Dive Newsletter

Hello Divers!

Things have started to slow down a little here at The SCUBA School. Not as many students are currently enrolled in Open Water training but we are still offering lots of dive travel right now. SSDS has taken 46 group trips so far in 2013 and we should have well over 50 before the year is over.

While spearfishing early this year, Forrest, was lucky enough to shoot a very large Amberjack. We sent a photo out in the spring and there are several pics of it on our FB page. Our friend, Archie Phillips, who is a world famous Taxidermist and long time TV Personality made us a mount of this huge fish. Come by and check it out!

Trips
November 15-17 Panama City, FL Wreck Diving
Spencer will be leading this group on some of the inshore wrecks of Panama City. There are plenty of them and this is the next step for new divers to take in their training. Good divers are always learning and this is a good one to do it on. Also, Junior Divers can participate too since the dives are relatively shallow. Like all of our trips, SSDS, has privately reserved this vessel.

November 15-17, 22-24 and 29-Dec 1 Panama City, FL Flounder trips

If you have seen the pictures in years past where our groups will have one to two hundred Flounders in a day, it is during this time of year. It is hard to beat the table fare of a fresh Flounder and the water is not too cold yet either. The boat rides are short and usually shallow depths . This is great for new spearfishers and very experienced ones alike. A speargun is not necessary, a pole spear and goody bag work much better. Again, SSDS, has privately reserved this vessel too.

January 17-19/2014 Crystal River, Rainbow River manatee trip
This weekend we will be doing two days of diving and snorkeling with the Manatee in Crystal River as well as drift diving down the Rainbow River. These giant Mammals enjoy the constant 72 degree water temp  during the winter time, making this the best time of year to see them. Kids and non divers are welcome to come on this one.

March 22-29/2014 Cayman Islands Liveaboard
The New Years trip to Belize is sold out and we are down to 4 spaces available on our Spring Break trip to the Cayman Islands. This is a very luxurious boat with great food and world class diving. We have booked this boat many times over the past few years and they always do a great job.

Continuing Education
The Nitrox Course and Spearfishing Clinic have been very popular so far this year. We have room and this will be the last time we these classes are offered this year.

November 23, 9:30 am at The SCUBA School - Enriched Air NITROX 

Have you ever dreamed of having longer no-decompression limits to take pictures or explore a wreck? Did you ever want to be safer while diving, reducing the potential risk of decompression sickness?Nitrox is the key. Due to the reduced fraction of nitrogen in your breathing gas, your body will have less work and the de-saturation times will be reduced. In your ENRICHED AIR NITROX program you will learn all the necessary rules for planning dives with Nitrox and using Nitrox in a safe way. An important key point in the entire program is analyzing your own tank prior to any Nitrox dive.

November 23, 12:30 pm at The SCUBA School - Spearfishing Clinic
Those of you that are enrolled in the NITROX Course might want to consider the Spearfishing Clinic that starts immediately afterwards. NITROX works well with most of the spearfishing that we participate in. Forrest, who teaches both of these courses here at The SCUBA School, is ranked among the top competitors in the Alabama Spearfishing Association as are several of his former students. In this class you will learn skills necessary to participate in and become a successful spearfisher.

Holiday Equipment Specials

From now until the end of the year all of our Wrist Computers come with a free transmitter! This is a savings of over $450.

SSDS is the best place for the absolute best coolers on the market - Pelican Coolers that come with a lifetime warranty. We have every size and color they make, and they will hold ice for up to 10 days. We use these like crazy on our spearfishing trips. Those of you that have a hunter, fisher or drinker on your Christmas list and don't know what to get them, come see us!

