Oriskany

Last weekend myself and 5 other friends spent our Saturday diving the USS Oriskany out of Pensacola, FL.
We dove for the first time with Dr. Dive (highly reccomended) . Dr. Dive, ran by Capt. Jim Meyers , runs a 26 -foot Glacier Bay Catamaran. The boat was set up real well for diving. The captain and his dive master set up all our gear and secured everything for the ride out. Usually I per fer setting my own dive gear up but I have to say it was nice just enjoying the boat ride out and not worrying about switching tanks in between dives. Once we were hooked into the wreck below the gear was placed up on the side and was very easy to slide into, from there it was just two steps off the back into the gulf.
This was my 15th and 16th dive on the Oriskany but my first in 2 years. It didn't take much time into the dive for me to wonder why I had waited so long to come back. The VIZ was great. At 40 ft I could see the deck which sits  at 135-to 140 ft and there was no shortage of marine life to look at. Barracuda played around at the shallower depths while huge game fish swam around below. We even had a remora join us at our deco stop. Now I'm not a fish person but petting the remora was fun, what I enjoyed most however were the swim through. There are so many spots in the 80-130 ft range to explore. Most of the doors have been removed and passageways cleared out. You can travel down halls and up and down stair wells all the time being very close to the many exits. Its a divers playground.  Now this isn't the place for new divers, the depths make it so that no decompression times are short. To really enjoy this dive you will be spending more than the allowed time. Especially if enjoying it includes exploring the inside of the ship. Now don't get me wrong, a basic recreational dive can be completed here we had two in our group that dove within all limits and had a wonderful time.
The water temp right now is still a bit chilly, mid 60's at depth to low 70's above but most of us did not notice the temps. The diving was excellent. If you haven't dove the Oriskany yet or just haven't been in a while get out there, you will not be disappointed. There are several great charters that run out to the Oriskany but if you looking to travel with a small group and get to the site earlier than all the other boats you can not go wrong with
DR DIVE.

http://www.drdive.com/
Captain Jim Meyers
Seville Harbour Marina
600 S. Barracks St.
Pensecola, FL   ( right behind the Fish House)
850-932-6602
617-943-5553 (cell)

Halcyon Regulators

Halcyon has now added regulators to their line of equipment. I'm sure most avid divers out there can easily recognize this second stage, not as the Halcyon Halo but as the Scubapro G250. As I had eluded to in a previous post, Scubapro if allowing Halcyon to sell several of there current regulator models.
MK25 - H-75P
MK17 - H-50D
G250 -  Halo
R395 -  Aura
I believe this works well for both companies, case 1: Halcyon now offering Regulators can present them selves to prospective retailers as a complete diving manufacturer ( almost). 2: Halcyon has better brand loyalty than most companies out there so these regulators will be a sure sell to the many Halcyon divers. Prices are about the same whether the regs are purchased through Scubapro or Halcyon, the only difference being the free parts for life program is only offered when purchased through Scubapro.

Now on Scubapro's side, why would a company like Scubapro allow a smaller company to resell there gear? There are , I'm sure, plenty of answers but I know of two for sure. The pitch to Scubapro from Halcyon was made long ago and Scubapro originally delcined their request. Halcyon went fishing at other companies and one decided to work out a deal. I don't know 100% but I believe it was Aqualung (apeks line). Anyway after hearing of the deal Scubapro changed its mind, If anyone is going to make money selling regulators to Halcyon why not be them. On the other side, even though its not publicized that these are Scubapro regulators they understand that people will know. To have a company as respected in the technical and cave diving communities selling your regulators speaks highly of your gear. I think this is a win for both companies. You have to wonder though, at what point will Scubapro just acquire Halcyon like it did Seamann. Regulator deal, Scubapro bringing in a tech line of gear, maybe this partnership will grow into something much bigger one day. JJ may one day be heading Scubapro's Technical division...who knows.

Sub Gear XP10

This post is added in response to a question I received about a great entry level wrist computer.

My recommendation would be the Sub Gear XP10. First a little background, Scubapro bought out a company called Seemann which was based in Europe. Seemann wasn’t the best name to carry over here to the states, for obvious reason, so they changed it to Sub Gear and voila we now have a new company to buy products from. Scubapro’s decision to keep it a separate name / company allows for it to be used as a testing ground of sorts. Scubapro can introduce new products at a price range they normally do not compete in without fear of it affecting there long tradition as a high quality dive manufacturer. Ok back to the XP10, basically Scubapro dropped the Scubapro Prime computer down to the Sub Gear line and changed the name to the XP10 and also drastically dropped the price. This computer retails for right around $250.00 and does just about everything most divers would ever need. The software used is the same used buy the Scubapro/Uwatec Tec 2G. It’s very easy to use and most people in my experience can learn the entire computer In the matter of a few minutes. I was very impressed with the value of this computer. Anyone looking for a first computer owes it to themselves to check out the

