IS News 08

International Scuba
G E T T I N G
Y O U
T H E R E …
August 2007
S T A R T S
H E R E !
Volume 6, Issue 8
Can you believe it’s August already?
Howdy Divers,
First we had months of rain that we
thought would never end and now
we have our normal Texas August
with temps above 100 degrees. I
don’t think the weather make anyone happy and certainly not everyone at once. The weather has only
slightly slowed us down this summer.
Mostly from having the extra fun on
Sunday afternoon of lake weekends. That wasn’t the case last
weekend at Lake Travis as we had
over 30 students getting certified.
There are plenty of opportunities to
learn more before the water turns
cooler. Clear Springs is sitting at
85 degrees, Blue Lagoon is pushing
90 while Lake Travis is the chilliest at
81 degrees. Come play with us
Watch the website in the next few
days as we post the 2008 trips that
folks have asked for. We will have
the usual Cozumel (Jan, Feb, Jun, Aug)
and lots more like Belize, Bonaire,
Akumal, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Roatan, Utila, and the BVI.
Right now we have spots available to
dive the newest salt water site in
Texas—The Texas Clipper. Once
A&M Galveston’s training vessel it lies
in South Padre Island waters just waiting for us to come play. We will be
there Sept 14-17. Please call to book
before the slots are gone
We still have a couple seats left for
Turks and Caicos in January aboard
the luxurious Aggressor.
If we don’t have your favorite destination on there please let us know. It’s
never too late.
Hope to dive with you soon,
~ Patti
Specialty of the Month— That Little Yellow Rectangle
The last few months we have been
catching up with the rain, and now
summer has decided to hit us hard.
Well not really hard, it’s a normal
Texas August, but it sure seems hot
after the cooler weather we were having. The good news is the local watering holes are nice and warm. Clear
Springs is has great visibility. Great
diving is at hand.
A lot of you are familiar with the little
yellow rectangle. If you see it, you will
immediately thing of National Geographic. When you think of National
Geographic, you think of nature, the
environment and exploration. Their
mission has been to take you to the
exotic places and show you what it is
about. Come to think of it, isn’t that
what diving is all about also? Well, as
you may know, about four years ago
PADI and National Geographic formed
an alliance, and out of that we now
have a couple programs, the National
Geographic Open Water Diver Course
and the National Geographic Specialty. Wouldn’t you know, September’s specialty of the month is the National Geographic Diver specialty.
So what does it take to get this specialty? First you must go to a National
Geographic Dive Center. This is a PADI
5 star dive center (or above) that meets
even more requirements. We happened to be the first National Geographic Center in North Texas. We
not only took on the challenge, but
embraced it. Next you will get a
DVD and an Almanac with a knowledge review. You will then do 2
dives. There is some flexibility in
how the dives are performed, and
we decided to arrange them to give
you the most bang out of them.
The first dive concentrates on buoyancy. That is the biggest thing that
we all work on with diving. In order
to be gentle on the life, or keep from
stirring up the silt on the bottom, you
must have good buoyancy. How
about making good safety stops,
again good buoyancy. Do you want
to take good picture or get closer to
the little creatures; good buoyancy is
the answer again. How is your air
consumption? Could it be better?
Buoyancy control is the main factor
on this one as well.
Now, remember that biggest bang,
this dive also counts toward your PPB
and AOW certifications. How’s that
for a deal.
The second dive is about exploration.
It is meant to make you more observant about what is around you when
you dive. What are the keys to
exploration? One big one is navigation. How can you explore if you
don’t know where you are going or
where you have been. The other is
the observation side. We will teach
you both for this dive. You will be
asked to navigate a shape (say a
square, triangle, or dodecahedron
(ok, maybe not that one)). As you
are navigating, we want you to
take notes. At each corner, sketch
out what you see. Is there anything
unusual or interesting. Maybe a
nest, feeding station, a bunch of
juvenile fish, or something that
shouldn’t be there at all? You are
now paying attention to what is
around you, and are able to communicate that back to someone
after your dive. After all what is
the use of exploring if you cant
share your adventure with others.
More about that biggest bang
thing, they way we organize this
one you can count the dive toward
both your Navigation Specialty and
the AOW navigation dive. Not
bad.
Once you complete the course you
will get a card that is very unique.
It is a National Geographic Diver
card. It looks different than any
other certification card. It could get
you invited to join on National Geographic expeditions with people
like Sylvia Earle. What an opportunity of a lifetime that would be.
Don’t forget that this month’s specialty of the month is Wreck Diver.
Its not too late to sign up.
