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SCOTT AND DAVID SCHROEDER ARE NOW PADI ENRICHED AIR SPECIALTY DIVERS. POOL FUN THIS PAST SATURDAY. WHERE WERE YOU?

PADI DISCOVER SCUBA SCUBA REVIEW OR JUST COME AND PLAY ANDOVER BRANCH YMCA POOL SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2018

Why PADI Scuba Review? Are you a certified diver, but haven't been in the water lately? Are you looking to refresh your dive skills and knowledge? Are you a PADI Scuba Diver and want to earn your PADI certification? If you answered yes to any of these questions then PADI Scuba Review is for you. SUNDAY’S GRADUATES What do I need to start? Hold a scuba certification SCUBA SCHOOL Minimum age: 10 years old SCUBA SCHOOL What will I do? FEB 21 WICHITA STATE SCUBA CLASS First, you'll review the safety information you learned during your initial training. Then, you head to the pool to practice some of FEB 23-25 OPEN WATER PART ONE the fundamental FEB 24 DISCOVER SCUBA, REFREHSER COURSE, How long will it take? OR JUST COME AND PLAY A couple of hours FEB 25 FIRST AID CLASS What will I need? FEB 28 WICHITA STATE SCUBA CLASS If you don’t have your own gear you will need to rent gear. MAR 2-4 OPEN WATER PART ONE I don’t want a review, but I want to play? MAR 3 DISCOVER SCUBA, REFREHSER COURSE, No problem, Just sign up and come play in the pool for a couple OR JUST COME AND PLAY of hours….we want you diving! MAR 4 FIRST AID CLASS  $75.00 for Refresher (includes gear rental and pool fee) MAR 7 WICHITA STATE SCUBA CLASS  No Refresher, don’t have gear, but you want to play? Full gear rental $38.00 plus and pool fee. MAR 9-11 OPEN WATER PART ONE

 Have all your gear but just want to play? $15.00 MAR 10 DISCOVER SCUBA, REFREHSER COURSE, OR JUST COME AND PLAY  IF YOU BOUGHT A SCUBA SYSTEM FROM US, IT’S FREE MAR 11 FIRST AID CLASS STARTS AT NOON

CALL TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT MAKE EVERY WEEKEND A DIVE WEEKEND

Practice Makes Perfect – Tune Up Your Scuba Skills

It’s almost time to come out of diving hibernation as the winter-long surface in- terval comes to an end, so how do you reacquaint yourself with the skills that may have gotten a bit rusty? “Use it or lose it”, the old adage says, and it's very true, and definitely also for . But sometimes, it just isn’t possible to use your dive skills during the winter, even though there is the option for diving during the winter season.

So if you’re among the majority of divers, who take the coldest months off, you may find that your dive skills aren’t quite what they were when you hung up your BCD in the autumn. So here follows a practice plan for re-training your skills. This can be used at the beginning of the dive season, or anytime you need to improve your scuba skills.

1. Do you ABC’s Take your time to go through your kit, and make sure all is in order, and that you’re being extra thorough in assembling the elements. Haste makes waste. So take your time.

2. Practice your basic water skills Go through the basic dive skills. Do a hover (if you struggle, start with the fin pivot), remove and replace regulator, remove and replace mask. If you’re really ambitious, you can also remove and replace BCD and belt at the surface. And if your is top notch, take it up a level and try inverted hovers, trim, etc. If you have the opportunity, also practice a few water entry strategies, such as giant stride.

3. Practice emergency skills Next, move to the more advanced skills, and consider repeating these from time to time, in-season. These include deploy- ing an SMB, out-of-air scenario, and re-surfacing of an unconscious or injured diver. If you dive with doubles, also prac- tice your basic shut-down drills.

4. Work your communication skills Agree with your buddy that at some point during the dive, you both need to communicate something on the dive, preferably rather complex, to the other. Make it scenario based, and make sure you have a sign to communicate that this is in fact just a scenario.

Bring two writing slates or wet note books. You or your buddy then communicates a mes- sage to the other, who then writes down what he or she believes is communicated. Then you switch. Afterwards, you've compare notes and see how efficiently you've communi- cated the messages. All of these skills are of course necessary for all scuba divers. So a beginning of season run-through is valuable, and ele- ments of it should be repeated during the season, preferably on easy dives at well-known sites. Better yet, come do a “Refresher Tune-up Course” at Amber Waves Diving.

AMBER WAVES DIVING REPAIR CENTER

Properly functioning gear is crucial Your safety depends on it. That’s why we are the best technicians in the business to service your gear. What to expect We are certified technicians that always follow manufacturer guidelines. Conscientious and thorough, we examine every part of your gear. We’re always on the lookout for wear and corrosion, immediately swapping out anything worn or damaged. We want your next dive to be your best dive!

Discover the new Legend

The new line of Legend regulators crafts the future with in- novative technology and sleek cosmetic appeal. The new Legends are smaller and lighter making for a more comfortable dive.

