A Big Open Water Class, SEACT Update and more

Bill Mitlehner   Jun 22, 2023

Scuba Shack Weekly - Volume 6 No. 249.

Welcome to Summer 2023 everyone! It hasn’t exactly been that warm so far this year but I think that is all going to change real soon. Summer weather is predicted this weekend and that should start to warm the water up very nicely here in the Northeast. So get out there and enjoy.

Last weekend, George and Ron with assistance from Tom A. and Sonja conducted a large confined water class at the New Britain YMCA. After spending Saturday morning at the dive shop getting to know how to use their gear, they headed to the pool for their five confined water dives on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Next step is to complete their certification dives. Great job everyone.

Last week Ron and I started our open water class for three Meriden high school students at Maloney High School. The course is being sponsored by our non-profit organization - Scuba Educational Alliance of Connecticut (SEACT). We completed our six sessions on Tuesday. Lizzy was back in Connecticut from Montreal and gave our three prospective divers some great and relevant insight into how diving has made a difference in her academic life. Lizzy also was in the pool with them to finish up their last dive. The Record-Journal newspaper stopped by on the last session to find out a little more about our program and our goals. I can’t tell you how excited we are with the outcome. We will be bringing them to open water soon.

Wednesday night was another Nitrox night. Bill and George took seven more students through the class. I always say that if there is only one more course that you’ll ever take in scuba, then that should be Enriched Air.

With the weather in Jamestown looking a little iffy this weekend, we have shifted our open water dives to Bigelow Hollow. The winds are predicted to be out of the south and fairly stiff, so we are prudently moving our dives. We just don’t want to get all the way out to Fort Wetherill and have to turn around. Always cautious.

Summer is here - get out there and dive.

Jeff