Cozumel Trip April 1-9, 2011

Located just south of the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Mexican island of Cozumel has always been considered one of the top dive destinations in the world.

Most of the dive action happens on the southwest end of the island. Walls like Columbia, San Francisco and the most famous of all-Palancar amaze divers with their display of huge fans and sponges. On shallower dives like Tormentos and Chankanaab, the reef is alive with fish and corals. Don’t forget to look under ledges for the native Splendid Toad Fish!
Cozumel is most famous for its drift diving. A strong current runs along the length of the island. Rather than swim against it, all dives are done as drift dives. That means after you jump in, the current moves you along and the boat will pick you up 1/2 mile or so downstream! This is the perfect place to earn your Drift Diver Specialty class, one step closer to a PADI Master Scuba Diver!

We will be staying at the Wyndham Resort Cozumel. This beautiful resort has the longest beach on the island as well as pools, restaurants and bars. Our diving will be with the in house dive operator, Sand Dollar Sports.

$1799* includes roundtrip airfare to Cozumel with an overnight in Denver (April 1), transfers, lodging, 5 days of 2 tank dives, all meals, pre and post trip parties, T-shirt and all taxes. You can upgrade to an Ocean View room for $130 per person or an Ocean Front room for $300 per person.

**This is the cash/check discount price. Regular price is $1853. Price is subject to change and is based on Double Occupancy. Single supplement is $280. Deposits may be non-refundable and cancellation charges may apply.

After Black Friday Specials!

December 3 only!! 9am-7pm

Door Buster Deals-
First 20 people at the shop receive FREE Defog!

9am-10am-
Free Discover Scuba Gift Cards- Limit 2 per person-The perfect stocking stuffer for your non-diver friends and family

11am-12pm
Dive Utah gives you Gas!-Free air for a year with the purchase of a scuba tank

3pm-4pm
Extra 10% off mask, snorkel and fin packages Take an extra 10% off our already discounted packages.

5-6pm
Extra 10% off regulator/BCD packages.WOW!!

All Day Deals
FREE Seadive Seaventure Mask with any purchase over $100.

Prepaid Rental Card-$300 for 2011 Local Diving Calendar
February-Crater, March-Crater, April-Blue Lake, May-Blue Lake, June-Flaming Gorge, July-Bear Lake or Sand Hollow, August-Sand Hollow, September-Sand Hollow, October-Sand Hollow and Blue Lake
With this package, pay for 6 weekends and get 4 free!

2011 Trips-put down $500 toward Hawaii, Cozumel or Fiji and get $100 In-Store Credit (for merchandise or classes) or any 2 Specialty Classes! (does not include materials, rental or entry fees)

PADI Master Scuba Diver Pay for any 3 Specialty Classes and get Peak Performance Buoyancy and Altitude Free!! (new enrollment only, does not include materials, rentals or entry fees)

DEMA Day 2

Today we got to meet with many of our reps. We started with Ray from Aeris. We like some of their BCD's. They have a great middle of the road, weight integrated BCD that runs about $300. Look for this in time for Christmas. We also really like the Lavacore suits.

These are trilaminate fleece lined suits. They are great for warmer water (about the same warmth as a 2mm) but you don't need extra weight. They are also great to layer with if you want a little something extra warmth.


From Aeris, we headed down to Scubapro to meet with Richard. We were super excited to see that Scubapro is getting back into the drysuit and technical markets again. These are areas that Scubapro had moved away from in the past.

The first picture is their neoprene drysuit. It will be about $900. It is a 5mm suit. That mean it will be great for colder water. You won't need to wear that much under it to stay warm.


This one is their shell style of suit. I have always preferred these since you can wear different insulating layers and that gives you more options in water temps. This suit is about $1600. Both suits will have a boot similar to DUI rock boots and have SI Tech valves. These are the best values out there. They also come with pockets built into the thighs, a plus for tech divers. Speaking of tech......

