Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation prepares for the 2023 Dagger Dive June 24 – July 2 2023

 

What a worthy cause that all of us can support with the Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation "Dagger Dive"

Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation (TFDSOF) aids wounded, ill, or injured US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) members, veterans, and their families. TFDSOF responds to immediate needs, conducts Rehabilitative Adaptive Events (RAE), and provides next-generation health solutions for issues facing our service members.

As a veteran-operated nonprofit, TFDSOF understands the needs and experiences of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community. Each program is designed to heal, rebuild, and strengthen the service member and their family by providing mission, purpose, and focus.

Dagger Dive is Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation’s (TFDSOF) longest-running and signature event. NAUI has been a key supporter of Dagger Dive and TFDSOF since the event’s inception over ten years ago!

Dagger Dive takes place each year in beautiful Key West, Florida where SOF service members, veterans, and their families are greeted with the incredible support of the members of the community who do so much to ensure the success of Dagger Dive!

TFDSOF sponsors activities that foster a sense of well-being, offer encouragement, and assist the service member’s rehabilitation and recovery from wounds/injuries sustained while serving our country and re-establishing the family bonds. One of our core beliefs is that if a service member is injured, the whole family is injured and must heal together.

Participating in an activity that requires focus, like diving, unites families and encourages them to work together towards a common goal. Diving is the medium that takes verbal out of the mix and creates a new way to communicate and reconnect.  Families participating in the Dagger Dive event spend multiple days learning how to dive before exploring the waters of Key West together. Training occurs each year at the US Army Special Forces – Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Trumbo Point Annex, Naval Air Station Key West. During the training, fifteen to twenty-five new NAUI Divers are certified, along with experienced divers completing refresher courses each year at Dagger Dive.

In 2023, TFDSOF will continue to support SOF service members, veterans, and their families with this unique RAE. Over 100 program participants and volunteers will be at this year’s event that takes place from June 24 – July 2! The week of learning, diving, and family-centric activities rebuilds the relationships between parents, children, and spouses, healing the whole family.

“Something unique to Dagger Dive and Task Force Dagger is that they address the family needs as well as the soldiers’ needs.”  Kristy Rooney (SOF Family Member)

After participating in Dagger Dive and becoming a certified NAUI Diver, many SOF members, veterans, and family members continue their diving journey with Task Force Dagger’s Joint Recovery Team, which NAUI also supports. The joint recovery missions in the Pacific Ocean, where TFDSOF supports Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) in research and aims to recover and repatriate our fallen service members from previous wars.  If you or someone you know is interested in more information about TFDSOF, please contact:  info@taskforcedagger.org

Shared from NAUI

The Deepest Diver in the History of Free Diving Goes Below the Ice

Molchanov beneath the surface before the dive.Credit...Viktor Lyagushkin

For the past four years, Alexey Molchanov has been the undisputed best all-around free diver in the world. He broke yet another world record last week, this time beneath an icy surface.

This dive was more difficult than most. His wet suit was seven times thicker than normal, which made it more challenging to kick against the positive buoyancy found in the first 10 meters, or approximately 33 feet, of depth.

All that effort demanded he tap into his finite supply of oxygen. To keep warm, he wore a mask, something he typically avoids on deep dives, which meant he had to hold his nose between his thumb and forefinger to equalize instead of relying on a nose clip. Plus, cold water makes equalization of the sinuses, when a diver funnels air into the sinuses to keep them pressurized to prevent head pain and injuries like burst ear drums, extremely challenging.

Within 20 seconds he’d reached 20 meters (66 feet) and puffed his cheeks out to create a vacuum for the remaining air in his lungs to fill. On typical dives, he stores this “mouth-fill” and uses it to equalize without having to worry about leaks. But in water that was between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius, around 35 degrees Fahrenheit, his lips numbed quickly, and he had to clamp them shut with his fingers, his thumb and forefinger on his nose, his middle and ring fingers on his lips.

Watches, Wannabes and Waterman

Read with us, as Steve West explores and helps determine what a waterman really is and what some of his prerequisites might be. Do you think your a "Waterman"?

