Tag: for undersea visitors and practitioners
composure, aptitude, & situational awareness
A recent series of very routine working dives reminded me of what has come to be my ‘trinity’ in diving – composure, aptitude, and situational awareness. While I infrequently dive recreationally, from time to time I do find myself in the water with new divers. More than general discomfort, anxiety, or nervousness, what jumps out…
Read Morethe whoas and woes of winter diving
Our mild fall has passed, and we’re officially into winter diving. The sign for me is waking up to find my hotwater suit (which was hanging out to dry) frozen solid – a less than inviting garment to don at 7AM. So be it… Winter diving here in New England brings us both ‘whoas’ and…
Read Morean illustration of why we do what we do
For the past several months, numerous friends and colleagues have forwarded me a short film about ‘Ray’. It is a beautiful piece that illustrates the lifelong passion we develop as a diver. Beyond ‘just a job’, for those of us that commit to living this life aquatic understand that there is no end point –…
Read Moresubaquatic job security – husbandry 101
Yesterday was a good reminder of where to find job security in the subaquatic realm – husbandry. Every device and structure – from instruments to bridges and piers – is severely abused by the natural forces of the ocean environment, and that means they need constant maintenance and upkeep…great news for us commercial divers. My…
Read Morelessons from day one | refraction in diving
Strike one, strike two, strike three – this was how I started my morning as I was swinging a hammer topside to tack up a pile wrap system while working under a pier. I just plain missed the nail three times. I then switched to my left hand and struck out again. Hmmm…something’s up. Then it…
Read Moreburn baby, burn…
Three and a half hours later, I surfaced from what was my third dive of the day. As I surfaced, I thought to myself, “seven hours spent in a dark, muddy hole was how I spent this fine Wednesday…just another day at the office”. Today’s project was to remove a 30 foot length of steel…
Read Moreit’s all just a big wet and wild vacation
‘No Vacation Nation’. Sounds about right. I haven’t taken a true vacation in a long, long time. I’ve found myself out and about, even traveling the world to some extent, but never without my laptop slung on my back and eagerly searching out the next wifi hot spot to at the very least stay on…
Read Morecarbon dioxide and sofnolime | the necessary evil
Well, we’re just weeks away from setting out to uncharted waters yet again as we continue our explorations ‘in Bahama deep’. This next expedition will focus on Exuma Sound, where much like the Tongue of the Ocean on Andros, the Sound is a deep flanking margin dropping precipitously from the shallows to depths of several…
Read Moreon budget crises, and gettin’ $#!T done
I’m generally incredibly hesitant to talk politics here on ‘a New Life’, but we are in a time and space where not one single person in this country can take for granted that the US is a great place to live and everything will be just fine…unfortunately we are as prone to the realities of life, injustice,…
Read Moreswim like a fish, eat like a pig, sleep like a rock
‘Sixty-four’ (64) is the number of hours I spent underwater in the month of March 2011. Sounds like a lot – and it is – but it represents normalcy for many of us involved with inshore marine construction. Here in New England, January and February are traditionally on the slow side given weather delays, and…
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