Diving Italy Forum

Divers,

As the new dive season comes upon us stay up to date on all the trips and news at www.DivingItalyForum.com!

See you in and around the water,

Lewis

Winter Diving

Well, looks like Winter is upon us. Do you dive in the cold or hang your gear up to dry until Spring?

Possible radioactive dumping in the Mediterranean Sea

Well, our poor little corner of the Mediterranean keeps taking a beating. I wonder how much longer she can hold out. So far the trash dumping, the sewage plants with inadequate cleaning systems, and careless fisherman have taken a huge toll on these waters. Now the news has broken a story that tells the tale of “mobsters” (camorra) sinking large container ships full of nuclear waste in a money making scheme that earned them millions over the last two decades.

Here are several links to the story:

MSNBC

Associated Press

National Geographic (Video report)

I don’t know how much longer this can go on. There always seems to be some talk going on all the time about “doing something about it” but I can tell you that my Italian friends are barely aware there is a problem. When you ask them about the pollution or the dumping in the sea the response is always the same: “Yes, yes, this is a big problem. The government needs to do a better job.” but beyond that they remain largely uninformed.

As a local diver in the Mediterranean and specifically Naples, Italy I am always trying to think of ways to better my aquatic environment. I pick up trash when I’m diving, I educate people about the ocean when I see them, and I take pictures of the sea.

I think that underwater photography is vitally important to conservation efforts. Would you care about Panda bears if you have never seen one before? What if I describe them to you: black and white, very large, vegetarian. Hmmm, not thought inspiring is it?

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that all of the waste that was thrown over wasn’t as toxic as the informant claims the material to be. Let’s pray our Mediterranean can hold up to the pressures we keep putting on her every day.

SCUBA Diver Meeting – Friday October 2nd 6:00 PM

Naples beach cleanup for International Clean-up day

What a successful day of cleaning up our local waters here in Naples! The environment is why we were there and we accomplished removing over eight bags of trash!

I was also told that while the divers were cleaning up underwater there were several locals that became interested in what we were doing. When they were told we were cleaning up trash and cleaning up the Nisida Bay area they were shocked and began picking up trash themselves. How amazing that we had the opportunity to spread the idea of conservation through cleaning and diving.

A special thanks and shout out to Mike M, Evan B, Rayna B, “The Girls”, and Dominique for showing up and doing their best to clean up the ocean.

September 19 – International Cleanup Day

According to the PADI AWARE (Aquatic World Awareness, Responsibility and Education) initiative over “6 million tonnes [sic] of debris enters the world’s oceans each year”.

About International Cleanup Day 19th September 2009

Project AWARE’s longstanding International Cleanup Day event is the biggest underwater cleanup of its kind. Held annually on the 3rd Saturday in September each year, more than 370,000 volunteers clean over 33,000 miles of shoreline to remove seven million pounds of rubbish.

Project AWARE partners with dedicated scuba divers to clean the world’s oceans, lakes, rivers and shorelines. These volunteers take part in practical cleanup solutions and collect data for the global Marine Debris Index which is vital to addressing global debris issues. Cleanup and data collection activities are supported by Project AWARE Foundation, partners and volunteers on an ongoing basis to reform, inform, educate and legislate.

A cleanup event has been registered for the 19th of September at Nisida Beach. This site is the one most frequented by our local divers and is also the most in need of our clean up efforts. This is also a wonderful time to bring any non-diving friends or family members and get them involved with SCUBA! Cleanup efforts will be done both above and below the water and along the shore line.

Some of the historical data for Italy:

	Total (bags of trash)
Shoreline and Recreational Activities (Bags, bottles, cups, and toys…)	5,632
Oceanway/Waterway Activities (buoys, floats, fishing line…)	1,177
Smoking related Activities (Cigarettes, Cigarette lighters, and butts)	8,419
Dumping Activities (Appliances, batteries, cars…)	596
Medical Personal Hygiene (Condoms, Diapers, syringes)	150
Marine Debris Total	15,974

Information taken from other volunteers and compiled by PADI AWARE

Please join us on Saturday 19, September for this attempt to give back to the one resource that gives us so much – our world’s Oceans. We will submit our findings to the Global Marine Debris Index once completed.

Come on over to the DivingItlay Forum and volunteer with us today!

I hope to see you all there to help us be more "AWARE"!

The DIVER buoyancy challenge

One of the hardest things to master is buoyancy.  If you had a good Open Water instructor then this skill was drilled into you from Day 1 and for very good reasons. 
If you are constantly losing your buoyancy underwater you put yourself and your dive buddy in some serious danger.  A couple of immediate things come to mind:

• Damage to reefs by your fins, body, gadgets on your BCD
• Silting out the water and making what may already be low visibility even lower
• risking an uncontrolled rapid ascent
• Constantly grabbing the ocean floor for stability…remember a LOT of little fishes like to lay just below the sand on the ocean floor!

These are just some of the things that make buoyancy control so important.  For many months I dove so over-weighted that I had to fully inflate my BCD on the surface to stay at eye level and then when I shot down to the bottom I had to inflate my BCD to insane levels to stay of the bottom.  Neutral?  HA!  I ended up doing a buoyancy check in shallower water and found out that I was diving with over 4 kg (8 lbs) of excessive weight! 

