July 20, 2005

Dear Friends of HydroSports,

So much news, I want to make sure you are all up to date!

First the bad news: Underwater Kinetics and Diving Unlimited International have announced price increases effective August 1, 2006. Next the good news: Place an order for UK or DUI products by July 28 at HydroSports and receive a 15% to 20% savings on your prepaid order.

The July Dive Club meeting, Thursday, July 21, will feature a slide and video show of our upcoming local and international travel opportunities. The meeting is a pot-luck dinner starting at 6:30 PM. Bring a dish to share and join divers from around the valley. Door prizes will be awarded.

Travel opportunities abound:

Join HydroSports in Hoodsport August 6 and 7. Weekend lodging fee is $150 per person and includes a two tank boat dive, one day at Sund Rock, and two air fills. We’ll be diving from a 28’ long Coast Guard certified charter boat. The boat has an enclosed cabin, head, swim step, ladder and experienced captain. Likely dive sites are Elephant Wall and Triton Cove. Space is limited to 10 guests. A non-refundable deposit of $75 is required by July 29. This will be a great weekend for divers involved in an Advanced Open Water class, a Peak Performance Buoyancy, Boat Diver or Underwater Navigation Specialty to complete their dives.

Come to Nanaimo, wreck and drift dive central, October 27 to 30. Dive October 28 to 30. Six boat dives, three nights lodging, lunch aboard each day, $425 per person.

Dive with Whale Sharks, March 4 to 11, 2006, in Utila, Honduras. Eight days, seven nights, six days boat dives (three boat dives per day plus two night boat dives plus unlimited shore diving) meals, air conditioned lodging, unlimited kayak use, round trip air from Portland to Utila...trip price approximately $2150 per person. Rates are not fixed until paid in full. A $200 per person deposit is required with reservation, balance due December 15. We have room for 16 guests.

I want you to dive at God’s Pocket Resort on Hurst Island, just outside Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This is Northwest diving at it's best! Trip dates are March 26 to March 30, 2006. Four days of boat diving (at least two per day based on tides and currents) and unlimited shore diving, all meals, transfers, tanks, air fills, linen, double occupancy cabins with private bath. Trip cost $945 per person, diver or non-diver. A $200 non refundable deposit is needed by August 15 so we can reserve the lodge. 12 guests.

Earn or renew your First Aid certification at HydroSports. Class dates are Monday August 8 and 15 from 6 to 9 PM. Learn to use an Automated External Defibrillator, perform CPR, provide primary and secondary care for adults, children and infants. If you know, love or care about your family, friends, or co-workers you should know what to do if an illness or injury occurs. Class fee, $45. Advance registration is required.

News Flash! HydroSports and Gold’s Gym have become partners in adventure and fitness. Gold’s Gym members who participate in a Discover Scuba Diving experience at HydroSports will be entered into a drawing for a free PADI Open Water Scuba Class. HydroSports customers may pick up a free 7 Day pass to either the Keizer or Salem Gold’s Gym locations.

Our Clear Lake Family Dive and Picnic has been rescheduled from Saturday August 13 to Sunday, August 14. This will allow HydroSports staff to participate in a Pool Party and Discover Scuba Diving event at Gold’s Gym in Keizer.

Last...

A few of you have noticed the For Lease sign in front of the store and asked if HydroSports is planning to relocate. I have advised our landlord that we are considering relocating when our lease expires in several months. Relocation is not certain, we may choose to stay. The landlord has decided to look for a new tenant in the event HydroSports decides to relocate.

Rest assured we plan to continue to serve the scuba diving community in the Pacific Northwest for many years to come.

Please come by and visit or call. Our mission includes helping you reach your scuba diving goals and dreams.

Best regards,

Mark Fischer

HydroSports Dive and Travel

3800 River Road North Suite 180

Keizer OR 97303

503-304-5383

www.hydrosports.com mark@hydrosports.com

Dear Friends of HydroSports, 

Winter is in full swing, we’re into the best diving period of the year and HydroSports is gearing up to help you make the most of your scuba diving goals. 

