<![CDATA[Abyss Scuba - Where the fun begins!

<![CDATA[Abyss Scuba - Where the fun begins! - Blog]]>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:24:14 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Diver of the Month - March 2018]]>Sat, 10 Mar 2018 20:03:50 GMThttp://www.abyss-scuba.net/blog/diver-of-the-month-march-2018There are so many amazing divers out there. Divers who have been diving for months, years or decades, divers who we look up to as mentors or divers whose attitude and achievements we admire. That's why going forward, Abyss Scuba will honor these divers in the new monthly feature article "Diver of the Month".

Our first diver of the month is a savvy drysuit aficionado who we first had the pleasure to meet during a certification weekend in Dutch Springs, PA. We were quickly drawn to his charm and dry humor. That, coupled with his values, extraordinary discipline and love for SCUBA diving, made him an easy pick for our first feature diver of the month. Meet Craig Cholson:

Craig after one of the few dives he dove 'wet'.

When were you certified?

I was first certified in 1960 in Manhattan NY at the East Coast outpost of US Divers. After a long hiatus due to injuries, I was re-certified at Kings County Divers in 2011-12 by exceptionally talented people when my darling partner wanted to learn to dive. Why did I re-certify? Everything had changed technology-wise but nothing had changed as to physics. I didn’t think I would be safe with the new tech, so I went through open water and advanced open water just like any novice diver would. I’m very glad I did. I learned new things.

What got you into diving?

I had always been a water baby and played or swam in the North or South Atlantic ever since I could remember. I always was interested in marine life – all of it! Still am. I spent my earliest childhood, days on end, face down in the water with a primitive mask, snorkel and fins and was always finding ways to improve that kit. I would spend literally hours examining the near-shore sands and, later, a living coral reef 100 yards offshore of Surfside, Florida. One winter, I learned that Le Monde Du Silence (The Silent World), Jacques Cousteau’s amazing movie, was going to be shown at US Divers. A lovely gentleman who owned piercing eyes came up to me afterwards and said, in an extremely heavy French accent, “You could do that, you know. I will help you learn.” And so, he did and I did.

Movie Poster of Jacques Cousteau's classic 'Le monde du silence'.

WHAT KEEPS YOU HOOKED?

Oh, goodness, so many things. The camaraderie. The fabulous, fantastic people I have met. The incredibly patient divers who’ve helped me. The challenge to be better each time I dive. The new things I learn. The familiar things I can contemplate. The creatures I meet. The excitement of a new dive spot. The thrill I get when I surface with someone new to diving – that face! It just doesn’t get old!

Craig following the #1 rule of underwater photography 'Wait until they inhale to minimize the bubbles'.

wHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DESTINATION OR DIVE SPOT LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY?

The next place I dive! (chuckles) OK, more pertinently. The most exciting place I have dived – so far - was the Arctic Circle (although Faith Ortins annually tries to talk me into an Antarctica trip). I am looking forward to diving Croatia this year, universe willing. The Great Lakes hold endless fascination. But my favorite place to dive, hands down, is the St. Lawrence River on the Canadian side. There is magic in that water and in the people I dive with. Let's go together?

Aerial view of the St. Lawrence seaway.

WHERE YOU EVER IN A DIFFICULT SITUATION WHILE UNDER WATER AND IF SO, HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF IT?

When I was quite young, I became entangled in a great deal of monofilament line while leading a tourist group. I reminded myself that I could see, breath, and float; calmed myself; then doffed my entangled gear, cleared the line with my dive tool, collected the line and stowed it in a net bag; then donned my gear and continued the dive. My group was great throughout – no worries or panic, just concern and ready to help.
Another time many years later I had a buddy who was not a good match. He was ‘way faster than me, and I had trouble keeping up. Finally, I caught him and asked if he knew where the boat was (this was in the open ocean far from land). He did not. I told him to remain below while I surfaced to check the location. I found the boat, signaled “OK” but could not descend for reasons that still remain unclear. The dive master came for me after several unsuccessful attempts at submerging. Back to the boat with my dive buddy. No shame, I was just unhappy. I told the dive master that I wanted to speak with captain (I was self-reporting). Despite his insistence after discussing the incident with me that all was well, I sat myself out on the next dive to assess the situation and to off-gas. Lessons from that dive: make sure your assigned buddy is a good match; make sure you both are clear on the objectives of the dive; always, always, take a compass reading at the anchor or mooring.

WHAT ARE THREE ESSENTIALS YOU CANNOT DIVE WITHOUT?

