Clean Up Day!

Hi all! Tomorrow is clean up day at Spanish Rocks. I've put a link to Google Maps below. Look forward to seeing all of you at 9:00AM. We know that parking is limited, so we will be running a shuttle to the Manatee Beach parking lot to the north.

We will have water and snacks and PRIZES! There will be surface support vessels and lots of staff there. Look forward to seeing you all there! Call us with questions at (941) 870-4461.

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=113086376350813641921.000467adc71834160f0e5&z=4

Viz and the News

Hi all - FYI, viz was 15' yesterday off the beach in Venice. Not sure what it will be this morning after that thunder cell moved through :-(

Also, I saw in the news today about the guy in Australia that was just sentenced for killing his wife/dive buddy underwater. Such a sad situation, but I think we can take some good lessons away from this happening.

You can never predict what is going to happen underwater. Although extreme, this is a good example of what diver should be prepared to handle. There is nothing you can do about somebody going crazy underwater and deciding to kill someone, but when I saw the picture of the victim on the bottom not moving I knew that there was something that could have been done. Having just finished Rescue Diver class (congrats to Dave and Marcus!), I thought about what I would have done if I had seen something like that.

In Rescue class we work on drills where the students react quickly to a distressed diver (in this case, she was laying on her back on the bottom in the picture). We learn how to take an unresponsive diver back up to the surface keeping their airway open. The key here is that we need to respond quickly to give the diver a chance to survive and avoid permanent injury. The idea behind the Rescue Diver class is to give people the ability to respond without hesitating. One of the things I preach in the class is think through as many scenarios that you can come up with and figure out how you would respond and then when something happens that is close to that you'll have a mental plan already in place that you can modify to the situation. This is how we avoid hesitating to do something.

Please don't take this as I'm saying the response to the diver wasn't adequate - I only have the news reports to go off of and I know that the news leaves a lot out. Please do think about what you would do in an emergency like this - seeing a distressed diver on the bottom and how you would react.

As always feel free to let me know your thoughts as well. Greg

Sunday is the DAY - Earth Day Reef Clean-up

We have been in business for almost two years and are thrilled to have the support of so many good local divers. Because of your great respose to the Earth Day Reef Clean-up, Spanish Rocks will be the cleanest reef around.

Have fun, there will be snacks and water and prizes. Although the real reward is a clean and healthy environment. We'll have a truck to transport your gear down to the beach, so that you can find parking and save your energy for the real work.

While you are out finding debris, fish net and things that don't belong in our waters; Josh, Allison and I will be out spreading the word at the Mote Aquarium World Ocean Day from 11-2 PM.

Bo

Viz Report

Wow - a great day at Service Club park - 84 degrees with 15-20 feet of viz and flat seas! After three dives I found two newly certified divers, congrats to Nina and Chad!!!!

Get out there while the getting is good. Great time to go diving. Greg

Florida - our new home

I know, you read our blog to learn about diving but I couldn't resist adding a personal note. Today was an important day for us. Tom, Penny & I have finally completed our move to Florida. We sold our house on beautiful Whidbey Island in Washington state and the moving van arrived today and unloaded an amazing number of boxes and furniture. We overflowed the 16' container we thought would hold the things we weren't going to be using for awhile. And, now the garage is stacked with boxes, tools and furniture. Where does it all come from? I must confess it was reassuring to see the furniture Tom carefully crafted, the sign Greg carved in workshop, the chair that Penny curled up in during cold weather, the tables my uncle made so long ago, the odds and ends of many years of life together. It should be really interesting when we start unpacking the boxes. Well, back to diving...Bo

Blue Grotto 21 May 2009

I went to the Grotto today and it was wonderful. Unlimited viz and not another soul in the the water. I did get a report from the staff there that several of the springs are flooded out though. Make sure you check where you are going to avoid disappointment.

Hoping that the rain ends soon and viz comes back the last couple of weeks has spoiled me.

Carl

DAN Seminar 20 May 2009

Thank you Dr. Alex F. Brylske, Ph.D. Alex is a DAN Training Consultant.
He presented Part 2 in the DAN seminar series entitled "Dive Safety: New Insights and Fresh Perspectives." Addressing a wide range of topics including: the latest information on out-of-air emergencies; how deep diving affects respiration and carbon dioxide retention; how gender and age affect diving and the psychology of decompression illness. This series is very informative and should be available soon via the DAN website www.diversalertnetwork.org
Again, thank you Alex for your time.

Thank you also to Chris, Seth, Casey, Bob, Jer and Chris H. for coming out and spending the evening with us.

Carl

Service Club Park 20 May 2009 Viz Report

You know that we are always glad to report great viz... well sorry, this is not the one that I like to post other than to give you a heads up... I was out with three students yesterday and viz was 1-3 feet. The rain that we so dearly need is clouding the waters. As this weather pattern starts to clear so should the waters. I will let you know how it is the next time I am out.

Carl

May Donut Dive!!!

(note: I'm sorry for getting this out so late, I know that blogs are relevant only if they are timely and will do better moving forward)

What a Donut Dive!!!! 24 people showed up and we all had a great time, new people to the dives, lots of good stuff and of course lots of donuts consumed. Next time there will be even more donuts (and hopefully divers :-). Below is a slide show of the dive. All the items pictured were found, which leads me to:

Air for Donut Dive: $4
Finding a Visa Classic on the bottom: Priceless

The card pictured expired in 2000 and had a few barnacles on it. It may have been down there for a while. That will be the last time they use a credit card to scale a fish on the boat...