......Scubapro is getting back into tech gear. They had the S-Tek line a few years ago. I wasn't the biggest fan. They have brought it back and included a harness/ backplate/wing system similar to Halcyon. I have become a big fan of this style of BCD and look forward to trying this one.

Lastly we meet with Jeff from Cramer Decker. We do a lot of bags and boots with this company. They are the guys who take care of Akona. They had a really cool regulator bag that folds out into a mesh duffel. This was pretty cool!

It starts out like any old reg bag and then..............................................


TA DA!! The mesh duffel comes out from the side. Pretty cool!

Tomorrow we wrap up and try to book some travel as well..

DEMA Day 1

Greetings from Las Vegas! Home to casinos, Wayne Newton and the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association's annual trade show. The DEMA show is our annual event that brings together all the training associations, manufacturers and exotic dive locations in one location. For the last few years, DEMA has moved back and forth between Las Vegas and Orlando. This year we are back in Vegas. So what did we see today?

After a nice 5 hour drive, we got into the show and started checking out the latest and greatest. Our favorite item we saw today was a new camera and housing from Ikelite. The camera is the JVC PICSIO. This is JVC's version of the flip video. It shoots HD video and 5 mp stills. It has a touch screen and is waterproof down to 10 feet and the housing can go down to 100 feet.

We also sat in on three seminars. We hit two from PADI, Marketing Ideas for New Divers and New Products. We also sat in on a DEMA sponsored seminar, PR for you Dive Business. Now we can get some media attention when we head out for ice diving.

Check back tomorrow when we meet with Aeris and Mares!

Fiji Trip June 2011

Fiji is one of those magical places where the name itself is enough to get reactions. Just mention it to your fiends that you are thinking of going there and see what they say. Palm trees, beaches, friendly locals, soft corals, anemones and who can forget kava! Join us as we explore Taveuni and stay and dive at the Garden Island Resort.

The Garden Island Resort has long been a diver’s favorite. Fed by the nutrient-rich waters that flow through the Somosomo Straits, Taveuni's Rainbow Reef is home to one of the world's greatest displays of soft coral. Famous sites like the Great White Wall, The Ledge and Annie’s Bommie are a short boat ride away.

When you are not diving, the simple luxury of the rooms and grounds will entice you with a feeling of complete peace that is hard to find anywhere else.

When we are not diving, Taveuni offers many wonders to be seen. No trip to Taveuni would be complete without visiting the Bouma Falls and the International Dateline. Truly every beautiful day begins on Taveuni.
About a 30-minute walk takes you to the lovely old Catholic mission at Wairiki. The mission is set into the hillside and overlooks the site where Taveuni warriors turned back thousands of Tongans in a battle which was fought in canoes just off the beach. The warriors then celebrated by cooking the Tongans in a lovo (a traditional way of Fijian cooking) and eating them with breadfruit.

$2900* includes roundtrip air from LAX to Taveuni, lodging, meals, 5 days of diving (12 dives), transfers, taxes, pre and post trip parties and t-shirt. Air from SLC to LAX is NOT included.

*This is the cash/check discount price. Regular price is $2987. Price is subject to change and is based on Double Occupancy. Single supplement will be extra. Deposits may be non-refundable and cancellation charges may apply.

Hawaii Trip-February 2011

Hawaii. America’s paradise. The diving and experiences at each of the Hawaiian Islands is as varied as the colors you see below on their reefs. Each island has a signature dive and feel. Join us as we explore the best of Hawaii.

We start in Maui as we join our old friend and Dive Utah Instructor Eric as he shows us around his current island home. After a few days here, we fly to the big island of Hawaii to stay on the Kona Coast, home to the famous manta ray night dive. Our last stop will be the beautiful, unspoiled island of Kauai.
Each island will feature a day of diving and a free day to dive.

