A handful of members from the club hit the windy city for the 42nd annual Our World - Underwater Chicago dive expo at the Rosemont Convention Center.This 3 day event had a little something for everyone with 233 exhibitor booths, 90 seminars by 60 speakers along with indepth workshops, a silent auction and film festivals in the evenings. Paula, Denny, Gwen, Tom, Jen, Ed, Dan and Ken spent the better part of the weekend taking in the show.

The exhibit floor was an amalgam of dive gear manufactures, dive shops, resort/travel companies from all over the globe as well as dive clubs and charitable organizations. It seems that just about everyone was raffling off something, from dive gear to dive trips. I came out thinking that if I didnt win something I at least feel qualified as an amateur travel agent! At the very least, my email inbox will be full by tuesday. With everyone going about their own way with the occasional reunion, it was'nt suprising for example to find Paula and Denny perusing the photograhy/videography exhibits. But for myself, the best part of the exhibit floor was simply, it's a great way in one venue to see whats out there. Whether it was day dreaming about the next dive trip, seeing the latest and greatest from manufactures or satisfying my curiosity about rebreathers. It was more of an education.

With the exhibit floor open throughout the day, there were many opportunities to get off your feet and attend one of the many 45 minute seminars. With 6 different seminars to choose from each hour, the topics covered a broad range of subjects. Again, something for everyone. Among the more notable talks, the Diver Alert Network(DAN) offered many excellent presentations on dive medicine/safety. Photography/videography, always a popular topic with divers, was well represented in the seminars with presentations for all skill levels. I the travel seminars, from diving the Philippines to live aboards, you found yourself wanting to book a trip around the world. For those wishing to explore different technologies, several seminars were devoted to closed circuit rebreathers. Dive sites and wrecks of the great lakes were also a popular forum. My favorite seminar was presented by Sir Robert Marx, a renown and well respected historian, underwater archeologist and treasure hunter. He regaled the audience with story after story of his colorful exploits around the world.

The weekend ended with the conclusion of the silent auction benefitting the Tim Early Foundation which provides the resources to educate children to the world of scuba diving. The starting bids ranged from $1 for a wetsuit hanger up to $3000 for a signed Jimmy Buffett guitar and everything in between.

Next years, 43rd Our World - Underwater Dive and Travel Expo is scheduled for February 15-17th 2013. I think I can speak for all in saying that it was a great show, a fun time and we will look forward to next year.

The Fort Wayne Dive Club would like to invite you to our next club meeting on Tuesday May 29th, 7:00pm at Deep Blue Divers dive shop.

Whether you have logged 1 dive or 500 dives, we welcome any and all who share in our passion for diving.

Hope you will join us!

WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Saturday December 3, 2011

The dive club, along with some friends, gathered at Jay and Mary Lou irick's home as they once again hosted this years Christmas party. With no snow, ice, or winter storm warnings for the evening, I was wondering if I had the correct night marked on my calender! There was no shortage of food and drinks however, with Casa's providing the entrees and the members bringing the appetizers, sides and desserts. After eating, we all sat down for a short meeting then enjoyed a video of Octobers Cozumel trip , by Gwen Haque and Tom Lucas. A visit from Santa Jay brought us holiday cheer and a bag full of Dive club license plates and holders to spruce up our rides. Click on image for slide show.

2011 Fall Dive , Bledsoe’s beach, Lake James, Sept 25, 2011

By Ken Hayduck

This years fall dive off Bledsoe’s beach on Lake James started out under overcast and rainy skies, with air temps in the low 70’s. Expectations therefore were not high as we pulled away from Jaki & Barts dock on their pontoon. Unlike an earlier adventure, we all made sure to wear hoods on this dive. With visibility at a premium(5 feet), we made use of our dive lights and took a heading parallel to the shore line running abreast of each other at a depth of about 30’. Being at the deeper end of the line, it took just a quick mode change on my computer, to look up and realized I had lost contact with the Bart, Jay & Steve. I quickly ran into their silt cloud which dropped my vis to zero! I descended to 40’ (and 54 degrees!) to try and clear it but could not locate the group. Jaki, braving the elements back on the pontoon to keep us safe, watched me surface about 100ft behind the group. After reuniting, we altered course and spent the remainder of the dive in relatively clear, 20’ vis at 25’ depth in a comfortable 68 degree water temp. For the most part it was moonscape, but did enjoy the search for lost treasures. Our bounty or garbage depending on how you look at it, included the usual lake fare, old bottles, golf balls, large battery cells, chain etc. We did have an encounter with an 18 inch turtle relaxing on the bottom. Other than that, life was pretty sparse. After about 50 minutes, low on air, we abandoned our search and surfaced. Back at the house, Bart served as chef and grilled up Burgers and brats to feast on, along with other delicous treats. The sun finally came out and, for all the ominous signs, it turned out to be a great dive and a great day.