Diver balances shark VERTICALLY in palm of her hand... after putting it in a trance

By Wil Longbottom
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

This is the jaws-dropping moment a scuba diver literally holds a 10ft shark in the palm of her hand.

Italian diver Cristina Zenato can clearly be seen doing what many would believe unthinkable - stroking, touching and holding a large ocean predator in tropical Caribbean waters.

The animal is so at ease with her it goes into a trance state, allowing Ms Zenato to hold it vertically in the water with its nose in her hand.

And for my next trick: Christina Zenato 'balances' a Caribbean reef shark in her hand after coaxes it into a trance-like state

She induces the 'tonic' state in the shark using a little-known technique of rubbing the ampullae of Lorenzini - the name given to hundreds of jelly-filled pores around the animal's nose and mouth.

A 'tonic' state is where a shark enters a natural state of paralysis, often by being turned upside down, for up to 15 minutes.


The pores act as electroreceptors detecting prey moving in the electromagnetic field around the shark - but also for some reason rubbing them turns 'Jaws' into a sleeping baby.

Ms Zenato uses her ability to put the sharks in a sleepy state to educate other divers, remove parasites and even take fishing hooks caught in their mouths out.

Photographer Matthew Meier, from San Diego, U.S., captured the moment she brought a Caribbean Reef shark under control.

The 42-year-old said: 'My first time to witness Cristina feeding the sharks was amazing. I expected an adrenaline rush, but the dive was so peaceful and calm.


'It was totally relaxing to watch the sharks swim slow circles around us in hopes of being fed by Cristina. I was in awe and could not keep the smile off my face.

'Sharks are the apex predator of the ocean and it is a privilege to be near them and observe them in their world.'

Smile for the camera: Ms Zenato rubs jelly-filled pores around the sharks' nose and mouth to induce an almost sleep-like state

Ms Zenato has been working with sharks for more than 15 years, but still wears a chain link suit in case one of the animals is tempted to bite.

Mr Meier, a commercial photographer who specialises in underwater, nature and travel, said he hoped to raise awareness of the plight of sharks.

He said: 'We kill millions of sharks every year, with the majority of those having their fins cut off while still alive and then thrown back into the water to die a slow, agonising death.

'If this were happening to dolphins or something cute and cuddly, the would would be up in arms.


'We must fight to save these amazing creatures, as they keep the balance within the ocean and without them the entire ecosystem will be thrown off and forever damaged.'

VIDEO: Professor Splash nails America's Got Talent with record-breaking leap

By Ali Plumb
From : http://www.asylum.co.uk/

We have long been fans of "Professor Splash" and his ability to jump from ridiculous heights into shallow pools of water without hurting himself – just check out our "best of" post of his work here for proof if you don't believe us...

Now he's getting the credit he's long deserved after appearing on the stupidly popular light entertainment show America's Got Talent, performing an even bigger stunt than before – and guess what? It involves him jumping from a ridiculous height into a shallow pool of water without hurting himself! Hurray!

Sure, he's basically a one trick pony with a belly made of steel, but what a one trick pony! After all, could you set a new world record belly-flopping into a splash pool containing only 12 inches of water from a height of 36 feet, 7 inches? Could you though, huh? Could ya?

So swimming caps off to you "The Splashman" – known to his family as Darren Taylor, and to the police as a 49-year-old former professional diver who keep doing weird things with paddling pools – because you may only do one thing really well, but you really do do it really, really well. Here's to your fire-based round next time, you utter, utter madman!

Sports photographer creates the ultimate collection of divers gurning mid-drop

By Ali Plumb

From: http://www.asylum.co.uk/

Sports photographer Ezra Shaw is a woman after our own hearts, we like to think. We make this presumption after discovering this delightfully gurn-y images of divers mid-drop at the 14th FINA Diving World Championships at the Oriental Sports Centre on July 21, 2011 in Shanghai, China.

That's right, she just decided to take snaps of divers looking their most ludicrous, then load them up onto the internet. And though the divers themselves probably aren't best pleased, we can't help but enjoy ourselves pointing and laughing at them. We're terrible human beings, we know. Sorry about that, diver-men.

Treasure Hunters Find $500k Ring at Atocha Wreck

A crew from Mel Fisher's Treasures found the 10-karat emerald piece on Thursday

By Janie Campbell

from: http://www.nbcmiami.com/

Sharon Wiley/ Mel Fisher Treasures via the Florida Keys News Bureau /HO

An ancient gold ring with a rectangular cut emerald found Thursday is believed to have come from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha.

