Latest news:
MAY 2008 NEWS
Stop Press! Farewell to Carly!
It is with sadness that we will be saying Good-bye and Good-luck to Carly in a couple of weeks.
After 3 great years with Underwater Sports, Carly is leaving to join her partner Steve, who has been posted to Brisbane by the army.
We’d like to extend an invitation to you all to help us give Carly a farewell that she’ll always remember.
Farewell drinks will be on Saturday 10th May at the Tea Tree Gully Hotel from 8pm onwards.
We have a card at the shop if you’d like to come in and sign it to wish her well.
Club News & Dive Reports:
Renee recently traveled to Bali, one of our upcoming travel destinations:
“I was pleasantly surprised by our recent trip to Bali. I am not a diver that will fully appreciate wreck dives but the US Liberty is tropical diving at its best. Most of the dives were relatively easy, made that way by the staff at Aquamarine. Scorpion fish, sweet lips, frog fish, large trevally and some amazing macro creatures are all on offer. I can’t wait to get back in August! Photographers beware: If you take a camera, make it digital with plenty of memory because this is one trip you will not want to run out of film. Trust me!!!”
Would you like to contribute to our newsletter with dive reports and photos?
Please email your stories and photos to us!
Club Memberships:
Is your Dive Club Membership Due? Membership costs just $30 for 12 months, and you receive a club card that qualifies you for 30% off air fills, a monthly copy of the Dive Log magazine (free for members only), members days on the boat, members free BBQ Days, 10% discount on all equipment purchases (cash and card only, excluding sales items), members only sales specials and discounts, and 15% discount on hire gear! Please check your membership card to make sure you are still active, and come into the shop to renew.
Shop News:
New shop hours:
From Monday 5th May, we will be returning to our regular shop opening hours.
Monday: 10am – 6pm
Tuesday: 10am - 6pm
Wednesday: CLOSED
Thursday: 10am - 8pm
Friday: 10am – 6pm
Saturday: 9am – 5pm
Sunday: CLOSED
Did you know?
Family Sepiidae: Cuttlefish
Species: Sepia apama (Gray 1849): Giant Cuttlefish
FAST FACTS (information from www.whyallacuttlefish.com)
Did you know that cuttlefish have blue blood?
Did you know that cuttlefish have three hearts?
Did you know that cuttlefish are considered to be highly intelligent animals that possess excellent touch, smell and visual abilities?
These amazing ‘chameleons of the sea’ are one of the largest species of cuttlefish found in the world; and can reach up to 60 cm in length and can weigh up to 5kg.
MIGRATION
Every year between the months of May and September, thousands of Giant Australian Cuttlefish (Sepia apama) descend on the rocky coastline between Fitzgerald Bay and False Bay. The migration by these majestic creatures to these waters is for the sole purpose of spawning. During these months, the female attaches her eggs to the underside of the rocky ledges around the area. The male then fertilises these eggs, which hatch a couple of months later. The males can only reproduce once, and as with the females die not long after.
SWIMMING ABILITY
Cuttlefish are amazing creatures, possessing the ability to swim in different manners. When in danger, the cuttlefish suck water into their body cavity and expel it through a funnel like extension on the underside of the body, resulting in backward propulsion. This manoeuvre allows for escape from predators.
The other method of swimming involves gentle rippling by their side fins. This is the method of movement when there is no threat of danger. Cuttlefish also possess the ability to fill their cavities with small amounts of gas, allowing for altered buoyancy.
CUTTLEFISH DIET
The staple diet of the Australian Giant Cuttlefish consists of crustaceans such as prawns and crabs and small fish such as reef fish and tommy roughs. The prey is caught by two powerful tentacles which shoot out from beneath the creatures eyes. The prey is then pulled toward the animal’s strong beak and crushed.
DEFENCE
The Giant Australian Cuttlefish shoots a cloud of black ink when threatened or attacked. The ink is not poisonous and acts solely as a decoy device, confusing the predator; allowing for a hasty escape. An alternate defence mechanism the cuttlefish possesses is its ability to camouflage itself by altering its colour, texture and shape to imitate seaweed, sand beds and rocky outcrops. This ‘chameleon’ ability also assists the creature in capturing its own prey.
Travel News:
In June we’re going to Whyalla to dive with the Giant Cuttlefish!
When: June long weekend, 2 nights staying in cabins at the Whyalla Foreshore Caravan Park, Sat 7th June & Sun 8th June. Price: $360 per cabin, maximum 6 people per cabin.
Includes a free BBQ tea Saturday night for club members. (Non-members add $10)
Also in June we will be holding a TRAVEL PARTY for everyone booked onto our Bali and Komodo trips, and anyone else from the dive club who’d like to catch up for a social evening. It’s a great opportunity to meet your fellow travelers, and hear a bit more about where we’ll be going. We’ll be providing a free supper to all travelers and club members. It will be on Saturday 21st June, at Dave and Jolie’s house, from 8pm.
