Good Touch, Bad Touch

Ocean animals are so cool.  They are the most alien of creatures that can be found here on earth, and for most of us: they are why we go diving in the first place.  What is even cooler is being able to pick up and interact with these animals, but interaction must be done carefully and considerately.  Many people choose to not touch any marine life whatsoever.  They remain neutrally buoyant and glide over the reefs exchanging glances with the animals.  I have nothing but respect for this attitude in the water, and for those who are new or just don't know how to interact with the animals respectfully, just looking is a fine way to enjoy your dive.  However, I am more hands on and many divers like the personal interaction they get by touching the animals, but I see lots of bad choices being made when it comes to wildlife handling.  So in the interests of both us and the wild animals, I present : Good Touch, Bad Touch

There are many animals out there you do NOT want to touch for your own safety.  Some of these are pretty obvious.

Cuddly

Playful

Not grumpy at all

 Touching these animals will quickly lead to bodily harm.  Sharks, eels, and many other animals will bite if they feel threatened, and yes the first thing they feel when you approach is threatened.  Other animals like sea urchins are just big balls of very sharp spines.  Do not hug sea urchins it will only end badly.
Other animals are just as dangerous, but maybe not so obviously

Devil scorpionfish

Scorpionfish, lionfish, stonefish, and others have venomous spines that will cause pain, paralysis, and in extreme cases death to humans.  Most of these fish look like the bottom and can be difficult to spot.  They are a good reason to move slowly in the water and look carefully before you touch anything, even the bottom.

Triton's Trumpet Snail

Some snails can be deadly too.  Be careful collecting shells, most marine snails have a specialized radula that acts as a harpoon to spear and poison predators and prey.  The picture above shows the opening in the snail's shell for the radula.  Cone shells are particularly dangerous as some of them have toxins strong enough to cause permanent nerve damage and even death.  There is no 'safe' place to hold a cone shell.  Their radula can be 1.3 times longer than their shell.  The strength of the toxin varies from species to species, but unless you are a marine biologist, stay clear.  You don't want to be the guy killed by a snail.

After all of this negative talk, there are some animals that you can pick up and safely handle.  It is important to be careful with the animal and treat it with respect.  Remember that it is a living thing and above all do not hurt the animal.  

Most sea stars can be safely handled.  They have a tough armored skin that makes it nearly invulnerable to human hands.  There are times when a sea star is feeding and has its stomach extruded from the center of its body.  If you find a star in this state be careful with the stomach tissue, wait for it to retract it into its body before excessive handling and do not remove it from the water.  One must also remember to return the sea star right side up as close as possible to where it was picked up.  Other animals related to sea stars, such as sea cucumbers and short spined urchins, can be handled in a similar fashion.

Collector urchin and its prized possessions

One animal that seems most misunderstood is octopus.  Many people refuse to interact with octopus because they are very smart animals, and I respect that, but be careful anthropomorphising wildlife; their world view is different than yours.  Octopus can be respectfully tickled out of their holes and played with.

Octopus inking

In order to delicately handle an octopus, one needs to understand its mindset.  Nearly everything in the ocean eats octopus and his first reaction upon seeing you is to flee so that you don't eat him too.  In his defense, he may swim away quickly, bury himself under rocks, or even ink.  It does not hurt the animal to ink, dogs bark, octopus ink.  Very little is scientifically known about the inking process, such as how long it takes to refill the ink sack, or even how much ink their actually is; but chances are that in the time you spend interacting with the octopus, he won't run out of ink.  In fact, small octopus ink like crazy, much more than larger ones.  It seems like the only trick they know.

Once the octopus is out of his hole, some old time tako hunters will grab it by the head and shake it.  Of course this disorients the octopus, great if you want to kill it, but we want to be respectful.  Controlling the animal is as simple as keeping a cupped hand over his head.  They swim head first and can't turn very well, so he will keep bumping into your hand not going anywhere.  If you can, get the octopus to settle down on your arm and rub him gently between the eyes, don't poke him in the eyeball.  This seems to have a calming effect on the animals.  Once you convince the octopus that you are not going to eat it, they get very curious.  Biologists speculate that octopus are about as smart as a three year old human.  They only live one to two years....and are as smart as a three year old; think about that.  

Calm octopus will usually crawl around on the diver to investigate him.  They have been known to try to pull off masks, climb into the space between the diver's back and BC, even to wrap around an arm and not let go.  If it doesn't let go don't panic!  They can feel your tension through your body.  Best is to relax and try to slide a hand under the animal's legs one by one.  Do NOT pull on it's head, not only is this just mean but it also seems to cause the animal to bite; and yes, they do bite.  Bring your arm close to the reef, peel off the tentacles one by one and it will usually let go and crawl back down to the bottom.

Many animals can be safely handled, but not all.  It is important to understand what you are touching, why it is or isn't ok to touch it, and a safe handling technique.  Always follow the ancient advice: When in doubt, don't touch it!

Silly Questions

We receive phone calls every day, people booking charters and signing up for classes and adventures.  And sometimes asking the silliest questions.  So without further adieu and in no particular order are some of the favorite things that people have asked us over the last couple of months

Do you have to know how to swim?