Over at DIVER magazine they devise a little game or obstacle course where divers were challenged and then judged on their ability to maintain good buoyancy under stress.  One of the obstacles was simply a kids toy where you put a triangle in the triangle shaped hole.  This exercise was meant to simulate a diver messing with their camera or other dive gear and forgetting to breathe properly.  Other activities included swimming through plastic squares at varying depths to simulate swim-throughs and wrecks.

A Sherriff's department in Laclede, Idaho wanted to train their divers on good buoyancy while under stress so they came up with a unique form of training:

Now you may not be doing swim-throughs on an obstacle course or carving up a pumpkin on Halloween but that doesn’t mean you can’t work on your buoyancy every time you go diving.  Of all the things I am thinking of during a dive – breathing, navigation, looking at the scenery – buoyancy is top on the list.

How good is your buoyancy?  Do you find safety stops at 3 m (10 ft) about as fun as going to the doctor for a shot?  Stop in and tell us your story!

September Underwater Photo Contest Theme & Prize – Underwaterphotoguide.com

By Jason Heller

The theme for the September 2009 monthly underwater photo contest is "EYES".

(winners of the August contest)

Entering the contest is easy
You can add images to one of your existing galleries on DPG or create a new gallery just for your contest entries. Please simply add the tagEyes909 to your entries. The tag is easy to add to the image while uploading. The tag must be included exactly as "Eyes909" in order to enter.You may enter up to three images. The deadline is the last day of the month.
*** Please do not enter more than three images. Only the first three will be accepted for the contest. ***
Guidelines and a complete list of rules can be found here. Good luck!
The prize for September is the Abyss 22 regulator from Mares (value $600).

 

There is a complete description of the Mares Abyss 22 regulator on the website.

This is a fun contest so get out there and capture some “EYES”!!

American Red Cross CPR/AED for Adult/Child/Infant at the Support Site Gym

The American Red Cross is giving a CPR/AED class for Adults/Children/Infants on Saturday September 26th.

This class will satisfy the CPR requirement for Rescue Diver.  I spoke with the Red Cross representative and she said that First Aid classes should be starting soon.

You can track this and future American Red Cross offerings on the Event Calendar.

Diving Italy Event Calendar

Follow all the upcoming events by checking the calendar often:

Event Calendar

20 SPF or 1000 SPF? If you care about Vitamin D the first choice might be better

Are you a sunscreen fanatic? With my bleach white skin, the product of too many hours under fluorescent bulbs at work, require immediate protection from the sun when I’m diving. I recall a question I got once while returning from a dive on a boat, “Lewis, are your cheeks naturally red?”. Well, “no” I said and immediately took a lotion bath with the SPF 50 sunscreen that I brought.

What I learned while reading the June issue of National Geographic Adventurer is that I could be robbing my body of much needed Vitamin D.

According to Kate Rope “three out of four Americans today aren’t getting enough vitamin D, and the ramifications could be severe”. What does vitamin D do for you? “Vitamin D aids calcium absorption, keeps us agile as we age, and may fend off colds.”

So how much is enough and how much is too much?

Well, Rope tells us that “3 to 10 minutes of sun exposure with 40% of your skin bared, twice a week during the summer, is enough to get almost a year’s worth of D.” Now before you go running out to jump in the Sun we are given the warning that “any longer than that, apply sunscreen.”

So how does all this work?

Well, Rope tells us that “the UV triggers a form of cholesterol in our skin that is converted into D in our kidneys.”

All of this news comes packed with the constant caution that everything must be taken in moderation. I can understand that I could probably back my typical 50 – 70 SPF sunscreen down to about 30 or 40 to let a little more sunlight in but I guarantee that anything more than 10 or 15 minutes in the sun without sunscreen and I could answer the question “Is that red normal?” with a cry of pain!

You can read the entire National Geographic Adventurer article here: The Sun Rx.

Do you wear sunscreen when you dive? What about when you are just hanging out on the beach?

September 19 – International Cleanup Day

According to the PADI AWARE (Aquatic World Awareness, Responsibility and Education) initiative over “6 million tonnes [sic] of debris enters the world’s oceans each year”.

About International Cleanup Day 19th September 2009

Project AWARE’s longstanding International Cleanup Day event is the biggest underwater cleanup of its kind. Held annually on the 3rd Saturday in September each year, more than 370,000 volunteers clean over 33,000 miles of shoreline to remove seven million pounds of rubbish.

Project AWARE partners with dedicated scuba divers to clean the world’s oceans, lakes, rivers and shorelines. These volunteers take part in practical cleanup solutions and collect data for the global Marine Debris Index which is vital to addressing global debris issues. Cleanup and data collection activities are supported by Project AWARE Foundation, partners and volunteers on an ongoing basis to reform, inform, educate and legislate.

A cleanup event has been registered for the 19th of September at Nisida Beach. This site is the one most frequented by our local divers and is also the most in need of our clean up efforts. This is also a wonderful time to bring any non-diving friends or family members and get them involved with SCUBA! Cleanup efforts will be done both above and below the water and along the shore line.

Some of the historical data for Italy:

	Total (bags of trash)
Shoreline and Recreational Activities (Bags, bottles, cups, and toys…)	5,632
Oceanway/Waterway Activities (buoys, floats, fishing line…)	1,177
Smoking related Activities (Cigarettes, Cigarette lighters, and butts)	8,419
Dumping Activities (Appliances, batteries, cars…)	596
Medical Personal Hygiene (Condoms, Diapers, syringes)	150
Marine Debris Total	15,974

Information taken from other volunteers and compiled by PADI AWARE

Please join us on Saturday 19, September for this attempt to give back to the one resource that gives us so much – our world’s Oceans. We will submit our findings to the Global Marine Debris Index once completed.

