Seasickness Medicine

I seem to get seasick fairly easily. I am usually fine getting into the ocean from a pier or getting out to a dive spot by boat. Well, I start feeling it, but is not yet too bad before the dive starts.

After a dive I usually have some degree of seasickness, mostly moderate-to-severe. I usually recover fairly quickly once on land.

The worst part is immediately upon surfacing. I am relatively OK at the safety stop and above, but by the time I inflate my BCD at the surface I am already nauseous. Getting onto the boat doesn’t help, since it is usually rocking pretty good.

So I asked at a pharmacy if they had anything for motion sickness, and they gave me Meclizine Bonamic 25mg. I have used it a few times now, and it really seems to help.

I also drink a can of Coca-Cola, which I blogged about here: https://scubadivingzero.wordpress.com/2018/01/09/motion-sickness/

Also, thanks to a YouTube video by Lake Hickory Scuba, I leave my gear on and board the boat quickly.

So Meclizine Bonamic 25mg + Coca-Cola + keeping my gear on = much less nausea. If anyone else suffers, I hope this helps.

Disclaimer: consult a doctor before self-medicating.

New Scuba Diving Instructor

I found out the other day that when my diving hiatus finally ends, hopefully in 2 weeks, I might have a new instructor. It’s a combination, I think, of scheduling conflicts and the courses I am choosing to take.

My current instructor has been present on every dive. He was there in the pool during my introductory lesson. He was there for my Open Water Diver certification and both specialties. And, he was there on every fun dive.

So, he has been there all 13 times I have worn scuba gear to date. I guess I knew that I would eventually have to dive without him, but I have come to think of him as an essential piece of dive gear. It’s going to be very strange diving without him.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced this? Has anyone else started diving with one person, and continued diving with that person long enough that the thought of diving without that person was sad?

On the Path to Master Diver

I realized today that I am on the right path to be recognized as an SSI Master Diver.

The qualifications for Advanced Open Water Diver are 4 specialty courses and 24 logged dives. I currently have 12 logged dives, I have completed the Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) and Perfect Buoyancy specialties, and I am currently enrolled in the React Right and Science of Diving specialties. So, I really just need to take 2 tests and jump into the ocean a dozen times.

After dive 24, all I will need is Stress & Rescue and 26 more logged dives to be recognized as an SSI Master Diver.

Ironically, I will probably be the first ever Master Diver to think that such a title is unwarranted. I do so much research about scuba diving, that even with 50 logged dives and 5 specialties I will be keenly aware of how much I still don’t know.

In other words, instead of celebrating a great accomplishment, I will be focused on all the other courses I still need to take before I ever acknowledge any kind of mastery of scuba diving.

For the Love of Scuba Diving

At the end of the coral reef restoration project (https://scubadivingzero.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/coral-reef-restoration-project-1/ and https://scubadivingzero.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/coral-reef-restoration-project-2/), we surfaced at the boat with the crates, weights, and other materials. Because we were done, I thought we were all about to go up the ladder and return to the dive center.

Instead, the other divers slowly sank lower and lower in the water, until they all disappeared. I thought that maybe there was something else that had to be done, so I descended back down, as well.

I did not see any work taking place. With the work accomplished, but with nitrox still in our tanks, I saw the others drifting carefree around the new coral reef we had just built. They were stopping and proverbially smelling the underwater roses.

It was beautiful, really, to observe veteran divers just enjoying diving like that.

I’m a quick learner, by the way. I followed suit and was the last one to surface!

SSI Level 2 Diver

The MySSI app is telling me that I am now a level 2 diver. Other than having 12 logged dives, I honestly don’t really know what that means.

I think it may mean that I am no longer the noobiest of scubanoobs, and that there are noobier scubanoobs scubanoobing out there somewhere.

So, to update were I am so far, I have Open Water Diver certification plus Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) and Perfect Buoyancy specialties. I am currently enrolled in the React Right and Science of Diving specialty courses.

2 Dives, 0 Debris

During the coral reef restoration project earlier this week (https://scubadivingzero.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/coral-reef-restoration-project-1/ and https://scubadivingzero.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/coral-reef-restoration-project-2/), I participated in 2 dives that were 25 minutes each and at maximum depths of 5-6 meters. The search area was very small, but I always enjoy reporting zero pieces of debris to Project Aware’s #DiveAgainstDebris.