Greg

Legend of Larry the Lobster

Great dives out at M5 and Silvertooth today. Viz was 25' at M5 and 15' at Silvertooth. Lots of stuff to see. Went cruising around the reef balls of the Burial Reef and enjoyed seeing all of the different growth in different stages.

But, most of all, saw a LARGE lobster hanging out at Silvertooth today - missing one antenna. Also saw a smaller one hanging out a little further up as well. Lobster at Silvertooth???? Greg

Community of Divers

Hit Service Club today - 82 degrees and 20' of viz. If you can get out this weekend, do it!

I had two divers getting certified today, Jenna and Jordan. It was a lot of fun since the conditions were really good and there were a lot of divers out. For me, the really fun part is seeing the community of divers together. We talked with a bunch of folks about what they were finding and what we were up to out there. When we came back in from our second dive, all of the divers congratulated Jenna and Jordan on getting certified.

It is a great community we are part of and a fun group of people. Greg

Diving is WOW!!!

Headed out to the ledges at 45' directly wnw of Longboat Pass. Top to bottom viz! 77 degrees! Lots and lots of fish. Tropicals included, triggers, butterflies, file and trunks. We headed over to the Orange Tug and had a great dive there with viz enough to see the whole tug. It was almost totally flat out there as well.

Thanks to Capt. Bob for a great day!!! Greg

Earth Day Clean-up Dive - Fun & Prizes

June 7, 9:00- 1:00 PM
Spanish Rocks, Bradenton

You can make a difference by joining our Earth Day celebration. We are cleaning one of our favourite spots for dive training. Spanish Rocks will be the location. We’ll be meeting at 9:00AM. If there isn’t enough parking, swing by drop your gear off and we’ll get you form the nearby public parking lot back to the site.

We’ll be giving away classes and cool dive gear as well for those of you who show up. We plan to complete by about noon which will give you time to drop by Mote’s celebration if you want to.

There is NO entry fee, so come out and have fun!!!
Join us for the Celebration!

Seal Team Distinctive Specialty Training

Yesterday the Seals worked just like NASA's Astronauts. They were shown a structure to build on the side of the pool then it was disassembled and the pieces and parts were taken into the pool and they assembled the structure underwater. They used great teamwork and planning to get the job done. When one piece came up missing they searched together, found the part and completed the job. Once complete they took every thing down and left no trace.

Nice work Andoni, Kegan and Miles

Carl

P.S. Kayda has video and I will post it when it is ready.

Service Club Beach - What a difference a day makes...

Wednesday I was back out at Service Club doing more check out dives and the vis was great!!! 20 feet! We had very little wave activity and great dives. I really wanted to stay out longer but that is how it goes... Three divers were certified, congratulations to Val, Eric and Brad on earning your certs.

More soon, Carl

Seal Team Wreck Aquamission

Last week we did the Wreck Aquamission for the Seals. These guys are haveing the time of their lives. They surveyed the wreck and logged the items that were strewn about the wreck. Take a look at the photos.


Great Job, Andoni, Joshua, Kegan and Miles on a very successful Aquamission.



Carl

View Album

Get your own

Service Club Beach Report

I have been out at Service Club Beach for the last few days and diving is great. Water temp is 75-76 degrees and vis has been steady 6 to 8 and seems to be getting better as time goes on. I am out of my three mil and wore my one mil today.

You know, it is hard living in paradise...

Carl

Sunday on M-8 and Silvertooth

Yea, yea, yea! Viz is really coming up quickly. Good 20-25' on the landing craft on Sunday (nasty seas though with the strong wind form the east and surprisingly good viz of 20' on Silvertooth. It was cool though when I was coming back on the surface, I could barely see the bottom (31').

Get out there while it is good! Greg

Service Club Today and Navigation

Great day to do an underwater navigation dive at Service Club - 5-6 feet of viz and 74 degrees in the water! Students did great. They are all working on getting their Advanced Open Water.

Underwater navigation is something that you start to learn, but only through a lot of practice can you become really good at it. Good question came up during class - "What makes a good underwater navigator?" In my opinion, there are a few things:

• Always knows roughly where they are at (even if they aren't leading the dive)
• Uses both natural navigation, estimation and compass to find his/her position in the water
• Knows the bottom topography
• Has a mental picture of the dive site in their head at all times
• Can estimate how far they will move in 5 minutes of dive time
• Knows which way the ordinal directions are (N, E, S & W)
• If they feel lost, they stop, take time, move in a safe direction if needed to locate themselves
• They are comfortable with their compass

So, finding yourself isn't that hard, it is really about practice and starting out with a solid foundation of the basics. let me know if you have any questions, or comments. I'm sure a few of you will have something to add to my list above! Greg

Cool Technology

Okay - so, I'm off topic here, but I really do enjoy when technology is used to do amazing things. One of the best uses that i have seen lately is www.kiva.org. Kiva is a site that allows you to make mirco loans to businesses in developing countries. What is amazing about this is that Kiva works with loan agencies in places where simply dumping aid into the economy has not worked. It allows people to start or grow their businesses and improve their standard of living.

You can actually read what people want to do with the money and you can check the history of both the person and the agency that is sponsoring the loan to figure out if you want to risk money. When the person repays the loan, it comes back with interest. I have had one loan repaid and made four more loans from the site.

Explore the site - check out all of the loans that are funded. It really is amazing to see how small amounts of money can make such a difference. Greg

The PADI National Geographic Diver Course - NEW!

Florida Underwater Sports is now offering the National Geographic Diver certification!

Join an elite group of divers who are more than tourists; they are explorers, adventurers and conservationists.