Come on over to the DivingItlay Forum and volunteer with us today!

Thanks Rob C. for passing on this link and getting the ball rolling on this wonderful cleanup effort.

MARES Issues urgent safety warning on O-Rings

I know a lot of us own Mares dive equipment. I really enjoy my rig and Octo but sometimes things slip by in the manufacturing side of the house. Mares just released this voluntary recall:

MARES Diving issued the following announcement earlier today:

MARES DIVING URGENT SAFETY NOTICE NEMO AIR QUICK CONNECTOR 0-RING
Please be informed that we have discovered a quality issue on the O-ring assembled on the Nemo Air quick connector.

Under certain circumstances, the O-ring can fail and consequently Nemo Air may start leaking through the Quick Connector. As a result, there is a continuous, albeit slow, loss of breathing gas and Mares has decided to issue a voluntary product recall. After intense internal tests Mares has identified a new O-ring of different material, color and hardness that can be retrofitted onto the Quick Connector of any existing Nemo Air.
We take this matter very seriously, but we would also like to point out that this issue is covered by the EN250 norm, which requires a 0.3mm opening in the high- pressure hose fitting. As a result, the hose is designed to ensure a slow enough gas release; which should allow the diver to complete a safe emergency ascent.
NONETHELESS FOR THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF YOUR CUSTOMERS AND TO AVOID POSSIBLE DANGEROUS ACCIDENTS: STOP ANYONE FROM DIVING WITH A QUICK CONNECTOR SUBJECT TO THIS VOLUNTARY RECALL UNTIL THE EXISTING O-RING IS REMOVED AND SUBSTITUTED WITH THE NEW GREEN COLOR ONE.
THE CURRENT O-RING FROM THE NEMO AIR QUICK CONNECTOR (O-RING IS BLACK OR BROWN) MUST BE REPLACED ONLY WITH OUR NEW O-RING THAT IS A DIFFERENT MATERIAL, HARDNESS AND GREEN IN COLOR.
Affected products and codes are:
Finished goods
414158 – DIVE COMPUTER NEMO AIR
414159 - DIVE COMPUTER NEMO AIR W/COMPASS
Spare parts
44200771 – HP HOSE W/QUICK CONNECTOR NEMO AIR
44200770 – QUICK CONNECTOR ASSY. FEMALE NEMO AIR
Please contact an Authorized Mares dealer/Service Center in your area to schedule the retrofit of the O-Ring of your Nemo Air Quick Connector. If you do not want to perform the above service procedures, please contact our customer service department at 1-800-874-3236 for a return authorization number. You will need to provide the unit(s) serial number(s).
NEMO AIR QUICK CONNECTOR O-RING MUST BE REMOVED AND SUBSTITUTED WITH THE NEW O-RING.

If this recall affects your dive equipment then go over to www.mares.com for more information on returning your defective gear.

Monthly Underwater Photography Contest Series – DivePhotoGuide.com

Underwater photography enthusiasts listen up! DivePhotoGuide.com is hosting a monthly themed contest. Here is the article:

We are proud to announce the guidelines for the monthly Underwater Photography Contest Series. The contests are free to enter and each month we will be giving away a valuable prize - because you deserve it...and that’s how we roll!

Below you will find a link to all upcoming contests themes, links to archives, as well the general guidelines and rules, which will apply for all contests.

Here’s how it works.

Each month we will be announcing a contest theme. You can easily enter by uploading up to three images into your DPG gallery. The editorial staff of DivePhotoGuide will select a first, second and third place winner. While only first place winners will receive the monthly prize, all three monthly winners will receive an award certificate and will be entered into an annual contest for a chance at the grand prize, which will be awarded based on votes from the DivePhotoGuide community. Monthly prizes will include underwater photo equipment, scuba diving equipment, apparel, and of course dive trips!

Entering the monthly contests is easy.

- You can add images to one of your existing galleries on DPG or create a new gallery just for your contest entries

- In either case your images will be entered into the monthly contest as long as it includes a specific tag that we will provide for each month’s contest theme. The tag is easy to add to the image while uploading. Please be sure to copy the tag exactly as instructed for each contest.

Compete, Have Fun, & Earn Prizes

The DPG community is comprised of the best underwater photographers from all corners of the world. The level of talent never ceases to impress us. The DPG contest series is intended to promote friendly competition, to push your skills, and to give you specific themes or subjects to focus on for your next dive trip. The deadline for each month is always the last day of the month.

Bookmark this page and you will always be able to plan around the next six months' themes or specific subjects. Good luck and happy shooting!

So far the themes for the next couple of months have been posted.

• August 2009: Nudibranchs (include image tag: "Nudibranch809")
  Prize for August is the SLX 800i Focus Light from Nocturnal Lights (value $450)
• September 2009: Eyes (include image tag: "Eyes909")
• October 2009: Reef Scenics (include image tag: "Reef1009")
• November 2009: Wrecks (include image tag: "Wrecks1109")
  
  
• December 2009: Divers (include image tag: "Divers1209")
• January 2010: The Color Yellow (include image tag: "Yellow110")

Jump over to DivePhotoGuide.com and check out the full contest rules and I’ll see you in the submissions box!

Italy beach contamination – We report, You decide

Okay Divers, it has finally come to that point where I feel the need to present both sides of the story in regards to the Naples beach contamination levels.