 

It’s a little known fact, the fast track way to achieve some vague semblance of waterman status, is to invest in a Rolex or Omega dive-timepiece. Indeed the number of waterman you might see on any given day in any metropolis far, far away from ocean shores, simply defies probability as to how these gentleman buyers find the time to work the hours required for the buy-in price and the time to hone their water skills and the number is growing daily.

Frankly, many look unsuited to their timepiece or certainly not what you may think represents the demographic of its namesake, but looks I guess can be deceiving. On the other hand, a Rolex goes hand in hand with luxury yacht ownership (indeed boating of any type) and monetary milestones, which can certainly preclude you from having to be able to swim. But in all seriousness, what’s it all about; men who can barely tread-water wearing beautiful time pieces that shout out, “I am Ocean-Man” or sentiments to that effect, or are they simply, James Bond wannabes.

One thing’s for sure, even the great Duke Kahanamoku would I am sure embraced the idea that swimming must first and foremost be a requirement for entry to waterman status, melded with a love of the ocean and for the creatures in it and that surfing per-se, is something you can choose or not choose to do on account of there being such an abundance of other water pursuits, skills and interests which by default would earn you waterman status in the same way as that of a horseman, mountain man or spaceman, of which the Polynesian voyagers where indeed of that same ilk. Read More;

Watermen Heritage Tours - Chesapeake Bay

Going to the Chesapeake Bay sometime soon, check out some great tours through Watermen Heritage Tours 

Commercial Watermen come in many varieties, and so do the tours they offer. There are three basic types: On the Water experiences; On the Land experiences; and Speakers and Presenters.

The first decade of the twenty-first century saw several years with the lowest blue crab populations and harvest levels ever recorded. By 2008 fishery managers worried they might witness the crash of the blue crab stock, the most valuable and most fished of all the East Coast’s fisheries. In response to the numbers, new, tight restrictions were placed on the fishery in hopes the population would grow. In addition, Congress declared a fishery disaster, making $15 million available for restoration measures, and to support the fishermen.

A portion of that money went to an innovative training program, The Waterman’s Heritage Tourism Training Program, developed by a group of Chesapeake non-profit organizations. The partnership was initiated and organized by the Chesapeake Conservancy, included the Coastal Heritage Alliance, the Maryland Watermen’s Association, and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

Since its inception, the training program has graduated more than 100 watermen and provided them insights and skills in how to conduct heritage tours. The training isn’t meant to take the watermen off the water, but to give them skills they can use to supplement their incomes with a related new business.

This website supports the graduates of that program with a marketing outlet. Here you can find on the water and on land tours that will inform you about the life of the waterman, their communities, and the Chesapeake’s history. You can even locate speakers for events.

And here’s some more good news. The tighter regulations seem to have worked. Blue crab populations have responded, and the catches are up!

The Ways of the Waterman

FromKukui`ula with Aloha May 25, 2017

On Kaua’i, it is a sign of great respect to call someone a waterman, because it means much more than just being good, or even an expert, at activities like surfing or diving, fishing or paddling. To be a waterman (or a waterwoman) means to have knowledge and to understand the ways of the water—ways that are often passed down through ‘ohana.

Hawaiian Waterman

In this sense of the word, the Huaka’i Guides of Kukui’ula are all true watermen. According to Robert Miguel, the head of the Huaka’i Outfitters program, that’s what makes the Guides so special. They understand Kaua’i. And they can all, “Connect guests to the island.”

“This isn’t San Diego or Maui,” Robert says. “Those places have their own ways. It’s different here. So we fold people into the culture of Kaua’i.”

“Like, in the course of going surfing,” Robert explains, “ there are all these other things that are part of the culture here. We’re definitely going to pick some mangoes. We’re going to get a bite to eat somewhere in town. And we’re going to meet up with friends and talk story in the water.”

By the same token, learn to throw net at Kukui’ula and you won’t just learn technique, you’ll learn history, lore and story. Like about oloana, the natural fiber that, like taro, is a revered plant on Kaua’i, once grown and harvested specifically for net making. Or about time-honored techniques fishermen practice to help ensure a good catch. Or the different types of fish you can catch along the shore, the rocks or the reef. Want to know how best to enjoy the flavors of each one? Ask your Guide.

