International Scuba
July, 2014
Volume 14, Issue 7
Let the Fun Begin!
GIFT CARD
Upcoming Events
Howdy everyone!
Summer is a busy time for everyone so we hope you are taking a
moment to slow down and do some diving. If not, then we
should make plans! International Scuba is still out at Clear
Springs Scuba Park every other weekend. We also have some
great dives coming up later this year.
Inside this issue:
Milestones & Certs
2
Beat The Heat!
3
Cozumel Fun Fest
4
Meet the IS Team
5
In August we have another big Rescue Diver class. One night in
the classroom and one night in the pool culminate in a two day
weekend of some “serious fun”.
Coming up on September 13th is our Annual Hell’s Gate Cleanup. Do something great for the environment and maybe pick up
some buried treasure as well. Pre-registration required ($30 cash
or check to participate). Sign up before August 15th and get a
participant t-shirt!
August 5-10: Tulum Cenotes and Whale Sharks
August 22-24: Flower Gardens
January 2015: Agressor II,
Turks and Caicos
July 2015: Carib Dancer,
Bahamas
January 2016: Solmar V,
Socorro Islands
And October wouldn’t be complete without our Pumpkin Carving Specialty class. Showcase your artistic talents while maintaining good buoyancy and you may just win! We hope to see all
of you soon!
Cheers!
When are we diving
Your IS Family
July 26-27 CSSP
August 9-10 CSSP
August 23-24 CSSP
September 6-7 CSSP
More to come!
Join International Scuba for 9 days and 8 nights aboard the Solmar V as it
explores the wonders of the Socorro Islands. Make up to 4 dives per day,
enjoy world class cuisine, and relax on the sundeck of this Premier LiveAboard.
January 24th—February 1st, 2016
Standard Cabin $3499 per person or Superior $3599
Unlimited Nitrox $125
$500 non-refundable deposit due at time of booking
Pay all at once or payment plans available
Final Payment due by August 1st, 2015
ONLY 10 SPOTS RESERVED!
Call 972-416-8400 to book today or for more information!
Page 2
Let the Fun Begin!
Volume 14, Issue 7
Diving Milestones and New Divers
Discover Scuba Diving
Jaime Burke
Ashlynn Cluck
Chris Stewart
Vernetta Bell
Griffin Young
Rory Kelly
Holly Hitch
Lucas Wheeler
Gabriela Wheeler
Katica Bartolec
Dawn Phillips
Daniel Larson
Carol Larson
Rachel Larson
Timothy Larson
Ethan Larson
Gabriella Mortarotti
Margot Mortarotti
Debbie Weinbel
Morgan Weinbel
Venkat Kota
Franco Mortarotti
Yelena Green
Open Water
Sabrina Copeland
Kate Goodman
Tristan Randolph
Lea Corticchiato
Michael Baldwin
Luke Baldwin
Kathryn Chandler
Samuel Hinkhouse
Michael Raab
Jordan Migis
Hope Henderson
Maresa Cooper
Lucas Kelley
Conner Ness
Stephanie Baldwin
John Baldwin
Adam Holtz
Preston Sledge
Joey Parks
Bob Ingram
Drew Ingram
Jake Ingram
Elliot Hartman
Ryan Brooks
Andrew Kingsley
Philip Myers
John Sauer
Aidan Leahy
Toni Evans
Martin Raab
Blake Robbins
Robert Robbins
Pierce Lowary
Tom Harrington, IV
Jeffrey Peterson
Rachel Hodges
Tiffany Bauserman
Jimmy Merkel
Chad Bailey
Justin Segler
Liam Doherty
Lindsey Smith
Shideh Lowary
Philip Penley
Hayleigh Lidbury
Advanced Open Water
Cari Mulcrone
Alex Curry
Digital Underwater
Photographer
Robert Mitchell
DPV
Kazuki Kobayashi
Dry Suit
Allan Siu
Enriched Air
Derreck Dasilva
Natasha Merchant
Philip Penley
Jeffrey Peterson
Night Diver
Robert Dasilva
Peak Performance
Buoyancy
Elliot Hartman
Ryan Brooks
Joey Parks
Matthew Schonberg
John Sauer
Adam Holtz
Preston Sledge
Liam Doherty
Maresa Cooper
Bob Ingram
Drew Ingram
Jake Ingram
Conner Ness
Hope Henderson
Michael Baldwin
Stephanie Baldwin
Luke Baldwin
Lucas Kelley
John Baldwin
Aidan Leahy
Jeffrey Peterson
Esther Tan
Tiffany Bauserman
Search & Recovery
Scott McLain
Underwater Navigator
Cari Mulcrone
John R Coffee
John A Coffee
Julie Anne McLain
Robert McLain
Thomas Barrett
EFR
Pamela K Smith
Miki Beardsley
Alyssa Beardsley
Jack L Taylor
Gary B McCoy
Kimberly D Norris
Volume 14, Issue 7
Page 3
We have been in your neighborhood for over 15 years serving your
diving, education, travel, sales, and service needs. Who better to
take care of you but a neighbor.
