The excited heartbeat of the sport diving industry ,,,,,?

Three days at the Beneath The Sea conference in Secaucus NJ.

I was in Heaven!

Divers everywhere i looked! At the hotel, in the elevator, the restaurant, the bar, in the shuttle, and of course the show.  

There were vendors (over 100 ?? So many ,,,, so little time !!) booths offering everything from travel to charters, live-aboard charters, new equipment, try SCUBA in a pool, new gadgets, clothing, and resorts.  

Divers walked the red carpeted isles to stop and stare in awe at the brightly colored under water pictures and posters, the equipment shiny black and brightly chromed.  With pictures of the young and the beautiful laughing and cavorting on luxury yachts plying the turquoise tropical lagoons.  Who wouldn't want to go diving from their boat? The dazed, happy divers stop to share stories with vendors and fellow club members, their hands gesticulating in excitement.  The whole show had the air of an open market or bazaar.   

I could feel the excitement.  the show was charged with a tremendous positive potential energy.  Everyone attending was bright-eyed with potential.  Excited with the potential of great trips to exotic places, luxury live-aboard charters, or the ability to finally see clearly through a prescription faceplate.  I could clearly see, the excitement in their eyes. Divers of all types and skills planning their trips for the coming season.  Interestingly, in spite of the specter of a tight economy and unemployment most divers said they still plan to make at least one trip to a distant dive site - even if it's only for a weekend getaway.  I overheard one diver confess ,,,, " I'd sell the family car before I'd sell my dive equipment or stop diving!".  Now thats a devoted diver! 

I was there to inspire divers to explore the wrecks in the 76 degree clear water of the St. Lawrence River.  To show them, through pictures, my own stories and experiences the best fresh water wreck diving in the nation.  The St. Lawrence offers a tremendous variety of dive sites.  Sites with wooden ships that sank in the 1700s (and still look like a ship!) to modern steel freighters that sank in 1976.  Depths and challenges for every skill level, and it's all available right here only a few hours' drive away at the eastern end of lake Ontario.  You should try it!  You'll love it!    

On a personal note:  I was surprised to discover that there are several, maybe as many as six, different manufacturers of closed circuit SCUBA systems. It is apparent that this is one of the fastest growing sectors of the industry, at least from what I saw at the show anyway. It is truly amazing to this old diver that re-breather technology is now available to the sport (technical) diver.  I remember back when I started that re-breathers were special equipment reserved only for the military.  Now, here they are in several shapes, sizes, and capabilities complete with the modern wizardry of electronic brains to be purchased with a credit card - AMAZING!  

Judging from what saw and heard during the three days at the show, the sport SCUBA diving industry is very much alive and growing.  The general consensus is that things may slow down for a bit but the industry is strong and healthy.   

Lest I forget ,,,, As usual for the BTS show their were several dive industry legends  there too.  Stan Waterman and David Doubilet were at the off-site film festival presenting truly dramatic videos of marine life.  One of the highlights for me was seeing Lloyd Bridge's daughter.  Having grown up watching (every) Sea Hunt adventure with Mike Nelson it was great to see pictures of the real Lloyd and his family through the years.  

Like everyone else at the show, I came away all pumped up about diving and full of positive potential.  I can't wait to get back into the industry and get my on-line business up and running!  Don't miss it! I'm working on some really exciting things.  Stay tuned!   

What an exciting time to be a sport diver and involved in the industry!  
 

Dive aware and dive safely!

Scott.