1. Spare batteries.
2. I always dive with at least two dive lights.
3. A surface marker buoy and reflecting mirror.
4. Nuuns (effervescent electrolyte replacement tablets). Yes, that’s four; maybe five. Remember the rule of redundancy and failure - “One is none, two is one,” and so on?

dO YOU HAVE ONE PIECE OF DIVE GEAR YOU ARE PARTICULARLY ATTACHED TO AND WHY?

My Diving Unlimited International (DUI) dry suit. I can use it anywhere in the world. I’ve used essentially the same suit in sub-freezing water and in the Caribbean.

Craig and his partner in crime, Barbara.

if YOU COULD GIVE BEGINNING DIVERS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE... WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Find an exceptional teacher (not merely an instructor) who fits your style and vice-versa. Don’t be in a rush to collect certifications. Understand why the most important course you will ever take is a stress and rescue-type course, and why you should take that after your advanced open water course but before any others. If you do that, you’ll dive safely for years and years, and you will be a most welcomed dive buddy across the globe.
Most importantly, I’d tell you what Didi told me nearly six decades ago – slow down!

]]><![CDATA[WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE AN ADVANCED CERTIFICATION COURSE]]>Tue, 06 Mar 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.abyss-scuba.net/blog/why-you-should-take-an-advanced-certification-courseWhen I was certified as an Open Water Diver some 12 years ago, I couldn't be more elated. Finally I had unlimited access to the realm that was so far only reserved to my heroes like Jacques Cousteau or Hans and Lotte Hass (oh my am I dating myself here…). I would be able to playfully frolic in the depths with sharks, turtles and dolphins and video journal every step of it. Or so I thought.

Hans and Lotte Hass while shooting a film for the BBC in 1951.

I was over-confident in my newly attained skills until I went diving with my husband, back then an instructor of 15 years, and he and the dive crew of the boat in Florida said to me: "You need to sit out this first dive. You're not certified for advanced dives". After the awkward silence by my husband that followed my flaming-dagger throwing looks at him, I sat out the dive and vowed to get my Advanced Certification with flying flags in no time. I never wanted to be left out of the fun again. And boy, after all this time, I am glad I did, because I would have never experienced the dives that I have done since.

There are many reasons why you should get the advanced certification. The professional organizations have their own lists, but here are my top four:

1. Explore Wrecks and encounter amazing creatures

If you are not advanced certified you cannot do certain wreck dives. Sure, you can explore a wooden structure that might resemble a boat in 30 to 60 feet that went down in a small storm, but the most interesting wrecks will be a tad bit deeper. I don't particular like deep diving and I truly believe that the call to do deeper in some divers is driven by a machismo attitude, but I want to be comfortable diving to depths of around 80-120ft. And while you might be able to hang on to the top structure of a wreck in 60 feet, it will most likely sit in 70-80 ft of water. And there is so much great stuff down there.
On our last trip to Florida we explored the Spiegel Grove with a group of friends. This was the same wreck I had to sit out years ago. We got down to the command tower at 50 feet with heavy currents and my warm calm water loving diver self went: "great... here we go!". However, being advanced certified and having used the knowledge from that course in my dives since, I was prepared this time. We hung out there for a few moments until everyone had descended to that meeting point and then we started following our local dive guide through this awe-inspiring structure. After a few minutes of going through the command deck of the ship, our guide led us out through a smaller opening on the side. I was third in line to come out avoiding the minor 'traffic jam' behind me. Once outside everyone was waiting for the rest of the group. There was absolutely no current and we just hung in mid-space enjoying buoyancy. When all seven of us were out, we wanted to make our way back when all of a sudden the “wall” that had been on our right started moving ever so slightly. We quickly fin-kicked a couple of feet away, turned around and dropped our jaws. A giant 600-something-pound grouper the size of a train engine was sitting right there, waiting his turn for all the tourists to swim by. When we took out the cameras they were not able to get it all in one frame. And then, with one fin-kick, just like our kick took us two feet away, it was gone. We were later told that that was the local giant grouper who called the Spiegel Grove home ever since it relocated there rom Key West.

2. Know where you are in the Time-Space Continuum

Let's face it. In your Open Water Class you focussed on mask clearing, weight belt and other things removal, staying down and generally not freaking out about this cool new thing called breathing underwater.
If you keep on diving as an open water diver and accumulate an impressive number of dives, are you really comfortable when it comes to a situation where your life depends on finding your way back to the boat?
On one of my first 50 dives I stayed back a little from the group to take pictures of a particularly beautiful reef formation. I was blissfully unaware that the group was out of sight and also that my husband and dive buddy had stayed with me. After a while he looked at me and in his least offensive instructor mode asked me to find my way back to the boat. Needless to say I wasn't able to. I made it a priority after that incident to always keep a compass with me and know my surroundings and whereabouts.

