Trips on the Schedule for 2010

The Belize trip was a great success, the Curacao trip was a blast, and the St. Lucia trip is going on right now. Husker Divers has all sorts of trips still to come in 2010, with some closer to home and others further afield. Check your calendar and see if one of these trips will work for you!

Bull Shoals, June 11-14. Bull Shoals offers something for everyone, whether you're a brand new diver needing your open water dives for certification or you're an experienced diver looking for fun and adventure. We dive from pontoon boats during the day, with multiple dives per day at a variety of sites.

Nassau, Bahamas July 17-21. This is a closer-to-home trip than our winter Caribbean trips, and features stellar diving. It's also a bit shorter trip, so you can make a long weekend of it and not have to schedule a whole week away.

Oahe Reservior, Pierre, South Dakota, August 6-9 and August 13-16. This trip has become so popular that we've taken two groups to South Dakota for the past few years! During the day you'll dive and spearfish from pontoon boats. At night, drop in to the Missouri River in the tailrace (the water flowing out of the dam) and let the current carry you downstream while your dive light shows you all the fish!

La Paz, Mexico, October 16-23. This is the trip to take if you want to play with sea lions and see lots of other larger marine life!

Cozumel, Mexico, January 22-29, 2011. Cozumel is a premier dive spot, and we're excited to be returning there! This trip is on the books, but details are still to be finalized. Stay tuned!

Dominica, February 19-27, 2011. This is a beautiful place to dive, and we're also super excited to be returning there! This trip is also on the books and awaiting finalization of details, so stay tuned!

Bull Shoals Trip Report

On Friday, July 10th, sixteen divers from Nebraska converged on Pontiac Lodge Resort, on Bull Shoals Lake in Missouri. A meal on the outside deck at the Pontiac Cove Marina restaurant that evening gave most of the group a chance to meet and greet before Saturday's dives began. Most of those present had met before, if only briefly, but a few divers new to Husker Divers joined us, as well.

On Saturday morning, the group converged on the dock and loaded all the tanks and equipment on the two pontoon boats rented for the dives. After setting up dive equipment, everyone settled into a seat and we were underway. Joe Tyler drove the 35-foot boat, and Kelsey Weiss, a Husker Divers DiveCon from Imperial, Nebraska, drove the 24-footer.

This was a mixed group, with several newer divers and a few with more experience. Bull Shoals is ideal for a group like this, as many of the dive sites have a combination of gentle slopes or shallow rock ledges and deeper wall dives. Abundant fish and varied terrain make each site unique and fun to explore.

One of the divers had completed her academic and pool requirements over the winter and was doing her required open water dives for certification during this trip. It was a fantastic first open water experience. She even found a mask and snorkel on the bottom during one of her dives.

That mask and snorkel were just some of the dive booty found at a site that turned out to be just about everyone's favorite. Everyone on the larger boat, anyway. Divers from that boat found a $10 bill, a $5 bill, a brand new bass lure, and a nice, useable pair of sunglasses. One of the Husker Divers staff found a new 10-pound anchor at another site, which made a total of two anchors found and hauled aboard on this trip. Various other fishing tackle was found during the trip, as well.

A highlight of the trip for five of the divers was the deep dive. Joe Tyler led the group down through the murky thermocline and into the 50-foot visibility below. The water temperature there, at 57 degrees, was not as cold as expected. The group found an underwater forest and swam through the tall, dead trees, ducking under branches and maneuvering around the trunks. One diver dropped down to the sloping forest floor, where she found a huge, white-shelled clam (one buddy pair, 20 feet above, said later they saw her carrying the clam and could tell what it was in the clear visibility). At 121 feet, the bottom continued downward but the forest seemed to thin out. It was time to begin the ascent. A large walleye was spotted briefly on the way up, at around 95 feet. During the safety stop, one diver spent the time building sculptures out of the rocks and slabs of shale on the bottom at about 19-20 feet. The group continued to explore the rocky ledges and overhangs as they made their way back to the boat.

Back at the resort, the group spent the evenings grilling on the deck outside the rooms and swapping stories. Pontiac Lodge Resort was ideal, with very clean rooms and kitchenettes in each room. The kitchenettes are stocked with pots and pans, dishes and utensils. A charcoal grill sits outside eatch room (bring your own charcoal and lighter fluid). All linens are provided.

The marina staff was professional and friendly. Our two pontoon boats ran great and were clean and well-maintained.

This trip to Bull Shoals was absolutely wonderful, as was the June trip. Next year's two trip dates are set, and divers can contact Husker Divers for dates and to reserve your spot. Call the store at 402-420-6338 or e-mail huskerdivers@prodigy.net with any questions. Or stop by the store at 5600 S 48th Street in Lincoln (1 block south of 48th Street and Highway 2, across from Sonic). We hope you'll join us next year!

Happenings and What's Going On

Husker Divers had ten Boy Scouts from an Omaha troop complete a Scuba BSA session in the pool on Sunday evening, July 5th. The guys had a great time, and they earned a patch they can wear on their swim trunks. Congrats, guys!

Husker Divers has three new Medic First Aid/CPR instructors. This class is for everyone, not just divers. If you or someone you know would like to take a first aid/CPR class, let us know at 402-420-6338 or at huskerdivers@prodigy.net. Class times are flexible and can be scheduled on evenings and Sundays when the store is closed. Divers, you should know that First aid/CPR certification is required for Stress & Rescue certification.

Our second Bull Shoals, Arkansas trip leaves this Friday. Those who were on the first trip reported 35-40' visibility, and the vis should be just as good for this weekend's trip!

If you haven't visited DAN's (Divers Alert Network) website in awhile, or if you're not yet a DAN member, be sure to check it out. They've added a number of fantastic benefits for members, including free online workshops and travel info. It definitely pays to be a DAN member!

Don't forget to sign up for SSI's 2009 Master Diver Challenge! To be a Master Diver, you need to have completed four specialties plus Stress & Rescue and have 50 logged dives. The next Stress & Rescue/Search & Recovery classes will be held in conjunction with our open water weekend in Kearney the last weekend in July. We'll also be offering these two specialties at the September open waters. Any time we're in Kearney, certified divers are welcome to join us to log dives and/or complete specialties. Just let us know in advance.

Tons Going On at Husker Divers!

Five Open Water Diver students completed their academic training and the first night of pool training this weekend (and a couple more signed up for next month's class!).

The Bull Shoals trip divers rolled back into town this afternoon, and they said they had a GREAT time! Visibility was some of the best they've ever seen. Can't wait 'til the July trip!

Two divers took the Cobra computer class this evening. They learned some of the theory behind how dive computers work and got lots of practice time pushing the buttons and maneuvering around their computers. Now they look forward to using them in the water!

There's a lot going on at Husker Divers. The June Open Water weekend in Kearney is jam packed with students. July brings another Bull Shoals dive trip, the lake cleanup and grilled lunch in Grand Island, and, leaving on July 31st, the first of two spearfishing and tailrace diving trips to Oahe Reservoir in South Dakota.

For both divers and non-divers, Husker Divers teaches the Medic First Aid and CPR course. This OSHA-sanctioned class is approved for workplace first aid providers. We're adding more instructors, so if you or anyone you know would like to learn these important skills, let us know and we'll schedule a class! July 6th is the next class with open spaces.

Also Husker Divers is now on Facebook! If you're on this wildly popular social networking site, be sure to look us up!