Video: The Best Scuba Diving On The Planet?

Scuba divers in search of the best dive sites on the planet will certainly want to check out this video from our friend Richard Bangs. This time out, Richard heads to Puerto Rico, where he sends a friend of his diving at The Wall, a 22-mile (35 km) long section of coral reef that drops to a depth of 1500 feet (457 meters). The reef is home to a stunning array of marine life, including sea turtles, moray eels, sharks, and countless species of fish. This definitely looks like a "must-visit" place for any diver.

Video: A Tale Of Two Atolls

It is no secret that we, as human beings, have had a detrimental effect on the word's oceans. We have polluted them, over fished them, and generally treated them poorly in most regards. As a result, the creatures that live in the sea are not as plentiful as they once were. Recently, marine biologist and photographer Thomas P. Peschak traveled to the Mozambique Strait to shoot a story for National Geographic. What he found there was something extraordinary. Two atolls that remain protected and largely untouched by man's effects on the sea. The video below gives us a glimpse of what he found.

A Tale of Two Atolls from Save Our Seas Foundation on Vimeo.

Video: Celebrating Life In The Socorro Islands

Located off the west coast of Mexico, the Socorro Islands are a tiny, remote set of volcanic archipelagos with a stunning array of marine life on display. The video below gives us a glimpse of what that is all about, with a glimpse of what visitors to that place can see, including whales, sharks, manta rays, and literally hundreds of others of species of fish. It is quite a beautiful setting with an amazing collection of creatures to share. It looks like truly wondrous place.

Celebrating Life - SOCORRO ISLANDS from Adil Schindler on Vimeo.

Video: Cave Diving The Jug Hole

Located in Florida's Ichetucknee Springs State Park, the Jug Hole is a popular diving destination for those who want to try there hand at cave diving. For the rest of us, who like to stay safe and dry on land, the video below will have to suffice in terms of giving us the chance to see this place. This 7+ minute clip does a good job of showing off the Hole, and making it abundantly clear why it is so popular.

Jug hole finished from Tony Sellers on Vimeo.

Gear Closet: Tryton Drylite Dive Flashlight

Scuba divers listen up! I've found the next piece of gear that you need to add to your arsenal. The Drylite from Tryton is an innovative, incredibly well built flashlight designed to meet the specific needs of divers, although it is also so good that it will come in just as handy on dry land too.

Tryton has clearly put a great deal of thought into the design of this flashlight and that shows from the moment you get one in your hands. Everything about the Drylite screams quality, and the entire unit feels incredibly solid to the touch. The handle is made of soft, rubberized material that is ribbed to make it easy to grip, while the the aluminum head not only looks great, but serves as a heat sink for the incredibly bright light contained inside.

The Drylite was built to be completely waterproof and is guaranteed not to leak. Tryton pulled off that feat by creating a completely new charging system that doesn't require the device to be opened in any way. That charging system uses an inductive charging coil to transfer a charge without actually touching the battery itself. It takes roughly 10-12 hours to fully charge the light, which results in a 5 hour burn time with a brightness of 135 lumens. Thats pretty impressive for a light that bright. And when the battery falls below 20% battery life, the light will blink once ever minute to indicate that it is getting low.


In real world testing, the Drylite was able to actually last more than 6 hours on a single charge. Although the light slowly diminished in brightness over that final hour. It was still bright enough to be useful almost all the way up to the end. In this day and age, when many companies exaggerate the battery life of their devices, it was refreshing to find one that exceeded those estimates by a sizable amount.

I was sent the Drylite Nautilus kit, which includes a durable and lightweight custom case. That case makes it a breeze to take the flashlight along when you hit the road, whether you're going camping or a dive trip to the other side of the planet. The box can securely hold the Drylight and its charging system, as well as all the necessary cables. The device even comes with a charger for your car, which makes it incredibly useful just about anywhere. A durable wrist lanyard is also included.

While the flashlight works great above the surface, it was most definitely design with divers in mind. It has been rated to function down to 250 feet (76 meters) beneath the surface and its sealed-tight design will keep the water out. Its narrow 8º beam gives divers a very focused light that allows them to explore more safely.

As impressive as the Drylite package is, the price tag might be the most impressive thing of all. The flashlight alone costs $99.99, which is a great price for such a solid piece of technology.  If you want the more robust Nautilus kit, it will set you back $149.99. Personally, I think it's worth the extra $50 to get the kit, as the included extras are quite nice.

If your'e a diver who has need of a flashlight on your adventures, it's tough to beat the Drylite. It is an impressive piece of gear that I can't recommend highly enough.

