News (Archive)

Holiday Sale and Open House Dec. 19

Join us on Dec. 19 for our Holiday Sale and Open House at Scuba Shack in Rocky Hill all day on Dec. 19. Looking for gifts? We’ve got pre-wrapped gifts from $9 to $99 and up, plus on Dec. 19 only you can roll the dice for additional savings up to 12 percent!

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Special Buoyancy 101/201 class starts Jan. 10

As a result of some additional pool time available at Loomis Chaffee school in Windsor on Sunday mornings in January and February, Scuba Shack is offering a great deal on a combination of Buoyancy 101 and 201 on one full session.

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Special holiday training offer – Buy one class get one half-off

Through December 31, when you purchase and pay for any PADI diving class your friend gets the class for half price! You can split the savings with your buddy or use the incentive to get a friend into – or back into – diving!

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Moving up the dive education ladder – the Black Card experience

I can’t believe it’s already September. Time has moved so fast – with so much rain – that is seems Summer was never given a chance. Hopefully we will have a great September and October, and the last seven days has been purely awesome. It’s also a great time for a recap and to remind you of this fall’s events and professional diving opportunities for you!

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Scuba Camp at Brownstone Park starts Aug. 4

After the success of previous scuba camps, Scuba Shack is panning a second camp this summer at Brownstone Park starting Aug. 4. Instead of one full week, this program will be held all day for three consecutive Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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Halcyon Demo Days set for Aug. 8 & 9

Again this year, Scuba Shack will be co-hosting Halcyon’s Demo Days at Brownstone Park in Portland, Conn, on Aug. 8 and 9. This weekend is a unique opportunity to try Halcyon products such as reels, lift bags, lights and MC systems and enjoy some great workshops and presentations.

Halcyon and GUE representatives will be on hand to answer questions about a variety of dive gear, and will be hosting training seminars with GUE instructors. It all begins at 9 a.m. each day. Tents will protect us from the weather so, come rain or shine, we’ll be diving!

There will be many activities going on at the park that weekend including, Halcyon Eclipse Backplate/Wing System

• Try out Halcyon gear and see what diving DIR is all about.
• Workshops – Plenty of learning opportunities all weekend.
• Saturday night presentation on diving the caves of China by Casey McKinlay, vice president at Halcyon and one of the world’s most accomplished record holding cave divers. Casey is director of the famed WKPP Project.
• Saturday night pot-luck and barbecue – bring your own or enjoy our grilled goodies!
• Scooter test rides and more!

Numerous workshops will be scheduled each day plus any certified diver from beginning divers curious about GUE/DIR though to those looking towards cave or technical training will have a blast this weekend.

Halcyon and GUE strongly suggest pre-registering for workshops. Each program is free with park admission.

It is a great opportunity to renew old friendships and expand your circle of dive buddies. A large number of divers are heading to this event from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and other locales in the northeast and beyond. There will be opportunities to dive with a wide range of divers and receive guidance and feedback.

Plenty of Activities Available for Non-Divers
Hiking, mountain biking, swimming… even zip lines, wakeboarding and kayaking are available at Brownstone Park. So bring the whole family, bring your friends and make a day or weekend out of it!

Park Info and Directions
Click here for directions to Brownstone Park, and you can find admission prices and plenty of other information at brownstonepark.com.

Scuba Camp registration now open – starts July 6

Scuba Shack is holding their second Scuba Camp at our store in Rocky Hill and at Brownstone Park in Portland. Pre-registration is required and space will be limited! The class starts on Monday, July 6 and will run every day through Sunday, July 13.

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First Drive & Dive destination – Dutch Springs

Our first Scuba Shack Drive & Dive destination this year will be Dutch Springs on June 7. Actually, Scuba Shack staff will be out at Dutch for the entire weekend from Friday late morning through Sunday afternoon.

If you are interested in completing your open water certification dives that weekend, just contact the dive center at (860) 563-0119 to make arrangements.

Sorry about the late information, but here are some details for those of you who plan on coming out this weekend.

• Bob Sherwood and his group from All About Scuba from Vestal, N.Y. will also be joining us for an annual weekend of diving, eating and good fun.
• We will be located on the peninsula side, just ask the parking attendants.
• You will need to get a pass for each day. Fill out waivers and do not forget your certification cards. Air fill cards are available at the Dutch Springs office.
• All divers from Scuba Shack and All About Scuba can get discounted admission for both days. Let them know you are diving with All About Scuba on Saturday and Scuba Shack on Sunday.
• Scuba Shack will have a grill and coolers to be used by all. We’ll have the standard burgers and buns on hand for a quick snack.
• Lots of different skill levels will be diving – we’ll hook you up with the right buddy!
• Scuba Shack will have gear on hand for demos. If you’re interested in trying a backplate, wings or other cool stuff this is a good opportunity.
• If you need assistance on site, the teams from Scuba Shack and All About Scuba will be diving on-site all weekend and available to help you out.

Next free pool support session April 6

As a reminder, Scuba Shack is sponsoring free pool sessions for certified scuba divers this spring. You can jump in the water and go diving at West Hartford’s Cornerstone Aquatics facility on Monday, April 6.

Scuba Shack instructors, assistant instructors and divemasters will be available to give you tips on buoyancy control, equipment considerations and familiarity, and help with other important skills. For some divers – not us – it’s too cold to get in the water here in southern New England, but the indoor pool is always warmer than 72 degrees!

The small print…

• These are not official scuba refresher courses or tune up programs, but you can hire a private dive professional for as little as $75 for a private scuba review refresher course.
• You must make reservations in advance, we’ll even bring the tanks and weights.
• There is no fee, but you must complete a liability waiver and bring your certification card to each session.

To make a reservation for the pool session on April 6, call Scuba Shack at (860) 563-0119. Previous sessions have been very popular, so ensure you make your reservation to hold your spot.

New Web site launching for Scuba Shack

Scuba Shack is in the process of rolling out a new Web site. We will be adding a couple of new features to the site and using a new content management system to add and update content. You’ll also see more posts from our dive pros about their diving adventures in the near future.

Please bear with us as we migrate the content. The content for some pages is still being developed, but all of the information posted now is current.

New features that should be completed by early April include:

Site search engine
The search engine will allow you to search all of the content, news and blog posts on the site.

Google calendar
You’ll still be able to access the training director’s calendar (Ed’s), but if you use Google calendar yourself, you’ll be able to subscribe to the Scuba Shack calendars which will list start dates for training classes, events and travel opportunities. The calendar has already been implemented.

RSS feed
If you’d like to subscribe to our RSS feed, we now have one available. You’ll be immediately notified anytime that we post a new article on the site. The RSS feed has been implemented.

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