AD 2018 Q1
Alert Diver is the dive industry’s leading publication. Featuring DAN’s core content of dive safety, research, education and medical information, each issue is a must-read reference, archived and shared by passionate scuba enthusiasts. In addition, Alert Diver showcases fascinating dive destinations and marine environmental topics through images from the world’s greatest underwater photographers and stories from the most experienced and eloquent dive journalists in the business.
Alert Diver is the dive industry’s leading publication. Featuring DAN’s core content of dive safety, research, education and medical information, each issue is a must-read reference, archived and shared by passionate scuba enthusiasts. In addition, Alert Diver showcases fascinating dive destinations and marine environmental topics through images from the world’s greatest underwater photographers and stories from the most experienced and eloquent dive journalists in the business.
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est diving in Oregon, with perfect<br />
visibility and calm water; it keeps<br />
your skills sharp; and the work is<br />
always interesting and different.<br />
One of the aquarium’s priorities<br />
is to make the underwater world<br />
accessible to nondivers, which<br />
the OCA does through an<br />
interpretive diving program. This<br />
program involves a volunteer diver<br />
equipped with a full-face mask and<br />
microphone diving into the Open<br />
Ocean tank with more than 100<br />
sharks, interacting with a roomful<br />
of visitors and answering their<br />
questions in real time. The primary<br />
goal is to educate the public about<br />
the marine life in the tanks, but it<br />
also exposes people to diving.<br />
In addition to being well<br />
prepared and competent, what<br />
most distinguishes OCA dive<br />
volunteers is their camaraderie.<br />
Instead of showing up for just one<br />
dive shift, volunteers frequently<br />
come to the aquarium and spend<br />
the whole day there with their<br />
team. Team members become more<br />
than coworkers, and the group has<br />
evolved into a diving community<br />
of its own. This closeness breeds<br />
positivity and means every member<br />
is individually dedicated to the<br />
aquarium and its mission.<br />
“The program only survives by<br />
the dedication of the volunteers,”<br />
Walker explained.<br />
We visited the OCA for research<br />
purposes and left in awe of their<br />
volunteer dive program. Their<br />
dedication to continuous training and<br />
promoting a culture of dive safety<br />
and their cheerful tolerance of frigid<br />
water are inspiring. Their eagerness<br />
to assist us with our research<br />
made our work easy and extremely<br />
enjoyable. It is our hope that data<br />
collected from this unique team<br />
will not only help shed light on how<br />
diving affects the human body but<br />
also highlight how to run a successful<br />
volunteer dive operation. <strong>AD</strong><br />
ALERTDIVER.COM | 21
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