Precision Diving

Are You to Blame for Poor Scuba Dive Training?

Duane Johnson — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:21:12 +0000

I was talking with a fellow diver a while ago. He mentioned that he supports people who provide solid training. He was willing to pay more for good training than find some place that was the cheapest. As our discussion progressed, he started to talk about how he uses the internet to find the cheapest prices on dive gear that he wants. I asked him if he had any favorites that he mostly buys from and the answer was no. He basically only purchased from whom ever was the cheapest. As I listened to him ramble on about his purchasing patterns, it crossed my mind that this type of mentality is what is hurting those people who provide good scuba diving courses.

The Blood Diamond Effect

If you’re not familiar with what a blood diamond is, here’s a quick social studies lesson. In Africa, many diamond mines are controlled by warlords or warring governments. The diamonds from these mines are sold to finance war efforts. It is illegal for countries in the United Nations to purchase blood diamonds.

I call it the Blood Diamond Effect. When you see diving equipment whored out on the internet (or anywhere for that matter), do you think that those dive stores aren’t willing to whore out dive training? Most of them, will. When you participate in a group buy, hot deal, or some other kind of special, do you know if your money is going to fund shoddy training? What many people, like the person above, don’t realize is that they are still helping those places who may have less than stellar training programs, keep running those poor classes.

The problem we have, when doing business on-line, is that we have no clue what kind of training programs those on-line “shops” have. We see that new piece of gear and it is being offered at the lowest price you’ve seen. It’s tempting to jump on it. Heck, I even used to do it as well. But the more I thought about where my money was going, the more I started to gravitate away from shops that I know run typical, quickie classes. I avoid those “Leisure Pro” type on-line stores and spend my money with stores who I know offer a higher level of scuba training. Even if that means I have to spend a little more money. You really have to do research into that on-line dive shop to find out if they really do offer quality training programs or just say they run quality classes.

You may be saying to yourself, how can I be helping those stores when they’re only making a few bucks off of me? Don’t kid yourself, those few bucks you give those cheap dive stores will add up. Especially if there are more and more people buying from them. The goal shouldn’t be to put these places out of business. Trust me, no one knows just how difficult life can be when you lose your job. But we can vote with our dollar and send a message. Firm up your classes or risk losing business. Offer quality customer service and even higher quality dive training.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Photo courtesy of National Geographic

How to Prepare for a Technical Diving Class

Duane Johnson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:33:25 +0000

Duane Johnson - Tech Instructor

As a technical diving instructor, I get asked many times how people can prepare for their technical diving classes. Certainly there are skills that one could practice. However, there are certain things that people really need to think about prior to signing up for that technical diving course. Below is a quick list of a few topics that I tell people. I give two lists, one for in-water skills and the other more mental skills.

In Water Skills

Buoyancy, Trim, and General Comfort – These need to be instinctive such that divers do not need to think about them.
Awareness of Surroundings – This is critical in technical diving as we need to rely on our team more than in recreational diving.
Position in the Water Column – When on deco, students need to be able to hold their position in the water so that they can see their teammates. They should not have to swim around to keep their position. Divers need to be very comfortable in the water.

Mental Skills

The most important thing people can do to prepare for a technical diving class is to prepare their mind.

Open Your Mind – You have to come to class prepared to learn and ask questions. Instructors do not like it when students don’t ask the “Why” type questions. Limit the “internet” learning you do, unless it comes from your instructor.
Stay Awake – A good technical diving class will consist of long days. Stay awake during lectures and certainly don’t fall asleep underwater. Drink plenty of water and eat your three meals a day to keep your body fueled.
Be Prepared to Hear No – Many times people have bad days and may not meet the performance requirements for the course. Technical diving students need to realize that they may need more time to truly master technical diving skills before getting their tech c-cards.

What is on your list?

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Why You Should Avoid Discounted Classes

Duane Johnson — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:06:27 +0000

Many Cheap Things Can't Be Good

I should start off with an apology. This will be more of a rant than anything too useful. But since no one else is paying my web hosting fees, I’m free to do what I want on my blog. I was talking with a prospective student this week about a couple courses he was interested in taking. Specifically, my buoyancy and wreck diver courses. Just like many people before him, the first question was “Why are your prices so much higher than everyone else?” He seemed intent on trying to nickel and dime me on my course pricing. I stood my ground.