Happy Diving, Brian
Class Schedules & Trips—
at a glance:
WEEKEND:
AUG 4-5 LAKE TRAVIS
AUG 18-19 TERRELL
SEP 1-2
SEP 15-16
WHERE TO:
AUG 18-19 FLOWER GARDENS
OCT—WAKATOBI
JAN —TURKS AND CAICOS / COZ /
FLOWER GARDENS
FEB—COZUMEL
MAR—AKUMAL / FLOWER GARDENS
APR—BELIZE
MAY—GRAND CAYMAN / BVI /
FLOWER GARDENS
JUN—COZ / FLOWER GARDENS
FEB 2010—PALAU
Inside this issue:
Specialty of the Month
1
Our Stars
2
Milestones
2
Oriskany
3
New Toys—DX1G Camera and 4
Manta Ray Fins
CD Corner—
5
Creature Feature — Gold Face
Toby
5
Volume 6, Issue 8
International Scuba
Our World of Divers Continues to Grow
Enriched Air
Harry Doe
Patricia O’Connor
Mary O’Connor
Open Water & Open Water
Paul O’Connor
(White Belt)
Emergency First ReChad Webster
sponse
Leighton Webster
Jeremy Shelby
Tye Arnett
John Love
Celeste Pyle
Brian Brewer
Joey Wheeler
Josh Babb
Rescue
Richard Bennett
Michael Zimmermann
Ron Gleaves
John Love
Jenny Gleaves
Brian Brewer
Jeff Munson
Bill Parkinson
Oxygen Provider
John Benka
Brian Brewer
Melissa Guerrero
PPB
National Geographic Open Randi Walter
Water (Green Belt)
Greg Walter
Sherry Marsh
Tracy Dennis
Jamie Wuistinger
John Benka
Courtney Wuistinger
Mark Grover
Deborah Kurtz
Advanced Open Water
Darrion Simmons
Diver
Josh Babb
Ryan Sellers—Adventure
Joey Wheeler
Cindi Smart
Navigator
Amy McKinley
Cindi Smart
Adam Rodriquez
Tim Casey
Deep
Cindi Smart
Brian Brewer
Scuba Diver
Stephen Cobb
Garen Powers
Wreck
Tiffany Barmore
Naturalist Instructor
Alicia Pol
Ho Lee
Search & Recovery
Tom Barton
Matt Lopez
Assistant Instructor
Bonnie Jones
Pat Lynch
Jeff Rudolph
Sylvia Gomez
Chris Simmons
Josh Racca
Chuck Webb
Daryl Harris
Equipment Specialist
Deleena Black
Christine Jackson
Digital Photo
Mark Grover
Project AWARE
Ho Lee
Drift
Amy McKinley
Boat
Ho Lee
Night
Kay Tidemann
Cindi Smart
Chris Simmons
Sylvia Gomez
Deep
Kay Tidemann
Cindi Smart
Amy McKinley
Tom Baggett
Milestones—number of dives recognition
Don’t forget to email us your milestones—remember you are working hard!
10 Dives
40 Dives
Austin McCord
Jamie Wuistinger
Courtney Wuistinger
300 Dives
100 Dives
350 Dives
Tom Baggett
400 Dives
20 Dives
Tonni Shook
150 Dives
500 Dives
25 Dives
Cindi Smart
200 Dives
Dave Allen
600 Dives
700 Dives
Page 2
Volume 6, Issue 8
The Oriskany—live and up close
The light dawn rain gave way to a calm overcast after our 55-minute ride. We were the only
boat in sight. Just four divers and one huge
wreck – the USS Oriskany. Cool!
mix would allow a brief visit to the flight deck
(130 ft) without compromising safety. Currents on
the wreck are usually light and visibility runs at
least 60 ft.
The aircraft carrier (pronounced o-RIS-kuh-ny),
launched as WWII
ended, served in Korea
and Vietnam. Hollywood
cast her with Van Johnson
(Men of the Fighting Lady,
1954), William Holden
(The Bridges at Toko-Ri,
1954), and Robin Williams (What Dreams May
Come, 1998). But on May
17, 2006, she became a
living memorial, resting
upright in the sand 20 miles south of Pensacola.
At 911 feet long, 157 feet wide, and over 150
feet tall, she’s the largest ship ever sunk as an
artificial reef. (For a brief history, go to http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oriskany.)
For the first dive Ron met us on the flight deck.
We entered the island’s base through a starboard hatch. Working our way in slow circles
upward, we explored cabins, crew stations, a
head (with its facilities intact), stairways, flight
control tower, and the bridge, emerging near the
radar mast base at 60 ft. In a year the wreck
hasn’t accumulated much growth, but sea urchins
have flocked to a new home. Large octopi snuggle in beam ends. Arrow crabs are holding conventions in the companionways. We returned to
the line for a slow ascent.
I’d booked the trip through MBT Divers. Most
Pensacola dive shops run scheduled charters
through independent captains and most boats
are small (six or less divers). I was a last minute
“walk on” with Capt Ron of the Pensacola Dive
Company.
