day save your life. Panic control, especially in entanglement situations, can best be developed by planning dives focused on performing incremental “entanglement severity level” self-training. The most practical way of doing that would be to deliberately put oneself in varying degrees of entanglement environments, with the proper redundancy and extraction equipment....
Confessions of a Quarryholic
Airworks - 9/02/2022 9:24 AM
I am crazy hooked on scuba diving…in a local quarry lake. Say again?!? What sane person could ever be excited about diving in cold, green, dirty, and “boring” freshwater? With all of my wits intact, I reiterate that I am enthralled by my diving experiences at a local freshwater quarry lake. I live in Fredericksburg, Va., and have regularly, almost weekly since 2018, been involved in self-reliant/solo scuba diving there. The quarry is privately-owned but managed by the VOC (Virginia Outdoor Cente...
Casual, Core, or Committed? Casual, Core, or Committed?
Airworks - 4/21/2022 10:37 AM
The Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has categorized two types of recreational divers. Individuals who dive 1 to 7 times a year are dubbed as "Casual", while those who get wet 8 + times a year are "Core" divers. There’s no doubt in my mind that the word “casual” definitely defines a group of individuals who approach scuba diving in much the same way they approach life. Numerous other activities are participated in with equal zeal and zest — occasional scuba diving being one of them...
Clear water or murky? Clear water or murky?
Airworks - 7/04/2021 10:46 AM
I have met several technical divers who prefer diving and training in turbid waters such as are found in many lakes, rivers, and freshwater quarries. They dive to become better trained, and the murkier the water the better. The “bad viz” environments found in those challenging sites force them to manage their “panic modes” and responses when underwater visibility is a major issue. There is much to commend that very valid point-of-view. There’s no doubt that frequent diving in murky conditions do...
Do You Have A Diving Worldview? Do You Have A Diving Worldview?
Airworks - 10/13/2020 5:32 PM
Over the years, I have become intensely committed to scuba diving as a way of training for many of life’s challenges. The knowledge, skill-set, and discipline involved in safe scuba diving help me in many ways even outside of my dive involvement. A rather comical incident recently happened at work that serves as a great example of what I mean. My defense contracting responsibilities require that I work the "graveyard shift". I am usually the only one around at that time (besides security guards)...
How to Make a Debris Collection Hanger How to Make a Debris Collection Hanger
Airworks - 10/11/2020 12:28 PM
I’m a big fan of the "dive against debris" idea, and have been using an efficient method to extract a significant amount of trash and debris from a local quarry. I’ve called it a Debris Collection Hanger (DCH), and it has proven to be very helpful in collecting and removing larger-sized debris in just one dive. A mesh bag can be attached to it for smaller items. Not sure if anyone else is using a similar setup (didn’t find anything comparable in Google Images), but thought it might come in handy...
Empirical Research Has Confirmed the Therapeutic Benefits of Scuba Diving Empirical Research Has Confirmed the Therapeutic Benefits of Scuba Diving
Airworks - 1/23/2020 5:51 AM
Scuba diving has been around for awhile, and though it is usually considered a recreational sport with a variety of public and private adventurous connotations, it also has very practical commercial and military uses. But did you know that regular participation in diving can have huge health benefits? For example, here are the top 10 fitness and health perks that are noted in Samir Becic’s recent book titled Resync Your Life: 1. Physical fitness: Swimming, and by association scuba diving, is one...
A Shocking and Embarrassing Discovery A Shocking and Embarrassing Discovery
Airworks - 12/30/2019 3:58 PM
My wife and I visit our children and grandchildren that live along the Atlantic edge of Florida about three times a year, and I often try to get in a bit of ocean diving while there. Living in Virginia and a considerable distance from the coast forces me to spend a lot of time quarry diving, so it’s always a real delight to catch a Florida charter and check out the salt life! On December 24th of 2019 I booked a 2-tank drift dive on the Republic IV, one of several boats owned and chartered by Jup...
The Challenge of going Solo The Challenge of going Solo
Airworks - 7/27/2019 6:45 PM
The COVID pandemic of 2019/2020 dramatically changed the way Americans participate in life and relationships. Even though many things have normalized, the threat of new viral mutations and variants will continue forcing us to adjust and recalibrate. Looking to the future, it appears that the disruption of our taken-for-granted routines and freedoms by one or more of those little nasties is almost a foregone conclusion. The pandemic, plus my unusual work schedule, makes it difficult for me to con...
The Pros and Cons of Inland Diving
Airworks - 3/20/2016 2:20 PM
Let’s take a look at some positive and negative aspects of getting wet in quarries and/or lakes. Pros: - Quarries and lakes offer convenience and affordability for divers living inland and away from the coast. - Quarries/lakes frequently have challenging environmental conditions such as poor visibility, very cold temperatures/thermoclines, submerged trees and branches, and various levels of silt and muck buildup. These environmental challenges help divers acclimate to difficult and demanding und...