Avoid Cheap Courses

Course pricing should be determined based on the content provided. It really chaps my ass when I see Buoyancy courses advertised for $75 and only six (6) hours of total class time. Really? A class as important as buoyancy control completed in only six hours. Come on!!! If you feel that you can really learn to have pin-point control of your buoyancy, do you think you’ll get it in only six hours? Probably not.

When I originally priced my classes out, I priced them on the high side, but kept them close to what the dive stores were charging. I did this in an attempt to get students who’s primary decision factor was price. After a couple of years, I realized that this wasn’t the kind of student I wanted. I was giving so much more content than the dive stores, that the value of the course wasn’t truly being recognized.

When people find the lowest price on something, they normally do not hold it in high regard. In the scuba instruction world, these are the card collectors. They are looking for a c-card to validate that they are “worthy” of the “credibility” that the card brings them. Little do they realize, they got the short end of the stick and traded their hard earned money for a cheap piece of plastic. I know this because I’m a reformed card collector. This was my attitude when I took scuba diving classes.

Pricing Courses Based Upon Content

At the beginning of 2010, I increased my prices. Significantly in most cases. For example, I’m now the only instructor in the Chicago area that is running a two day, $250, buoyancy course. The type of student that I’m trying to attract is the one who can recognize a high quality class, and is willing to pay more in order to get more than the status quo.

I know that in this tough economy, paying high prices for scuba diving classes seems unreasonable. But the truth is, if you want a Harvard type education, you’ve got to pay Harvard type prices. Otherwise, head to the local community college and take your chances. My prices now reflect the value that I put on these types of classes and what I would be willing to pay for them.

If you can’t afford that great class you’ve been wanting to take, then put your extra pennies, nickels and dimes in a piggy bank. Then when you get the money for that kick ass class, sign up for it. You must resist the urge to take that cheap and quick class. You will appreciate the education you received more when you have to work hard and sacrifice for it.

Rants over. Thanks for reading. You may now go back to your regularly scheduled program.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Criticism and Professionalism – When the Line Gets Crossed

Duane Johnson — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:53:31 +0000

Tread Carefully in the Scuba Industry

“At this point, ******* and ***** are barely aware of your existence. I doubt that either of them would ever sanction a full-blown campaign to put you out of business. You need to ask yourself if you could withstand an effort like that and if you think that publicly dissing them is worth it.” This is a message someone sent me a while ago trying to give me business advice. I think this person is missing a vital point in business, that is the customer is always right. Even as a dive professional, we are also consumers and have consumer rights.

Rights of a Diving Professional

As an independent dive professional, we have to walk a fine line between professionalism and getting good customer service for ourselves (without sounding like trash talking fools). When I purchase a product or service from someone, and I did not get a good product or service, then I have a right to be critical of who I just gave my money too. I should not have to keep my opinion to myself just because I’m a dive pro. This is something that is missed by many dive stores who do business with independent instructors or dive pros.

Unprofessionalism

Let’s look at an example. There is an independent scuba instructor in the Seattle area named Bob Bailey (NWGratefulDiver). I’ve talked with Bob only a few times via email, but have never taken a class from him. Let’s say I start to trash Bob’s classes. It would be very unprofessional to do this because I have never seen Bob teach or taken any of his classes. Hypothetically, if I had taken a class from him and paid for his services, and didn’t get the quality I was expecting, I would have a right to be critical. For the record, I think very highly of Bob, his teaching style, and would recommend anyone in the Seattle area to take a class from him.

Looking in the Mirror

You’re probably saying to yourself, “this is all well and good, but are you saying you’re perfect?” Absolutely not. I do a post-mortem after every one of my classes to make sure I’ve meet my student’s needs. If there is a deficiency or something that can be improved, I do it. I’m constantly changing my teaching style and course content to be a great instructor.

Want an example about me specifically? A couple years ago I taught a wreck diver course. I certainly didn’t bring my “A game” on day 2 of that course. I forgot to bring my reel and had to borrow one from the boat captain. Which I found out, underwater, didn’t work. I failed to bring a second light for my student to use inside the wreck. The dives ended up being more swim-throughs than real wreck dives. Basically I failed as an instructor to give this one student a high quality class that I know I can give. Since this class, I have not heard from this student again. I learned from this experience. Modified the gear I take with me for every class and created a checklist of what goes in the car while packing up.

