THE COVERS Articles & Editorials FEBRUARY 1999 • , Volume 9 Number 2 
  
photos By JENNY CLASEN
special Thanks to Jim Williams of Island Divers, Denton, Texas, for donation of antique dive gear.		 Recreational scuba diving is a relatively new sport, but it's finally been around long enough to accumulate a history. A rich and colorful one, at that. The classic car and antique dive gear in this month's cover photos take us back to diving's earlier days -- the days of hard-core military scuba training and homemade gear. The feature article titled "I'm a part of Dive Training History" traces the evolution of dive training to the present and offers a prediction for its future. Like a vintage vehicle cruising a crowded superhighway, part of dive instruction's history travels with us as we map out our sport's future. And with today's advances in training tools and technology, the road ahead looks especially inviting.
FEATURES
22 I'm a Part of Dive Training History
A veteran scuba instructor examines his life, his logbook, and the history of recreational scuba diving, and discovers they are intertwined; "I didn't invent any revolutionary piece of dive gear or develop a new decompression algorithm or anything; I'm just your average scuba instructor. I've been certifying students and leading dive trips every year for more than forty years now. And that places me somewhere, even in small part, in the annals of recreational scuba's history." 		By A Veteran Dive Instructor
34 The Death of the Dive Tables
Technology, by its very nature, is transient. What's considered cutting edge will eventually be hopelessly outdated. It's all a matter of time. Just as the technology of the 1970s -- the submersible pressure gauge -- changed the way we dove by providing us with a continual read-out of remaining air, so too did the technology of the 1980s begin to change the way we monitored our decompression status. Since then, dive computers have become increasingly sophisticated, and capable of doing things never imagined 20 or even 15 years ago. Thus, the question begs: Has technology sentenced the dive tables to death? 		By Alex Brylske
42 Behind the Scenes at Your Local Dive Center:
Your local dive center provides a range of important services -- scuba instruction, equipment sales and rental, and airfills, plus equipment maintenance, and arranging dive travel. Without them, it would be much more difficult, or even impossible, to participate in our chosen pastime. Yet few divers have an appreciation for what it takes to provide these necessary services. The author offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what you don't see when you walk through the door of your local dive center -- the costs and responsibilities of running a dive business. 		By Linda Lee Walden
COMMENTARY
8 Editorial: Behind the Scenes and Beyond A Look at Dive Retailers, Dive Training's History By E. Mark Young
10 Buddy Lines: Fly Right
14 Diving Notes and News: Project Yukon Benefits Divers, Reef Environment, Economy and other news from the diving industry By Alison Courtney
91 No Dumb Questions: Zen Buoyancy Reader seeks balance By Alex Brylske
DIVE EXPLORATION
86 Dive Traveler: Habla Diving? Learning what to say - and how to say it-when diving in exotic locations. By W. Lynn Seldon Jr.
88 Passport: Dive travel incentives around the globe
Compiled by Cathryn Castle
EVERY MONTH
51 Scuba Skills: Buoyancy I: Proper Weighting: The First Step Toward Perfect Buoyancy. First in a three-part series on achieving better buoyancy By Lynn Laymon
55 Always Learning: Fathers and Sons: Each Has Something to Gain From Diving. What happens to the family tree on scuba. By Mark Twombly
59 Instructor Tips: Seeing Is Believing: Advising Sight Challenged Scuba Students A look at underwater vision correction By Bob Wohlers
63 Legal Briefing: Baggage Liability: Do You Know Where Your Dive Gear Is Tonight? the airlines' baggage compensation policies - and by following a few simple packing tips - you can be better prepared if one of your bags goes missing. By Rick Lesser, Esq. and Michele Nelson, Esq.
66 Eco-Seas: Seabirds: Our Overlooked Dive Buddies: they're just as fascinating. By Vickie Stiefel
74 Smithsonian Reports: Smithsonian scientists report on Belize coral reef research By Michael Lang, edited by Alex Brylske
76 What About: Where Have All the Sheephead Gone? Sheephead are vital to the integrity of the kelp forest community. Find out why their numbers are declining, and why it could spark an environmental "domino theory." By Eric Hanauer
81 Family Diving: Tying the Knot and Taking the Plunge: A Tale of Newlywed Dive Buddies To have and to hold...but at what depth? By Lisa Sonne
84 Dive Shop: '99 Brings New Designs
Compiled by Cathryn Castle
95 What's That: Who's Eating Whom? Observing Underwater Predation: Tips for watching predator/prey relationships By Dee Scarr
101 Classifieds
105 Dive Training Quiz: Test your knowledge of the information in this month's issue
106 Final Check: What It Looks Like: When You and Your Buddy Are In Sync: Being a good buddy begins before you hit the water By Lynn Laymon