Make plans now to join us for another exciting trip with Capt. Dan of Off Shore Dive Charters.  We will leave the dock at Morning Star Marina @ 7am on Saturday September 11^th for a nearshore dive trip.  A hot meal will be provided, if we shoot some fish, and as always a good time with friends.  This is a 3 tank dive.

 Call or email us now to hold your spot. 

Cost $100-$125…according to dive location

Tanks rental $12 for 80cf air

Nitrox and 120cf steel available upon request, but order early.

 $50 deposit holds your spot.

Let’s start with 3 new instructors. Regina, Chad Puckett, and Scott Fowler finished their SDI Open Water Instructor evaluation with flying colors. I also finished my Staff Instructor Trainer qualification. We are looking forward to adding more students in more places to the ever growing list of “Air Suck’n Dogs”.

Shannon McAteer of Richmond Hill, GA conducted an Advance Nitrox course in August. Four of us, that’s right including me, took the class. Man did I learn a lot more about Nitrox and the use of O2 in diving. I have a new out look for tec divers and the use of O2 in nearly every dive. This stuff is great if you like to dive 70’-130’. It cuts down on your surface interval without pushing NDL and PO2 limits. With this in mind we now have O2 at the shop for Nitrox mixing including 100% for those who are Advance Nitrox certified.

Speaking of certification we have taken the leap into online learning. We now offer Open Water Diver, Computer Nitrox Diver and Dive Master online academic classes. Call the shop, and Regina will provide you with an online login number, and you’re off and running with your next dive adventure. We also have Public Safety Diver classes online.

Public Safety Diver (PSD) has also hit the Waterdog Scuba shop in full force. We trained 15 PS Divers representing 3 different agencies. Appling County SO, Milan VFD and Jeff Davis VFD all participated in a 6 day course. We will offer more PSD classes next year. Training will include full-face mask and under water communication.

We have also taken on some new lines of dive equipment. Ocean Reef full-face mask, XS Scuba, Highland (tec) and Zeagle (tec/rec) have all been big hits for our divers this year. We also have a new full 2mm camo wet suit that has taken off with the spearos.

We have made many trips with Capt. Dan of Off Shore Dive Charters. Bobby Sears and Capt. Dan placed in the top 10 in a spear tournament this year. We will be booking more trips with Capt. Dan before the year is out, but don’t wait on us. Capt. Dan dives year around and 6 divers make a trip. So call him and setup your next trip.

We also made a new friend with our northern neighbors across the river…Savannah River that is. The Cooper River in South Carolina is full of artifacts and fossils, easy diving with no waves, and shallow water. Even though there are lots of sharks teeth there are no sharks…dang, I am still looking for my first shark.

Lots of our divers have been participating in our Annual Underwater Hunter of the Year contest. We have lots of photos to post, but we don’t want to give away the leader. Keep sending in those pictures, and we will let you know who wins at this year’s Shrimp Boil in November.

For those of you who are interested in upgrading your certification, look for upcoming classes. A Rescue Class will be held this September and a Dive Master Class in October. Remember you can always work on your Advanced when you make dives with an instructor at the springs or in the ocean.

Dive Safely…Dive Often!

Send in your pictures to be entered in this years contest.

SEA YA and BE SAFE

2009 WINNERS

RULES

• All Georgia DNR/Florida FWC laws must be followed
• Diver must stay within recreational dive limits
• Weigh-in does not have to be at Waterdog Scuba Dive Shop (honor system)
• Send weight along with photo to waterdogscuba@bellsouth.net for entry
• Fish must be gutted before weighing
• Dates for the tournament are 01/01/10 – 11/30/10
• There is no deadline for entry
• Hunters may enter tournament at weigh-in
• Points will be awarded by fish weight
• Hunters can enter one fish in each category
• If a hunter brings in a larger fish, the larger fish can replace the previous entry in that same category
• Bonus points will be awarded from the list below

FISH CATEGORIES:

1 point for each pound – maximum of 20 points per fish

• Grouper (any legal species)
• Greater Amberjack
• Flounder
• Sheepshead
• Snapper (any legal species)…open dates only
• Cobia
• Spade

BONUS FINDS:

• Lobster  – 50 pts.  (awarded one time)
• Retrieved Anchor  -  50 pts. each (anchor must be left at Waterdog Anchor Pile)

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Join us Thursday July 29th for a (3) three tank day trip.  Lunch, drinks and snacks provided.  Cost $150 – maximum of 10 divers.

$50 deposit is required to hold your spot.

Please let us know ASAP for this trip will fill-up fast.

Joe Carlucci Boat Ramp
8414 Heritage River Rd.
Jacksonville, FL 32226

All dive trips are subject to availability and weather conditions. Trip will accommodate up to 12 divers. We must have a minimum of 6 divers for the trip. Spear fishing is permitted. Riders are welcome on any of the day dive trips for $50 per person. Full day dive trips include a hot lunch, snacks & beverages.

Our Guest Speaker will be Shannon McAteer from Savannah.

Shannon McAteer lives in Savannah, GA with his wife Christina and two of four children still at home; Kevin and Tucker. He is a retired Army helicopter pilot and co-owner of Atlantic Diving and Trading Company.

Shannon is a technical diving instructor for NAUI and TDI and teaches, technical/extended range nitrox, helitrox (recreational TRIMIX), TRIMIX, Cavern, Cave, and Mk 6 Poseidon re-breather.

In August of 2007 he and a student dove the Andrea Doria which lies in 240 feet of water off the coast of Long Island, NY. Fifteen divers have lost their lives trying to see the fallen liner. This dive will be the primary subject of his presentation.

The event will be held November 14th @ the Towns Bluff Heritage Center on the Altamaha River north of Hazlehurst from 6pm till 9pm.

Click here for directions.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend the event.

Bold new entry

Points as of Aug 1st 2009

Paul “Sea Legs” Harris 183

Scott “Foulman” Fowler 175

Chad “Zeagle” Dawson 158

Chad “New Guy” Thomas 157

Roy “BoFish” Newberry 145

John “John Boy” Morris 141

Jessica “JessiMay” Tyree 110

Brett “Green Machine” Aycock 100

Bob “Hot Rod” Dyals 75

Andrew “Fresh Fish” Newberry 75

Tony “Tiger Shark” Sapp 63

Chuck “Mud Bug” Thomas 50

Phillys “Shutter Bug” Williams 50

Chris “I’m Back” Campbell 46

Ronnie “Insp. Gadget” Ballinger 24

Brian “AC/DC” Coggins 24

Harrell “PePa” Tyree 20

Allen “Fire Dog” Crawford 20

Terry “Soffit” Barber 8

Logan “The Stud” Edgy 7

Larry “Scrap” Barber 5

Kevin “Size Matters” Thomas 2