Two tech divers in our foursome planned a single dive to penetrate the hull and hangers below 130 ft. Ben (my buddy) and I followed a
more typical recreational plan: two dives to the
carrier’s island (control tower). A 30% Nitrox
After an hour surface interval, we descended a
second time. Now we concentrated on the external populations of the wreck. Yellowtail Snapper
and Jacks schooled along the island. Spotfin Butterflyfish, Tangs and juvenile Queen Angelfish
grazed the open deck. Seaweed Blennies played
sentry in the deck stanchions. A 4 foot long barracuda circled just beyond arm’s reach. A juvenile
Blue Tang even declared war on my gloved
hand. (That Fish ID course was worth it, Patti!)
Oriskany’s impact on tourism. (Somewhere in
Spain my face is famous.) Wasn’t unusual.
Earlier this spring MBT Divers had hosted
charters for divers from as far away as
Korea and Brazil!
Souvenirs in hand, I returned to great accommodations (with an MBT discount) at
Suburban Lodge Extended Stay, a mere
half-mile from the dive shop.
Since my wife and daughter don’t dive, we
continued exploring Pensacola’s other attractions. Down the road at NAS Pensacola
are the lighthouse and forts. The National
Museum of Naval Aviation (free admission!)
needs its own day! (I know because my wife
reluctantly accompanied me early one afternoon and had to be dragged out as they
shut the doors!) Then there are great
beaches, super restaurants, the historical
districts…
You know, I think I need to go back. Real
soon.
By Tim Ralston
Old Glory and the POW/MIA flag furled and
unfurled slowly in the current at the yardarm.
Bottom time exhausted, Ben and I headed slowly
up.
By 2:30 we were back at the shop – and straight
into a Barcelona film documentary about the
Page 3
Volume 6, Issue 8
New Toys—DX 1G Sea-n-Sea Camera
The world’s most advanced compact digital
underwater camera system!
Manual Focus Mode extra control for
extreme conditions low light or macro
Sea and Sea has done it again with the introduction of the all-new DX-1G. Sea and Sea has
earned the reputation of bringing innovation
and performance to the compact underwater
camera with its DX camera line. For years now
divers wanting to take digital underwater pictures have had to decide between the versatility
and professional features of an SLR along with
its hefty price tag or the limited features and
adjustments of a point and shoot system. The
DX-1G camera system puts an end to any compromise. Some of the pro features include:
Compatible with SDHC memory cards
up to 4GB
10.01 Mega Pixel resolution
Manual Adjustment
Vibration Correction
Shutter Response - .1 second
Exceptional Macro Capabilities of
1cm
RAW, RAW+ JPG Modes
Large 2.5” TFT liquid crystal display
Stay tuned for more info!
I can’t wait to get my hands on it to play! I have
a feeling this is going to be the camera that sets
the standard for all point and shoot underwater
cameras. With a retail price of $1,049.00 for the
camera and housing, the price of the DX-1G puts
it within most people’s budgets. The mega features make it a no-brainer for the serious photographer, as well as hobbyist. If you think point and
shoot cameras are just toys, take a look at Scuba
Diving Magazine’s Photography contests recent
entries. All of the winner’s pictures were beautiful
and closer to SLR quality than previously imagined.
Greg Gephardt, our fearless Sea and Sea
Sales Rep, has helped to secure a DX-1G for us
from the first batch arriving sometime this month.
You can bet this is going to be on top of every
diver’s wish list come holiday season. We have
data sheets available, with all the sexy details,
for those that enjoy drooling over the specs. You
can bet we’ll have our photo guru, George Vincent, give the DX-1G a shake down and report to
you his findings.
New Toys—Mantaray Fins
APS Mantaray Fins You might have seen either
Brian or me diving with a strange looking set of
black fins. Those fins are called the Six Gill fin
and carry the Deep Outdoors label. I have
fallen in love with the performance and features
of the fins, but many divers believe they were
only good for tech diving. There is no doubt they
are great technical diving fins, but recreational
divers can benefit from the radical design also.
Recently, I began to see ads for a very familiar
fin called the APS Mantaray fin that looked
exactly like the Six Gill
only in COLORS! I decided to call the number
to find out what the deal
was with the blatant copy
of my beloved fin. The
gentleman that answered
the phone, John Wagner,
explained that he invented the fin and wanted to get the fin into the
recreational world where divers want a selection of colors other than black. The fin is now
available in a cool, translucent, Aqua Blue, a
pearlescent, Caribbean, and the unique, bold
White Lightening. In addition to adding a few
colors, the strap post was redesigned to hold a
fin strap more securely.
It was very interesting listening to John explain
the evolution and process he went thru to design
this incredible fin. John was an avid body surfer
and free diver in San Diego and decided he
wanted to develop a more efficient fin. John
has spent years studying various fin designs. In
1990, John develops his first proto type fins and
in 1993, filed the first patents on his designs.
