A bit of background for those who don’t know much about the Island: Corsica is the largest french owned island (3,351 sq mi, roughly the size of Porto Rico), south of the mainland (110 miles), just north of Sardaigna and west of Italy (56 miles). As such, it is in the Mediteranean sea and enjoys temperatures in the high 60s at depth in the summer (and mid 90s on land). Corsica is very mountainous above the water and many of the large boulders found on land can be seen underwater. It has a lot of costline (620miles). One can fly to Corsica through Paris (Orly) and Marseille (MRS) as well as take an overnight ferry (with a car, which is what I did). Those are very large ferries capable of transporting 2000+ people and 700 cars.

Raised in the south of France, I had never been to Corsica and didn’t quite know what to expect (you don’t usually vacation in the Dominican Republic when you live in P.R.). I chose Corsica for this dive vacation because it was a good place to take my parents (for my dad’s 90th birthday), an easy place to get to, far away from where I now live (Boston) and a beautiful island to boot. Furthermore, the presence of a rEvo instructor implied a rebreather friendly structure in Porticcio/Agosta on the west coast where we stayed (we rented a 4 bedroom villa for $2000 a week or so).

I dove with Corse Plongée, owned by Nicolas Caprili (FFSSM, PADI & IANTD instructor). Nicolas has put together a great team with Laurent, Tristan, Thomas & Guillaume. I emailed him in advance so as to make sure he had sorb, helium and O2 for me. Air France was kind enough to misplace my rEvo III for 5 days so he even rented me a rebreather until I finally got mine back.

I did four dives with Guillaume, a new instructor in the club who arrived the same day I did. Diving in a mixed team (OC, CCR) was a first for me and Guillaume was a very good buddy. We discovered a plethora of sites together. France and Corsica are on a more mellow diving schedule that I am used to and people generally only make 2 dives a day (one in the AM, one in the afternoon). I made four dives in 25-30m (80-100ft) with Guillaume, most of them with no deco (Guillaume did have some deco, diving on Air). The night before the last day, Nicolas and I prepared for a Normoxic Trimix dive, filling dil, O2 and bailouts (21/35 and EAN 40). The next day we made a really nice dive to 55m.

Some more details:

• I dove with my new Pinnacle 5mm Merino. It was ok for 60mn dives in 65F water (at 25-55m) but not warm. The suit seemed a bit stiff and maybe a tad small when I first got it but it fit perfectly and felt great.
• Corse Plongée lent me a few bailout bottles. They are steel 65 & 72 I think and as such very negatively buoyant. So buoyant in fact that with a pair, at 55m my rEvo wing couldn’t lift me off at all. I had to cut off Nicolas’ trim weight and he mine. They work well though
• I brought my own Travel Stage Bottle Rigging (one from DR and one from Deep Sea Supply which I really dislike – Tobin and I got into it once and he really doesn’t stand behind his products). It made it easy to grab any tank and rig it quickly to be a bailout bottle. They take little space and are good to have.
• While Corsica has a few wrecks around its coastline, the gulf around Ajaccio where I have is mostly tempered water reefs. They are beautiful, very tall boulders populated with much sealife. We’re talking 60m+ tall moutains of boulders, on top of each others in what sometimes seems to be precarious balance. We saw large fish (Dentie/Dentex/Brem – Merou/Grouper), lots of Chromis Chromis, lots of Scorpion Fish (ate one at dinner), tons of wrasses, nudibranch, quite a few spiny lobsters (juvenile and large specimen), octopus. Often, looking up from 20m, the water would be filled with hundreds of fish all the way to the surface. At 55m, I was delighted to see a lot of Anthias, one of my favorite specie. I even caught a glimpse of a Mola Mola/Sunfish/Mole/Poisson Lune) in the water and at the surface (√-check, it was on my list of things to see). In any case, lots of fish but I want to make sure I put an emphasis on the underwater scenery, those large boulders are fantastic, beautiful underwater structures.
• Corse Plongée has two ‘semi-rigide’ – zodiac like boats with a solid bottom. They’re easy to get into (christmas tree ladder) and out of (roll over). As a rebreather diver, they always let me splash first and come back on the boat last, very nice. Before diving you load up all the gear in a truck, walk 100 yards to the beach, bring the gear in the boat and go dive. Most dive sites are 10 minutes from the beach.
• The rEvo III mini hybrid worked really well. Doing 1-2 dives a day I flew it manually at 1.3 using the Shearwater as a parachute at 1.1. I mostly dove Air. I used stubby 3L tanks that Paul sells in Europe (3L at 200bars, I don’t know what the US equivalent is). I used a 4lbs weight for trim but 8lbs might have been better (5mm wet suit, Steel 72 bailout, steel mini rEvo III)
• I didn’t take any photos. Taking a rebreather overseas for the first time (with all technical equipment) was stressful enough, combined that those were my first relaxed dive on the rEvo that I didn’t want to bring my camera housing (though I did bring my 5D MkII and my LX3 I didn’t dive with them).

I want to thank Nicolas, Guillaume and the rest of the team for being so accommodating, helpful and making my dives great. I recommend Corsica & his organization for diving. You might not find great wrecks there but the dives are wonderful, the club is well organized and Corsica is beautiful.

Feel free to ask any questions

? Select your Open Water instructor carefully. Talk to accomplished local divers and ask them for a recommendation. Agency doesn’t matter much as long as the instructor is good. Bad habits are formed early and so are good habits.

? If you are going to go to a resort to learn scuba diving, complete the theory & pool classes with your local dive shop first and bring the paperwork to your resort diving center when you go on vacation. Do the open water dives there if you want but don’t waste time in a classroom or a pool while in some beautiful resort. If you can dive locally, by all means do your open water dives there. Local diving can be amazing.

