Archive for July, 2010

Scuba Diving Certification Dives at Dutch Springs

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

What a weekend at Dutch Springs. We had a boisterous group of divers doing a lot of diving. Water temperatures ranged from 82 to 48 degrees, encouraging shallower dives. Our Advanced Open Water students didn’t have that luxury, with 4 or their 5 dives being 50 ft. or deeper, including a deep dive approaching 90 ft. And of course there was the night dive where we explored several areas of the quarry with only our dive lights to guide us. In the end our 5 Advanced Students passed with flying colors.

And let’s not forget our Open Water students. They all demonstrated their skills very well for their instructor, Steve. The whole group celebrated with a barbeque as we signed log books and congratulated each other.

A big thank you to our instructors and divemasters that made the weekend such a success!

Paul Mickel, owner
Underwater Adventures Dive Center

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Family Time

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

In between the end of school, summer camps, work, and the beginning of a busy dive season, our family was able to sneak away for a short vacation to sunny Puerto Rico. The goal was to be able to get away for a few days to relax and spend time together before the summer pulls us in different directions. No busy itineraries here. The only schedule we were on was to make sure we picked up our things from the beach before the hotel staff put the beach chairs away in the evening. We divided our time between beach and pool and usually had no idea what time it was – a good sign if your goal is to get away from it all. We usually slept until we woke up (sounds like something Yogi Berra would say!) and spent more time reading than we had in the previous 6 months.

In the process of leaving our cares behind, we found a way to bond as a family that is difficult to do at home. We had so many shared experiences that we will talk about for years to come. Whether it was feeding iguanas, participating in the local bingo game, exploring the local culture, or holding baby leatherback turtles that were nesting on the beach, we were pulling closer together, and laughter flowed easily.

Going scuba diving on the trip also brought us together. Seeing the beautiful turtles that swam past us made us realize how lucky we are to be able to enter their world. I am happy that I am able to give others the opportunity to explore the underwater realm by teaching them to be confident, safe divers. We have taught over 150 students already this year, which will translate into countless memories.

Paul Mickel

Posted in Family, Scuba Experiences | 8 Comments »

June 26-27th at Dutch

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Another great weekend at Dutch Springs and 6 new Open Water Certified Divers and 3 new Dry Suit Certified Divers! Congratulations to all, and good job instructing by Steve, Chris, and Gerry.

Posted in Scuba Diving Instruction, Scuba Experiences | No Comments »