3. Take better underwater footage

Pictures courtesy of rjohannes

The days that underwater photography and videography was only done by professionals are long long gone. Just like with any electronics, the prices for great underwater cameras for the layman came down so much that it is quite affordable to get a full setup. But if you are not comfortable to use additional gear in the water you will always come up with pictures all of us have hundreds of on our SD cards. Those we want to ‘go through to see what’s usable’, but if we were honest they could all be chucked because they are too blue, too green, too out of focus, or the ones we hold on too, because someone exhaled and all the bubble mask the one shark we saw on a trip and we magically think it will appear over time.
The pictures above were taken by one of our friends who started diving five years ago and slowly advanced his skills. I am not going to lie to you, he has a nice setup, but the pictures were only possible because he took the step to advance himself. He dove on a regular basis and took an advanced course. His photo gear is like a second set of limbs to him, because he is extremely comfortable in the skills he attained.

4. Improve your buoyancy and trim

Diving is about having fun, being responsible with your own life, your buddys' life and most importantly marine life.
I have been on many a dive where divers that bragged on the boat about their twenty years of diving experience just crashed down and came to a halt on the sand or the coral. Not cool. Getting more dives under your belt surely helps, but, in an advanced course you are being given the tools on how to improve your buoyancy and trim. The end result is pretty obvious: better buoyancy and trim lead to better air consumption leads to a saver, maybe even longer dive, which in the end leads to more fun.
And let’s face it. Wouldn’t it be cool if we all could be that diver that had the perfect buoyancy, not even stirring the fan corral while hovering two inches over it?

I’m often asked by new divers what the one thing is that they should have, the most important necessity or cool gadget. My answer is always the same: “Gadgets cannot make you a better diver. Experience and getting in the water can. And once you have some dives under your belt, do yourself a favor and get an advanced certification. It will improve your diving and lead to collecting even more amazing life moments when immersing yourself in the vastness of magnificent wonder we call oceans.

]]><![CDATA[HOW TO SAY 'I LOVE YOU' UNDER WATER]]>Mon, 22 Jan 2018 14:23:43 GMThttp://www.abyss-scuba.net/blog/how-to-say-i-love-you-under-waterValentine's Day is coming up. Every year we are trying to find the right gift for the LOVE in our life and mostly end up with chocolates, flowers, maybe jewelry. But, what if we just thought a little ahead and instead of buying instant gratitude we actually showed them our love with the gift of lifelong happiness?

Scuba has its own set of hand signals that we use to communicate under water. Some are for immediate life-saving communication, such as 'I don't feel well', or 'I am low on air', while others are for the enjoyment of the dive, like 'Look! Over There! Turtle!". My absolute all-time favorite, though, is one that my husband and I use quite often during any dive. The first time he used it was on our first dive together. We had just seen a beautiful sea turtle peacefully grazing on a coral when he came up to me and used a sign that like many others are borrowed from American Sign Language:

I love you!

Ever since that dive, any dive is not complete for us without waving 'I Love You!' at each other.

If you are new to Scuba Diving, take the plunge and sign up with your Valentine. It will be the single most life-changing experience you can have. Your lives will never be the same. You will have that constant longing to venture out and find awe-inspiring dive spots around the world that you can explore together.

And if you are a certified diver and you are looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift for your loved one, think about your experience when you dive and you see the most wondrous of creatures, pass by fantastic coral formations and come up to your safety stop being amazed when looking up at the surface and realize that your are able to breathe underwater while gently being rolled back and forth. Then go and get them the gift of Scuba. Your Valentine will take this gift and cherish it for a lifetime.

]]><![CDATA[when is my child old enough to dive?]]>Wed, 17 May 2017 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.abyss-scuba.net/blog/when-is-my-child-old-enough-to-dive

by Diver Randy

When is my child old enough to dive? This is a question I get asked often as a Scuba Instructor. I want to change this to “When should my child dive?” Before we answer this question let us look at what is needed to dive safely and responsibly. Remember the goal of scuba training is to make divers, who can dive independently. Let me say that I have trained children as young as ten years old who have become great divers, but we always took the following five aspects into consideration:

1. PHYSICAL ABILITY

Is your child up to the task of carrying tanks, swimming against a current, strong enough to assist in an emergency? Unless you plan on diving only the warmest of waters most children do not have the physical mass to withstand long periods of heat loss.

