Houston's Premier Scuba and Dive Shop Oceanic Ventures Inc.

(713) 523-3483 (dive)
5808 Newcastle Drive
Houston, TX 77401

Eric Keibler

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Underwater Video Anyone?

Ashton is trying out the new kayak. It only weighs 40 lbs so you can travel with it too! Be sure to ask Ann about the "indulge me" special, so you can put one of these under your tree for the holidays.
Who says you have to own a powerboat to go scuba diving?  Recently, Ann thought it might be fun to bring in an inflatable kayak for the staff to play with.  Well, it arrived and it looks like fun.  It fits in a small bag but inflates to a very reasonably sized craft.  Ashton and David inflated it as soon as it arrived and Ashton is already planning a diving trip using it.
On one trip to Pohnpei, I toured Nan Modal with a Kayak, paddling through the canals of this very ancient city.  It was a beautiful day and a spectacular way to see these ruins and to get a real feel of how it one was when this city was alive and active.
One thing I realized while paddling along is the importance of having a camera to capture the moment.  However, I also realized that a large camera was not very desirable because of the space requirements and the balance issues.
On my recent trip to Indonesia, I was once again assigned underwater video.  This is only the second time in 20 years of working with Ann at Oceanic Ventures and the first time was in Thailand over ten years ago. The advantage of this second time was that the camera was a video camera the size of my iPhone that was housed in a small plastic housing from Ikelite.  Now don’t be misled, I am not a videographer by any stretch of the imagination but it was fun trying to get a little video of the people and creatures we encountered. 
I am a still photographer at heart so much of my video looks like still shoots.  I am sure that someone with a video outlook could achieve better results.  It was fun taking video underwater but even more memorable taking video on the surface.  Imagine mother and daughter dancing to hip hop tunes while heading out to the dive site or incredible beauty zooming by captured as it appeared.
A small video camera is always handy and you are more likely to carry it with you.  At times, it was just clipped off to my harness and at other times I was trying to capture a frog fish or two.  I am sure with some additional time with the camera and perhaps a light, my video images would improve.  I never really played with the on-camera adjustments, I just shot it when I had a free moment (yes, it was a working trip).

 The video results were better than I thought they would be, especially with an inexperienced operator.  I think that with some practice and a little tweaking with the camera settings, I can improve my results and generate a more professional looking film.  But in the meantime, I’ll just keep shooting a few short clips to help me remember things.  I guess I’ll have to return to Nan Modal so I can try it from a kayak or maybe I’ll just borrow the one from the store and head out!

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Thanksgiving Memories of Travels, Adventures, Scuba Diving and Divers

Eric and Steve in Antarctica
Toasting the Day with Uisce Beatha
Like New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving makes me think about things going on around me and what I have to be thankful for.  I also reflect on some of the special things that happened over the past year and in years past.
There are a lot of things that have happened this year but the things that stick most in my mind are the people and the adventures I have been on during the year.  It is hard to forget the stark beauty of Antarctica and the crystal clear waters lapping up against the ship or having a “wee drop of the water of life,” with Steve Brennan at each landfall.  There were penguins and seals that came right up to us and birds that flew down and landed in front of us.  Who can forget hearing Neal Peake and Giles Adam retell their encounter with a sea lion or the simple joy in Monica Alonso’s face as she showed her photographs of a mother penguin and her child?
In Indonesia, it was fun watching the group discover that a leaf underwater was not really a leaf or that there was really exciting things to be discovered on the sand and mud flats.  It was fun watching the kids discover things underwater on their own and to watch them interact with the local children while playing ball.  Perhaps the thing that sticks in my mind most was watching the school children standing in uniforms all along the cliff waiving goodbye to Moniquita Alonso.
During my two trips to Grand Cayman, I watched students blossom and find their way.  Yes even technical students can have epiphanies and discover how to dive again with all of their new equipment.  We even got to do a night boat dive on a wall, a rare occurrence in Grand Cayman and a dive time that is even rarer for me (Ann is the night diver).
But my memories are not limited to diving in exotic places.  It was a real treat to watch David Morris plan and complete his first 100 dives which were all done in his first year of diving.  His excitement was contagious and even included a party up at the lake to celebrate the achievement.
There are a lot of memories, experiences and things to be thankful for this year.  I am glad that I have been able to open the door to adventure for myself and for other people as well.
Thank you to all of the people who helped create the memories for me!  I only wonder what memories I have helped create for them…

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Santa Visits West University – an Underwater Santa Visit

Photograph of santa and elphSaturday was a busy day for the Oceanic Ventures staff as Santa Claus visits the West University Recreational Pool and posed for photographs with swimming children and adults.  This is the third year that Santa has visited the pool, posing for photographs underwater and the first time in the new recreational facility.  If you missed him this year, Santa will return in November 2011 for a repeat performance.  If you would like to see the photos from the event, click here.
Thank you to the team that made this possible, especially Travis Hershey and Tamara Moser.