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An ideal system for virtually any diving scenario, the balanced dia- phragm MK17 EVO is completely sealed off from the elements, ensuring trouble- free operation no matter how cold or murky the water gets. It is more compact yet delivers better breathing performance than its predeces- Scubapro MK17 EVO/G260 Regulator sor. Its improved internal design allows more airflow from the LP ports which have been reconfigured for better hose routing. The full- If you dive deep, dive cold, or often find yourself on silty bottoms or featured air-balanced S560 second stage, built with a rugged nylon in less-than-pristine waters, the MK17 EVO/G260 is the regulator fiberglass case, is lightweight and easy to use. Together they create system for you. The new MK17 EVO is Scubapro's premium high the must-have regulator system for recreational divers of all skill performance balanced diaphragm first stage. Engineered specifical- levels. ly for cold water and harsh environments, its internal components are completely sealed off from the elements so neither water nor $625.00 pollution can get inside the chrome-plated marine grade brass body to foul the mechanism. This total sealing system also allows for a dry ambient chamber which works to prevent freezing, provides better protection and improves performance, ensuring trouble-free operation no matter how cold or murky the water gets. Now think about it, if this regulator performance flawlessly in cold water it will also be a phenomenal regulator in warm temper- The XTX50 Regulator is what ate waters. This is just simply a great regulator at a great value. you're looking for in a top of the line regulator, at a reasonable price. The Apeks XTX50 is designed to handle every diving condition you $626.00 could put it through. It can even be changed from right hand to left hand use, by an authorized technician. You can change out the ex- haust tee from a wider tee for minimal bubbles, great for photog- raphy, or a more narrow exhaust tee for a smaller more compact reg- ulator.

Apeks XTX50 features: WISDOM 3 COMPUTER  An over balanced diaphragm design first stage that is environ- mentally sealed

The new Wisdom 3 is an intui-  Four medium pressure ports, with optional fifth tive easy to use and operate  Easily converts from right hand to left hand, by factory author- with easy to read large digital ized technician display. The computer has diver selectable alarms, deep stop reminders, DECO warnings,  Pneumatically balanced second stage and has Air, and Gauge Modes. The repetitive dive plan- ning mode uses information from previous dives to see limita-  Diver changeable exhaust tee tions of your next dive. Logging your dives is made easy with the  Nitrox compatible function that stores profiles for later recall and viewing. $595.00 MSRP $805.00 IN STOCK—OUR PRICE $725.00 YES WE HAVE BCDs IN STOCK

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The Soul i3 is a luxury BC added to the women’s line of quality dive products. It incorporates Aqua Lung’s most comfortable NEW harness system to date, the AQUA LUNG Wrapture™ harness. The BC is AXIOM powered by the intuitive i3 con- trol system. Integrated SCUBA PRO AQUA LUNG are held securely in place with SureLock II mechanical weight system and the cylinder is GLIDE X WOMEN’S secured with the GripLock™ tank band. SOUL i3 Control System (patented) – provides easy, one-touch control for inflation and PACK HITS THE SWEET SPOT deflation. Eliminates the traditional in- WITH HIGH PERFORMANCE LED flator that dangles at the end of a corru- LIGHTING AND IS LIGHT WEIGHT, gated hose. i3 is simple and intuitive- MAKING IT THE PERFECT COMBO just lift up on the lever to inflate and FOR FLYING TO A SUNNY DESTI- NATION AND DOING A NIGHT DIVE. push down on the same lever to dump air. What’s more, when you push the lever down, all the MSRP IS $174.99 dumps, upper and lower, open at the same time! UNDERWATER KINETICS SL3ELD2 $699.00 125 LUMENS 32 HOUR BURN TIME A GREAT LIGHT…..$71.99

Pre-Dive : Add Fun to Your Safety Check Routine When you are about to dive underwater where your equipment is essentially your life support, there is no such thing as being too cau- tious. Double checking your equipment and having your it too may take a few extra minutes, but they are often very worth it.

Obviously, you want to discover any equipment issues before you are underwater. Even the most basic things can be overlooked when caught up in the excitement of the impending dive. You don't want a buddy who meets Mr. Reaper due to a silly mistake. That’s why it really helps to have your buddy check all of your gear and then check each other one more time before starting your dive. The two of you also need to be comfortable with where each other’s equipment is and how it works; it may be what saves your or your buddy’s life.

Do you know The Value of a Scuba Checklist? Here is a look at the safety check basics when you’re preparing for a dive. Not only is a complete list included, but also a list of helpful mnemonics so you never forget to check a thing. The Checklist: Don’t Leave Home Without It!  Check your BCD. Make sure that it is properly adjusted, in good operational use, and that the low pressure inflator connection is tight. Also make sure that your tank is adjusted properly so that you are not only safe, but comfortable throughout your dive as well.  Check your weights. The belt should be already set up with an ease of access for right hand release. Ensure that you are not over-weighing yourself and that your quick release is easily ac- cessible should you need to quickly dump the weights.  Check your buddy’s releases. This is of utmost importance for the safety of your buddy. Know where the releases are, and how they work. Go so far as to ensure that you can find them with your eyes closed; you need to find these in an instant should something go wrong.  Check your air. Make sure that your tank is completely filled with air and make sure that you have enough for the dive you’ve planned. Make sure that the valves are open and that the regulators are fully functional. While checking your own air, also make sure you know where your buddy’s octopus is and how to use it.  Check again. Double check yourself and your buddy one more time. Give each other a good look-over from head to foot and check for anything missing, damaged, or in the way.

Mnemonics to make it Fun The whole point of diving is to have a good time. There’s absolutely no reason why your pre-dive checks shouldn’t be an enjoyable experience as well. Divers the world over have shared their silly and strange mnemonics for memorizing the basic checks that need to be done. Here are a few of the best:  A-B-C-D-E-F-G  A - Air  B - BCD  C - Computer  D - Defog Mask  E - Everyone Else  F - Fins On  G - Go Diving!

 “Begin with Review and Friend  B - BCD  W - Weights  R - Releases  A - Air  F – Fins

There are many ways to remembering the safety steps most important is that you think safety before every dive. And that you remember to check all the different factors. Which way you do it doesn’t matter as long as you do it!