WHO KNEW?

If you received all the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," you would get 364 presents. Their cost : $86,609

Chuuk Lagoon and Guam

We returned from the trip to Truk Lagoon (Chuuk) and Guam. The pictures are a bit slow in coming as there are sooo many. Please be patient and check back with us in a bit.

Santa Pics Under Water

Friday night, Sept 25th found Santa Claus in the pool allowing water bugs to take pictures with him. It was loads of fun, as you can see here.

Make it a point to come to Harry's Dive Shop on Saturday, November 14 when Santa returns for an encore performance. Cost is $10 per person photographed. Worth it baby!

Please bring your mask (defogged), weights and belt, and of course, notice that photos turn out better when you wear something in addition to your swimsuit.

Send the family and friends a unique holiday card this year. Blow bubbles with Santa.

Labor Day Weekend 2009

This is one of the best examples of some of the fantastic diving available locally. Everything and everyone seemed to line up in perfect unison; the stars, moons, fun people, comfortable hotel, marvelous restaurant, phenomenal visibility, flat calm seas, tropcial warm water and balmy air and the list continues…other than the traffic on Friday night, it was near Caribbean conditions all the way around.

In a conch (nut) shell,we saw three octopi, some garden eels, a gorgeous purple and yellow nudibranch, two Goliath Groupers, numerous Moon Jellyfish, large schools of Atlantic Spadefish, jumping dolphins, menacing mantis shrimp and just about every other indiginous Gulf of Mexico fish you can imagine.

Scuba Steve picked up a dead shell on the bottom and put it in his pocket. Upon surfacing and emptying his pocket, he found a teensy, tiny baby octopus inside his spare mask, which was also in his pocket. Relax, we put the baby back in his home shell and escorted him back to depth. Unfortunately for him, he now lives two miles away from where he was found.

The other octopi were very large and announced their whereabouts by the piles of shell carcasses stacked outside their home. Imagine how ticked off these creatures get when we humanoids keep taking the octopus’ trophies for our book shelves back home. The nudibranch was of a variety that I have never seen before. It was purple and yellow and all alone. Nature allows these creatures to be brilliantly colored because they are poisonous to anything that attempts to eat them. The fish swallow the nudibranch and then promptly spit them back out. Yuck!!!

And as you can see from the pictures, there was no shortage of baitfish to keep us company throughout both days. A diver could just hang on the down line and gaze for hours watching the flitting and swaying of the fish. Let us not forget the goliath groupers. They are huge and friendly but they know to keep their distance. Hopefully, all spearfisherman know it is a federal offense to shoot one of these giants let alone the fact that they are likely the breeders of the lot.

The three wrecks we dove on Saturday include the Accoceek, Mac’s Reef, and the hovercraft. Sunday’s dives took us to the Liberty Ship (a 400 ft WWII cargo ship), the Red Sea, and Bridgespan No. 12. Each one was better than the first so to say we were blown away is to be modest at best.

The divers who were fortunate enough to have been part of the experience include: Chuck, John, Cos, Russell, Wedon, Steve, Buddy, Drew, Jennifer, Justin, Daryl, Diane, Noreen, Julio, David, and Cindy with Peggy and Terry joining us for Sunday’s dives.

Know that this trip is planned for the end of May and the beginning of September each year. It is a package deal including two days of diving, air re-fills, dinner Saturday night and hotel accommodations Friday and Saturday night.

Join us next year. It’s never too early to make plans.

Cave Trip - August 2009

The last week of August found four friends on the road to north Florida to sample more cave diving opportunities. The plan was to meet our mentor and instructor, Paul Heinerth, for a few days of diving for fun — no classes to take and no students to watch. Unfortunately, Paul was ill and could not dive so…regrettably, we left him on dry land and off we went into the deep dark yonder. Check out topside photos here.

We stayed at Dive Outpost which is a centrally located tank filling and accommodation station. Our first stop was Peacock Springs followed by a trip to Ginnie Springs and ultimately on to “Eagle’s Nest,” a dive site near Crystal River.

The first day of diving in Peacock had us swimming against a strong current to get in. About the time we reached the area where we had to pull ourselves along the bottom, we had a couple of light failures and wisely elected to stop the dive and go back. The next dive was to the same cave but better preparations with regard to cameras were made.

We traveled to Ginnie Springs the next day and were met with bus loads of college kids from the University of Florida. Their fun was in tubing the Santa Fe River in swimsuits. Our fun was in full body rubber wetsuits and going below to venture into the spring water that feeds the river.

We dove Devil’s Ear, Devil’s Eye and Little Devil. The cave water was crystal clear while the river water carried tannic acid (dark brown) from the decayed swamp vegetation, aka mung.

