final step will entail participation in a series of open
water dives. The entire process can be spread out
over a week or compressed into a weekend, depend-ing
on the dive shop offering the training.
There are a few skills that you’ll have to perform
successfully in order to qualify for certification. One
of these skills will be the aforementioned ability to
“equalize” as you descend into the water. Another
will be your ability to remove and then replace your
mask under water.
“Some people have a really rough time with that,”
says Nasseri. “I’ll take you to the pool as long as
necessary and spend as long as it takes to get you
comfortable, but if you can’t do those skills, I can’t
pass you.”
█ Another Reason: Megalodon Teeth
Another reason for diving along the coast of North
Carolina, which wasn’t mentioned by readers of
Scuba Diving magazine in their most recent survey, is
the ability, in these waters, to discover the fossilized
teeth of prehistoric sharks. Assumed to have roamed
Earth’s waters somewhere in the vicinity of two mil-lion
years ago, these animals, known as megalodon
sharks, are widely considered to be the largest sharks
that have ever lived — almost three times the length
and overall size of the Great White that popped out
of the water in front of fictional police chief Martin
Brody in Jaws. (They’d have needed a lot more than
just a bigger boat.) They’re extinct now, but their
teeth, which can be found in local waters, are prized
possessions. Some fetch prices in excess of $1,000,
although most are of a size and quality to command
prices in a much lower range.
“People collect them and sell them,” says Dave
Smith, co-owner of Cape Fear Dive Center. “I have
them in the shop. People pay good money to dive in
areas where these fossils can be found.”
In a way, a lot of area diving is about his-tory
or the ability to view artifacts of history:
the 25-year history of ships like the Hyde or the
Markham, the 60-year history of a ship like the
John D. Gill or the two million-year history of
ancient shark teeth.
The author would like to express his appreciation to the captain
and crews who work for both Aquatic Safaris and the Cape Fear Dive
Center, who allowed him to observe their operations. It was aboard
the Aquatic Safari charter that the author, snorkeling with a mask on
the water’s surface, witnessed Sue Mobley’s encounter with the sand
tiger sharks. Thanks, as well, are extended to Shawn Nasseri, of Scuba
Now, who allowed him to attend the classroom portion of the dive
training offered at his shop.
Top to bottom: moon jelly and fish on City of Houston,
morays at Frying Pan tower, Rosin wreck.
30
WBM september 2010