Greetings!
Fall is officially upon us. This is my favorite time of year to dive. The weather has cooled off, most of the fishermen and campers are gone, so we have the lakes to ourselves. Also, as the water cools down, the visibility usually improves a great deal. Come on out and join us. Check out our local trips to Oronogo, Bonne Terre, and the Blue Hole.
Also, don't forget about our Bonaire trip in February (what a great time to leave Nebraska!). It's starting to fill up, so don't wait too long to sign up.
Sincerely,
Ron Johns
Heartland Scuba Center
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October 16-18, 2009 |
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Join us for our Fall trip to Oronogo. This is a fun and different place to dive--it's an old open-pit mine. It's very inexpensive to go down there--we just split gas for the trip. It's a great place to dive for fun, or for any advanced training.
We'll be offering a variety of advanced and specialty classes---everything from Advanced Adventure Diver to Deep Diver.
We're lining up all the reservations now, so don't delay--call today to join us for a fun weekend of diving.
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Bonne Terre Mine
October 23-25, 2009 |
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We've had people asking, so here it is--we've added a Fall trip down to Bonne Terre. We'll drive down on Friday and dive Saturday and Sunday, a total of four dives.
Cost is $260 ($65/dive) + splitting the gas for travel. We stay at a Super 8 there that gives divers a very good rate.
This isn't a cheap dive, but it is unique--no other place like this in the world. The underwater vistas in this place will leave you breathless.
Call now so we can get the reservation in to them in time.
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Blue Hole--Santa Rosa, NM
November 20-23, 2009 |
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We'll be diving the Blue Hole on November 20-23. We'll drive down on Friday, November 20, dive Saturday and Sunday, and drive home on Monday, November 23.
The Blue Hole is an artesian spring owned by the city of Santa Rosa. It's 80 feet deep, nice and clear, and always 61 degrees year-round. This is nice, easy diving that's a great place to gain some experience and/or training in deeper diving.
We just split gas and stay in a very reasonable hotel that caters to divers with an excellent rate. And this town has some of the best Mexican food in existence.
Hopefully, their brand-new, beautiful dive center at the site will be ready for us to use when we get there.
Call today to reserve your spot.
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Wreck Diving Trip Reports |
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We were able to dive two fabulous shipwrecks this summer that we hadn't seen before. The first was the Carl D. Bradley--we dived this wreck in August, in northern Lake Michigan. Fewer than 25 divers have ever seen this wreck (it's 23 miles off shore in open water and 360 feet deep.) The Bradley is the second-largest wreck in the great lakes--623 feet long--and went down in a fierce storm in 1958. Only two of the 35 crew survived the sinking and one, Frank Mays, is still alive today. Frank spent one entire day with us out on the wreck site and was able to answer many questions about the layout of the ship.
Brian and I were able to make three dives on it--one on the bow section, with its intact pilot house, and two on the stern, including our last dive down to the propeller and rudder (ENORMOUS). Our dives ranged from 320 feet to 354 feet deep. The photo above was shot as we were getting ready for our fist descent down to 320 feet on the bow.
In September, we dived the wreck of the Gunilda, a 195 ft long pleasure yacht that wrecked in northern Lake Superior in 1911. This is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved wrecks in existence. It sits upright in about 260 feet of water. Our dive team consisted of Kenny, Brian, and I from Nebraska, Bill from South Dakota, and Peggy and Bob from Michigan. I had dreamed about diving this wreck since the 1970's or early 80's when I first learned about it. She is as beautiful today as I imagined.
Click Here to see a six-minute video of the Gunilda.
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| Thanks! |
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Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter. We value your business and do our best to earn it.
Come on out and dive with us.
Heartland Scuba Center
101 E 24th St
Kearney, Nebraska 68847
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CALENDAR |
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OCTOBER
3-4--Beginning Scuba Class
7--Hump Day Dive--6:30 PM--Sandy Channel
9-11--Rescue Diver Class
10-11--Lake Diving Weekend
12--Columbus Day
16-18--Oronogo Trip
23-25--Bonne Terre Trip
31--Halloween
NOVEMBER
4-7--DEMA Show--Orlando
11--Veterans Day
14-15--Beginning Scuba Class
20-23--Blue Hole Trip
26--Thanksgiving
DECEMBER
5-6--Beginning Scuba Class
21--First day of Winter
25--Christmas Day
31--New Years Eve
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| Rescue Diver Class |
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Our Fall Rescue Diver Class is scheduled for this weekend, October 9-11. We'll have a short classroom session on Friday evening, October 9, followed by diving on Saturday and Sunday.
This is one of the most rewarding and challenging classes you will ever take, centered on preparing you to prevent and/or deal with problems in yourself and your buddy. We only offer this twice a year and the next one won't come around till April.
Current First Aid & CPR are prerequisites, but if you need those, we can do them on Friday evening along with the Rescue Diver classroom.
Please call with any questions or to sign up.
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| Specialties |
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We have a number of opportunities to continue your education yet this fall. This weekend, we are offering Dry Suit Diver, Underwater Navigation, and Advanced Buoyancy Control at Sandy Channel.
Next weekend, at Oronogo, we are offering Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, Dry Suit Diver, and Advanced Adventure Diver.
At the Blue Hole, next month, we will be offering Dry Suit Diver, Deep Diver, and Advanced Adventure Diver.
So, before we get into Ice Diving season, your can work on that Master Scuba Diver rating.
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| For Sale |
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We have two aluminum tanks for sale, one 72 CF and one 80 CF (the 80 CF tank actually holds 77 CF).
Both have current hydrostatic tests, visual inspections, are full of air and ready to go. Also, both tanks have brand new valves.
They are for sale for $125 each or both for $200. Used tanks are kinda hard to find, so if you're in the market, don't wait.
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2009 Travel Calendar |
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Click on the link below to see our entire travel calendar for 2009.
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Advanced Diver Development--2009 |
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Click on the link below to see our entire 2009 calendar of courses.
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