National Geographic partnered with PADI, the world’s leader in scuba diving training, to jointly create this program with the goals of encouraging public interest in recreational scuba diving worldwide and exposing people to the aquatic environment to help them gain a better appreciation of our underwater cultural heritage.

The insight and training you gain during this program will broaden your awareness and take your diving skills to a new level. You will complete a minimum of two dives during this certification.

What You Learn -
1. As part of the National Geographic Diver Specialty course, you fine-tune your buoyancy, then set off on your exploration project. Whether it’s a survey of plant life or a study of water temperature variation, this project is your chance to think, observe and document like those who dive for science and discovery.
2. On your next dive you’ll hone your navigation skills, and then dive into an aquatic life exercise – which may also be part of your exploration project.

• You will also improve your ability to observe your surroundings to get the best experience from each dive
• Get practical experience by gathering information and collecting images to create a visual representation of a dive site, detailing what you’ve discovered through your observations
• Improve your underwater navigation skills and ability to find your way around underwater by using a compass as well as natural reference
• You’ll be introduced to a multitude of aquatic species and be able to identify local plants and animals.

Bo

Buoyancy Clinic (or Floating Around the Pool)

Had a great clinic today. Everyone worked on configuring both equipment and weight distribution, amount of weight and then buoyancy fun and games. Lots of hovering, playing with the toypedo and navigating the hoops.

It is a lot of fun to see people have that "aha" moment with buoyancy. Sometimes, it is simply moving the tank up a couple of inches or distributing weight in a different way to help trim.

The next clinic that we will be doing is in May to get set for local dive season. Remember the clinic is free!!! Greg

Donut Dive for April

Wow - what a nice day on the water. Strong wind from the east and viz that was coming up (not great, but pretty decent) made for a great morning of diving. Also, everyone headed over to the Venice Shark's Tooth Festival afterword.

So, the viz was a good six feet or so, but the water was really calm and 74 degrees. Nice diving conditions for fossil hunting. We came back with bison, shark, horse and mammoth teeth. A bunch of femur bones (kind of weird how many nice specimens we found) and a piece of tuck as well - small, but still a piece.

Carl was out with his open water class getting people certified. It was great to see new divers and experienced divers meeting and talking about how much fun it is to get in the water.

And at the end of the dives, I was able to get a Divemaster Candidate back out to demonstrate his unresponsive diver rescue abilities to the crowd on the beach :-) Greg

Scubapro Regulator Museum

Check out this link - http://www.scubaproregulatormuseum.org/. Courtesy of Ocean Divers down in Key Largo they have put together the best display of Scubapro regulators through the years. The evolution of the regulator through the years is fascinating. Just like any piece of life safety equipment, evolution has been gentle. You can see a number of features in early regulators that still exist in regs today.

The 1964 Scubapro catalog featured everything the diver could want, including regulators, recompression chambers, and submarines. In 1965 the first version of the Jet fin first appeared. After 40 years the fin is still popular with technical and military divers worldwide and is one of the most copied scuba products ever sold. In 1966 the catalog also added the Automatic Decompression meter, a forerunner to the modern dive computer.
Greg

Reef Rakers on WEDU

Good piece on the Reef Rakers on Gulf Coast Journal. Good shots from underwater. And yes, I know they got my name wrong :-).

For those of you who don't know Reef Rakers is a teen non-profit that cleans up local reefs as well as travels to clean other reefs. It is great to see the kids out diving and having fun.

Click on the title or this link: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1529573314?bclid=1532914250&bctid=17995796001

Greg

Silvertooth 13 April

Wow - was pleasantly surprised by the 10 feet of viz we had on Silvertooth yesterday. All that and had the entire site to ourselves :-). Little bit of surge and funny thing there was actually some current running south to north. Not much, mind you, but more than I have ever experienced at depth there.

Lots of life on the reef there, continuing to see more tropicals all the time. Greg

Viz Report

Hi all - first, let me say I'm sorry it has taken so long to get a blog post out. We have been really busy (which is great) starting 14 students this week on Open Water, 4 on Advanced, and several more specialties. Spring break has really had us running at fever pitch. The weather of course didn't cooperate, which sent us up to the springs (both Blue Grotto and Hundson Grotto) for a day. Hudson was salty and cold :-).

We headed out to M-8 today, not sure what to expect. With the viz off shore being almost nothing and the weather we had through, we weren't sure what we were going to get. Boy, were we surprised. A little swell out of the south, but flat seas otherwise. Vis was about 10-15 on the Landing Craft and the Tanks!!! It was a great dive! I got three more folks Advanced certified - congratulations Jeff, Adam and Rick!!!!

The cool thing was that on the landing craft there were a ton of tropical fish. Angels, Porkfish, Butterflies, Spanish and Cuban Hogs, Damsels and more. If you had thrown a Moray into the mix, I would have thought I was at Pompano on one of those wrecks there were so many colorful fish.

Monday and Tuesday, we're going out to Silvertooth and I'll post viz reports both days. Greg

Platinum Dealer Award!

Florida Underwater Sports is now a SCUBAPRO Platinum Dealer! Less than 5% of all SCUBAPRO dealers are awarded this designation.

