Scuba Service & Supply
Doesn’t look like anything is going to happen this weekend on the off-shore front. With seas predicted to be 3 to 4 feet inside of 20 NM & 15 to 20 knot winds. North east winds at that! Nothing good ever blew in on a NE wind. Small craft advisory until Saturday. Slightly cooler weather also. Comes with the NE wind!
On the other hand, tides are in the 6 1/2 to seven foot range and the rivers are clearing up nicely making a fossil outing possible!
Water temp is pretty consistent at 59 degrees from Ft Pulaski all of the way out to the near-shore reefs.
Time to prepare for the upcoming dive season. Grouper opens on May 1st 2012, And Black Sea Bass opens on June 1st 2012.
Vermilion Snapper (Bee-liners) open on April 1st 2012.
We have had a few changes regarding fish retention, as well as some upcoming issues that should be important to spear-fishermen. Come by for details.
Remember to make sure your DAN insurance is UP TO DATE!!! Evac & treatment costs are high & the number of Hyperbaric chambers available has plummeted in recent months. Quick reaction & treatment times give a better chance of full recovery in the event of an accident. Oxygen should be a staple on any boat diving off of our coast, as well as a full understanding of O2 & its properties & Administration. Become a DAN O2 provider for your group!
Becoming a Nitrox (Enriched Air) diver should also be on the agenda, if you are not already certified. It is a fact that, with proper training, Enriched Air can be a valuable tool for divers wanting to venture off-shore. Longer bottom times & less residual nitrogen times between dives means that your buddies on Nitrox will probably be spending more time in the water than air divers! Oxygenated muscles & tissues also make for less fatigue than Nitrogen saturated ones! An important consideration for us …. those divers that are more age advan………experienced.
Physical conditioning should also be a top priority for divers. Currents & tides make for a lot if exertion & muscles that have been dormant should be brought up to speed. Diving uses more muscles that can only be tuned up by actual diving. The pool is a great place to practice. The Aquatic Center here on Sally Mood Drive is only $5 per person. An indoor, heated pool, it makes for a nice way to spend some rainy afternoons. Groups activities are more fun than individual. Let me know your ideas for an event & we’ll put something together.
There are some skills, not taught in Advance or Open water training, that are also a necessity for diving our off-shore waters. Shooting a lift bag or surface marker buoy & advanced navigation are two of the most important, in my opinion. Surface marker, & lift bags come in handy in the event of a lost tie in point or marker down line. Maybe the down line or anchor line has come loose & the boat has drifted away. Send up the lift bag, tie it to the wreck of ledge, & ascend. The boat will be looking for you on the wreck so it is important to stay close. It is also a lot safer ascending on a marker that a free ascent on a busy reef or wreck. Without some marker, a boater has no way to know you are there. It is not difficult to perform this task, but the methods for deployment are tried & true.
Navigation is also important! Not coming up the Anchor line or marker buoy repeatedly is a sure way to lesson your chances of getting invited back out on the boat. There are some valuable insights to be gained from experienced local divers free for the asking, but there is no better place than in the water to get experience.
Check with your local shop to get involved in local diving.
Tanks & Gear that has sat unused for the winter should also be checked out, and again the pool is an excellent place to do this. Remember that leaking high pressure hose or inflator hose? Or perhaps that sticking inflator on your BC? Remember, some parts take time to get & the closer we get to dive season, the likelihood of getting your dive gear back quickly diminishes greatly!
Tank inspections & hydros are also important considerations. It will be no fun when you take your tanks in for filling & have to wait a week for hydrostatic testing! Or that useless tank monkey refuses to fill it because it needs a internal visual inspection & he’s too busy to get to it now! Seriously, get to know your fill operators & show your appreciation for good, although physically demanding & often thankless, service. & remember, it wasn’t his fault that you did not get your gear in for service sooner!
The point is to keep your resources & skills up to date, as well as your gear, mind & body!
Thanks,
Gene