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The famed Atocha shipwreck site in the Florida Keys coughed up another treasure Thursday when salvagers said they discovered a 10-karat emerald ring initially valued at $500,000.

A crew with historic salvagers Mel Fisher's Treasures found the ornately carved gold ring while searching for the long-lost sterncastle of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank off the Keys during a hurricane in 1622.

The ring was found with two silver spoons and two other silver-encrusted artifacts about 35 miles west of Key West, within 300 feet of where a gold rosary and gold bar were found in April.

"It is exciting because we are moving into virgin territory, an area of the Atocha Trail that has never been worked," said vessel captain Andy Matroci in a statement.

Fisher's Treasures has been working the Atocha site since 1969, hauling up approximately $450 million in silver, gold, and emeralds after the wreck and its "mother lode" was first discovered in 1985.

An infamous eight-year legal battle over the treasure with the government ensued before the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in Fisher's favor.

The sterncastle of the Atocha has yet to be found, most likely having been scatered by a second hurricane that hit the area shortly after the ship was driven into a reef in the Dry Tortugas, according to Fisher's website.

The crew of Mel Fisher's Treasures believe that a second major treasure cache is hidden within the missing sterncastle, probably having been stored in the captain's quarters of the ship for safekeeping.

A spokeswoman has said the company will have the ring appraised by an independent party.

Sick BackFlip Catch

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What a dive: The underwater realm that inspired James Cameron's new 3D film Sanctum

By Chris Hall

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

This is a real photograph from one of the most mysterious environments in the world

80ft below the surface, the Cascade room in Dan's Cave, on Abaco Island in the Bahamas, is one of the most sensational chambers in the cave system 

No, it's not a still from Sanctum - although James Cameron's new diving film was inspired by a near-catastrophic expedition by the man who took these pictures, Wes C Skiles. 


This is a real photograph from one of the most mysterious environments in the world. You could visit Abaco Island, in the Bahamas, and have no idea that beneath you lies this vast network of caves, accessible by as many as a thousand 'blue holes' - submerged vertical caves peppered with entrances to this forbidding domain.

Of the 1,000 or so blue holes in the Bahamas, fewer than 20 per cent have been investigated, and almost none fully explored

Exploring these passages is the diving equivalent of climbing K2  -  you've got to be exceptionally well trained and well prepared. Even then, safety is no guarantee; Wes C Skiles died during a dive last summer.
Sanctum is dedicated to him.

Of the 1,000 or so blue holes in the Bahamas, fewer than 20 per cent have been investigated, and almost none fully explored. It's a perilous mission to undertake; the caves are pitch black, vast and labyrinthine: the deepest blue holes can be 600ft deep, and the connecting caves run on for thousands of feet in all directions. 

 

Light filters down from the entrance of Ben's Cave (left) in Lucayan National Park on Grand Bahama. There are over six miles of caves under Grand Bahama. The caves can get so narrow that the divers have to remove their equipment to fit through the gaps (right). Here one of the team explores Garbage Hole, with his guideline clearly visible in the foreground

Divers maintain a taut safety line at all times. Without it, it could be nigh on impossible to find your way out before your air supply runs out. Divers carry three tanks of nitrox mix - one to use on the way in, one on the way out, and one for emergencies - and three lights, which are used to communicate as well as navigate. 


Standard practice states that if any one light fails for any diver, the whole dive is called off. 

In Sawmill Sink, another of Abaco's blue holes, bacteria colour the water a violent red, and signal the presence of hydrogen sulphide clouds 

Wes Skiles died during a dive last summer. Sanctum is dedicated to him

As well as the routine hazards of diving, the unique water chemistry of inland blue holes brings its own problems. 


In inland blue holes, a thin layer of fresh water, provided by rainfall, sits on top of denser salt water. The fresh water acts as a lid, preventing oxygen from entering the water. 


Bacteria in the salt water produce hydrogen sulphide as a result, generating toxic clouds of gas, suspended near the surface throughout the caves.
Divers cannot spend too long exposed to these clouds; it can penetrate their wetsuits and skin, leading to nausea, delirium and even death.
These conditions also contribute to the blue holes' interest, however.
Life on Earth began in prehistoric times, when oxygen was vastly less prevalent in the planet's atmosphere. 


