SCUBA Show 2005 Preview

SCUBA Show 2005 —
a preview look at THE Diving Event of the Year!™
Now in its 18th year, the annual SCUBA Show has earned its reputation as “THE Diving Event of the Year!™” It is, after all, the largest consumer dive expo in the western U.S. Over 10,000 have attended every year for the past 14 years.

SCUBA Show 2005 will once again bring together dive equipment manufacturers, travel experts, education authorities, and, you, the avid underwater enthusiasts in a weekend of fun, inspiration, education, and dive adventure planning. Old dive buddies will be reunited and new friends made. Most important, divers will come away fully loaded with everything needed for a full season of diving fun.

EXHIBITS:
Over 200 exhibitors will cover the 57,000-square foot exhibit hall. Staffed by experts, the exhibits will inspire, inform, and answer all your questions.

A sampler of SCUBA Show exhibitor specials:

Belize Tourism Board will presenting several show specials tailored to divers and adventure seekers. Perhaps most noteworthy is a value-packed seven-night diving package at Turneffe Island Lodge that includes diving, lodging, meals and more.

The Belmar Apartments Bonaire, in affiliation with Bonaire Hospitality Group, are offering a number of SCUBA Show specials. These include a rental car discount, every second diver dives free and a stay of seven nights/pay for six special.

California Diving News is offering new and renewed subscriptions at the SCUBA Show at half price.

Known for its luxury live-aboard dive vessels with boats in exotic locations across the glove, Peter Hughes is offering 20 percent off any charter, any time for bookings and deposits made at the show. For a special treat, see the seminar on diving and exploring Papua New Guinea with Peter Hughes, Saturday at 4 p.m. (registration required).

Buddy Dive Resort Bonaire will be celebrating its 25th anniversary at SCUBA Show 2005 with free T-shirts and discount voucher booklets at their booth (while supplies last). Show specials include free upgrade to U/L nitrox and, for trips booked for August and December 10-17, a $75 food credit. Groups of 25 or more booking at the show will get a complimentary party and barbecue at the resort.

Chammyz is offering $25 off their new Storm Bomber jacket with a mention of California Diving News.

Ultralight is offering their new Multi-Battery Tester for a special show price.

Aggressor Fleet, operators of luxury live-aboard dive boats in exotic locations around the world, is offering $100 off any reservations made at the show. Don’t miss the seminar on Aggressor Fleet live-aboard diving, Saturday 4:00 p.m. in room 201A (seminar pass required).

Headlining the exhibits are gear manufacturers, introducing revolutionary new dive gear for the first time to the public. There is no better place to learn full details about dive gear than from the designers themselves! And they want your input, too. You will get direct, hands-on advice on how to buy dive gear and experience for yourself—touching, feeling, smelling, interacting with the equipment so essential to our sport.

Planning on dive travel in the next year? Local, short plane hop or half way around the world, the globe’s best (some remote) dive locations are represented. Big and small dive resorts, major chains of luxury live-aboard dive boats are all there to answer your every detailed questions and give you the best value for your dive travel dollar. Several companies are giving big specials only offered at the show. Many are also having free drawings.

Filling out the exhibit hall are a host of dive educational and safety experts, as well as publishers, gifts, jewelry, and clothing. Environmental groups are represented as well. This is the place to get informed, get dressed and get going into your diving passion.

There will be several very special exhibits of note. Famous diving historian Nick Icorn will have on hand many pieces of antique, historical dive gear key to the evolution of our scuba adventures. Nick’s stories about this antique gear are informative, sometimes tragic, and occasionally funny but all tell a tale on how we got to this point in our relatively young but safe pastime.

The many sunken ships along the California coastline are prime diving and have fascinating histories. No group in California is better versed in these treasures than the California Wreck Divers. No group is also better informed on how and where to dive these wrecks. The California Wreck Divers will be displaying artifacts recovered from some of wrecks along with historical photos and dishing up expert advice.

Underwater photography is an art form and superb artists will be displaying their best works in exhibits by the Los Angeles and Orange County Underwater Photographic Societies.

For complete list of exhibitors visit www.saintbrendan.com.

Photo pros Jack and Sue Drafahl will be giving several seminars.

SEMINARS:
An informed, educated diver is a good diver and the seminars at SCUBA Show 2005 is a great place to begin. A full range of topics are covered in 30 one-hour talks accompanied by slide and video presentations. Attendees will learn inside photo tricks of pros, about marine life, travel and much more.