Our first dives will take place off Maui and Lanai as we explore the swim throughs of the Cathedrals. As light pours through the openings near the top of the swim throughs it reminds divers of stained glass.

The Kona area of the big island of Hawaii is famous for the manta ray night dive. Large lights are shown into the water to attract plankton which brings in huge mantas for dinner! Kneeling on the bottom at 20’ allows plenty of dive time to watch the mantas cart wheeling right over your head.

Diving around Kauai can only be described as fabulous. You may see
butterfly fish, green sea turtles and white tip reef sharks.

On your free days you can schedule more diving, explore the island or simply relax. You will have the opportunity to see volcanoes and bike down from their peaks, partake of a luau, hike through lush rainforests or thrill down a zip line. See the itinerary below for daily details.

$2350* includes 3 days of diving, roundtrip air from SLC including inter-island air, lodging, pre and post trip parties, taxes and t-shirt. Additional island activities are not included in the price.

*This is the cash/check discount price. Regular price is $2420. Price is subject to change and is based on Double Occupancy. Single supplement will be extra. Deposits may be non-refundable and cancellation charges may apply.



Best of Hawaii Trip Details

Saturday 19 February 2011-Depart SLC at 11:19am. Arrive San Francisco 12:36pm, change planes and depart at 4:30pm. Arrive Honolulu 7:51pm, change planes and depart 10:40pm. Arrive Maui at 10:17pm and transfer to Outrigger Aina Nalu Resort.

Sunday 20 February-Free day.
Activities may include- a trip to Hana, an undeveloped area on the coast of Maui. Zip line. Bike ride down from volcano. Enjoy the beach/pool at resort. Night dive off Lahaina pier.

Monday 21 February-2-tank morning dive to Cathedrals off Lanai. Hopefully see whales on boat ride to and from Lanai. Return to resort by approx. 1pm. Afternoon is free. See activities from Sunday.

Tuesday 22 February-Depart Maui between 8:40 and 9:45am. Arrive Big Island-Kona between 9:22 and 10:27am and transfer to Royal Kona Resort. Dive shop will pick up divers between 3-4pm for 2-tank late afternoon and night dive with manta rays.

Wednesday 23 February-Free day
Activities may include drive to lava flow. Hike to water falls. Enjoy the beach/pool at resort.

Thursday 24 February-Depart Big Island at 10:09am. Arrive Kauai 10:45am and transfer to Kauai Beach Resort. Rest of day is free.
Activities may include helicopter ride to Jurassic Falls or Grand Canyon. Hiking. Zip line. Enjoy the beach/pool at resort.

Friday 25 February-2-tank morning dive. Afternoon is free. We will plan an activity once we arrive. Most likely enjoy a luau that night.

Saturday 26 February-Day is free until 6pm. Check out of hotel and depart Kauai 7:55pm. Arrive Honolulu at 8:25pm, change planes and depart at 10pm.

Sunday 27 February-Arrive Los Angeles at 5:14am, change planes and depart 7:50am. Arrive SLC at 10:37am

Dive Travel

One of the best parts of being in the dive shop business is the ability to put together and lead divers and friends to exotic locations around the world. Here is the basic jist of how that happens.

We start with by looking at places we want to go and suggestions from our customers. Sometimes this is general (South Pacific) sometimes it is very specific (Garden Island Resort on Taveuni in Fiji).

At least a year out, we are talking about the trip and starting to get people interested. Sometimes we already have specific dates and a price, sometimes we are still trolling for interest.

At 8 months, we have a destination, a date, a price and 6-8 people already on board. We have information on our website, blog and Facebook page as well as having sent out at least 1 email to our mailing list to let them know about it.

At 6 months out, we have a firm number of people that we expect to take with us. We always start with a number in mind but that can change. By 6 months, we can still add or subtract rooms without penalty. If we have not had enough interest, we will cancel a trip at this point.

At 3 months out, we are starting to communicate more with our guests who are going, we are reminding them about passports and final payments. We might still be trying to fill the last few spots. We are finalizing flight info.