We achieved this honor by:
· Representing SCUBAPRO exclusively and carrying the entire line of quality SCUBAPRO products
· Having a thorough SCUBAPRO product knowledge
· Having a well trained staff and service professionals
· Offering exceptional customer service
Each SCUBAPRO Platinum Dealer is considered a "diving professional”. Bo

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

M3 and M1

Headed out for a charter on M3 and M1. Great dives. I forget how much stuff there is down there. Mostly the sites consist of old culvert drainage and sewer pipes and assemblies. M3 had the most fish, including several very large Angelfish, mature Hogfish, large schools of Atlantic Spadefish and tons of snapper, small grouper. Viz was 20 feet on M3 and about 12-15 on M1.

We were doing the Drift Diving Specialty - both students did really great today and we had some really fun dives. Drift Diving is a great specialty to do so you are ready for it when the opportunity comes up. Drift Diving is a great way to conserve air and see more during a dive. There are a few minor things that can create issues though and we discuss those and then do two drift dives for the specialty. Congrats to Roger and Gil! Greg

Anne Miller - Marathoner Extraordinaire

The multi-talented Anne, one of our favorite divers, competed in the Publix Super Markets Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Weekend - 15k on Saturday and finished in 01:29!

Congratulations, from all of us at Florida Underwater Sports!

Service Club Beach Report 27 February 2009

Nice couple of dives today. We were out doing Navigation and Peak Performance Buoyancy for an advanced class. The VIZ was 8 to 10 feet and the waves were nice and low. Water temp was 62 to 64 degrees.
Carl

Alpinism?

I was reading up on the latest info on rebreathers and I came across the term "Alpinism" or "Alpinist". It is a pretty interesting term that specific to rebreathers means that the diver is diving without a bailout bottle. A bailout bottle is a pretty standard piece of equipment that allows the diver to get air if something goes wrong with the rebreather and loop will not provide the correct air or mixture.

I am taking a guess here, but it looks like the term "Alpinism" derives from the mountain climbers in the Alps that often climb icy peaks without safety gear (let me know if I have this wrong).

There are a number of interesting conversation around alpinism and rebreathers and what is safe, but I also noticed a number of comments about open circuit recreational divers being alpinist as well, but not knowing it.

The typical argument is that when diving in the 100+ foot range on a single tank, not knowing if you can rely on your buddy to provide air in an emergency, you are taking an alpinist attitude about things. You are banking on the fact that gear rarely fails, you always check your air and you can get to the surface by yourself if need be. The funny thing about most of the conversations is they revolve around how bad a buddy can be - not close enough, doesn't know how to do an alternate air ascent, not really paying attention, etc. I know that some buddies are like this, but it a pretty wide brush to paint every buddy with that reputation.

The other part of alpinism that I find really interesting is that the community says it is fine, as long as they know the risks and take them willingly. In the more technical side of diving (cave, trimix, deep, etc) the divers understand the risks more readily.

A good question for all of us recreational divers to ask is "Are we Alpinist in our approach to diving?" In other words have we assessed the risk, mitigate the risks we can and accepted the remaining risks?

Here are some common risks - this is by no means a comprehensive list, just some stuff to think about:

• Am I diving beyond my physical fitness? If I get winded while diving, it is time to shorten my dive up.
• When was the last time my equipment was serviced? Am I taking a regulator past 100 feet when the last time it was serviced was three years ago?
• Is this what I trained for? Has a divemaster in a foreign country led me into a wreck penetration dive that I didn't expect?
• Am I pushing the limits of the dive computer? Did I skip my safety stop because it didn't seem like I needed it?
• If I got caught in fishing line would I have something to cut it with?

How much Alpinism are we willing to accept for ourselves? Greg

Need a Buddy? More Viz Reports?

Okay - by popular demand (Skip), I've added to the website a bulletin board for helping people locate buddies, let everyone know what the viz report is, or ask general diving questions. We will be watching it closely and feel free to use it if you have a chance. Just click on the "Bulletin Board" button above. Greg

Tanks and Weight

We get this question a lot - how much does a tank weigh and how buoyant is it. A great question that has a lot of answers. When you do your weight check at the start of a dive, the tank is at it's most negative and as you reduce the pressure int he tank it becomes more positive. In a normal 80CF aluminum tank, that means about 4 pounds more positive as it approaches 500PSI.

Have you ever found yourself at a safety stop and had to kick to stay down? Even though you were correctly weighted to begin with? Your tank is pulling you up. Do your weight check again at the surface (see where you float holding a normal breath with an empty BCD) and you will see how much weight you actually need. This means you'll start the dive slightly negative and by the end, be neutral.

Wondering what the buoyancy characteristics are for your tank. Check out the link here to a great chart assembled by Huron Scuba. Greg

Holmes Beach Sand Dive

We are always looking for new training sites, so we decided to hit Holmes Beach (Manatee Beach) just north of Spanish rocks today. The idea was to find a site that will have better viz in bad weather (sugar sand versus the clay we have down in Venice) and facilities like a shower and bathroom as well. The site is actually very nice with picnic tables, nice showers, snack shack and restrooms.

So, we got in the water and were immediately flagged down by the lifeguard who told us we couldn't dive in the swimming area. It is important to note that there are no signs or indications that you cannot dive there - besides the fact we were the only one in the water. Okay, no problem, you just have to stay out of the area marked by the buoys. I also looked at the Manatee County website and found no information there either. The deal is that you should use the picnic area to suit up and then head out to the south about 50 feet past the last swim marker. Of course I know that scuba divers cause all sorts of problems for swimmers, so this rule makes complete sense to me.

Once you are out there, the bottom slopes VERY gently to 20 feet and then it gets real flat. So flat in fact that we swam off-shore for 20 minutes and I never saw the depth change. The only structure we ran across was random locations for Stone Crab holes (about 10 or so in each cluster). We came back south along the beach and still didn't run into any structure. I know that the rocks from Spanish Rocks extend north, just not all the way to Holmes Beach.

