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January 2008

Happy New Year!!

Resolutions? How about “learn to scuba dive” or “dive more”? There’s no better place in North America than the Looe Key Reef. And the best way to get equipped and see Looe Key Reef is with Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center. So we invite you todive with us in 2008.

Reef Cleanup reef trash

On December 1, Looe Key Dive Center hosted a reef cleanup on Looe Key Reef, concentrating mainly on the west end. On the plus side, divers are generally environmentally conscious and pick up trash as they find it while diving. Even so, we still managed to pick up three garbage bags worth of trash, several old lobster traps from past hurricanes, and, believe or not, a 22 pound anchor! A productive and fun day. Thanks to all those who helped out. This will be an annual event, so stay tuned for the fall/winter dates

New Mares Dive Gear
We now have our new Mares line of dive gear in our rental and retail departments. For our traveling divers that don’t want to lug their own equipment with them, we have brand new BCD’s and regulators for rent. For our more experienced and discriminating divers, we’ve added an “upgraded” rental line with weight integrated BCD’s, computer consoles, and upgraded regulators. And of course, we offer a full retail line of Mares BCD’s, regulators, masks, fins, snorkels, and wetsuits. Try our rental products and then purchase your own to take home

Bargains!
To make room for the new Mares gear, we hosted a very successful parking lot sale to find good homes for our previous rental gear. Missed the sale? We still have a few BCD’s and regulators in good condition at great prices. Stop in and get those goodies that Santa couldn’t fit in his sleigh.

Attention PADI Diving Society Members
PADI Diving Society is sponsoring a couple of good deals for its members. Purchase a new Mares BCD or regulator from an authorized retailer (that’s us), and receive a free set of Quattro Excel fins – a $180 retail value. Pretty sweet deal for one of the top rated fins of 2007!
Enroll in a Project AWARE Specialty Course, Coral Reef Conservation, or Fish Identification Specialty Course and get a free PADI Diving Society hat and a set of FishFlips. There’s no better place in North America to see high profile coral and abundant fish life than Looe Key Reef. So do your Project AWARE specialty here with us.See your PADI Diving Society Member Handbook and Benefits Directory for more details and deals.

Enriched Air Diver
Welcome to one of PADI’s most popular specialties – the PADI Enriched Air Diver course. Diving with enriched air nitrox lets you safely extend your no stop time beyond the no-decompression limits for air. Diving with enriched air means more time underwater – but you need to be certified as an Enriched Air Diver to get enriched air fills and use it safely.
Whether you’re into underwater photography or wreck diving, on vacation in some tropical paradise, or just out for a leisurely day of diving at your local dive site, the PADI Enriched Air Diver course helps you get more out of diving by giving you more time underwater.
And don’t forget to check out PADI’s Specialty of the Year – Project AWARE on the PADI Specialty of the Month web page. To learn more, go to padi.com

Wanted: Citizen Scientists
Make your dives count! REEF aims to preserve coral reefs with the help of divers and other marine enthusiasts.. Join REEF "citizen scientists" who conduct fish counts to document the health of coastal marine habitats. It’s a great way to learn local fish ID. If you need survey forms, advice on how to do a survey, or Fish ID books and cards, come see us – we’re a REEF Field Station. We’ll soon be adding more REEF products, such as slates and books.

Have you seen me?
As part of our REEF education, we’re introducing Looe Key Fish of the Month. Meet our most common and identifiable fish - you can expect to see these critters on just about every dive.
And January’s centerfold is …
the Great Barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda.

From the Humann/Deloach Reef Fish Identification book (the premier fish ID book):
The Great Barracuda is has a long, silver, cylindrical body, with a large under slung jaw and lots of pointed teeth. The usually have scattered dark blotches and widely separated dorsal fins. They grow up to six feet (2 m) long, and can be found for depths of 0-60 (20m). You’ll often see them drifting around reefs and other habitats either solitarily or in small groups. They open and close their mouth to breath making their pointed teeth look even more menacing. Being very curious, they have the unnerving habit of closely approaching divers and following them around the reef, but there are no reports of unprovoked attacks.