This week, December 28 to 31, HydroSports is clearing off the shelves to make room for new equipment coming in January. Our rental regulator and BCD’s are on sale. Our rental Mobby dry suits are on sale. A used Zeagle Ranger and Escape, each size large, are on sale. Used Faber high pressure steel 80 and 100 cubic foot tanks are on sale. Underwater Kinetics eLED light heads for the C4 and C8 are on sale. One Citizen HyperAqualand watch is on sale. Help us make room. 

So what’s coming? Zeagle Stiletto BCDs and Zeagle Envoy regulator systems will start arriving in mid January for our rental department. By late January expect new DUI dry suits in rental.  

HydroSports has renewed our commitment to the National Geographic Diver program. We are still the only dive center in Oregon offering this expanded Open Water Diver course. The NG Diver course expands training in buoyancy control, underwater navigation and marine identification and includes two boat dives and use of a dry suit during training. Recommend your friends start their dive training with HydroSports by participating in a National Geographic Diver course. We continue to teach the PADI Open Water Diver course as well. 

Take advantage of our December Enriched Air Specialty special price. Register before December 31. Dives February 5 or 6, 2005. 

Discover Scuba Diving events are planned January 12 and 29.  

Janna Nichols has been invited to teach the Pacific Northwest Fish and Invertebrate Identification specialties at HydroSports in March 9 and April 20.  Find out what lurks in our local waters. Have fun learning from and diving with Janna! These specialty courses count toward your PADI Master Scuba Diver credential.  

Bandito Charters has a full calendar of boat dives planned with HydroSports this year. Look at the store calendar for dates or visit the store. 

Can’t get enough Canadian diving? We’re headed to the Sechelt Inlet for a three full days of diving over Spring Break. Experience the beauty of the HMC Chaudiere, the rush of diving in current swept channels and the convenience of diving from a custom-built dive launch. Watch for details later this week. 

PADI’s Rescue Diver Course has been updated to include state of the art rescue technique and philosophy. HydroSports staff will be participating in training soon and the new Rescue Diver Course will be available starting March 2. Learn to save a life by anticipating, preventing or responding to problems that occur around dive sites.

PADI Assistant Instructor training starts February 19 at HydroSports. If you are ready to take on an instructional role in dive training, this is the step beyond Divemaster. Call Mark for details.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve the greater Oregon dive community and the support HydroSports has received from each of you over the past 10 years. Have a safe and Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Mark Fischer

HydroSports Dive and Travel

3800 River Road North Suite 180

Keizer OR 97303

503-304-5383  www.hydrosports.com 

PS. When you move or change your email address, please let HydroSports know so we can stay in touch.

July 6, 2004

Dear Friends of HydroSports,

So much is going on this summer it’s hard to decide where to start this update.

First, the new edition of the newsletter, Sentient Seas Journal, is now posted at www.hydrosports.com. Click on the Newsletter button.

Second, I need help assembling the snail mail version of the newsletter on Wednesday night, July 7, starting at 5 PM. Pizza dinner at 6.

Third, the National Geographic Diver program is officially announced. The introduction and orientation session Tuesday July 13 at 6 PM at HydroSports.

Fourth, the July Dive Club meeting starts Thursday, July 15 at 6:30 PM. Our speaker is Steve Nelson speaking about tides and currents.

“A STUDY ON TIDES & CURRENTS”

Growing up in Iowa, Steve didn’t have an occasion to notice tides. In fact, he didn’t even see an ocean until he was 20 years old. Therefore; since watching the waters of Morro Bay, California recede one August day in 1971, he has been fascinated with the forces that cause the earth’s oceans to ebb and flow.

In tonight’s program, Steve will utilize computer animation and other visual effects to present a lively program on the causes and behavior of tides and the currents they produce. With Steve as our guide, we will experience some of the world’s most exotic and extreme tidal phenomena, and then move closer to home to examine the complex patterns of currents produced by the tides of Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and other Pacific Northwest locations. After touching on tips for navigating in tidal currents, he will review sources of information on tide and current predictions. Included will be real time demonstrations of the web’s best free tide sites and an introduction to the leading 'free' and ‘commercial’ tide prediction programs you can install on your PC or MAC.

