Corals are animals and need very specific conditions to survive. There are hard corals (such as those in Hawaii) and soft corals, each with a narrow range of water temperatures, sunlight requirements, and pollution tolerances needed for their survival. Divers can make a huge difference in preserving coral reefs everywhere by avoiding careless behavior. Good buoyancy control is essential to coral reef protection. Take care in keeping hands and fins off the reef. Gloves should be worn to protect your hands only, not to touch creatures or hold onto the reef. Lahaina Divers offers a free buoyancy clinic on all afternoon dive charters for divers who would like to fine tune their skills. Remember: "Take only memories, leave only bubbles."

College Credits for Dive Courses

On another subject - Did you know that your dive certification classes may qualify for college or vocational credits? The American Council on Education recommends college credits for certain PADI courses. Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver and many dive specialties could count for 1 semester hour of lower division Recreation/Physical Education per class. Divemaster certification counts as 2 semester hours, and Instructor Development Course is 2-3 semester hours of Upper level credit. Typically the college or university accepting the ACE credits treats them as transfer credits and often awards them without any additional fees. Questions should be directed to an Educational Consultant at you PADI office 1-800-729-7234.

On The LD Homefront

The Lahaina Divers Ohana (Hawaiian for family), now have a Hui (Hawaiian for clan) of three brothers on staff: John (26), Mike (25), and Dan (22). Throughout the years, Lahaina Divers has consistently had at least two instructors with the same first name (out of 18 that in itself is amazing). To have three brothers working for Lahaina Divers at the same time is a first.