YMCA SCUBA Program
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YMCA SCUBA Program
YMCA SCUBA Program (also known as Y-SCUBA) was an underwater diving training program operated by YMCA of the USA from 1959 to 2008. It was the first nationally organised underwater diving instruction program offered in the United States of America. A program with a similar content is now delivered by Scuba Educators International, an organisation founded by a group of former senior YMCA SCUBA instructors in 2008. Origins In 1954, YMCA of the US and other interested parties under the auspices of the Council for National Cooperation in Aquatics commenced a study to look at the safety aspects of underwater diving. Findings of the study were outlined with the view of creating a course of training sufficient to produce ‘capable performance in those who elect to participate in… recreational (diving) activity’. A trial course was run during the late 1954 and early 1955 by YMCA of the USA using this outline. The material used in the course was then published in ''The Science of ...
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Scuba Educators International
Scuba Educators International (SEI) (also known as SEI Diving) is a non-for-profit underwater diving training organisation established in the United States during 2008 to continue the underwater diving training program known as the YMCA SCUBA Program which ceased operation in 2008. Origins SEI was founded in 2008 by a group of former senior YMCA SCUBA instructors following the announcement of the closure of the YMCA Scuba Program by the YMCA of the USA with the intention of continuing the YMCA Scuba Program under a new banner. The new agency was conceived as being a non-for-profit organisation that would operate world-wide and in complete independence of the YMCA of the US, “but will continue to share philosophies and dedication to the highest quality education in the (diving) industry”. Recognition During 2010, SEI entered in an agreement with the Underwater Society of America (USOA) to issue CMAS International Diver Training Certificates. SEI is a member of the Diving ...
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Dry Suit
A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated water. A dry suit normally protects the whole body except the head, hands, and possibly the feet. In hazmat configurations, however, all of these are covered as well. The main difference between dry suits and wetsuits is that dry suits are designed to prevent water from entering. This generally allows better insulation, making them more suitable for use in cold water. Dry suits can be uncomfortably hot in warm or hot air, and are typically more expensive and more complex to don. For divers, they add some degree of operational complexity and hazard as the suit must be inflated and deflated with changes in depth in order to minimize "squeeze" on descent or uncontrolled rapid ascent due to excessive buoyancy, which requires additional skills ...
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Wreck Diving
Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites. Diving to crashed aircraft can also be considered wreck diving. The recreation of wreck diving makes no distinction as to how the vessel ended up on the bottom. Some wreck diving involves penetration of the wreckage, making a direct ascent to the surface impossible for a part of the dive. Reasons for diving wrecks A shipwreck may be attractive to divers for several reasons: * it serves as an artificial reef, which creates a habitat for many types of marine life * it often is a large structure with many interesting parts and machinery, which is not normally closely observable on working, floating vessels * it often has an interesting history * it presents new skill challenges for scuba divers to manage the risks associate ...
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Underwater Photography
Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while diving on surface supply, snorkeling, swimming, from a submersible or remotely operated underwater vehicle, or from automated cameras lowered from the surface. Underwater photography can also be categorised as an art form and a method for recording data. Successful underwater imaging is usually done with specialized equipment and techniques. However, it offers exciting and rare photographic opportunities. Animals such as fish and marine mammals are common subjects, but photographers also pursue shipwrecks, submerged cave systems, underwater "landscapes", invertebrates, seaweeds, geological features, and portraits of fellow divers. Equipment Some cameras are made for use underwater, including modern waterproof digital cameras. The first amphibious camera was the Calypso, reintroduced as the Nikonos in 1963. The Nikonos range was design ...
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Underwater Navigation
Diver navigation, termed "underwater navigation" by scuba divers, is a set of techniques—including observing natural features, the use of a compass, and surface observations—that divers use to navigate underwater. Free-divers do not spend enough time underwater for navigation to be important, and surface supplied divers are limited in the distance they can travel by the length of their umbilicals and are usually directed from the surface control point. On those occasions when they need to navigate they can use the same methods used by scuba divers. Although it is considered a basic skill, it is normally only taught to a limited degree as part of basic Open Water certification. Most North American diver training agencies only teach significant elements of underwater navigation as part of the Advanced Open Water Diver certification program. Underwater navigation is usually a core component of most, if not all, advanced recreational diver training. In the PADI Advance ...