BYO drinks. Please phone the shop to confirm your attendance.
In October we’re planning a dive trip to Jervis Bay, NSW, staying on the Ocean Trek liveaboard.
Ocean Trek Diving Resort is an 18-meter catamaran style vessel that operates out of Jervis Bay. It caters for up to 21 divers in spacious surrounds and offers diverse diving while on board.
Jervis Bay is approximately 120 sq. km of exceptionally clear seawater, fringed by cliffs, rock platforms and the whitest sands in the world. As a landscape, it is geologically unique ,with its complex combinations of structural warping and faulting of Permian rock strata followed by post-glacial flooding by the ocean. The warping is in the form of a syncline, a saucer-shaped depression in the earths crust of 230-280 million years old Permian sandstone. The Bay is enclosed by two rocky peninsulas - Beecroft in the north and Bherwerre in the south. The peninsulas on the seaward side is a line of sheer cliffs which tower above the sea up to 135 metres and plunge some 40 meters below the sea level. These formations are what gives Jervis Bay some of its qualities as a Diving Mecca and its listing on the Register of the National Estate and has recently been declared a Marine Park..
During October, the average water temperature is 17degrees, and average visibility is 10-15m, providing great diving opportunities.
Please register your interest in this trip by phoning or emailing the shop, or coming in for more details.
Dive Course Details:
Earning your PADI Open Water Diver certification is just the beginning. As a certified diver, fabulous dive destinations, exciting people, unparalleled adventure and uncommon tranquillity await you. And, as you continue your adventure and gain experience through higher training levels, your opportunities expand.
Last month we highlighted the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course and the PADI Rescue Diver Course. This month we look at how you can become a Wreck Diver and Deep Diver.
Deep Diver Course Details:
The Deep Diver Specialty course offers you the opportunity of a lifetime - going deep to see things others can only dream about! In this course you will experience what it’s like to dive beyond 18m. Down there, it’s different, and it takes additional training: you’ll learn deep dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and hazards, undertake four open water dives that range from 18 - 40 metres; and gain experience with diving deep under the direct, professional supervision of a PADI Instructor. Your certification will count towards the PADI Master Scuba Diver rating. Pre-requisites – Advance Open Water certification.
Wreck Diver Course Details:
You drift down and pass through a window into the past. As you near the bottom, a recognizable shape begins to form. First, you see a straight line, then a round window. Next, a ship materializes in front of you. As you look at the wreck, past and the present meet. Whether sunk intentionally or tragically, whether a sunken ship, a plane or an automobile, the call of wrecks is nearly irresistible to divers. Through the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course, you’ll learn the skills, knowledge and procedures you need to answer the call of wreck diving. You’ll learn safe planning and diving of wreck sites, understanding legal issues, historical values, and develop skills for safe penetration diving. The PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course includes four dives over 2 days. Your certification will count towards the PADI Master Scuba Diver rating. Pre-requisites – Advance Open Water certification.
If you are interested in taking the Deep Diver Course or Wreck Diver Course, please contact us here at the shop.
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Red Hot May Shop Specials:
Underwater Sports Ex-rental SALE:
Mares have come out with a brilliant new concept to streamline hire equipment, featuring easy to identify colour-coded sizes for BCDs and wetsuits. So we are going to have a ‘Crazy ex-Hire Kit Sale’!
KIT INCLUDES: REGS – Scubapro / MK2 and R190 regulators & STD gauges; BCD – Glide 500; Ex-hire tank; Wetsuit – Take your pick from our great range of ex-hire suits!! (some of these wetsuits are near brand-new and worth up to $700 alone!)
Only $950 and you’re diving with your own gear!
6 KITS ONLY, SIZES ARE LIMITED. Cash or credit card only.
All ex-hire kits purchased will be fully serviced, and come with a one year shop warranty.
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Mares Hot Offer 1:
Includes:
* Vector 1000 MRS Plus BC
* Prestige 12 Regulator
* Rebel Occy
* Console Mission 1
* Puck Wrist Computer
For only $1999 (that’s a saving of over $600!)
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Mares Hot Offer 2:
Includes:
* Dragon MRS Plus BC Vest
* Abyss 22 Regulator
* Octopus MV
* Console Mission 3
* Nemo Sport Black wrist computer
For only $2995 (that’s a saving of over $620!)
All Specials are available until the 31st May 2008, prices quoted are for cash or credit card only.
Please phone, email or drop by the shop if you have any queries or would like to register your interest in any of the events, travel, courses or dives coming up.
We look forward to seeing you at Underwater Sports soon!
Happy diving
Dave, Jolie, & Renee
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