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

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

Pacific

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The Making of a Scuba Diver

Scuba Diver Susan Long Relaxing in Fiji
Susan Long Relaxing in Fiji

I have been scuba diving for over two years – since December 2012. Not only that, I had 100 dives within 10 months, and I had another 100 dives within another 10 months. I LOVE it! I am 59 years old, a retired IT professional, not athletic or mechanical in the slightest. How did I get here?

When we got married in 1992, my husband and I made a deal. He would not buy a Harley, and I would not go scuba diving. That way, we thought we could keep each other alive for a good long time. I have always had friends who scuba dived, and I have long been intrigued by it.

I swam for exercise in college – or more precisely, struggled through maybe 10 lengths a session. It was awful and so difficult, but for some reason, I did it. I did not enjoy it at all. Fast forward 25 years, and we went with some diving friends to the Yucatan for vacation. They did some diving, and we all snorkeled one day. I was terrified! I did not understand how I was supposed to breathe underwater. But I made myself jump in and try it, and within a minute or two, I was having a great time! There were lots of glamorous fish! Who knew? And I really enjoyed being in the water – which was also a surprise, after my college swimming experiences.

Scuba Divers Susan & Larry on a motorcycle trip
Susan and her husband, Larry on their last motorcycle trip.

After I retired in 2005, I decided to go to graduate school in Spanish Linguistics at the University of Houston. The parking is horrible! (The classes were great!) I soon realized if I had a motorcycle or scooter, I could park in the designated areas much more easily. So I bought a Vespa scooter! When my husband got over the shock, he got himself a Harley! So now I had permission to scuba dive! (We now both really enjoy our motorcycle trips together!)

I had permission to scuba dive, but on the other hand, I knew it was an expensive habit. I was reluctant to get a lot more “stuff”. We already had plenty of stuff. Being overweight, I didn’t think there would be enough weight available to keep me down (seriously). I also knew myself it could be dangerous – I had looked at some books detailing scuba diving “incidents” and they are pretty scary. You wonder why anyone comes back alive!

In the fall of 2012, my friend Donna Collins (another scuba diver, and Oceanic Ventures, Inc. denizen) and I were planning to go on a cruise to Costa Rica and Panama. She suggested that we could go snorkeling, and she might try to go diving. I was enthusiastic – I had not had a chance to go snorkeling in years! She took me to Oceanic Ventures to look into getting my own mask, snorkel, fins to take on the trip.

My First Trip the the Dive Store

Ann, Alex and David Morris were in the shop, and I will never forget the warm welcome. David took me under his wing and explained everything I wanted to know about masks, snorkels, fins. I could not believe how expensive they were! But I was sold on the part of getting good equipment so I could really enjoy the experience. I left with the mask, snorkel, fins, a bag, a skin, and maybe a few other goodies. David offered to give me a snorkeling class for free, which I gladly took him up on, since I was certainly not an expert snorkeler, having only done it once.

At the snorkeling class, I learned quite a bit, especially how to “duck dive!” David offered to give me a Try Scuba session, and I was, well, OK, sure! If he’s offering, I sure will try it. Within a few days, I was trying out the scuba equipment in the West U pool, and learning the first rule of scuba. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but the next inevitable step was signing up for Open Water Scuba classes so I could go on the Cozumel trip that December. And buying all my equipment. Oceanic Ventures made it so easy. I could not have chosen (and still can’t) between Buoyancy Compensaters, Air Delivery System’s or computers. I trusted their advice, and I really liked the idea that they had a lot of experience with the equipment they sold, and they believed in it for all levels of diving.

Open Water Scuba Training with Oceanic Ventures

I had a great time in the Open Water Scuba training with David and Alex. It was hard for me to clear my mask, but eventually I figured it out. It was hard remembering all the steps for sharing air, or the out-of-air ascent. But I did it! The Cozumel trip was fantastic. I did my open water dives there with Alex as my instructor, and it was so much fun! He was so calm, and knowledgeable, and encouraging. I could see it was going to take some time for me to get really comfortable with my buoyancy, and the breathing, but I was plenty comfortable enough to enjoy the diving, and the Oceanic Ventures group was so wonderful. All those experienced divers were so encouraging and helpful to the brand-new,” baby diver.”