Having said all that, however, the site lives up to expectations with viz. Even with the slightly rough surf we had yesterday, viz was a solid 10-15 feet and we found lots of interesting sand dwellers there, including a Seahorse, rays, lots of crab, and a fair number of anemones. Greg

Donut Dive February 2009 - Sort Of...

Went out to South Brohard this morning. The water temp was 61 degrees. Okay, so we don't purposefully schedule these dives on the coldest days we can find. Viz was... not so good. Still stirred up from a couple of days ago. However that did not stop a few of us hardy souls from getting out there for a couple of minutes to prove it was truly not diveable.

The good news is that viz was almost enough for shark toothing. Another day or so and you'll be able to see a couple of feet. I took a couple of videos in the blocks for you all to see what it was like. Greg

Congratulations Carl!

We were proud when Carl completed his OWSI training at the top of his class, and now we can be doubly proud. Because just yesterday he certified his first two students! Just reading his blog you can feel his enthusiasm and his love of diving and teaching. Way to go Carl! Bo, Tom & Penny

OWSI (Open Water Scuba Instructor) First Impressions

Many of you followed my blog for my OWSI Course and IE, so now that I am actually teaching on my own here are some thoughts.
So was it worth it? Hmm, this seems like a silly question but really this is an important one. I have been teaching/training people in one capacity or another for years. As a Dispatcher for an ambulance company in Seattle then a 9-1-1 Center in Winter Park, Fl I trained people to do a critical job that impacted many lives. It was critical to get it right every time and the attention to detail was of utmost importance. I truly enjoyed those jobs. I then moved on to teach dispatchers, police officers, firefighters, and support personnel how to use Public Safety software for two different companies. This period of my life took me all over the country and I even had the opportunity to train people from North Africa. Not all of these people were happy to be put into a class to learn their new way of doing things. Despite the sometimes very hostile environment I still loved to teach them to use their new tools well.
So was it worth it? Yes, absolutely yes.
It is amazing to be able to teach people who are eager, sometimes scared, and ready to learn. But the biggest reward for me is to be able to share this amazing sport/hobby/passion/profession with others. To see the excitement of that first open water dive and the first encounter with a starfish... you say starfish? Yes. Remember that something that may be routine to a seasoned diver is a new discovery to a brand new diver. I have a routine question that I ask at the end of each training dive after the debriefing is done. "What was your favorite part of your dive?" The responses vary from: Wow the whole thing to it was so cool to see and touch that decorator pin cushion sea urchin... Again, yes it was worth it.
Is it hard to do? Yes, it is both physically and mentally challenging, but that is what makes it fun, exciting and rewarding.
Can I get rich at it? Uh, sure that would be nice but it's not likely. The reasons for doing this are spelled out above. Love it, Live it, Share it.
Is it scary to be an instructor? Yes, sometimes. But that is why we prepare, train and follow our training.
What is it like to teach kids? Hehe, fun.
Who is it most rewarding to teach? The person that has not done anything adventurous and is scared and determined to learn. We had a woman come in that was 57 years old, and had not done anything adventurous before. Her sister was a scuba diver for five years and wanted to go on a trip with her to go diving. She wanted to get certified for this trip and was determined to do so. She had plenty of fear about scuba and we started in the pool. While doing skills she choked down panic, sometimes not successfully. We worked very closely with her and got her past her fears. We did so because she was determined to do so. After several extra pool sessions she was ready for open water. She completed her training and was certified. Her sister came down from North Carolina a short while later and they went diving in a spring in north central Florida. Her sister said, "I have been diving for five years and you are a better diver than I am." Now, that is why I do it. I have had an impact in changing someones life for the better. I thank all of those people from the past and those to come for the opportunity to make that impact.
I am responsible for peoples safety first and I balance that with the fun, and there is a huge amount of fun.
If you have any questions please post a comment or question I will reply.
Thank you for the opportunity to live my dreams,
Carl

Seal Team!!!

The saga continues. Wednesday we had Kegan, Miles, Andoni and Joshua in the pool for Seal Team. Assistant Instructor Eddie Kish was with me to assist in the training and logistics of this Aquamission. THANKS EDDIE!!!
Kegan, already a Seal Team Member was in for the fun, Miles has now completed his Seal Team Training and did a fantastic job on his skill circuit. WAY TO GO MILES!!! Andoni has completed Seal Team Aquamission three and has two to go. Nice work Andoni, keep it up and you will be a Seal Team member before you know it. Joshua did a great job on Aquamission two and is progressing quickly. I am proud of you buddy.
Carl (Your Seal Trainer...)

Open Water Class - 16 - 18 February

Three days of intense training and great diving.
John and Dan came down from beautiful and COLD Ontario, Canada. Loving the "Warm" weather they were jazzed about learning to Scuba.
Monday they arrived and we hit the books and paperwork, then it was off to the pool. We worked through all of the pool sessions and finished at 3:30 PM.
Tuesday we were off to Service Club Beach for open water dives one and two. The water was a balmy 62 degrees and the VIZ was about four feet. They both really enjoyed the tour on dive one and were psyched to get back in for dive two. Skills performed and we were back on the beach and headed back to Florida Underwater Sports for logging and prep for the next day of diving.
Wednesday we were out on "Reef Dog" and Lynn Silvertooth Reef. Every time I get out to this huge dive site I have a great time and usually notice or find something new. This time I found my first two Open Water Divers that I have trained as an Open Water Scuba Instructor.

