Ocean Archives | Page 3 of 6 | Extreme Sports Scuba

Foreign Travel Tips – Forgotten Items

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby

Posted in Dive Trips

Since there is a group of people getting ready to leave the country and head to Mexico, today is the perfect time to address some of the most commonly forgotten items.

C-Card.

Never Leave Home Without It! Okay, that might be a bit extreme, but if you are going on a dive trip, this is your ticket between getting to dive and not getting to dive. So maybe that should be restated to say, never leave home on a dive trip without it.

One good backup plan is to get yourself registered online through SDI so that you can download a digital copy. Remember, this card is the difference between giant striding off that boat and sitting there riding the waves. Continue reading→

Boat Diving Etiquette

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Deb Weston

Posted in Dive Trips 1 Comment

Be considerate to other divers as well as boat personnel by following these suggestions:

Tips on Boat Diving Etiquette

Arrive early. Be on the dock in plenty of time to board the boat. Don’t keep everyone else waiting. We’ve learned in the past that the boat personnel knows Grady and they arrive earlier than he tells them.
Have your C-card and waivers filled out and ready to hand in. Better yet, stop by the dive shop and turn these items in ahead of time.
Be prepared. Have all your equipment in your mesh bag and ready to hand to the boat personnel. Don’t come dragging your equipment to the boat piece by piece. That’s not to say some pieces won’t fit in your bag, but don’t bring a BC then go back and get your fins and then go back etc, etc. Have it all with you and ready to go.

Continue reading→

Why Choose Extreme Sports Scuba

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Chuck Beaver

Posted in Diver Interviews

We have heard for years that for a business the most important thing is location, location, location. In our case, that is not all there is to it. It is how you treat people. By word of, Facebook, and other avenues, people have heard about Extreme Sports Scuba because of our friendly, family oriented atmosphere.

On more than one occasion, people have sought out our business bypassing other SCUBA stores in the process. I can’t speak for them, but I knew this was home the minute I came through the door. I sure hope they feel that way too.

A Story of One Couple

Here is a story of a couple we worked with last fall before they went on their trip to Hawaii. All pictures of text messages and pictures have been approved for our usage in this post.

We worked with a couple for their open water dives this past October. They bypassed several shops to work with us because of his past experience with us. So maybe, location isn’t always a total factor when deciding who to get certified through.

Because of everyone’s schedule, they did their open water at Beaver Lake during the Pumpkin Carving Weekend. That particular weekend happened to be a very cool weekend, but they survived and were certified divers by the end of the weekend. We were not only able to finish their open water but by the end of the weekend, we were also friends. We all can use more friends and good dive buddies, so it was a win-win situation as far as I was concerned.

Continue reading→

Snorkeling

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Doug Lord

Posted in Other Events 1 Comment

Snorkeling

What’s a great way to introduce someone to the underwater world? What’s a good way to explore shallow dive sites? What’s a good way to spend your surface interval? What’s sometimes the best way to get close to some of the most skittish marine life? The answer to all these questions is snorkeling!

If you’re visiting a tropical location that has SCUBA diving, there’s a pretty good chance that the same dive operation that you’re using on your vacation, can also take you to a dive site that is also good for snorkeling. Why would you want to do that, you ask? If you have a friend, parent, or significant other that has traveled with you that would like to see the underwater world, but doesn’t want to or can’t SCUBA dive. Snorkeling can be a great way to introduce and to share the underwater experience with your friend. Continue reading→

10 Composition Techniques

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby

Posted in Scuba Education 1 Comment

Composition. This is a term you hear a lot thrown around in the photography sector, but what does it mean? Well, technically it means the difference between a good photo and a great photo. But let’s define the term first.

Composition: (noun) the nature of something’s ingredients or constituents; the way in which a whole or mixture is made up.

When dealing with art, a picture in this case, the composition can actually take your photo from good to great. While some people swear that a great photo is created by the camera, some of that really comes from the photographer knowing what they are doing. I’ve seen great photos taken by “crappy” cameras (not my words but other peoples).

10 Composition Techniques

Rule of Thirds. Make sure you know the rule of thirds. Divide your picture up into thirds both up and down and side to side. Pictures tend to look better if the focal point isn’t dead in the middle but hits one of those points where the lines cross in the rule of thirds.