Steve started sea kayaking in 1983, and joined OOPS in 1989. Since l993, he has served in a variety of positions on the club’s Board of Directors and is currently the club's Trip Coordinator. When not paddling or attending Board meetings, he teaches classes in sea kayak navigation and the use of the GPS, and occasionally finds time to work as a Recreation Planner for the US Forest Service.

Fifth, the Annual Scuba Rally starts at 10:30 AM Saturday, July 17 at the Big Cliff Reservoir. Optional lunch tickets are $8.

Look for a new Diver Propulsion Vehicle this July and take a test dive in the pool. We have an opportunity to make an initial purchase at a BIG discount by August 10. If you’ve every thought about owning a DPV, try this one this July. Call for pool dates this July.

Discover Scuba July 20. DAN Oxygen Provider class July 21. Rusty Diver Night July 22. Rescue Diver orientation July 26. Clear Lake Dive and Family Picnic August 8. Lots of after work dives at Big Cliff all summer.

Assistant Instructor class August 4 to 7. Instructor class August 18 to 22.

Much more in the newsletter and on the web site.

Oh, yes… A new local dive trip to the San Juan Islands November 12 to 14. Eight boat dives, three nights of lodging, lunch on board. Look at page three of the newsletter for details or visit the store for the full low down.

Space may still available for our Cayman Brac trip September 11 to 18. The trip is so popular I’ve booked space in September 2005 at 2004 prices if a deposit is placed by the end of 2004. See the newsletter for details.

Bottom line, get wet this summer.

As always, we thank you for each opportunity to earn your business, help you meet your diving goals, for referring your friends to HydroSports and for your ongoing support.

Best regards,

Mark Fischer

HydroSports Dive and Travel

3800 River Road North Suite 180

Keizer OR 97303

503-304-5383

September 10, 2003

Friends of HydroSports,

Heads up! Lots of activity is coming our way; local drift dives, the September dive club meeting and clearance prices on some new and used gear. Best of all, the best diving conditions of the year are just around the corner.

First, I want to sell all HydroSports in stock dry suits and order new suits next month at DEMA so all in stock new and used suits are on sale. New and Used DUI suits at VERY low prices.

I have Mobby’s Armor Shell rental suits in extra small, and medium and a Twin Shell suit in large; any one for only $590. My Typhoon Ranger with dry gloves, relief zipper and field replaceable neck seal is available for only $525. This suit is in good condition and retailed for over $2400 six years ago. I have three DUI rental suits; a men’s CF200X, large and a CLX 450, XL. I also have a woman’s Flex 50/50, large. Your choice, $845 for any of the DUI suits.

I also have a brand new Mobby’s Armor Shell, medium or Twin Shell, XL, MSRP $1450, Sale $899.

Our speakers at the dive club meeting September 18 are Ed and Dale Jacobs. Ed and Dale designed and built a Remote Operated Vehicle to search and videotape the ocean’s floor. In combination with side scan sonar, the ROV has been successful in locating lost cars, missing wrecks and helping solve mysteries in Oregon and Washington. Join us at 6:30 for a pot-luck-dinner and meet the ROV and Ed and Dale at 7 PM as they talk about their experiences as underwater detectives.

More used gear… my Oceanic Data Max Pro Plus 2 computer with compass and quick disconnect can be purchased for $449. The MSRP is $899. My Zeagle Ranger BCD size large with trim pockets and removable 12 lb weight pockets, MSRP $679, is available for $329. My Zeagle Flathead 6 regulator with Aqualung octopus, MSRP $699, is available for $329. Wayne’s medium Malibu BCD, MSRP $479, is only $249. It is time for me to replace my two year old regulator and BCD. I’ve ordered the same equipment for myself.

Drift diving at the Big Cliff Reservoir is in high season as the Detroit Reservoir is drained. Join us Wednesday, October 1 for an after work dive at 5:30 PM at Big Cliff, 50 minutes east of Salem on Highway 22.

HydroSports has chartered the Down Time, operated by Pacific Adventures, on October 26. We have space for six divers on each of two two-tank boat dives. The first departure boards at 8:30 AM at the Pleasant Harbor marina, 15 minutes north of Mike’s Beach Resort. The second boards at 3:00 PM for an afternoon dive and a night dive. The cost is $60 per person with proceeds going to the dive club’s goal of purchasing a DAN Oxygen Kit.