The last dive was Eagle’s Nest, a cathedral cave that is simply unbelievable. You drive about eleven miles through deer and wild boar hunting grounds to arrive at a “pond” that looks like a cesspool from the surface. (It’s not always like this — lots of rain in Florida this year.)

Procedure: Drive many miles through no-man’s land. Park in the middle of nowhere. Unload truck of lots of stuff. Gear up for caves. Enter the water via ten stairs. Buddy check everyone. Descend ten feet and follow the line to the cave entrance. Re-group. Descend through a chimney one at a time. Drop into the clearest, darkest, most beautiful underwater cathedral this side of the border. It is 200 feet by 100 feet. There is a permanent line running top to bottom. Along each side is a cave tunnel, one upstream and one downstream — beginning at 180 feet. (We did not go there.)

Along the walls of the dark cave are fossils of sea biscuits, sand dollars and sea shells. A few eels and catfish joined us but other than that, the mere wonder of seeing for yourself that this was once covered with ocean water is flabbergasting. Sit back and think about it.

Global warming and oceans rising? Think again…

Underwater pictures soon.

Alligators Galore

Because we wanted to do something different yet still get folks together to have fun, we elected to go to Cajun pride Swamp Tours for a day of play with alligators, yay!

Eighteen people got up early on a Sunday morning and drove out to LaPlace for a 9:30 boat departure. The weather was marvelous — summer with a threat of cool rain. For the most part, we had beautiful weather . The rain didn’t hit until the end of the tour but when it did rain, it rained a lot. Sheets of it. But heh, it was all okay.

The alligators, like any living creature, have territories and favorite areas. When the boat passes, they follow it in hopes of a free meal of raw chicken or big and fluffy marshmallows.

We took lots of pictures but I pared them down to these few. It was a tough job but I had to do it.

As the saying goes,“Be a tourist in your own city.” If you haven’t ever done a swamp tour, you truly do not know what you are missing. Take a look at how the alligators follow the boat and how they literally jump up to retrieve the proffered reward.

Thanks Cajun Swamp Tours — we had a simply marvelous time.

August 8-9 Certification Trip

The August 8/9 certification trip was simply fantastic. The weather cooperated as did the visibility in both the Gulf of Mexico and Vortex Springs. See pictures here.

Eighteen new divers learned a bit about what lies beneath the surface in the Gulf of Mexico — a body of water rich and alive with marine life. At times, there were so many baitfish that we simply could not see 5 feet in front of us. At other times, the baitfish balled up and zipped to and fro as though in a dance of life set to music.

On our way out to the dive site, we were informed by radio that a whale shark was cruising the immediate area. We chose to take our chances and go to where the giant animal was reported to be. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the whale shark but we did get to see more fish in a single dive than most people will ever see in a lifetime.

In addition to the numerous fish, we saw a Loggerhead Turtle accompanied by remoras, a Goliath Grouper, Spanish Mackerel, Bonita, young Amberjack, and lastly, but most certainly not least, we saw and photographed a frogfish — not a toadfish.

When we arrived at Vortex on Sunday morning, we were the only folks there. That was testament to the beautiful conditions in the Gulf: Dive boats took all the divers out thereby leaving us alone to enjoy the crisp and "gin clear" waters to ourselves. The water was so nice and the crowd so small that we elected to do a night dive. That was fantastic too. The eels came out looking for us to feed them.

Skills were completed and divers left happy and wanting more.

Congratulations to Emily, Alex, Russell, Leson, Brett, Megan, Blair, David H., David M., Tyler, Orr, Paul, Tucker, Mark, Maria, Lindsay, Cheney, and Art.

Heads-Up Information

This is a heads-up about “stuff".

For those interested, go to our website to check on Chelsea’s updates.


THIS FRIDAY NIGHT 6:00 – 8:00p We are holding another Equipment Demo gathering. The purpose of this opportunity is many fold, the first of which is to encourage you to actually use the various styles of Buoyancy Compensators in the water and learn what features and benefits you desire.


We are diving the ORISKANY again on Saturday, July 11th. We would love to invite all of you to join us but this dive requires that you have at minimum of 20 logged dives OR carry an Advanced SCUBA Diver certification card. Cost is $165 for the boat ride out of Gulf Shores, AL. You provide the rest. More information on our website.


Sunday, AUGUST 16th is when we have a pontoon boat reserved for Harry’s Dive Shop only. Because so many of us do not and have not taken advantage of the local tourist attractions offered in our own backyard, lets FEED THE ALLIGATORS and tour the swamp together. Immediately thereafter, we are going to Harry’s Dive Shop for a Parking Lot Picnic and Pool Party. Bring your own eats and drinks, swimsuits and towels. Price in advance is $20 per adult and $12 per child under 12 years of age. More info on our website.


Don’t forget pictures with UNDERWATE SANTA on Friday, SEPTEMBER 25th from 6:00 - 8:00pm. Bring swimsuit and towel. Cost is $10 per person photographed. We will e-mail the photos within the week. More information on our website.