THE CONTAMINATION SIDE:

Italy’s beaches are mostly vacant after bacteria warnings

By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, July 18, 2009

NAPLES, Italy — Summer is in full swing, but the once-popular beaches in southern Italy are jarringly vacant.

That’s because of repeated warnings of higher-than-acceptable bacteria levels that have polluted more than 37 miles of coastline in the Campania region, prompting regional environmental officials to declare the ocean off-limits to swimmers.

…

According to the Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale della Campania, the regional equivalent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, biweekly tests of the regional waters have turned up higher-than-acceptable levels of total coliform, fecal coliform and fecal streptococci bacteria, the latter of which can cause strep throat, flesh-eating disease and a variety of other infections.

…

The U.S. Naval Hospital Naples reported that no one has sought medical treatment related to beach visits, base spokesman Lt. Paul Macapagal said.

Italian media outlets have reported some beaches have been plagued recently with worms and sand fleas. High contamination levels have been recorded in Mondragone, Castelvolturno, Licola, Pozzuoli, Portici, Castellammare di Stabia and along the Salerno coastline.

Levels of fecal coliform registered in waters between Lido le Ancore and the NATO beach in Giugliano in Campania, for example, were 1,200 times more than the Italian maximum contaminate level, according to testing documents posted on ARPAC’s Web site. The pollution is caused by illegal dumping of sewage and inefficient water purification plants, agency officials have said.

…

Italian investigators are probing reports of toxic dumping of untreated water along the Phlegean coastline west of Naples by the plant, according to several Italian news agencies.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

(Thanks Chris B. for the news link)

THE “IT’S ALL PROPOGANDA” SIDE:

According to the ARPA Campania (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale) reports bi-weekly on the quality of the water. Their report (which is too lengthy and detailed to quote here) shows that almost all of the beach dive sites are perfectly fine for diving. Contamination levels are either non-existent or well within the “norm” for Naples.

One site that is grossly out of acceptable levels is Pozzuoli.

The report can be downloaded here: ARPA Campania Report

The report only takes a second to figure out and is pretty self explanatory.

THE “LEWIS’S PERSONAL OPINION” SIDE:

I have lived in Naples since 2004. Since then I have seen the local people misled on many things. Either the news was telling only half the truth for effect or simply outright making stories up.

One thing most recent for the American people living in the Campania region is the health of the water. When the “water” issue first started becoming a topic in the news in Casal di Principe the American people were told that the problem was with all the water in the region. Our landlords told us the news stations were saying the problem was isolated to only the Casal area. The only facts that could be found in that whole story was that no one knew where the problem started or ended. I went to the American Housing office a week ago to see if the water problem had improved so that I could look at property in that neighborhood and was told that now the problem was “political” and had very little to do with the water from the beginning.

So we arrive today with the contaminated ocean issue. Just the other day I was told by a local Italian friend that I was “pazzo” or crazy for diving in the local waters because of someone he had heard about getting a white worm infection under his skin from the contamination. Now you should know that I am a natural born skeptic. So I immediately turned to my trusted Google homepage and searched for this story. This is what I found:

POLLUTED SEA IN NAPLES IS PSYCHOSIS

IN CLOSING:

In my opinion the news, and I include any news reporting outlet in that general name (CNN, FOX News, Rai Uno), will always trim down the information for greatest shock value. I look at contamination in the Naples bay to be another case of this shock value news reporting. I read the environmental reports released by the ARPA Campania for myself and I survey a dive site while planning a dive and before executing my dive plan.

Contamination in our worlds’ oceans is a serious matter. I try to reduce my carbon footprint at home and when I dive I try to leave nothing behind and take only pictures and octopus left-overs (clam shells). I always encourage my dive buddies to do the same.

In regards to diving locally, well, I’ve bumped into things that I wish I never made physical contact with but that to me is just “Naples”. If you see the trash on the sides of the road why would you expect that none of that would end up in our oceans?

What do you think? Do you think the pollution levels in the water is just Italian propaganda? Do you believe that the water is truly unsafe and that a white worm and sand flea infection has taken over?

Share your opinion in the comments section or step over to the forum and post in the environment forum or stop in here and leave a comment!

Diving Italy forum

A letter from the Editor:

Italy SCUBA Divers,

As most of you know this whole experience with the blog and the Master Diver List started out as a way to find dive buddies. In the beginning there were about 12 of us and we started to put the word out - "If you want to dive this weekend just shoot out an email and if someone is available they will respond".

That email list grew from 12 divers to over 61 at the time this article goes to press. 61 divers and wanna-be's looking for someone to dive with in just over 5 weeks! That's when we knew we had a problem. Email is good for 12 divers or even 20 but 61 was asking a bit much.

That's when the forum was born. http://www.divingitalyforum.com is now the new home of our beloved "Master Diver List". I encourage any and all who are interested to stop in and register and start interacting with your fellow divers today!

See you in the water,

Lewis

SCUBA Diver meeting this Saturday!

UPDATE: THIS MEETING HAS OCCURRED AND WAS AN AMAZING SUCCESS!!! THANKS TO ALL THE INTERESTED PEOPLE WHO STOPPED IN TO SEE HOW THEY COULD INTERACT WITH OTHER DIVE BUDDIES! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE ELSE AT THE NEXT GET TOGETHER!

• Are you interested in SCUBA diving?
• Are you already certified but don’t know where to go to dive in Italy?
• Are you looking to meet other enthusiastic divers?