It is unprofessional to trash a person who you’ve never done business with. Bad mouthing someone just to make yourself look good or to try and “compete” is bad business. If you look at my previous posts, I’ve never mentioned anyone by name that I’ve been critical of. However, those I’ve been critical of, I’ve done business with and it is within my right to express any discontent with that business transaction. So if you’re a dive pro (independent or not), you’ll need to walk that fine line. If you really want to compete, do it with skill, knowledge and course content.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Precision Diving Sponsorship Experiment

Duane Johnson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:42:11 +0000

I’ve been looking for new ways to grow the readership of this blog. So I’ve decided to have a contest. Rather than make people pay for sponsorship, I’d like to do something that will get people more engaged in being a sponsor, without having to pay for it right away.

I’m going to open up a few spots for anyone who would like to have a sponsorship on this blog in order to promote your own blog/web site, dive store, dive charter, or diving business. The benefit, get some free traffic to your business.

Two spots will be open up for a banner ad on the top of each page. Three additional spots will be open up for a 125 x 125 square ad on the left sidebar.

The Details

I don’t care if your blog or business is very small or gigantic. This is meant to be fun and you’ll get a highly visible link on this site. Sponsors must be diving related. It doesn’t matter where you are located in the world.

If you are interested, please email me, with Sponsorship Experiment as the subject, the following details:

- Write a paragraph about your best diving experience. It doesn’t matter if it is from a class, dive vacation, or from your local dive site. Anything goes. The more reasons it was fun, the better.

- The URL to your website you want linked to. Do not send spam or porn sites please. Those entries will get disqualified, after I view them for a few days.

- A brief description of your blog and/or business.

- Why you are interested.

- Your sales pitch. Why should you be here? What makes you cool?

By the end of March, I will select the winners. The winners will get free advertising for the months of April and May. Just in time for the dive season to start.

You will need to provide me with a graphic to put on this site. I would create one for you, but my kids can draw better than I can.

You’ve got a great chance for some free advertising as long as you are not an obvious spammer, provider of tips on how to cheat on your spouse, or trying to suggest that readers of Precision Diving need to be on erectile disfunction medication (even if they do need it).

Selection Criteria

I will select sponsors based on the best diving experience and sales pitch you provide. The most fun experiences and creative sales pitches will get the sponsorship.

I will notify people who are in the running two weeks prior to the final selection so they can get me their graphics in case they win.

Let’s have some fun with this!!!

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Mastery – What Should you Expect from a Tech Instructor?

Duane Johnson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:58:52 +0000

Duane Johnson - Tech Instructor

I was chatting with some friends on the west coast recently and we got into a discussion about technical diving education and whether it is in a state of decline, quality wise, like recreational diving (arguably). This got me reminiscing about my experiences in the past as well as some of the things I’ve seen other people experience.

I think back to my experiences as a tech student. Even though I learned the skills and was able to not kill myself or my buddy, I quickly learned that there had to be something more than my current performance. After a hard look at my skills, I quickly realized that I should not be diving on helium to 200+ feet, regardless of certification. This started my journey, my search for mastery.

We tell prospective students that it is the instructor who makes the class and not the agency. Arguably, this holds true. Many new technical divers rave about their experiences with the class and instructor. But I always think to myself, how much of this is the new student not knowing what they don’t know? How do they really know that their instructor and class is “All that and a bag of chips?”. What have they seen/experienced to be able to judge? What is their criteria for making such claims? In essence, how do they know if their instructor(s) are demanding full mastery of the skills/education in their class?

Ultimately, the student must not only research instructors, but they must be able to determine the level of mastery that they are seeking from their instructor. Students must demand more from instructors. They must demand, up front, what level of mastery will the instructor hold them to. Does the instructor view the agency standards as maximum or minimum standards? What performance requirements will the instructor hold the student(s) to for the skills? What “extra” criteria will the instructor evaluate me on, if any? Will the instructor share the agency course outline with you prior to class? We tell potential tech students to research their instructor, but give little support as to what type of questions to ask and what kind of qualities to look for. This was my frustration when researching tech instructors a few years ago.

