Bringing Divers together in an atmosphere of friendship to experience Fun and Exciting Diving and to expand our Knowledge of the Underwater world of SCUBA.

 

Introduction: Of the new Reef Seekers Dive Club Leader...
 

 

Hello Fellow REEFSEEKERS,

 

My name is Drew Gold and I'm excited that I have been recently appointed as club President for Reefseekers for the upcoming year.  I am looking forward to a great year with lots of club activities!

A little about me...I am very passionate about scuba diving, and have been since becoming certified in 1992.  I grew up as a competitive swimmer, so diving was a very natural extension for me.  I simply love 
the feeling of being underwater...when people ask me, I tell them that it's about as close to heaven as you can get on this planet...it's also just about the only place other than outer space where you can 
feel truly weightless!  The sights and sounds (or lack thereof) combine for a truly blissful experience.  Shortly after becoming certified, I decided to begin a journey in the diving profession so 
that I can share my passion for the underwater world.  I did my Divemaster training while living up in NYC in 1995, and finally got around to doing the instructor course in 2002.  I am currently certified as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and simply love to teach diving.  I am also a volunteer at the Florida Aquarium.

I been lucky enough to have had the pleasure of diving in various spots around the world, including exotic locations like the Red Sea, Fiji, and the Philippines, as well as closer to home spots like many of the Caribbean Islands, California kelp forests, Florida, and the Outer Banks of NC among others.

 

As we move into the new year, I have set a few goals that I would like to achieve as the club’s new President. 

 

My first goal is to increase the social aspect of the club.  Diving is very much a social activity and we will begin to have social meetings every other month at different locations around the Brandon area.  These will be mostly social gatherings that will enable us to get to know each other better.  If anyone is curious about learning to dive, this will be a great opportunity to have more informal / casual discussions outside the shop with Divemasters, Instructors, and other divers.  We also have monthly “Try Scuba” sessions scheduled the first Saturday of each month for these members/potential members. November's Meeting will be held at the dive shop at 7pm and will feature a DAN presentation entitled "I May Be Bent.". 

 

My second goal will be for the club to become more active.  To that end, I am hoping to increase our local diving.  We are going to try and schedule multiple trips to places like Venice and the Peace River to go fossil hunting, and also do other local dives like the Sugar Barge and the Mexican Pride.  For those of you that have not been diving in some time, we will also have early season Scuba Review classes to get you wet again.  Other potential day or overnight trips include Vero Beach or the regular haunts in the Pompano / Fort Lauderdale areas.  Let us know what you’d like to do!  Always keep in mind that we’ve got some great fresh water resources for year-round diving for the heartier souls amongst us.

 

My last goal would be to increase club participation.  This is YOUR club.  If there is anywhere you would like to dive, any topics you would like to have discussed, etc, please let me know.  Ultimately this club is yours, not mine…I’m just here to help keep things organized.  Feel free to contact me with any comments / suggestions that you may have at drew@drewandtanya.com.  

 

As we begin to enter our warmer season of diving here in Tampa and the south Florida area, it is important, as always, to discuss diving safety.  Many divers, particularly those with more experience, will tend to ignore the initial onset of DCS symptoms, thinking “it can’t happen to me” and will end up delaying treatment.  It is vital that we can all recognize these symptoms and know how to react, so at our meeting in March, we’ll watch a short DAN video that covers the recognition of DCS symptoms.  This video addresses that situation as well as informs us in a way that DAN does so very well.

 

I look forward to getting to know all of you much better over the upcoming year and as I mentioned before, please drop me a line if you have any comments or suggestions regarding the club or any of its activities.

 

Bubble, bubble, bubble…

 

Drew

Why Join Reefseekers?

Club Benefits (click here)

 

When Do We Meet?
Reefseekers club meets the second Tuesday every month at Depth Perception Dive Center at 7:00PM in the Class Room or at a designated local eatery.  Please check our calendar for a specific month's location.

If You Have Questions...
Please call Jackie MacLean at Depth Perception (813) 689-3483 or email Jackie MacLean.

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