Come join us for a group meeting at 1700 on Saturday, 18 July* on the Navy Support Site in Gricignano in the amphitheatre across from the bowling alley and become a part of one of the fastest growing SCUBA diver groups in the area! Our group ranges from “Wanna Be” divers to SCUBA instructor so don’t worry if all you have is an interest!

We look forward to seeing you there!

*correction to some of the flyers that went out- the meeting is JULY 18th not JUNE 18th.

How to speak SCUBA in Italian or Come parlare subacqueo in italiano

SCUBA diving is a wonderful sport. Diving presents many challenges to overcome and many opportunities to learn something every time you dive. I constantly feel challenged.

When you SCUBA dive in Italy there are many unique opportunities to develop certain skills that many other divers might not have the chance to learn. One of those opportunities is to learn the “lingua Subacqueo” or the “Language of SCUBA”.

Thanks to Anna Nardella for developing such an extensive list of Italian SCUBA words. I’ve included a couple of words below to wet your appetite.

assetto	buoyancy
assetto neutro	neutrally buoyant
contropiastra per appoggio bombola (su schienale)	tank pad (on backpack)
GAV, jacket	buoyancy compensator (BC)
gonfiaggio a bocca	mouth inflation
pulsante di carico	inflation button
pulsante di scarico	deflator button
valvola di scarico rapido	quick air dump valve
valvola di sovrapressione	over-expansion relief valve
acqua salata	seawater
computer	dive computer
curva di sicurezza	no-decompression limits
durata dell’immersione	dive time
immersione fuori curva	decompression-stop diving
immersione in curva di sicurezza	no-decompression dive
immersione successiva	repetitive dive
intervallo di superficie	surface time
risalita	ascent
risalita veloce	excessively fast ascent
tappa di decompressione	decompression stop
tappa di sicurezza	safety stop
tempo residuo di autonomia aria	air time remaining
pinne	fins
maschera a due vetri; maschera bivetro	two-window mask/design

Stop on over to Anna Nardella’s place and see the whole list and then stop back by here and show off your “Subacqueo” skills!

Greetings from Rob – PADI Divemaster

Hello everyone,

I was recently cruising a few websites for the latest in gear and information and would like to invite all of you, especially the newest divers and soon to be divers, to the Leisure Pro website and the PADI website.

The Leisure Pro homepage has several videos on tips and advice when shopping for new gear. They are well thought out and informative, take a look, they are each only a few minutes long.

On the PADI website, under the Scuba Diving Guide tab, select Keep Scuba Diving and there are 15 links to tips on all kinds of diving techniques and such. Some examples are buoyancy, breathing, night diving and so on. Check them, even as a refresher read before your next dive.

I’m a firm believer that you should never stop learning and relearning. The more often you review it, the longer and better you will retain it. I hope all of you find this information useful and help you in pursuing continued diver education and certification levels.

I hope to see you in the water soon. If I can be of any assistance in anything diving, please let me know.

Best regards,

Rob Clark

PADI Divemaster

“There is no such thing as a stupid question!”

Ventotene, Italy trip feedback

Divernet.com

Unspoilt charm of VENTOTENE

IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS A HUGE VOLCANO, more than 700m above sea level. All that remains now is a little piece of dry land, forming an island two miles long and less than 800m wide, and called Ventotene.

About a mile away is another little island, St Stefano, the remains of a lateral cone of the volcano now almost totally eroded away. Geographically these two islands, which belong to the Pontine group, belong to Italy's Lazio region, but culturally they seem Neapolitan from the way the people speak and their maritime lifestyle. Ventotene, then known as Pandataria, was the place of exile for Giulia, the famously licentious daughter of Augustus Caesar, and of Agrippina, grand-niece of Tiberius. But today it is a welcoming place - the Roman harbour is a cosy assortment of tiny buildings, as is the serene village, with its rose and white houses, little church and tortuous roads. On the village promenade is an array of bars and pubs, restaurants and pizzerias. Coming from the sea, the island resembles a squat turtle, with its little hill and steep cliffs. The transparency of the Tyrrhenian sea reveals the richness of its depths.

And to preserve its well-being, it is part of Italy's Marine Protected Areas. A marine reserve was established in 1997 with three levels of protection. Zone A is totally protected, with diving allowed only for scientific reasons and for groups guided by authorised staff, while the other two zones have lower levels of guardianship.
Diving World Ventotene was Italy's first scuba-diving centre, opened in 1978. In 2000 it was bought by the charming Valentina Lombardo and Dario Santomauro, assisted by a dozen PADI dive masters and instructors, whose professionalism reflects their pride in working for this famous centre. The centre itself forms a part of the surprising architecture of the Roman harbour, located under the arches excavated out of the rock.

Sandy bottoms:

The underwater views are a real surprise. The water around the two rocky islands descends to 50m not far from shore, and the walls of sheltered areas and submerged caves are covered by colonies of colourful anemones and jellyfish, filigree sea-fans and various species of encrusting algae. There are also sandy bottoms to around 40m, with wide prairies of oceanic Posidonia, a common Mediterranean plant. Here you'll find young mullet, cleaver wrasse, turbot, lizardfish and weavers. The channel between the two islands, deep and far from the Italian mainland, attracts more pelagic animals, schools of little squirrelfish and tiny grouper as well as giant dentex, big amberjacks and dense schools of Mediterranean barracuda. Most dives are made in the marine park area, where respect for the environment is a must. The pinnacles at La Molara in zone A are the place to find those schools of barracuda, and also grouper, and they allow divers to come close. There is plenty of micro-fauna, and on the seabed you'll see fragments of Roman amphorae. La Molara is comparatively shallow and current-free, so is one of the easiest dives. Also in zone A is Secca Santo Stefano, a sandbank near Santo Stefano Island in which flora and fauna proliferate in the caves and creeks.

