Watersports blog

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently signed a new law that grants the Philippine Coast Guard additional powers in terms of law enforcement. One of the significant powers given is the Coast Guard’s prerogative to detain and stop substandard passenger and cargo vessels from sailing within the country’s waters.

The law is known as Republic Act 9993 or the “Philippine Coast Guard Act of 2009.” The new law aims to prevent sea tragedies especially since there is a growing incidence of such in the country for the past few years.

Some of the world’s worst maritime disasters occur in the Philippines. With this in mind, there’s a significant need to come up with a law that pinpoints clearer responsibility and accountability.

The law has been under legislative review for more than eight years and the signing definitely brings a breeze of fresh air to the commuters who constantly board shipping vessels in their daily operations.

The Dive Equipment and Marketing Association, considered to be the largest trade expo in the scuba diving and snorkeling industry was held earlier this month in Orlando, Florida. The exhibitors showed the must have snorkeling and scuba diving gears which can be useful in tropical vacations in islands. These gears are slated for wide release in the coming months. The items that got massive attention was the Hydroacoustics Inc. Diver Interdiction System which costs $60,000, the Proteus 500 ROV which costs $33,000.

Not to be missed was the Liquid Image Underwater Camera Mask which makes it easier for photographers to shoot videos of colorful fish and coral without having to schlep around a camera and strobes. This costs $150. The Liquid image works to up to 115 feet deep, enough to get those hard to get images of underwater creatures.

Active wear maker Lululemon Athletica is now attempting to enter the “tween” market in Canada through its Ivivva Athletic brand. Lululemon is known for providing outfits to mothers ranging from yoga outfits to gym clothes.

Lululemon Chief Executive Officer Christine Day said that they are confident about the prospects of the teenage market embracing their products, adding that they have the opportunity to give the younger women the option to upgrade their dress sense.
Ivivva targets girls aged six to twelve and the line is making a grand debut at Lululemon’s main store in Vancouver later this month followed by its launch in Calgary and Victory by December.
Day said Ivivva will soon be an independent store, but for now the products will be sold in Lululemon stores to properly introduce the line to the new market.

Lululemon ventured into the pre-teen market after positive revenues posted on its third quarter period and with the holiday season coming up, sales are expected to grow as well.

Roseland-based Windsurfer Marianne Bryan received an accolade for her skills in windsurfing at the Royal Yachting Association’s annual awards ceremony held in London recently.

According to reports, about 49 awards for volunteerism were given to the winners from different areas in the United Kingdom.

Bryan was nominated in the Community Award for Youth category and was selected as the winner based on her work in South West Windsurfing, where she serves as a volunteer teacher for teenagers who want to learn windsurfing. She’s also a volunteer at the Roseland Waveriders windsurfing club at Percuil.

She stood out among the rest because she was cited to be very respectful to the trainees and that she constantly makes time in the two clubs to teach interested individuals. She also loves windsurfing and that she’s also skilled in other water sports such as rowing and sailing and is known for her sporty clothing and bright swimwear.

Rafting has become a big hit in Montenegro and this can be evidenced by the spike of earnings in this adventure alone.
According to reports, revenues from rafting in the first five months of this year in the country reached 740,000 euros. This data was provided by Montenegro’s Department of Public Revenues.

Novo Radovic, the country’s chief tax inspector, said that rafting is now becoming a solid income-generator for Montenegro which is a good development.

As of this year, there are now a total of 25 legal establishments allowed to operating rafting trips in the country. Six of the operators are not yet permanent residents of the country.

Along with the increase in visitors to Montenegro the retail establishments particularly those selling products relating to rafting have see an increase in sales. Swimwear, waterproof clothing and rafting equipment have brought new trade.

Montenegro’s Tara River is one of the most popular rafting destinations. The area boasts of the Tara River Gorge, Europe’s deepest canyon and second longest in the globe.  This area is part of the Dumitor National Park and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A recently concluded research showed that patients with asthma, controlled diabetes and other diseases can proceed with their scuba diving plans since this activity is deemed safe and not dangerous to health at all.

According to the researchers that participated at the Dive Medicine Symposium at the Rutgers University, there’s no evidence that can suggest that patients with diabetes or asthma are at serious risk should they decide to go on scuba diving adventure or going underwater for that matter.

University of Pennsylvania fellow in undersea and hyperbaric medicine Dr. Michael Madsen said that they weren’t able to discover serious effects caused by scuba diving to patients. This can also apply to asthmatic patients who were first believed to be at risk of decompression sickness but there were no concrete evidences to support this.

This is certainly great news for patients who are longing for this kind of adventure.

Wichai Praisa-ngob, the governor of Thai province of Phuket, vowed that he will do his best to resolve the jet ski scandal involving operators extorting money from tourists.

According to reports, the governor has already written to several foreign embassies to explain the matter. There have been increasing complaints from tourists stating that jet ski operators in Phuket are extorting money from them. A video clip surfaced online seeing a man brandishing a gun on one of the foreign tourists. The complaints mostly came from tourists from Japan, China and Australia.

Praisa-ngob said that the man in the video is currently under police custody. However, he said that they need to determine first if the video was part of an act or a real one. He stressed that whatever the intentions are, the move is still not right because it intended to destroy Phuket, considered one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

For 11-year old Brooke Madden, making it to the 2012 US Olympic diving team is a clear possibility, thanks to her undeniable talent in the sport at such a young age.

USA Diving National Training Center Head Coach John Wingfield said that Madden being part of the Olympic diving team three years from now is attainable considering that the young diver is already exposed to several national and international-level events.

He said that it is nice to see a change from the usual progression of Chinese divers reaping the gold medals in this sport.

Madden will now have a chance to prove that she’s worthy of the inclusion at this week’s Junior Pan-American Games. She’s part of the 20-member contingent for the US Diving team. The competitions will take place in the City of Calgary in Canada.

Madden says she’ll try her very best to win the competition but at the same time h

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A Filipino-American who had no arms when she was born has experienced another adventure when she embarked in scuba diving recently.

According to reports, Arizona resident Jessica Cox is currently undergoing scuba diving training in order to get certified one day. In an interview with the Philippine media, she said that one of her goals is to enjoy the beauty under the seas when she visits her home country.

Cox has achieved a lot even though she has no arms. She’s a licensed airplane pilot and car driver. With these accolades, she has toured the U.S. and the world since she’s a motivational speaker. She inspires everyone to have a goal and do their best to achieve it.

Her scuba diving trainer is Illinois-based Jim Elliot, the founder of Diveheart Foundation.

Elliot said that scuba diving is great for everyone even with physical disabilities because there’s no gravity involved. This way, anyone can move their bodies in ways that can’t be achieved on land. He added that there’s extra motion for the body when under water.

Cox is reportedly doing well with her training, using her feet to propel herself and swim underwater in a special swimsuit. She considers that a major challenge for now.