| June 1, 2009 - After the Show | | | | solution to this problem. The Dive Caddy allows divers |
| | | | to put all of their gear in a simple roll-up bag that can |
| Cool mornings, cloudy days and big crowds marked | | | | be used as a carry-on item. There is a video demo |
| the Scuba Show weekend in Long Beach ( I | | | | on their site. |
| can’t think of too many ways I would rather | | | | One of my favorite stops at every dive show is by |
| spend a weekend than looking at all the cool new | | | | the DeepSeaSupply ( Booth. Tobin, the |
| products and talking Scuba diving. OK, perhaps I | | | | company’s president, always has a good little |
| would rather be Scuba diving. But, this was a good | | | | give-away. This year was no different. His innovative |
| second. | | | | product of the show was his Power Inflator Service |
| A lot of folks used the weekend to spend one day | | | | Tool. I took some time and went through all his gear |
| in the water in Catalina or Laguna and then one day | | | | offerings. And, as usual, the innovation and high |
| at the show. A great combination! For the most part, | | | | quality continues to be signature mark for |
| there were a lot of happy divers enjoying what they | | | | DeepSeaSupply. |
| love the most - Scuba. | | | | There must have been four or five rebreather |
| There were many ‘highlights’ to the 76,000 | | | | manufacturers represented at the show. And, the |
| square foot Exhibit. The over 200 vendors were | | | | folks at Extreme Scuba, were touting their |
| very positive and uplifting. Occasionally, you could | | | | specialization in the field. All the rebreather booths |
| hear some whispered conversations about the state | | | | seemed to have a gravitational pull to them. Not sure |
| of the industry or the economy, however most folks | | | | if it was just curiosity or if their truly is this much |
| felt that things were improving. | | | | interest in rebreathers. My guess is we are a lot |
| Of course, while it is always a pleasure to see old | | | | closer to mainstream adoption than most folks think. |
| friends and visit the booths , the real excitement of | | | | The one rebreather manufacturer that caught my |
| the show is going from booth to booth and seeing all | | | | attention was the Nautilus ( They are fairly new to |
| the new Scuba gear and hearing about all the exotic | | | | the block and I don’t think they have set their |
| destinations that want you to come visit them. We | | | | retail price. I do think, however, they will be priced |
| had a lot of folks from the Academy of Scuba, in | | | | below the competition and they have a quality that is |
| Phoenix AZ, at the show (customers and staff). And, | | | | second to none in this field. In speaking the with the |
| after two days of browsing through every booth in | | | | founders, their unit is comprised of the highest quality |
| the convention hall, I could write about each and | | | | manufacturing process and design. Their use of |
| every one of them, I wanted to take a second and | | | | fiberoptics is impressive and their container design is |
| write about the more interesting conversations and | | | | truly unique. I am looking forward to learning more |
| unique products we had and visited. | | | | about the Nautilus. |
| One of our first visits on Saturday morning was to | | | | The Roddenberry Dive Team was on site with |
| the Divers’ Platform Booth. Harry Wood, | | | | “celebrity divers” and merchandise. Their |
| president of the Divers’ Platform, was smiling | | | | booth was pretty active. I did get a glimpse at their |
| and larger than life. He had all his platforms out on | | | | Dry Suits. The ones that look like Star Trek uniforms |
| display with an impressive stand that truly | | | | and noticed they have a membership. Anyone |
| demonstrated the capabilities of this amazing product. | | | | interested in an “away mission” specialty |
| The Divers’ Platform is more than a buoy or | | | | should check out |
| dive-flag. The Divers’ Platform is a surface | | | | Speaking of celebrities, the folks at DiverWire ( had |
| workhorse for the diver or the dive professional. | | | | record setting Breath Hold Diver Jana Strain at their |
| And, Harry keeps innovating more and more utility | | | | booth. Jana is a very impressive Free Diver. Smart, |
| including his bailout bottle and 30 foot hose. For those | | | | articulate and judging by the line of guys there … |
| of us who like good old American ingenuity and | | | | attractive. Jana was autographing photos of her Free |
| construction, the Divers’ Platform is a great tool. | | | | Diving. Looking at her early successes, I would guess |
| I own two of them. | | | | that Jana has a bright future ahead of her. |
| We spent a lot of time at the Bonica Precision Booth | | | | It’s been a while since last diving the incredible |
| ( I have been using the Bonica HD camera for over a | | | | walls of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. We spent a |
| year. Nice unit, low cost makes it a eye catcher, in | | | | little time reminiscing at the Cane Bay Dive Shop ( |
| my book. The had their light rigs on display and spent | | | | Cane Bay Dive sits across the street from a beautiful |
| a lot of time talking about how instructors are using it | | | | beach. From there you can catch one of their boats |
| in their Underwater Videography Course. It was | | | | or shore dive what seems like an endless wall. Within |
| worth the stop and the great discussion. They even | | | | minutes, you are scurried off to incredible dive sites |
| handed me a nice CD filled with files specific to | | | | like North Star or Two Palms. The Reef’s crest |
| instructors. | | | | is a comfortable 35 feet and the wall continues into |
| As always, it was great to see our friends at Atomic | | | | the deep abuss at depths where advanced Trimix |
| Aquatics ( and talk leading edge regulators. They had | | | | divers dare not too follow. After the dive, there is a |
| their ST-1 on display and we got a good look at that. | | | | great little restaurant and bar within a stone’s |
| And, we spoke quite a lot about their fins and the | | | | throw of the rinse tanks. St. Croix is great diving and |
| great success they having with them. Nothing earth | | | | Cane Bay are great folks. |
| shattering, but always a good experience and learn | | | | Every once in a while you would see a buzz of |
| something new. | | | | people hanging out by the Blue Steel booth ( They |
| Bonaire was well represented at the show, with the | | | | had their high quality steel tanks out on display. They |
| Bonaire Tourism Association, Captain Don’s, | | | | also had a fair amount of valves and manifolds with |
| Buddy Dive, the Divi and more. ( If you are looking | | | | them. Glad I wasn’t the one helping them carry |
| to go to Bonaire, it seems like there are a lot of | | | | everything into the convention center. As we spoke |
| great deals between now and October 1. I spent a | | | | with their staff, we wildly impressed to see at the |
| fair amount of time speaking with the folks from | | | | innovation and creativity they are coming up with to |
| Captain Don’s (Bonaire and Curacao). Captain | | | | customize solutions for all types of divers. |
| Don’s has an Inter-Island special on a two week | | | | With all the equipment, travel, art and other vendors |
| stay, on both Islands, they pick up the inter-island air | | | | on display, we could spend hours telling you about |
| fare. Further, they said there are programs where | | | | every booth we visited. There we over 30 seminars |
| the government is offering airline incentives. Of | | | | and presentations. Experts like Marty Snyderman, |
| course, you would want to contact Captain | | | | Dale Sheckler and Bruce Watkins were on hand to |
| Don’s directly about these programs. I am sure | | | | help divers become better. A great time in a fun little |
| there are conditions and expiration dates. | | | | Southern California town. |
| It was obvious that the airline baggage restrictions | | | | My advice is take some time next year and spend it |
| were creating entrepreneurial opportunities. One | | | | with a bunch of divers in Long Beach, CA. |
| company, Dive Caddy ( has come up with a unique | | | | |