2. MENTAL ACUMEN

Does your child have the discipline to follow a dive plan, more importantly make a safe and reasonable dive plan? I recently had to replace a regulator before a dive because a child dragged it across the floor. Worse is that neither the child or parent were aware the regulator had rocks and dirt in the second stage. If you plan to buy gear for your child, will they take care of it?

3. EMOTIONAL STABILITY

Sometimes things just do not work out, O-Rings blow, buckles come undone, masks keep fogging up. Will your child be able to handle a problem in a calm, reasonable manner that does not put them or others at risk?

4. DESIRE TO LEARN

Does your child want to engage in this sport or do you want them to? I have seen too many parents bring their children in because the parent wants this. If the child does not want or enjoy the underwater realm then no amount of training will make them want to dive.

5. EQUIPMENT SIZING

If your child is very small, finding gear that fit may be a challenge and take away from the enjoyment of the experience. At Abyss Scuba we carry a variety of sizes and colors though to fit the most discerning little divers. Give us a call and let's talk!

After certification, 10 to 11-year-old children are restricted to diving with a parent, guardian or diving professional to a maximum depth of 12 meters/40 feet; 12 to 14-year-olds must dive with an adult certified diver. Will you be happy limiting your dives? Remember if you disregard the rules so will your children.

]]><![CDATA[LOVING OUR JOB]]>Thu, 16 Feb 2017 03:35:27 GMThttp://www.abyss-scuba.net/blog/loving-our-jobWhile everyone else was out shoveling snow this weekend, we were having fun with new divers in the pool. What an amazing life this is!

]]><![CDATA[Drink Up - Your H2O that is!]]>Tue, 14 Jun 2016 16:00:00 GMThttp://www.abyss-scuba.net/blog/drink-up-your-h2o-that-is

by Karin Ruiz
Do you remember that dive, when you were enjoying a smooth descent looking forward to 40+ minutes of awe-inspiring weightlessness and wondrous discoveries when, all of a sudden, your mouth felt like the Sahara desert and you wished you had not refused that drink of water on the boat.

Water is important. You need to continuously stay hydrated for a number of reasons. Amongst other vital functions water is essential for digesting food. Water helps to regulate and maintain our body temperature. It helps to cushion and shock-proof our joints and helps maintain proper metabolism in our body. But most importantly to us divers, Water, present in blood, is the carrier of oxygen and nutrients to all our body cell and getting rid of various toxic elements (such as Nitrogen) from the body.

You lose water through a lot of channels. You sweat (yes, even under water), you belong to the kind of diver that pees in their wetsuit rather than lying about it and you exhale moisture. The air in scuba tanks is drier than the normal air you breathe. That means that when exhaling on SCUBA, you lose more moisture than on the surface.

Losing moisture increases the risk of becoming dehydrated. Dehydration is a serious condition which affects all bodily systems. If there is a reduced level of water in the blood, your muscle cells will not receive the full amount of blood flow they need for proper functioning. That triggers a decreased capability of the body to absorb and release nitrogen. Remember?

During SCUBA diving you store nitrogen in all those nooks and crannies of your body. When ascending you are releasing nitrogen slowly. Ideally, you get rid of most of the nitrogen by the time you surface. Now, that annoying dehydration enters the equation. This means you have to slow down your ascend to a rate lesser than 30ft. per minute to give the nitrogen a chance to exit your body.

Pfew – sounds complicated, but it’s actually quite simple. Less water – more nitrogen – more time needed to get back up.

It is generally a good thing to stay hydrated, not only when diving, but also when you’re coming back from that great trip and going back to your pesky day job. But during a trip there’s really no excuse to not keep up with your H2O intake. Most dive operators have water on board their boats, so that you can enjoy your dives refreshed and hydrated. Make use of it and keep diving safely.

]]><![CDATA[cozumel - a week of perfect dives]]>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 16:00:00 GMThttp://www.abyss-scuba.net/blog/cozumel-a-week-of-perfect-divesCozumel was deemed by Jacques Cousteau to be one of the most beautiful islands to go diving. With a reef unparalleled in size and beauty the diving is as effortless as it gets. It’s pure drift diving. You jump in and let the current take you. That’s exactly what we did on our latest trip hosted by Abyss Scuba in Mt. Kisco. One week of diving. One week of perfect dives.