A True Diving Pioneer Passes - Bill Tant - "Cap'n Scuba"

Services are at Elmwood Chapel Tuesday Aug 6th

Visitation at noon, followed by the funeral at 1:00

I first met Bill in 1967 when I came home from the military. I had been a diver a few years when I walked into Southern Skin Divers Supply in Birmingham. Southern was already old compared to other dive schools. Bill, who is our partner Mark Tant's uncle, founded Southern in 1953 and his school and store has been open all these years. Many of you divers, especially the newer ones, may not have known Bill Tant or what he did for you so let me tell you. Bill created scuba diving on the Gulf Coast. He was the Man! Bill's dive school was named Bill Tant's School of Scuba and was part of Southern Skin Divers Supply. He had his own certification since his school predated all other certification agencies that now exist. Bill was the one who started the spear fishing and wreck diving that you now enjoy. Bill was the one person who started the diving in the springs of North Florida, and Morrison Springs was always Bill's favorite. The first dive operation in Panama City was based in Bill and Eloise's home in PC which is the original harbormaster's house at Old St. Andrews. There were no dive boats in the beginning and Bill was able to talk the fishing boat captains into carrying divers out into the Gulf. The Empire Mica and the Tarpon are now famous historical dive sites and both of these were developed by Bill and his divers. He was a great promoter of diving and loved the water all of his life. We were all lucky and blessed to have Bill Tant.

Steve Phillips

Panama City News Herald - Friends, family remember ‘Cap’n Scuba’

We would like to make something nice here and give Bill the credit he deserved. If you've got any good stories or memories of Bill & would like them added here, please send those to us with a note to include it on the blog (that gives us permission). Email us at ssdsupply@aol.com  Thanks!

Here are a few.............

My Dad told me yesterday that Bill had passed. 

Wow... where do I start. Bill Tant had a huge influence on the direction of my life. I took lessons from him and one of his instructors Joe Gann, aka Gainer, in about 1968 when I was 17 years old. Other divers around that time were Gordon Riggles (?), Bob Tant, aka Gas Man, Mark Slattery, Dave Abts, Sonny Aldredge. I worked for Bill on Saturdays during high school cleaning up, jamming jugs and cleaning rental gear. I was working when they set the anchor outside of the old shop and Bill and I put our initials in the cement. 

The early sixties were an exciting time in diving. There were TV programs like Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges, the Jacques Cousteau books and TV specials, the Navy SeaLab program, the James Bond movie Thunderball. I remember an old sponge diver movie with a very young Robert Wagner and Gilbert Roland called Beneath the 12 Mile Reef and a film about US Navy UDT called The Frogmen with Richard Widmark. 

My initial set of dive gear cost less than $100.00 which included mask, fins, snorkel, weight belt, 1 steel 72 tank (I think it was used), tank harness, life vest (there were no BC's in those days) and regulator. My first regulator (I still have it) was a U.S. Divers Mistral; a single stage, double hose regulator which cost $50.00. In fact, I never dove a single hose regulator until I was in the Navy. Equipment manufacturers of that time included Voit, Dacor, U.S. Divers, ScubaPro, and Nemrod.  

We would dive out of Panama City and Mexico Beach on the wrecks Tarpon and the Empire Mica. I can remember driving Bill and Eloise to Panama City in that huge Buick station wagon. That thing was like driving a hotel lobby down the road. Bill would be in the backseat wrestling with his 2 boxers, Cortez, the Macau, would be screeching in the back along with Dub-Duck quacking from underneath an upside down milk crate.  I once made $90.00 in about 20 minutes diving for a lost outboard motor in Lay Lake. That was a lot of money for a 17 year old kid. Plus, the guy was so happy he bought me lunch too! 

I didn't dive much in college but the interest was still there so when I was in the Navy I went to Diving and Salvage school at the old Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. My class started out with 36 people and only 9 of us graduated. I was stationed onboard a submarine rescue vessel, the USS Kittiwake (ASR-13). She was sunk off the Cayman Islands a few years ago and is now a dive site. I think it's fitting that after all the divers she supported in her career, now she serves as a training wreck for other divers to enjoy. After getting out of the Navy, I dove in the Gulf of Mexico as a commercial diver for a company called Oceaneering International. After 2 years in the Gulf, I worked in a couple of hospitals as a Hyperbaric Chamber Operator for a number of years. 

I miss diving and I will miss Bill. He was a mentor to me and someone that I looked up to as a kid. Diving was a big part of my life due largely to Bill's influence. He was truly a pioneer in SCUBA diving, underwater photography and diving travel. He was always jovial and fun loving and he lived life to the fullest every moment. Far winds and following seas my friend, you will be missed.

Please give my condolences to Miss Eloise and to Bob.
Steve Holley, Colorado Springs, CO (formerly of Leeds, AL)

Dive Newsletter

Hello Divers!

