San Diego Oceans Foundation Award! Diver of the Year!!

Aug. 1, 2011 San Diego Oceans Foundation just finished up the first half of their Dive For A Cause program. After logging over 27 hours of time underwater during the month of July, I, Shaka Doug was presented with the "2011 Diver Of The Year" award. I also raised approximately $500 thanks to friends and families that will go to a great cause. Thanks to all of you who helped me achieve this goal. It was a great month of diving for sure and we recovered many pounds of used and lost fishing weights from the reefs around south Maui. I am looking forward to implementing some of the ideas I got from this event here on Maui such as Storm Drain Stenciling and Fish Counting.

How dark is a Night Dive anyway?

I love Night Diving. It's kind of freaky and most people would never even dream of going out deep into the ocean in the middle of the night with just a flashlight and some scuba gear. When the subject comes up people ask me this a lot: "Just how dark is it on a Night Dive?" Well, depending on the moon, it can be kind of dark or it can be completely pitch dark. Either way, it's no where near as easy to see at night as it is during the day.

Here's a couple of clips I shot on some recent night dives I made over the 4th of July holiday weekend. The first is of a Box Jellyfish. The second is of a Green Sea Turtle and the third is of a very active Night Octopus. Check them out and think about joining me on my next night time scuba adventure! That is "If you dare!!"


Box Jellyfish pulsating through the water.


Endangered Green Sea Turtle swims by.


Night Octopus on the prowl.

Dive 3,300! Celebrated with a shot of Mona Vie!

I'm so happy to announce that I finally made my 3,300th dive in Hawaii on Friday the 16th of May. It was an awesome day of diving with some friends from New York. Thanks Felix and Dena! The sky was overcast with VOG like I've never seen but due to the Kona Winds, the sea was smooth as glass. Visibility was amazing at around 20 to 3 feet inshore and well over 70 feet out on the reef. We saw turtles, eels, frogfish and had a great time. Conditions were so nice there that we decided to make a second dive to explore the caves a little more. Two hours U/W that day! It was great. That was two hours that we didn't have to breathe the VOG too!

Mid dive, I decided to quench my thirst a totally new way. Watch this You Tube video to see how it went! Mona Vie Rocks!



Next stop, dive 3,500! Here we go!

Whale Day is Almost here again!

Two weeks to Whale Day!

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Aloha everyone. Just an announcement that Whale Day is only two weeks away! Come down to Kihei and check it out. We'll be in the Parade of Whales again and will also be hosting a booth. The Parade of Whales starts out at 9:00 am along downtown south Kihei beginning at the Fire Station. Kalama Park will be the site of the Whale Day Festival from 10:00 to 5:00 with live bands, food and lots of fun! Check it out at: Pacific Whale Foundation - Tours

Here's a link to my blog announcement and pictures from Whale Day Parades of the past few years. I hope to see lots of SCUBABOARDERS there! Click on the Globe icon for the video blog and Camera icon for the pictures.

You gotta Love Whale Day!

I have 3 World Records in the 2008 Diving Almanac and Yearbook!

Wow! Great News! I just got back from the annual DEMA (Diving Equipment and Marketing Association) Show in Florida. This is the third year in a row for me to attend (I've been a total of 5 times now). I had a great time as always. The show was held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, 2007. There were close to 11,000 divers and exhibitors there. I saw lots of cool things and many friends from the industry. I was also fortunate enough to have some personal time with my two sisters, my niece and my beloved grandmother. It was just fantastic.

One of the highlights of the show for me was the recognition I received from Jeffrey Gallant, Editor-in-Chief of the 2008 Diving Almanac and Yearbook. This year marked the second publishing of his annual book. It has been called "...the best single reference book ever published for divers" (Undercurrent) and "...truly the most complete diving reference in the world" (Zendive).

I'm very thrilled to announce that I have Three World Records in the 2008 edition of this awesome book!

Record # 326: Most Continuous Bubble Rings in a Row on a Single Breath of Air... 34 Rings! I did that in St. Thomas, USVI on June 27th, 1989. I still have a video of me performing that too! It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that much. You see, I have this special trick I do with my tongue....

