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Hi seamansoul,

Thanks for your post. It's always good to hear from divers from different places around the world.

Regarding your questions:

The hole is often cut as a triangle for three...

Hi Tiller,

Even if you are using lines and reels, a good compass is essential. Training, experience, understanding [no pun intended], and comfort with ice, cold, weather, overhead environment,...

or, Ice diving in May in Minnesota -- Part 2

(Icenote* = ice + cenote)

May 13, 2013: There's STILL ice on some of our lakes in Minnesota, although it's coming off (in some cases by simply...

Hi Eric,

I don't know what's going on with PMs. I cleared a lot of them out a couple weeks or so ago to make room, and also changed settings so I'd be notified when a PM came in. I'll check again...

Hi Joel,

I only have limited experience with Force Fins, including briefly owning a pair and borrowing other pairs for testing purposes several years ago. Here's an old (2003) chart of some of my...

ScubaPro Twin Jet fins (the black ones) are good for flutter kicks but not very good for frog kicks. The ScubaPro (regular, not Twin) Jetfins or Turtle fins would be much better for frog kicks. You...

There are three ways we get out of the hole, depending on conditions. (1) If there are other strong divers (or other folks, often there are also non-divers present), you back up to the edge of the...

This has been a very unusual, drawn-out winter here in northwestern Minnesota and the surrounding region. The weather has set records since they started keeping records in 1881. We're hoping it was...

I had one unexpected episode of it a few years ago after shore diving in Lake Superior in January. It had been a rigorous dive followed by climbing up the cliff and tramping through the woods to get...

I'm always surprised/amused by the number of golf balls one finds on regular dives that aren't anywhere near a golf course, even in remote areas and in the ocean. I started picking them up along with...

Just got back in the house from 3 hours of clearing snow.

North Dakota roads were shut down from boarder to boarder, Montana to Minnesota and north to the Canadian border. They just re-opened...

That's GREAT! Thanks for posting it.

DSAO -- and get close to nature, but not too close
Jim

And a Happy Birthday to one of MY favorite dive buddies, along with greetings to Chuck, another of my favorite dive buddies!

DSAO -- for many more years and birthdays
Jim

Yes, there are lots of wrecks (and misc other sites) close to Duluth, depending on how closely you define "close". There's at least one wreck right in Duluth harbour plus other sites such as near the...

I'm calling this dive-related because the temperature and time of ice-out make a difference to the start of our open-water dive season here. It's still ice-diving season around here this year. A...

Congrats grandpa!

Cheers,
Jim

I'm currently having two problems with PMs.

First, now that we're not notified when PMs show up in our inbox, I never think to check it. I happened to just check it today, for the first time in...

Ditto.

It's normal animal behavior to go after resources such as food wherever it's found. Although I'm not an advocate of "touch everything and interact with everything" (in fact, I'm very much...

Hi Tiller,

You'll love it! I've dived there a fair amount and it's one of my favorite islands. I can't help with distinctions on the west versus east sides of Rum Point, as they are both on Rum...

Nurse shark to the hospital; too much!

DSAO -- and keep your humor wet
Jim

I like both areas. However, the east bridge is more diverse and probably the best place to start if you are only going to do one dive.

Keep us posted.

Cheers,
Jim

Hey, Tom,

Don't forget about Phil Foster Park/Blue Heron Bridge. You can often dive there when it's too rough further out.

Keep us posted.

Cheers,
Jim

Is there a reference, link, details, document ... ?

DSAO -- with good info
Jim

I don't know if this one has been posted here previously or not. I'm amazed at the quality and level that UW photography has come to.
If you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely worth watching -- HD...

My recommendation is to always have it on the hanger. The only exception is during the relatively brief times when traveling, when you have to pack it in luggage or a dive bag.

If it needs further...