Continue reading→

You Want to Become SCUBA Certified… Now What?

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Deb Weston

Posted in Scuba Education 1 Comment

You want to become SCUBA certified, now what? As a dive instructor, the thing that I most enjoy is seeing new divers come out of the water with a mile long smile, realizing what they have just accomplished. But the question is,

What does it take to become an “Open Water SCUBA Diver?”

First, you must sign up for the class. Come by Extreme Sports SCUBA to sign up for the course and fill out waivers and file folder. While you are here, you will set-up classroom and pool schedule. Don’t let that word “classroom” scare you off! At the time of sign-up, you are given “homework,” an open-water manual and knowledge questions to take home and read and answer at your own convenience. Again, don’t let that word homework scare you off. It’s not scary, promise.

There are five chapters,

Underwater Environment
Physics/Physiology
SCUBA Equipment
Skills Development
Planning Your Dive.

After this is complete, you will come in for 2 classroom sessions. Each of these sessions are about 3 hours in length. Then, time for your 2 pool sessions. However, we will schedule more sessions if needed, and don’t feel bad if you feel you need more time in the pool. We want you to feel comfortable and we want you to succeed. The pool sessions take about 2 1/2 hours.

Remember: Our goal is for you to become comfortable in the water and be able to perform all the skills with ease.

Continue reading→

Keeping SCUBA in the Family

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Deb Weston

Posted in Meet the Crew

Drake Weston turns 18 today, Happy Birthday to you.

And today’s blog post is about Drake.

What is it like to teach a family member to SCUBA dive?

When you have a family that is in the SCUBA business, you end up at one time or another teaching another family member to SCUBA dive.

Drake, grandson of Grady and I, grew up around SCUBA. With a father and grandparents as instructors, it was known that eventually, he would learn to dive as well. He started out using a Sassy (surface assisted youth unit) when he was around 5 years old. He even got to use it in Cozumel. Continue reading→

Shore dives at Sunscape Resort

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby

Posted in Dive Trips 1 Comment

Since I was unable to attend Curaçao this past summer, I had to rely on those who did to do recaps. Dan and Grady volunteered Christina Frampton to write about one of the shore dives at Sunscape Resort in Curaçao.

Have you ever looked at something and your first impression is, “Oh my gosh, that’s awful” only to be immediately followed by the thought, “That’s amazing!” That was my reaction when I first saw what we now refer to as “Christina Reef” on the shores of Sunscape Resort in Curaçao. Continue reading→

Dive Cozumel

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Deb Weston

Posted in Dive Trips 1 Comment

You may have heard me talk about diving in Cozumel a lot, that’s because Grady and I have been to Cozumel around fifty times. Yes, that’s a 5 and a 0. It is still one of my favorite dive destinations. When people ask me where they should go for their first destination dive trip, Cozumel is always my first answer.

One of the big pros about Cozumel is you can do deep dives as well as nice shallow dives. There is always lots of fish life and the water always has at least 100′ of visibility. While some people certify while in the ocean, I suggest getting certified in the lake. Why? Well, because you’ll appreciate the visibility that much more.

One of the best reasons to dive is to see what other’s can’t see on land. What do you see? Turtles, nurse sharks, moray eels, angel fish, parrot fish, and sometimes even seahorses. And yes, I said sharks. Don’t let those sharks scare you. Sharks are an amazing creature and the sharks we dive with are very docile.

Continue reading→

10 Reasons to Visit Cozumel

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby

Posted in Dive Trips 1 Comment

If you’re on the fence about going to Cozumel, don’t be. Why? So glad you asked!

10 Reasons to Visit Cozumel

1. SCUBA Diving –

You’re certified, where is your first destination? My recommendation, Cozumel! Hands down! The visibility is magnificent. The sea life is abundant. And… you can say you swam with the fishes/sharks. There’s great 80’+ dives as well as shallow dives. And did I mention the visibility? Or… the water temp. Especially in February when it’s snowing in the great state of Missouri.

2. Beautiful Sunsets –

We stay on the West side of the island so that means GORGEOUS Sunsets. If you’re a Sunrise person, rent a car and drive to the other side of the island, but be sure you know where you are parking. Refer to number 5.

Continue reading→