Recently in Mexico, a woman gave me an account of a recent dive in Honduras. In this dive, the dive leader brought a bucket of chum (various fish parts). He would pull the fish parts out of the bucket and feed them to a swarm of sharks directly in front of the dive group. This gave the divers an up-close view of these amazing animals.

A similar story is told in a recent New York Times article. This time, the story takes place in Fiji. The author casually talks about the dive leader, who goes so far as to call himself “Papa”, feeding sharks as if they were his pets. The sharks know the ritual, gently taking “turns approaching the feeder in an orderly single file.”

What is wrong with this picture? Let me share several issues I have with this practice:

• It’s unnatural. This is the most common argument. Sharks are not pets. Feeding sharks on regular tourist schedules alters their natural feeding habits permanently. Even after chumming was prohibited in the Bahamas, sharks still regularly gather in those chum spots.

• It’s dangerous. The chum handler usually wears chain mail to protect her arm. What about everyone else on the dive? Divers are told to keep their arms close to their bodies, otherwise the sharks, who associate human arms with food, will go in for a quick bite. What about divers who happen to encounter one of these “domesticated” animals? What about those in the Bahamas who find one of these formerly fed sharks, a primitive animal that is expecting a free meal–from you!

• It’s not real. Encountering sharks under chumming conditions is basically a petting zoo. I think seeing one lone shark in its natural environment inspires more awe than 20 sharks waiting in line like its McDonald’s.

I’ve been debating in my mind whether I would ever participate in such a dive. For something like a great white cage dive the answer is easily, “no.” But what about something like a bull shark dive? After some thought, I feel the downsides of such an activity outweigh any desire I have to see a large gathering of sharks. I encourage readers to think through their positions and find where they stand.

How do you feel about chumming? Would you participate in such a dive? Do you have counter-arguments for why the practice is harmless, or even beneficial?

It’s never any fun when your dive gets cut short because your buddy’s air is low. It’s even less fun when you’re that buddy. This article compiles some handy tips on making your air last.

First off, keep in mind what it means to make your air last. You don’t necessarily need it to last an hour, all you need is to make it to your decompression limits. For instance, that’s just 40 minutes for a 66ft/20m dive (following the PADI recreational dive planner). Reaching some of these limits may not be possible, but it gives you a number to aim for.

Next, remember to track your air consumption in your log book. Even if you don’t take your log with you, it’s hard to keep all your start and end numbers in your head for a multi-dive day. Bring something to jot it down on, cause it’s impossible to judge your progress without some sort of written record.

So you’ve got a goal and a log of your progress, here’s some tips for getting those numbers up!

• Relax. Diving is fun. You should never be tense or wearing yourself out during a dive.
• Keep your breathing regular. It sounds obvious, but consistent breathing improves your air consumption. Try to catch yourself if you’re ever huffing away, and remind yourself to breathe slowly, counting your breath if necessary (in-2-3-4, out-2-3-4-5-6-…).
• Regular exercise. I could list all the benefits this has, but we’re interested in air consumption. Plain and simple, the more fit you are, the better your body utilizes oxygen, and the more it takes to get you winded.
• Quit smoking. If we ignore that it will most likely kill you, smoking also kills your air usage. Smoking trashes your lungs, which is terrible for air consumption.
• Yoga / Meditation. Diving is already compared to meditation under the sea. I have no doubt a big part of that is hearing your breathing through the regulator, making you mindful of your breath. Having a regular yoga and/or meditation practice teaches you mindful breathing. Who knows, it may make you enjoy your diving even more. (as if that were possible!)
• Use your snorkel at the surface. Whether you’re swimming to a buoy or just waiting for your buddy to get off the boat, switch to your snorkel. No need to burn through precious air when there’s plenty of it above the waves.
• Buoyancy control. Proper weighting keeps your body horizontal, reducing drag and slowing air consumption.

Use any or all of these tips as they apply to you to improve your air consumption and maximize that bottom time!

What are your favorite ways to improve air consumption?

Here are some stunning photos of a 14ft great white shark. I don’t think I have ever seen a diver this close to a white shark outside of a cage.