At 2 months out, final payments are due.

At 1 month, we have a pre-trip meeting to meet and greet and go over details. We take care of gear servicing and rentals. We take care of paperwork for any classes that may be happening on the trip.

And we're off!!

Update from Sand Hollow

We got back from the Sand Hollow trip safe and sound. It was great to really be able to make repetitive dives there and get a good feel for what is out there. We did all of our diving in the no-boating area to the right of the boat ramp. First off there is a small buoy attached to a platform at about 30'. It is about 75 yards from the shore. If you swim up to the left of that, you get some nice lake grass and some canyons as you get closer to the rock islands. To the right, it gets a little deeper but there is not the grass, more of just a muddy bottom without much to see. The thermocline was around 40' with temps in the mid 70's above it and the high 60's below it.

Coming off from the north side of the platform is a rope that stretches north and will take you to a direction sign. (St George that way, the plane this way, the dive shop the other way etc.) The sign is about 100' to the north.

After swimming along the first rope for about 30', you will see a second rope heading east. Following this rope for about 8 minutes will lead you to the buoyancy course. The course is located in a canyon and has about 5 hula hoops/diamonds to swim through as well as 2 larger diameter pipes. These are located at various depths of about 28-40'.

Now here is where it gets tricky. When you are in the canyon, toward the south end of the buoyancy course, hang a 90* turn and head up and out of the canyon heading toward the lake (not back to shore). You will go up and over a ridge, another canyon, another ridge and a third canyon. Keep your depth about 35' and you will pick up another rope that will lead you to the VW van. It is sitting about 25' deep. The van is fun as you can go in and out of the back, side door and driver's side door. Be careful not to get stuck.

Watch your air since at this point, you will be getting to about 1/2 a tank if not lower. Now it's going to get even more vague. If you continue to swim out toward the lake (not the shore) and keep the shallower side on your left and your depth about 40', you may eventually find the plane. It is a small single seat Cessna. Be forewarned, there is still a pilot in the cockpit! We found the plane by surface swimming out and then dropping down to 40' and dang near landing right on it. Next trip I want to double check finding the plane from the van but this is how it felt like it was laid out.

From the surface, the plane can be found by swimming out until you are just on the shallow side and to the left of the first large rock that is south of the island. It is a long swim to try and get out and back on 1 tank so be prepared for some surface swimming.

Sand Hollow Dive This Weekend!!

We have our second trip to Sand Hollow scheduled for this weekend. The weather forecast is hot and sunny so bring plenty of sunscreen and water. Talking to local dive shops, they say the water is about 76* with a thermocline at 30' where it drops to 72*. I am bringing my 3mm and 5mm just in case. We are looking forward to really exploring the lake. We are going to bring a few floats so we can really map out the bottom and get a good idea of where everything is. The air trailer will be there and fills will be $5 each. We are planning on meeting at 10am and hanging out pretty much all day into the evening. Sunday morning we will be back and plan on hanging around until about noon. If you miss out, we will be back there September 25 for our annual BBQ/Treasure Hunt. Details coming next week!!

New Lower Price on CompuMask

Aeris has just announced that they have lowered the suggested retail on their popular CompuMask. This unique mask features a fully air-integrated dive computer right in your mask. The readout tracking depth, time and air appears in the lower right corner of the mask. The CompuMask had retailed for $1495 but Aeris has lowered the price to $999.95. Take it for a test dive next time you are in the shop.

GoPro Night!!

We have a PADI GoPro night scheduled for next Friday July 23 at 6pm here at the shop. Have you every thought about taking your diving to the next level? Maybe even get paid to dive? Sounds crazy, getting paid to go diving!! This is the night to find out if that path is for you. Never say never, come down that night and hear my story about how I got into diving and where it lead me. I am pleased to be joined that night by two good friends, first our PADI Course Director Jon Rusho. Jon takes care of the Instructor Level Courses here at Dive Utah. We are also lucky enough to have the PADI Regional Manager for the Northwest United States, Barry Dunford, joining us for the evening. Come down and hear some great dive stories, learn more about becoming a PADI Pro and maybe take advantage of some great class packages we will be offering that night. See you there!!