There is also a wreck, the Santa Lucia, a steamer sunk by British bombers in July 1943. Their mission was to prevent shipping accessing Ventotene, though the ship carried only civilians on that voyage. Now it lies split in two at 46m, the propeller, the anchors and the handrail on the rounded stern all still intact. The wreck offers a comfortable haven for many species of fish, especially the anthias that swim around it with their usual peculiar frantic movement.

Our group was made up mostly of student divers either working on Open Water or Advanced Open Water. Here are some of the reviews:

As we approached the island of Ventotene I was suddenly struck by the absolutely translucent blue water. Then I caught myself nodding my head and smiling…this was going to be a good weekend of diving! I finally completed my AOW with Antonio and the dives were great! I would definitely go again.

~Lewis

Great trip! It's always nice to get out and meet new people. The night dive was an awesome and memorable experience. Helping the OW guys/girls with their stuff got me thinking, why not become a dive instructor? So that is my ultimate goal, thanks for helping me make that decision! I will not say any names, but someone also help me towards that goal by losing his weights, providing me with the opportunity to do some search and rescue. Antonio and his colleagues were nothing but great. I look forward to our next dive trip to Ventotene. All in all the entire trip went good, with the exception of my poor choice of shoes. The blisters finally healed. Thanks again to everyone for making the trip. Until next time Bubbles up, Fins down... and stay safe!!!

~Howard

To put in simply, Evan and I had a blast. It was exhausting, but it was worth every ounce of energy. We made some great life long friends and I even learned to spit in my goggles.

~Evan and Rayna

Some feedback from someone who wasn't able to attend:

Ode to Ventenone
Looking forward to a weekend dive
I worked and worked each day past five
Ready for my weekend fling
Was told by my boss he'd have no such thing
While other explored the world beneath
I was stuck at my desk just grinding my teeth
Missing the fun at Ventenone
I wanted to act like Michael Corleone
But instead I just worked as most of us do
And wishing it rained on all of you

~John

Download the PADI AWARE “AWARE - Our world our water” textbook free!

PADI has generously donated the AWARE textbook “AWARE – Our world Our water” for free via a PDF download!

If you have ever been interested in becoming an “AWARE” diver now is better time then ever to stop in and check out the details.

Fish identification in Naples, Italy and the World

When I was a kid I used to love watching the film “The Incredible Mr. Limpet”.

I used to watch this film over and over of course wishing that I, like the hero Mr. Limpet, could be a fish. During the initial scene where Mr. Limpet realizes that he is a fish and bumps into a hermit crab he says:

“Why, you're a splendid specimen
of a Pagurus pollicaris.

In common terminology,
you're a crustacean, a hermit crab.”

Those familiar with the film will know that the hermit crab immediately became offended and directed Mr. Limpet to “raise his fins” for a fight.

Well, unlike "Crusty" I was amazed at how a crab could be called a Pagurus pollicaris or even a hermit crab for that matter! (I was 6) I always wanted to be able to look at a fish and immediately be able to point out the genus and species of that creature without having to look through a thousand books. I now know there are 276,500 common names of fish in the ocean. I think I’m happy with just using this tool that I found at Fish Base.org:

Fish Base.org

This database contains over 31,200 species of fish and allows you to narrow your search to country or level of invasiveness. I learned that there are 491 different species of fish associated with the country of Italy.

If you use the fish identification tool then you can narrow your search just by what you saw in the water.

I located a species that I had seen out at Nisida several times and discovered that the true name of this little guy is a “Greater Weever”. These fish like to bury themselves under the sand when you approach them so all you see are their beady little eyes and little mouth.

After finding the shape of the fish I discovered there were 9 species of this family Trachinidae then narrowed that down to 4 specific species in the Mediterranean. (Lesser weever, Spotted weever, Greater weever, and Starry weever).

I guarantee that once you start playing with this site you will be identifying all the crazy fish you can find! The next thing you know we will all be A.W.A.R.E. Diver certified!

Did you finally find the name to that ‘weird’ fish you’ve been seeing lately in your favorite dive spot? Can you identify what genus and family that species is in? Share your find with us in the comments!

Bacterial Contamination in Rinse Tanks – Undercurrent.org

The following is an article regarding rinse tanks on board SCUBA boats from Undercurrent.org. The travel season is upon us and there will be a lot of SCUBA related travel. Remember that sometimes the threat cannot be seen with your eyes or underwater camera!

Bacterial Contamination in Rinse Tanks

a new study says don’t dip your mask and regulator

from the June, 2009 issue of Undercurrent

Recreational divers typically rinse their equipment in “communal” tanks filled with fresh water after completing dives. Often all the equipment (wetsuits, booties, fins, BCDs, regulators with mouthpieces and masks) is rinsed in common tanks. In some facilities, a separate tank is provided for rinsing regulators. Masks are often rinsed and even stored in a common tank on boats before a dive.

