United States

California's Channel Islands: Kelp Diving on the US West Coast

A bright orange Garibaldi fish and crimson-colored California sheephead with red gorgonian at Santa Barbara Island. Photo by Frankie Grant

Due to their unique position relative to the eastern Pacific current, or the California Current, the Channel Islands off California’s coast receive an ideal amount of nutrients and water circulation for optimum growth of California giant kelp. This colonial algae forms forests over the rocky reefs and walls surrounding the islands, and act as one of the world’s most productive marine ecosystems.

The Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail

While Florida’s eastern coast certainly offers countless popular wreck dives, the Panhandle is an often-overlooked gem. The Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail provides an enjoyable mechanism for divers to experience the history and heritage the Gulf of Mexico has to offer within the realm of wreck diving.

Rebreather Forum 3: Diving with Rebreathers

Richard Pyle is an early adopter of technical-diving practices and is known around the world as a rebreather diver and designer. He is a highly respected Ichthyologyist (in plain English a scientist who studies fish) and he has discovered many new species of fish.

A dive with a profound effect

When Richard Pyle was 19 he was living and diving the western Pacific Ocean off Palau. During his time there he suffered a very serious case of decompression sickness and became quadriplegic.

2020 Long Beach Scuba Show Cancelled

We considered moving the 2020 show to later in the year, but ultimately decided that postponing the show still held too much uncertainty. The wellbeing of everyone under our roof is our primary concern, and there's no way to responsibly hold an event of this size and with people from around the world for the foreseeable future.

If you have already purchased tickets for the 2020 Scuba Show, you have two options. Please email us to let us know your preference:

Photographing Giant Manta Rays at Night in Kona Hawaii

Female reef mantas mature in eight to ten years.

Diving with giant manta rays is always an exhilarating experience. Being in the water with these large intelligent animals is always humbling. They are also spectacular subjects for photography and video. Kona Hawaii in the United States is famous for night diving and snorkeling with the local mantas. This can produce stunning images, but it does take some special techniques.

Northern California: A Dive Off the American Wild West Coast

Metridium anemone and corynactis grow on a rock while blue rockfish swim overhead, Northern California, USA. Photo by Brent Durand.

Warm rinse water sloshed in the jug as my car hugged a sharp turn on California’s Pacific Coast Highway. I looked left at the mighty Pacific Ocean, the cliffs tumbling to the sea dotted by rugged pinnacles, stretching farther up the coast than the jam band solo currently playing out of the car speakers. Deep blue, favorable conditions all week, minimal swell, no-wind forecast—only unpredictable visibility could affect the diving today.

OWUSS Rolex Scholarship, Rolex Watch, scuba diving, watch, dive scholarships, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, The Underwater Marketing Company, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving news
Each OWUSS Rolex Scholar is given a Rolex Watch

48 hours to apply for 2020 OWUSS Rolex Scholarships

Each year, a Rolex scholar is selected from North America, Europe and Australasia and they get to work with leaders in marine-related fields. The scholars spend a year travelling around the globe, gaining invaluable hands-on experiences in various aspects of diving. These can include scientific, media, biology, hyperbaric medicine, tourism, journalism, dive management, education and publishing.

San Diego: Gateway to Wreck Alley and Islas Coronados

Larry Cohen on the wreck of the Ruby E, San Diego, California, USA. Photo by Olga Torrey.

San Diego’s Wreck Alley is an area with intentionally sunken ships. One of the wrecks divers can find here is the HMCS Yukon, which was a Mackenzie-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces. She was named after the Yukon River that runs from British Columbia through the Yukon and into Alaska.

North Carolina: Wrecks & Sharks

Sand tiger shark on wreck of the Atlas. Image by Olga Torrey

The waters off the coast of the US state of North Carolina are treacherous. Bad weather, rough seas, heavy current and inlets that are difficult to navigate are common. So why do underwater explorers consider this area to be a world-class dive destination? Because when you do get offshore, it is extraordinary.