What is Under the Water?

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Last week I called some attention to skydiving in Second Life. Today I decided to see what was under the water, so I donned mask, flippers and scuba tank and set out to find treasure.

I went to the search feature and did a search for scuba diving and was somewhat surprised at how many listings were returned.

This was not my first time to take a swim beneath the waves of Second Life, but I found this virtual sport to have grown considerably since the last time I took a dive. I would like to report that every spot which came up in the search that listed scuba diving was extremely well done, but that would be an overly optimistic statement. I do have to admit that the underwater scenery located at several of the dive sites have come a long way.

Some of the dive areas are quite well done considering the value of prims in a Second Life area. I was quite impressed with the beauty of several of the virtual reefs I dove upon today, and hope this post encourages you to give virtual scuba diving a try.

There are many place where you can find scuba equipment and the price ranges varies considerably. The one thing I didn’t find was a buoyancy compensator. There are tanks which produce bubbles and bubble sounds, weight belts, dive knives, regulators, masks, flexi fins, and dive watches located at several vendors through out Second Life.

Being a scuba diver in real life, I have a deep respect for the oceans and the life within those bodies of water. I ran upon Reef Ball Foundation, Inc. (location in Second Life) who’s real life website is located here. Reef Ball Foundation’s mission is to restore our world’s ocean ecosystems and to protect the oceans natural reef systems. In an effort to increase the reefs around the world they use Reef Ball artificial reef technology, an innovative coral propagation and transplant system, public education, and training communities to build, restore and protect reefs. Their projects include artificial reefs, estuary restoration, red mangrove plantings, oyster reef creation, coral propagation, advise for biological recovery from disasters, erosion control, education on preserving natural reefs, which includes the world’s most practical and advanced reef rehabilitation systems now in use.

If you have time please visit their website. You may even find you would like to become active in the protection, or regrowth of some of our oceans more valuable creatures.

Tell me what you think about virtual scuba diving, or about the peril our oceans are facing and what could we best do to help.