This Week >> 1/15/2009
This week Let's Travel! goes underwater to explore the world of scuba diving with Denise Mattia, a photojournalist and experienced diver. From Candice Adams we learn why Bonaire has been rated the world's top dive destination (Caribbean/Atlantic) for the last seven years by Scuba Diving Magazine. And Budd Riker of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (P.A.D.I.) teaches us how to start diving and dive safely.
Guests
A freelance writer and photographer (underwater and topside) Denise Mattia's works are published nationally and internationally and include all aspects of leisure travel: art and architecture, culture, sports (scuba diving is her specialty), resorts, spas and hotels. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, where she resides, Ms. Mattia holds two degrees in Theatre and Art from Hunter College of the City of New York. In 1990 she was awarded a grant from the Horace W. Goldsmith fund for her efforts in reef conservation. Her goal is to update editorial and photographic coverage of European, Asian and Pacific areas. In addition to the Society of American Travel Writers, she is also an active member of the New York Travel Writers Association, the North American Travel Writers Association and the professional photographer's organization, AG Editions.
Although Ms. Mattia has experienced many episodes in her lifetime, learning to dive holds a special place in her heart and mind. As she relates:
"In the early 80s scuba gear wasn't made for petit women. When I signed up for a resort course (now known as an introduction to scuba) in Mexico, nothing, except the mask, fit. The weight belt, life vest and the old fashion "horse collar," which held the scuba tank in place, were tied over and around me, and still I had straps trailing in the sand." With weights, tank, the regulator (that's the apparatus that allows you to breathe air) hose dangling over her shoulder and with the straps under foot, she made it to the water's edge, stumbled in and waited for her instructor to tell her what to do next. "He asked me to follow him," she recalls, "and I tried," she continues. But all did not go as smoothly as planned.
"The water rose. First to my shoulders. Then to my lips. Weighed down by equipment and unable to move, unable to breathe through my nose because of the mask sealing off the air supply and fearing this was going to be my watery grave, I raised my chin above water and began to hyperventilate."
"My instructor remained a few feet away and, looking me in the eyes commanded, ‘Don't fight the sea, Denise. She is bigger than you are. Put the regulator in your mouth and breathe.'" "He waited while I forced myself to calm down, think about where the regulator was, grab it and insert it between chattering teeth."
Still frightened but breathing air through her regulator, she recalls watching the water rise above her mask as she followed her instructor. "I was sinking. I fought back an initial claustrophobic reaction and went deeper. Then suddenly I was floating."
"It took only 25 minutes to suck up almost all the air in my tank, and my arms did more work than my legs, but I swam into the most wonderful world I'd ever seen, and reached a 30-foot depth on Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA). I was hooked."
In 1984 Ms. Mattia became certified and went on to the Advanced Open Water level. Still, having benefited greatly from what she learned during that period, she's never forgotten the lessons of that day. "That I wanted something badly enough to endure discomfort, that I overcame fear, didn't panic and learned to trust my instructor and my equipment, that I would always respect the sea – became lessons for life," she said. She later learned that those lessons are the rudiments of SCUBA, and that they become every diver's mantra. "It's a chant that's with me underwater, and on land as well," she admits. "They're ‘Stop, Think, Act.'"
Ms. Mattia doesn't have a favorite place to dive and admits that, "25 years ago my favorite island was Cozumel, Mexico, but having dived in many other places around the world, I've found that each reef is different – each is special." She adds, "Most new divers want to go places where they're guaranteed to see big fish – sharks, manta rays – the pelagics, which occasionally make it to the same reef where the divers are. Newbies want a Disney-like world, where everything is displayed in front of them, and they forget that finding small creatures can be more exciting. Today, more divers are becoming involved in saving the reef from over fishing or pollution. We evolved from the sea, and there's no feeling quite like returning to this natural environment. For me, that special place is anywhere under water, and we should do all we can to preserve it."
Adams Unlimited
Candice founded Adams Unlimited in 1985, with the vision of developing a premiere New York City based agency specializing in Travel and Hospitality by providing personalized service to a select group of clients. Prior to starting the company, Mrs. Kimmel was senior vice-president marketing of Warner Leisure, Inc. a subsidiary of Warner Communications (now Time Warner). Having begun her career in the marketing department of Pan American World Airways, Inc., Mrs. Kimmel offers clients a keen understanding of the airline business and its key function in destination marketing and the promotion of hotels, resorts and attractions worldwide. Mrs. Kimmel is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), and The Wings Club.
Professional Association of Diving Instructors
Budd began his photographic journey in, what was then, West Germany in 1972. He focused on black and white photography then and made pictures during the next 5 years of European travel. It was during Budd's last year in Europe that his interest in underwater photography began. Making images in the sea has been his primary focus since then. During Budd's many years of dive travel he has had to the opportunity to see and capture on film many wonderful habitats and the creatures who thrive there. His images and film work have appeared in many publications and on many film and TV screens.
About His Company
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization. PADI members, including dive centers, resorts, educational facilities, instructors, and divemasters, teach the majority of the world's recreational divers. PADI operates offices in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The corporate headquarters, PADI Worldwide, is located in California, United States of America. PADI Offices serve more than 130,000 individual professional members and more than 5,300 dive centers and resorts in more than 180 countries and territories. Translations of PADI materials are available in more than 26 languages.
PADI courses range from entry levels (such as Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver) to master scuba diver and a range of instructor certificates. Via their affiliate Diving Science and Technology (DSAT) they also offer various "Technical" diver courses, including decompression diving, Trimix diving and gas blending.