Showing posts with label puget sound scuba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puget sound scuba. Show all posts

Escape the Heat and Hit the Water

29 July 2009 Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,


Greetings!! As the temps heat up and you’re looking for a refreshing change of pace, now’s the time to enroll in a scuba class for the late summer or fall.


To help you along, we’re offering our BEAT THE HEAT specials on every session…available only to those who receive our mailings, whether on our list, or through YOU forwarding this to a potential scuba diver.


Discover Scuba
Absolutely FREE, we’re offering a Discover Scuba session at the Tukwila Pool on August 18. This is your chance to try scuba in the pool, or invite a non-diving friend to see what it’s all about. Pre-registration is required, as we are limited to six divers for this event.




What’s under the Sound???
Click here to see an underwater tour of Titlow Beach…one of GirlDivers favorite training sites


Scuba 101 – Open Water Class
This is your first look into the underwater realm. We’ll teach you dive safety, gear usage and take you on four dives in the Puget Sound. By the end of the class, you’re certified to dive to 60’ throughout the world. We offer daytime, evening and ONE WEEKEND courses…no more than 4 students in any one session, so space is limited. Look at our classes HERE

Register for any August Scuba 101 class and receive 20% off the Student Mask, Snorkel and Fin package. (normally $100).


Scuba 102 – Advanced Open Water
Already certified, but looking for more dive training? The GirlDiver Advanced Program, certified through PADI, offers training beyond the Open Water level. And while the diving is fun…you’ll learn skills needed to make you a more confident and competent diver. 5 dives (with an additional optional Night Dive) PLUS classroom. CLICK FOR A FULL DESCRIPTION

Register for our August Advanced Open Water (limited to 4 divers) and receive a free Mares Marker Beam dive lightstick for your tank.


Teen Programs
We’re offering two teen classes in August. The first is Scuba 101 Teen Summer Camp. Three days, from 9 – 3…full certification. We’ll be diving in fresh water AND salt water with an emphasis not only on safe diving, but on the science behind both diving and marine biology. August 4 – 6…2 openings left. ($279)

Scuba 102 for Teens – August 17 – 19 – Three days…6 dives. 9:00 – 3:00 (Must be Open Water certified). Again, with a emphasis on diving safety, science, marine biology and FUN!!

Limited to 4 students. ($279) REGISTER HERE!!


Also in August…
Dive Yoga Clinic – August 26 CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS

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Size really DOES matter!!

16 July 2009 Labels: , , , ,


Sometimes smaller is better.

In the world of scuba instruction, there are three varieties of instructional programs.

First, we have the MegaClasses. These classes are designed to push the maximum amount of students through a program in the least amount of time. There are limits imposed by certification agencies to number of students to instructors, but if you have more than 10 students in your class, it would fall into this category.

In the industry, these are lovingly referred to as “cattle boat operations”…whether or not there’s a boat involved. The idea is to offer lessons at a very low price to get people to try it out. While the price point is a plus, sometimes we need to look at value. It’s the reason there’s a Walmart and a Nordstroms…depending on your needs, you can shop at either place.

The second variety is the Small Classes. These are typically 4 – 6 students per class with the instructional facility offering more class times, rather than overfilling one session. You’ll pay a bit more for this instruction, however you’ll also receive more one on one attention by the instructor and dive staff. Studies show that students from these programs are more likely to continue diving after they finish their courses.

The third option is the Private Class. Ask any instructor, and they’ll tell you that if you’re able to do this, you’ll receive the best training for scuba in this fashion. As a private student, you’ll have the instructors undivided attention. You’ll progress at your own pace and won’t need to worry about holding the other students up…or waiting for the slowest one in the class. Often, if two people are looking to do a private course together, there is a discount for a semi-private class.

When learning to scuba dive, you are learning skills designed to help you survive in an environment not conducive to human life. These skills are essential for…well…keeping you alive. There are things in the world you should look for a bargain on…and then there are things you should look to a professional for.

Make sure your instructor is a full time professional instructor, not a hobby instructor. If you were going in for heart surgery, you’d want a surgeon who practiced full time, not a few times each year, right? Once again…this is your life support for underwater exploration. It’s ok to have a pizza delivery guy who is moonlighting from his retail job during the day…but do you really want a scuba instructor who just does it on the side?

Sometimes the “right way” is a little more money and a little more time. Scuba allows you to enter a world few will ever see. Thorough training is required to view it safely and confidently. Choose your training instructor wisely and you’ll have a splendid underwater experience.