Look for trips to the Edmonds Underwater Park before the end of the year.

Is anyone interested in going back to Nanaimo in mid to late January? We had a great time last year and the weather wasn’t too bad either. Details to come soon.

As the day’s get shorter, the algae bloom ends and we often enjoy 25 to 50 foot visibility at our favorite sites in Washington and British Columbia.  

I look forward to visiting and diving with each of you.

Best regards,

Mark Fischer

August 12, 2003

Dear Friends of HydroSports,

Welcome to the peak of the summer, the sun is out and we are outside enjoying the heat.

Here is a quick summary of the upcoming events sponsored and supported by HydroSports.

August 13: After work dive at the Big Cliff Reservoir. Leave HydroSports at 5 PM or meet at the Big Cliff boat ramp at 6 PM.

August 18-21: Hornby Island Dive Trip, $349. Three days of diving, lodging, meals, air fills, tanks and weights. Last minute space is available. Call Mark for details.

August 21: Dive Club meeting; 6:30 PM pot-luck-dinner at HydroSports; 7:00 PM guest speaker from the Audubon Society will discuss marine sanctuaries in our region.

August 30: Discover Scuba at the Dallas Aquatic Center 10 A.M. to 11:30, $15. Call 503-623-9715 to register. Ages 10 and up.

September 1: HydroSports will be closed for Labor Day.

September 3: After work dive at the Big Cliff Reservoir.

September 11: Discover Scuba. Call HydroSports to register.

September 13 and 14: Dive the Oregon Coast Aquarium! Participate in the DUI Drysuit Owner’s Group Demo Days. Test dive a Diving Unlimited International dry suit in the aquarium’s main tanks. $20 includes aquarium admission, lunch and an opportunity to dive in Halibut Flats or Orford Reef tanks. Purchase tickets at HydroSports.

September 20 to 27: Travel to the Cayman Islands. I have room for one additional female traveler to share a room with a solo female traveler. $1395, cash, includes round trip air from Miami, seven nights lodging, six days two-tank boat dives, unlimited shore diving, all meals, transfers, taxes. Gratuities and Cayman Islands departure tax are not included. Call Mark for details.

Other news:

I recently earned PADI’s highest instructor credential, Course Director. This enables me to conduct instructor training at HydroSports. If you would like to pursue a career in the dive industry or work part time as a divemaster, assistant instructor or instructor, all the training you need is available at HydroSports. As a divemaster, you are a dive professional. Many business and tax benefits become available.

A group of 13 guests from HydroSports enjoyed a week of great diving and hospitality aboard the Nautilus Explorer, a 116’ live aboard dive yacht. We traveled from Juneau, Alaska to Prince Rupert, BC. Watch for a story on the web site soon.

While on the Nautilus Explorer, I booked the entire yacht for a week next year. We will be diving in Mexico in the Sea of Cortez from November 7 to 14, 2004. The water will be 82 to 84 degrees, the air 84 to 88, and visibility 30 to 100 feet. We have the opportunity in November to see schooling hammerhead sharks, giant mantas, whale sharks, schools of tuna, sea horses, bill fish and more. Transportation from Los Cabos airport to La Paz, six days of diving, all meals, local in-water guides and the comfort and luxury of the Nautilus are included in the $1695 per-person cash price. A $100 Early Booking Discount is available with a $500 cash deposit. The deposit must be received by HydroSports no later than September 10, 2003. Additional information can be found at www.hydrosports.com.

Would you like to spend Christmas 2004 or New Years 2005 aboard the Nautilus in the Sea of Cortez? If so, please call me. I have the opportunity to book the ship for a special year end event.

Congratulations are in order for Lena and Ahti Loukojarvi. They are expecting a little boy early in December. When you see Lena working at HydroSports, please don’t let her lift anything heavy.

Congratulations to Sharon Weber and Wayne Dickinson. Both recently completed their PADI Assistant Instructor training. Congratulations to Ivon and Derek Young, Mike Bovard and Dan Chatfield on the successful completion of their Rescue Diver class.