In the interest of full disclosure, I saw one small piece of plastic debris. Unfortunately, it was buried deep enough under rocks and corals that I could not reach it without disturbing quite a few nearby organisms.

Otherwise, Shangri-la Marine Sanctuary off Mactan Island, Cebu, was in its usual state of relative cleanliness.

Coral Reef Restoration

The research paper that I was going to help write has been downgraded to a lengthy blog post (not my blog), but the interview this morning for it was fascinating.

The coral reef restoration methods, there are actually two, are amazingly simple. Yet, they evolved over many, many years. The interviewee has been scuba diving for many decades. Heck, his dive center is not much younger than I am.

Without sharing spoilers, coral reef restoration is so simple, literally any diver can do the second method. The first method needs an organization and some effort, but it is still remarkably simple in concept.

I can’t wait until the article is finished and posted so that word spreads….

Coral Reef Restoration Project 2

Continuing the story from https://scubadivingzero.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/coral-reef-restoration-project-1/, we went on a second dive after lunch. Our mission was to plant the corals that the elementary school students had prepared materials for during our first dive that morning.

During our morning dive, the students had been busy preparing materials. On this second dive, they were snorkeling above us, watching and learning. Looking up and seeing our young observers silhouetted by the sun was an absolutely amazing sight.

Dive #12 lasted 25 minutes. Maximum depth was only about 5 meters.

If you are wondering why I have been very light on details about the restoration project itself, there is a very good reason for that. The dive center has a proprietary coral reef restoration method that it wants to publish, and I don’t want to steal its thunder. However, I hope to share the paper as soon as it is publicly released.

Coral Reef Restoration Project 1

What’s better than scuba diving? How about taking part in a coral reef restoration project! What’s even better than that? How about when elementary school children are helping and learning about conservation and saving our ocean!

Dive #11 was a 25-minute adventure documenting coral collection at 6 meters. Preparatory work had already been done over the weekend. 

Before this dive, the elementary school students were briefed by a marine biologist. Afterward, they had lunch on the boat. Then, after lunch, they snorkeled above and observed as we went back down to plant the corals.

The project would have been awesome enough by itself. Experiencing the excitement of the young children made this easily my best dive so far.

Continued at https://scubadivingzero.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/coral-reef-restoration-project-2/

Waterfront Mactan

If you are going to dive in the Philippines, I recommend staying at the Waterfront Mactan Airport Hotel & Casino.

First of all, despite its name, it is actually nowhere near the water. It is closer to the middle of Mactan Island than its coastline. However, the island is so small that it’s no big deal. The relative isolation that the airport provides is a good thing, and I will address that more later.

Let’s get to my favorite part: the food. You may have noticed from the photos, borrowed from the hotel’s website, by the way, that my favorite aspect of the hotel is the restaurant. The service and food are fantastic. I have no complaints.

Next in line is the swimming pool area. It’s just one big family play area. There’s a small gym and a billiards table that I have never really used, but they are there if you are interested in either.

The best part of the rooms is the relative quiet. Again, the airport’s isolation is the key. Other hotels cannot be soundproofed enough against their surroundings. The Waterfront, however, can provide peace and quiet at all times, well, except for New Year’s Eve. The Philippines endures unhealthy decibel levels on New Years Eve.

There are quite a few other plusses that I won’t get too much into. Feel free to browse their website or contact them for the details. But, this is the only hotel that can’t possibly have traffic to/from the airport terminals, there is always someone on duty to call up an honest taxi (I have actually gone there just to get a taxi), there are conveniently accessible stores on premises, and the restaurant is the best I’ve been to in the Philippines (just in case I’ve forgotten to mention the food and service).

In conclusion, I’ve shopped around for myself and for my family. All of my searches ended up back at Waterfront Mactan. You can’t go wrong there.

And if you do stay there, let me know. I can recommend a dive center that will pick you up at the hotel, so you don’t have to worry about transportation. But, that recommendation is for another blog post….