Few studies have addressed the possibility that these communal rinse tanks may harbor pathogens and transmit disease. We first reported that communal rinse tanks at a dive facility in Roatan indeed contained significant levels of many types of microorganisms (Microbe, December 2007, p. 577). However, because that dive facility did not allow us to sample the water entering rinse tanks, we were unable to determine if the microorganisms originated from the water used to fill tanks or from equipment that was rinsed in the tanks.

Recently, a report documented the spread of conjunctivitis among divers using two dive boats off of Fiji’s Vitu Levu Island (Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine, 2008 vol. 35, p. 169). Among 29 divers, 14 cases (almost 50 percent) of conjunctivitis were ultimately documented. The pattern by which conjunctivitis was spread among divers and between boats was consistent with the outbreak arising from the divemaster, a Fijian resident, who reported having an eye infection prior to the outbreak and who placed his own mask in the communal mask container (Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine, 2008 vol. 35, p. 169). This study established that disease can be transmitted among scuba divers via communal tanks. (Read our interview with the study’s author in our September 2008 issue.)

In October 2007, we investigated the extent to which bacteria were introduced into communal rinse tanks, via water used to fill tanks and via dive equipment rinsed in them, and whether cleaning a rinse tank with bleach once a day reduced the subsequent bacterial population. A dive facility in Bonaire cooperated in this study but wished not to be identified.

Samples from boats returning from afternoon dives showed very high levels of many types of bacteria.

The facility had two rinse tanks for general equipment and one tank for regulators. Each morning for three days, at 7:30 a.m., one equipment rinse tank, designated “A” was emptied, scrubbed using undiluted bleach, then rinsed several times and filled with fresh water from a hose. The other equipment rinse tank, “B,” was emptied, rinsed several times with water and filled with water from the same hose but was not bleached. We did not empty, clean or fill the regulator rinse tank. During the day, dive staff would occasionally drain and refill equipment and regulator rinse tanks. Water samples were obtained from the three tanks three times daily: 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. The samples were placed in a refrigerator until the day of departure, then put in a suitcase, placed in a refrigerator 12 hours later, and finally examined for colonies and photographed. Pictures of plates can be viewed as a PowerPoint presentation at http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/bmp/miller.asp - - click the “Bonaire 2007” link under the topic “Research.”

No bacterial colonies were observed from water samples filling the rinse tanks. The 8 a.m. water samples, immediately after equipment tanks were cleaned with bleach (A) or not cleaned with bleach (B) and filled with water, did not give rise to any colonies on all three days.

In contrast, 8 a.m. water samples in the regulator rinse tank contained a high level of bacteria on all days tested. Presumably the regulator rinse tank had been used to rinse regulators the previous day and after night dives. At 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., rinse tanks A, B and the regulator rinse tank usually showed high levels of bacterial contamination. Cleaning tank A with bleach did not reduce the subsequent bacterial level. In several instances, water samples showed low levels of bacteria -- this was apparently because the tanks had been recently drained and refilled. It was only possible to obtain water samples from two mask rinse tanks, both at 4 p.m., as boats were returning from afternoon dives. Both of these samples showed very high levels of contamination by many types of bacteria.

Our studies show that bacterial contamination of divers’ rinse tanks at this Bonaire facility was introduced by rinsing equipment, not by water used to fill tanks. Presumably, other potential pathogens, like viruses, are also introduced into the rinse tanks. If divers with a communicable illness (like conjunctivitis, the “common cold,” infectious mononucleosis, diphtheria and streptococcal infections) rinse equipment in a tank, people who rinse after them may pick up the transmitting microorganism and become infected.

We conclude that, if possible, scuba equipment, especially mouthpieces and masks, should be rinsed well with fresh water or alcohol swabs rather than in communal tanks, to reduce the potential of spreading or contracting disease. Studies are now in progress to identify the bacteria that inhabit the rinse tanks.

Michael R. Miller is a professor of biochemistry at West Virginia University, and Tammy S. Miller is senior office administrator of the department of microbiology and immunology at West Virginia University.

SCUBA Diver meeting

• Are you interested in SCUBA diving?
• Are you already certified but don’t know where to go to dive in Italy?
• Are you looking to meet other enthusiastic divers?

Come join us for a group meeting at 1700 on Saturday, 18 July* on the Navy Support Site in Gricignano in the amphitheatre across from the bowling alley and become a part of one of the fastest growing SCUBA diver groups in the area! Our group ranges from “Wanna Be” divers to SCUBA instructor so don’t worry if all you have is an interest!

We look forward to seeing you there!

*correction to some of the flyers that went out- the meeting is JULY 18th not JUNE 18th.

Dive site: Nisida, Italy

As a lot of you know one of the best beach entry dives here in Naples, Italy is the dive site known as “Nisida”.

Nisida is a fun place to dive mostly because of the short distance to two underwater towers which house everything from sea anemones to stone fish. I have yet to dive there once and not see something new every time. This is also the site where a lot of open water courses are taught due to the sandy bottom and even 35 – 45 feet depth.

Here is a Google Earth image of the dive site:

As you can see on the bottom of the page are the GPS coordinates to this dive site. If you are a member of NATO or the American base you can park your car right across from the beach entry and suit up there. Then all you have to do is throw a wave to the guard and he will open the gate for you and you are in business.

Here is a depth sounding chart to help you plan your recreational dive. Note that all the depths are in meters:

If you would like a higher resolution copy of the picture and chart just shoot us an email at divingitaly (at) gmail (dot) com.

