Scuba Venture Blog

Sign up for one of our upcoming Drysuit Classes and on completion of the class, receive a voucher for two more drysuit rentals for free!  This is a $100 savings.  Take advantage of this now.  If you decide you really like drysuit diving after the two free rentals, and you would like to buy a drysuit, you will get the drysuit class credited back to your drysuit purchase…thats right….you get your class price refunded to you.  You must purchase your suit within thirty days of second free rental.

With the new year, SV updated Specialty Classes to be less time consuming in the classroom and give you more time on training dives.  Most Specialty classes come with a DVD and Training Manual so you can do most of your work at home, and then meet the instructor at the training dive site.  Try some Specialty Classes out today!

Just to inform you that instructors at Scuba Venture are available 24/7, (well not exactly),  but we can do spec classes at any time. Take a day off and get a few friends and take a specialty classes. Now is the time to take the dry suit class break up the work week get to Dutch or Willow and not have a crowd !!!!!!!!!!  Call and let us know, what you want to learn!

 NEW TRAINING FORMAT FOR 2012   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scuba Training at  Scuba Venture is getting a face lift !!!!!!!!! Watch for the “New” way to learn to dive and take specialty classes in the New Year. Courses are being tweaked  by Mark and Charlie to make 2012 an exciting year  to enhance your diving skills and knowledge. Look for further details in the next few weeks!

North Carolina Wreck Diving Adventure

Join Mark Stitzer, owner of Scuba Venture, on an exciting North Carolina shipwreck diving adventure.Mark has been diving in North Carolina for over 30 years and knows the wrecks and best restaurants! He has made hundreds of NC wreck dives for artifacts, spearfishing, and picture taking. We can help turn you into a real wreck diver. The fish life is great also for anyone wanting to see Caribbean fish with out the price tag that goes with it. How about diving a German U-Boat, or ships sunk by U-Boats? There is a great deal of underwater history that you will see on this trip. Many artifacts from his NC trips, decorate SV.  The trip leaves on Oct. 13, diving the 14, 15, & 16, returning on the 16 late.

The Crew on the Olympus Dive Boat will take great care of everyone. This boat is one of the most comfortable on the Eastern Coast. How about finishing some other specialty dives while we are all having fun? There is just so much to see and do!  There are only a couple of spots left!

If you have any questions please call Mark at 877-685-0944.

SCUBA VENTURE & WHITES DRYSUITS INVITE YOU!

To the Whites Drysuit Demo Weekend on May 14 & 15 at Dutch Springs.

The Whites DEMO Tour is coming to Dutch Springs on May 14 & 15. On each day staff from SV will be on hand to guide you through a dry suit experience.  Whites personnel will be your hosts.  There will be demonstrations, a dive experience, BBQ, prize drawings and a FUN, dive social event!

Join Us!  Register at:     http://whitesdiving.com/sport-diving/events

Our Price:  $10

Register Now!  Minimal spaces available

We have moved the Ice Diving Date to:  Classroom on February 26, from 1 to 5 PM and the Training Dives: February 27 at Blue Marsh Lake from 8:30 AM to ?.  If interested please sign up at SV as soon as possible.   Hope to see you soon!

Mohawk Ocean Dive (80 Ft.)

Just a few miles out of Manasquan Inlet (New Jersey), the remains of the Mohawk lie beneath 80 feet of water. The steel-hulled passenger ship, launched in October of 1925 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, was 387' long, 54' in breadth, and listed at 5897 gross tons.

The Mohawk was the third in a string of disasters suffered by the Ward Line. First was the infamous Morro Castle fire at Asbury Park, then the Havana ran aground on a reef off Florida. The Mohawk was leased from the Clyde Line to take over the duties of the Morro Castle, but only a few months after the fire which claimed 124 lives, this ship also met with a tragic end. The Mohawk left New York on the afternoon of January 24, 1935.

About 9:00 that evening, several miles south of Sea Girt Light and about six miles offshore, the steering gear went awry and the crew switched to a manual steering system instead. Shortly afterward, confusion between orders from the bridge and their execution in the steering engine room caused the Mohawk to execute a hard turn to port, at full speed, directly into the path of the Norwegian freighter Talisman. Although both ships tried to avoid the collision, it was too late. Talisman struck the Mohawk, and the latter began to take on water. Bitter cold, ice, and snow hampered the evacuation of the 160 passengers; all told 45 lives were lost, including Captain Joseph Wood and all but one of the ship's officers.

The Mohawk sank within an hour. Nearby ships came to the rescue, and Coast Guard boats and planes searched through the night and the next day, first for survivors, then for bodies. The wreck was later blasted to a maximum depth of 50' so as not to pose a navigational hazard in the heavily traveled shipping lane.

The Mohawk is one of the most dived wrecks in this area, although it resembles a ship less than an underwater junkyard. It's easy to get lost in the vast jumble of hull plates and twisted metal, so careful navigation is essential. Despite its popularity, this wreck still yields plenty of artifacts and lobster, and offers many interesting sights for the observant diver.

Add a wreck diver specialty course with Charles Haldeman for added wreck enjoyment.  He will be training in the classroom on the 14th followed by the dives on the 18th. He will also be holding an Adv. Training Course the following week.

Teresa Franke was awarded with the DiveControl Specialist of the Year award for 2009.  She received the award for helping the SV instructors with their classes, for promoting scuba diving, and for helping students and customers within the store.  She was very deserving of this prestigious award.  If you see Teresa at the classes or at the lakes diving, give her a big congratulations!

Moving through the water
Is most efficiently done with a pair of fins. Choosing a pair of fins for the power of your legs will make diving easy for you.

Adjustable strap fins are the most common for scuba diving in the USA because this type of fin permits use of dive booties. This fin is usually strong enough to propell you through the water with the additional equipment a scuba diver wears over a free diver or snorkeler.

While full foot fins are more commonly used for free diving, warm water scuba divers may also choose a full foot fin.