Way to go John and Dan!!! It was a blast teaching you and a pleasure to meet you and diving with you. Next time you are here we will get you some more bottom time.

Carl

Silvertooth Today

Nice dives on Silvertooth today - water temp is up to 64 degrees on the surface and viz was about 15 feet. The waves were coming up pretty quick from the south as we started to leave. I expect viz to drop a little through tomorrow, but am hopeful this weekend it will be okay. Greg

Service Club - 14 Feb

Made it out to Service Club today. Water is back up to 61 degrees already (and for those of you that say BRRRRR!!!, that is up from last week). Viz was about 5-8 feet with a white silt int he water and string algae - I'm thinking it was form the rain we had the other day.

One interesting thing I saw was the SC Sheriff's boat stopped a couple of divers on kayaks. I don't think they had a flag, but it appears that the divers were told to get out of the water.

Good lesson - make sure you have a flag out there. Even with a flag, I saw two boats come through the area on the plane between the flags and land.

Greg

Internet Scams

So, everyone gets these. We get them on a regular basis where somebody wants to book a trip with a credit card. Funny thing is that if you reply, they want you to over charge them, send the overage back to them in a money order. Of course the credit card is stolen. Normally we get these for travel or shipping large amounts of scuba gear overseas.

I couldn't resist answering one. Here is the mail I sent back. If anybody wants to sign up for the tour let me know. Greg

From: Florida Underwater Sports [mailto:info@FloridaUnderwaterSports.com]

Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 5:21 PM

To: 'XXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com.hk'

Subject: RE: ENQUIRY

Hello Anthony – thank you for choosing our tour service. The current cost for the five day tour package is below. Please note that the price is per person. Below is also a list of information and paper we will need to proceed with the booking.

Tour Package “B” Includes the Following:
· Full tour of Little Sarasota Bay, including three dives a day in the sea grass beds. During all Bay dives, the participants will be tethered to an instructor for safety.
· The Full Manatee Experience. We will take the participants to the local nuclear power station where the Manatees congregate and swim in the cooling water from the plant. Please note that due to several issue with highly agitated slightly irradiated Manatees acting aggressively, this portion of the tour may be cancelled due to weather.
· Bull Shark Touch Experience. Your participants will be placed in the surf at dusk where they will experience something that many people have never been able to do – meet the beautiful Bull Shark up close and touch this gentle giant of the sea.
· Pedal Tour of the Historical Tamiami Trail. Participants will delight as they are dropped off in the wonderful hamlet of Venice where they will have a pedal tour back to Bradenton along the historic Tamiami Trail. Of note are the many and varied architectural styles of strip malls in the state of Florida. Please note that participants should be in reasonable physical shape and have the ability to run at least a half marathon at high altitude before attempting this.
· Wildlife of the Florida Drainage Ditch – delight with our wildlife guides who will show your participants the wonderful variety of flora and fauna such as indigenous species of Stink Weed, Snapping Turtle, Water Moccasin, Alligator and if lucky Crocodiles.
· Full suite accommodation at the Copa Cabana Inn on the famous stretch of Old Trail. Known for its fantastic location, surrounded by the best and fastest restaurants of Sarasota.
· Price per person is $1,897+VAT.

If this is acceptable, we will need the following documents for all participants sent to us ASAP prior to booking:

· Copies of passports
· Copies of Scuba Certification cards
· Front and back copy of credit card used for booking
· Photos of everyone for certificates (head and shoulder shots)
· Copies of plane tickets for Sarasota County Immigration Department
· Immunization records that clearly indicate vaccination against Monkey-Parvo (we live in an area with issues)
· Dietary restrictions for meals (especially food allergies as we prepare food with a lot of peanut sauce)
· Copies of your passport as the travel arranger
· Completed Department of Homeland Security Clearance form HG/889-99K for clearance to swim near a nuclear power plant (note that this form must be notarized)
· Completed waivers for all of the activities above

Please let us know if you have any questions.

From: Anthony Philips [mailto:philips.n5@msn.com]

Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 2:32 PM
Subject: ENQUIRY

HiI would like you to prepare a five[5] days tour program in your facility for my Clients.They are From Jordan Island and shall be touring round your state and some other place in your country.they re coming to your country for their vacation.

They are just 2 couples.
Mr & Mrs TenKylis
Mr $ Mrs Bilqees

Arrival date: 15th May 2009
Departure date :20th May 2009
Number of days: 6 days
Number of Guest: 4

Confirm availability and get back to me with your rates and total cost so that i can give you my credit card details for a deposit payment.

Anthony Philipsemail = XXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com.hk

Ever Been Night Diving????

Check out his great video form our New Year's night dive. Sometime around the appearance of the Horseshoe Crab is when midnight hit...

Looks pretty amazing, huh? Want to learn to night dive? Give me a call. Greg

Shark Toothing in Good Viz

Oh, yea! 10 foot of viz off Service Club today. Made a nice long 65 minute dive, found some good teeth and an odd fossil as well. Will post a picture for anybody that can identify it. The temp was coming back up to 59 degrees just off the beach and 57 degrees at 20 feet.

The layer of silt is going away and the teeth are visible again. Lots of fish life out there as well. Greg

The Shark Lady - Dr Eugenie Clark

Last night Tom & I had the privilege of attending a lecture by a living lengend, Dr. Eugenie Clark, at the Mote Special Lecture Series. She shared amazing slides and facinating stories of her many dives with the world's largest undersea creatures. The finale was a video of a rare octopus that lives between 1,000 and 12,000 feet, dancing and swirling around the window of her submersible.