Scuba Diving in the Solomon Islands Susan Long and Ann Keibler
Scuba Diving in the Solomon Islands with Susan Long and Ann Keibler

David had let me know in the  Open Water Scuba training that he was the first Oceanic Ventures student to get 100 dives in a year. That sounded like a challenge to me, and I like challenges! Also it was quite clear after the Cozumel trip that the more experience I had, the more fun I could have as a diver. So I set myself the informal goal of getting 100 dives in a year. In order to keep diving through the winter, I started drysuit training and bought a drysuit. I started Advanced Open Water Scuba training, if for no other reason that it was more diving experience! I went with Oceanic Ventures to St. Croix, Belize, Cozumel, and then to Grand Cayman in August! (Donna and I did get to do a few dives on our trip to Costa Rica.) By the time I got to Grand Cayman, I had achieved the 100 dives, between the trips, the training, and being a fun diver at Blue Lagoon and 288 Lake.

Where I Am Now…

So what about all the concerns I had, and my husband had? Well, first off, safety is obviously the first priority at Oceanic Ventures. Now that I am diving, I wonder how people got themselves into those situations in those scary dive books. Of course, mistakes can happen, but most of those incidents are inconceivable on an Oceanic Ventures trip. Yes, diving is expensive, and I have a LOT of stuff. I am still dealing with how to organize it and where it all needs to go between trips. Oh well! The experiences I have had as a diver, and the friends I have made, have been more than worth it.

Scuba Diver Susan Long Diving in Fiji
Susan in Fiji

I love being a part of the Oceanic Ventures “tribe.” It feels like home. I am very impressed with the emphasis on safety and professionalism at Oceanic Ventures. Ann and Eric Keibler run a tight ship, with little room for error, but lots of room for fun. It is easy to have fun when you have confidence in the trip leader, the dive location, the divemasters, and the choice of dive sites. And you get to go play with your dive peeps!

My husband has put up with all this graciously, taking me to the airport and kissing me goodbye as I go off on my next diving adventure. I am so happy to report that since his retirement last August he has become a certified scuba diver, and we are going on our second trip to Cozumel with Oceanic Ventures next month!

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Off to Fiji, Scuba Diving Adventures in the Pacific.

And so it begins, like any journey it begins with a single step and then an aluminium tube hurtling through the air — going west to the beautiful waters of the Pacific.
Our merry band of travellers met at the Houston Intercontinental Airport to start our trip to the Republic of Fiji. Like almost any trip to the Pacific from Houston, our trip began with United Airlines; fortunately our flight was staffed by a large number of “ex-cons” or former Continental Employees which made it a pleasant flight rather than being trapped with a grumpy flight crew.
As we readied ourselves to be hurled into the sky, we were treated by none other than Captain Ron asking us to sit back and enjoy the ride. I wondered out loud if he was still wearing his eye patch. After an uneventful flight we landed at LAX ready for our baggage hike from the United Terminal to the International a Terminal. This was not altogether a light transfer since Ann and I had six checked bags and carry-ons too.
We are carrying children’s books and other donations for the Holy Cross School in Taveuni Fiji which is celebrating its 150 year anniversary while we are in Fiji. The books were donated by clients to give to the school. One special client donated a new laptop complete with reference software that does not require an internet connection. This was completely unexpected and is a special treat for this special school.
Bags checked, $300 poorer and we are ready for the next aluminum tube to deliver us to Fiji. Racing through the sky, we ate breakfast, dinner, snacks, watched movies (Veronica Mars for me), slept, wandered around, slept so,e more and then all if the sudden lights, and Fiji out the window. We are landing in Nadi. Forms filled out, lines snaked through, bags off the carrousel, more scanning, and the we are discussing our massive amounts of luggage with the customs agent. “Yes mam, scuba equipment and books for the Holy Cross school. No, they do not have much value because they are used. No, we have nothing else to declare (of course there were four bottles of Death’s Door Gin but that was within our allowance.
We finally broke free of the customs hall and then it was off to the domestic terminal for our transfer flight to Taviuni. You should have seen that poor agents face when we showed up with six bags and heavy carry-ons. Not to mention all of the other luggage our other guests had to transport. “We may not be able to get all of this on board; the weather is a little questionable and the pilot is carrying more fuel for the trip”. Hmmm more fuel or luggage interesting choice.
Somehow all of it made it on the plane and we are once again off in an aluminum tube. With turbos humming and blades spinning we are off to Taviuni.
As the island comes into view we are greater with lush green foliage and clear blue water. We pass over the resort with a beautiful sailboat anchored out front. After a beautiful landing we are once again moving massive amounts of luggage from the little counter to a truck and then we are off for a boat that will deliver us to the resort.
We are finally here!!