By exploring these caves, and studying the bacteria that exist here, scientists can learn not only about life as it was four billion years ago, but as it might exist now on other worlds: it is possible that there are pockets of liquid water beneath the surfaces of Mars, Jupiter's moon Europa, and distant planets. 


The oxygen-deficient conditions also preserve animal remains.
Marine biologists have recovered the remains of crocodiles and tortoises with their soft tissues perfectly intact, even after thousands of years. 

Divers thread a careful path between stalactites and stalagmites in Dan's Cave. The fragile rock formations are tens of thousands of years old 

 

 

 

Divers Brian Kakuk and Kenny Broad (left), from the team of scientists exploring the blue holes, surface in Sawmill Sink. A team of divers explore the north passage of the blue hole known as Stargate, on Andross Island (centre). Dean's Blue Hole (right), in a cove on Long Island, is the deepest known underwater cave in the world, stretching down more than 600ft

Underwater Scooter HydroBOB

Posted by KRCKE
From: http://www.insanetwist.com/

HydroBOB - This compact scooter to ride under the water. It allows even an inexperienced person, feel like an underwater explorer, the truth will not travel on the sea bottom, and at the bottom of the pool. Oxygen it gets from a special balloon attached to the scooter itself, rather than through the hose, which stretches to the water surface. If you have kindled a desire to ride on such transport, then you have to go to "Hyrdodome" in Forte-Loderdeyle (Fort Lauderdale), Florida, for $ 25 per hour

10 Most Dangerous Cliff Jumps on Earth

Written by Simone Preuss
From: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Photo: via whdfFrederic Weill diving off a cliff at the Algarve, Portugal

Tombstoning or cliff jumping has been in the news recently, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Every summer, many youngsters die or severely injure themselves because they dive off rocks and cliffs – often inebriated – into waters of unknown depths. Tombstoning, however, has a long tradition that goes back to ancient tribes – inhabitants of Easter Island or Hawaii, for example – that used cliff jumping as an initiation rite. Instead of condemning the activity, we say do it but do it with someone who knows and has carefully checked out the lake, pond or ocean they’re jumping into. Or simply watch the pros do it because as you’ll see below, there are plenty of cool cliff jumping sites and competitions around the globe.

Photo: WHDF

In case you were wondering – the term 'tombstoning' refers to the fact that many careless cliff divers have found an early grave. It is more commonly used in the UK and Europe than in North America, though, where cliff jumping or cliff diving is more commonly used to describe the same activity.

Dan Brown of tombstoning.com says of the extreme sport’s bad reputation: “General perception now frames tombstoning as a foolish, dangerous and ill-thought action rather than a well planned and calculated ‘extreme sport’... The news is awash with stories of people drunkenly jumping from piers and harbour walls. Visitors to the sea side finding the nearest cliff edge and hurling themselves from it.”

Photo: Kfengler

However, there are sites like tombstoning.com and associations like the World High Diving Federation (WHDF), already founded in 1969, that promote safe cliff diving opportunities and competitions around the world.

Cliff diving puts tremendous stress on the body. Even a low jump of 6 m (20 ft) will have the body hit the water at 40 km/h (25 mph) – an impact strong enough to cause people to suffer a concussion, compress the spine or break bones. Because cliff divers often experience the aforementioned injuries, plus bruises, dislocated joints, injured discs, paralysis and even death, the WHDF recommends that no one (not even professional cliff divers) jump from anything higher than 20 m (66 ft) unless professional scuba divers are available for rescue and stationed in the water.

Photo: Dennis Barnes

With the necessary safety measures, competitive cliff divers dive from heights of 18-26 m (59 to 85 ft). The show divers in Acapulco who jump off the famous La Quebradas cliffs, which are 45 m (148 ft) high, only survive the impact and the surf because they've trained for years, know the area like the back of their hand and adjust their dives according to fluctuating wave and water conditions. Here's our list of 10 hair raising jumps and locations.

10. Kimberley, Australia
With its many cliffs, waterfalls and mountains, Australia’s Kimberley region, in the west of the country, offers many cliff diving opportunities, some of them up to 28 m (84 ft) high. Known for its inland rather than ocean cliff diving, Australia will soon become popular with amateur cliff jumpers; however, only organized cliff jumps should be undertaken.

