Jana "Hot-Rod" Strain of Eco Dive Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Jana strain

I did my open water training in Southern California with Eco Dive Center. When I went into the shop to pick up my rental gear the first question I asked was have you ever seen a Great White? The divemaster working in the shop said he knew hundreds of divers and the only ones who had seen a Great White were divers who paid a lot of money to do so. Initially I was afraid of seeing a shark underwater, but by dive 6 I was ready to see some big animals. Lucky I was in St. Maarten and one of the local shops offered a Caribbean Reef Shark dive. It was incredible to see the way the feeder interacted with the sharks they were like 8 foot puppies! Now I travel around the world to get the opportunity to dive with all kinds of sharks. That experience taught me the we are not shark prey and that I had no reason to be scared. Immediately diving became a huge passion of mine! I came back from that trip and immediately started continuing my diver education. I did my Advanced, Nitrox, Deep, National Geographic, Rescue and Divemaster in a matter of months. It is a joy to be a SCUBA instructor. I get to watch divers gain confidence and comfort from setting up their gear to mastering hovering. There are so many different ways to experience the underwater world. When I’m not teaching I love to take vacations on live aboard scuba boats, you get experience the best dive sites and it’s a great way to get 20+ dives in a week! SPECIALTY RATINGS  Deep, Nitrox, Night, Wreck, Diver Propulsion Vehicle, Boat, Drift, Equipment Specialist, Multilevel and Search and Recovery. NUMBER OF DIVES 145 as of Aug 23, 2007, including dives in Ecuador, British Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Grand Turk, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Thailand. BEST EXPERIENCE There have been many moments on SCUBA that have taken my breath away. I was a new diver and went to B.V.I to dive the Wreck of the Rhone. This is a magnificent dive site. It is in and underwater preserve so there is no anchoring or hunting, which means the environment is pristine and the residents are large. From the surface you could see the bottom (80 feet). As we descended onto the wreck there were large schools of fish all around, beautiful brightly colored corals, huge lobsters, turtles and puffer fish (my favorite). This was the first time I swam through a wreck and this is where my love of wreck diving started. B.V.I. was also the first time I dove in just a swim suit, with only 3 pounds! MY GEARRegs – Aqua Lung Legend LX ACD Supreme – I originally bought this set up because I saw so many dive professionals that dove with it, plus it gave me the greatest ease of breathing. The regs are adjustable to assist with easier breathing at depth and it also helps me use less air on swallowed dives. This particular reg is also rated for cold water diving! This is truly one of best regs on the market, and Aqua lung is a name that I trust!   – Aqua Lung Mistral Double Hose – This is a great set up for underwater photography. The bubbles come out behind your head, so fish come closer and it’s less noisy. BCD – OMS IQ Pack –  with a steel back plate and a single bladder back inflate. I bought this set up because I wanted to take some weight off my weight belt, plus I liked the option that I can dive doubles with this set up. You can customize these setups, mine is extremely streamlined without pockets, any additional gear I take on the dive with me I just clip to my d-rings (lights).  – Sea Quest Libra – This is the BCD I dive with when I travel and teach students in the pool. It is light weight and comfortable with many ways to adjust for the perfect fit around a woman’s curvy body. It has integrated weight pockets and is built very similar to the rental BCD, except this again is a back inflate for better streamlining underwater. Computer  – Suunto D9 w/ Transmitter – This is one of the most stylish computers around. It’s made of titanium and fairly compact. The screen is easy to read and offers the ability to view your dive profile right on your wrist. Owning a dive computer with a transmitter also helps you get streamlined by giving you the option of removing a hose from your 1^st stage.  – Suunto Cobra2 – with quick disconnect for easy cleaning and filling out dive logs. Because I dive a lot I dive with two computers. Suunto is a great brand because all of their computers use the same buttons to access the different menus. Meaning if you can use one of their computer you can use them all easily. The cobra2 is airintegrated with a digital compass. Like the D9 I can view my entire dive profile on the screen. Fins  Again I have two sets of fins, Atomic Split Fins and Aqua Lung Blades 2 Flex, depending on which boots I’m wearing dictates what fins I use. Both fins have easy to use quick releases and I’m able to move effectively with little effort underwater.   

SCUBA ASPIRATIONS Once you achieve a professional SCUBA rating it is really the beginning of your education. I plan on continuing to train and one day earn my IDC Staff Instructor rating. I’m looking forward to going to the Philippines with Eco in April. Other places that I would like to travel include the Artic, Antarctica and Maldives. Some creatures I hope to one day get the honor of diving with are Swordfish, Humble Squid, Orcas, Great White, Tiger and Whale Sharks.