After Net Doc designated me official Scubboard.com reporter (I think I was the only one who showed up to the show with a camera!), I started to think how to approach this project. Should it be a short article great show saw lots of stuff, cant wait till next year, bye. Or should it be a more in-depth approach. After all, this one of the dive industries premier shows. How did I solve this quandary? I decided to compromise somewhere in the middle. Id highlight some of the products, booths, people and organizations that interested me (if you dont like my choices, your more than welcome to apply for the job next year:10: ).
First off, let me say it was a real pleasure to meet many SBers who I only knew by their screen name. Its always interesting when a face is put to a name. Just hanging around the SB booth for a little bit, it was apparent that SB is indeed the 800 pound Guerilla in the SCUBA industry. You can read elsewhere on this board the statistics about how many members SB has, how many millions of views, the amount of time spent on each session, all I can say was that the booth was VERY busy.
Well, onto the products. Travel was very well represented, just about all of the diving destinations that one could think of, had a presence of some kind. I would say that almost ½ the show was a travel type product. But, lets face it, travel is travel. If you want to go on some exotic dive trip, see your travel agent, LDS, Instructor, etc. to work on this. I will mention two which I found of some merit. Have you ever considered diving in the Galapagos? Follow the footsteps of Darwin, see some big hammerheads. There is a full PADI Resort that specializes in this. It is Scuba Iguana and to find out more visit their web site at "www.scubaiguana.com"
A little closer to home are the people at MBT divers Jim Phillips, owner www.mbtdivers.com. They are running dives out to the Oriskany and other dive sights in Pensacola, FL very reasonable rates. If you are interested contact them and see what their current package is. The big O is fast becoming a must see dive site for advanced divers. You can get more info on this ship at www.ussoriskanyonline.com.
Another great way to see whats going on in Florida waters, whether you are a boater, diver or fisherman is to go on www.floridakeys,com and visit the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
You can get up-to-date information on rules and regulations, what ships are planning to be sunk as an artificial reefs, and just a whole lot of really interesting stuff.
All of the diving magazines were present and again, there is no real need to mention them, we all know who they are. But, I will make one exception and that is Wreck Diving Magazine they can be found at www.wreckdivingmag.com. First off, they have been an advertiser on SB for years, Joe and Heidi Porter owners are great people and I am a wreck diver and its a great magazine even if you are not.
Along the line of print publications there are two companies I came across that I thought mentioning. One was Best Publishing, out of Flagstaff, AZ. They can be contacted at www.bestpub.com. They publish a ton, and I do mean a ton of diving related books. Their catalog has over 50 pages of books. There are reference books, to the hard copy of the Navy Dive Manual, to hyperbaric medicine. They even have a cook book on about recipes that can be cooked in a ships galley. If you are into reading about diving, this would be the site for you.
A great book for any diver on your holiday list (or for yourself), is the 2007 Diving Almanac and Yearbook published by Porbeagle Press out of Canada. I meet with the President, Jeffery Gallant and their Sales Director Marylene Veilleux.
They were at DEMA looking for LDS, dealers and anyone interested in bulk purchases of the book. But, they will sell to individuals on their website. This Almanac is about 2 inches thick and just loaded with information. It lists over 200 world records on diving, who, what where, how long, how big, how deep, etc. it has every type of statistic you can image, it lists over 150 countries, the dive operators, destinations, and places to stay, things to do, in these countries. It is loaded with marine biology, film festivals, equipment, wreck sites just about anything you can think of in diving. And, the really neat thing about this Almanac is, if you have something to add to it the publisher is always looking for new contributions. This Almanac lists for $20.00US and they can be contacted at www.Porbeaglepress.com.
Not to make this thread too unwieldy, Ill continue with part 2 shortly.
First off, let me say it was a real pleasure to meet many SBers who I only knew by their screen name. Its always interesting when a face is put to a name. Just hanging around the SB booth for a little bit, it was apparent that SB is indeed the 800 pound Guerilla in the SCUBA industry. You can read elsewhere on this board the statistics about how many members SB has, how many millions of views, the amount of time spent on each session, all I can say was that the booth was VERY busy.
Well, onto the products. Travel was very well represented, just about all of the diving destinations that one could think of, had a presence of some kind. I would say that almost ½ the show was a travel type product. But, lets face it, travel is travel. If you want to go on some exotic dive trip, see your travel agent, LDS, Instructor, etc. to work on this. I will mention two which I found of some merit. Have you ever considered diving in the Galapagos? Follow the footsteps of Darwin, see some big hammerheads. There is a full PADI Resort that specializes in this. It is Scuba Iguana and to find out more visit their web site at "www.scubaiguana.com"
A little closer to home are the people at MBT divers Jim Phillips, owner www.mbtdivers.com. They are running dives out to the Oriskany and other dive sights in Pensacola, FL very reasonable rates. If you are interested contact them and see what their current package is. The big O is fast becoming a must see dive site for advanced divers. You can get more info on this ship at www.ussoriskanyonline.com.
Another great way to see whats going on in Florida waters, whether you are a boater, diver or fisherman is to go on www.floridakeys,com and visit the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
You can get up-to-date information on rules and regulations, what ships are planning to be sunk as an artificial reefs, and just a whole lot of really interesting stuff.
All of the diving magazines were present and again, there is no real need to mention them, we all know who they are. But, I will make one exception and that is Wreck Diving Magazine they can be found at www.wreckdivingmag.com. First off, they have been an advertiser on SB for years, Joe and Heidi Porter owners are great people and I am a wreck diver and its a great magazine even if you are not.
Along the line of print publications there are two companies I came across that I thought mentioning. One was Best Publishing, out of Flagstaff, AZ. They can be contacted at www.bestpub.com. They publish a ton, and I do mean a ton of diving related books. Their catalog has over 50 pages of books. There are reference books, to the hard copy of the Navy Dive Manual, to hyperbaric medicine. They even have a cook book on about recipes that can be cooked in a ships galley. If you are into reading about diving, this would be the site for you.
A great book for any diver on your holiday list (or for yourself), is the 2007 Diving Almanac and Yearbook published by Porbeagle Press out of Canada. I meet with the President, Jeffery Gallant and their Sales Director Marylene Veilleux.
They were at DEMA looking for LDS, dealers and anyone interested in bulk purchases of the book. But, they will sell to individuals on their website. This Almanac is about 2 inches thick and just loaded with information. It lists over 200 world records on diving, who, what where, how long, how big, how deep, etc. it has every type of statistic you can image, it lists over 150 countries, the dive operators, destinations, and places to stay, things to do, in these countries. It is loaded with marine biology, film festivals, equipment, wreck sites just about anything you can think of in diving. And, the really neat thing about this Almanac is, if you have something to add to it the publisher is always looking for new contributions. This Almanac lists for $20.00US and they can be contacted at www.Porbeaglepress.com.
Not to make this thread too unwieldy, Ill continue with part 2 shortly.