Photo: mattbaker64

9. Negril, Jamaica

Locals of this Caribbean island put on spectacular show of jumps of between 12-21 m (40-70 ft) in the Blue Mountains, an ideal spot for cliff divers, and the limestone cliffs on Negril’s west side. However, as beautiful as these cliffs are, they are also treacherous and for serious divers only.

Photo: via cruisecritic

Unfortunately, with Jamaica being the chilled out place it is, safety warnings are often disregarded and visitors encouraged to attempt the same jumps by café and restaurant owners without providing adequate safety and rescue measures. The highest platform here is 11m (35 ft) at Rick’s Café. But many a happy vacation has ended with a serious injury that has impacted on the diver for life. Don’t do it unless you are a very experienced cliff diver!

8. Dubrovnik, Croatia
This city on the Adriatic Sea has hosted the World Series Cliff Diving Competition twice already – once in 2000 and again in 2009. In 2009, the divers were really challenged when they had to complete eight consecutive dives from 26 m (85 ft).

Photo: via travelodestinations

Germany’s Anna Bader diving in Dubrovnik in 2009:

Photo: Dean Treml

7. Lake Verbano, Italy
Lake Verbano was the site of the most spectacular cliff dive in 1998. At a height of 26 m (86 ft), WHDF foundation member Frederic Weill dove from a helicopter with an armstand double somersault pike with split head first entry into Lake Verbano. This provided him with an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Photo: via WHDF

Don’t do this at home though. And if you ever do go cliff diving, the first rule is: try to hit the water feet first and as straight as you possibly can to minimize the impact. Never ever dive head first; leave that to the few professionals who dare.

6. Polignano a Mare, Italy
Polignano a Mare in Italy not only has a beautiful name but also a natural cliff diving arena. It recently hosted the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series – an event that drew 40,000 spectators. Cliff jumpers dove from a height of 26 m (85 ft).

Photo: via redbull

Here’s a video with some amazing shots from the event. Watch until the end to see the spectacular jump of 2009 winner Orlando Duque, which shows how deep down divers are pushed into the water from the height and force of the impact. No wonder jumps into too shallow water are always almost fatal.

5. Switzerland
Although cliff diving is a seasonal activity, Switzerland has made a name for itself as a destination for the sport because of the World High Diving Federation championship, which has been hosted there several times. The cliffs in Brontallo are up to 26 m high (78 ft) and make the hearts of even professional athletes beat faster.

Photo: via airlinersindia

The most difficult dive to date was performed by Briton Blake Aldridge during the 2009 WHDF European Cliff Diving Championship in Ponte Brolla, Vallemaggia. He mastered a back armstand 2 1/2 somersault pike with 3 twists from 20 m (66 ft) at a degree of difficulty of 5.9. Here is some footage from the recent championship on 23rd and 24th July:

4. Big Island, Hawaii
Hawaii is the birthplace of cliff diving. Though the very first jump is hard to trace, records have been kept of King Kahekili’s daredevil jump in 1770(!). He dove from a 19 m (63 ft) high cliff in Kaunolu and entered the water without even causing a splash. This regular activity earned the last king of Maui the nickname "birdman." To prove their courage and loyalty, even his warriors had to jump from cliffs.

Photo: via gohawaii

Today, Hawaii is a favorite destination among cliff divers worldwide and not only because of its tropical climate, geared for cliff diving year-round. No, its numerous volcanoes and volcanic cliff banks with spectacular Pacific Ocean scenery make it a must among cliff-diving destinations. Most spots are on the Big Island, for example the Southpoint Cliffs, which are between 5-15 m (30-50 ft) high.

It was here, in 2000, at the WHDF Cliff Diving World Championship in Kaunolu, Hawaii that Colombian Orlando Duque’s double back somersault with four twists from 24 m (80 ft) earned him a perfect 10 and the title of most perfect dive to-date. Here’s a video of the record-breaking dive:

3. Acapulco, Mexico
Though Hawaii may be the birthplace of cliff diving, it is Acapulco that made this extreme sport world famous. In the late 1950s, the ad world discovered Acapulco when Timex used cliff diving to advertise the durability of their watches. In a television commercial, Acapulco cliff diver Raul Gomez leapt 27 m (87 ft) into the ocean with a watch strapped to his wrist. Here’s the famous video:

The International Cliff Diving Championship held in Acapulco in 1968 further popularized the extreme sport. To date, Acapulco’s cliff divers are famous for their bravery and hair raising stunts. Though spectacular, this is for professionals only. Just take a look at the Timex video again and see the experienced cliff diver struggle against the surf if you need proof.