The Panama City WRECK TRIP was so successful that we are going to do it again Labor Day weekend. Trip includes 2 nights double occupancy hotel room, two days of boat diving, air fills, and dinner at Capt Anderson’s on Saturday night. There will be an added option to stay Sunday night and drive home Monday. Space is limited. Sign up in advance. More information on our website.


For anyone you know who may be even remotely interested in SCUBA DIVING, remember that we offer the opportunity to TRY SCUBA the last Saturday each month at 11am. Bring swimsuit, towel, and $20.


The SCUBA RANGERS and JUNIOR CERTIFICATION weeks still have availability for the children. Call 504.888.4882 or see our website for more information. The difference between the two is that Rangers do not take a test and do not go to open water. They have a graduation ceremony complete with food and drinks on the last day of their week. Junior certification divers take the same course as adults but offered during the day for a week in the summer. See our website for more information.

Answer to RIDDLE

LAWSUIT

Cave Diving / Gas Blending Course

The last weekend of April found Daryl, Ray, Adrien and Cindy headed to Marianna, FL for a weekend of fun with friends with a bit of education and training thrown in for good measure.

The primary purpose of the trip was to get certified in Gas Blending but heh, when in Florida, go diving!!!!

Our instructor, Paul Heinerth and a dive buddy, Tony Flaris, joined in the fun.

We Louisiana folks with many years' experience diving Morrison and Vortex Springs, were guilty of a slight mis-understanding. We were told that Jackson Blue would be the clearest but you had to swim against a strong current to get in. Be that as it may, we NOW understand that "to get in" means a stiff current the ENTIRE time you are headed into the cave. Ha! Enough was enough and we cried uncle.

The next site or cave selected was "Hole in the Wall" where the visibility was good and the experience marvelous. We saw numerous sand dollar and sea biscuit fossils and albino crawfish and salamanders. (BTW, did you know that the blind albino crawfish turn lime green when boiled?)

Our primary goal of education and relaxation was achieved and we had a blast. We met and had a nice chat with a father and daughter from Portland, OR who were as yet, uncertified in scuba. Ah but the SCUBA bug has bitten them now, partially thanks to us.

Stay tuned for more adventures in the goings-on around Harry's Dive Shop.

GUEST COMMENTATOR

This week we have a guest commentator. Here is what he has to say:

“Over the past four decades, I’ve witnessed a lot of diver training, both as an Instructor and Instructor Trainer for several organizations, and as a headquarters employee for NAUI, PADI, SDI and TDI. Thus, when I see scuba certification classes, I tend to scrutinize what is going on a bit more than most.

“Recently I was at Vortex Springs on a weekend when more than 300 divers were completing their open water training dives. I had the opportunity to observe Cindy Caldwell and Daryl Deroche as they certified six new divers for Harry’s Dive Shop. Suffice it to say, Cindy and Daryl did a number of things differently than the other instructors I observed — things that set them apart from the crowd. Here are just a few examples:

“When teaching and diving at a crowded site, consideration of others is important. Unfortunately, most instructors allow their students to tie up the few available entry stairs while the students struggle into their fins. Cindy and Daryl would not accept their students doing that. They had everyone inflate their BCs, enter the water and float clear of the entry area before donning fins. The result? No one else was delayed because of Harry’s Dive Shop’s students.

“Visibility at Vortex Spring is generally excellent — but it can be severely diminished when students are allowed to stand or wallow on the bottom. Cindy and Daryl discouraged their students doing that, entering, exiting or performing skills.

“It was also easy to identify Harry’s Dive Shop’s students because of their distinctive yellow hoods. On a busy training weekend, when all divers tend to look alike under water, it is easy for students from different dive centers to find themselves accidentally following the wrong instructor. The yellow hoods make Harry’s students stand out and help prevent them from getting separated or confused.

“A long-standing test we use to determine whether to certify a new instructor — or recommend any dive store or instructor to students — is to ask, would I trust this person or dive center to teach my loved ones? Based on what I’ve seen of Harry’s Dive Shop, that answer is an unqualified Yes.”

No relation to Harry Caldwell, founder of Harry’s Dive Shop, Harry Averill has nevertheless been a key contributor to the diver training materials used by over 90 percent of the world’s divers, regardless of agency. He also teaches people how to dive in caves.

Newly Posted

Go to "Visit Our Photo Gallery" on our website and see the pictures from our trip to Fiji in October 2008. Join us on our next adventure to tropical paradise. We'd love to blow bubbles with you and learn of your past travels and future travel wishes. Drop us an e-mail, come by the shop for a visit or simply call 504.888.4882.

