D#014 The Dive Shop

Summer is at its peak, sunny, hot, muggy at all hours, day and night.

There is a need for fresh waters, the sea is on a calling... and the mermaid in me had to answer! So here I am, exploring the many underwater worlds SecondLife offers to its residents.

Today, I will tell you about The Dive Shop, a place that really struck me for the beauty of its many underwater environments and the care with which they were made. From the destination guide: "The most realistic underwater environment and scuba simulation in Second Life; home to RL PADI diver training". That The Dive Shop is the most realistic underwater environment in Second Life, I personally agree.

The Dive Shop is located on a tropical island with beautiful white sand beaches, lush vegetation, crystal clear waters, and even a lovely lighthouse.

The landing point is right outside the PADI divers training headquarters; at The Dive Shop, they train RL divers using scuba simulations in SL to get a RL PADI EANx Certification. If interested, you can contact Cilian (cilian.mccullough) inworld to get more detailed info on how to get the certification, the courses they offer, etc.

Right outside the dive center, there is a teleporter showing the different areas of the sim to explore as well as free snorkeling gear. If you love diving, you can also purchase professional scuba equipment at the Dive Shop store on the sim.

Next to the Dive Shop there is a lovely hanging out area with a small market, the "Classroom" where the diving courses take place, and a small marina with a submarine docking station and adjacent fishermen's hut where, in addition to repairing/building fishing boats, there is also a decompression tank.

This was the "above" waters, let's talk now about the "below" and how the two are strictly connected as each "above" area corresponds to a "below" area.

The first attraction I visited was the Zenobia wreck on the Pacific Northwest Beach, where the lovely lighthouse is. The Zenobia was a RL 172.2 mt long - roll on/roll off- ferry boat built in 1979 which sunk on its maiden voyage near the city of Larnaka, Cyprus. At the time of the accident, it was loaded with 104 tractor-trailers and cargo destined to the Middle East. It all went down with the ship and now lays 40 meters deep in the Mediterranean Sea and is one of the most popular wrecks among divers.

Not far from the Zenobia, there is another RL wreck: the Fraoch Ban. The Fraoch Ban (White Heather) sunk off the coasts of the Shetland Islands in 1990 and lays now at 30 meters deep. It was a fishing boat and, at the time of the accident, it was fishing for sand eels. Luckily, all crew on board the boat survived.

Right next to the Fraoch Ban wreck there is the beautiful kelp forest on the Atlantic Northeast Beach. Kelp forests are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth (from Wikipedia). Many sea creatures find their home in the kelp forests.

Continuing our exploration, we arrive at the beautiful coral reef at the Tropical Beach. This is without any doubt one of the best - if not THE best coral reef replica in Second Life. It left me speechless and I found it very hard to leave the place. The colors of the corals, their variety, the many sea creatures living among them... everything looks so real. Take your time exploring the area, there is also a trawler boat wreck on the bottom of the coral wall you might want to visit.

Next to the coral reef wall, there is the "Project Aware" underwater habitat, where divers can learn what it can be done to protect our oceans (for more info check projectaware.org).

From there, the cat's tunnel of sub took us back to the Zenobia wreck and the beginning of our exploration. Just above the Zenobia wreck, there are some underwater ruins that deserve a visit as well, do not forget them!

Last but not least, The Dive Shop hides a surprise which made my mermaid very happy. Somewhere on the sim there is a Mermaid's grotto, a little paradise for all mer-folks... Hint: check the entrance of the "Project Aware" underwater habitat to get a landmark ;).