SUB GEAR XP10

Now for the specs:

·  Nitrox settings between 21% and 50% in 1% increments

·  Full watch functions

·  Basic choice of adjustments without the need of a PC

·  Adjustable ppO2 between 1.0 and 1.6bar

·  Back light, visual and audible alarms

·  Timer for Safety Stops

·  Data can be transmitted via infrared interface (IrDA) with Dive.Log software to a Windows® PC

Scubapro X-Tech Pure

Scubapro is expanding there line of gear here in the states for 2011. They are introducing several new products some of which I will put up later. Pictured above is the The Scubapro X-Tech Pure Tek System. This is one of three configurations it will be offered in, the other two being a larger wing and a harness system similar to those offered on the Dive Rite Transpac. This BC has been sold oversees for some time now and was going to make its way over here at some point but the timing is  interesting. Scubapro has just in the last year allowed Halcyon Manufacturing to sell several of there Regulators under the Halcyon name. The MK17 G250 being one set (more on this in a later post). Soon after this "partnership" Scubapro brings over a product that competes directly with Halcyon's core. In no way am I saying its a bad thing its business and Scubapro would have been stupid not to get into the BP/W market. Way to go Scubapro, I think it will be exciting to see what a little more competition will do to the BP/W market. (bring prices down :) maybe )
I have not had the opportunity to play with one yet but have talked with several people that have and they all seemed to be impressed, its a simple streamlined system Scubapro didn't try to recreate the wheel and in this case I believe that was the right way to go, do not try fixing what isn't broken right. I was also told that if you wanted to use the new cinch system from Halcyon, the holes in the Scubapro back plate line up perfect. It is important for Scubapro that they do, always cover all your bases don't leave something out that a competitor can use to sell against you. In my opinion Scubapro should be able to take over this market no doubt about it. They have a larger dealer network than any other BP/W manufacturer and should be able to more than compete when it comes to price. I just couldn't seeing a company like Halcyon ( by the way I love Halcyon, I can go on and on about all the things they have done right but I will save it for now) competing with such a large company. By the end of this summer we will all see just how Scubapro does with its new line, I'm sure by that time their BP/W systems will be a common site at some of out favorite holes.

If you have used one please let us know what you think by commenting below,Thanks.

Scubapro MK25 A700 Black Tech

So here is the newest regulator in Scubapro's lineup. Actually its just the last newest one painted black. This is the Mk25 A700 Black Tech. When I first seen this picture I was extremely excited, this regulator looks beautiful. I have used the standard A700 and its one of the best regulators I have ever sucked air through, however I was not a fan of the chrome so I couldn't wait for this all black addition to come out, this picture is the coolest looking regulator I have seen. But this is the but a big but, in person this regulator looks allot different than in the picture. The coating is a black shiny metallic coating that looks more bronze than black . I would have loved for it to be the flat black look that the pictures suggested but instead we have a "shiny bronze tech." I will say in my opinion it looks allot better than the chrome ( I'm not a fan of anything chrome really, regs, rims so on..) but I had this image of a flat all  black regulator so anything different would have disappointed me. I'm Disappointed.
Now if you want this shiny bronze colored version of the MK25 A700 it will only cost you about 200 dollars extra, this coating is not cheap.  The coating is a : Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) finish, which gives increased surface scratch resistance. I believe its the finished being used on allot of knives nowadays, so it is very durable.
In the end it is a new regulator, looks allot cooler than the chrome, more durable and breathes amazing.


STILL WISHING IT WAS FLAT BLACK though

Atomic Aquatics First Dive Computer

Atomic has recently introduced its first dive computer to the market, The Atomic Aquatics Cobalt .
First Ill list a few of the features:
Full Color display ooooh nice, lithium ion battery which is rechargeable via ac cord or usb, HP quick disconnect, 3D digital compass, air/nitrox up to 99% O2 , and can be preprogrammed with up to three different gases.
Now when I first heard Atomic was bringing to the market their very own dive computer I was a little ...well lets say I thought it would be a joke. First off many of these companies developing dive computers have been at it for a number of years and still crappy ones with complicated menus show up year after year. The first pictures released with its color screen looked so different than what we are used to seeing I for one thought it was going to be a flop but nonetheless would help them get into the computer market. The chance of the newcomer competing with some of the most advanced dive computers to date seemed far fetched. Atomic came out swinging, to my surprise the Atomic stacks up to any computer available on the market. I have not yet had the opportunity to dive this computer but just playing with it on land gave me enough to say this is one of the easiest/coolest dive computers available. I would bet anyone out there could go through all the menus, setting everything from time to O2 without picking up the manual. The menus explain themself's and the button configuration/ layout is easy to use and understand. I put it in a class with the Uwatec Galileo ( your choice, hoseless or not)

Scuba Diving World

Getting a community of divers together, discussing everything from gear and classes to manufacturers and travel.
(the following are just thoughts)
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 -whats hot and whats not.
Classes
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Groups
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