12/18/2015

Merry Christmas Divers!

Merry Christmas Divers!

So far, 2015 has been a very busy year for travel here at SSDS and we have just slowed down enough to write you a newsletter. Like you, we are getting ready for the holidays but we will be back taking you diving right after the first of the year. From now until the end of the year all handheld flashlights are 20% off. We have a very good selection of Tovatec, Sea Life, Ikelite and Pelican lights and this special is good on anything in stock. All other merchandise is 10% off until Jan 1.
















Some of the newer gear that we have in right now includes Lavacore wetsuits, Nautilus Lifeline Marine Radios,Tesoro Land and Underwater Metal Detectors, Spare Air kits and the best selection of Pelican coolers anywhere!

We will be closed here Christmas Day, the day after Christmas and New Years Day. The rest of the time, it's business as usual. 

The following are some of our upcoming trips and classes. In case we don't see you, we want to wish all of you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Trips
January 2, 3 and 9, 10 Panama City, FL Spearfishing
If you have seen the pictures in years past where our groups will take enormous Amberjacks, it is during this time of year. In addition to Amberjack, we have been waiting for Triggerfish, Scamp and Red Grouper to come back in season and they do on Jan 1. The boat rides are shorter than usual since these fish come closer to shore in the winter time. The vessel that we privately charter has an enclosed heated area to warm up and a hot water shower. Both are a must for cold water diving.

Feb 5-7 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 and a couple of dives in one of the Springs. 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 26-April 2 Bonaire
Spencer has booked several condos on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire for our Spring Break trip. This Island is known as one of the top shore diving destinations in the world. It is also excellent for photography and one of the few land based trips that we offer where you can do up to 5 dives per day if you desire. In addition to the oceanfront condos, our package also includes use of a four door truck for your entire stay, unlimited air or Nitrox tanks and round trip airport transfers.

Dec 27/2016-Jan 8/2017 Philippines Atlantis Dive Resort
Next years New Years trip to The Philippines is already selling out fast! We are down to just a few spaces. Mark has already been on this trip once and loved it so much he booked rooms at both of the Atlantis properties for this adventure. Here are a couple of pics he took while he was there.



Continuing Education
December 19, 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.

December 19, 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.

Forrest Phillips
Southern Skin Divers Supply
4515 5th Ave South
Birmingham, Al. 35222
205-595-3052
www.ssdsupply.com

10/11/2015

Steve Phillips with Spencer in Nome Alaska August 2015. Gold Dredging cleanup

Brand new video from the Alaska adventure. Spencer cleaning up his accumulated concentrates from this summer's gold adventure in Nome Alaska. Be sure to watch till the end & see the local wildlife ;)

See it all here on YouTube

7/27/2015

5/22/2015

More relic preservation videos - Good Stuff

Steve has just posted some additional videos on relic preservation & they're getting better all the time. In his newest series, he takes an artillery shell all the way from the ground-dug condition until it's museum-grade display quality. These videos are both educational & informative, shedding light on a critical, but often neglected, step in the relic hunting field. 

I'm glad he's doing these videos so that the knowledge is passed forward to others, and that they can properly preserve artifacts for future generations' enjoyment & research.

You can find his YouTube channel here - stay tuned!

3/06/2015

Steve's new YouTube channel

Here's a fun video on Vimeo about the guys & the shop. Steve has also created a new YouTube channel to show some of his relics & adventures. Recent postings include his cast CS buckle and Confederate land mines & hand grenades. He's also posted a great video about preservation of iron relics.

Be sure to subscribe to Steve's new channel as he updates it all the time:

Steve's YouTube Channel



2/16/2015

Cast CS Plate

For Valentine's Day I found a really nice plate in Mississippi. It's been about ten years since I found a CS Plate & I think this makes about eleven total CS plates that I've found. I haven't looked on dry land in many years, and decided to get some hard exercise to get in shape for my gold dredging in Alaska this summer. Heath Jones and I walked and dug for three days before I got lucky. By the way, people always ask where something was found, so I took the photo on top of the book that I used for research of the site. 

Bless Their Hearts.

Steve Phillips 










1/02/2015

Absolutely Alabama: Southern Skin Divers at myfoxal.com

Earlier this year, we had Fred Hunter and the Absolutely Alabama channel 6 team come by Southern Skin Divers Supply to film Forrest and Spence for an episode. Forrest gave a tour of the Scuba School and what we do. Spence took Fred on a scuba experience in our pool to get him interested in becoming a diver. Here's a link to that episode that was broadcast in December.

Absolutely Alabama: Southern Skin Divers