Next week you can hear the man who was aboard the bathyscape Trieste when it made a record-breaking descent into the deepest point in the world's oceans. The depth was measured at 35,798 ft (10,911 m).

The leture series is on Monday nights at Mote in the Immersion Cinema. Following is the schedule:

Feb. 16 - Eating Lunch at 15,000 Feet: Diving on the WWII Battleship Bismark - Don Walsh
Feb. 23 - A Nuclear Submarine Captain's Story - Fred McLaren
March 2 - Ghost Ships and Sea Monsters - Emory Kristof
March 9 - Tuna: A Love Story - Richard Ellis
March 16 - Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style - Randy Olson

Florida Underwater Sports is proud to be a corporate sponsor of this unique marine laboratory in the heart of Sarasota. Bo

Cold water = more Manatees!

A Unique Florida Experience

March 7-8, 2009
Overnight at the Best Western, Crystal Springs and Manatee Tour for 2: $190

The manatees flock to the springs because water temps are warmer than the gulf (68 - 72 degrees). Meet at Bird's Underwater at 6:15 AM for a briefing and then you and your Coast Guard Certified Captain will proceed to the dock area and board one of the enclosed pontoon boats, where fresh donuts and coffee are available, free of charge (hot chocolate and juice are also available). All the boats have changing rooms and toilets. While you are touring Kings Bay in search of manatees, your friendly and knowledgeable Captain will answer any questions you have about the local ecosystem. After the Captain has found a good location, he or she will drop anchor and everyone will quietly enter the water and snorkel with the manatees. The Captain will join you in the water, to supervise your experience and shoot digital quality videos, which you may purchase.

The trip goes out early specifically to beat the crowds. Conditions are usually better in the morning (before other boats are on the water and before the manatees move away from the springs to feed).

You will need mask, fins, snorkel and wetsuit. Take your clothes, towel and warm jacket on the boat.

Contact: info@FloridaUnderwaterSports.com to sign up for this unique experience.
Bo

Staff Education

For those of you who don't know, we work hard to keep ourselves (the extended store family includes our instructors and divemasters as well) educated. We recently had a staff session where Doug from JBL spearguns came in to talk to us about the JBL guns. The talk included features, maintenance, upcoming improvements, and general shooting tips.

To be honest, I have not done a lot of spear fishing before, so it a great chance for me to learn more about the sport.

Some of the best info that I got was on the reason behind a lot of the design decisions that JBL has made for their guns. I am very impressed with the value that JBL offers in its spear gun line. The line offers something for everyone, starting under $100 to the top of the line guns.

Soon, you should look out for the "Sarasota Special" that we are working on with JBL that we will be carrying. The spear gun will feature several after market features and it will be very cool. And, who doesn't want a cool spear gun?

And don't forget about the celebration cake for the instructors! Greg

Signal the Boat????

Hi all - I wanted to talk about signal devices. Why on earth would I need a signal device? Let me give you a good example story. I was drift diving off of Cozumel. The current was strong, waves were about 3 to 6 feet, breaking in the wind (the type of day you avoid being on the surface at all costs). We were in sight of shore, about a mile off and had a great 50 minute dive. When we came to the surface, there were two boats from the dive operation we were using. The other boat had just dropped their group and the boat captain saw our group come to the surface nearby. He came over and had a chat with the divemaster in our group and then left to follow his divers.

Our boat saw our group come to the surface, and saw the other boat moving in and thought that we were the group from the other boat. Fearing he had lost us, the captain immediately turned around to find us. The other groups boat left us and we looked at our boat going away from us as well. Of course we only got glimpses of this as we crested the waves.

The divemaster did not have an audible or surface signal with him (something to look out for when you use a dive operator and even more importantly why you should bring your own). The divemaster seeing the situation did improvise pretty well. He took his tank off and took the first stage off the tank, cupped his hand under the tank valve and expended his remaining air shooting water up in the air. The cool thing was that it looked like a breaching whale exhaling on the surface, so I hoped that at least one of the boats there would come over to investigate, but they didn't. I was the only one in the group with a surface signal tube. I inflated the tube, held it up and within about 5 minutes, the boat came over. Of course, it wasn't before several people had gotten sick on the surface.

So that is why you need a signal device. There are three types of devices and I want to talk about the pros and cons of each.

The first and most common device is the signal tube/flag. Signal tubes and flag are very visible on the surface and boats can see them from a long way off, especially if they are moving back and forth. The distance that the boat can see you from is directly related to how high you can get the device int he air and how rough the water is. Signal tubes (which can double as lift bags) can be inflated either from the bottom or through an oral inflate tube. Once inflated, you will need to hold the tube up in the air. The major issue with signal tubes is that they tend to fold in strong winds, so enter flags to overcome this issue. Flags are collapsible pvc poles with a 12"x18" colored flag on the top. Yellow is the most commonly used since reportedly it has the best visibility on the water. The drawback to flags in that you have to figure out the best way to store them on your tank since they fold down to about 27" long and 3" wide. Either device can be enhanced for night diving by adding a flasher or chem stick to the top. Make sure that your device has a clip or holder just in case.

The second type of device is audible - and is a requirement for night diving. All BCDs (at least the good ones :-) come with a whistle attached when you buy them. Make sure to leave it on. The whistle is a simple type that you can only use on the surface. Great for letting the boat know where you are if you have a flashlight failure. The other type of audible device is a "Dive Alert", which connects to your low pressure inflator just above your bcd. Once you press the button, the Dive Alert uses tank air to sound a VERY loud signal. So loud in fact, be careful with it on the surface, your ears will be ringing as I found out during a rescue session where the student was trying to inflate the training victim's bcd and accidentally pressed the Dive Alert instead and all of our ears rang for an hour. There is a version of the Dive Alert that also works underwater as a squaker as well (it sounds like a duck).