And then take your catch to Chef Ben who’ll prepare it for you—just a nice little extra perk to help you savor Kaua’i.

How Diving Can Improve Your Surfing, with Mark Healey

Hawaiian waterman explains the benefits of descending beneath the surface

Surfline January 29, 2020

These days, the virtual world is nearly as tangible as the good ol’ fashioned terra firma. There it is, constantly in our pockets, awaiting our scrolls and likes and hashtags. But Oahu’s own Mark Healey lives in the real world, unplugged à la The Matrix. He’s in the sea – surfing, diving, and fishing. He’s on land – hunting wild boar. He’s in the air – or, rather, he’s breathing it in ways to help him in his pastimes above. He’s a man of the physical world in all its material forms; although his Instagram account is still a solid follow. Just sayin’.

And one of Healey’s favorite side hustles – outside of his main muse, surfing – is diving. He’s become a well-respected free diver and award-winning spear fisherman, which, in an era when simply packing a bomb at Pipeline or hucking air reverses on repeat has become blasé, is important. You need to be more than just a good surfer to be recognized. You need to be an eco-warrior or a musician or a mixed martial artist or (in Healey’s case) an all-around “waterman.” And, more importantly, it also helps to have something else to do when the waves go flat.

But the best part is, Healey’s hobbies help him when big swells do arrive. And diving in particular. So, for another edition of our ongoing series on cross-training, we picked Healey’s brain about what it’s like to go beneath the surface, and how it helps when he comes back to the lineup.

For two Chesapeake Watermen, there’s just one way to harvest wild oysters: Dive for them.

Washington Post March 4, 2019

The day dawns bright and clear, with a biting freeze that clamps to any exposed skin within minutes outside. If it’s this cold on their dock in Wittman, Md., Nick Hargrove and Derek Wilson know it’s going to be even harder on the water, where water and tributaries might be frozen in some parts, and there’s a bay, wide and flat, that can welcome a weather change in minutes.

These oysters require no shucking knife. But the process has a catch.

It’s winter on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay — far from the white sails of recreational boating and sparkling water reflected in day-tripper sunglasses — and that means it’s oyster season for these two watermen of Wild Divers Oyster . The bay has a different tone this time of year, when it’s human against the elements, wind whipping across bows, and the two men, friends since sixth grade, don’t need many words to express their apprehension to the day ahead. That apprehension is part of the job, since Wilson must spend hours under the water, handpicking oysters from the bay’s murky bottom while Hargrove maneuvers the boat, monitors the cord that connects Wilson to it (and to air, light and warm water), and sorts oysters for the day’s haul.

They are watermen just like many in their community before them, but regulations, changing water quality and conditions, and the rise of aquaculture provide new challenges. The two men are building a decidedly modern business on the foundation of a traditional Chesapeake oyster plucked right from the bottom, and area chefs are beginning to notice.

First genetic adaptation to diving discovered in 'Sea Nomads'

Researchers have discovered the first evidence that people can genetically adapt to deep diving, as shown by the unusually large spleens in indigenous people of Indonesia known as the "Sea Nomads," a study said Thursday.

The spear-fishing Bajau people regularly free-dive to depths of up to 230 feet (70 meters), with only weights and a wooden mask.

They spend up to 60 percent of their work day diving for fish, spearing octopus and gathering crustaceans -- an amount of time rivaled only by sea otters -- and can stay underwater up to 13 minutes at a time, said the report in the journal Cell.

Intrigued by this unusual ability, American researcher Melissa Ilardo, then a post doctoral candidate at the Centre for GeoGenetics at the University of Copenhagen, wondered if they had genetically adapted somehow to be able to spend more time underwater than other people.

She spent several months in Jaya Bakti, Indonesia, with the help of a translator, getting to know the Bajau and another nearby group that did not dive, the Saluan.

