Dive Into Your Imagination!

Annie Crawley, AKA "Ocean Annie," has become one of America's leading ocean-environ educators. Founder of www.DiveIntoYourImagination.com, her company changes the way new generations view the ocean. As an underwater cinematographer and educator, Annie has become a Les Brown Platinum Speaker.

CWIC Founder & President Cindi Walters met her at the DEMA Show 2009 in Orlando, Florida and realizing she is a true inspiration, invited her to be a contributor to our blog! We think you will enjoy Annie's perspective and encourage you to visit her site!

A Message from Annie
Breathing underwater changed my life. Originally from Chicago, I never dreamed that I would spend the past two decades living and working around the world. Traveling from Indonesia to Galapagos, Belize to Papua New Guinea, I have explored and documented underwater life on our planet! Inspired by the words of my grandmother when I was only 10-years-old, "You have to travel when you're a youngster because when you get to be my age, you can't climb the mountains!" After graduating from college with a journalism degree, I wasn't ready to get a job, start a family and do all the more traditional things that most of us are raised to pursue. So I saved my money and bought a plane ticket to Australia. There I learned to scuba dive in my second week and then didn't return back to the states for four years! Learning to Scuba dive gave me a freedom I have never experienced on land.

One of the reasons I was excited to contribute to CWIC's blog is because I would never have been able to Scuba dive if I had never learned to swim. From the time we were in diapers, my mom had us in the local swimming pool for family night swims. Eventually, I joined the swim team when I was 9 and grew up with green hair -- due to all the time we spent in the pool. What I didn't know at the time was that my mom had a fear of water and to this day she hates to put her head underwater. The amazing thing is that she didn't instill her fear in any of her children and sent us to swimming lessons. (She was a true hero, my mom...because the greatest of all heroes don't pass on their fears to those who they guide, but they help them exceed their very own limitations.) It is much easier to learn to swim when you are young, but I know that it can be done by adults who want to get over their fears of water...they too can enter into the magical world found when snorkeling and Scuba diving.

Children are 40% of our population and 100% of our future. A few years ago, I founded www.DiveIntoYourImagination.com to change the way that new generations view the ocean. I spent nearly two decades underwater and believe that real ocean animals are much more exciting than those in cartoons. A few of my favorite animals include pygmy sea horses the size of your baby fingernail; cuttlefish that communicate by changing the color and texture of their skin; and Whale Sharks, the largest fish in the ocean...some growing to be up to 60 feet in length!

I still pinch myself when I think about diving with Great White Sharks in Mexico and bottle nose dolphins in Belize. The ocean is the most magical place, and it was all possible because my mom taught me to swim and my grandmother told me to travel...and there is much more to be told.

I look forward to contributing again in the near future!!! If you have any questions, feel free to visit my website site and email!

http://www.destinationwater.com/- A C Walters Intercoastal Corporation

Critter Profile: Nemo the Clown Fish

In the Disney classic tale Finding Nemo, we are introduced a breed of fish that plays several roles in the vast ocean. Their beauty has the power to take our breaths away, and at the same time, they have the power save an important ocean c0-dweller from destruction and transform in ways unknown to man.


The following are several details on the clown fish that may surprise you:

- There are 28 species including the Skunk, Barrier Reef, Twoband, Mauritian, Tomato, Whitesnout, Madagascar, Pink Skunk and Saddleback.
- They live in small groups: within these groups are only one reproductive male & female. The rest of the fish in the group are non-reproductive.
- The beautiful fish lays eggs on flat surfaces and usually spawn during a full moon.
- When they are born, all clown fish are males. (So how do they mate?...you may be asking...) Some change their sex in order to mate. And...if a female dies during a mating session, another male will be promoted to female and will then change its sex. (what!? Yes, it's true!)
- Clown fish range in size from 4 to 7 inches as adults.
- They are omnivores, feeding off of algae, plankton, mollusks, and crustacean.
- Sea anemones are protected by clown fish because they feed on parasites that are harmful to anemones.
- Clown fish are one of two species that can survive the poison of sea anemones. A mucous membrane coats their bodies for protection.
- They prefer the warmer waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans.
- Find clown fish at these favorite dive & snorkel destinations: Great Barrier Reef, Red Sea, Fiji, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives and Indonesia.

On your next snorkel or dive trip with clown fish...or in an aquarium...or Nemo on the big screen, be amazed! These lil' critters are truly heroes in their own right.

Want to win a free snorkel set? Be the first to tell us where Nemo's father finally rescued him, and you will be the winner of a Body Glove Professional Dive Set!

Go to the following link and fill out the simple form (please enter your answer into the phone number field of the form):
http://www.destinationwater.com/landing_page.asp

- Posted by Jen of CWIC

http://www.destinationwater.com/- A C Walters Intercoastal Corporation

The History Of Fins

What do you call the big rubber shoes you throw on your feet to help you gain an edge in the water? Swim fins, shin fins (also used as a curse word in some countries) or flippers? Perhaps you have a very special name for them (if so let us know). Here at DestinationWater.com we call them fins. Fins are worn on the foot, adding length and propulsion to each of your kicks in the water. Hi-Tech fins are like great sunglasses – our friends in Italy know this to be true. Style, form and function mean one thing - Italian designed and manufactured. Great fins should have the style of a Ferrari and the performance of a Lamborghini. In water language that means a blade that delivers a tremendous amount of power with minimal expenditure of energy. Rubber center section cups water in the down stroke to prevent blade from wobbling or side slipping. In basic terms – you look good when you’re swimming through the deep blue and more importantly you cover more water, faster and with less effort. All of this adds up to more time in the water, exploring one of nature’s greatest resources by swimming, body boarding, bodysurfing and various types of underwater diving.

Unlike Aquaman, who can dash through the water like a great blue or black marlin, the average diver/swimmer cannot effectively use their feet to move through the water. Your toes may be great for helping you count when you need to get past the number 10 but are horrible at underwater propulsion. If you are a diver, adding equipment that increases hydrodynamic drag (you did not wake up and expect to read a hydrodynamic drag, dropping it like its hot blog style – way. Also, hydrodynamic is a triple word score when playing Scrabble; thank your friends at DestinationWater.com when you take home the gold in the international Scrabble competition). Anyways, when you are geared up underwater your feet and toes are no help in moving you through the water. Aquaman can swim circles and squares around you. That is why swimmers and divers, in an effort to be more like Aqua Man, use swim fins….

So what fins will work for you? Depends on what water activity you are in too. Nice shades are made for specific reasons – driving, golfing, fishing, outdoor sports, etc. The same holds true for fins. A fin that will have you darting through the cool blue waters of the Pacific Ocean will not have the same affect in your 12ft X 30ft above ground pool. Fins are specially designed for special activities – a fun day of snorkeling, a day of laps in the pool, a free dive to explore the deep blue – you name the activity and there is a fin designed for it.

Figure out what water activities you want to do, then visit us at http://www.destinationwater.com/ . We have sets, combos and standalone products. Each product is loaded up with information ensuring you get the product you want and you know where you can buy it…

Maximize your time in the water with the right products and never forget the immortal words of Aquaman – “You know not all my friends have fins.”

Maybe you can be a friend. And with the right fins, you might even be able to keep up with the legendary superhero of the deep…

http://www.destinationwater.com/
- A C Walters Intercoastal Corporation