The mornings were gorgeous and thankfully we were not on the 8am boat like almost everyone else. Let’s be honest: 15 boats with a minimum of 6 divers, each vying for the same spot will scare off the most seasoned parrot fish. Our group leader, Randy from Abyss Scuba had chosen the 9am boat. Bowing to that wise man we congregated for breakfast every morning at around 7:30ish (island time), which, due to the time difference felt like 8:30ish NY time and which was about the time that the parrot fish just came back out of hiding. We stayed at the all-inclusive (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and yes, all beverages) Hotel and Resort Cozumel. They cater to divers and non-divers alike (hence the free booze). The nice thing about this hotel was the private beach and dock for the dive boats. Their preferred dive operator “Dive Paradise” has a very professionally-run location on site. Fresh-water rinse tanks, showers and private lockers dock-side are available to everybody using the operation, making the post-dive transition from boat to lunch table a breeze.

On our first dive of the week, we started off on our favorite dive boat, the Calypso. She can leisurely carry 16 divers, which made our group of 11 buddies feel less crowded.

When entering the water in Cozumel, I am always awe-stuck at the sheer transparency of the water. That day, the vis was a good 90 feet in crystal-clear turquoise waters. Even though we somewhat stuck together as a group throughout the dives, our dive masters broke us up into two groups (photographers and leisure divers). In we went and descended to a flat 50ft deep part in the reef to ensure that we had our bearings straight. When diving in Cozumel one thing becomes apparent right away. There is a current. However, the diving is designed around the current as your dive masters make you float past these incredible reef formations without ever having to kick your fins. We saw an incredible array of smaller sea life, like moray eels, parrot fish (yes they were back by now), peacock flounders, blue tangs, angelfish, cowfish, snappers, and triggerfish, to name but a few, but it wasn’t until we had completed a particularly beautiful swim-through that all of a sudden you heard a concert of metal banging against the tanks trying to get the attention of each member of our group. When I came upon the spot that everyone was pointing to, my gaze fell upon an almost surreal 500 lbs turtle that was calmly grazing off the reef. She was just hanging there, seemingly unaware of the presence of 12 divers, who respected her space, yet must have felt like a horde of paparazzi closing in on her.

That is exactly what is so great about Cozumel. The reef is part of an environmentally protected marine park that requires entrance fees (usually included in the dive fees and made evident to potential coast guard checks with ribbons around your wrist). The wildlife in Cozumel is so used to scuba divers and dive masters, who know not to touch and poke, let alone try to pick up, unlike in so many other destinations, that the presence of a small bunch of touristy divers doesn’t faze them. And since there is a turtle protection program on the island, you will see turtles galore.

We were stoked, high-fiving each other and grinning from one ear to the other, continuing our dive. Yes, we saw the obligatory “both-index-fingers-to-forehead” lobsters (huge ones to boot) and more turtles. Our dive was perfect. Oh what would we have to tell each other on the surface. But all of a sudden there it was again – did you hear that? Another bang somewhere down-current where the dive master was pointing to a spot in the flat sand. The less experienced divers in our group were looking around not seeing the two gigantic horns sticking out of the sand, and then the poor creature had enough of yet another group of nosies and took off. Seeing an 8-foot stingray floating past you in the blue water is one thing, but seeing this powerful and graceful creature lift itself out of the sand to disappear into the distance with one flap of its wings leaves you jaw-droppingly excited.

Mesmerized by what we just experienced we floated on until the ascent. During the 15 ft. safety spot we all hung in silence, reminiscing about the immensity of what we had just witnessed, And this was just the first dive. Throughout the week, this first dive and the feelings it evoked were duplicated on each and every single dive.

Our week was phenomenal. In the afternoons we hung by the pool or went snorkeling off the hotel beach. The beaches in Cozumel, while more rugged than most in the Caribbean, are host to the most amazing littoral fauna and flora, just a few fin kicks into the swell. Also, the folks over at Abyss Scuba deliberately booked the trip during the week of Carnaval, which brings me to our evenings. In the evenings it was Carnaval time. Carnaval is to Cozumelians what Marti Gras is to the people of New Orleans. It’s an institution. Every night for four days lavishly decorated floats, filled with people wearing highly unique, amazingly weird and utterly beautiful costumes run up and down the main stretch of the town of Cozumel. It’s a big and friendly party with people dancing and inviting you to enjoy life with them. What a better way to enjoy your down time during a week of perfect dives.

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