International Scuba
October 11, 2013
Volume 13, Issue 10
Let the Fun Begin!
GIFT CARD
Time for School to Start!
Howdy everyone!
Inside this issue:
Milestones & Certs
2
Road Trip - Florida
3
Fish Friends
4
This time of year always brings lots of activity
around the shop. Our famous Underwater
Pumpkin Carving/ Chili Cook Off is upon
us. Oct 27 at noon. We are offering a unique
PADI Specialty the Underwater Pumpkin
Carving Specialty to anyone interested for just
$35.00 Proudly show your Underwater
Pumpkin card on the next dive trip to really
make an impression.
DEMA is the annual Diving Industry Show
where we learn about new products and get
updates on the state of diving. Make sure and
keep a close eye on our Facebook page during
the week of November 5-8. We will try to
bring a little of the experience back to you
via our page. Last year Aqualung debut
the wildly popular Twilight line of scuba
gear for women. What will the big winner
be this year? You’ll see it first here.
Swim lessons are back for all ages. Call
for info.
Hell’s Gate Clean Up set a record for
trash hauled out by divers.
Flower Gardens dates for 2014 will be
announced soon. Stay Tuned
Oct 26-27 Flower Gardens
October 27 - Pumpkin Carving
Thanksgiving in Bonaire
Carnival in Cozumel
Flower Gardens 2014 dates
coming soon
Tulum Cavern / Cave Diving
2014
Happy Diving and have a great weekend.
Your IS Family
Spotlight Specialty - Underwater Naturalist
Where are we diving
Oct 12-13 Clear Springs
Oct 26-27 Clear Springs—
Pumpkin Carving
Nov 9-10 Clear Springs
Nov 23-24 Clear Springs
Dec 14-15
Dec 21-22
Have you ever wondered how a Marine Biologist sees
things on a dive? The PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty will open your eyes to a whole new world of activity on your favorite dive site. Whether it’s a local Texas
lake or an exotic reef in the South Pacific there is a circle
of life going on
with symbiotic
relationships between plants, fish
and coral. Once
you know a little
about it you will
never see things
the same again.
The Underwater
Naturalist Specialty includes a
knowledge development section that will teach you the
benefit of diving like a marine biologist and how to protect the environment as you do it. Ever wondered why
all those scientific fish names are in Latin? Why do you
always see
certain fish
hanging out
together and
much more?
During 2
dives you
will use your new
environmentally
friendly diving techniques to explore and
identify marine invertebrates, and vertebrates along with plant
life. Divers are always
surprised at how much
more interesting a dive
site is when they are
diving with their new
found understanding.
November is a perfect time to add this useful
skill set to your repertoire of scuba knowledge.
We have classes headed out to various dive
sites every other week. Some of the best places
for the Underwater Naturalist Specialty are
Clear Springs Scuba Park and my favorite the
Comal River. Both offer a much wider range
of aquatic life then you might expect. Sign up
today by calling the shop.
Page 2
Let the Fun Begin!
Volume 13, Issue 10
Diving Milestones and New Divers
DSD
Ashley Kohl
Christian Adkins
Edward Martinez
Emma Kitto
Greg Rushing
Howie Mullins
Isaiah Mercado
Iris Hughey
Jennifer Cady
Joey Verrando
Kendall Johl
Laura Walsh
Rebecca Shuey
Sara Kitto
William Kitto
Open Water
Maria Archibald
Abigail Patterson
Amir Ameli
Brian Roycewicz
Casie Jardel
Chad Crager
Curtis Baker
Kelly Scott
Kim Patterson
Success is going from
failure to failure
without lose of
enthusiasm.
- Winston Churchill
Kosha Shetti
Krishna Malik
Laura Obenhaus
Matthew Ford
Miriam Estevez
Neel Shetti
Ray Millar
Shady Sawas
Siddharth Raghurman
Advanced Open Water
Jerry Anderson
Kristen Cano
Deep
Master Scuba Diver
Carlton Witherington
Carlton Witherington
Open Water Scuba
Instructor
Digital Photo
JT Thompson
Rick Meyers
Scott McLain
EANx
Eric Bennis
Bo Henk
Kara Bennis
Equipment
Enriched Air Instructor
JT Thompson
Rick Meyers
Navigation Instructor
JT Thompson
Rick Meyers
David Charles
Elon Mehr
Jacob Mehr
Kelly Currington
Night Instructor
EFR
JT Thompson
Rick Meyers
William Massey
Chris Young
Peak Performance
Buoyancy
Jon Pfeiffer
Julie McLain
Rob McLain
Matthew Ford
Krishna Malik
JT Thompson
Rick Meyers
Wreck Instructor
Deep Instructor
JT Thompson
Rick Meyers
IDC Staff Instructor
John Miller
Happy
Mother’s
Day Jimmie
Night
Carlton Witherington
Wreck
Carol Pfeiffer
Chris Stehno
Our friend the
frog holding
down the bricks
.
Page 3
Volume 13, Issue 10
Hell’s Gate Clean up Results/Update
For the past 7 years divers have made the
short drive to Possum Kingdom, one of
Texas’ most scenic lakes. The annual
event has picked up momentum over the
past few years to the point that divers
almost sunk the Brazos River Authorities
barge the past few years from all the trash
removed by divers.
This year 35 determined divers came to
the event with a renewed effort to make a
dent in the trash left by the party boats.
The BRA worked out a plan to make
several runs to empty the trash barge as
the divers continued to bring it up. The
divers this year really showed up to remove a record amount! The past few
years we’ve maxed out at around 3000lbs.