International Scuba is a 5 Star Instructor Development Center.
The store boasts a Platinum Course Director (instructor trainer)
and over 70 years of experience amongst the group.
Looking for a change of lifestyle—come see us, we can help!
BEAT THE HEAT!...With
some of the world’s best cold
water dive sites.
When we think of scuba diving, we think of warm Caribbean waters and white sandy beaches, but
some of the best diving in the world
can be found in the colder climates.
Just take a look at British Columbia.
Off the
coast of
Vancouver Island
you will
find epic
wall dives
and notsoeveryday
creatures.
Swim
among pods of orcas and sea lions;
hunt up some spectacular nudibranchs among the carpets of translucent white anemones; and try not
to freak out too much when you
come face to face with an intimidating (though friendly) wolf eel or giant Pacific octopus.
2540 Marsh Lane
Suite 128
Carrollton Texas, 75006
rewards are spectacular.
Mid 40s a
bit too cold for
you? Let’s move
south to Monterey, California.
With water temperatures ranging
from the mid to
low 50s, this
town is the hot spot of cold water
diving. Magnificent, looming kelp
forests hide treasures of playful sea
otters and giant sunflower sea stars.
Visibility can be a little more limited
here due to the changing weather
patterns, but just because it’s grey
and foggy outside doesn't mean it
wont be a great day under the water.
Want an experience like no
other? Dive the Silfra Crack in
Thingvellir National Park, Iceland.
The crack itself was created by the
separation of the North American
and Eurasian tectonic plates which
are slowly drifting apart. It is the only
place in the world where you can
dive between two continents.
Not only does the
crack offer some spectacVisibility in these chilly waular landscaping and rock
ters can be over 100 feet. While surformations, but it also
face temperatures range from the
boasts of 300 foot visibilmid 30s to the mid 70s depending on
ity, the clearest in the
the season, the temperature below
world. The water in the
the waves stays in the bone-chilling
crack flows straight from
mid 40s. Dry suits are a must, but if
the melting glaciers and is
you’re brave enough to dive in, the
Phone: 972-416-8400
Fax: 972-416-8507
E-mail: [email protected]
filtered (some say
from 30-100 years)
through underground porous
lava fields, before
it slowly seeps into
the park from an
underground
spring. This makes
it the most pristine
water in the world.
So if you get thirsty on your dive,
simply take out your regulator and
have a sip.
In order to see this spectacular site, you must be very brave, as
the water is only 35-40 degrees year
round. (This also contributes to the
unparalleled clarity). Of course, you
can always warm up later with a
short trip over to the Devil’s Jacuzzi,
a natural hot spring.
So the next time you need to
cool down, pack up your dry suit and
head out to something new and different. I guarantee that you won’t
remember the cold later, only the
spectacular things you see.
Page 5
Volume 14, Issue 7
Meet Your IS Team Member—Tim Ralston!
Tim Ralston came to International Scuba with a skip in his step and some
grey in his beard (ok, well a lot of grey). His positive outlook always keeps the
team in high spirits, even when we make him tell his tales of “the good old
days” of scuba before modern technology. Just watch out when he teaches the
backward roll entry, you never know whether he’s giving you a blessing or
about to push you in.
Q: How did you get started diving?
A: I absolutely idolized Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt as a five-year-old, pretended to be
a diver for years during summer vacations on Lake Champlain, but didn’t get certified until I was in college (1977).
Q: Number of years diving? Number of years as professional? How many dives?
A: I began in 1977 when the course took ten weeks (with calisthenics). There were no diving specialties. Most tanks had a Jvalve, no alternate airs, no SPGs, and no BCDs. Aluminum tanks were just starting to appear. On our check-out dives there
were no skills and no accompanying instructors either! During graduate school and with a young family I left diving for a
while, then returned to the sport in 1997 (while recovering from brain tumor surgery). I became Divemaster in 2005. I only
have about 500 dives in my log so far.
Q: What brought you to International Scuba?
A: A friend and fellow Divemaster took the IDC through International Scuba and recommended it highly to me.
Q: Tell us something about yourself that your diving friends would be surprised to
learn.
A: My family says I read aloud a mean Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (with voices and all).
Q: If you could leave tomorrow to live in the islands, where would it be?
A: I probably wouldn’t. I like the challenges of the various different environments throughout North America
Q: What is your oddest diving experience?
A: Let’s face it: all breathing underwater is odd. But perhaps
the oddest experience was doing the “Manatee Distinctive
Specialty” in Crystal River, FL.
Q: What is the one tip you would like to share with a
new diver?
A: PPB is a must! Once you get your buoyancy skills under
control and feel comfortable, you’ll get so much more out of
each dive!
Q: If you were to come back as a fish in your next life what kind of fish would you be?
A: Probably something inedible, an apex predator, and protected from overfishing by local
laws – like a muskellunge in the Great Lakes.
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