"I spent my whole first visit to Jaya Bakti introducing myself, the project, and the underlying science," she told AFP.

"I wanted to be sure that they understood exactly what I was asking of them so they could help to direct the project to reflect their interests. They were very curious and excited about the research."

Before her second visit, she learned some Indonesian in order to be able to communicate directly with the Bajau.

- Scans and gene tests -

She took genetic samples and did ultrasound scans, which showed that Bajau had spleens about 50 percent larger than the Saluan.

Spleens are important in diving -- and are also enlarged in some seals -- because they release more oxygen into the blood when the body is under stress, or a person is holding their breath underwater.

Spleens were larger in the Balau people whether they were regular divers or not, and further analysis of their DNA revealed why.

Comparing the genomes of the Bajau to two different populations, the Saluan and the Han Chinese, scientists found 25 sites that differed significantly.

Among them was one site on a gene known as PDE10A, which was determined to be linked to the Bajau's larger spleen size.

In mice, "PDE10A is known for regulating a thyroid hormone that controls spleen size, lending support for the idea that the Bajau might have evolved the spleen size necessary to sustain their long and frequent dives,' said the study.

More research is needed to understand how thyroid hormone affects human spleen size.

The findings could boost research in medicine by helping researchers understand how the body reacts to a loss of oxygen in various contexts, from diving to high-latitude climbing to surgery and lung disease.

"This really tells us how valuable and important indigenous populations are around the world that are living extreme lifestyles," said co-author Eske Willerslev, a professor at the University of Copenhagen.

Willerslev admitted he initially urged Ilardo not to pursue the research for her PhD thesis, believing it was too risky and that she may find nothing.

"She said she wanted to do it anyway and that paid off. Melissa was right and our concerns were wrong."

Ilardo said she was aware of the risks but "believed so strongly in this project," that she had to push on.

"The Bajau and other Sea Nomads are simply extraordinary and I wanted to be able to prove that to the world," said Ilardo, now a US National Institutes of Health postdoctoral scholar at the department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Utah.

Melissa Llardo/AFP / Melissa Llardo

Natalia Molchanova, Freediving Champion, Missing and Feared Dead

Natalia Molchanova shows the minus-86-meter (-282 feet) tag that earned her win at the women's free-diving world championship on September 3, 2005.

Natalia Molchanova, 53, held 41 world records and was a 23-time world champion in freediving.

The woman billed as the world's greatest freediver is missing and presumed dead after failing to resurface from a dive off the coast of Spain.

Natalia Molchanova holds 41 world records and is a 23-time world champion in freediving. The sport requires divers to hold their breath rather than use scuba gear or oxygen tanks.

AIDA, the international freediving association, said that the 53-year-old Molchanova was "recreationally freediving" without fins on Sunday when she became separated from her group. She disappeared approximately two miles northwest of the port of La Savina at Poniente de es Freus.

"Search efforts have been ongoing," the association said in a statement.

AIDA said Molchanova's passion for the sport "burned so deep" that she had dedicated her life to freediving.

"She was an inspiration to all freedivers and despite being one of the fiercest competitors in the world, she was always calm and relaxed during competitions," the statement said. "The cause of Natalia's disappearance is unknown, but she was doing what she loved."

Molchanova — who could hold her breath for nine minutes and dive to a depth of more than 330 feet — had written freediving handbooks and trained thousands in the sport.

The Russian Freediving Federation — which Molchanova headed out of Moscow — called Molchanova's disappearance a "tragedy" and made clear it was unlikely she would be found alive.

“The search is still officially ongoing, but, to our deepest regret, the probability of success is small,” it said in a statement posted on the federation's website.

Kimmo Lahtinen, president of AIDA international, told NBC News that Molchanova was a "freediving superstar."

"Superstars will not die," Lahtinen said. "They will shine still after they are gone."

Fellow freediver William Trubridge was among those offering tributes to Molchanova following news of her disappearance.