Featured speakers include Jack and Sue Drafahl, noted authorities on the rapidly growing field of digital underwater imaging.

Registration is required. You can register in advance at www.saintbrendan.com or at the show. For complete schedule and details visit the web site.

DOOR PRIZES:
For the first time a total of six drawings will be held at the SCUBA Show. All new is the Advanced Registration Drawing at show opening from pre-registered attendees ONLY. It is for a 7-night, live-aboard package for one in the Marshall Islands by Rongelap Expeditions.

Saturday Early Bird Drawing will be at noon pulled from Saturday morning attendees for a Reefmaster underwater camera presented by Pacific Wilderness Diving Superstores.

Drawn from all of Saturday’s attendees will be a one-week trip aboard the Peter Hughes M/V Star Dancer live-aboard dive yacht in Papua New Guinea.

Aggressor Fleet is offering $100 off any trip booked at the show. In addition, the Grand Prize drawing for the show is a trip aboard the Palau Aggressor.

Get to the show early Sunday to enter for a drawing for yet another Reefmaster underwater camera presented by Pacific Wilderness Diving Superstores.

Sunday’s Main Drawing will be pulled at show close Sunday from Sunday attendees. The prize is a dive vacation package for one at the magnificent Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap.

And the Grand Prize drawn Sunday at show close from all attendees will be for a trip for one aboard the Palau Aggressor live-aboard yacht including airfare to Palau from Continental Airlines. In addition, many exhibitors are holding drawings for a variety of prizes (each drawing carries specific restrictions and limitations).

Fred Heiman has contributed the film Music Sets the Mood.

FILM FESTIVAL:
Always cutting edge, the SCUBA Show broke ground with a film festival that ran continuously, all weekend long allowing you, the attendee, the opportunity to see more films on a flexible schedule so as to also see exhibits and attend seminars. The SCUBA Show will once again change the look of underwater film festivals by bringing the images actually into the exhibit hall on a massive 12’ X 16’ screen.

Critics' choice for this year's film festival is Catalina's Best by Ron Moore.

But what makes the film festival truly special as always is its content and 2005 is no different. Digital video films from around the globe will grace the screen—Hawaii to the Florida Keys, Indonesia to San Miguel Island. Most are awe inspiring and inspirational, some quite informative but all are entertaining and colorful. Highly recommended films include: Catalina’s Best by Ron Moore (shown both days), Music Sets the Mood by Fred Heiman (Sat. only) , and Diving Cozumel and Skin Talkers by John Walker (Sun. only). Most of the films are being premiered at the SCUBA Show, for the first time. Each day of the show has a different schedule of films. For complete schedule and details visit www.saintbrendan.com.

CASINO NIGHT:
Social climax of the weekend is the Saturday Night Casino Party Benefit. Party-goers will “gamble” the night away with Las Vegas-style gaming all to benefit the non-profit Catalina Conservancy Divers, an all-volunteer group of divers working to protect and restore the Catalina Island marine environment. Thousands of dollars in prizes will be raffled off at the end of the evening. Thousands more in dive gear and travel will be available for bidding at the silent auction.

Diving pioneer Dick Anderson will receive this year's California Scuba Service Award.

CALIFORNIA SCUBA SERVICE AWARD:
The California Scuba Service Award will be presented at the close of the Saturday night party. This award comes from Saint Brendan Corporation (California Diving News and the SCUBA Show) to recognize those who have made positive, long-term contributions to the California diving community. This year’s recipient is California diving pioneer Dick Anderson. Dick is one of diving’s most entertaining humorist and a celebrity on the underwater film festival circuit for more than twenty-five years. A commercial diver, scuba equipment inventor, filmmaker, book author, magazine writer, treasure diver and underwater set designer, Anderson’s life story is more fascinating than most Hollywood movies.

ADVANCED REGISTRATION, HOTEL, PARKING, ETC.
To save time an money, register in advance online at www.saintbrendan.com or see the insert in this issue. Deadline is May 6th. Make a mini-vacation of your show visit. Nearby is the Aquarium of the Pacific, the new Pike entertainment and shopping complex, and dive-charter boats. The Hyatt Regency is next door to the Long Beach Convention Center and is offering a special rate for SCUBA Show attendees. Call 1-800-233-1234 and mention the SCUBA Show for the convention rate.

To reach the Long Beach Convention Center, Hall B, take the Long Beach Freeway South and follow the signs. You will be directed to abundant parking.

For complete details on the SCUBA Show, including advanced registration information, visit www.saintbrendan.com.