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Underwater Archaeology
Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has been a relatively late development due to the difficulties of accessing and working underwater sites, and because the application of archaeology to underwater sites initially emerged from the skills and tools developed by shipwreck salvagers. As a result, underwater archaeology initially struggled to establish itself as actual archaeological research. This changed when universities began teaching the subject and a theoretical and practical base for the sub-discipline was firmly established in the late 1980’s. Underwater archaeology now has a number of branches including, maritime archaeology: the scientifically based study of past human life, behaviours and cultures and their activities in, on, around and (lately) under the sea, estuarie ...
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Diver Rescue
Beaching a casualty while providing artificial respiration Diver rescue, following an accident, is the process of avoiding or limiting further exposure to diving hazards and bringing a diver to a place of safety. A safe place is often a place where the diver cannot drown, such as a boat or dry land, where first aid can be administered and from which professional medical treatment can be sought. In the context of surface supplied diving, the place of safety for a diver with a decompression obligation is often the diving bell. Rescue may be needed for various reasons where the diver becomes unable to manage an emergency, and there are several stages to a rescue, starting with recognising that a rescue is needed. In some cases the dive buddy identifies the need by personal observation, but in the more general case identification of the need is followed by locating the casualty. The most common and urgent diving emergencies involve loss of breathing gas, and the provision of emergen ...
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Underwater Search And Recovery
Underwater search and recovery is the process of locating and recovering underwater objects, often by divers, but also by the use of submersibles, remotely operated vehicles and electronic equipment on surface vessels. Most underwater search and recovery is done by professional divers as part of commercial marine salvage operations, military operations, emergency services, or law enforcement activities. Minor aspects of search and recovery are also considered within the scope of recreational diving. Professional search and recovery The scope of professional search and recovery includes the following applications: *Marine archeology - search for artifacts of historical interest and importance, and where applicable the recovery of such artifacts for study. *Marine salvage - search for lost material of value and recovery thereof *Environmental protection - search for environmentally undesirable material and disposal thereof *Forensic S&R - search for and recovery of material r ...
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Public Safety Diver
Police diving is a branch of professional diving carried out by police services. Police divers are usually sworn police officers, and may either be employed full-time as divers or as general water police officers, or be volunteers who usually serve in other units but are called in if their diving services are required. The duties carried out by police divers include rescue diving for underwater casualties and search and recovery diving for evidence and bodies. "Public safety diving" is a term coined by Steven J Linton in the 1970s to describe underwater rescue, underwater recovery and underwater investigation conducted by divers working for or under the authority of municipal, state or federal agencies. These divers are typically members of police departments, sheriff's offices, fire rescue agencies, search and rescue teams or providers of emergency medical services. Public Safety Divers (PSDs) can be paid by the previously mentioned agencies or be non-paid volunteers. Public ...
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Oxygen First Aid
Oxygen therapy, also known as supplemental oxygen, is the use of oxygen as medical treatment. Acute indications for therapy include hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels), carbon monoxide toxicity and cluster headache. It may also be prophylactically given to maintain blood oxygen levels during the induction of anesthesia. Oxygen therapy is often useful in chronic hypoxemia caused by conditions such as severe COPD or cystic fibrosis. Oxygen can be delivered via nasal cannula or face mask, or via high pressure conditions such as in endotracheal intubation or hyperbaric chamber. It can also be given through bypassing the airway, such as in ECMO therapy. Oxygen is required for normal cellular metabolism. However, excessively high concentrations can result in oxygen toxicity, leading to lung damage and respiratory failure. Higher oxygen concentrations can also increase the risk of airway fires, particularly while smoking. Oxygen therapy can also dry out the nasal mucosa without hum ...
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