This is one of my favorites.  Who doesn't know how to swim?  Seriously, get to a pool, lake, stream, whatever and spend some time in the water.  I don't expect Michael Phelps, but how can you be an adult and never been in water deeper than a bath tub.
Furthermore, if you don't know how to swim why does jumping off of a boat in the middle of the ocean seem like a good idea?  We try very hard to be clear about what we do SCUBA DIVE, in the ocean, from a boat, please be comfortable in the water.  If you are not comfortable, maybe stay on the beach? or in the hotel pool?

Are there sharks out there?

I hear this all the time, and I blame shark week and terrible movies like Sharknado for the misconception people have of sharks.  Of course there are sharks out there, it's the ocean.  That does not mean you will see a shark, nor that a shark is around.  And you will not be eaten by a shark.
Are there mosquitoes in the forest? Are there pigeons in the city?  Nobody asks these questions yet these animals do cause a lot more death and destruction every year than sharks.

I have a cut / on my period, will that attract sharks?
Just stop and think about this one.  How much blood actually oozes out when you cut yourself.  I'm talking about a little "band-aid" sized cut, not a "I need stitches" cut.  The small amount of blood that may get into the ocean is not enough to attract anything, and while it may be true that sharks can smell that one drop of blood, it won't send them into a frenzy.  Don't worry about sharks, if you cut yourself in the ocean make sure it gets cleaned out because the bacteria can be more dangerous than sharks.

I just had major surgery and I'm ready to dive

I'm glad you think you are ready to dive, but what about your doctor?  Now that we know about your medical condition we need a doctor's authorization before we can take you diving.  Unfortunately, I don't have a doctor on staff who can check you over, but I do have the proper forms; so please, if you have a medical condition get the forms to the doctor, have him sign them and clear you to dive.  I can NOT just take your word for it.


Will we see fish?
Nope....fish don't live in the ocean.  Next question

Are we still going even if it rains?

What, are you afraid of getting wet?  You are about to jump into the ocean, who cares if it rains.  People routinely call just to ask this question.  Please just stop and think before you speak.

Where will we go?

I especially love this question from tourists.  Do you know the dive sites?  You just told me that you have never been to Hawaii before, so what am I supposed to tell you?  We are going to Timbuktu, or, Bratislava, or Turtle Canyons; you don't know the difference. My apologies to both of you out there who do know the dive sites and are legitimately interested.  If you are one of them, please let me know before you ask this question and I will make sure you get a good answer.

There are many more silly questions to come.  Please share your own experiences too!

Tank Maintenance

Maintaining your scuba tank and valve is just as important as maintaining any other piece of scuba gear. Tanks often end up getting thrown around, placed on the bottom of the gear piles, and even used as door stops.  While scuba tanks and valves are pretty tough, they are not indestructible and need to be cared for and serviced regularly.

By now we all know that visual inspections need to happen at least annually and hydrostatic inspections must occur at least every five years in the United States.  But do you really know what is being inspected and why these inspections are done?

A visual inspection involves taking the valve off of a tank, placing a light source and sometimes a probe into the tank to look for any kind of corrosion, pitting, or other contaminates in the tank

It is amazing what you find in a tank.  In this case, metal shavings and fuzz

A visual inspection will also detect neck cracks or other imperfections in the tank construction before they fail.

A hydrostatic test is required by federal law in the United States every five years.  This test involves filling a tank with water, pressurizing it, and measuring the expansion of the tank.

Our hydro station

Caring for the tank is not very difficult.  Make sure these tests are done on schedule, give them a quick fresh water rinse once in a while, avoid extreme temperatures and impacts to the tank.  Most tanks have a life span measured in decades if they are cared for.  But a tank is more than just the metal cylinder.

The valve is often forgotten when it comes to cylinder care.  Valves have the hardest job of any piece of scuba gear.  They must seal very high pressures and release it in a controlled manner time after time.

Valves must be cared for in many ways.  Firstly, it is important never to over tighten the valve handle.  The valve seat that makes the seal, closing the tank, does not need more pressure to seal; cranking the handle closed will only bend the valve stem.  Valve stems should give you years of flawless service, but there is no way to repair a bent one and it must be replaced.

A bent valve stem

Corrosion of the valve is another big concern.  If water is introduced to the tank, it will cause the metals to corrode rather quickly.

A corroded dip tube

An annual service of the valve involves disassembling the valve and cleaning all of the pieces individually.

Sometimes small leaks of air come from the valve handle.  These are usually caused by an improperly maintained valve where the seat has worn, the o-rings are beginning to fail, or corrosion prevents proper sealing.

Corroded bonnet nut and valve stem

A damaged crush washer and lots of corrosion

Having your valve serviced regularly will guarantee many many years of operation. I recommend having it done at least annually, when the tank gets visually inspected is a good time for it.  This is a service you may need to ask for since most tank service is usually done ala carte and not combined with other work.

Tank and valve repair can be rather technical requiring specialized tools and procedures

We at Hawaiian Diving Adventures are fully trained and equipped to keep your tanks happy and operational for many years to come.  If your tanks are ready for service or they are suddenly making funny noises, call (808) 232-3193 or bring it in and we can take a look.