Did you already know about Nisida? Have some fun SCUBA stories to tell? Are you busting at the seams to tell someone about the eel you you took a picture of at the bottom of the rocks?

Share your stories with us in the comments!

What it means to be a good dive Buddy

I did a dive this weekend at Nisida, Italy with someone who is quickly becoming a good friend and a great dive buddy. Something happened during that dive that got me thinking about what makes a good dive buddy.

I compiled the following list.

A good dive buddy:

• gives input on where to dive and doesn’t just agree to anything
• doesn’t mind waiting when it takes you just a little bit longer to get to the bottom
• touches the octopus first
• volunteers to swear himself to secrecy when you have lost YET another item before you’ve had a chance to express your embarrassment

These are just some of the things that I could think of.

What do you think makes a good dive buddy? Do you like someone who is learning with you or someone who likes to teach? Do you demand having someone on site that can do a rescue dive due to your history with that pesky regulator?

Add to my list in the comments!

PADI certification track

Congratulations to all the newly certified Open Water divers and to the newly certified Advanced Open Water divers out there who attended the Ventotene Diving Academy in Ventotene, Italy! What a wonderful weekend everyone had at Ventotene with Antonio and his amazing dive shop crew. There is more to follow on that subject so stay tuned!

I wanted to take some time to show everyone what the PADI certification track was now that we have so many new Open Water divers and some new Advanced Open Water divers aspiring to Rescue Diver.

PADI offers several very interesting courses to specialize in.

Are you interested in studying something special? Do you have an interest in diving deep or staying dry when you dive?

Stop in and tell us all about the specialties you are interested in learning more about!

Diving this weekend? Time is running out!

Are you and a buddy diving this weekend? Don’t forget to send us those photos of your dives so we can share with everyone what it’s like to dive in beautiful Campania, Italy.

If you need a buddy for your next dive it’s not too late to shoot an email out to the group and get hooked up with a partner for the weekend!

Not a member of the mailing list yet? Leave a comment to this post or send an email to divingitaly (at) gmail (dot) com and we will send you more details.

We look forward to meeting you!

Ventotene Dive Trip

Ventotene is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Campania, Italy. It is the remains of an ancient volcano, and is part of the Pontine Islands. In Roman times it was known as Pandataria and Pandateria. It is also a commune belonging to the province of Latina(Lazio).

Ventotene and the Pontine Islands.

The island is elongated, with a length of 3 kilometres and a maximum width of about 800 metres. Santo Stefano is located 2 kilometres to the east, and Ponza is 40 kilometres to the west.

The commune with the same name has 708 permanent residents as of 2008. It includes the island of St. Stefano, which is the site of a massive prison, now closed.

The island is connected by ferry and hydrofoil service to Formia and Anzio; this is supplemented by summer services from and to Ischia.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventotene

This is where a large group of us will be heading for the weekend.  We look forward to putting at least three new divers into the water as they work their way through the PADI Open Water SCUBA course.  There will also be several divers certifying PADI Advanced Open Water and possibly even a Nitrox/Enriched Air dive happening somewhere in the “mix” (pun intended!).

So come back and see how this trip went and give a shoutout to all the hopefuls that will be completing their various certifications and eating some of the best food in the world!

Naples, Italy dive shops and dive spots

Looking for a place to dive or a local dive shop?  Try one of these spots and then stop back here and let us know how that spot was.

Bacoli Parking
40.8007348N 14.0805244E

Bacoli Pier
40.8018535N 14.0814203E

Nisida
40.7964952N 14.1671705E

Blue Hole
40.8165964N 14.0711582E
081-854-5547
80070 Baia-Via Lucullo 87

Batis Parking
40.8153043N 14.0717456E

Blue Door
40.8013845N 14.1752332E

Nettuno
40.583078N 14.3528974E

Centro Sub/Campi Flegrei
40.8310295N 14.0910843E

Ital Sub
40.8187582N 14.1813138E
081-570-3436
80125 Napoli-Via Diocleziano 209

Sea Point
339-291-5125
80070 Baia-Via Molo di Baia 14

Blu-Shark
081-3604189
80140 Napoli-Via Arenaccia 255a/255b

Thanks to Divemaster Rob for providing the GPS coordinates and shop locations. 

Do you know of a dive spot that isn’t listed here or a dive shop that you like to go to?  Stop in and let us know about it in the comments.

Welcome to the Naples, Italy SCUBA diving social group

Welcome one and all to the first official posting of the Naples, Italy “Need a Dive Buddy” dive social group!

Let me start off with letting everyone know how excited I am to personally be involved with such a wonderful and inviting group of divers and I look forward to some fun dives ahead with all of you.

My name is Lewis and I will be your blogmaster for the diving social group’s blog.  I was certified PADI Open Water in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1999 and didn’t dive for several years.  One major reason I didn’t dive was because I could never find a dive buddy where I was living at the time.  

Living in Italy provides us all the unique opportunity to see inside some of the most influential places in ancient history.  That same opportunity makes a sport like SCUBA incredibly difficult.  One of the many obstacles to overcome is finding a dive buddy.  That is the main goal of this social club.  

We have a lot of great things planned for this blog.  We have “Divemaster Rob” who will be writing articles related to SCUBA diving, we have “Doc Paul” who will be teaching us about safe diving topics and other things regarding safe diving.  Finally we have some resident underwater photographers who will be sharing their experiences with documenting marine life and diving fun.

So stop in often and see what we are all up to and if you’re looking for a dive buddy you know where to come!