To say that a lot of diving is going on would be an understatement. We usually average 50 group trips a year and it appears that we will have considerably more than that this year. As of this writing SSDS has taken 31 group trips so far and has at least one a weekend for the next few months. June had something for everyone with Artifact diving in the rivers of South Carolina, Red Snapper Spearfishing off the coast of Alabama and Pensacola, Wreck diving and checkout diving in Panama City, a week of Caribbean Liveaboard vacationing in the Turks and Caicos and our Gold Dredging near Nome, Alaska. The next few months offer more of the same!

One of our friends, Rick Dennis, just returned from our Turks and Caicos trip. Rick is a very experienced diver and is also very good at underwater photography/videography. Check out his site at www.rickldennis.com On this site you will see many images of the various types of creatures you will find on our international travel.

We have just announced a couple of additional Liveaboard trips to Belize and the Cayman Islands. Red Snapper season came and went in June. It was fun while it lasted and some impressive fish were taken but the Feds overestimated the amount that the Recreational Fishers were expected to harvest. Since that was the case, we will have the first 21 days of October to target Red Snapper again this year. This will be the only time this year that everything that we hunt, spearfishing, will be in season at the same time. You spearfishers need to take advantage of it and try to go dive in Oct!

Trips

Aug 2 & 3 and 10 & 11 and Sept 13 & 14 and every weekend in October -  Spearfishing in Orange Beach or Pensacola, FL

We have a couple of boats that SSDS keeps full most weekends during Spearfishing Season. Some of the best Red Snapper in the world is near the Alabama Artificial Reef System that was started in 1953. We have several trips during the Fall Snapper season but during the others all of the Triggerfish, Groupers, Amberjack, Flounder etc will be in season so there will be plenty to go after this time of year.

August 24 & 25 Gulf Shores, AL Wreck Diving 


Mark is taking this group to dive Alabama's newest artificial reef, The LuLu, and the largest one in the world, The Oriskany. All of you photographers need to get your cameras ready for this. Lately, we have enjoyed great vis on the Mighty O and we see all kinds of big animals out there too! In addition to these two sites we will probably dive the Navy Tug as well.

Every weekend in November - Panama City, FL Flounder trips

SSDS privately charters our favorite PC vessel for our annual Flounder harvest during November every year. These dives are great for anyone that enjoys excellent seafood! The dives are shallow so junior divers can participate. Also, a spear gun is not necessary at all. A pole spear is easier, quicker and cheaper and does a better job for these bottom dwellers. Sign up quick because they go fast!

Dec 28 - Jan 4 Belize Liveaboard

Spencer will be taking everyone on our "Dive the New Year in" trip this year. Every year after Christmas he enjoys taking groups all over the Caribbean and this year it is Belize. All of our Liveaboard Vacations include all diving and luxury accommodations on a diving yacht. It is not uncommon to have the opportunity to dive up to 5 times a day. In addition to private staterooms and diving, gourmet meals and beverages are included for your voyage too.

March 22 - 29 Cayman Islands Liveaboard

Next Spring Break SSDS has privately chartered the Cayman Aggressor. The only way to enjoy diving all three of the Cayman Islands is to go by vessel like we do. Forrest is taking this group. The Cayman Islands are great for families that dive since most of the best diving is above 60 ft of water. The water is warm, clear and usually calm. The dates are Spring Break for the area schools as well.

Continuing Education

The Nitrox Course and Spearfishing Clinic have been very popular so far this year. We currently have room in both of these.

August 24, 9:30 am at The SCUBA School

Enriched Air NITROX 

Have you ever dreamed of having longer no-decompression limits to take pictures or explore a wreck? Did you ever want to be safer while diving, reducing the potential risk of decompression sickness? Nitrox is the key. Due to the reduced fraction of nitrogen in your breathing gas, your body will have less work and the de-saturation times will be reduced. In your ENRICHED AIR NITROX program you will learn all the necessary rules for planning dives with Nitrox and using Nitrox in a safe way. An important key point in the entire program is analyzing your own tank prior to any Nitrox dive.