Thanks to Jan Boley for coming through in the pinch. Jan conducted a Discover Scuba class recently with little notice (my oversight) and rescued an offshore dive trip sponsored by the Dive Club by coming on-board at the last minute to divemaster.

Thanks to Steve Camden and Ron Reid, PADI Open Water Instructors, for their enthusiasm and professionalism as they learn the ropes of scuba instruction as it is practiced at HydroSports.

And thanks to all of you who bring your friends and family to HydroSports for classes, equipment, air fills, travel and fun. Your ongoing support is a cornerstone of our success.

Best regards,

Mark Fischer

PADI Course Director 82539

HydroSports Dive and Travel

www.hydrosports.com mark@hydrosports.com

503-304-5383

• PADI is continuing it's Bring A Friend program through the end of 2003. Bring three friends to HydroSports (or any PADI dive center). Your three friends complete an Open Water Diver class between April 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. You list their names and certification numbers on a referral form available at HydroSports. PADI mails you a check for $50.

• DEMA (the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association, the dive industry trade group) is starting a Bring a Friend program. The same rules apply as the PADI program, however the dates are May 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. Your three friends complete OW certification, you fill out a DEMA form (available at HydroSports). You mail the form to DEMA. DEMA sends you a check for $50.

• BUT WAIT, there's more! The individual submitting the referral is also eligible to receive an additional $150.00 from DEMA when they purchase two select pieces of diving hardware from their participating store. Divers can choose hardware from any participating manufacturer so long as their purchase includes at least two of the following: a complete SCUBA regulator, a buoyancy compensator/inflator combination, and/or a full function diving computer.

• Don't go away! HydroSports will also reward you with a free two tank Bandito Boat dive for each four divers you refer using our HydroSports Try Scuba Diving certificate who complete the same Open Water certification class for which you are claiming $50 from DEMA and $50 from PADI. Try Scuba Diving certificates will be included with the next issue of Sentient Seas Journal, are available at HydroSports today and will be available soon on our web site, www.hydrosports.com.

• So, for sharing the excitement of diving with four friends, you pocket $100, get a $60 two-tank boat dive and have four new dive buddies. What are you waiting for?       

April 6, 2003

 Welcome Friends of HydroSports,

 Daylight savings time began this morning at 2 AM and the sun is shining as I write this message, both sure signs that it’s time to dive.

 We have lots of news to share.

 ·   The web site has received a face lift thanks to the work of Wayne Dickinson. Take a look:    

      www.hydrosports.com. 

·    It’s time to assemble the next issue of the newsletter. Two assembly times: April 8, Tuesday afternoon and evening. April 9, Wednesday afternoon and evening. If you have even 30 minutes to help, your assistance will be greatly appreciated. Watch for the newsletter in the mail at the end of next week or online mid week this week. 

·    Join the staff at HydroSports (Jim and Deb Cooley, Mike and Leanne Howard, Jan Boley, Rich Wagner, Wayne Dickinson, Sharon, Mark Fischer and more) and earn or update your First Aid and CPR skills. Jim Cooley and Mark Fischer will team teach the Emergency First Response course Wednesday night April 9 and 23 from 7 to 9 PM. Participation both nights is necessary to earn your EFR certification. 

·      One stateroom is available on our Nautilus Explorer trip this summer cruising and diving from Juneau, Alaska to Prince Rupert, BC. We depart Juneau July 26 and disembark August 2. The cost is $1695 per person. This is a trip not to be missed. Look at the store website for details and www.nautilusexplorer.com. 

·    Share the excitement of diving and earn a free two tank boat dive with Bandito Charters. Participate in HydroSports Organized Referral program. Certificates will be posted on the store web page for printing or may be picked up at HydroSports. Call for details. 

·    HydroSports will be teaching an Open Water certification class in Albany at the Mid Willamette Valley Family YMCA starting April 30. Call HydroSports to register. 

·    Get back into diving at a special Rusty Diver Night and practice the skills you know or test your equipment to make sure it works well. Join us on April 22 or May 13. We’ll supply all the gear and staff will be on hand to offer tips and advice. $20 per person. Pre-registration is required. Call HydroSports. 