So how does this relate to the question I put in the subject line? In my opinion, I do feel that there isn’t a huge push for mastery. Many instructors view classes such as Advanced Nitrox/Deco Procedures as entry level technical diving. Instead of viewing these types of classes as a small piece to a much larger picture (i.e. trimix, cave, exploration, etc.). Every instructor will have their own style, but I feel that “checklisting” skills, flashcards, not teaching problem recognition, and allowing mediocre performance is hurting technical diving education, overall. Tech instructors must demand more from their students than what is written in the standards. Everyone will agree, that technical diving is a very, very demanding activity. Why shouldn’t the training be equally (or more IHMO) demanding? The checklisting of skills makes it difficult for students to retain the urgency of many of the skills required. Scenario training and realism are the keys to divers retaining the urgency required for performing these skills. In order to accomplish this, tech instructors must become very creative when planning their classes. This keeps the instructor on his/her toes as well. In my opinion, the use of flashcards robs the student of essential problem recognition skills required to quickly identify and solve problems. They also become a crutch for instructors as they may rely to heavily on them as “teaching aids”. Technical divers must be thinking divers and creative thinkers in order to solve problems to make it home safely.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Good for DIR? UTD’s Venture into Equipment Sales

Duane Johnson — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:06:18 +0000

If you haven’t seen it by now, Unified Team Diving (UTD) has entered the direct and wholesale market for scuba diving equipment. As I watched Andrew’s video blog, I wasn’t getting a warm and fuzzy feeling I normally get when I listen to him. As I listened, the more concerned I got. I just kept thinking, how will this help the UTD “brand”.

Do What You Do Best

UTD Signature Series of Diving Equipment

I’m really not close with Andrew Georgitsis. I’ve talked to him a few times and shared emails with him. So I cannot say with any amount of certainty what AG has in mind for the future of UTD. I’ve always had, and will continue to have, the highest respect for Andrew and what he has given the diving education community. To be successful in business, you have to do something very well and continue to do it well. Andrew was successful in GUE (arguably). That is where I feel Andrew excels. His extreme passion for producing high quality divers really comes out when you talk to him or take one of his classes. He prides himself on the quality of student that he, and UTD, can produce. In my opinion, this is where AG should focus his efforts on. His diving knowledge is unprecedented.

Andrew has never focused his efforts on selling diving equipment. Sure, he is successful with the X-Scooter and Red Sea Explorers. But selling dive gear is different.

Hurting the UTD Brand

UTD is still a very young organization. They have only been in business for just over a year. I feel that the jump into selling dive gear has come too soon. I feel that Andrew needs more time to grow the UTD brand. Sure, it has AG’s name behind it for credibility, but when competing against a behemoth like GUE, UTD needs a little more time for it’s instructors to gain that “world wide” reputation that you don’t normally get from a new organization.

I guess that the problem I have with AG’s venture into dive equipment is that he tied the UTD name to it. Would Halcyon have been as successful if the name had been GUE? Would GUE be successful if Halcyon shared the same name? I don’t think so. I feel that the education provided by UTD and GUE can be harmed by dealers who only care about making $$$ at any cost.

All it’s going to take is for one or two of the “Leisure Pro” type dealers to permanently damage the UTD brand that Andrew and Jeff have worked hard for. I can think of a couple dive stores that would love to jump on the DIR bandwagon just to sell to DIR divers. Even though they could care less about DIR and the UTD philosophy. They will try to build credibility by association rather than in business or dive training practices.

For UTD to be successful, they will need to tread carefully and scrutinize their potential dealers. When someone becomes a dealer of UTD equipment products, there will be that assumption that they are tied to the UTD training organization in some shape or form. If these dealers truly do not share the same philosophy as AG and continue to conduct their training/business with less than the optimum quality that UTD is known for, the UTD brand can become damaged. If a Halcyon dealer doesn’t share the same philosophy as GUE, only the Halcyon brand gets damaged. GUE stills stays a higher quality “product”.

One last thing that bothers me slightly about this, is that in Andrew’s video blog, he mentioned that UTD instructors, who helped evaluate the gear, had to pay for the prototype equipment to evaluate. Then make recommendations for improvements to it. That’s like NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson (no relation) paying Chevy to drive their cars. If I’m expected to give my feedback to improve a product, then either give me the product or let me borrow it (I’ll ship it back) and compensate me for my time evaluating it. After all, my expertise is worth something if you are requesting my feedback.