The third type is electronic. New for divers, you can now carry an electronic locator (EPIRB) similar to what boats carry to call for distress. There are two main types of EPIRBs, one with GPS and one without. The basic way they work is that as you reach the surface, you remove the EPIRB from its canister (an aluminum canister that protects it form pressure) and then pop open the device. The antenna unfolds and transmits a signal that is picked up by satellites. The satellite triangulates a rough position for the device and the appropriate rescue agency is notified (here in the US, the Coast Guard is notified for positions at sea). For other countries, the correct agency will be notified. These devices work world wide. With the GPS model, the device also sends up the GPS position every 10 to 15 minutes to help rescuers locate you quickly. The drawback with these devices is that they do require maintenance, testing and registration.

The key to all of this is that you need to carry a visual and audible signal with you at all times. There are a variety of different signal types depending on the conditions you expect to be in. If you want to see any of these signal devices let me know. Greg

New Store Design

Hi all - being new to retail sales, one of the most important things that we work on is how we display things. We have changed the store around with the focus of allowing people to touch all the cool stuff that used to be in the display case.

Please feel free to drop by and let us know what you think. We are always looking for good ideas. Greg

Bayronto BABY!!!!!!!

So, I have never heard as many adjectives after a dive "wow", "awesome", "incredible", "best", "my god", "unbelievable".

We made it out to the Bayronto today. We headed out with the possibility we wouldn't go all the way due to the wind, but the waves cooperated and we were able to do 2 dives on the wreck. The first dive was the stern section and the second dive on the bow section. It was incredible!!!! 60+ feet of viz (based on watching my depth gauge and seeing the bottom), 64 degrees and calm seas.

Many, many, many fish of all sorts. Lots of Queen Angels, Butterflies, bait balls, rays, turtles, jacks, grouper (of all types), snapper, and on and on. There was on point I had my flashlight out and was pointing it into the boiler area at the break and I couldn't see in because the fish were so dense.

Thanks to Scott and Paul for getting us out there and thanks to everyone else for coming out for a great dive! Greg

Brazilian Food Anyone?

Okay - little off topic, but we went out to this great new Brazilian place on Stickney Point. Family run and very nice people. Had the Churassco Misto (Mixed Grill) with rice and beans. Fantastic food, but enough for two people - grilled sausage, chicken, pork and beef. The fried yuca appetizer is a must, but sells out from time to time. Well worth the visit. Greg

Rio Samba Restaurant: 2704 Stickney Point Road, Sarasota
(941) 921-4916

IE Day 2

Another beautiful day in SE Florida. Yesterday we met at Tiger Tail Lake for our Open Water Presentations and Rescue Assessment Demonstration. Class time was 08:30 and I arrived at about 08:15. It was close to 60 degrees outside. We geared up and got ready for our briefings. Each of us had two Open Water Skills to brief. Mine were Open Water Diver Course dive 3 full mask flood and clear, and Rescue Diver Course distressed diver exercise, respond to an out of air diver underwater.

The briefings went well (we all hoped) and then it was into the lake. The water was a solid 66 degrees. Cold for most but for me it was about ten degrees warmer than the last time I was in the Gulf.

In the water we took turns teaching and being students. The IE (Instructor Examiner) assigns problems to the students that must be corrected. There are several factors that are scored throughout the evaluation. Total points possible for each skill are 5.0 and then they are averaged. Once we were done with the skills we moved on to the rescue assessment which is scored pass/fail.

After an hour and a half we were out of the water and on to the debriefings.

Scores are tallied:
Rescue Assessment: Pass
Skill #1: 4.6
Skill #2: 4.4
Total: 4.5

I have successfully completed my OWSI (Open Water Scuba Instructor): IE (Instructor Evaluation)

In a week or two I will have my OWSI Card and will be teaching!!!

Thanks for playing and I look forward to teaching you,
Carl

IE Day 1

The Instructor Examination...

We had an early start in the classroom, introductions were made all around and then onto the paperwork. Once all of the paperwork was complete the Instructor Examiner began his introduction and assignments. They are as follows:

Knowledge Development Presentation - Prescriptive Teaching: Possible Points: 5.0
Project Aware Specialty Instructor Outline, Knowledge Review, Question #7.
Score Earned: 4.2

Confined Water Presentation: Possible Points: 5.0
Panicked Diver, Approach, Evaluation and Making Contact using Surface Approach. Rescue Course, Rescue Exercise #2.
Score Earned: 4.0

Skill Circuit Skills: Possible Points 25
1. Mask Remove and Replace While Underwater
2. Fin Pivot using Balanced Inflator
3. Regulator Recovery and Clear
4. Scuba Unit Remove and Replace Underwater
5. Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (Simulated)
Score Earned: 23

Exams:
1. Standards and Procedures Score Earned: 86%
2. Physics Score Earned: 100%
3. Physiology Score Earned: 100%
4. Recreational Dive Planner Score Earned: 100%
5. Skills and Environment Score Earned: 100%
6. Equipment Score Earned: 100%

This has been a great day and I feel wonderful. I have two skills to perform in open water tomorrow and a Rescue Assessment Demonstration. I will blog that one tomorrow. Time to go prepare my slates for teaching the two skills.

I am looking forward to getting home tomorrow.
See ya soon
Carl