A lot of training, traditional fins, and risk

Online   Feb 14, 2019

Scuba Shack Weekly – Volume 2, Number 7

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. A day for flowers, chocolates, cards and dinner but we will be at the shop if you’re thinking of some non-traditional Valentine’s gift.

This past week we worked on our full 2019 schedule for training, diving and travel. We have put four trips to Dutch Springs on the calendar where we will be teaching Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit and Deep specialties and running a doubles class. We will be conducting a Rescue Diver class in October. In addition to the two upcoming Open Water classes, we added 12 more that takes us through September along with five Open Water certification weekends at Fort Wetherill.

Finally, we also have added 12 open pool sessions for refreshers, discover scuba, and practice. There is at least one pool session each month through October. We will be busy – and that is how we like it.

The latest edition of Undercurrent is out and there is a short article titled “Traditional” Fins Are Making a Comeback. The article discusses how the industry moved away from the hard rubber fins to the lightweight technopolymers. Then how they went into the split fin design. The article also discusses the effectiveness of these lightweight fins compared to the “old” style like our RK3. Not quite sure I agree with some of the dialog around the main reason being that they are heavier and tech divers need them because they wear dry suits. For me, the RK3 fins are essential for propulsion. It is great to see however, that our “Traditional” fins are being recognized.

As with a lot of things in life, scuba diving involves risk. We also do a lot to mitigate as much of that risk as we can. Our equipment helps to reduce risk but also there is risk associated with equipment failure. That is where redundancy comes in. We like to dive with two computers – one on each wrist. Even if we have an air integrated computer, we still have our brass and glass submersible pressure gauge. Risk and redundancy are discussed in an Alert Diver article from Fall 2018.

Finally, if you are thinking about some early season diving, you might consider our Nassau trip in May. Below is a video from our trip in 2016.

Thanks for tuning in,

Jeff