In the End

In the end, I hope Andrew is successful with this new endeavor. Competition in the scuba diving industry is a good thing. Perhaps he can do something new that GUE/Halcyon hasn’t/can’t do. Perhaps he can give the diving community a new equipment option for high quality diving gear. Andrew is a very smart and driven individual. I have no doubt that he will find a way to make this endeavor successful. I wish nothing but the best for Andrew and the UTD Signature Series equipment line.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

How to Really Market Your Scuba Instruction Business

Duane Johnson — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:06:15 +0000

Scuba Marketing

If you are an independent scuba instructor, then you may be finding it very frustrating to attract new students. Many new instructors who set off on their own will go through this. The dive stores get more and more students, while we are freaking out about where we are going to get the money to pay our insurance and agency fines (err fees), let alone to put food on the table. I know my first couple of years as an independent instructor were very nerve racking. I did everything I could to get my name out there, even started this blog to promote myself. Little did I know that it was easier than I thought if I put forth enough effort in the right direction.

Traditional Business Marketing

If you are looking for tips on how to market your scuba diving business, then head over to Nick Bostic’s web site, New Scuba Marketing, where he covers many business type marketing concepts specific to scuba. What I propose is much easier for all scuba instructors.

You can create bloggy things, post to your Facey Spaces, and Tweety Tweets all you want. That may only help you slightly. At the end of the day, the best way to market yourself is to get out and dive. There are way to many instructors out there who do not dive for fun. If you want to get your name out there, then people need to see you dive. Many people ask why I dive my favorite quarry so much. Not only is it a chance for me to keep improving my diving abilities, but it allows me to socialize with other divers and have them put a face to a name.

There are many instructors in my area and they are not readily known outside their dive store. When we compare this to similar situations for independent scuba instructors, they are mostly known in their small circle (i.e. family and friends). If that is your plan, then fine. But if you want to grow as an instructor and try to “change the world” like many of us, you’ve got to get out and dive.

Diving Alone Isn’t Enough

Scuba Instructor Duane Johnson

“Great divers make great instructors.” former GUE instructor Brandon Schwartz said to me many years ago. It didn’t sink in until a couple years after. At the time, I was focusing so much on getting my name out there that my diving skills were only average. OK, a little less than average. Once I started to let go of the industry crap, I was able to focus on what I needed to do to become a better scuba diver. The better diver I became, the more content I added to my classes. It also started to motivate me to ask my students to perform at a higher level than before.

Once people started to see what kind of diver I was, my “popularity” grew and so did the number of people who came to me for advice and classes. People could then see what quality diving was like and quality instruction followed.

So if you are an independent instructor, or are thinking about becoming one, then get out and dive. Hone your diving skills to near perfection. Force other instructors and dive stores to compete with you, not on price, but on quality of diving. If people know you offer great classes, then they will pay for the added value.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

2010 Diving Goals

Duane Johnson — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:49:22 +0000

Duane Johnson - Tech Instructor

Every year I sit down and look at the previous year’s diving. Based on that analysis, I try to set some diving goals for the new year. At the beginning of last year, I wanted to have longer bottom times. I was able to average 50 minutes for recreational dives. I was able to push a few technical dives to 25 and 30 minutes of bottom times. After looking at my personal diving over the past couple years, I’d like to take another class.

I’d like to take a student class and not an instructor class this year. I feel that there are some more things that I’m missing and want to fill in some more gaps. I haven’t pinpointed out what exactly that is yet. That’s the hard part. I’ve been putting off taking any new classes. If you’ve been a reader of this blog for a while, you’ve probably read about some of my experiences with many of the classes I’ve had in the past. So I’m still quite leery. I initially thought about an advanced trimix course, but have decided against it. 1) I don’t plan on doing that many dives below 200 feet and 2) I don’t feel there are any advanced trimix instructors in the area that will give me the kind of class I’m looking for. I also have thought about a cave diving class, but I don’t see myself being able to get away to do enough cave dives to keep current with it.

