10/29/2014

Dive Newsletter

Hello Divers!
We have all kinds of things to tell you about but first, be sure to turn on The Outdoor Channel this Sat, Nov 1st at 11am. This will be the season premier of the show Gold Fever, episode "Treasure Keys". The stars of the show, Tom and Kia Massie, flew all the way from California and Alaska to Birmingham to let SSDS teach them how to dive. We put them through their paces just like we have done the rest of our students for over 60 years now. Much of the program has Forrest and Spencer teaching the hosts here at The SCUBA School as well as their certification dives in Panama City, FL. We also make a special visit to Bill Tant's "Captn SCUBA House" in St. Andrews Marina. This will also be the first time that the rarest of all dug relics has been filmed on a Nationally Televised Show. Steve recovered and preserved this artifact and goes in to detail about what it was used for during the War Between the States. We know that the Massie family could have gone anywhere to earn their certification and we are very thankful that they chose to do it with us!



Last month we also had Fred Hunter and the Absolutely Alabama channel 6 team come by Southern Skin Divers Supply and film Forrest and Spence for an episode that will be broadcast in December. 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. Be watching for this show also.

TRIPS
November 8,9 and 22,23 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 31, Feb 1 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 28-April 4 Cayman Islands Liveaboard
The New Years trip to the Bahamas is sold out and we are down to 5 spaces available on our Spring Break trip to the Cayman Islands. This is a very luxurious boat with great food and world class diving. This boat consistently is our best overall vacation dive trip and is the one we have used for several years.

Holiday Equipment Specials
SSDS is the best place for the absolute best coolers on the market, Pelican Coolers. We have every size and color they make including the brand new 20 qt model. They will hold ice for up to 10 days and come with a Lifetime Warranty. 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! Also, from now until the end of the year all of our wrist computers come with a wireless transmitter at 50% off!

Continuing Education
Dec 6th, 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.

Dec 6th, 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.


Upcoming Alaskan Crew Opportunities:

Click these links for detailed info......


and


Give us a call at the Scuba School if you are ready to go diving on any of these adventures.

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

10/01/2014

"Absolutely Alabama" Visits

Fred Hunter with Fox 6's "Absolutely Alabama" was at the Scuba School early in October filming a show. That's going to air later this year & we'll keep you posted as to when. Thanks Fred!

8/19/2014

More pics from Alaska & the Gulf





8/09/2014

Spearfishing Update..........

Hello Divers!

We are still taking at least one group trip a week here at SSDS.  Last week several members of our Spearfishing team, The Tourists, competed in the 38th Annual Alabama Open Spearfishing Rodeo.


Many of the best Spearfishers along the Gulf Coast enjoyed perfect conditions during this contest, and on one of our dives we had a giant Manta Ray swim with us for about half an hour.   Many good fish were harvested by our group.  

Here are photos of Forrest's third place winning Amberjack and Joe Calvert's third place winning Grouper.


7/28/2014

Alaska Update

Our Cabin
Our Cabin
A lot of our crew is busy gold-finding in Alaska right now where the current temperature is 46 & highs in the 60's - sounds pretty nice compared against what we have here at home! Steve & Spencer have sent us some new pictures & a video. If you're interested in knowing more, or just want to talk about adventures, you can contact Steve at 205-672-9310.

Here's a video of one of Jimmie's clean ups.....two weeks worth here on ===>>Vimeo
Spence brought me some sweetener for my coffee
Spence brought me some sweetener for my coffee
















The ravens ripped into one of my boxes and stole 30 candy bars



















Our inland camp on the Casadepaga River, 60 miles from Nome
















One of our claims on Lower Willow & Ridgeway creek where we dredge gold



A friend flew in to visit us
A bucket off of a bucket line dredge that was at my claim
Spence, Jimmie and Rob caught Grayling for supper
We eat good
Spence at our containers in town with a muskox

Spence on an old bucket line dredge near one of our claims




Spence got into a few nuggets one day

3/02/2014

Feb. Newsletter

Hello Divers!

During the past 4 years, SSDS has averaged 50 group trips a year and we are off to a quick start this year with another 50 or so this planned in 2014.  So far this year we have already taken divers on check out dive trips, Liveaboard diving in Belize, Spearfishing in Panama City and a couple of Manatee trips.

On our last Manatee trip, we took 25 divers to Crystal River, The Rainbow River and Weeki Wachee Springs.  This is a great time of year to escape the cold and dive in water that is about 73 degrees and we saw around 100 or so very affectionate Manatee.  Check out this video by our friend Shaun Stancil who is using the brand new SeaLife DC1400 underwater camera.

This is a great, inexpensive and easy to use photo system that has optional modeling lights, strobes and lenses.  As you can see it also takes excellent HD video!  We have several of these packages on sale at SSDS.

Here are some trips we have coming up with spots available.  Call us quick because they are all selling out fast.


Trips
March 8, 9 Panama City, FL Spearfishing
Spencer will be leading this group on some of our best dive sites for spearfishing this time of year out of Panama City. When we do these sites we generally bring back several hundred pounds of fish each day. We also have a very nice boat chartered with an enclosed area great for changing and getting out of the wind.

March 14-16 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! Spencer will be leading a few hearty souls on this trip.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 27, 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 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 big, deep 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 2, 3 and May 31-June 1 Spearfishing in Orange Beach and Pensacola, FL
We have a couple of boats going out during some of the tournaments with the Alabama Spearfishing Association and the Gulf Coast Lionfish Coalition.   Our Captains put you on very good fish during these contests with Amberjack, Cobia, Triggerfish and Red Snapper (June 1) being targeted.

May 17, 18 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 great trip 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.

July 19-26 Bonaire
The Island of Bonaire has perhaps the best shore diving in the Caribbean. The shore dives are clearly marked and with the unlimited diving package that we have, you may dive as frequently as you wish. Included in this package are oceanfront condo accommodations, truck rental, unlimited air diving and Nitrox diving (if you are Nitrox certified) and transfers to and from the airport in Bonaire. Mark will be running this trip so give us a call at The SCUBA School for more details.

Continuing Education

March 15, 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 15, 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.

April 5, 9:00 am 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