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

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

Presentations

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Thoughts on Decompression Theory

Lost – at least that is what the people I knew thought when they saw me at this year’s Beneath the Sea show in New Jersey.  It was common to hear “what are you doing here?”  I had a number of reasons for coming to this show this year, among them were to try and find some connections to some students for our Expedition Trimix Course in Grand Cayman this summer.

 

Friday evening found Dave and I in a presentation by Dr. Gozum about Personal Decompression Strategies.  He has been looking at a number of Decompression & Doppler Bubble studies all the way back to the 1940’s.  In looking at the raw data, he found that there three groups of divers in these studies:

  • Divers who never got bent, no matter what was done to them
  • Divers who sometimes got bent and
  • Divers who always got bent

 

His theory is that were individuals that are resistant to DCS.  In looking at their Doppler readings, even when they showed a high number of bubbles, they exhibited no signs of DCI.  While this population represents a small part of the study, he felt that it is an important finding.

 

One of the things he advocates is performing Doppler studies on yourself to determine a safer decompression routine for yourself.  Since the actual Doppler devices are $400+, a baby ultrasound device ($100) can be used.  These less expensive devices have a larger head and are not generally reparable but give reasonable readings to begin a study.

 

Another point he made is that studies have shown that post dive exertion has lead to DCI.  After a dive a diver may show no signs of DCI, and after doing something strenuous, i.e. pulling up an anchor, mneung equipment, etc the suddenly developed DCI.  For this reason he recommends refraining from strenuous exertion after a decompression dive.  I have seen this exact situation in a diver who because of pride issues moved equipment and immediately began showing signs of DCI.  It took a table 6 ride in the chamber to confirm the hit and eliminate the pain.

 

In talking about this with Larry Elsevier later that evening, he felt that the results could be skewed by the individual diver’s metabolism.  According to Larry, in a study at the university of Southern California (he thought) it was shown that DCS was not detected in divers who had 7-8 glasses of water 24 hours before diving but DCI was noted in divers who did not consume water the prior day.  The study concluded that an individual’s metabolism, affected by dehydration, played a significant role in the incidence of DCI.

 

Further, he noted that in some studies while some people did not note any of the traditional signs of DCI, some reported feeling funny.  In some cases, this funny feeling was a precursor to more serious DCI symptoms.

 

In talking with Tom Mount in our Expedition Trimix course, his experience has been that especially on deep dives, what works is not necessarily what the formulas say to do.  “You have to listed to your body” and be aware of signs that tell you things are not quite right.  By being in tune with yourself, you can modify your schedule to try and get things back in balance before continuing.  He calls this Intuitive Decompression.  I have been on dives when I felt that I needed to elongate a stop beyond what the computers were telling me to do.  I also know that Ann has felt the same way on some of her dives.  She will even tell you she “feels the nitrogen” and gets an overwhelming feeling that she needs to pause and spend more time at her current depth.

 

What does this mean to divers?  The first thing we should know is that decompression is not an exact science. There seem to be a number of factors influencing the elimination of inert gasses and the possibility of developing symptoms of DCI.  The importance of proper diet and hydration play a major role in preventing DCI as does individual physiology.  While there are some individuals who are resistant to DCI, there appears to be a far larger number of diver’s susceptible to DCI.  Prevention of symptoms may include using Intuitive Decompression, to modify your decompression schedule depending on how you feel underwater.  Additionally, if is important to avoid post dive exercise when possible, especially if you “feel funny.”

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Cool New Stuff


Platinium Pro Winners - Jess Stark, Eric Keibler, Gary Taylor
Platinium Pro Winners - Jess Stark, Eric Keibler, Gary Taylor

Several members of the Oceanic Ventures Staff have just returned from DEMA, the diving industry trade show.  The purpose of the show is for retailers to preview equipment, training products and travel locations so they can bring new things back to their clients at home.  The training agencies host parties and meetings to showcase their offerings and to thank members for their support in the previous year and in the upcoming year.

 

 

 

SSI is no different, hosting its annual dealer social at the Rivera hotel.  It was great to see friends from all over the country – many of whom we only see at these events.  Julie Footman was on hand to shake her head but to also offer her support to Ann for her 2009 Cold Water Diving Program to help her Antarctica divers gain some diving experience.  We will be joining Julie in Maine after the group completes their Ice Diving Course, at Lake Winipasakui, New Hampshire in February (there is still room for interested people).  Julie is the owner of Aqua Diving Academy in Portland Maine and has been a great source of information for a number of things including dry suits and repairs.  She is also a good friend. 

 

During the dealer social, I was awarded my Platinum Pro 5000 Instructor Award.  This means that I am old and have been teaching a long time.  The award is based on points made up of a number of things from Instructor Ratings to Number of years diving; but, primarily, it the points are the number of students I have taught over the eighteen years (see what I mean about being old).  [Find out more about Eric and this award by pressing here or going to www.oceanicventures.net].