I’d like to ask my readers, what kind of class would you recommend? It can be any class, I’m just looking for ideas.

I’d also like to know what are your diving goals for 2010.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving

Review: 2010 Our World Underwater Dive Show

Duane Johnson — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:20:16 +0000

My Admiring Fans

This past weekend was the 2010 Our World Underwater scuba diving show in the Chicago area. This show and expo is the biggest in the mid-west. Normally I do not go to the show as it has become more of a social event rather than a trade show. But Ben McGeever of Dive Xtras was bringing the X-Scooter to the show, so I asked if he needed any help staffing the booth. So I volunteered a day to help him out.

Ben McGeever of Dive Xtras

Duane Johnson and X-Scooter Great Ben McGeever

I had never met Ben before this weekend’s show, so I didn’t know what to expect from a guy I was going to spend the day with. Ben is a heck of a nice guy. In between handing out free DVDs, Ben and I spent the day talking about scooters and diving. Ben is a highly trained and accomplished diver, so to say we hit it off would be accurate. He isn’t as rough around the edges as I am, but close.

There was quite a bit of traffic to the booth. Certainly everyone thought the X-Scooter was cool, but when the topic of price came out, the look on people’s faces was enough to know that they weren’t too serious about purchasing a X-Scooter. There were a few serious inquiries about the scooters and I passed them onto Ben.

X-Scooter Cuda

The booth artwork was very nicely done. Not only did Ben bring an X-Scooter Cuda, but he brought some other products that Dive Xtras sells. I’ve been looking for an E/O connector to power electric undergarments. Dive Xtras sells one that connects up to a dry suit inflator mechanism. It uses the same hole as the inflator valve. The connector body has a hole in it where the dry suit inflator screws into it. So the inflation mechanism sits higher on the suit, but it eliminates the need to punch another hole in the suit to power electric undergarments. Now I know what I’m saving my pennies for. Ben also brought some other products for the X-Scooter, such as universal and deluxe video camera mountings.

The Show Itself

The very first time I went to the show, it was huge. Vendor exhibits covered almost the entire floor space of the convention center. Over the years, it has gotten smaller and smaller. This year, it seemed more crowded, but that was mostly due to the smaller space the show took up. Overall, I think it was a good turnout. Manufacturers on hand were Aqualung, DUI, Scubapro, White’s Dry Suit, and a few others. Many travel destinations were on had as well. This year it didn’t seem like many from Mexico were there.

I did get to eat lunch with Richie Kohler. The first time I met him was a few years ago during the height of Deep Sea Detectives. At that time, he and John Chatterton had an entourage with them all the time. This year it was just Richie and he was mostly by himself. When we had lunch, it was just he and I. I was able to chat with him about diving in the Dominican Republic and bend his ear about shipwreck diving.

I was also very impressed by the artwork that the students of the STARS program did with Rogest. The students took a day and a half and created some very good painted mosaics of underwater scenes. Rogest donated his time to help the kids create their paintings and even helped the kids auction off their paintings to help raise money for the program. I was going to bid on a very nice painting of a clownfish for my kids, but the bidding was already up over the $40 I had in my pocket. Wish I could have gotten it, my kids would have loved it.

The Real Treat

Two of the Greatest Scuba Instructors in the World

The biggest treat for me came as a complete surprise. While I was walking around the show, I saw a gentleman who looked very familiar. After seeing him a few times it hit me, it was Jarrod Jablonski of GUE and Halcyon. He was there just walking around the show, not promoting anything. I was able to chat with him for a few minutes. He mentioned that he was a fan of mine. We talked about the cold weather up here, what’s going on with the WKPP and where he and his fiancee Renee did their fun diving (when he isn’t working so much). Jarrod was very personable and seemed to enjoy talking about diving with me. His fiancee Renee was also very nice and talked about some of the diving she likes to do as well. I decided to not monopolize all of Jarrod’s time, I invited him to come up and dive the Great Lakes sometime and wished him a good flight back home.

OWU Summary

This year’s show was about what I expected. Still much of the same social and travel topics. There was nothing new in regard to products. I was able to see many of my friends that I hadn’t talked to in a while. I was also to meet some new people and prospective students. Overall I had a good time and I’d like to thank Ben for allowing me to help him out and for the lunch he bought me.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving