Rough Seas and Good Viz?

Yesterday at Silvertooth, it was rough, but the good news is that the viz really wasn't that bad, 10-15 feet. Water temp has dropped back down to 66 degrees though. As this cold front passing through, we're hoping for some good diving starting next weekend and into the following week. Greg

Being A Dive Professional

I find myself often evaluating what is really means to be a dive professional. In this industry (specifically recreational diving), it really boils down to making it fun for people to go diving. There are a lot of parts of "fun" - safety, logistics, attractions, customer service, etc. For everyone who dives, this means something different.

What separates the true dive professional from the others? Good question. The scuba industry has more than its share of scuba bums out there and I'm sure everyone has a great story about running into a scuba bum divemaster or instructor at one time or another. For me, attitude is everything - and so I don't forget that, I dive as often as I can in a non-professional role.

What is that makes me not want to dive with somebody? When the dive becomes about them. I have two great examples:

• Instructor in front of his students when asked if he ever just goes diving for fun replies "I only get in the water if I'm being paid?"
• Divemaster after surfacing from a dive says "That wasn't the best dive."

Now, in the cold light of the day, both of these comments taken slightly out of context seem pretty bad, BUT I hear them from professionals in this industry all the time.

Understanding that this is a recreational sport and that if people don't have fun, we're not doing what we should doesn't really fit with the attitude if as a dive professional you find yourself saying either one of those things.

So something I look for in our staff is professionals that can make even a not so good day diving fun - because it is just that, a day diving. For a lot of people that beats a day sitting behind a desk, or dealing with everything that somebody normally has to. For me it is the most fun I can have and still be working and that is the same passion I want in dive staff, either the ones working for the store, or the ones that are taking me out diving.

I am lucky - I work with a lot of people that have a great passion for scuba diving. And unfortunately, I also have a lot of opportunities in the industry to get reminded of what the wrong attitude is. As a diver, you should always expect service that caters to you and expect a positive attitude, and don't be afraid to be vocal if you don't get it. Greg

Equipment Specialist

Congrats to Rick and Jason for completing their equipment specialist certification. The class is for Open Water divers (or higher) that want to learn more in depth how dive equipment works and what solutions there are for common problems.

The great part of the class is that students walk away with knowledge that will help them fix a small issue that would normally keep them from diving as well as knowing when a problem is serious enough to get professional service.

Part of the course includes disassembling common scuba gear, seeing what it takes to do a tank inspection, gear requirements for diving and how to set up a save a dive kit.

Scuba diving is a gear intensive sport and being able to solve the small problems makes it even more enjoyable. Greg

Donut Dive!!!! March 2009!!!!

Yes! What a great day for a dive. Viz was good, temp is up a bit (68 degrees) and all sort of life was out today. Thanks to all eight folks who came out (plus another six open water students) to fill up the Spanish Rocks parking lot with divers. It is really fun to see the whole group together. Our open water students benefit from seeing other divers on a dive as well.

Picture of a very happy Welk eating an egg sack.

Viz was great - about 20' on the sand and dropped to about 12-15' on the rocks due to algae. There was a lot of algae growth on everything down there. All of the hydroids and soft corals were covered and not visible. It was a little unusual to see some much quick growth.

Today's toll included 22 tanks of air, 26 donuts, 3/4 gallon of coffee and a bunch of happy divers.

Congrats to our new certified diver today! Max completed the course today in fine style and we are very proud of our newest 10 year old diver! Greg

Great Day to be an Instructor...

The day started in the 60's and warmed nicely throughout the day. I met with my student and headed to the beach for his dives 2,3,4. By the time we got to the beach the temp was in the 70's. We headed into the water and found 66 degrees at the surface and 64 degrees at 14 feet. Viz was 20 feet plus... Like I said great day. Devin completed two short open water training dives and was up for the third. With a fresh tank and outlook we quickly finished his skills and went to hunt for shark's teeth. Congratulations go out to Devin for earning his Open Water Diver certification!!! Three dives down a couple more to go.

Next it was back to the store unload/reload the FUSEmobile and head to the boat for a twilight dive on Lynn Silvertooth reef and Divemaster duties... We loaded the boat in the rain and the rain stopped just in time to head up the inter coastal to New Pass. We anchored on my favorite part of the reef and were greeted by at least ten Goliath Groupers. Viz was about 10 feet and the water at the surface was 66 degrees and 64 below 17 feet. I saw an amazing crab or maybe a shrimp hanging out on some fire coral. It was about three inches across and looked like it was made of orange white and green seaweed. It also had what looked like an anemone on its back. When I got closer for a better look it reared up and raised its claws to scare me away.... I tried for a couple of pictures but I am not sure if they came out. I will let you know. After the first dive we were greeted by an amazing sunset. We had some snacks and headed into the dark for our night dive. It was amazing to see all of those Goliaths sleeping in a group nestled into the corners of the structure. Sea hares were out in force as were other night critters. That crab that I saw was now out swimming about five feet above the structure, too cool.

Five Dives
One Certified diver
Great Friends
New Creature found

Like I said it was a great day to be an instructor

Carl

The Sea of Cortez

September 25 - October 3,2009

Imagine diving in a giant aquarium. The Sea of Cortez is a deep, narrow body of water full of underwater canyons that are home to plankton, the staple food for marine life. You'll dive with colorfull tropical fish and most exciting, a plethora of marine mammals. WOW...sea lions, dolphins, orcas, pilot whales, sperm whales, and more. Tom, Greg & I dived this area and still talk about being at 90 ft on a sea mount and looking up to see what seemed like hundreds of hammerhead sharks overhead. The schooling is considered a phenomenon because the sharks were not being predatory and none of the other fish on the mount acted as if they felt threatened.

The beauty of this trip is the variety of dives, the sea life and it is close to home. Bo

Details: 5 days of diving, 6 nights, 2/3 tanks per day depending on weather. Stay at comfortable Cantamar Beach Resort and enjoy relaxing in the fresh water pool. Unlimited beach diving. $1172 per person double plus airfareIncludes all meals, airport transfers & taxes, Dive park fee and port charges

To join: $200 deposit in by March 31, $400 due April 31, 2009. Final payment due July 30, 2009

Did You Say 72 Degrees!?!?!?!?!?!

Yes, 72 degrees off of Venice with 15 feet of viz. Need I say more? Greg

Go Shark Toothing!

Took some folks out toothing this morning at Service Club Park. How fantastic, water was 68 degrees for the first 15 feet and then cooled a bit. Viz was a solid 12 to 15 feet!!!!!

One of my folks found a beautiful 3" Meg tooth in wonderful conditions with great serrations, good root and almost flawless smooth surface. I found a smaller golden meg tooth, part of the root was missing sitting on the Coquina at about 16' like somebody had placed it there.

Other divers were have lots of luck as well.

If you like toothing, now is the time to get out there! Greg

A Bad Day in a Great Job is Still a Good Day

I had to laugh yesterday - what could go wrong did go wrong. I have to say though at the end of the day I still feel lucky to do what I do for a living.
Problems with the boat (electrical issues), burning myself on the battery, more electrical issues, late from the dock, a crab pot wrapped around the prop, getting an AI (Assistant Instructor) late back to the dock to teach a class, moving a lot of tanks, losing an engine on the boat just as I am docking, and not having any water on the dock to wash the boat down.

The funniest part of the day came though when I called Scott to let him know the issue with the boat and left him a voice message. A little later he called me back and I let him know that I didn't even wash the boat down. He said that is funny, I think I know what happened. I think the boat is in the wrong slip." I said "What?"

Yes, that's right, on top of everything else, I put the boat in the wrong slip. I could argue that the slips all look the same, and it was close (only two slips away), but really it came down to a long day and being tired. Off I headed and moved the boat to the right slip. Of course all the neighbors there had to come out for a good laugh.

Got two dives in, one on M8 and one on Silvertooth. It was still a good day!

M8 - temp 64 degrees, viz 20-25', lots of fish.
Silvertooth - temp 65 degree, viz 10-15', a lot of colorful sponges and corals growing there. Looking forward to my night dive on Wednesday.

Greg

The Gulf Is Getting Warmer

With that rise in the temperature, there is also an increase in the desire to dive.

Divers will be getting their gear together for the first dive of the season. Then they remember that the reg set had a leaky hose, hadn't been serviced for three years, and there was an unexplained leak out of the first stage. The BCD look like the dog had been using it for a winter bed.

It is time to have all your gear serviced. Don't wait until your diving buddy says "Let's go diving tomorrow." and you have to say "Sorry, Dude."

The service department will get very busy in the next feww months.

Bring in your diving equipment for needed service and tuneup. Beat the rush.

Tom

Seal Team 11 March 09

Another great day at Seal Team! Congratulations to Andoni and Joshua for completing their Seal Team membership requirements. They had a couple of skills to do then a full skill circuit. We then moved on to the Inner Space Aquamission. The boys all exhibited excellent buoyancy skills and are on their way to Master Seal Team status.

Thanks for the fun guys,
Carl

USMC Rocks!!!

Thank you to Franklin for the several pounds of snapper fillets that he dropped off today. He and the other men from the Corps were doing a little spearfishing today and in true Marine fashion they were right on target. I am going to head home in a bit and fry them up in a little butter and a couple of spices and have a great dinner... I may even share them with the wife and kids.
Thanks again Franklin.

Carl

Training at Service Club Park, Venice, FL

Nice, nice, nice... Caleb and I hit the water around ten this morning. There were 6 to 9 inch swells rolling in every ten seconds, other than that there was not a ripple on the water. The pelicans were fishing and the sun was shining. VIS was 12 to 15 feet and the water was 64 degrees. Congratulations to Caleb for earning his Open Water Diver certification. I will be back in soon, the conditions are only getting better.

Carl

A Beautiful Day Out at Lynn Silvertooth Reef

The sky was a bit foreboding to start but cleared nicely while we headed out to dive. The wind was down and the waves were non-existent. We anchored on a nice spot and got ready to do some training. The air temp at splash time was 74 degrees and the water was 64 at the surface and 62 below 17 feet. VIS was fifteen feet. Max and Mario were working on their Open Water course and Dave was working on his Advance Open Water course. Congratulations Mario on earning your Open Water Diver Certification!!!

The two dives were great, there was an amazing amount of Decorator pin cushion sea urchins and lots of Sheepsheads. Max's favorite part was holding a starfish.

Carl

Manatee Fun!!!! (well not many mantees, but some fun!)

Hi all - made it up to see the Manatees in Crystal River yesterday. It is close to the end of the season and there weren't a huge number of Manatees out and about. There were about 8 or so in the sanctuary sleeping, but despite us offering our best scratching hands, they would not come out and play.



There were a couple that did come out and were moving down the river, including moms with calves. The viz in the river at Three Sisters was fantastic. Also, the springs themselves were really pretty. We headed over to King Spring, but stopped early when there was a report of no manatees in the area. We jumped in the water at the point of the island with King Spring and found some manatees moving through the area. They were cruising through in low viz, so it was more by chance that we saw them.

I'm glad everyone made it up there and I'm hoping to go back earlier next year to see more manatees. Above is a slide show of the trip. Greg

Diving In Polluted Water

On Friday, a customer brought in his regulator set, Mk25 stage and S600 second stage, for service. He had to do an emergency dive at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a mixture of water and hydraulic oil.

Since hyraulic oil is so destructive to the rubber components of the reg set, to say nothing about being destructive to divers, it was imperative that the equipment be cleaned as soon as possible.

The customer did the right thing by immediately bringing the equipment to us for service. The cleaning process took about four hours for the equipment and was completed within 18 hours of receiving the gear.

We were told that cleaning the diver took about the same amount of time.

If your diving gear is exposed to destructive chemicals or substances, do what this fellow did and get it into us for service immediately and let us know the exposure was so that we can provide the correct solution to the problem.

Quick action can save your gear.

Tom

Service Club Thursday

Sorry for the late post, I did a couple of dives at SCP on Thursday. The water was a balmy 62 and the vis was two to four feet. There is still quite a layer of silt on the bottom that makes it very easy to foul the vis. the weather is looking great for the next week and we will be out at Lynn Silvertooth reef tomorrow. I will let you know how it is.
Carl

Congrats Chris!

Headed out and did three dives on Silvertooth today and Chris got certified! Was a great dive series, viz was about 10 feet (pretty green still) and the temp was 63 degrees. The good news is that the top five feet of water was 67 to 69 degrees. With this warm weather I am hopeful we'll go up fast.

I saw a fair number of fish out there, with some really big Sheepheads in schools. Greg

What is Discover Scuba?

Discover Scuba is an experience program that gives you a taste of scuba diving. It is a great way to introduce your friends and family to this amazing activity, in a safe and controlled environment. It is exciting and fun too. If you have someone you know or you are not sure if scuba diving is for you, you can give it a try with a very small commitment. The experience starts off with a short briefing, then it is into the pool for an hour or so. This is not a certification but if you choose it can count towards your open water class. It can be three different experiences.

1. Discover Only: An abbreviated briefing and pool experience with minimal skills performed in the pool. This is not applied towards the open water course.
2. Discover to be credited towards Open Water confined water session one: A longer briefing with more skills that can be applied to your Open Water course with more skills performed in the pool.
3. Discover to be credited towards Open Water confined water session one and Open Water, open water dive one: Longer briefing and Open Water course confined water one then it is off to open water (The Gulf of Mexico) for an open water dive.

Choose the experience that is right for you or someone that you know and we will get them wet.

Carl