·    Earn a PADI Enriched Air Specialty Certification. Class fee, $125, includes materials, two nitrox tank rentals and certification application. Orientation at HydroSports, April 25, 7 PM. Call to register. 

·    The Oregon Coast Aquarium is looking for more volunteer divers. Volunteer divers require special training since they are diving in a scientific environment and under scientific diving guidelines. The prerequisites are 50 logged dives (25 in cold water), hold an advanced Open Water diver certification, have current CPR and first aid certificates, submit a physicians release to dive, be able to volunteer one day each three weeks for a year and complete a PADI Habitat Diver Specialty Class. 

HydroSports next Habitat Diver Specialty class meets April 24, May 1 and 8. Open water training in the tanks of the Aquarium is scheduled May 17.  The class fee is $175. Register at HydroSports. 

·    Dacor wants you old regulator and is offering a great trade in program. Effective immediately, Dacor 960 series regulators will no longer be supported with production of new service parts. Service kits for Dacor modular regulators will be available through the end of 2003. Call HydroSports for information on trading in your old Dacor (or any manufacturer’s regulator) on a new Dacor product. 

·    Luxfer wants is aluminum tanks built between 1972 and 1988 removed from the market. The alloy used in these tanks is subject to Sustained Load Cracking, a potentially catastrophic failure of the neck of the tank that usually takes place during the filling process. During 2003 ONLY, Luxfer will give you a $50 certificate that can be used to purchase any new Luxfer tank. Visit or call HydroSports for details. 

·    Save up to $276 from Oceanic and Aeris when trading in your old digital bottom timer or dive computer (working or not) toward the purchase of a new Oceanic or Aeris computer. For example, trade in any computer console toward the purchase of an Aeris Atmos AI with quick disconnect and save $204.99. Trade in any computer console for an Oceanic Data Max Pro Plus 2 and save $276. Call or visit HydroSports for details. 

·    Hop on board the Sampan Sunday May 4 for a two tank boat dive with Bandito Charters in Southern Puget Sound. The fee is $60 per person. Bring all dive gear for the trip. A $30 deposit is required to sign up. The balance is due April 21. Register by phone or in person at HydroSports. 

·    Did you miss our last trip to the Sechelt Inlet and our dives on the HMCS Chaudiere? If so, don’t let this opportunity pass. Join Mark on a return trip to dive with Porpoise Bay Charters. Explore the current swept waters of the Sechelt Inlet, north of Vancouver BC. Last year we found octopus out feeding, wolf eel picking their teeth after feasting on crab, drift dives past walls covered with anemone and visibility up to 100 feet. 

The package includes nine boat dives, three nights of lodging and meals for only $350. And you don’t have to take a plane, a thirty minute ferry ride north of Vancouver BC and we’re there! Arrive May 29, depart June 1. A $150 deposit is due with your reservation; the balance is due May 1 

  ·    Care to get away late in October or early November? Join Al and Mark diving in the Sea of Cortez at Cabo Pulmo. We’ll be ready to conduct Open Water diver certification dives during the trip. Dates will be announced next month. The cost is estimated to be $1600 which includes air fare from Portland, triple accommodations, five days of two tank diving and unlimited shore diving.

  ·    Watch the newsletter and web site for package pricing on Oceanic and Zeagle BCD and Regulator systems.        

        Regulator and BCD packages can be combined with any Oceanic or Aeris computer.

·   Look for dry suit packages from DUI as well. Special pricing will include Special Production suits and  undergarments at great values. The purchase of a DUI dry suit will include a Dry Suit Specialty certification.

  ·   Our Winter Open Water Class special ends with our classes in May. We’d love to have you or your friends join us as certified divers. You can complete your open water training dives with us in Washington or you may travel to nearly any dive destination in the world and complete your training with a PADI instructor while on your vacation. 

  ·    Join us this summer as we explore dive sites beyond Hoodsport. We plan to dive Port Townsend, Port Angeles and Sekiu, all on the Olympic Peninsula but beyond the range of the Hood Canal’s algae bloom that is, even now, starting to form near Hoodsport. Besides escaping from the algae bloom, we’ll explore some great new dive sites. Watch for details on the web site’s summer calendar.