The next step was to get the fins into the hands
of the very people that would most benefit from
a high performance fin, Coast Guard divers,
Navy Seals, and local free and scuba divers.
From the feedback and further tweaking, John
has reached the final design for his Mantaray
fin.
What makes the fin unique is that it’s shorter
than most fins. This allows for better maneuverability in close quarters. I think of cave divers
and wreck divers right off the bat, but the
shorter fin is also great because you are less
likely to kick your buddy or inadvertently kick a
coral head. Packing these fins is a breeze due
to the shorter size.
The first thing that stands out about these fins is
the system of vents running along the blade, with
a channel along the top. This patented dual
water channeling system has proven to stabilize
the fin making it much more
efficient and provides a
thrust of power in the optimum direction. An added
benefit is that water is not
directed down to stir up the
silt on the bottom or up to
disturb rust found in older
wrecks. Imagine if the visibility at Clear Springs
could be maintained all weekend like it is on
Saturday morning. Another nice feature is that
you can utilize any kick style. Many alternative
fins don’t work as well with the frog kick or
other modified kicks.
The white fins really caught my attention because they stand out in our local dive conditions
(low to no vis) now my buddy can spot my fins
from across the lake. The original idea behind
the white fin was more ingenious than just high
visibility. John had photographers in mind. The
fin works great as a white balance slate for
digital photographers.
The Mantaray fin has received numerous
awards
such
as
the
Testers’
Choice Award from Scuba Diving Magazine,
write-ups in Popular Science Magazine, Asian
Diver Magazine, Dive Trainer Magazine, Sports
Diver Magazine, and Dive Newswire. It was
chosen to be exhibited at the Inventors’ Expo
sponsored by the U.S. Patent Office at Disney
World’s Epcot Center. It has also received numerous testimonial letters from divers of all
types and varying backgrounds. If you see me
at the lake, ask to give them a test run. I bet
you’ll be hooked like everyone else that has
tried them. We are now buying the fin direct
from the manufacture, so we are able to offer
the fin for a great price. If you stop by the
shop this month mention this article and you’ll get
an extra special price on the Mantaray. You’ll
be the envy of all your fellow divers!
Page 4
Please visit our website. We do our best to keep it up to date. Let us
know what you think about the site and the newsletter. An important part
of our success has been the friendships developed among customers and
staff. That’s part of why we dive.
Phone: 972-416-8400
Fax: 972-416-8507
E-mail: [email protected]
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Carrollton, Texas 75006
G E T T I N G
Y O U
T H E R E …
S T A R T S
Getting You There... Starts Here!
H E R E !
CD Corner — Time for a Change
Howdy Divers,
How many of us have been sitting at our
desk or on a job site and wish; man could I
just walk away? Most of the time this happens after we’ve just come back from an
awesome trip or the boss just yelled at you.
Either way, the thought crosses your mind.
I am beginning to become more and more
about living life to it’s fullest and if that
means making changes—go for it—scary or
not. I am not suggesting you throw caution
or your family to the wind but can you reevaluate where you are and where you want
to do. I made the first step 6 years ago
leaving the corporate world for a life of
shorts and flip-flops. It’s never too late for
you.
One of the requirements of him taking the job
was that he be an instructor. So, voila—here
he is. He has also seen the need for some additional training such as EFR and some specialties.
Remember even as divers we need to have a
resume ready—the more qualified you are the
more likely you are to get the job.
If you remember Jeff and Casey from our
original team, they are still living happily on
Virgin Gorda running Dive BVI. Mike Rowe is
still a happy camper running Sail Caribbean
Divers with his wife Melisande. Some of you
have visited them while on a diving vacation
and have witnessed exactly what they do. Are
you interested? I know I am and certainly Brian
is ready for it!
~ Patti
As I write this article, there are nine nervous
instructor candidates taking their exams in
the hotel conference room next to me. One
of the candidates will be leaving the country
for at least 10 weeks of fish counts and a
life on an island shortly after he makes instructor. Just so you know he isn’t a youngster—more like you and me.
Creature Feature — Scorpionfish
Now you see him now you don’t or better yet, Where’s Waldo.
We often swim right over scoprionfish and never notice them. Their
camouflage is awesome. Some of the time we can see them as we
get too close and their pectoral fins come out to display a beautiful
shade of purple.
Goliath
Now, don’t get to friendly with these little guys as their dorsal fin
can put a nasty hurt on you or any body part that comes down on
it. They will lie completely still hoping you go away but should you
molest them their venomous spines will win.
We can expect them to grow from 7-14” with a max of 18” and
they typically live in 5-50ft of water.
Take a look the next time you are diving at rubble and see if you
can spot his eyes watching you.
Nassau