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

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.

We had another nice weekend at Dutch Springs over the Father’s Day weekend, with 6 new Open Water students and 5 Advanced Open Water students participating in the festivities. Good weather, good food, good company, good diving . . . what could be better?

Paul

We had a fantastic opening weekend at Dutch Springs. Underwater Adventures was well represented with 5 new Open Water students who completed their certification under sunny skies and slightly chilly water (depending on who you ask).

All 5 students passed with flying colors and made the job of Paul, Steve and Ramas as their instructors and divemaster very easy. On their final dive, they even took a tour to the fighter plane to show off their new buoyancy skills! We hope to see them back for their Advanced Class soon.

Here are some of the comments from the students on their evaluations:
“Everyone had fun and learned useful scuba skills.”
“It was amazing!”
“Even though it was tiring, it was a great way to experience scuba diving.”
“I liked the personal attention to every student. Attention to details and emphasis on safety precautions.”
“Paul and Chris were excellent instructors and took the time to make sure everyone was able to move on to the next skill.”
“The whole experience was great.”
“This course would appeal to many different people.”

Soon we’ll see the group out at Dutch Springs to do their Open Water Dives and finish their certification.

We just finished our latest Open Water Diver Class over the weekend of March 19-21.   We spent a lot of time together, and by the end of the weekend we felt like we knew each other for a lot longer than 2 1/2 days!

It is amazing to see the scuba knowledge and skills develop in everyone from the time they arrived on Friday evening until our mini-Graduation ceremony on Sunday (complete with the required “Crazy Face” picture). It wasn’t always easy, and we had some surprises along the way, but in the end everyone did really well!

Here is some of the valuable feedback from comments on the course evaluation forms:
“Everything was very thorough”
“When are we going diving?”
“I liked the pool and all the time we spent in it”
“This was a great class!”
“I like the part when you breathe underwater!”
“Teachers were very patient and well experienced in conducting the training.”
“The teachers did a great job and made it easy to learn both the class work and the water skills.”
“Could not have asked for a better course or better teachers.”
“Paul seems to take a personal interest in all of the students and caters to the students’ strengths and weaknesses.”

We thank you. It was an honor for Gerry and me to have you in our class.

Good luck to everyone, and we are looking forward to seeing you all again soon during the dive season.

Paul Mickel

Sharing our passion for scuba diving is what gets us out of bed in the morning.  We’ve been lucky to be able introduce scuba to a variety of people who are interested in seeing what it’s like to breathe while underwater.  On February 20th we held a Discover Scuba Diving session for a number of Sea Scouts at the Boys and Girls Club of Union County.

It’s always fun to see what questions the boys have and how eager they are to use the equipment.  So after a safety and equipment briefing, it was into the water to try things out.  What was their favorite part?  Swimming off to the deep end, of course!

We all had our wetsuits on and were craning our necks over the side of the boat looking for the creatures we were all here to see – the endangered West Indian Manatee that make their home here. We were loaded onto the dive boat cruising along the Crystal River in Central Florida. I was conducting my Divemaster training with American Pro Diving and was helping their staff with the guided manatee tour for a girl scout troop visiting from North Carolina. Even though I was on staff that day, I was just as excited as the girls about being able to get in the water and play with these strange and playful creatures. The captain moved the pontoon boat carefully along the river. Manatees are a common sight in all parts of the river, especially during the winter months when they come in from the ocean to the relatively warm water of the Crystal River. Because it is spring-fed, the river stays a consistent 72 degrees year round.

Earlier, back at the American Pro Diving store we were briefed on what to expect during this trip and watched a video outlining the rules for interacting with the gentle and protected animals. We are allowed to approach them, touch them (they like to be scratched under their chin especially) but not to grab or hold them if they decided they wanted to submerge and end the encounter.

We learned that manatees are amazing creatures. They are mammals that feed off aquatic plants that are found among the many rivers and tributaries in coastal Florida. In fact they eat these plants in huge quantities – up to 100 pounds a day. Manatees have huge lungs that they use to control their buoyancy in the water and allow them to stay underwater for up to 20 minutes. As divers we could learn a thing or two about buoyancy from these creatures. In fact they sleep underwater and surface while sleeping in order to breathe. They have a huge, paddle-shaped tail that they use to propel them forward.

As the boat made its way long the river we were told to look over the port side of the boat where the captain pointed out the tell-tale circles in the water indicating that a manatee was below. We passed that manatee by and several others until we came to an area that seemed to satisfy the captain, and we anchored there. I was first in the water since it was my job to dive down and set the anchor on a firm spot on the bottom. One by one the group got in the water – carefully so as to not splash and scare away any nearby manatees.

At first I could only see signs of one manatee in the distance, but our captain had keener eyes than I, and soon he was pointing out a number of the floating gray animals and encouraging us to approach them. Their wrinkled faces are happy looking and with their whiskers they look like a walrus without the tusks (they are actually most closely related to elephants). As you get near a manatee you can’t help but be happy. Their soft and innocent faces beg for our attention. Their skin is rough and their bodies are soft. They seem weightless in the water, although the adults weigh an average of 1,000 pounds! Some bore the scars of encounters with boat propellers – a common hazard. Most are in no hurry to get away from us as we pet and play with them. We see a mother who proudly shows off her calf to us. We don’t get tired of hearing the words from the captain, “there’s another manatee over here, approach slowly.”

Back on the boat and enjoying some hot chocolate, we talked excitedly about how much fun it was to play with these expressive creatures and how they seemed to enjoy the encounters as much as we did. As the boat pulled to the dock and I helped the passengers with their gear, I began to prepare for my afternoon trip assisting a group of divers on a drift dive down the nearby Rainbow River. Not a bad way to spend the day.