 

Jess Stark and Gary Taylor (a member of our adjunct faculty) were both honoured during DEMA this year.  Both of these men have been diving a long time and have accumulated in excess of 5000 dives (Gary has in excess of 10,000 dives).  They were among this year’s recipients of the Platinum Pro 500 divers award, given by SSI.  They join a very exclusive club of divers representing the who’s who of divng.  We were fortunate to have been able to nominate both of these people as well as two other designees – Lamar Hires, CEO of Dive Rite and Ron Carlo, manufacturer’s representative for a number of lines including Dive Rite.  Congratulations to all of you!

 

Another party we attended was hosted by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.  They always throw great parties!  Of course it is even more fun since the Houston office is full of our students!  It was quite an evening full of free drinks, horśderves and good company.  Carl Griffing joined us at the party as did Robert Hew and Ian McKnight.  Of course, Carl and Ashton seemed to have a better time than most of us – at least their evening lasted longer.  I guess I’m getting too old!

 

Of course we did much more than party.  The group attended Risk Management seminars hosted by IANTD and another by SSI.  There were seminars on selling & teaching technical diving, recruiting, marketing, new camera systems, imprneung your client’s photographs, dealer product updates and new course offerings.  We all had meetings with manufacturers and manufacturers representatives, destination representatives and a host of other meetings.  Through it all, we also had some goals of things we needed to accomplish and some new products we needed to find.

 

And we did come back with some really cool things.  Here are a few of the things we brought back to Oceanic Ventures:

 

  • Komodo, Indonesia live aboard – The crew of the Archipelago Explorer II are excited about the potential of rebreather diving and with the help of Oceanic Ventures and Silent Diving Systems they are hosting the first live-aboard, all rebreather dive adventure in Indonesia!  This trip promises to be and extra special experience and a real treat for rebreather divers!  The trip will be 22 July 2009 to 2 August 2009, give or take a few days (Dive Mom is finalizing the air schedule)
  • Cool New Lights – We found some really cool new LED lights that are more affordable than anything we have had in the past.  These new lights, which come in a flood versin and a spot version use Lithium batteries and are rated to 400 ft.
  • Inexpensive back-up Light – When you need an inexpensive back-up light that fits in your pocket or on your BCD, we have a suggestion.  A 5 LED light for $9.95.  Pretty cool find!
  • Camera Spotting Light – This light is different from anything we have seen before.  It is a spotting light with an sensor that shuts-off the light when your electronic strobe fires, keeping the different temperature lights out of your photograph.
  • 8 megapixel Camera & Housing for $199.95 – What a find!  As Dave said when he was telling us abut this at one of our morning staff meetings during the show, this makes photography affordable for everyone.  New divers and experienced divers can start taking underwater photographs almost from the start.  And, you can always add an external strobe later to improve your photography even more.  We are so excited about this new starter camera that we have put one in the pool for our students to try during dive class!
  • New Training Options – The new buzzword in dive training is on-line training.  Ann, Dave and I have been watching this for several years and we believe that now there is a good product that will meet the needs of some divers.  Beginning in 2009, Oceanic Ventures will begin offering On-line education as a part of its training program.  Keep an eye out for more details on this program.

 

We believe that DEMA was very successful for us this season.  We appreciate all of the staff’s help during the show (Ashton, Dave, Barney & Barbara at the show and Zaide in the office).  I hope you will come by and let me show you these way cool things!  If you can’t make it by, send me an message and I’ll tell you more about them.

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Fish Tales

Tonight our monthly Club Aquarius meeting was a little different, the guests were also the speakers because we held a “Fish Tale” open mike event.  Everyone was encouraged to tell a “fish tale” about diving or travel.  It was also a little different because we had the meeting over at the Fedora Lounge because the store was still in disarray after the storm, flood and the subsequent drying efforts.

 Kelly, the bartender took great care of our group and kept the tabs for twenty-five people straight.  Ann was drinking Martinis all evening as were a number of other guests.  All the while we had a series of tales being told both about the storm – When did you get your power back?  Did you have any damage? Are you alright?, and of course the Fish Tales.  Ann and I had a hard time deciding who had the best tale so we had a drawing for the grand prize, a Fish in My Heart Book, featuring the work of Rogest.

 It was a fun evening and it was great to see everyone.  One thing I heard a lot from everyone was that they had read one of my email messages and had been thinking about their last dive trip; it was nice to hear people read the email and applied its message as a way to cope with the aftermath of the storm.  It was also nice to hear that everyone was alright and that their damage was limited.  We know that some were not so lucky and our thoughts and prayers go out to them.

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The HMS Victoria and THE MANUAL

Sometimes things just happen.  Tom Mount is putting an expedition together to visit the HMS Victoria.  This is defined as an expedition because the ship is located off the coast of Lebanon and the top of the wreck, which happens to be the stern, is at 240’ and the bottom is at 540’.  Looking at these statistics you can deduce that the wreck is at a steep angle.  But steep does not really describe it, because the ship in vertical with the bow buried in the mud.  That is right – went down at full speed and stuck straight up and down.

