Diving Industry Mourns the Loss of Two Leaders

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Milt Beard and Harvey Schmiedeke.

Milt Beard passed quietly on December 17, 2008 after a long battle with cancer. Many people will remember Milt for all his hard work on Project Yukon. He was responsible for cutting virtually all the holes in Yukon with a gas torch. Milt was a long time member of the San Diego Dive Club, being the Club’s official “Keltographer”. Project Yukon leader Dick Long donated the Yukon name that Milt cut from the vessel’s hull, to his memorial.

Then, on January 2, 2009, Harvey Schmiedeke passed away. Harvey was one of the original incorporators of California Ships to Reefs and served as Senior Vice President and Board Member from November 2006 through November 2008. He was Founder and Past President, as well as Vice President of Sunken Treasures Society of Los Angeles, one of CSTR’s original sink groups. Harvey was also a Certified Management Consultant, President and Founder of Survival Strategies of Burbank. He was an avid diver and shared his video of dive sites all over the world. Harvey said his “secret ingredient” was his faith, Scientology.

Intova Nova Wide Angle LED Dive Light

Just before the new year, David Fricks discovered a new dive light after diving Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach.

The Intova Nova Wide Angle LED Torch puts out 130 lumens with a focused 4.7 watt LED. It’s smaller then my Halcyon, puts out more light and burns longer. The magnetic switch and double o-ring battery compartment means it is almost impossible to flood. With traditional lights like the Halcyon Scout you have to twist the head to turn on the light. This puts stress on the o-rings and can damage the seal if sand has made its way into contact with the o-ring. Traditional lights also have a tendancy to turn on accidentally on decent if not twisted far enough in the off position. This is because the water pressure presses the head down against the housing. With the magnetic switch on the Intova Nova there’s no opening so there’s no chance of a leak. The only time you have to service the o-rings on the Nova light is when you change the batteries. The only down side I see is that the 3volt batteries required for the Nova light are a bit more expensie than traditional C cells, but I think you will agree its worth the extra money for the extra output. To see the light for yourself visit Intova.net.

David had never heard of Intova, and to be honest, neither had we.

Have any of you used this -- or another -- light from Intova? Wondering your thoughts on this company and/or piece of gear.

Neutral Dive Gear Photo Shoot: Malibu, California

Over the weekend, Neutral Dive Gear headed over to Malibu -- with Neutral Dive Girls Priscilla and Jennifer -- for a quick photo shoot displaying our new scuba diving zipper hooded sweatshirts.

Here are just a couple raw photos from the shoot.

Get the look: guys | gals

Get the look: guys | gals

Get the look: guys | gals

Get the look: guys | gals

Get the look: guys | gals

Get the look: guys | gals

Get the look: guys | gals

Get the look: guys | gals

Happy New Year from Neutral Dive Gear!

Welcome to 2009!

From Wikipedia:

1 January: The first official day of the year in the Gregorian calendar used by most countries. Eight of the twelve biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches which have adopted the Revised Julian calendar - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Poland, Romania, Syria and Turkey - also celebrate 1 January as the New Year.

Be safe out there, folks.