This was the first dive trip for Underwater Adventures Dive Center, and there was much anticipation regarding the event.  Our opening ceremonies didn’t have nearly the fanfare of those in Beijing, but there was no less excitement by those in our group as we assembled at the gate in Newark Airport.  With our checked bags and carry-on luggage stuffed with dive gear and beachwear, we spoke about our plans for the long weekend in paradise.  We had two morning dives a day plus a night dive planned on the beautiful reefs surrounding the islands of Turks and Caicos.  In addition to the diving, we were plotting how we would spend our afternoons.  Should we relax and tell dive stories at the pool or on one of Grace Bay’s famous beaches?  Decisions, decisions.

Our group consisted of Paul, Kathy, Alberto, and Kirsten – owners, friends and customers of Underwater Adventures in Short Hills, NJ.  We arrived in Providenciales late afternoon on Thursday, with enough time to get oriented to the resort and its grounds.  We were staying at the Royal West Indies Resort.  Early the next morning, the van from Dive Provo picked us up promptly at 8:00 am.  All the staff at Dive Provo were friendly and professional, from the time they picked us up and loaded our gear to when they gave the briefings and offered guided tours underwater.  We experienced a number of wonderful sites off of Provo and West Provo, each with a combination of wall diving and shallower reef diving.  The cascading plate corals on the dramatic walls were breathtaking, and we saw many exciting things to talk about including: stingrays, flounder, grouper, barracuda, spiny lobster, crabs, nurse sharks, reef sharks, and a huge lemon shark that passed within 20 feet of our group.  A blackjack accompanied us on our night dive attempting to hunt by the light of our dive lights.  In all, we enjoyed the diving immensely.

Post dive activities were enjoyable as well.  We logged our dives poolside while sipping tropical drinks and recounting all we had seen each day.  Then at the beach, the 84 degree water and powder white sand gave us the perfect setting for relaxing after our day of diving.  At night, after enjoying a meal in town, we found our way to a t.v. to watch Michael Phelps and his unfathomable feats.  His performances, and those of the other athletes, inspired us to do our best in our diving.  We rose to the occasion.

Gold Medals awarded:

Kirsten:  for endurance and perseverance.  She not only continued her dives after a bout of seasickness on the first day, but also survived multiple sea wasp stings on the night dive. 

Kathy:  for overcoming the long odds of making the trip at all due to an injured neck.  Not only did she shake off the pain and join the group on Saturday, but took a leadership role in the dives.

Alberto:  for advancing in his diving skills.  In his first ocean dives, Alberto has already exhibited a relaxed and comfortable style in the water.  He also achieved his PADI Advanced Open Water certification while on the trip.

Paul:  for successfully navigating back to the boat each dive.  OK, given that the boat was usually moored near the wall, it wasn’t that tough a task, but I have to give myself something!

We are already planning what to do on our next trip, to Bonaire in December.  We can only hope that we have as many good experiences and laughs as we did in Turks and Caicos. 

I was in forty feet of water at a dive site known as Palancar Garden in Cozumel, Mexico.  I checked my gauges.  I had plenty of air left so I signaled to my dive buddy, Mike, that we should head off towards the fork-shaped pinnacle of coral that stood thirty feet away.  We were in search of a striped frogfish that the divemaster had talked about in the briefing back on the boat.  These rare fish inhabit the reef or sandy bottoms, luring prey with a small boomerang-shaped object attached to its head by a translucent filament.  It had its own built-in fishing rod!  The divemaster said they were difficult to spot because they are so well camouflaged.  Mike and I were determined to see this amazing fish on the dive.  I knew that finding it would be one of those remarkable experiences that you tell your friends and family about.

I have had many moments while scuba diving that make me stop and appreciate what is in front of me:  seeing the delicate beauty of a dwarf seahorse clinging to a blade of seagrass, taking in the scene that unfolds as you descend and a shipwreck comes into view for the first time, and watching my daughter as she smiles through her regulator because she’s having so much fun.

How did all this start?

The first time I tried scuba, in a pool under the supervision of an instructor, I was hesitant and a bit apprehensive.  I mean, how can this work?  How is it that I will be able to actually breathe underwater?  But a few minutes later there I was using the regulator and scuba tank in the shallow end of the pool.  Now I could stay underwater and look around to my heart’s content.  It was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.

When we reached the fork-shaped pinnacle, Mike and I started to circle it – he towards the top and I ten feet below him.  I looked carefully in each hole or depression, looking for any change in the pattern of the coral that might indicate that a hiding frogfish was there.  Just as I was thinking we would have to return to the boat, Mike began frantically tapping on his tank to get my attention.  I knew that could mean only one thing.  I raced over to him, but it took me a minute to make out what he was pointing at.  Then I felt a smile break out on my face.  The frogfish was a deep red color with a dark pattern across its body.  It was looking up and was perfectly still, except I could see the lure dancing back and forth in front of its mouth.  After soaking the moment in a little longer, we backed away from our new friend and simulated an underwater high-five and then started to head back to the boat.  On our ascent, I was already thinking about how much fun it was going to be to tell our friends on the boat about our discovery, and why I love scuba diving so much.

Paul Mickel is the owner of Underwater Adventures Dive Center in Short Hills, NJ.  Underwater Adventures offers scuba instruction so that you can get your certification before your next warm water vacation.  Go to www.underwater-adventures.com or call (973) 258-1300 for more information.