Travel

North Carolina -- August 6 - 8
The best wreck diving in this hemisphere is right off the North Carolina coast. And we have a trip scheduled to visit some of these great wrecks. We will be heading to Morehead City, NC on Friday, August 6th (or earlier). We have rooms reserved at the Hampton Inn and a boat chartered for both Saturday and Sunday. It is also possible to go down earlier as some of our people are planning on diving Friday as well. The cost of the trip is $350, the same as last year. You can stay Thursday and dive Friday for only $150 additional. Same price as the last two years and a great deal.

Bonaire – August 14 – 21
It is family month in Bonaire and we are heading back. We have a group at Lion’s Dive as well as another group at Buddy Dive this year. Both resorts are on the beach with good diving right off the dock. To get your heart racing, try a night dive right off the dock. There are a couple of big tarpon that will trail along behind you while you are diving. The flash of silver as your light hits them will get your attention. We stay in condos with a full living room, dining room and kitchen. It is a great way to do a trip. Diving includes 6 boat dives and unlimited beach diving. Kids 12 and under can stay free in your condo. Call and ask me for details. The trip includes air, condos, diving, and rental cars. We have 54 spots sold. I am not even sure that I can still get you a spot, but I’ll give it a try. This just shows you how popular our trips are. The price of the trip is $1550. Let me know soon if you are interested.

Cozumel – October 16 – 23
Our infamous Cozumel trip is scheduled again for October, 2004. And it is a pretty good deal to boot. We will once again be staying at the Reef Club with all meals, drinks, accommodations, and 5 days of diving included. Airfare is included as well. And the cost is only $1495!! We even include a lobster or steak night at a great restaurant in town and the tips for the divemaster. There is just not much that you have to worry about. This trip, too, often fills up, so don’t wait to make your reservation. You could well miss out. Cozumel is considered by many to have some of the best diving in the Caribbean. Don’t miss it.

In the Near Future
We are looking at a number of trips coming up. We will have a weekend trip to the Bahamas in October, and one to Cayman in December. We are looking at several possibilities for Thanksgiving week. Then there is Bonaire again over the winter (February or March) and we are considering either Galapagos or Truk, Palau, & Yap for next summer. We will keep you posted as things develop. Also, let us know what interests you then make sure that you check our website, www.diveunderwaterworld.com.

Travel Notes
It is important to remember that all prices are based on double occupancy and on current airfares. Unfortunately airfares can change up until we actually purchase the tickets. (Then, of course, the airlines charge a penalty for any changes, if they allow changes). This is usually not a problem, but it can happen. Remember that on most trips you can supply your own airfare. Many people today think that they can find cheaper airfares on the web, and that works fine for us. (See the following article). Also please note that if you are signing up alone, we will try to line up a roommate for you, however, if we cannot there will be an additional charge for a single supplement. Again, this is not something under our control and we must pass this charge along. We also recommend trip cancellation insurance. If you do need to cancel the trip, there may be penalties that are not under our control.

Courses

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Advanced Diver Course
Summer is here and Advanced Courses are under way. If you have just completed your Scuba Diver course, have been away from diving for a while, or just want to hone your skills, then you should take the Advanced Scuba Diver Course. The course is one weekend, six dives. We work on navigation, advanced buoyancy control, and night diving, as well as air consumption and more. Every diver should take this course. It is only $125. click here for dates

Rescue Diver -- June 19 & 20
This is another course that every diver should take. It is much more than teaching you how to rescue other divers. Diving is a really safe sport because we are very safety conscious. The trick is not to just be ready to react to a crisis, but to stop the crisis from occurring. We will teach you to recognize dangerous situations and how to manage them. We will teach you self-rescue and finally we will teach you how to rescue your buddy or another diver. You will want to have First Aid/CPR (see below). Also if you want an Advanced Rescue Diver card, you will need O2 Provider (also see below). You will be thrilled with this course. The fee is $175.

Master Diver Course -- June 3rd
This is the premier course for diving knowledge. With 6 – 7 class sessions and 5 days of diving, you will complete this course and feel really knowledgeable about diving. We will even take a trip to the recompression chamber at the University of Pennsylvania. The cost of this course is $250 and is one of the courses that you need to take on your way to becoming a Divemaster (or as an end in itself). The course will start on June 3rd, so sign up now.

Technical Courses

Advanced Nitrox Diver
This course is for the diver who wants to extend his ability to use nitrox mixes ranging all the way up to 100% oxygen. If you are doing or considering decompression diving, using 100% can cut your stop time by two-thirds. You will need to be Nitrox certified with a minimum of 25 logged dives to take this course. The course is $125.00 and you will be making 4 dives for a minimum of 100 minutes.

