August SCUBA news ….

Only one month of Winter left!!! It feels like this Winter’s dragged on forever!!! But at least the days are getting longer and the diving’s been awesome.

Great to see that our guided club dive of July 30 ran at full capacity with a stunning dive, amazing viz and a huge school of Australian Salmon circling and hanging with our group for a fair bit of the dive. 

August is set to be an amazing month on the SCUBA CULTURE calendar with a dive trip of Scuba Culture club members heading to the Great Barrier Reef led by our man Ben aboard SPOILSPORT diving the Coral Sea and rounding out our dive travel for 2022.

At the end of the month, we have an event to out-do all club events, something that no other dive club has ever been able to put on and offer their members… A night with Dr. Richard Harris, SC, OAM, SCUBAPRO brand ambassador, and hero of the 2018 Thai Cave Rescue.  “Harry” as he’s known is the single most in-demand guest dive industry guest speaker.  The cave rescue made history and kept tens of millions of people glued to television sets in the hope that 12 young boys and their soccer coach were going to be brought out alive from 4Km’s inside a usually dry cave…. Until the rains came and the cave flooded.  The rescue has since been the subject of a book, a documentary and now a full scale movie called 13 Lives, directed by Ron Howard and filmed in Australia on the Gold Coast. 

In hosting Harry for this event, we primarily offered the first-round seats to our Cub Members, these were snapped up, in fact, over 100 tickets went at the time, we followed up with a second-round release to non-members.

TRAINING IS BACK ON FROM SEPTEMBER!

NITROX

The better, safer gas to breathe!  Increase your bottom time, decrease your risk of DCI, decrease the severity of Nitrogen Narcosis, reduce post dive fatigue, allow yourself to do more dives per day, reduce surface intervals.  DAN (Divers Alert Network – The global leader in dive medicine) strongly advocates and promotes that ALL DIVERS 40 Years and older should be diving on Nitrox!!! 

Online learning + 1 night of hands on theory/prac – 21 Sept 2022.

Details and booking link here: https://www.scubaculture.com.au/events/enriched-air-nitrox-21-09-2022/   

PERFECT BUOYANCY 

Master your buoyancy, stop diving as if you’re riding an underwater bicycle, understand the benefits of proper trim, correct weighting, appropriate tank positioning and weight distribution, learn alternate finning techniques, pick up skills such as helicopter turns & backwards finning…  This course is a must for divers wanting to nail launching a Surface Marker Buoy on their safety stops, or getting that next photo without kicking up a mountain of silt and trashing viz! 

Online learning, 1 theory session 6 October 2022, prac training 8 & 9 October 2022. 

Details and booking link here: https://www.scubaculture.com.au/events/perfect-buoyancy-12-05-2022/

DIVE TRAVEL:

GILI T. 2023

Need a cheap and fun little dive getaway for 2023?   We’re heading back to LUTWALA DIVE RESORT, GILI TRAWANGAN – 2 to 11 June 2023! 

Scuba Culture travelled to this Dive Resort back in 2018, pre-pandemic with a big group of divers and had a great time, read our trip review from back then here:

https://www.scubaculture.com.au/2018/07/06/4896-2/

With 25 dive sites within a few minutes boat ride from the resort, each with varying underwater landscapes for all divers of all levels of experience, everything from macro critters to mega fauna such as Manta and Eagle rays and heaps of turtles! 

Flying Garuda Airlines return Melbourne – Lombok, all airline taxes and fuel surcharges.  Staying one night at the Lombok Astoria Hotel (deluxe twin share, breakfast, arrival airport transfers, WiFi), followed by 7 nights in twin share Bungalow accommodation, continental breakfast daily, return airport transfers, 10 boat dives including weights, tanks, air fills, welcome dinner on the first evening, farewell BBQ on the last evening, underwater photographer accompanying dives….

All that for only $2,825!!! And with plenty to do for the non diver visiting local bars, restaurants and other attractions you haven’t been forgotten and have a $2,350 for the non-divers  All details available here: https://www.scubaculture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GILI-ISLANDS-FLYER-2023.pdf

and booking form here: https://www.scubaculture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BOOKING-FORM-SC-GILI-ISLANDS-JUNE-2023.pdf

KOMODO LIVEABOARD 2024

A BUCKET LIST destination that’s not at the other end of the world!!!  SCUBA CULTURE has an exclusive occupancy booking (based on 12 or more divers) aboard the amazing MV SEA SAFARI VII LIVEABOARD for 7 nights cruising and diving the KOMODO NATIONAL PARK.

Fully inclusive of your return air fares Melbourne to Labuan Bajo via Denpasar and inclusive of airline taxes and fuel surcharges, overnighting at the Hilton Garden Inn in a standard room, twin share, inclusive of breakfast, return airport transfers and WiFi, before boarding your floating resort for 7 nights, based on a Standard Lower Deck cabin – twin share, all your meals, all your dives up to 4 per day (24 DIVES FOR THE TRIP!!!) including tanks, weights, guides, air fills, happy hour drinks on the last night, FREE NITROX for NITROX certified divers.  A cabin upgrade to a Mid Deck Cabin is available at $300 per person twin share.

This dive trip is being led by our store manager, Ben.  Ben has extensive experience diving Komodo, he knows the sites, the people and even speaks their language!  As far as the dives are concerned, you can expect the unexpected with more macro critters (even the elusive Pygmy Seahorse), countless Nudibranchs and other invertebrates along with all the big guys coming out to play!  There’s never a dull moment on your dive.

Whilst on the trip, you will also see the Komodo Dragons and visit the Insta-worthy and world famous PINK BEACH.

Do the sums!!! $6250 is the cost of this trip (excludes the $245 (USD) Marine Park Fee and staff gratuities) but if you break things down, dive wise, you’ll see this works out quite cheap – Comparing it to local costs at $70 for a boat dive + Nitrox, tank and weights and a guide – you’ll be at about $200 on Nitrox per dive, if you multiply $200 by 24 dives that equates to $4800 just on the diving component!!! Add on your air fares, transfers, accommodation, meals etc…. and as far as value for money, this is unbeatable!

Please note:  You must be a minimum of AOW certified & have 50 logged dives to go on this trip, if you are not there yet, you have plenty of time to get those dives up between now and 2024.

All the info is available here: https://www.scubaculture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Komodo-2024-Flyer.pdf and to book, simply click here: https://www.scubaculture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BOOKING-FORM-SC-KOMODO-AUG-2024.pdf

NEW SCUBAPRO TOY!

SCUBAPRO has just released the new SEAWING SUPERNOVA fin, we have something for you to look at right here: https://www.facebook.com/Scubapro/videos/5359654070738111 . 

For many years the SCUBAPRO SEAWING NOVA has been the biggest selling recreational fin in the market with the JET FIN holding the global number 1 position in the world of Tec and Military use.

The SEAWING SUPERNOVA sets a new standard with a new articulated blade design that provides a range of options for the diver with blades and fin pocket designs covering all aspects and types of diving.

This new fin certainly re-defines a new era in the world of underwater propulsion.

The fins are now in stock and a demo pair in a large foot pocket (heel strap) can be booked by club members to be tried out on club dives. 

DIVEOZ – Incorporating OZtek 2022

Don’t forget that Australia’s ultimate dive show is coming to town on 1 & 2 October 2022 and along with the best of the best of dive gear, dive travel and all good things diving wise, we’ll be there perfectly sandwiched between the SCUBAPRO and the SCUBABO/DIVE VICTORIA stands!

You can get your ticket right here: (QR code)