D ayo
D ive
C lub
Underwater Times
Club News and Reviews
December 2012
DayoDiveClub
Shallow
Delights
Diving the Copenhagen
Underwater Preserve
Florida’s southeastern coast ls home
to a wide variety of shipwrecks and
artificial reefs, providing divers with a
wealth of opportunities for exploration, Many of these wrecks lie within
standard recreational limits, while
others create opportunities for extended range diving. At the opposite
end of the spectrum, the wreck of the
Copenhagen provides an easily accessed, shallow water alternative that
even novices can enjoy. But the same
site will also hold the interest of more
experienced fish watchers and photographers, as the remains of this historic
wreck shelter and attract a diverse collection of undersea life.
On 26 May 1900, the steamship Copenhagen was steaming south along
the coast of Florida, bound for Havana,
Cuba and loaded with 5,000 tons of
coal. Her captain, William S. Jones, ordered the ship to move inshore of the
strong northerly flowing Gulf Stream.
At 8:50 am, the ship crashed into a reef
of the Pompano Ledge, about threequarters of a mile off Pompano Beach.
The ship’s engines were reversed to
try to back off the reef but the hull was
stuck tight and taking water so fast
the pumps could not keep up. Captain
Jones radioed ashore to request assistance and set the crew to offloading
coal. Salvage vessels arrived to assist
and wreckers spent nearly a month removing the cargo of coal and patching
holes in the hull.
When Copenhagen was nearly ready
to be removed from the reef, an urgent
call from the wrecking company headquarters in New York caused work to
cease. A major fire had broken out
at Lloyd’s North German Line terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, and all
salvage crews were urgently needed.
Copenhagen was abandoned to the
sea; although the cargo was completely recovered, the ship was
declared a total loss. A Board of
Inquiry found Captain Jones to be at
fault but did not revoke his Master’s
Certificate because of his previous
exemplary record.
Over the years the remains of Copenhagen disappeared under the waves
and gradually became integrated into
the surrounding vibrant reef community. The wreck site is located less
than a mile off Lauderdale-by-the-Sea,
some 3.6 miles south of Hillsboro Inlet.
Wreckage lies roughly north-south,
with the stern pointed northward.
Today the wreck rests in 15-30 feet
of water, and is home to an array of
tropical marine life from small crustaceans and mollusks to an assortment
of damsel, butterfly and angelfish, as
well as few larger inhabitants of the
reef like barracuda, large green moray
eels, nurse sharks stingrays and spotted eagle rays.
Purple seafans, sponges, and corals
decorate the hull plates and frames.
Divers can explore features of the ship
such as the boiler beds, the rudder
shaft pillow block, and collapsed deck
plating and davits. The ship’s bow is
displaced, possibly the result of later
salvage activities; it now rests a halfmile to the south and has been documented by a local archaeology team.
At the southern end of the primary
wreckage, where the bow used to be,
there is now a monument and plaque
that designates the site as an Underwater Archaeological Preserve and
Florida Heritage Site. Local dive shops
often use the site for training dives and
it is popular with families as a shallowwater snorkel and dive site. Mooring
buoys make finding and diving Copenhagen easy and relaxing.
Dive Report
DDC News and Notes
Black Friday Scuba
Adventure
Dayo Dive Club’s Toys For Tots drive
continues through December 19. Be
sure to stop by the Dayo Scuba shop
and drop off a new, unwrapped toy. By Patricia Simone
Over the recent Thanksgiving
weekend, four Dayo Dive Club
members, the Simones and
Stephensons, headed south for
some diving. We were scheduled
to dive with Stuart Scuba on
Thanksgiving Day, but this was
canceled due to rough weather.
In fact, most dive boat operators
in south Florida had cancelled
the Thanksgiving day dives on
reports of to 8 to 10-foot seas.
Figuring the weather conditions
were not going to get better by
Friday, the Dayo Divers decided
to head farther south to find calm
water.
We ended up in Key Largo and
John Pennekamp Park, where
the forcast called for seas of
two feet or less. We dove French
and Molasses Reefs, with air
temperatures in the mid 70s and
water still a delicious 79 degrees!
The viz was so so... I’d say 30
to 50 feet, but we didn’t care. It
was a beautiful sunny day on and
under the water.
Club members are heading for North
Florida on Friday, December 7. The
group will be camping at Suwannee
River Rendezvous, with dives planned
for Troy, Orange Grove and Royal
Springs. For those who don’t enjoy
tents, cabins may be available.
On Sunday, December 16, the club
will be headed to Weeki Wachee
Spring for a morning dive. Due to
the early start time, some members
plan to overnight at a nearby hotel,
then spend the remainder of the day
enjoying the park.
The next DDC meeting is on
Wednesday January 30, 2013,
6:30pm at Dayo Scuba. The 2012
dive calendar is wide open, so let’s
all get together and plan some great
adventures.
To reserve space on upcoming dives,
contact Dayo Scuba. Learn more
about these and other club events by
visiting the Dayo Dive Club page on
Facebook.
TECHNIQUE TIPS
Every Breath You Take
Breath Control Exercises
Learned From a Champion
Freediver Could Enhance Your
Scuba Diving Comfort and
Performance
All scuba diver engage in an
entirely un-natural act: they breath
air while immersed in water. And
yet, surprisingly little attention is
given to the way in which this subaquatic respiration takes place.