Riddle Answer

The answer is found in David Baldacci's novel, Simple Genius.
Chapter 49

The number is 84

Let's go DIVING

As the weather warms and the rain comes, the seas tend to lay down a bit. And so it shall be for the SCUBA season of 2009.

Join us on any of our scheduled "local" dive trips to the Gulf coast. We have one day and two day trips. Surely something will fit your schedule. Call 504-888-4882 or simply return to the website and check out the TRAVEL area.

How about a week of fun in the sand, sea, and sun? Go with us to Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan, Honduras this June 13-20 for an all inclusive package of $2200. Space is still available.

Drop by the shop for a visit. And remember the last Saturday of each month is SOCIAL SATURDAY where folks come by for water recreation and hot dogs. Get your exercise by swimming laps from 11-1 and SCUBA diving from 1-4. Underwater hockey is to be played at 5p
We hope to SEA you soon.

Answer to Riddle

Hello and thanks for your interest in the riddle's answer. I am a voracious reader and sometimes come across things I truly enjoy sharing with those who are interested.

I will post the answer in the first part of April. Hope to see you again.

SCUBA Super SALE

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Get a top notch REGULATOR for FREE.

NOW through the end of May, you can get the ScubaPro MK25 / S600 regulator absolutely FREE. That's a $682 (plus tax) item for no cost to you. Wow!

All you have to do is purchase a ScubaPro BC with Air2 and the Galileo Sol dive computer before May 31st 2009. It's that easy. Really.

Drop by the dive shop and get yours today.

Diving Science Update

Excerpted from Dive Business International - 1st Quarter 2009

DIVE DIET PREP

On his web page (www.scuba-doc.com), Dr. Ernest Campbell describes the ideal diet to lead up to successful diving health.

He suggests that in the 6 - 3 days before diving, divers should build their water and carbohydrate stores, in that order. Urine must be "copious and clear" the last few days before a dive because proper hydration is thought by many to be vital to the prevention of decompression sickness.

He also prescribes that roughly 1/2 to 2/3 of your calories should be from complex carbohydrates (whole grains, pasta , veggies, fruit, etc.) depending on the intensity of the diving. If planning a full week of repetitive dives, stay closer to the 2/3 calories from carbs and eat plenty of calories.

Two days before diving, you should have plenty of water and calories in your system. If traveling, you shouldn't drink alcohol - which acts as a diuretic and directly causes dehydration - and should drink juices and water to offset the dry atmosphere of the airplane cabin.

On the day before diving, Dr. Campbell suggests you get a good night's sleep and on the first day of diving, eat a broth based soup, Jell-O, cereal, low-fat pudding, fruit, vegetables, and sports drinks. On dive days, he recommends a small breakfast at least 2 hours before the dive, avoiding high-fat muffins, doughnuts, and honey buns.

During surface intervals, the doc also suggests a sports drink or easy to eat, high-carbohydrate foods (fig bars, bananas, sports bars/gels, low-fat cookies, etc.) and plenty of liquids.

After the dive, he recommends a high-carbohydrate meal as soon as possible and eating something every couple of hours all day long if you're diving again. Beer? This diving doc warns that aocohol the few hours after a diver will not only futher dehydrate you, but will also slow the restoration process of your liver and exercising muscles.

LAST ADVICE
Just because its FREE (or included in the cost of something else) doesn't mean you have to eat it all. When on holiday in a summer clime, you need to exercise caution about living in excess. When at home, our bodies work best with a regular routine, so why when on holiday, do we acti like starving people at the buffet?

Keep in mind that you are not as acclimatized to the the rigors of underwater exertion or the physically demanding environment as you may believe.

Moderation and normalcy are the healthiest ways to help guarantee a safe dive trip, whether at home or under the tropical sun.

VERY Interesting Tidbit

As a purveyor of interesting marine life tidbits and facts, I herein quote part of an article in "Dive Training" magazine, Nov 08 issue. "Studies have shown that some sea hares produce as many as 95 million eggs per month, for months on end. Scientists have calculated that if a single adult produced its normal load of eggs and all of the young were to survive and reproduce without predation, and so on and so forth, that in just over a year the Earth would be more than six feet (1.8 m) deep in sea hares.

If you are not already a subscriber of Dive Training Magazine, perhaps you should consider changing that. If all else fails, you can read OLD articles at www.dtmag.com

The NEW YEAR is here

2009 has arrived and is off to a good start. Despite the ups and downs of daily life, the folks at Harry's Dive Shop maintain that from time to time, each and every one of us is in need of a temporary DIVERSION from reality. Hence the reason for SCUBA diving and all it promises to offer.

Make a promise to yourself to learn something new this year and make it something about scuba diving. If you're not already Nitrox certified, why not make the N2/ABC Course the next level of your training? That's the Nitrox and Advanced Buoyancy Control class. Its lots of fun and adds a large degree of increased safety at the same time. Call us at 504.888.4882