August 24, 12:30 pm at The SCUBA School - Spearfishing Clinic

Those of you that are enrolled in the NITROX Course might want to consider the Spearfishing Clinic that starts immediately afterwards. NITROX works well with most of the spearfishing that we participate in. Forrest, who teaches both of these courses here at The SCUBA School, is ranked among the top competitors in the Alabama Spearfishing Association as are several of his former students. In this class you will learn skills necessary to participate in and become a successful spearfisher.

Personal request from Steve, Forrest and Spencer Phillips

Hello Divers, 
  
This week I received a letter from Representative  Jim McClendon announcing that he is running for State Senate.  Many of  you newer divers don't know me, but I'm the guy that was in charge of Southern  Skin Divers Supply until I retired and Forrest took over.  I only do the  Alaska adventure now and dive for relics in Alabama.  In 1999 a new law was  passed in the Alabama Legislature.  In this law were regulations that were  terrible for the rights of the Public to have access to our Public lands that  are underwater.  Alabama is blessed with 77,000 miles of waterways, most of  which have never been dived on or explored.  SSDS and other dive stores  tried to modify the new law with no success.  The new regulations read in  part that you could not dive anywhere in Alabama Public waters without first  paying a Professional Archaeologist to give you a permit to dive in your rivers  and streams.  This was not a permit to look for or find anything but just  to go diving.  It was totally corrupt and wrong and gave Alabama the worst  and most unfriendly dive law in America.  In 2003, I was arrested for  diving and finding a relic in the Alabama River at Selma.  I have been  diving there since 1973.  This is the time that we first met Jim  McClendon.  He is my Representative in Montgomery.  No one has been  more important to you, The Public, in getting back your rights and access to  Public waters than Jim McClendon.  These past years have included hundreds  of trips to Montgomery to work with our Legislators by myself and many others to  get back our waters.  From the time I was arrested Jim has been on board  and leading the charge on your behalf.  He is a bulldog in his  efforts.  He personally is responsible for the audits of the agency that  exposed their corruption and forced their agency head to resign.  Over the  many years of this ongoing fight he has managed to cut the agencies funds enough  to reduce the State Employees of the agency by about 30%.  This was for you  and got their attention.  The person who had me arrested was allowed to  resign.  Jim spearheaded every action that we did and he never gave me  false lip service.  He has never turned me down on any request that I have  made.  He is our number one voice in Montgomery.  Two years ago when  we tried to change some confusing words in our dive law, he had it passed for us  in The House.  It was the first Bill passed in the entire House that  year.  All of this was Jim McClendon's work.  The unfriendly diving  regulations no longer exist in Alabama.  Instead, The Public, can dive in  any of our waters.  You can now find relics, fossils, gold dust and  artifacts that are not part of an official Cultural Resource.  The waters  of Alabama can now be explored thanks to Representative Jim McClendon.   Alabama now has the friendliest dive regulations in the entire country.   The Public, that means you, are still unduly harassed from time to time and  people eventually call our dive store for help.  They refer the problem to  me because I understand the laws.  If it is beyond my help, I call Jim  McClendon.  He has never failed to help.  Jim is not a career  politician, he is an Eye Doctor.  Jim and his family are divers and he has  a strong interest in history I do.  He will be even more valuable in The  State Senate.  Forrest, Spencer and I are sending $500 for his  campaign.  If you are ever going to give any money to anyone running for  office then please help Jim.  It doesn't matter if you live in Alabama or  not.  The successes that Jim has made happen here have had a large National  impact on Public access to Public Lands.  Hunters, fishermen, Historians,  Hikers and everyone in the Public benefits from Jim's efforts for us. We need him.  Let him  know who you are and what your interests are and send a check to: 
  
Jim McClendon for Senate 
361 Jones Road 
Springville, AL   35146-6134 
  
Thank you. 
  
Steve Phillips 
Southern Skin Divers Supply 

Dive Newsletter

Hello Divers!

We have just completed our 20th group trip so far this year and are taking two or three every week for the next few months. Dive season is full speed NOW and you need to sign up quick if you want to go with us!