Instructors and training agencies
counsel neophytes to “never hold
your breath on scuba,” and to “breath
normally while underwater,” but these
precursory warnings really doesn’t
give the average diver much to work
with when attempting to control or
lower air consumption rates.
By contrast, accomplished free
divers are masters of breath control;
they are keen students of apnea, and
devote significant effort to all aspects
of their breathing performance not only while in the water, but
throughout all phases of their daily
lives. A detailed discussion of apnea
and breath control training brings
up everything from yoga and eastern
Freedivers are masters of breath control
philosophy to all manner of esoteric
techniques such as air packing, overbreathing and O2/CO2 table training.
It’s more than the average diver
wants to take on, and in truth, not all
these techniques have relevance to
scuba.
There are, however, some lessons
from the apnea community that can
help divers increase their underwater
comfort level while also controlling or
lowering air consumption. Recently, I
spent some time with Stig Severinsen,
a multiple world record holder in
freediving and static apnea who’s
most recent accomplishment was a
22-minute static underwater breath
hold. His new book, Breatheology,
goes into great detail on all aspects
of human breathing performance;
I asked him for the CliffsNotes
version: three simple things any diver
could do to improve their breathing
performance and comfort while on
scuba.
Step one, Severinsen says, is
developing a basic awareness of
how you breath, then eliminate bad
habits. To practice what he calls
Conscious Breathing, simply direct
your attention to the moment of air in
and out of your body. Pay attention to
the tempo, sound and rhythm of your
breaths - the way air flows in and out.
You may notices that when you are
stressed or excited, you take short,
shallow breaths by puffing out your
chest. You might hold your breath, or
exhale forcefully when frustrated. If
you catch yourself doing this, simply
slow the pace of your breathing,
draw air deep into your lungs by
expanding the diaphragm and allow
for a relaxing pause before beginning
a gentle exhale. This simple practice
allow you to relax and gain focus. It’s
a good skill to practice for everyday
stressors such as traffic jams or
incompetent sales clerks, but it’s also
good preparation for diving.
Severinsen’s second technique is
one that can be practiced immediately
before a dive. The technique of
Warrior Breath is well known to
yoga practitioners for it’s ability to
clear the mind, eliminate negative
emotions and create a sense of
calm focus. For those who think this
all sounds a bit to mystic or new
age, it’s not. The technique itself
is straightforward, and it works.
Plenty has been written on the
specifics of this technique; for now
I’ll just provide a short paraphrase
of Severinsen’s description form his
book Breatheology.
“Breath through your nose rather
than your mouth. When you inhale,
make a little constriction in your
throat to produce an even hissing
sound, as if you were saying “ngg.”
The entire sound is somewhat like
“nggeeeeeeeh.” Try bringing your
breath to a halt several times during
the same breath – that is say “ngg”,
“ngg”, “ngg.” Remember to keep the
rest of your head and face completely
relaxed. When you exhale, make a
sound like “uee,” and maintain a
slight constriction of the throat. The
entire sound is “uee – hhhhh.” When
you learn to control where and how
to constrict the throat, you can leave
out the “ngg” and “uee” and just let
the breath flow to the sounds of
“eeeeeeehhh” during inhalation and
“hhhhhhhheee” during exhalation.
The sound you are hearing is an
amplified version of the sound that
occurs naturally when you breathe.
By varying the degree of constriction
in the throat, you can determine the
amount of air that enters (or exits)
and its velocity. It is the key to your
perfect breath, and no other exercise
is higher, stronger or more effective
for calming and centering.”
Warrior breathing is an ideal way to
spend those final pre-dive moments
before taking the plunge. Most
divers find it eliminates those first
few moments of elevated “adaptive
breathing” that take place before you
settle into the rhythm of the dive, and
it’s especially useful for anyone who
is mildly claustrophobic or prone to
anxiety.
Once in the water, divers can
maintain comfort and often decrease
air consumption by creating a fourpart breathing rhythm. Depending
on the regulator, a slow, controlled
inhale may not be entirely possible,
but divers should focus on allowing
air to ease into their lungs rather
than being forced in rapidly. After
inhalation, a pause gives the body
and mind a brief time to relax. This
should not be the hard breath hold
the training manuals warn of, but
simply a relaxed cessation of air
movement with throat open and
relaxed. The exhalation phase gives
divers the best opportunity to slow
and control their breathing rate, and
it’s perfectly fine to create a slight
resistance during the exhale to meter
the outward flow of air. At the end
of the exhalation cycle, another
brief pause can be added, though
most divers find this will be shorter
than after the inhale. It’s actually
counterproductive to over-extend
this pause, as it can prompt a more
severe inhalation the could disrupt
the breathing rhythm..
Aside from relaxation and potential
lower air consumption, developing
breath awareness and control can
provide important emergency
response and survival skills. Breath
control can help divers contain
panic reactions, maintain focus and
enhance self control during stressful
situations. I encourage anyone
who dives to devote at lease some
attention to their breathing habits,
both above and below the waterline.
For those who want to delve deeper
into breath control, disciplines such
as yoga, tai chi and qigong provide
valuable insights, and a variety of
apnea training programs are offered
through organizations such as USAA,
AIDA Performance Freediving and
CAFA. Severinsen’s Breatheology text
and Breatheology Academy website
are also good rescources.