Cache the Fever of DiveCaching

SAN DIEGO, May 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Everyone loves a great treasure hunt, and DEMA has officially launched their new real-life, environmentally-friendly, in-water game called DiveCaching.

"We're extremely excited to be introducing this to the diving and snorkeling community," said Tom Ingram, Executive Director of DEMA. "It's a simple in-water activity that can be conducted almost anywhere, regardless of visibility or dive conditions, allowing divers to explore new sites and visit favorite locations with a new eye for adventure and the excitement of discovering underwater treasure. It also creates the perfect family outing when combined with land-based geocaching or social activities and allows non-divers to join in the fun."

DiveCaching is an underwater variation of "Geocaching," a decade-old game that uses a GPS device and simple search skills to locate hidden land-based caches. Here's how it works:

• Divers hide a "treasure" or "cache" underwater and post the GPS coordinates and compass directions on www.geocaching.com.
• Other divers search www.geocaching.com for nearby DiveCache listings and actually dive to locate the cache.
• Once the cache is found, divers log their cache visit using the on-site visitor's log. The finder may also choose to photograph the cache, deposit an additional treasure in the container or simply return it to its original location.
• After returning to the surface, the finders log their visit on www.geocaching.com, sharing their adventure with other divers around the world.
• "Waymarking" allows searching for and finding a specific landmark if you are diving in an area where hiding an actual cache is not allowed. Log your find on www.waymarking.com (sister site to www.geocaching.com).

Divers can join www.geocaching.com with a free basic membership, and log the caches they hide for others to find as well as any they find while searching. There are more than 5 million geocachers worldwide and more than 1.3 million active, mostly land-based, geocaches.

For more information about DiveCaching, visit www.DiveCaching.org. Remember to "Like Us" on Facebook, "Share" the online videos and follow us on Twitter to stay updated on the latest DiveCaching details, updates and events.

DEMA, is an international organization dedicated to the promotion and growth of the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry.

SOURCE Diving Equipment & Marketing Association