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5808 Newcastle Dr, Houston, TX 77401

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Club Aquarius

Archaeologist Staci Willis, PhD to Speak At Social Club Meeting

Staci Willis, PhD Diving in Albania
Are you interested in unexplored shipwrecks lying hidden on the ocean’s bottom just waiting to be discovered?  This is Dr. Staci Willis’ passion and this past summer she and a team of investigators explored a portion of the coast of Albania looking for some potential excavation sites.  For more than six days she and her fellow researched dove on various sites from 15 meters to 24 meters (50 feet to 80 feet) in an area around Corfu Chanel.
Their investigatory dives were successful and they will be returning next summer to start an archaeological dig on one or two of the sites.
Dr. Staci Willis is currently a Professor of Anthropology at Houston Community College and the Co-Principal Investigator of the Albania Ancient Shipwreck Project. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a Ph.D. in Anthropology, specializing in Nautical Archaeology, in 2016. In addition to her most recent work in Albania, Dr. Willis has also participated in a number of other underwater excavations, including a 7th-century BC Phoenician shipwreck off the coast of Spain, a 1st-century wreck in a river of northern Italy, and and 1st-century wreck in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Staci will be discussing her work and these dives at the January 17, 2019 Club Aquarius Social Club meeting.
 
 

Member Special on Big Green Eggs

This month, one of our Club Aquarius sponsors, Sweetwater Pool & Patio,  has a fun special for the summer — Big Green Eggs!
This is your chance to own one of these fabulous ceramic cookers and prepare the juiciest ribs your family has ever tasted (ask Eric & Wade both owners of ceramic grills).  The smaller units are perfect for your Dive Around Texas Scuba Diving cookout or a cookout at the lake.  Remember, as Eric says, “Texas diving is a barbecue interrupted by diving.”  And as a special offer, if you go in and ask Shelia or Kim to ring your egg up, they will even throw in a free bag of smoking chips to get you started.  They also offer a full line of BGE accessories as well as other pool and spa accessories.  Go by and visit and see what you have been missing!
Here are some of the specials (while supplies last):

 

Getting started with Underwater Photography

Photo by Zaide Scheib
Everyone like to have photographs of their experiences, and from their vacations and travels.  Divers are no different.  The only issue is that taking photographs and videos underwater requires a little bit of pre-planning and some different equipment — well sort of.
There are a number of ways to get started from jumping in with your GoPro to using your mobile phone in a case to take photographs.  But, what is the best way?  That is a difficult question to answer,  It all depends on where you are in your land photography and where you want to go with your underwater photography.  What so I mean by that?  Let’s look at this further further.

IPhone Camera User

If your primary camera is your iPhone or Android phone even on vacation, then you will probably be happy starting with a simple underwater camera.  These allow you to shoot video or still photographs and download them to your computer.  Most of these cameras save files in a JPG format.  However, some of the new models have a RAW file feature too.  Not sure what these terms mean, check-out part 2 of this article about digital files and processing.  Let’s just say that the JPG files are what you are used to seeing in your iPhone which means they have some processing done during the save function.  Some examples of these camera are the SeaLife Micro 2.0 and a GoPro.  You could also put your phone in a housing and take it with you.  Kraken makes a new housing for phones.

IPhone and Point and Shoot Camera User

If you use both an iphone and anther camera during your trips, you are probably trying to get better images or different images that what you can get with your phone.  For you, the SeaLife Micro 2.0 or the SeaLife DC 2000 might be good options.  Both have basic functions but also expand to let you “tweek” your photos and your experience.

Eric Keibler in Yap by Joe Thompson

DSLR & Mirrorless Camera Users

Now this is a wide-ranging area of underwater photography.  You could stick with the simpler camera from above or you can expand to take your land camera underwater in a housing.  A lot of it depends on what you want to accomplish underwater and how much you are willing to invest.  The housings for your underwater camera can cost more than your initial camera investment and then there are the strobes…  So you could look at the SeaLife DC2000 or a housing from Nauticam or Aquatica.

How to get started

Our Club Aquarius meeting this month will be focusing on “How to get Started in Underwater Photography.”  We will be discussing how to meet your various goals and what equipment you might consider.  We will also be discussing some things you can do to improve your photographs once you start with a system.

Club Aquatrius Meeting:

  • Speaker:  Zaide Scheib and Eric Keibler
  • When:     22 February 2018, 7:00 PM
  • Where:   The Black Labrador, 4100 Montrose Blvd.  Houston, TX

Diver's Trivia Night – Club Aquarius January

Dive Mom’s fabulous Trivia Game returns with all new challenges for divers.  Come test your diving and travel knowledge for some great prizes including a $50.00 Gift card and t-shirts.  So pull your team together and try your luck!
We have also posted the Club Dates for 2018…

  • January 25, 2018
  • February 22, 2018
  • March 22, 2018
  • April 19, 2018
  • May 17. 2018
  • June 21, 2018
  • July 19, 2018
  • August 16, 2018
  • September 20, 2018
  • October 18, 2018 – The year’s best videos
  • November 15, 2018
  • December 8, 2018 Store Open House
  • December 13 – Photo Contest Winners

Keep watching for all of the speakers, for this year’s meeting!

Join us at the Black Labrador!
Come join us on Thursday, 25 January 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Black Labrador.  We will be up in Cezanne’s for this meeting!

Club Aquarius Social Club – What is All of the Hype about Sidemount diving for Recreational Divers?

Photo by Pete Nawrocky
Fresh from a week of diving in Fiji, Eric will be staying awake with tall tales and fun stories while helping you to understand why…

So What is All of the Hype About Sidemount Diving for Recreational Divers?

When he is not diving his rebreather, you will find Eric diving using a sidemount configuration, especially on recreational dives.  Come learn more about why he likes it and why you might like it too…
  • WHAT:         Club Aquarius Social Club
  • WHERE:       Black Labrador Pub, 4100 Montrose
  • WHEN:          7:00 PM
  • HOW:             By car, plane, boat, or on foot

Dinner Special:       Yes, there will be a dinner and an drink special too!

Club Aquarius Social Club – A Cuban Adventure, Diving in Castro's Garden

It is time for a new season for the Club Aquarius Social Club and to start things off with an explosion on Thursday 19 January 2017, we have the Geibel Clan presenting…

A Cuban Adventure, diving in Castro’s Garden

Eric & Holland Geibel were in Cuba last year and Holland captured some stunning images of the people, places and animals they met on their journey.  Come listen as they introduce you to diving in Cuba as they experienced it.
This will be a fun presentation for a group of committed divers who went to Cuba and came back with some fun and “typically Geibel” experiences.  The meeting specifics are:
Where:      The Black Labrador
When:        January 19, 2017, 7:00 PM
Specials:    Yes there will be some, just ask Cynthia when you arrive
Wide Angle Category Winner
Holland Geibel is a Houston based professional photographer and artist.  She grew up in Galveston and Oregon and as a Fine Arts major (with an emphasis on photography), she has always been an artist.  Her husband Eric, a Radiologist in Houston was a diver from a young age but it wasn’t until Holland arranged for her two children to dive that she became a diver.  It was inevitable that she introduced underwater photography into her diving. Since she began shooting, she has won the Oceanic Ventures Photography Contest with her images and took the best in show for two consecutive years.  Last year, she also opened a studio at the Silos on Sawyer in Houston so she had more room to paint and to sell her artwork.
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Testimonials

Oceanic Ventures is the best

I have been to many scuba stores in Houston and this one is by far the best. Most scuba stores...

Charles Franklin

5
2016-10-15T17:16:43-06:00

Charles Franklin

I have been to many scuba stores in Houston and this one is by far the best. Most scuba stores have a couple of salespersons who will show you one of the 40 types of fins and 10 types of regulators that they have in stock and immediately try to sell these to you. Most of these same stores really cater only to people just getting certified. Oceanic ventures has a very different business model. While they do have an inventory, it is not as large as other stores. The difference is that they really try to foster a dive community. It works. People come back again and again. Further, unlike many stores, they teach just about everything possible. If you want to teach your child how to snorkel, they teach that. If you want to learn how to dive 350 feet down on a rebreather using helium gas mixes and several additional scuba tanks, they teach that. They teach everything in between. Not many stores do that. Additionally, the staff is very knowledgeable about all the equipment they sell. You will never get an "I don't know about that" type of answer.
https://oceanicventures.com/testimonials/oceanic-ventures-best/

Oceanic Ventures is wonderful

They gave been wonderful all the way. My son started in Scuba Rangers and now we are both certified; thank...

Jean Janssen

5
2016-10-15T16:53:58-06:00

Jean Janssen

They gave been wonderful all the way. My son started in Scuba Rangers and now we are both certified; thank you for taking care of us!
https://oceanicventures.com/testimonials/oceanic-ventures-wonderful/

I loved it

I loved the course!

Stephanie Watowich

2016-10-15T16:56:22-06:00

Stephanie Watowich

I loved the course!
https://oceanicventures.com/testimonials/i-loved-it/

Oceanic Ventures is great with children

They are great with children!

Holland Geibel

5
2016-10-15T17:00:26-06:00

Holland Geibel

They are great with children!
https://oceanicventures.com/testimonials/oceanic-ventures-great-children/

Thank you for the memories

I will never forget diving with my teen aged son for the first time. Thank you for the memories.

Andrea Lebovitz

5
2016-10-15T17:02:59-06:00

Andrea Lebovitz

I will never forget diving with my teen aged son for the first time. Thank you for the memories.
https://oceanicventures.com/testimonials/thank-you-for-the-memories/
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Why People Choose Us

People choose their friends carefully just as they should choose their adventure partners and Scuba Diving Instructors.  Oceanic Ventures is the premier scuba dive shop in Houston, Texas, and the Southwest because of our exceptional service and our sense of adventure.  In talking with our clients and friends, people choose us for a number of reasons such as: Passion – We love what we do and we want to share the beauty and excitement of the underwater world with everyone we meet. Caring- Our clients tell us they love us because we truly care about people and strive to make their scuba diving experiences safe, fun and enjoyable. Professional – Our staff members are the … [Read more …]

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