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The Girls Take it Tandem

27 February 2007 Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the quest to give GirlDiver more credibility in the eyes of the female divers who do not adorn themselves with OPI nails and Sephora mascara, we’ve planned a series of dives that will allow us to delve into the more adventurous side of diving. And…as a bonus…ALL these dives will ROCK!

The first dive of the series was “Girls Taking It Tandem”. My GirlDiver staff member, LeighAnn called and said that Blake from NuCanoe had invited us to demo their new recreational kayaks which their R&D department had put “scuba thought” into. She wanted a time…and a photographer on site.

Kayak Diving? Was she crazy?

I had never tried it, but I was pretty sure that the experience was going to be a whole lot of work and I would be fully exhausted by the end of one dive. And HOW was I supposed to get back in the kayak “gracefully”??? Did I really want a photographer there when someone would have to haul me back into the watercraft…or watching me “tired diver tow” the kayak to shore because I wouldn’t be able to lift my bum back into the boat?

Well, LeighAnn is new to GirlDiver, so I couldn’t just shoot down her first suggestion.

We arrived at Les Davis Marine Park to find Blake waiting for us with a trailerload of kayaks. (At least we LOOK like we know what we’re doing to the passersby) Our chosen dive site, bordering Commencement Bay, had fresh glacial runoff clouding the top ten feet of water, but turned out great for the pictures on the surface. We got our gear together while Blake unloaded the kayaks and brought them to our cars.

I had done my homework on these vessels. Ninety pounds empty. Not being a kayaker, I underestimated the magic of the kayak cart. ”Load your gear into the kayak,” said Blake.
Blake had just got done giving me a pep talk about how easy kayak diving would be. He said the easiest re-entries into the boat he’d witnessed, so far, were done by petite women. So, while I thought loading more weight onto the already heavy boat was contraindicitive to moving it to the entry point, I obliged him. Afterall, it’s his idea, so if I can’t move it, well, he’s the rep…he can pull it.

90 lbs. of boat + 160 lbs. of gear. ”Go ahead and grab hold of the handle and just pull it,” he directed.

Wow. Not only did it move, it pivoted, and I was pulling this bad boy with my fingertips!

The entry to this site is a set of stairs, made for divers by divers, courtesy of the hard work of the dedicated group Washington Scuba Alliance. We positioned the kayak at the top of the stairs and slid the boat with all of the gear aboard into the water. Amazingly easy.

LeighAnn and I assembled the paddles, LeighAnn choosing an unfeathered (parallel) blade adjustment, and I angled mine to a 60 degree right hand control. For never kayaking together before, we did a great job of immediately synchronizing our paddle strokes and efficiently made our way around the dive site.

With our photographer in place, we moved to the middle of the site, threw our inflated gear (important to INFLATE your gear) over the side and individually splashed into the turquoise sea. Donning your dive kit in the water is a skill not often practiced, but with very little struggle, we were geared up and ready to descend.

After a great dive, we surfaced to find our kayak a short surface swim away. Returning to the mothership, we fully inflated our BCD’s, slipped easily out of the gear, and faced the kayak re-entry challenge.

Fully aware of where our photographer was, we moved to the opposite side of the boat, so that we wouldn’t have to look at any “bum over the side” shots. Blake promised that I’d just take ahold of the bench seat, and would “pop” up and out of the water. Maybe he underestimated my upper body strength?

“Just kick and pop into the kayak,” he coaxed. (Did he forget that my fins were already aboard…how much good would my drysuit boots be here?)

I kicked. I’m effortlessly boosted up! My arms locked at the elbows, I lean forward and move my legs ”semi-gracefully” into the kayak. My gear retrieval is more difficult, due to the BCD integrated with 28 lbs. of weight and a steel tank. But LeighAnn and I work as a team, and pull both of the units aboard, along with a full hull of water.

No problem with the flooded boat, as the kayak is unsinkable. We did bail out some of the water, but only to make better paddling time on the way back.

The review results? Kayak diving with NuCanoe’s new recreational kayak rocks! Easy entry. Provides an excellent platform to stage from. You can hang bottles, gear and current lines from the 21 attachment points on the boat. Adjustable seats let you decide where you’re storing your gear and where you’re paddling from. Optional paddle leashes ensure that you’re paddles will be there when you surface, and your fins will make it out to the dive. With the help of a kayak cart, your shore entry has never been easier, and a surface “paddle” beats a surface “swim” anyday.

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