The photographer is Amos Nachoum, who is known for his close encounters with large creatures both above and below the sea. In fact, he takes tourists on expeditions to experience big animals up-close and in person. I, for one, would love to drop in the water during the famous Sardine Run off the coast of South Africa, or swim up close with a blue whale.

We all know the importance of a buoyancy check. Even if you manage to descend, poor buoyancy affects your body’s profile in the water, decreasing the overall quality of your dive. Effective air consumption, good ascent / descent control, and an effortless dive all depend on a streamlined position–which can only be achieved with proper weighting.

Despite these facts, rarely do we check our buoyancy. Divers are not entirely to blame, most dive outfits never give us the opportunity in the water, instead rushing the group to depth as quickly as possible.

Next time you are in strange waters, or have unfamiliar equipment and need to perform a weight check, try to be first in the water, either by sitting near the back of the boat or assembling your gear quickly. Then, while waiting for others to splash, quickly check that you are properly weighted. It only takes a moment, and you will still have a chance to adjust weights if necessary.

While diving last week I realized how poorly most divers check their regulator. Testing your regulator thoroughly takes less than a minute, and greatly eases my mind before a dive.

First, I see a lot of divers check their primary by pushing the free flow button. This is insufficient for me. I prefer to take a breath or two off of the regulator, which ensures air is pulling properly through the hoses and diaphram.

The second oversight is one I am particularly guilty of. Many divers never check that their secondary is functioning properly. Simply repeating the same test of breathing a breath or two greatly reduces the chance of a problem underwater, should you or your buddy need backup air.

Try this next time you dive. If the primary or octopus appears to have even a slight problem, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask the dive operator for a replacement. No shop worth your money would have a problem assuring the safety and peace of mind of their divers–their reputation depends on it.

Every extra precaution makes for a safer dive, so begin establishing good habits and test all your gear properly.

I hate wasting time (and precious air) descending slowly to my dive depth. Fortunately, the only real limitation when descending is how fast you can equalize. Here are five steps for reaching the bottom quickly, and safely.

1. Be properly weighted

   Do a proper weight check to make sure you can actually sink, but don’t overweight yourself.

2. Cross your legs

   I learned this from a divemaster during my open water certification. Take one of your fins and cross it behind the other ankle. This keeps your legs from flailing around and slowing your descent.

3. Take a breath and let all the air out of your BCD

   If properly weighted, this should allow you to sink until your eyes are level with the water.

4. Pinch your nose

   With a free hand, pinch your noise in preparation to equalize as often as necessary during descent. You may look like a newbie, but keeping your hand on your nose lets you reach depth quickly.

5. Release your breath

   Breathe out slowly for as long as you can. You should steadily descend as you release your breath. Your descent will slow down when you take in more air, so let it out for as long as you reasonably can. By the time you must take another breath, you should be deep enough where wetsuit compression and other factors allow a continual descent.

Of course, keep an eye on your depth gauge and anything you may plummet into. Be ready to put air into your BCD as you approach your desired depth.

I think everyone has trouble with their mask when wearing a hood. It’s hard to get a good seal around your face and water constantly seeps in.

Next time, try putting your mask on first, then slipping your hood over it. With the mask under the hood, you can get a proper seal without your hood messing it up.

Thanks to the awesome Gabe Scotti, of Kaimana Divers for the tip. If you’re ever in Oahu, Hawai’i, be sure to give Gabe a call.

Repetitive multi-day dives can take its toll on your ears, with your eardrum feeling like it’s marinading in sea water. While a lot of dive shops will be glad to sell you a bottle of a drying solution such as Swimmer’s Ear, the discomfort of paying high prices for those little bottles can be worse than the discomfort in your ear.

Here’s a quick and easy “recipe” that does the same thing with cheaper ingredients that should be accessible in whatever country you find yourself diving in. Just mix equal parts white distilled vinegar with isopropyl alcohol (preferably 100%, but use whatever you can get your hands on). The alcohol is a drying agent, sucking the moisture out of your ear. The acid in the vinegar kills bacteria to prevent infection, as well as helps with the drying.

Note: If you find that the vinegar burns, you may very well have an infected ear. Use the alcohol alone if you must, but avoid putting anything in your ear. Unfortunately this means you may need to lay off the diving.