? On that subject, it seems you can dive pretty much everywhere you live (I know, there are exceptions). There is always a mountain lake, a quarry or a local shore to dive at. Yes, local diving can be cheap, easy and rewarding. So dive locally!

? Forge a relationship with your Local Dive Shop (LDS). You might save some money buying gear online and sometimes your LDS will not carry the
items but when the difference isn’t much, support your local brick and mortar shop. They will rent you tanks, fill your own tanks, provide advice, organize outings, service your gear later – they’re important.

? Meet local divers, mingle, learn from them. They know the spots, they know the tricks, they know the etiquette.

? CyberDive a bit but not to excess. There are many great online communities where to exchange ideas, buy and sell used gear, meet local and remote divers. Don’t become a couch diver though, do get in the water.

? Don’t rush your recreational scuba training. Yes, you can get your Advanced Open Water certification (or equivalent) right after your Open Water but why would you ? Enjoy your diving, build some experience before opening up to new challenges.

? Many many dives later, after you complete the Rescue diver class (or equivalent), don’t bother with any of the ‘specialties’. Besides Dry Suit training, there isn’t really much to learn in the PADI specialties that you can’t learn by diving.

? Dive Master training can be fascinating but understand what you’re getting into.

? Going past your No Decompression Limit into decompression diving, diving with a ceiling (virtual or physical) such as wreck penetration diving, cave diving, deco diving are tech diving activities that absolutely require the proper training.

? Pick up a copy of the PADI Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving. It’s actually pretty good and contains most of the knowledge you’ll need in your recreational scuba activities.

? Prefer paddle fins to split fins. But that’s just my opinion. Buy a good mask as well. Later on buy a Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) and then a regulator.

? For BCD, don’t buy a jacket style, buy a back-inflated BC or a Backplate/Harness/Wing (BP/W) combination. The later is my preference and is likely to last you for a very long time. Find a used one, they’re just great.

? Learn the Frog Kick from the get go and forget about Flutter kick. You will not regret it.

? Focus on Buoyancy and Finning. Those are key skills.

? Do not get into the water without

2008 is almost gone and 2009 is upon us, it’s time to look back at what we accomplished and look ahead to what’s in store for us. So I’ll start, feel free to add your own in the comments at the bottom of this page.

1. What have you done, learned or improved in 2008 ?

After my MOD1 (Basic rebreather course, recreational limits) in 2007, I wanted to accumulate hours on my rebreather, to be as comfortable diving it as an AL80 but without getting complacent. I logged 50 hours which is not bad for me in a year (20+ of those came in a single trip with Monkey Diving in the Bahamas). I tried to improve my fining but I still have a lot of work on my plate.

I did a few dives nearing 3 hours and about 20 dives with a deco longer than 10 minutes but less than 30 minutes. Often I would hand longer on deco, to get used to it, which was important for me.

I also launched this site which is doing all right, with reviews of gear, tips and tricks, trip reviews. I am also finishing up the manual for using the Liquivision X-link with the O2ptima. I have also started a secret project that’ll marry my love of electronics, computer software and scuba.

2. Have you reached all your goals for 2008 ?

I didn’t have any goals in terms of certification for 2008, I wanted to log hours on the rebreather and dive more. I did both.

I also wanted to shoot, edit and publish a short underwater film that was a little more than the usual dive shoot. I think I succeeded in that with:

3. Have you bought new diving gear in 2008 ? What kind ? Are you happy with it ? Any regrets ?

Who hasn’t ? I set up a BPW for cold water diving, with a steel backplate. It’s exactly the same rig as my transpac warm water set up but with more weights all around (and red on black !). I also bought an AL80 and a Dive Rite first stage/second stage. Now I have two bailout tanks for diving in 2009 (AL40 and AL80). I bought a Liquivision X1 and sold my VR3. I have been very happy with the X1, as mentioned in my review of the computer. I also bought a JJ-CCR BOV which I have received but is not ready to dive yet.

4. What was your best dive of 2008 ?

Hmmm, that’s hard to say, I made a lot of great dives in 2008. Diving on the Nekton pilot with 10 rebreather divers on board was a treat and the dives were great. But going beyond my limits (while staying relatively safe) on the Hydro Atlantic, at 173ft and 30 minutes of deco, a real wreck was pretty awesome. The 2008 dive on the U853 was awesome too, it always is.

5. What was your worst dive of 2008 ? Any regrets in 2008 ?

Hmmm, no bad dive in 2008. I called a second dive on the Spiegel Grove early, last November, because I didn’t feel it. A dive week-end to the Oriskany was canceled earlier this year, it happens.

Regrets ? Not having extended my bottom time on the Bahamas trip a little further. I could have often done 3 hours when I did 90 minutes or 2 hours. Not that important though. Having flooded my lights on the first night dive in the Bahamas and being without them for the remainder of the trip. Not diving enough in Boston.

6. What are your goals for 2009 ?

Become really comfortable in a dry suit. I have had one for 2-3 years but gearing up is still a pain, it might always stay that way. Diving it is not bad but the surface stuff is a drag.

I’d like to do my MOD2, I think I am almost ready. I’d like to be able to reach 200ft which is where I’ll stop. I’d like to do a IANTD Wreck training if I feel like too much of a chicken for a Full Cave. I want to learn how to use reels and such so as to make my wreck dives safer and better.

I’d also like to:

• Dive more in Boston, with different people
• Reach 100 hours on the O2ptima
• Dive in France each time I visit my parents(where I am from even though I lived there for 27 years next to the diving mecca my home country)
• Make thinkingdiver.com a success (not commercially), with your help !

Here you go, your turn !

(Photo by Adrian Soler)