 

Now you may be wondering how this effects me.  Well I was asked to join the expedition and when I mentioned it to Dave, his response was, yes you’re going and you’re taking me! So, I called Tom back and accepted his offer if Dave could come with me.  The answer is quite clear – we are both headed to Lebanon to go diving.  Of course, preparing for this dive requires that we take Tom’s Expedition Trimix course which he is offering in May just before Inner Space week.  I have a very understanding wife and business partner because there is a fee involved for this course, hotels, travel and yes another week out of the store in May.  Not only that it is 2 weeks in May because I have students attending Inner Space for their Trimix open waters!

 

IANTD Technical EncylopediaAs it happens, Tom found himself in need of some computer assistance with the new Technical Encyclopedia.  A little discussion with Ann and I was volunteered to be the pre-press professional and put the book together.  It sounds like a big task but the payoff is a funding for the  training in Grand Cayman.  This book is a complete re-write of the old Encyclopedia and includes a lot of new material.  The estimated page count is 300-450 pages in full color.  Pretty exciting!

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Wine and Diving, they do go together on occasion…

This marked the second anniversary of our Oceanic Ventures Shopping for Charity wine party hosted by none other than Pam Radford from Legal Media and Oceanic Ventures, Inc.  Who would have ever thought of a little dive shop in Houston Texas having their name on a wall at a local school in the Philippines?  Ann’s mother certainly could not have imagined it and yet that is precisely what happened in Puerta Galera where our diving friends helped us bring water and restrooms into a school, hire additional teachers, electrify the classrooms, introduce computers and computerized educational software, and beautify the grounds to make the entire school experience better for the students.   

Ann started the school project to help schools and students in the areas we dive.  At least that was the stated reason.  The truth is Ann loves children and the has fun interacting with them and introducing them to new things (ask the little boys she taught to snorkel in the Solomon Islands).  One way of doing this is to bring school supplies to local schools.  She found that teachers are very appreciative and the students love meeting people from other places.  Over the years, our divers have contributed paper, pencils, calculators, maps, construction paper, office supplies, books  and other useful items to schools in Mexico, Little Cayman, Fiji, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Truk Lagoon, Kosrai and other diving destinations that we visit.  Each one of the school visits is a special event for both the teachers and students as well as the visitors.  

The school in the Philippines has been a true miracle in giving and Anne the administrator of the school has done wondrous things with the money and supplies donated.  Adding water and restroom to the school did more than improve hygiene; it prneuded a method to improve the appearance of the school and introduced school pride by allowing the students to add flower gardens to the school grounds.  If you visit the school, you will see students watering the plants with cans filled with the water that one of our clients paid to have brought in. But this event is more than asking for donations, it is really a way for people to experience the local cultures. 

Two years ago, Ann was negotiating with the local sales ladies in the Philippines who were selling hand woven baskets.  She turned to Pam and said, “I can’t say no.”  Pam just looked at her and said “um, what are you going to do with all of those baskets?”  Pam hen hatched the idea of an auction and she agreed to furnish the wine!  Shopping for Charity was born and the first year we raised $1500 in proceeds and donations (one of our teaching staff even donated his teaching revenues to the cause).  The owners of the Atlantis Resort in Puerto Galera were impressed that we were able to raise the money for their community and they agreed to match the contribution. But that was last year. 

This year the resort once again agreed to match our contributions and thanks to the generous support of our clients, we raised more money than last year (we are still computing the final total).  We really appreciate all of the support we have received and the beneficiaries of it all are some very special children in countries far from Houston. 

Thank You!

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Feeding the CHUM

Chum MeetingDry suits in Texas – what are we crazy? 
When we introduced drysuit diving to Houston (ok, on a retail basis) who would have thought that we would actually have sold some, much less have two regular demo events in the state and make the DUI Hot Sheet for the most dry suit sales in a month? Ann & I certainly planned for the eventuality and Faith Ortins, our friend at DUI had faith in us but to see it happen has been exciting. It is hard to really introduce someone to the concept of Dry Suit diving, especially in Houston which is the gateway to warm Caribbean and Pacific diving but it is fun to help people extend there diving horizons and their diving seasons. 
This evening we had the opportunity to introduce some diving divers to the fun of being warm while underwater.  The City of Houston Underwater Mariners invited us to talk about dry suit diving  and tempt their club members into attending one of the upcoming DUI Demo events, the first of which is in two days and the other in the spring.  DUI helped us by donating a DUI jacket to the event for us to give away and we of course threw in some t-shirts and other give away items. 
This was a special meeting so according to Ryan, there were not as many people as in previous meetings.  Still there were 30 brave souls (lots of rain just before the meeting screwed-up traffic in Houston) who came out to hear me espouse the virtues of drysuit diving.  To entertain them, I obtained a number of slides from friends around the industry showing divers diving dry and some of the places they could dive.  Faith sent me some fun photographs including a photo of divers having martinis on an ice flow in British Columbia (posed of course – you can’t drink and dive!) 
While we were not successful in getting some members of the group interested in joining us that weekend, we did garner some support for the spring event. And, who knows, we may have sent a few of them group thinking there was diving in the winter…