When all was said and done divers had
removed approximately 5500lbs of garbage up in just over 2 hours of diving!
This was a new record!
There were 2 pairs of high end Oakley
sunglasses in perfect condition found
along with a nice pair of Raybans. Countless other pairs of glasses were found in
addition to batteries, anchors, articles of
clothing including several odd hats and a
pair of beer goggles (You had to be there
to appreciate them). We found several
small crabs that are unique to Possum
Kingdom.
Divers were whisked to and from Hell’s
Gate Party Cove in style by Jay from
Naylor by the water. Naylor by the Water is THE place for boat rentals on Possum Kingdom. Every year Jay has stepped
up and offered use of his boats. All the
divers appreciated the comfort of his
huge double decker pontoon boat. We
were able to keep everyone on one boat
this time.
The next stop was over to visit our
friends at Inland Divers next to the old
scuba point. The Inland Divers Dive club
is one of the oldest dive clubs in existence. The club owns the land next to
Scuba Point and has worked hard to keep
scuba alive at Possum Kingdom. Members of the club have access to the great
facilities lakeside including what is called
the Million Dollar view along with a huge
pavilion restrooms and showers. There
are also spots for camping and RVs and
campers. We are thankful for the hospitality extended to our hard working divers. Everyone chowed down on burgers
and hotdogs as divers swapped dive stories. Dave Robinson and Doug Sheppard
along with the rest of the members rolled
out the red carpet and worked hard to
add a second restroom and even hot
showers in time for the event.
Dave
announced that there are currently a few
spots open for membership at Inland
Divers. If you are interested in joining a
club that offers awesome perks such as
your own campsite on Possum Kingdom,
air fills, great diving and friendly fellow
divers check out Inland Divers website.
www.inlanddivers.org
Speaking of dive clubs, hats off to the
Scubadillos. They came out in force and
really took out the trash! It was nice having our friends from the Scubadillos join
forces and help out. Lots of new friend-
ships were forged during the day and I
heard talk of several divers hitting up the
next happy hour. I love seeing people find
new dive buddies.
Many of you know one of the main reasons I love diving PK so much other than
the great diving is the chance to spend
time with Todd and Ann Burns. You can
look the world over and not find better
divers or people. They have done so
much to keep the great diving legacy alive
that Ann’s father Tom Davis created as
the founder and owner of Scuba Point.
Todd, Ann and their entire family are
always there to make things happen when
it comes to diving and the clean-up. Ann
has even shown a great sense of humor
the past couple years when we inadvertently scheduled it on her birthday and
anniversary. Thanks for all you do for us.
It’s another great clean-up in the books.
Let the Fun Begin!
Volume 13, Issue 10
Pumpkin Carving - October 27th
Page 4
International Scuba
Getting You There...Starts Here!
2540 Marsh Lane
Suite 128
Carrollton Texas, 75006
Phone: 972-416-8400
Fax: 972-416-8507
E-mail: [email protected]
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 and one of only 2
National Geographic Dive Centers in North Texas. The stores boast 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!
Creature Feature - Remora
One of the most interesting creatures you will see
on a dive is the Remora; commonly called SuckerFish.
The remoras (scientific name Echeneidae) are a
family of ray-finned fish in the order Perciformes.
They grow to 1-3 feet long. Their distinctive first
dorsal fins take the form of a modified oval suckerlike organ with slat-like structures that open and
close to create suction for a firm hold against the
skin of larger marine animals (Host).
Remoras maintain a symbiotic relationship with
the host, providing a parasite cleaning service.
They benefit from the host by receiving a fast joy
ride which they need for survival and an ample
supply of food as a byproduct from the dining
host. On rare; and even more rarely filmed occasions, remoras that associate with sharks may end
up as their prey.
A fun fact: On some occasion remoras may
attach themselves to scuba divers’ legs or fins!
By sliding backward, the remora can increase the
suction, or it can release itself by swimming forward. Remoras sometimes attach to small boats.
They swim well on their own, with a sinuous, or
curved, motion.
Some remoras associate primarily with specific host
species. They are commonly found attached to
sharks, manta rays, whales, turtles, and dugongs;
which is why they are sometimes called
“sharksucker” and “whalesucker”. Smaller remoras
also fasten onto fish such as tuna and swordfish,
and the very small travel in the mouths or gills of
large manta rays, ocean sunfish, swordfish, and
sailfish.
For the most part Remoras are tropical openocean dwellers, occasionally found in temperate
or coastal waters if they have attached to large
fish that have wandered into these areas. In the
mid-Atlantic, spawning usually takes place in
June and July; in the Mediterranean, it occurs in
August and September. The sucking disc begins
to show when the young fish are about 1 centimetre (0.4 in) long. When the remora reaches
about 3 centimetres (1.2 in) the disc is fully
formed and the remora can then hitch a ride. The
remora's lower jaw projects beyond the upper,
and the animal lacks a swim bladder.
Some cultures use remoras to catch turtles. A
cord or rope is fastened to the remora's tail,
and when a turtle is sighted, the fish is released from the boat; it usually heads directly
for the turtle and fastens itself to the turtle's
shell, and then both remora and turtle are
hauled in.
Because of the shape of the jaws, appearance
of the sucker, and coloration of the remora, it
sometimes appears to be swimming upside
down.
Very little is known about the biology of the
remoras due to their need for fast moving
water for survival, making study in captivity
impossible. The remoras are subject of ancient Greek mythology. Since they attach
themselves to ships, they have been blamed
for losses of battles at sea due to the creation
of drag, slowing the speed of ships.
The next time you are on diving blue water
take a little time to observe these fascinating
creatures!