Dive Blog | Do Dive In

The underwater world is fascinating and beautiful, but before your first dive it is important to understand the necessary preparations to ensure your safety, as well as an enjoyable experience. Scuba diving in Illinois may be a bit safer than taking a plunge in the open ocean, but that’s not to say a diver shouldn’t be prepared. Here are a few tips to remember when preparing for a first dive. [Read more]

Every year, thousands of people scuba dive into oceans, rivers, and lakes all around the world with hopes of finding beautiful sights and experiencing the world below the surface. But sometimes, things don’t always go as planned, which is where rescue divers come in. There are three things a rescue diver must always remember: Use the Water, Stay Confident, and Follow the Rules. [Read more]

Becoming a strong scuba diver starts with mastering basic diving skills. Advanced diving and tech diving build on these skills, so it’s especially important that you are comfortable and confident with these fundamentals. From clearing your mask to finding a lost regulator, here are the top four basic skills to master that will lay the foundation for safe diving – whether you’re exploring quarries in Illinois or swimming over a coral reef in the Caribbean. [Read more]

Frustrated with short bottom times? Ready to stay down longer on your scuba dives? If you’ve been breathing regular compressed air, switching to Nitrox, which is an enriched air mixture, can help you stay down longer. Becoming Nitrox certified is also important if you wish to do any Illinois tech diving, as tech divers use several different enriched air mixtures while diving. [Read more]

One of the most important aspects of diving, whether you are sport diving or technical diving in Illinois, are effective gas management skills. Once you make a descent beneath the surface of the water, running out of gas is not a viable option! This is especially true for technical divers that frequently put themselves into more complicated underwater situations that make a direct return to the surface exceedingly difficult. This is why it is so important to have a solid understanding of gas management skills prior to setting out for the water. [Read more]

Tech Rec diving is a step above traditional sport diving due to the variety of new environments that the equipment and training allow you to explore. If the attractions of the open water that you experience while doing a traditional dive is not satisfying your deep sea curiosity, then technical diving may be the right next step for you. [Read more]

Ten Do Dive In divers escaped the cool, wet spring of Central Illinois April 2 -7 for the sun, warmth and diving of Grand Cayman.  Our home for the week was the venerable Sunset House, one of Grand Cayman’s oldest and most popular dedicated dive resort .    It didn’t take the group long to get […]

The Pennyroyal Blue Springs diving site is located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, an easy 80 mile drive from the Mermet Springs dive here in Illinois. The quarry at Pennyroyal Blue Springs ranges from five feet to 120 feet deep, and offers over 40 underwater attractions; ensuring a level and interest for divers of all ages and skill sets. [Read more]

The Bonne Terre Mine is the world’s largest fresh water dive resort located not very far away, in Bonne Terra Missouri. This national historic site offers a dive experience unlike any other. The history of this dive site goes back to the middle of the 18th century when the French first began mining in the region. Centuries of abandoned history lay beneath the Earth at this site, promising an intriguing adventure. [Read more]

Located in Kankakee, Illinois, two hours from Peoria, Haigh Quarry is one of our favorite dive destinations in the Midwest. Haigh is an old limestone quarry with sheer rock walls, rock piles depths of up to 85 feet, and a healthy and diverse fish population that include sunfish, bass, northern pike, catfish, & spoon bill catfish. The north end of the lake is relatively shallow with depths of between 20 – 30 feet deep, and is a favorite location for northern Illinois dive stores to conduct their training dives. [Read more]