Gear Closet: Light & Motion GoBe+ 700 Spotlight

When it comes to creating headlamps and other high performance lights for use in the outdoors, it is really tough to top the products that Light & Motion puts out. The company creates bright, durable and efficient headlamps and cycling lights, often incorporating unique elements into their design that really sets them apart from the competition. But their new GoBe line of lights raises the bar even higher, delivering a bright, powerful light that can be used in almost any environment. Recently I was fortunate enough to test out the GoBe+ 700 spot, their new flagship product that delivers performance unlike anything you've likely seen before.

Unlike most of the other lights I've tested from Light & Motion, all of which were headlamps, the GoBe is closer in shape to a traditional flashlight. But to call it a "flashlight" greatly undersells exactly what this product can do. For starters, it is bright. Very bright. On its highest setting, it is capable of putting out as much as 700 lumens. How's that for bright? It's medium setting is still good for 325 lumens, while low and extended modes are 100 and  50 lumens respectively. There is also an SOS mode if you need to signal for help, which is also at 100 lumens.

The GoBe uses a rechargeable battery to power its lamp and naturally its burn time varies greatly depending on which mode you're in. On its highest setting, it can only run for about 1.5 hours while in extended mode it will light up the area for a full 24. A handy light integrated into the handle gives the user visual cues as to how much charge remains. When the light GoBe does run low on juice, it is recharged via USB on a computer or a wall adapter using its own proprietary USB cable.


L&M sees their GoBe lights as part of a larger system. With that in mind, they have built several mounting options for use in a variety of activities. The model I tested came with a bike mount that firmly held the light in place on my handlebars and illuminated the trail quite nicely as a result. Other mounts include a photo ball, a video locline, and a YS mount. Additionally, there are six different light heads available, which can be swapped out on the GoBe to extend its functionally further. Some of those include one head that provides a wider focus of light and another designed for search and rescue operations. Between all of these mounts and detachable heads, the versatility of this light really shines through. Pun fully intended.

The GoBe has also been designed to be rugged enough to take with you on all your adventures and it feels like it could survive just about anything. It also happens to make an excellent light for divers, as the system is rated to go down as deep as 120 meters (393 feet). That's an impressive depth for any light to function, let alone one that is as bright as this one.

Light & Motion ships the GoBe+ 700 with the flashlight body, head and body splash caps, a USB charging cable, handle bar mount, lanyard and more. All in all, it's an impressive package, with everything you'd need to use the light on just about any expedition. They also shipped me the Search Head, which focuses the standard beam down from a 60º spread, to a very tight 8º. This turns the light into a narrow, intense beam that makes the GoBe seem like a completely different product.

As with L&M's other products, this type of performance doesn't come cheap. The model I tested carries a price tag of $299, which is a pretty hefty cost to say the least. But this product isn't meant for someone just looking for a spare light to have around the home. It is for the active adventurer who needs a powerful, high performance light for a variety of activities. This is a light that you can mount on your bike, take on a hike, or on a dive deep under the ocean. It is unbelievably bright and versatile, which is everything you could ask for out of a product likes this one. For the person that meets that description, this is a light that is worth every penny.

Video: More Playful Seals Of The Farne Islands

Last week I shared a video of some very playful seal pups interacting with scuba dives near the Farne Islands of the coast of England. Today we have another video from the same location courtesy of reader Keith Savill who found this on video. It seems the seal pups there really love to follow the divers around and as is evident in this latest clip. The Farne Islands look like a fun place for a dive.

Perfect Day - Seals of The Farne Islands from UncleAlbert on Vimeo.

Video: The Seal Of Approval For GoPro

Yesterday we saw a curious cheetah interacting with a GoPro camera, today its some playful seals. If this video doesn't put a smile on your face, we should probably check you for a pulse. This was shot near the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumbria in England where the seal pups seem to enjoy chasing people.

Seal of Approval from Jason Neilus on Vimeo.

Video: Whales Nearly Have Divers For Lunch!

If you thought that video of the flash floods that I posted earlier was scary, have a look at this one. It features a couple of divers in the water amongst a school of sardines, which just happen to be a popular snack for humpback whales. Near the end of the video a pair of the 40-ton beasts spring out of the water, narrowly missing one of the divers.

Warning: Some of the language may not be suitable for youngsters, but I'd be reacting in exactly the same way. Whoa!

Thanks to Outside Online for sharing.

Video: Scuba Diving The Similan Islands

The Similan Islands make up a small archipelago that sits off the coast of Thailand. The entire region has been designated as a national park and it is known for being a fantastic spot for scuba divers, something that is abundantly clear in the video below. The short film was shot near the islands back in February and gives us a glimpse of the amazing sea life that inhabits the region. This is both beautiful and tranquil. Quite lovely.