Aqua Cat Purrs!!

We just returned from our favorite Bahamas trip of all time!! The Aqua Cat lived up to everything we remembered from two years ago when we last visited. It was a little windy which made for a few hours of rough seas but Captain Ron (yes, that's his real name) did a great job of keeping the rough rides to a minimum.

We dove some old favorite sites like Jewfish Wall and Flat Rock Reef, the drift dives of Wax Cut Caye and the Washing Machine and of course, the shark dive at Amberjack Reef. To ease us with the wind, we spent 2 days on Eleuthera and got to see some new sites like the Cobia Cage and Split Rock.

This is my far the best live-aboard I have ever been on and we already planning to go back in 2012.

New Equipment from Sub Gear

We are pleased to bring some new items from Sub Gear into the shop. This is a smaller company, an offshoot of Scubapro. We have brought in some long sleeve rash guards with some cool tribal graphics on them. The Ladies comes in white and Mens comes in black.

We also have brought in two of their masks. The Sprite has a white skirt and is a very comfortable ladies mask (though some of the male staff think they might try them.) You might recognize the Sub View Mini as the old Scubapro Cool Vu mask. This is also a great mask for any face that is a little smaller and narrower. We were sad to see Scubapro stop carrying this and are glad to have it back as an option.

Mass Migration of Stingrays

Mass Migration of Stingrays
Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico . The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters. Gliding silently beneath the waves, they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula . Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks. She said: 'It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.

'It's hard to say exactly how many there were, but in the range of a few thousand'

'We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too. I feel very fortunate I was there in the right place at the right time to experience nature at its best' Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 meters) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays.

They have long, pointed pectoral fins that separate into two lobes in front of their high-domed heads and give them a cow-like appearance. Despite having poisonous stingers, they are known to be shy and non-threatening when in large schools. The population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates, in schools of as many as 10,000, clockwise from western Florida to the Yucatan .

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Belize Report

Dave took a group of 12 down to Ambergris Caye in Belize last month. They stayed at the very beautiful Ramon's Village Resort. The rooms were thatched covered cabanas and the beach was perfect. The diving was fun and all agreed that the 3 tank dive to the Blue Hole were the best dives of the trip. The divers enjoyed seeing nurse sharks and sting rays on several dives as well as the biggest puffer/porcupine fish anyone had ever seen. A fun mid week side trip was taken to the ruins of Xunantunich. These great ruins are right on the border with Guatemala, in fact you can see into Guatemala from the top of the temple. They also did some un-Belize-able cave tubing as well.

Intro to Technical Diving Clinic

If you are curious to learn more about technical diving then come down to Dive Utah April 14 at 6:30pm for an Intro to Tec Diving Clinic. We will even have a few sets of double tanks for you to try out in the pool!!

Technical diving is scuba diving’s “extreme” sport, taking experienced and qualified divers far deeper than in mainstream recreational diving. Technical diving is marked by significantly more equipment and training requirements to manage the additional hazard this type of diving entails.If you think it's not for you, you are right — it's NOT for you!

Tec diving isn’t for everyone... It is extremely challenging... But for those who hear its challenge call, the DSAT TecRec courses are the answer.

What is Technical Diving? Technical scuba diving is defined as diving other than conventional commercial or research diving that takes divers beyond recreational scuba diving limits. It is further defined as and includes one or more of the following:

-diving beyond 40 metres/130 feet deep

-required stage decompression

-diving in an overhead environment beyond 40 linear metres/130 linear feet of the surface

-accelerated decompression and or the use of variable gas mixtures during the dive.