25th Annual Waterman's Weekend Dates Set, Honorees Announced / SIMA

SIMA will honor Tom Carrol as Waterman of the Year

SIMA Celebrates 25^th Anniversary of Waterman’s Weekend, Honors Tom Carroll, Rusty Preisendorfer, Ted Danson and Hobie Alter

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.  — The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) will celebrate 25 years of uniting the surf industry and protecting the environment by honoring surf legend and two-time world champion Tom Carroll as Waterman of the Year, Golden Globe Award Winner and environmental activist Ted Danson as Environmentalist of the Year, and legendary shaper Rusty Preisendorfer with the Lifetime Achievement Award. A Special Recognition Award will also be presented to the family of influential surf industry figure, Hobie Alter, in memory of SIMA’s first-ever Waterman of the Year.

The 25^th Annual Waterman’s Weekend will be held August 8-9, 2014, at The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Calif. The weekend begins Friday, August 8, at the Monarch Beach Golf Links with the Waterman’s Classic Golf Tournament, and concludes on Saturday, August 9, with the Waterman’s Ball and Auction.

The new shark deterrent wetsuit / Surfer Today

Well, I will leave it to the readers here to decide?  The new shark deterrent wetsuit: The world's first shark deterrent wetsuits have been unveiled by the University of Western Australia and Shark Attack Mitigation Systems.

Paddleboarding Philosophy Part of 'Waterman Ethic'

June 20, 2013 • Space Coast Daily • Cocoa Beach, Florida — An important component of the Cocoa Beach Surf Museum’s mission is the promotion of the “Waterman Ethic” within the surf community.

A ‘Waterman’ is someone who is at home in the ocean and is comfortable in many water disciplines.

(Shutterstock image)

This philosophy espouses the belief that surfers should expand their horizons beyond the confines of surfing and become knowledgeable about all aspects of ocean pursuits such as sailing, paddleboarding, diving (both SCUBA and free diving) fishing, spear fishing and so on. 

This produces an individual who feels at home in the ocean, an individual who can be counted on to respond appropriately to any situation that the sea can muster.

There is no degree given or certificate awarded, just the satisfaction that you are recognized as a true Waterman by your peers.  Read more; Paddleboarding Philosophy Part of 'Waterman Ethic' |

Diversionary Tactics, Part One - Options for staying wet when surfing's not an option | SURFLINE.COM

You can't always surf.
Sometimes it's too small. Too weak or windy. Jellyfish or sea lice. Red tide or runoff. Restricted to surfboards or a 30-knot current ripping down the beach. Sometimes it's just straight-up flat. You can't always surf.

But you can always go surfing -- in your mind. You can drink the same coffee, jam the same pre-session song, call the same buddies and grab a paddle or a pole, a boogie or a rope, a kite or a pair of fins. Or just stretch your own God-given oars and channel all that potential energy and bottled surf stoke into something more kinetic -- something visceral and pointless and relaxing and invigorating and spiritual and
romantic and thrilling and sketchy and insane and hilarious all at the same time... just like surfing. Only it's not.

You can't always surf. But if you're up for it, you can always stay wet.

 More; DIVERSIONARY TACTICS, PART ONE | SURFLINE.COM

We continue to ask the question, "What is a Waterman"?

We continue to ask the question, "What is a Waterman"?

Take a look at a video by The Waterman League and Interviews with Gerry Lopez and Brian Keaulana about the concept of a waterman, past and present.

 

Source; The Waterman League

Man vs Gravity, One for the Ages - Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2013

85kph, aesthetic, gravity-defying freefall – cliff diving is the purest extreme sport on earth and has many centuries of tradition but has never been as youthful as it will be in 2013. The average age of 27.9 years is the youngest to date and it promises to be another year of rapid evolution of one of the most breathtaking of all sports. In its fifth season, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series will hit new waters and determine a new champion during eight challenging competitions across Europe, Asia and North and South America.

Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2012 Azores - Orlando Duque

Between May and October ten of the world’s best cliff divers, from seven different countries, and up to four wildcard divers per stop will launch from 27 metres with no protection besides concentration, skill and physical control.

