DIVING:

 It's the Fourth of July! We Digress from Our Dragon Watch for a Day to Bring to You Some Images of Why We Love the Oceans. 

 If you have read our Diving and Technical Diving sections you know that we are strong advocates of serious dive training if you use SCUBA gear. What follows are some beautiful dives often using only only a face mask, fins and snorkel.

 Some of the grunt workers ("Library Elves") here American Admiralty Books are veterans of the Coast Guard and NOAA Corps. As such we share at least two things in common. First we love the ocean, and second we are concerned about it. Most people know something about the Coast Guard at least as a search and rescue organization, and most know after the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that the Coast Guard has a big role in maritime environmental protection.

  Outside of the ranks of professional mariners few seem to know what the NOAA Corps is and does. Professionals know about this smallest of all of the uniformed naval services because professional mariners use their products such as the NOAA navigation charts and publications such as the "COAST PILOT". The NOAA Corps is descended from a former organization originally called the "Coast Survey" which was formed immediately after the return of Lewis and Clark. There is considerable evidence that the NOAA Corps is in fact the direct organizational descendant of the Lewis and Clark expedition but we'll save that discussion for another time. We mention it only now to help our visitors to understand what the less than 450 uniformed officers of the NOAA Corps do that is different from the other naval services such as the navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or the Merchant Marine. The NOAA Corps is a "Corps of Discovery" fielding surveyors, divers, ship and air craft pilots who get the maritime geographic facts, analyze them and produce useful navigational products that the rest of the naval establishment uses along with many other direct and indirect "customers".

 Members of both services inherit a "Guardian ethic". Both the USCG and the NOAA Corps have roles to play in the protection of marine mammals and endangered fish stocks with the Coast Guard patroling and inspecting the wild caught fisheries and the NOAA Corps operating and patrolling marine sanctuaries. So what do the Guardians of the sea do with a holiday? Generally we sail, fish, or dive. Today we thought we'd share with you some great videos of dives, some with a guardian ethic theme. Relax and enjoy. We'll get back to monitoring the pesky Chinese Navy shortly

 The first in the series is a video reminder of why whale and shark conservation are worth the effort. Click on the hyper link below for a real visual treat then hit the return or back symbol for more selections:  

Participate in Shark and Whale Conservation featuring Holly Beck and the Whale Shark
Run time 2 minutes and five seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO2k-l4yRz8


Shark Riding in Crystal Clear Water: Run Time 5 minutes, 8 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucivXRBrP_0

But Remember they can and do bite, don't go shark riding without an expert guide, and then don't even do it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqYqroPZi-U

Because they even bite experts!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pjbH5OuBc4&feature=relmfu

But lets not forget that most of us , most of the time are simply underwater sight seeing, and what sights there are to see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9PHRDzda20&feature=fvwrel

Have a Great Independence day ! Don't forget that freedom isn't free, for yours thank a vet and come back tomorrow as we continue to report developments in the south China sea.