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Spring 2004
New and Exciting at Aqua Safaris—We can’t
believe it, but somehow we let our Anniversary slip by. As of March,
Aqua Safaris has been at our new location for 6 years! To celebrate,
we will be serving cake at our Sale on June 5th & 6th. Please
come by and share a piece with us.
 Our
weekly conditions reports have made a big difference to divers.
We send it out to you Thursday so that you can make weekend dive
plans. If you still aren’t on our list, please call and get
signed up. In addition, if you have do not have dede@aquasafaris.com
in your address book, our e-mails to you may get bounced back. If
you are an Aqua Safaris advanced diver and want to get in on our
“Club Dives,” have your name put on the list by sending
DeDe an e-mail with “Club Dive” in the subject line.
We will send out the dive location and meeting time in addition
to the conditions report.
The SCUBA industry is working harder to come up with ways to allow
you to get the gear you need. Currently, both SCUBAPRO and AQUA
LUNG are offering rebate programs. You can save more than $100 on
a new regulator. Come in and talk with one of our Sales Associates—they’ll
set you up with gear that fits your needs and your budget.
Welcome to our latest Sales Associates: Paul Charupoom is a Marine
Reservist, avid paint ball player and referee, and soon to be one
of our newest NAUI instructors; Chelsea McDonald is a UCSC student
studying politics, an active divemaster and UCSC Dive Club President.
If you haven’t met Paul or Chelsea, please say “Hi”
the next time you are in.
SUMMER SCUBA SALE—Check us out on June 5th & 6th. Everything
in the store will be 10% to 75% OFF! This will make sure that those
of you who haven’t been diving over the winter have everything
you need to get back in the water this summer! Stop by—it would
be great to see you.
Channel Islands—Space is filling up quickly on our Summer Three Day Charter (Jul 30–Aug 1) and our Three Day Lobster Opener (Sep 30–Oct 2) trip. Cost is only $415 for either trip. Call the shop today and put down your $200 to hold your spot.
Leadership Classes—Share your love of diving
with others by becoming a NAUI SCUBA Diving Instructor, Assistant
Instructor or Dive Master. Aqua Safaris SCUBA Center offers all
of these courses. You can be teaching, assisting or taking divers
on tour by the end of this month! See the calendar on the back or
call us for details on these courses.
DIR Class—Damien Long, one of our NAUI instructors
is offering a new type of class to our customers.
GUE Instructor Joe Talavera will be teaching a DIR-Fundamentals
course. For any diver looking to improve their own personal skill,
the DIR-F course functions as an excellent clinic to assess and
address one’s diving. Based on 12 skills, the class uses video
from your dives to help you improve, from new finning techniques
(like going backwards) to safely shooting a surface marker from
depth. At the end, you’ll understand how to be safer underwater,
and ultimately, have more fun while diving.
Upcoming schedule: June 23rd, 6–9 PM; June 25th, 6–9 PM; June 26th–27th TBD.
Shared Adventures—July 17th
Share your ocean experience. Please join us at Cowell’s Beach
in Santa Cruz on July 17th from noon to 5 pm, when we’ll be
sharing the adventure of the ocean with people with disabilities.
We’ll be outfitting participants of all ages with wetsuits,
masks and snorkels and helping them experience the delight of water-borne
weightlessness, the thrill of breathing and seeing under water.
Volunteer help is needed—come play! For more information,
call our shop at (831) 479-4386.
BAJA—One might think that returning to the same
destination over and over again, year after year would grow tiresome.
This couldn’t be further from the truth—if the destination
is BAJA. Here’s part of Kirk McNeill’s three-page summary
of the trip in March:
 “Below
me I saw a huge fish swim by in the opposite direction. I noticed
a spear thru it’s back just below the dorsal and it was gone.
Then I saw Steve go by, hanging on to his spear gun for dear life!
Thinking he might need some help I surfaced and swam in the line
of their travel. Suddenly Steve broke the surface a few yards ahead
of me. Gasping for breath, and kicking hard to stay on the surface
against the struggles of his prey.
The big fish pulled him under and I got over there, fast! Steve
broke the surface again. He must have seen me the first time, because
he was yelling “Kirk, Kirk! Go down and shoot him!”
I dove and got close to the really very large fish, lined up a shot
and plugged him right behind the gills. That took a lot of the fight
out of him. We got him to the boat, and hauled him aboard. When
Dave got back he expressed amazement that a 40 lb. Yellow Tail had
been taken without a float or reel. There was considerable celebration
and feasting that afternoon!”
Diving for Father’s Day—Looking for the
perfect gift for Father’s Day? How about sending your dad
diving! We’ve chartered the Escapade for June 19th—Father’s
Day weekend. Cost is $80.00 for two-tank dive in Monterey. Space
is limited so don’t wait too long to get your dad on board.
The crew will make your dad’s day extra special!
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