News
Scuba University: going back to school with SSI
I was offered the opportunity to attend Scuba University (or Scuba U for short) at the weekend. What is this all about, I hear you ask? Well, it is a 3 day course that the CEO of SSI, Doug McNeese, offers to dive shop owners to help them improve their business. Doug is an inspirational speaker who has been helping business owners for more than 20 years, by passing on his own advice that has been collected over the last 40 years of being in the scuba industry and owning his own dive centres in the USA. Think of him as the Mary Portas of dive centres!
This event, and the 2 previous Scuba University events, have been organised by the Mares/SSI UK team and have been offered to dive centre owners and their staff, with the ambition of boosting their customer acquisition, training and shop sales and also to keep existing divers active within the sport. This is a key part of the SSI philosophy to offer a business partnership rather than just a training agency. On my course, we had one dive shop owner taking the course for a second time in 4 months, this time bringing along 2 additional staff members, as the results he is seeing in his shop are so good, they are a real testament to this training course.
Whilst I do not own a dive centre, I thought that there must be information that was going to be relevant to my underwater photography business and so went along eager to learn some tips and tricks to boost my sales and business. The course is a full on 3 days, which for my course was held over Friday to Sunday (9-5pm) in a hotel conference room in the North-West. The Mares team also ensured that the social side of the course was provided for, so that people could talk through the topics of each day with Doug and the rest of those attending over dinner each evening.
Each day, we would work through the course material Doug has clearly worked hard to perfect over the years. There were some real “light bulb” moments for me, where an idea might be so obvious once you are told about it, but you see that this will really change the way you will do business in the future and can see immediately how it will improve both yours and your customer’s experience. Whilst I cannot give away the course material here, I can tell you that Doug is much more generous and sends you away at the end of the course with a thumb drive with business plan documents, all the information from the course, further reading ideas and everything you need to go away and implement your new plan. Even though the course is completely focused on dive centre owners, I came away with loads of ideas and new systems to put into place, and I was armed with existing spreadsheets and documents to make it easy to get started right away.
The next Scuba University courses will not be until 2016, but I can only advise those of you reading this who have a dive business to try to book a place. Doug will be coming back over in the summer to visit the dive centres that have taken part to see the changes taking place and to give further advice. Over the last 20 years of teaching this course, he has seen 17-38% increases in dive centre profits for those that have taken the course and, more importantly, implemented Doug’s advice and ideas. This course is a game changer.
One of my co-attendees, Shereen, had this to say:
“As the Manager of a PADI 5* IDC, I was initially quite sceptical about how much I would actually gain from attending Scuba U; a 3 day event hosted by SSI and Mares. However, I am very glad I attended with an open mind. The content was informative and professionally delivered. The sessions provided a fresh view of dive centre operation, making delegates really consider and evaluate what is actually important in running a successful Dive Centre. I am glad I attended and have taken a lot of good ideas away with me.”
At the very end of the course, we got an interactive demonstration of the SSI app, and this has re-ignited my enthusiasm to log my dives, with the ability to add photos of the site and buddy and create a permanent dive log in the cloud! Check out the app for yourself at www.divessi.com/app.
For further information contact:
SSI United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0) 20 – 3287 3988
eMail: gbr@divessi.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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