GoPro: Similan Islands Scuba Diving from Marcus Pai on Vimeo.

Video: In Search Of Whales

The video below is remarkable for two reasons. First, it shows off the amazing DeepFlight submersible vehicle, which looks like it would be fantastic to cruise around in and secondly it gives us some great underwater video footage of whales. The DeepFlight was armed with an array of GoPro cameras on this outing and as a result, we get some great shots from under the sea. It's a bit long, but stick with it and the payoff is worth it. Enjoy!

Video: From Skydiver To Scuba Diver In Just Moments

Here's a fun video of skydiver jumping out of a helicopter over the Great Barrier Reef, only to plunge into the water and switch into his scuba gear. I got a chuckle out of him sailing through the air with a snorkel and scuba mask on, but he gets the last laugh as he swims off into one of the best dive locations anywhere in the world. Fun stuff.

Underwater Camera Lost In Hawaii Found Six Years Later In Taiwan

Back in 2007, Lindsay Scallan travelled to Hawaii to enjoy that tropical paradise and take in a little scuba diving while she was there. She took with her a small Canon Powershot camera to capture the moments from her trip and she even had an underwater housing to use while she was on a dive. But while on an evening scuba excursion she accidentally dropped the camera and lost it in the sands at the bottom of the ocean. She searched for the device as long as she could but couldn't locate it in turbulent seas and sadly she returned home to Georgia without her photos, camera or expensive dive housing.

At the time she was sure that her camera was long gone and would never be seen again, after all what are the chances that someone would find it in the sea? And if they did, how would they ever know to return it to her. But someone did find it, just not where she expected. An employee of China Airlines came across the camera, still in the waterproof housing, last month when it washed up on a beach in Taiwan – thousands of miles and six years removed from where it was lost.

The person who found Lindsay's Canon Powershot then contacted Hawaii News Now and asked them to help find the person the camera belonged to. The website posted Lindsay's photos online and they were later spotted by a friend of hers who told her about the story. When she saw the images she says she was "floored." She couldn't believe that her missing camera was located so long after it was lost and so far away no less.

China Airlines has offered to fly her to Taiwan to claim the camera but Lindsay says she just started a new job, so she isn't sure she'll be able to get away. Instead, she may have to settle for having the camera shipped to her so she can review all of her long lost vacation photos at last.

Pretty amazing story. It also serves as a reminder of just how connected our planet is. Something lost in the ocean can travel a long way before its journey finally comes to an end. Oh the things that camera must have seen as it crossed the Pacific this past six years.

Video: Freediver Yasemin Dalkilic Tells Us About Her Dream Home

Like most of us, nine-time world freediving champion Yasemin Dalkilic has an idea of what her dream home is like and she describes it quite vividly in this charming video. Turns out her perfect home is a lot like the Aquarius Reef Base near Key Largo, Florida. The base, which has fallen on hard times in terms of funding, seems like the proper place for someone who can hold her breath for extended periods of time.

Video: Divers Have Close Encounter With Whale Pod

Whale watching is an incredible experience, giving us the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the largest animals on the planet. But the divers in this video had a similar encounter while actually being in the water with the massive mammals. The footage was shot using a GoPro Hero 3 (what else?!?) off the coast of Maui and features some astounding shots of whales as seen from underwater.

Seriously, I need to get one of these GoPro cams already!

Video: Pushing The Limits 2012

It is hard to stay motivated late on a Friday afternoon, particularly when the weekend is so near. Sometimes we need a little reminder of all the promise the next few days hold. The video below can help in that department. It's the trailer for a new outdoor/adventure film entitled Pushing The Limits 2012, which is set to debut in December and it quite literally has a little something for everyone. You'll find wingsuits, paragliding skiers, surfers, mountain bikers and more. All doing the things they love and doing it out on the edge. This is like a highlight reel for our planet and some of the amazing people that inhabit it. Beautiful and inspiring. I hope you enjoy it.

Pushing the Limits 2012 Full Trailer - English from Favier Simon on Vimeo.

Experience The Greatest Adventure Stories Ever Told With New Nat Geo App

For decades National Geographic has chronicled some of the most challenging and inspiring adventures on the planet. Using a combination of breathtaking photographs and fantastic writing, the iconic magazine has told us stories of the men and women who push the boundaries of exploration, often in brutal and life threatening conditions. Now, a new app for the iPad shares some of the best of those stories in a new and exciting way.