SSDS has the privilege of being the SCUBA Training Facility of Marion Military Institute. The first group of MMI SCUBA Tigers started their training with Instructional Staff of SSDS last September. After 4 weeks of training the Cadets earned their Openwater Certification where so many of you have with us for over half a century now, Morrison Springs and St Andrews Jetties. After that, the newly certified divers did some drift diving with us in the Rainbow River and Crystal River, FL. Many took advantage of our inshore wreck trips to Panama City and then learned about the benefits of Enriched Air NITROX and harvested some Flounder with Forrest in the Winter. Their progression led to diving several wrecks off the coast of Alabama and helping to eradicate the invasive lionfish population followed by their final dives with us on the USS Oriskany. Now these cadets have graduated and are off to the various military academies that they are attending or are now serving in a branch of the military. These students were an absolute dream to teach and now have become good divers. We look forward to the next group starting during the Fall Semester.

You history lovers need to check out the latest issue of American Digger Magazine. The centerpiece on the cover of the publication and one of the articles is about one of the rarest artifacts ever recovered with a metal detector. It is called a Coal Torpedo and was found by my dad, Steve Phillips. Until Dad recovered it, there were only three known examples in existence. To purchase a copy of the magazine go to American Digger or come by The SCUBA School.

In our last newsletter I wrote about the great deal we have on the Sealife DC 1400 camera packages that we sell. Not only do we have the best price ANYWHERE on this camera but now there is a factory rebate available too and Mark is also offering a class on it FREE to anyone that purchases it here. Class will be June 1st here at SSDS at 9:30 am.

There is lots of Spearfishing going on right now and for good reason. Fish are everywhere. We are seeing more big fish than ever and Red Snapper Season is just right around the corner. In addition the first Alabama Spearfishing Association Tournament of the season starts May 17 and goes until June 15. You can pick up an application at SSDS and leave it here if you want to participate. For more info about this contest go to Alabama Spearfishing.

Trips

June 22, 23 Spearfishing in Orange Beach and Pensacola, FLWe have a couple of boats going out for the last weekend of Red Snapper Season on the best habitat for them in the world. The Alabama Artificial Reef System was started in 1953 and has paid off! This is not during one of the tournaments so if you want some good spearing with out the pressure of a contest these will be good ones.

July 13, 14 Panama City, FL Wreck Diving
Mark will be leading this group on some of the inshore wrecks of Panama City. There are plenty of them and this is the next step for new divers to take in their training. Good divers are always learning and this is a good one to do it on. Also, Junior Divers can participate too since the dives are relatively shallow. Like all of our trips, SSDS, has privately reserved this vessel.

Continuing Education

June 1st , 9:30 am at The SCUBA School, Underwater Photography
Mark Tant is teaching another Underwater Photo Course. Those of you that purchased a new SeaLife C1400 or one of our DSLR Packages can take this course for free! We also have a good selection of new SeaLife cameras, strobes and lights and pre owned DSLR equipment from Ikelite. To see some of the kind of photos that Mark takes go to his website.

June 29, 30 Stress and Rescue Course
Stress is a major contributor to rescue situations and diving accidents. Through this course you will learn accident prevention, as well as how to handle problem situations if they occur.

Mark Tant will be teaching this program about avoiding, recognizing and solving problems on the surface and under water. The course runs two days in which you will participate in academic and in-water sessions in the pool and in the open water. As a prerequisite for certification you will also earn CPR & First Aid certificate during this course.

DIVER STRESS & RESCUE SPECIALTY COURSE Content:  

* What Is Stress?* Stress In Diving:Causes And Prevention* Detecting And Dealing With Stress* Accident Management* Skills Needed To Deal With Panic And Rescues* Conditions That Complicate Rescues

The Nitrox Course and Spearfishing Clinic have been very popular so far this year, and we currently have room in both of these.

July 13, 9:30 am at The SCUBA School - Enriched Air NITROX 

Have you ever dreamed of having longer no-decompression limits to take pictures or explore a wreck? Did you ever want to be safer while diving, reducing the potential risk of decompression sickness? Nitrox is the key. Due to the reduced fraction of nitrogen in your breathing gas, your
body will have less work and the de-saturation times will be reduced. In your ENRICHED AIR NITROX program you will learn all the necessary rules for planning dives with Nitrox and using Nitrox in a safe way. An important key point in the entire program is analyzing your own tank prior to any Nitrox dive.