Because in technical diving the surface is effectively inaccessible in an emergency, tec divers use extensive methodologies and technologies and training to manage the added risks. Even with these, however, tec diving admittedly has more risk, potential hazard and shorter critical error chains than does recreational scuba diving.

Ice Dive!!

It's that time of year again, break out the trusty drysuit, find a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice and jump on in!! This is a yearly Dive Utah tradition. This year we are headed to Scofield Reservoir on March 6. You will need to be PADI Advanced Open Water and have some dry suit experience. Call today to save your spot.

Horizon-California Trip

California’s Channel Islands have long been a Utah diver’s playground. With reasonable airfare available, it is an easy getaway for a weekend or more of great diving. If you want the most diving possible, then join Dive Utah for a live-aboard trip on the Horizon.

The Horizon is an 85’ boat based in San Diego. You will be diving around San Clemente Island and the kelp forests off the coast of Southern California. Apart from that, you will see seals and sea lions, sharks, eels, lobsters, garibaldi and enjoy diving in the kelp forests that abound in this area. Nitrox is also available if you want to be able to extend your bottom times. This is our most popular trip of the year with a lot of repeat customers who come out year after year.

You will board the Horizon the night of July 7 and the boat will depart from San Diego for the Channel Islands around 11pm. You wake up on the morning of July 8, anchored at a great dive site and ready to go. You proceed to eat and dive for the next 2 ½ days as we explore Southern California’s kelp forests. We return to San Diego the evening of July 10 and disembark.
$550* for a 2 person cabin or $505* for a 4 person cabin or dormitory bunk includes all your meals, diving and lodging. Transportation can be arranged.

*This is the special cash/check/debit card price. Add 3 % for credit cards

Dive in for Haiti A Sucess!!

Dive Utah had a great turnout for the Dive In for Haiti Fundraiser. Over 50 people attended and over $1100 was raised for the American Red Cross. We had 17 people take part in Discover Scubas, 6 people in an underwater Texas Hold'em tournament and numerous people bid on various prizes in the silent auction. We had Jazz and Bee's tickets, an ipod, gift baskets and gift certificates to various businesses. A special thanks goes out to the Adams Family, Little Caesars Pizza, Leonhardt Pepsi Distribution, Scubapro, Seadive, PADI, H&R Block and Mount Olympus Crossfit for their donations.

Dive In for Haiti

We are all shocked by the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. As divers who frequent the Caribbean we have all seen the effects of hurricanes and natural disasters. Join Dive Utah as we raise money for Haitian Relief on January 30 from 1-4pm.

Divers
Come down to Dive Utah, donate at least $10 and take a dive in the pool. Feel free to use our equipment if you need (though if we are busy you might need to wait your turn).

Non-Divers
Non-divers can try out scuba diving. Our instructors are volunteering so the normal price of a Discover Scuba, $15, will also go the relief donation. Call ahead to schedule your Discover time.

Raffle and Silent Auction
You’ll get 2 raffle tickets for showing up and extra tickets are $5 each. We will also have some items for silent auctions. IF YOU HAVE ITEMS OR SERVICES YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE, PLEASE CONTACT US!!

Texas Hold’em Underwater
We will have 2 Texas Hold’em tournaments in the pool at 1:30 and 2:30. Buy in is $10 with a prize to the top finisher of each. We are limited to 8 people per tournament so call today to reserve your spot.

Come out and join in a great cause. All entry fees, Discover fees, raffle tickets and Texas Hold’em fees will be donated to Haitian Earthquake Relief.

For more information or to sign up, please see a staff member or call 277-3483.

New Scubapro Fins

We have replaced our entry level fin with the new Scubapro Jet Sport. You will notice a similar look to their popular Twin Jets but minus the split. It has a vented blade for a more efficent stroke and come in 4 sizes and 4 colors (black with gray, blue, yellow and red). Come down and give a pair a try today!