2. Ocean Park, Hong Kong
The highest dive by a woman was performed by American Lucy Wardle in 1985 from a height of 37 m (120ft) at the World Record Dives at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. Randy Dickson, also shown in the video below, jumped from a height of 53 m (175 ft) and also fractured his leg in the process.

1. Villers-le-Lac, France
This French town saw stuntman Oliver Favre’s 54 m (177 ft) cliff jump in 1987 – a double back somersault and the highest cliff dive to-date. Favre was severely injured but recovered. Today, he’s the organizer of the Oliver Show, a diving stunt show, and still performs many impossible stunts for movies.

Photo: via vol.at

One thing is for sure – cliff diving or tombstoning should best left be to the professionals. If you have to go, follow the following rules: never dive alone but with someone who knows the area, test the water and weather conditions first, and as we've said, always dive feet first. Last but not least, we want to leave you with a video warning of the dangers of tombstoning.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

© Simone Preuss

Best Underwater / Beach Cameras

By: Wendy Sheehan Donnell
From: http://www.pcmag.com/

Don't fear the water. These tough, waterproof digital cameras are built to capture your summer adventures.

Technology and water don't mix. Delicate circuitry doesn't like to get wet, but it's summer and photo ops abound. If you want to capture photos or video of your outdoor adventures, a rugged, waterproof digital camera could be for you.

A fairly new product category, many point-and-shoot camera manufacturers are only on their first or second waterproof, ruggedized model. While they continue to get better with each iteration, you'll often have to pay more and make some sacrifices for a camera you can swim with. Our Editors Choice, the practically bulletproof Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2, for example, is a leaps-and-bounds improvement over its predecessor, last year's DMC-TS1, which had image-quality issues and problems with its waterproof casing. This year's model captures top-notch still images and HD video, but it'll cost you $400.

Rugged, waterproof cameras can also be bulky. Canon's first entrant in this category, the $300 PowerShot D10, takes beautiful pictures, but it's almost twice as thick as most of its competitors. The $230 Casio Exilim G EX-G1, on the other hand, is the slimmest waterproof camera we've seen, but it suffers in the image-quality department.

All of the models here can capture still images and video in up to 10 feet of water. Some of them, like the PowerShot D10 and the Lumix TS2 can go as deep as 33 feet below, so you can even scuba dive with them. And they're rugged. The $400 Olympus Stylus Tough-8010, for one, can survive drops of up to 6.6 feet and withstand temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, innovative controls let you operate the camera by tapping on its sides while you're wearing gloves, so the Tough-8010 is a good choice if you want to shoot winter outdoor sports too.

Finally, If you're more focused on video than still images, the $150 Kodak Playsport Video Camera records up to full 1080p HD video in up to 10 feet of water. You can then easily upload your footage right to YouTube or Facebook without having to convert it. The pocket-size Playsport also grabs 5-megapixel stills.

If you're ready to take the plunge with your camera, check out our reviews (linked below) or compare these models side by side.

Cameras and Camcorders Featured in this Roundup:

Canon PowerShot D10

$299.99 current list
Canon's cute and curvy PowerShot D10 is waterproof, freeze-proof, and shock-proof, and it pumps out great-looking images, but if you're looking for a slim camera, this isn't it.

Casio Exilim G EX-G1

$229.99 list
The Casio Exilim G EX-G1 offers a ruggedized build in a surprisingly slim, compact body, but image quality isn't this shooter's strong suit.

Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP

$179.95 list
The Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP may be the least-expensive underwater still camera you can find, but with poor image quality and a lackluster interface, you get what you pay for.

Kodak Playsport Video Camera

$149.95 direct
The $150 Kodak Playsport Video Camera fits in your pocket, captures 1080p footage and 5-megapixel still images—and you can take it in the pool.

Olympus Stylus Tough-8010

$399.99 list
With its tap-enabled interface, the Olympus Stylus Tough-8010 is a good fit for those who want a top-of-the-line rugged build, HD video capture, and a camera that's easy to operate while using gloves.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2

$399.99 list
With top-notch image quality and an unrivaled HD video capture experience, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 is one of the best ruggedized cameras you can buy.

Pentax Optio W80

$249.95 current list
The rugged and waterproof Pentax Optio W80 can shoot great pictures in bright conditions, but images captured at ISO 200 and above are noisier than average.