Record # 330: Most "Shaka" Diver Signs...165 and counting. Actually, I now have over 200 different versions of a "Shaka". I'm writing a book about them. Do you have any new ones for me to add in?

Record # 331: Thickest Log Book... My Maui Logbook is quite impressive (to me at least). It's over 33 inches tall and takes ten three-ring-binders to hold it all together. I've been keeping every dive I've made on Maui in this book. To date I have over 3,150 dives logged! I never thought I would rack up that many in ten years but the book proves I did! Sure makes me feel good when I look through it. Lots of great memories and friends in that book. In one of my older posts here I have a photo of me and my logbook. Check it out!

This years trip to the DEMA Show was just great. I'm already planning on heading back next year....it's in Las Vegas!! Woo Hoo! Check out the 2008 Diving Almanac and Yearbook at www.divingalmanac.com. If you're into SCUBA, this is a great book to own!

Ten Years on Maui!!! Wow, that was quick!!

Aloha! I'm so happy to announce that I just reached the Ten Year mark here on Maui! It has been such a great decade...the best in my life. I've meet thousands of cool people and done over three thousand dives. I'm very happy on Maui and I hope to be announcing my twenty year anniversary here in 2017.

I wish to give a huge "Mahalo" to all of the people who have come and gone over these last ten years. Many of you are a big reason I have been able to pull it off. Most of you are the reason I do it with a smile on my face. Thank You!!

I don't know what the future has in store for me, but I do know I plan on discovering that here. It's gonna be a great ride. Stay posted for occassional updates.

To commemorate this milestone, I took a picture of me with my log book of all of my Maui dives.


Check it out...I have 3,080 dives in this stack! It's so big, it got me into the "2008 Divers Almanac and Yearbook" as the diver with the Worlds Thickest Continuous Log Book(32 inches and still growing!)! Woo Hoo! Looks like I have a world record! Who would have guessed that??? My log book is one of my most prized possessions. Anyone who has dove with me has probably seen it and is most likely in it. Thanks for all the great dives and memories of my times in the ocean. I can't wait to do it again!

Aloha and thanks for reading this! Have a nice dive....

Doug

Wow! We've made it to the Future! Jetsons, move over!

First of all, let me say "Thank You for visiting my Blog." Please enjoy my video clips and short stories I've been putting up here. I'd love to have your feedback.

I know this is a little off the usual Diving topic. It's really cool though so I want to share it with you. Something was introduced to me recently and all I can say is "Wow!" This may sound crazy but, I think I've found the next "Microsoft"! Are you an open minded person that would be willing to look at something that could change your financial future? If you are, then when would be a good time for me to show you what I'm talking about?

Did you know you are in the digital age? First Clue...You're reading a BLOG! Who ever heard of this five years ago?? You might be thinking "What the heck is that?" Well just about every thing we use these days is some sort of digital device either for communicating, taking pictures and/or sending information. We all have cell phones, computers, digital cameras, email at home, email at work, etc., etc. The future is here. Everyone is part of this new trend. Would you like to capitalize on it when society changes its technology using habits??? If you are open minded and would like to take advantage of a great business opportunity, then I invite you to please check out my new web site at VMDirect.com/shakadoug.

Maybe you have the eyes to see what I have seen; a way to increase your income without jeopardizing what you are currently doing. Would you like to make money in your sleep like I do? I'm looking for the right people to join my team. Aren't you ready to get a little something going on the side that can really make your financial freedom a possibilty in the years to come? I hope you'll at least take a look at what I've started. If it's not for you, maybe you can think of someone who is in the right place at the right time. I'd love to share this with you. I don't want to make all the money myself and leave you out in the cold! Check it out! VMDirect.com/shakadoug. When you get there, watch the short video. It will give you a quick overview of what we've got that everyone is going to be using in the next few months and years to come. You'll be really glad you checked this out!

Hey, check out this sea turtle video I put up on my Helloworld page today!


Aloha and mahalo,


Shaka D