Interview with a Texas Scuba Diver: Steve

I interviewed an experienced scuba diver, Steve M. I have known Steve for about 5 years, and have been on multiple dives with him. Steve helps out with the Venturing Crew 1020, located in Rowlett, TX. From the Crew 1020 website¹, Venturing

is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years of age and have completed the eighth grade. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.

Steve and I are both members of Crew 1020, and I learned how to dive through the Crew’s connection to a dive shop and dive instructors.

Interview

Here are the questions I asked Steve, and what he had to say. Look for the superscript numbers to see the footnotes at the end, which will provide more information on Steve’s answers.

What scuba certifications do you have, or are working on?

I have open water, adventure, advanced, rescue, master scuba diver, dive master and assistant instructor. My specialties include: drift, night, multilevel, peak performance buoyancy, deep, boat, nitrox, equipment, diver propulsion vehicle, coral reef conservation, and underwater naturalist.

OWSI² (Open Water Scuba Instructor) is next, but I’m currently stalled and not sure if I want to be a Scuba Instructor. I started working on Dry Suit in February.

What places have you been diving to in Texas? How many times have you been to each site, and did you do day or night dives there?

I dove at South Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico for 1 day. It was my favorite; nothing beats an ocean dive, boat trip, diverse sea life and blue water.

Here’s where I’ve been, and for how long:

     Brownsville Ship Channel; 1 day

     Laguna Madre; 2 days plus night dives

     Tyler State Park; 1 day

     Possum Kingdom; 4 days

     Comal River; 4 days plus night dives

     Canyon Lake; 3 days

     Blue Lagoon; 1 day

     Athens Scuba Park; 10 days plus night dives

     Clear Springs Scuba Park; 20 days plus night dives

Do you own any of your gear, or do you rent any parts?

I own all my gear except for a dry suit.

Do you rent from the same scuba shop, or different ones, and what shops are they?

I’m currently looking for a good close shop.

You’ve been to Trash Fest³ – how did you enjoy that?

I really like Trash Fest, the Comal River, and all the divers and clubs represented. It’s a well-organized and fun event.

Have you been to other cleanups or events, such as Hells Gate at Possum Kingdom, or others?

Yes, I have participated in the Hells Gate cleanup.

Do you have a memorable item you’ve discovered from the cleanups?

I guess the camera we found at the boat dock on Possum Kingdom. I still wonder if the memory card had any photos on it.

If someone wants to learn to dive, do you have any recommendations for the facility they go to (such as which scuba shop to get certified, and which lakes to do beginner’s dives)?

I would recommend the Dive Crew⁴ and their independent instructors. Clear Springs Scuba Park⁵ in Terrell is the closest and a very good facility.

And with Crew 1020, why, in your own words, is the Crew a good environment to learn to dive?

For a Venturer or Scout the Crew is a good safe and ideal group to learn and or gain diving experience. It is just that the current group is not that committed to diving. I feel the crew should plan dives once a month in the summer to different locations in the state.

Footnotes

[1] Venturing Crew 1020. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2011, from http://www.crew1020.org/crew1020/

[2] Open Water Scuba Instructor. (2011). PADI. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from http://www.padi.com/scuba/padi-courses/professional-courses/view-all-professional-courses/open-water-scuba-instructor/default.aspx

[3] Trash Fest. (n.d.). Texas Gulf Coast Council of Diving Clubs. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from http://www.tgccdiving.org/trashfest/index.html

[4] The Dive Crew. (n.d.). Welcome to The Dive Crew. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from http://www.thedivecrew.com/

[5] Clear Springs Scuba Park. (n.d.). Clear Springs Scuba Park. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from http://www.clearspringsscubapark.com/