July 13, 12:30 pm at The SCUBA School - Spearfishing Clinic

Those of you that are enrolled in the NITROX Course might want to consider the Spearfishing Clinic that starts immediately afterwards. NITROX works well with most of the spearfishing that we participate in. Forrest, who teaches both of these courses here at The SCUBA School, is ranked among the top competitors in the Alabama Spearfishing Association as are several of his former students. In this class you will learn skills necessary to participate in and become a successful spearfisher.

Dive Newsletter

Hello Divers!

This is turning into a very exciting dive season here at SSDS! We have plenty of new equipment hitting the door daily. Lots of divers have already earned or are in the process of earning their Openwater Diver Certification. We have already taken over 100 divers on group trips this year and the season is just getting started.

Alabama in particular, has some excellent diving thanks to the Artificial Reef Program that was started over 60 years ago. Just this week, the Marine Resources Division, sank another vessel off the coast of Alabama. Memorial Day weekend we will be on site diving out of Orange Beach, AL for the sinking of "The LuLu", a 270 ft freighter. The progression of this Reef Program for the past 60 years is why we have such an incredible Red Snapper habitat compared to other places in the world. To read more about the sinking of the LuLu click here.

The fish off the coast of Alabama are healthier now than any other time during my lifetime. I continue to see bigger fish in larger schools now and every year there are more of them. Just over a week ago, while spearfishing, I took my largest fish to date and I didn't have to go that far out to get it. Unfortunately, Federal Regulations still are preventing the Public from harvesting Red Snapper for a significant period of time. This season will be less than one month. Even though the Feds say there aren't very many Red Snapper and you can't fish over 28 days, the US Department of the Interior is blowing up Oil Rigs right now killing all of the Red Snapper and everything else that lives on them. Our US Congressman, Jo Bonner, has introduced the Gulf Fisheries Fairness Act. This will give State waters in Alabama out to 120 feet deep. That way Alabama can manage their own Fish Habitat and have their own season. To read more about this click here.

Trips

April 12th - 14th South Carolina River Trip
We have had some great trips recently finding fossilized shark's teeth and other artifacts with some new spots and diving from our new boat! We generally do three or four dives a day on this swift/blackwater diving adventure. Bring your boat coats and thick suits for this one.
April 26-28 Wreck Diving on The Oriskany

Forrest will be leading this group to dive on the USS Oriskany, the largest wreck ever sunk as an artificial reef in the world. This trip will be in the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area. We will be diving two days, one on the Oriskany, and the other on two additional wrecks. If you want to kill lionfish on this trip you may. No spear guns allowed and no other fish will be killed, just lionfish. The Oriskany is the largest vessel ever sunk as an artificial reef in the world. She was put down in May 2006 and now rests in 212 ft of water approximately 23 miles offshore. The top of the tower starts at about 80 ft. This is a deep, and big site and there are a couple of requirements that need to be met prior to this wreck dive so call us for more info.

May 18th & 19th Panama City, FL Wreck Diving
Mark will be leading this group on some of the inshore wrecks of Panama City. There are plenty of them and this is the next step for new divers to take in their training. Good divers are always learning and this is a good trip for that. Also, Junior Divers can participate too since the dives are relatively shallow. Like all of our trips, SSDS, has privately reserved this vessel. Spearfishing every weekend from mid May until the end of June These trips are selling out FAST! Some of these will be during Red Snapper season and also during the Alabama Spearfishing Association's Red Neck Riviera Spearfishing Tournament. To find out more about this and other ASA tournaments click here. This is a great tournament and spearfishing off the Gulf Coast of Alabama is second to none. Now is the time to start getting ready for spearfishing season.

June 8th - 15th Turks and Caicos Liveaboard
We have a great group going with us on this all inclusive 5 dive a day Caribbean trip on board your own private vessel. I had the opportunity to dive with this operation in September and it was one of the best overall crew, boat, food and diving I have been on. It also is a piece of cake to get to Provo from Birmingham or Atlanta. We are now down to one last spot.


