Well, it's time to doff our dive gear, wash it off, and pack it away. Before we go, though, we wanted to say thanks to all the people who visited Divester and supported it over the last two-and-a-half years. It's been so much fun for us, and we hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. In conclusion:

• Bill Reals says, "What a long strange trip it's been. I've enjoyed my time here at Divester, it was a great way for me to share some of my technical leanings for things like cave diving, wreck diving and my obsession with DPVs. I'm sorry to see it retire but the old posts will still be around and you may see some of us on other blogs in the Weblogs family. To all the readers out there, thanks for the suggestions, comments and praise." You can check out Bill's blog at www.reals.net.
• You can check out Eric Brodeur at his cleverly-named blog, ericbrodeur.com.
• As for me, I'll be moving to Divester's sister blog, Gadling, where I'll be diving into the world of travel.

Dive safe. See you on the hang bar!

• Grand Turk, February 17-24 -- 7 nights/8 days - $990
• Tortola, British Virgin Islands, April 14-21 -- 7 nights/8 days - $974
• Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, May 22-27 -- 5 nights/6 days - $TBA
• St. Vincent, June 9-16 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,050
• Key Largo, Florida*, July 7-14 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,093
• San Juan Islands, Washington, July 23-26 -- 4 days/3 nights - $818
• Kona, Hawaii, August 4-11 -- 7 nights/8 days - $1,485
• Woods Hole, Cape Cod, September 11-16 -- 6 nights/5 days - $509
• Bonaire*, September 22-29 -- 7 nights/8 days - $1,063
• Utila*, October 20-27 -- 8 days/7 nights - $1,110
• Anguilla, November 10-17 -- 8 days/7 nights - $975
• Cozumel, December 1-8 -- 8 Days/7 Nights - $544

Yesterday, we featured a short video discussing Yuri Lipski, a diver who died in Egypt's Blue Hole in 2000. Naturally, YouTube has some other clips concerning Lipski's death. In the first video, there is additional commentary (not in English) and additional footage, including some of Lipski's body on the sea floor, his BC unstrapped but not removed -- as if he had been trying to wriggle out of it. The second video, much shorter, is a close-up. It *appears* to me that the second clip is also of Lipski, but I may be wrong.

Warning: these videos are graphic, particularly the second. You've been warned.

Jack Connick has started writing a monthly column for Northwest Dive News. Discusiing underwater photography, Jack plans to concentrate on cold-water dive photography, but I'm sure tropical divers will learn lots, too. Fortunately, he plans to re-print the articles on his blog, so check in often if you don't subscribe.

In his first article, Jack discusses the importance of experience and not engaging in unnecessary task-loading. He also goes over important questions to ask yourself before making the often-expensive leap into underwater shooting. What do you want to do with your photos? Where are you going to be shooting? How much can you really afford to spend? These are some of the questions Jack walks you through.

Tired of listening to your co-workers heave great sighs as they monotonously staple and shuffle unread memos back and forth? If you're worn out listening to NPR's awesome live concert recording of the excellent band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, then check out Sounds of the Deep.

This new CD, for sale through the British Library's Online Shop, features seals, whales, dolphins, and other marine animals making sounds...in the deep. While some of the sounds may be familiar to you, I'm guessing not many people have heard the mating call of the North Sea haddock. Think of their rumbling call as somewhere between a motorcycle and Barry White. You can hear a short sample of their call on the BBC.

I may be going out on a limb here, but I don't *think* your significant other is going to be swept away when you throw this disc on the CD player. Even the British Library's sound archive's wildlife curator, Cheryl Tipp, could only muster this, um, half-hearted accolade: "It really is quite a novel sound, it's fascinating."

[Via X-Ray Mag]

It isn't educational. It doesn't feature marine life. It's not relaxing. However, this 59-second clip of scuba divers battling it out underwater is still pretty cool and deserves to be showcased as a Dive Video of the Day. Anybody know where the footage is from?

My favorite part is right before the end, when you see a head peek up ominously from behind a rock. What is that? Some kind of mutant underwater lizard?

Related:

• 14-Year-Old Builds Working Sub Out Of A Pig Trough
  
• Engineering Students Make ROV Capable of Diving to 400 Feet
• A DIY ROV That Uses Atari Joysticks As Controllers
• DIY ROV for $100

[Via Digg]

Meet the Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel. Its friends call it the WAM-V. This new, spider-like watercraft features ultralight, flexible catamarans and a modular design that allows for a variety of applications. The WAM-V has ocean-crossing capabilities with a range of up to 5,000 miles; very low fuel consumption; low draft; and minimal wake. With room for 12 passengers and an optional dive platform available, this 12-ton, 100-foot vessel may be the coolest, sportiest dive boat on the planet. Attach a video camera to the tip of one of those catamarans and send the feed into the cabin, and people will be screaming, "Faster! Faster!"

[Via Gizmag]

In 2000, Yuri Lipski died while scuba diving in Egypt's famous "Blue Hole." During his dive, Lipski had a video camera strapped to his head. This 5-minute clip shows portions of Lipski's final moments, as well as some analysis of the tragic end provided by specialists. Don't expect to be amazed by the level of analysis -- in my opinion, they seem far too emotional and engaged in the clip to be objective -- though they do help clarify what's going on on screen.

Of course, it's a bit morbid to watch a person's final moments. Hopefully, though, divers can use the footage to help protect themselves against similar accidents.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- comprised of 2500 experts from 130 countries -- the Great Barrier Reef could become "functionally extinct" within a few decades. According to the Panel's leaked report -- the final, official draft of which should be available this Friday -- the reef will (might?) die from bleaching, which occurs when water temperatures grow too high, and which involves a breakdown of the symbiotic relationship between corals and their color-giving zooxanthellae. Interestingly, the cooling waters associated with last year's Cyclone Larry preempted the potentially catastrophic bleaching event that scientists had predicted for 2006. However, the thought is that by 2030, the GBR will likely begin suffering from routine bleaching events and quickly perish.

What's most disturbing to me about this news is that the GBR is the largest living organism on the planet. Able to be seen from space, a dead GBR would be a permanent, hideous scar -- a constant reminder of beauty and life wasted.

[Thanks, Drew!]