New instructors, Open Water Divers, and Stony Coral tissue loss

Online   May 22, 2019

Scuba Shack Weekly – Volume 2, Number 21

There are a lot of congratulations to go around at Scuba Shack this week. It has been an incredible week.

First, we are so very proud of our newest PADI Instructors - Alex, Lizzy and Ron. Congratulations. They worked very hard to get ready for the Instructor Exam and finished up on Sunday at Dutch Springs. A great addition to our instructor core.

Congratulations also to our 12 newest PADI Open Water Divers. The four dives over Saturday and Sunday went smoothly and the weather cooperated to ensure everyone had a good time. Our crew of Monty, Joel, Phil, Chris, Jill, Ivan, Deb, and Ian kept things running smooth. The water was still a little cool at 52 but our hearty students did a great job in finishing up their certification.

Our open water classes are very popular and fill up fast. We are working on adding some additional dates, so if you are interested in getting certified or know someone who is ready to begin their diving adventure, please get in touch with us quickly. We are excited about all the enthusiasm and interest.

Also, stay tuned next week for some information on a new class we planned to offer during our next Dutch Springs trip. Hint – it involves a Halcyon backplate.

I have been following the latest threat to the Florida Keys corals. There has been a multi-year outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease. It is spread by bacteria and has made its way down the whole length of the Keys. It is getting a lot of attention and there is hope with treatment. I recently had a dialog with one of the Boston Sea Rovers who owns a place in Looe Key and he just came back and said it is starting to recover. Great news. Here is a link to some information on what is going on down there.

Scuba Shack’s Nassau trip is underway and will be finishing up on Sunday with the shark feeding dive which is very cool. And finally, I just want to remind everyone that we will be taking a three-day weekend for Memorial Day. The shop will be closed on Saturday, May 25 through Monday, May 27.

Thanks for tuning in,

Jeff