Equipment
We have the best deal on all of our SeaLifeDC 1400 packages! You won't be able to touch this price anywhere and you will also get a camera class for free with Mark Tant with the purchase of any of these here. This new 14-megapixel camera combines diver-friendly design and six underwater color modes for sharp, colorful photos and HD video - underwater or on land. The SeaLife DC1400 is the easiest digital camera to use underwater, EVER. The camera features five widespread “piano key” controls, a large shutter button, and a fingertip-control lever that allows scrolling through menus or zooming in and out without releasing your grip from the camera. This is an extremely travel friendly system. Call us and we can let you know all the options with these cameras.

SSDS is also the local dealer for the new Pelican Coolers. These are the best coolers on the market and possibly the last cooler you will ever buy. They come in 4 sizes ranging from 35 to 95 quarts. They are made in the US and have a lifetime warranty. Equipped with countless features that beat their competition, the list goes on and on. The best thing to do is come and check them out in our showroom and see which size (or sizes) are best for you.

Some of you that purchased Buoyancy Compensators from SSDS from 2009-2012 might have had the SureLock II weight pouches. There is a voluntary recall on the handles of them. SSDS will replace the handles with the reinforced ones at no charge. It is not necessary to bring in the BC, just the weight pouches. In the photo to the left, the handle on the left is bad and the one on the right is the new reinforced model.








Continuing Education

The Nitrox Course and Spearfishing Clinic have been very popular so far this year. We currently have room in both of theseclases. Come see us April 20th, 9:30 am at The SCUBA School

April 20th, 9:30 am - Enriched Air NITROX 
Have you ever dreamed of having longer no-decompression limits to take pictures or explore a wreck? Did you ever want to be safer while diving, reducing the potential risk of decompression sickness? Nitrox is the key. Due to the reduced fraction of nitrogen in your breathing gas, your body will have less work and the de-saturation times will be reduced. In your ENRICHED AIR NITROX program you will learn all the necessary rules for planning dives with Nitrox and using Nitrox in a safe way. An important key point in the entire program is analyzing your own tank prior to any Nitrox dive.

April 20, 12:30 pm at The SCUBA School - Spearfishing Clinic
Those of you that are enrolled in the NITROX Course might want to consider the Spearfishing Clinic that starts immediately afterwards. NITROX works well with most of the spearfishing that we participate in. Forrest, who teaches both of these courses here at The SCUBA School, is ranked among the top competitors in the Alabama Spearfishing Association as are several of his former students. In this class you will learn skills necessary to participate in and become a successful spearfisher.

Kona Rays by Rick Dennis

Equipment, Travel and Training

Hello Divers!

Things are starting to get full speed here at The SCUBA School! We have already taken three trips in 2013 and it looks like many of you are already looking forward to the upcoming dive season. In this newsletter you will find all kinds of dive trips to take with SSDS and Continuing Education options but first we will let you know about some of the new gear available.

Equipment
As you know, SSDS, is the oldest Aqualung dealer in the United States so we always have the latest and greatest from them. Anything that is dive quality gear that their companies (Aqualung, Apeks, Deep See, U.S Divers or Suunto dive instruments) make, we sell and can get. We have an exciting new Buoyancy Compensator from Apeks that has the same lifetime parts warranty if it is purchased here. It is called the Black Ice and is a rugged weight-integrated back inflation BC designed for advanced diving. Just like all of the gear we sell, you can come in and try it in our indoor pool to see how it feels in the water. Also new from Aqualung is the new women's line of equipment! Check out the new models, designs and colors here 

We also have a good selection in underwater photography equipment at great prices. All of our Sealife DC 1400 packages are still 15% off and include a photo class with Mark. We also have Ikelite housings available for your DSLR cameras and several strobes they make as well.

Spearfishing season is just around the corner and we just received a new shipment of guns including the new Splash Rhino guns from Spearfishing Specialties. They have a bluewater color mixed in with the original Rhino coating. We also have the original Rhino guns too in addition to pole spears, bags, stringers, tips and gloves designed for spearfishing. A lot of divers aren't into spearfishing but still want to help with the local Lionfish invasion. We offer several economical tools to help get lionfish safely.

We are now selling the Elite Coolers by Pelican. These are the best coolers on the market and will be a great place to keep fish in if you wait a while to clean them after they are caught. They make an even better place to keep clean fillets on ice for a few days prior to consuming them. These Pelican Coolers have the same warranty (lifetime) that the dry boxes and micro cases have that we sell.