As the pinnacle of cliff diving competition, the 2013 World Series once again highlights the sport’s top athletes. After the most exciting season to date in 2012, in which the brilliant Brit, Gary Hunt, took a hat-trick of wins in the very last dive, beating comeback star Orlando Duque (COL) and American qualifier Steven LoBue, three rookies will spice up the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in its fifth season. Rising star and youngest athlete, Jonathan Paredes (23), from Mexico, claimed his spot impressively in his second qualification attempt after 2012 with the highest overall score, Anatoliy Shabotenko, the impressive Ukrainian, made a big impact as a wildcard in 2012, as did newcomer Matt Cowen from Leeds, England.

The field of ten set divers consists of the top five from 2012 and the top five from the qualification competition in Australia earlier this year, and come from seven different countries with an age-range of between 23 and 38 years. The permanent participants will be added to with up to four wildcard divers per event who will be awarded points which will count towards the overall rankings and will therefore have a say in the final results.

Are Open Water Swimmers Watermen?

Thursday, January 10, 2013 - Open Water Source

To answer that question, we first must understand what is a waterman, a term used frequently in the surfing world?

Watermen - or its feminine equivalent, waterwomen - are individuals who are considered by their peers and the marine sports community to be well-adept, experienced and highly skilled in various marine sports and aquatic activities, performed safely and courageously in myriad conditions.

Their abilities are matched by their passion and comfort levels in the ocean. They surf, swim, paddle, kayak, body surf, boat, and dive. They can do rowing, fishing, stand-up paddling, surf lifesaving, lifeguarding, kite sailing and windsurfing.

A Navy SEAL's dive of a lifetime, remembering Pearl Harbor

Michael Howard: A Navy SEAL's dive of a lifetime precipitated by a day that will live in infamy: a Pearl Harbor Remembrance

Remembering Pearl Harbor, the tears that flow from the wreckage of the USS Arizona

• Capt. Michael R. Howard, a retired Navy SEAL, lives in Vero Beach and is executive director of the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum on North Hutchinson Island.

Read more on this story from TC Palm at;  http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/dec/07/michael-howard-a-navy-seals-dive-of-a-lifetime-a/

National Navy UDT-Seal Museum, Fort Pierce, FL

A great museum of interest to watermen sits just south of central Florida on the coast of Fort Pierce.  This is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to the elite warriors of Naval Special Warfare. 

 

The museums mission is to preserve the history of the US Navy SEALs and their predecessors, including the Underwater Demolition Teams, Naval Combat Demolition Units, Office of Strategic Services Maritime Units and Amphibious Scouts and Raiders.

 

Located in Fort Pierce, Florida, the birthplace of the Navy Frogman, the Museum promotes public education by providing the opportunity to explore the history of the US Navy SEALs in an atmosphere of respect and honor.

 

 

 Location: 3300 N. Highway A1A, North Hutchinson Island, Fort Pierce, FL 34949.

Times: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, 12-4 p.m.

http://www.navysealmuseum.com/index.php

Welcome to Watermen News. So what defines a Waterman or Waterwoman…

Welcome to Watermen News. I hope to make this an informative news and information page about everything having to do with watermen and their unique aquatic and marine lifestyles. But first we have to try and define watermen, waterman or waterwoman...

Wikipedia defines watermen as river workers who transfer passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries in Britain and its colonies. Most notable are those on the River Thames and River Medway, but other rivers such as the River Tyne and River Dee, Wales also had their watermen who formed guilds in medieval times.

Webster defined waterman as "a person who makes his living from the water (as by fishing, crabbing, or oystering)", and it is of Middle English origin.

Ashley Futral Chapman is Officially the Deepest (unassisted) Woman in the World

 

May 4, 2012 Ashley Futral Chapman breaks the Constant Weight No Fins World Record with a dive to 63 meters (207) at Performance Freediving’s Deja Blue competition in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands. The women’s CNF record was previously held by multiple World Record holder Natalia Molchanova who made a dive to 62 meters in 2009.

With this amazing 63m CNF freediving performance Ashley becomes the deepest unassisted woman on earth. Watch her as she uses only the air in her lungs and her arms and feet to take the new world record.

By Francesca Koe with Deeper Blue