DiveCaching: The New Underwater Treasure Hunt Game

This article is from May 19, 2011
Technorati: DiveCaching: The New Underwater Treasure Hunt Game

This is a great industry.

We do a piece on Geocaching, the fun, GPS-driven hunt for hidden treasure (“the cache”).

Then the Diving Equipment Marketing Association (DEMA) launches a real-life, eco-friendly, in-water game called DiveCaching, the underwater version of Geocaching.

They have a video on the sport, but it’s pretty basic:

• Divers hide a treasure or “cache” underwater and post the GPS coordinates and compass directions on geocaching.com

• Other divers get the coordinates from the site and dive to locate the cache

• When they find it, they can photograph it, add their own treasure to the container. Or just note the discovery

The finders log their visit and discovery on geocaching.com, and share the experience with divers around the world.

As Tom Ingram, Executive Director of DEMA sees it, the sport is a perfect family outing, especially when combined with land-based geocaching and social activities for non-divers.

He says that DiveCaching can be done anywhere, regardless of visibility or dive conditions, and is a great way to explore new destinations.

Of course you have to be a certified diver to participate.

Some divers won’t want to hide a cache in aquatic areas, or will not be permitted to.

Why litter the ocean?

In this case divers take a GPS reading of the dive entry point, boat mooring point or at the surface directly over the structure, then record compass directions and distances from the GPS coordinates to the structure or point of interest, a process called Waymarking.

They then log the structure as on Waymarking.com

There are about 5 million geocachers worldwide, and DEMA, a non-profit organization, hopes that many of those will become divecachers, adding to DEMA’s 1,400 members.

If you ever needed motivation to become a diver, the new sport could be it.

BeADiver.com gives helpful information about becoming a diver and getting involved in the sport.

Those looking for real treasure will be disappointed.

The actual cache is typically a log book and something to write with, and maybe a pin or a few coins, key chains, beads- SWAG, or Stuff We All Get.

Each cache is as unique as the diver that put it there, and while there won’t be any Spanish gold doubloons, fun is priceless anyway.