Many of you have seen Spence and Dad diving in the Bering Sea near Nome, Alaska on TV. They have been doing this for 20 years now and several of you now join them in Dad's Gold Camp. We are Keene Engineering dealers and Keene is the leader in Gold Mining Equipment. They make the dredges, sluice boxes, pans and other mining equipment you have seen us use on the Outdoor Channel. If you are in need of equipment for finding gold, talk to Steve or Spencer and we'll get it from Keene for you.

Trips

February 22-24 Crystal River, Rainbow River manatee trip 
This weekend we will be doing two days of diving and snorkeling with the Manatee in Crystal River as well as drift diving down the Rainbow River. These giant Mammals enjoy the constant 72 degree water temp during the winter time, making this the best time of year to see them. Kids and non divers are welcome to come on this one.

February 22-24 South Carolina River Trip
We have had some great trips recently finding fossilized shark's teeth and other artifacts with some new spots and diving from our new boat! We generally do three or four dives a day on this swift/blackwater diving adventure. Bring your boat coats and thick suits for this one.

April 26-28 Wreck Diving on The Oriskany
Forrest will be leading this group to dive on the USS Oriskany, the largest wreck ever sunk as an artificial reef in the world. This trip will be in the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area. We will be diving two days, one on the Oriskany, and the other on two additional wrecks. If you want to kill lionfish on this trip you may. No spear guns allowed and no other fish will be killed, just lionfish. The Oriskany is the largest vessel ever sunk as an artificial reef in the world. She was put down in May 2006 and now rests in 212 ft of water approximately 23 miles offshore. The top of the tower starts at about 80 ft. This is a deep, and big site and there are a couple of requirements that need to be met prior to this wreck dive so call us for more info.

Spearfishing every weekend from mid May until the end of June These trips are selling out FAST! Some of these will be during Red Snapper season and also during the Alabama Spearfishing Association's Red Neck Riviera Spearfishing Tournament. To find out more about this and other ASA tournaments go here  . This is a great tournament and spearfishing off the Gulf Coast of Alabama is second to none. Now is the time to start getting ready for spearfishing season.

June 8-15/ 2013 Turks and Caicos Liveaboard 
We have a great group going with us on this all inclusive 5 dive a day Caribbean trip on board your own private vessel. I had the opportunity to dive with this operation in September and it was one of the best overall crew, boat, food and diving I have been on. It also is a piece of cake to get to Provo from Birmingham or Atlanta. We are now down to one last spot.

Continuing Education

March 9th, 9:30 am at The SCUBA School

Enriched Air NITROX 

Have you ever dreamed of having longer no-decompression limits to take pictures or explore a wreck? Did you ever want to be safer while diving, reducing the potential risk of decompression sickness?  Nitrox is the key. Due to the reduced fraction of nitrogen in your breathing gas, your body will have less work and the de-saturation times will be reduced.  In your ENRICHED AIR NITROX program you will learn all the necessary rules for planning dives with Nitrox and using Nitrox in a safe way. An important key point in the entire program is analyzing your own tank prior to any Nitrox dive.

March 9th, 12:30 pm at The SCUBA School - Spearfishing Clinic

Those of you that are enrolled in the NITROX Course might want to consider the Spearfishing Clinic that starts immediately afterwards. NITROX works well with most of the spearfishing that we participate in. Forrest, who teaches both of these courses here at The SCUBA School, is ranked among the top competitors in the Alabama Spearfishing Association as are several of his former students. In this class you will learn skills necessary to participate in and become a successful spearfisher.

Open Water Diver Challenge
We have always taught a lot of new divers here at The SCUBA School but this year in particular, it's a good time for new divers to enroll in one of our Continuing Education programs. For every student that gets certified here in 2013 and takes a ConEd course, they will be entered for a chance to win a free trip on board the Sun Dancer Liveaboard Dive Yacht in Belize! We have taken several group trips on this vessel. It is an excellent boat with a very good crew and one of the best destinations in the Caribbean. Every time a new diver takes a new ConEd course, they are entered. The more classes they take, the better their chance is to win.

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Southern Skin Divers Supply
4515 5th Ave South
Birmingham, AL 35222
205-595-3052