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Hello from Houston, Scuba Diving in Micronesia, Update 8

Jim With Sharks, photo by Katrina Adams
Jim With Sharks, photo by Katrina Adams
We have been home now for a week and I finally feel like I am back in the right time zone.
We had a fun time in Kosrae and got to experience life as eco-tourists for a week.  Of course, nothing ever really dried out and when I opened my bags, I knew what my Mother felt like when I returned from camp.  Holland laughed when we were talking about it and she said “i added Lysol to the laundry just to make sure that smell went away.”  It seems that when clothing is put away in a travel bag for 30 hours where it was exposed to sun on a runway, the belly of three jets and who know what else, it takes on a life of its own.  I had to fight the washing machine to just take the clothes — it was not in the mood for cleaning them.
Scuba diving in Kosrae is a little different from other Pacific destinations.  The reefs are made up of lots of hard corals with some soft corals.  My experience in other areas is that the soft corals are more abundant that the hard corals.  One of the more interesting coral formations is a spreading pillar coral which may explain some of the local legends about small cities underwater,
Of course, during my two week absence, Dive Mom saved up a lot of tasks for me including the bill paying and inventory functions of Oceanic Ventures and Eric and Ann, Inc.  This meant that I had a lot of accounting to do — which I hate.  I also have a lot of other demands on my time from students and clients needing equipment and a schedule for training.  Life just does not go on hold while traveling in the Pacific.
I have over 500 photographs from my stay in Kosrae to process and ??  I will be posting some of those soon.  I know that Holland and Steve have been working on their photographs from Chuuk because they have been posting them on Facebook.  And I must say, they took some really fun photographs.  I can’t wait to see what they turn in for the Photography Contest.
 
Keep checking back — I leave for Fiji on Thursday!

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Scuba Ranger Edouard Snorkels in Indonesia

edourd brandedDuring their summer vacation in Indonesia, Scuba Ranger Edouard put his snorkeling skills to use and spent a lot of time in the water with his family.  According to Edouard, “it was a blast!!”  His mother even commented that during his adventures he saw turtles for the first time underwater!  Dive Mom was heard saying that she “cant wait to hear more about his adventures at the next Scuba Ranger Club meeting this fall!!” 

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Hello From Chuuk, Scuba Diving in Micronesia, update 1

We just finished a great dive on the Fumitzuki. Susan had her first real decompression dive with Steve and me. You know multiple stops, free swimming and 15 minutes.
The viz on this dive was not great and it was worse everywhere Jim and Jess were. They exhibited no finning technique. To make things worse Jim is still wearing those force fins that just generate silt on their own.
The weather has been mostly overcast with some wind in the afternoon which made some of our earlier diving a challenge. It has made the light underwater a little flat.
Holland had a rough first day — she flooded one of her strobes. The Captain loaned her one of his and she is going to take a class from him on wide angle photography. Not a bad exchange. Today went better for her.
Steve is having fun. He was the only one who did the night dive last night and will probably be the only one tonight. A diver after Ann’s own heart.
Our next dive is on the Shinkoku Maru. We will be here for the rest of the day. Steve and I will be starting on his penetration dives on this wreck. Steve is feeling lucky.

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Experiencing the Solomon Islands a Scuba Diving Trip Aboard the Bilikiki

Diving in the Solomon Islands – Guadalcanal

Dive Manager - Csaba
Dive Manager – Csaba

 The morning finds is on our first diving location.  Diving off the Bilikiki is done primarily off the “tinies,” aluminum boats with cylinder holes and a small ladder. Csaba (pronounced Chaba) was in charge of the first dive and after the briefing it was – this way to the South Pacific and Tinie 1, Tinie 1 as the crew moved the diving equipment from the deck to the tinie.  The order was the same each day, diving equipment, cameras then divers.  All you as a diver needed to do was to let the crew members know that you were ready, move your name tag from “on-board” to “diving” and then step aboard your waiting diving chariot.

 The adventure continues…