Extended Range Diver
This is the course to take if you are planning to do decompression diving or dives in excess of 130 feet (the limit for sport diving). You will need to have an Advanced Nitrox certification and an minimum of 100 dives, 25 of which must be deeper than 100 feet. In this course you will be making a minimum of 6 dives, 4 of which will be deeper than 130 feet.

Divemaster/Assistant Instructor Course -- Aug. 10
If being a dive leader is what you want to do, this is the course that you need to take. What confuses people is the difference between Divemaster and Master Diver. A Master Diver is a diver who has achieved a level of diving recognized as a knowledgeable and experienced diver. A Divemaster is a leadership position, someone who runs the dives. You will need the Master Diver certification and Dive Rescue to become a Divemaster. If you plan on becoming an instructor, then you will want to take the Assistant Instructor add-on as well.

SPECIALITY COURSES

First Aid / CPR -- August 9 & 16
Not just for diving. If it has been a long time (or never) since you took a first aid/cpr course, you have no excuse. We make it easy for you. It also allows you to get it out of the way so whenfinished up if you take our Rescue Course in August. Size of the class is limited so sign up now.

Equipment Specialist -- August 12
What makes your equipment tick? Or maybe a better question is what is that ticking sound my equipment is making. Take the Equipment Specialist Course and you will be the expert. Okay, maybe not an expert, but you will be able to diagnose the problem and determine whether it is something that you can repair in the field or if it has to come back to us. This is a fun course and it can be very helpful the next rime you make the mistake of traveling without us.

Nitrox -- August 10 & 17
Another way to get some learnin’ done over that winter months is to take our Nitrox Course. Two nights at the shop are all you need to make you a Nitrox Diver. If you are not familiar with Nitrox, it is a great way to improve the safety of your dives, allowing more bottom time and a greater margin of safety. If you plan on doing a live-aboard or just doing multiple dives on consecutive days, this could be for you. And it is only $75 plus books. If you check around, you will see that is half the price most places charge.

Underwater Photography -- August 10
The world of u/w photography is really changing. The Nikonos is no longer made and digital cameras are rapidly taking hold. Of course, many of the techniques are still apply and that is one of the things that we will be covering in this 5 night course. Our goal is to make you a better u/w photographer. We want you to be able to impress your friends and your mother (so she stops bugging you about doing dangerous things). We will discuss the changing equipment as well as the nitty-gritty of composing and producing a good photograph. It is a good way to hone your skills and to get back in the water during the winter. It also makes a great gift for your dive buddy.

Rebreather Course -- September 10 & 17
Take the opportunity to try this intriguing technoloogy that will allow you up to 3 1/2 hours of diving on a 40 cubic foot tank. That is the equivalant of two sets of double 95’s. And it is really fascinating. It is amazing how we have become accustomed to the sounds and feeling of air being fed to us. With a rebreather, we are breathing warm, moist air with almost no sound. Check it out. Two nights, two days diving.

Scuba Camp

Boat Dives

Buddy Teams

Equipment Specials - Free Gift Cards

The Magic of Being An Instructor

Hi Al,
Tame wanted me to rewrite this for him but I think it has more meaning in the original form.
Regards
Sue & Paul

A LOST LEGACY
Recently, iattended an affair at the Union League with Feo Pitcairn and David Guggenheim. It was a program that was put together by our longtime friend, Bob Daniels. Feo has been a friend and customer for over 25 years. He is also a great underwater photographer and cinematographer. Feo has shot some of the best underwater footage that I have ever seen. His series, Ocean Wilds, was produced for PBS and is available through PBS and many video outlets including Best Buy. After Feo presented his latest work on Humpback whales, we adjourned to dinner and an award ceremony. One of the presenters was David Guggenheim, the chief scientist for the Ocean Conservancy in Washington, D.C. David gave an excellent talk on the state of the oceans. A really interesting point that he made was that as most of America was watching the final episodes of MASH, a very significant change was taking place. The United States had extended its territorial limits from 12 to 200 miles offshore. At that point, the portion of the United States that is underwater became 1 1/2 times greater than the land mass itself. And, yet, we are hardly paying any attention to it. It is time that changes. We need to get our government thinking about these areas like it thinks about our other wilderness areas and making an effort to preserve them and their resources. Think about the money and effort that we put into Yellowstone Park alone. We hope to have both David and Feo together again this fall to deliver to you the same type of presentation that I attended. Don't miss it. It is planned for December 3rd at the Hatboro Horsham High School. Incidently, where do you think that these two distinguished gentlemen got their start in diving? Underwater World, of course.