It was a beautiful Saturday and an ideal day to go diving, even in a pool. We were joined by a group of Baylor College of Medicine students joined us for a TryScuba and Diving Rescue Medicine seminar. The event was coordinated by one of our clients, Nick Peoples, who is a medical student at Baylor.
After a brief introduction and welcome from our Medical Advisor, Dr. Michael Coburn, the students learned about what it was like to become a diver and go diving around the world, a little bit about the possible complications divers can suffer from and then to actually try scuba. For the few Club members already certified, we offered a Megalodon Rebreather demonstration. Dr. Melvin Harrington, from the Orthopedics Department at Baylor, jumped in on this opportunity as well.
During the day, Instructors Joseph Buren, Zac Gay, and Joel Hershey discussed SCUBA and took the students diving in the pool. They showed them a few skills and then they were off, working on becoming neutral and playing some underwater games. Zaide Scheib and Nick Peoples swam around capturing the moments and interacting with the students. David Snyder, one of our Technical Rebreather Instructors acted as the certified diver ring master with a Megalodon 15 rebreather. These divers thought it was “pretty cool!”
The one thing the physicians stressed to the students was “do it now. We know you are busy but you have more time to complete the training now than you will when you finish school and start your residency.” By doing it now, they open the doors to some fun recreation during their time as students and later as physicians.
Some have taken this advice to heart and are exploring diving and becoming a diver.
To see more of the days adventures, follow this link.
David Snyder Introducing Rebreathers 
Joel Hershey Discussing Diving 
Zac Gay Getting Potential Divers Started 
Joseph Buren Introducing Diving 
But that doesn’t mean that we cannot find safe but fun things to do close to home. One of our staff members, Charles has made several trips to the Florida Panhandle to relax and go diving in a safe and socially distanced environment. 
Now, I realize that taking a scuba class is not the same as a summer vacation and diving in the lake is not the same as diving in Grand Cayman or Cozumel. But that doesn’t mean you have to sit at home and lament missing your summer.
If you still have non-diving family members, now is a great time to get started and discover our local diving spots in anticipation of expanded local diving to Cozumel, Grand Cayman or Belize sometime in the near future. The materials are electronic, the classroom sessions are virtual and the pools sessions are near your home – in your own backyard or a neighbor’s backyard.
When you are not diving, why not grab your dive buddy, a few treats and some fun beverages and visit our backyard party and event space for a socially distanced “happy hour.” We have had a number of these over the summer and they have been a lot of fun and a positive way to get together.
“My course is done, what do I do next?” This is a question I am asked all of them time and the answer is dependent on a number of things. Where are you in your diving? In other words, are you a new diver, someone with a little diving experience or someone with years of experience? This is the first step in finding a pathway into your diving future. Another question to ask yourself is what do I really want to do? Do I want to enjoy the fish or dive deep into wrecks?
If you remember from your Open Water class, there are four things that help make you a safe comfortable diver. We called this the Diver Diamond. The four parts of the diamond are proper knowledge, skills, equipment and experience. Every level of diving requires a balance of these four things. So let’s look at some possible pathways.
You have completed your open water program and if you took it from Oceanic Ventures, your program probably included a Computer Diving Specialty and a Nitrox specialty. These two specialties along with twelve dives qualify you as a Specialty Diver.