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Where can I meet younger scuba divers?

One of our divers returned froma trip and said “don’t get me wrong, I had a good time but, this trip was all older people. I would like to go on a trip with more people my age.”  Well, I never thought of myself as older but with my birthday rapidly approaching, I am feeling older.  I guess I understand his thoughts even though I still feel as you as the rest of them.
Ashton and David thought about this too and decided what we needed was a social and diving group with a focus on younger divers.  And so the new OVI X-Divers group was formed.  Now that the concept was found, they needed a way to form it and execute it.  David being the idea man, decided a happy hour to get things started and some events focused on the group would be the method of getting people involved.
So, beginnig with the happy hour this Thursday (November 11, 2010) at the Union Bar and Grill, the group is in motion.  Ashton and David also decided that they wanted to run an X-Diver trip to Little Cayman in August as well (August 13-20, 2011).  Their plans are to host a series of Happy hours at various clubs around town over the next several months and to have some diving events (diving, food, social and fun) at one or more of our local lakes as the water warms up or the need to go diving is too great.
For those of you who want to meet a fun group of generation X divers, you should plan on dropping by the happy hour this Thursday.  David and Ashton are buying the first drink!  Contact Ashton for more details or send me an email and I will send you the invitation even if I am not invited!

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DUI DOG Rally and Demo Days

David Morris Dry Suit Diving
Why would anyone want to put on a dry suit and go diving?  I heard myself say that in my early years of diving and never thought I would ever don one.  Then I met Faith Ortins of Diving Unlimited International and Julie Footman of Aqua Diving Academy in Portland Maine.  Both of these ladies wondered why I would dive in anything else.  Julie went as far to say that she got cold in wetsuits so she always dove in a drysuit, no matter where she went.
Over the years, I have changed my tune.  I found that dry suit diving was not as intimidating as people made it sound and it really extended my diving season.  Diving dry has also opened up new dive locations and made others more comfortable.  I cannot imagine diving in 14mm of rubber again (a 7mm one piece suit with a 7mm xip up vest)!  Ashton learned to dive in a dry suit so he could go ice diving in New Hampshire.  We now run a trip there every year.  We also ran a trip to Antarctica earlier in the year – definitely a dry suit location.
One of the ways to find out more about Dry Suit Diving is to attend the Diving Unlimited International DOG Rally and Demo Days.  DOG stands for DUI Owners Group and there will be divers there from all over the area.  Additionally, you can try out a suit or any type of DUI undergarments.  They bring a truckload of stuff to allow you to try anything in their product line.  Join Oceanic Ventures staff members, Ashton Arsement, and David Morris as they travel to Terrell Texas for the annual Diving Unlimited International, DUI, DOG Rally and Demo Day. 
 For $10.00 (15.00 at the gate) you can try the equipment, have lunch and receive a cap. There is also a dinner Saturday night ($10.00 ticket). Prices are higher at the gate so get your ticket from Oceanic Ventures before the event. You can order them by phone or by emailing Ashton@oceanicventures.net.
Need to know where to go?  Here is more information on Clear Springs Scuba Park [https://www.clearspringsscubapark.com/] Need more details, drop Ashton a note or call us.

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Need to Get Wet & Have Thursday Off? Let's Go Scuba Diving!

We have had several requests to get wet!  Some of those requests came from bankers who had Thursday off.  So, since the weather is so nice right now, we thought it would be fun to go diving.  We have arranged to go to 288 Lake for some fun in the sun and to practice buoyancy skills.  The plan is to meet at the store at 9:45 and then go down to the lake.  My thoughts were to do a few dives and go somewhere for a late lunch.
If you are interested, please send me an email at divesafe@oceanicventures.net or call me at 713.523.3483, so I can make sure there are enough cylinders.
Let’s go diving!…Eric