The app, which is entitled National Geographic Adventure: Greatest Stories Ever Told,  costs just $1.99 and features six of the all-time best tales of adventure from Nat Geo. Those stories include the discovery of the Titanic on the ocean floor, crossing Antarctica with Will Steger's epic 1988 dogsled expedition and diving into the mysterious blue holes in the Bahamas, amongst others. The app combines video, audio, interactive maps and other unique elements to tell these stories like never before. It is a fascinating way to learn more about these stories, some of which we've heard about before but not in the capacity that is shown here.

Other fun features of the app include interactive timelines that show the evolution of gear such as climbing shoes and compasses, video of Ueli Steck making a speed climb of the Eiger, and a live feed of the Nat Geo Adventure Blog directly in the app itself. Those additions make this a very well rounded package for iPad owners who are looking to add a bit of adventure to their tablets and makes the $1.99 price tag seem like an incredibly great deal. The photos and video look fantastic on the device, particularly on the new Retina display, and you'll get hours of entertainment and education out of these stories. It would be a bargain at twice the price and I'm looking forward to delving in deeper when I take my iPad on a trip in a few days.

Deepsea Challenge Update: Waiting For Calm Seas

Last Friday I posted a story about James Cameron's attempt to dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is the lowest point on our planet at 10,912 meters (35,800 ft) below the surface of the ocean. Considering that there was a lot of interest in Mr. Cameron's little journey, I thought I'd follow-up with some news today.

When I first wrote about the Deepsea Challenge it wasn't clear exactly when Cameron would attempt the dive, although we did know that he intended to do it soon. The Hollywood director and his crew are racing to beat four other teams, including one sponsored by Richard Branson, to the bottom of the sea and after completing the testing phase of their submersible, a specially designed vehicle named the Deepsea Challenger, they are eager to get underway. With that in mind, earlier this week the team left Guam and have proceeded to the South Pacific where they are anxiously awaiting calm seas and good weather to begin the long and perilous journey to the depths of the ocean. You can read the Captain's Logs on the conditions by clicking here.

And just how perilous is this journey? Cameron will be making a solo dive inside the Challenger to seven miles below the surface. At that depth the ocean exerts 1000 times more pressure than it does at sea level, which is strong enough to crush anything not specifically built to resist those conditions. He'll be going where only two other men have ever gone – those two men being ocean explorers Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard who did it back in 1960. Yep, the journey is so dangerous that it has only been done once before and that was 52 years ago.

While he's down there, Cameron intends to collect a number of samples for use in a variety of scientific research. He'll also be shooting the entire voyage in high definition 3D which will be used in an upcoming documentary and possibly even for some scenes in Avatar 2. When Walsh and Piccard visited the bottom of the trench, they weren't able to see much at all, let alone bring back quality film footage. Technology has improved dramatically since then however, and we can expect some stunning visuals when the film is eventually released.

Stay tuned for more updates. It sounds like the dive could happen any day now. When it does, it'll take nine hours both directions and Cameron is planning on staying at the bottom for as many as five hours as well. I get the feeling he won't be the only one holding his breath until he returns to the surface.

Deepsea Challenge: James Cameron To Dive The Mariana Trench

At 10,912 meters (35,800 ft) below sea level the Mariana Trench is the deepest point on our planet. It is so deep in fact that it has only been visited by humans once and that was back in 1960 when explorers Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard made the perilous voyage to the bottom of the sea. That means that more men have walked on the moon than have visited the trench, which is simply amazing when you think about it. Now, director James Cameron is planning on diving into the trench as well and, as you would expect, he plans to make a movie about the experience.

Last week Cameron completed testing of the specially designed and built submersible that he'll use on this dive. On the last test run he took the vehicle down to about five miles below the surface of the Earth and the equipment all checked out and performed to spec. Following that shakedown cruise he immediately traveled to Guam, where he is making the final preparations for his journey into the trench, which runs for more than 1500 miles along the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

The expedition is being called the Deepsea Challenge and Cameron has partnered with both National Geographic and Rolex on this endeavor. During the dive, he'll spend approximately five hours at the trench's lowest point, known as the Challenger Deep, where he hopes to gather a variety of samples to be used in a number of research projects. The voyage down and back up will take an additional 90 minutes in both directions and all the while he'll be filming the expedition in High Definition 3D. That footage will be used in a documentary, most likely for IMAX, sometime down the line.

There is no exact date yet set for the dive, but Cameron and his team are working towards launching the expedition in the near future. The video below gives us a bit of perspective on what he can expect as he makes this journey to the ocean's deepest point.