Far Rockaway Dives 9/30,10/1

Congrats to Juan for completing his NAUI Scuba Diver certification dives!  Once again, a super huge thanks to Ocean Horizons Scuba for being simply totally awesome!

Two beautiful days for diving.  Check it out, and you’ll check out a seahorse!!

A train to Far Rock

Checking the conditions

Guz, not afraid of anything

An unfortunate crab

Fishing in NYC

Wetsuitin' up

Me, Rolman, Paul, and Juan

Juan and Rolman being silly in the water

About to experience dive #1 for the weekend

Best friends ... aww!!

One GIGANTIC spider!!

One relatively decent sized fish.

Juan and me, just before dive #4

Actually, this is Juan and me just before dive #4

Juan and me, during dive #4

Juan, like a fish.

We found a bowling ball underwater. Gotta love NY.

Juan, showing us how it's done.

Juvenile Snowy Grouper

Hey everybody, look at me, I'm a starfish.

Butterfly fish, getting big!

Juan, with his souvenir.

More butterfly fish

Nice profile shot

Lizardfish

And the real prize of the day, a seahorse!!! Paul has been diving Beach 8th St. for over 30 years, and this is only the 3rd seahorse he's seen!

Awesome.

Workshops with RWA

The Rockaway Waterfront Alliance (RWA) is “a community-based non-profit organization that works to empower the local Rockaway community to play a role in the determination of their neighborhoods, and foster an understanding of the principals of environmental justice and urban sustainability.”  They run summer programs with different schools and students, and we’ve done a few workshops with them throughout the summer.  Some pics of our first one, courtesy of RWA:

Congrats to our first cohort of certified divers!

This past weekend, Rolman, Quincy, Gideon, and Dierre completed their open water dives to become Schooba’s first cohort of fully certified scuba divers! They all received their NAUI Scuba Diver Certification, and we owe a super huge thanks to Paul Bardo and Ocean Horizons Scuba for providing fantastic instruction for the course.  Here are some pics from the weekend’s dives at Beach 8th St., Far Rockaway, Queens, NY.

Water temp = 68 degrees Fahrenheit

Visibility = 5-15 feet

Max depth = 27 feet

Ocean Horizons Scuba, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Inside the shop, about to get fitted for our gear.

Rolman's first time putting on a wetsuit.

Quincy, lookin' sharp.

Rolman, checking out the compressor.

One 7th grade science teacher you do not want to mess with.

Last stop on the A train.

Beach 8th St.

The dive site.

Gearin' up.

Gideon and the Amazing Technicolor Swim Trunks

The dive briefing

Group shot before our first dive.

Waiting for the calm of slack tide.

Rolman, about to go under.

Quincy, about to go under.

Gideon and Dierre ... about to go under.

Group shot.

Single file

(The sound of bubbles.)

Gideon is OK.

Dierre is OK, too, and is - just for a moment - going to use the "thumbs up" to communicate how awesome it is.

Starfish, mussels

Crab

Fish

Sea Robin

Spot the flounders.

Rolman, having fun and not wanting to ascend.

Crab

Quincy, a fish in water.

Lobster

Gideon and Dierre, Mentors

Quincy and Rolman, soon to be 10th grade students at Lyons Community School, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Bring on the ocean!

7/5/11, the Schoobents had their final classroom and pool session for their Naui Scuba Diver certification.  As part of the course requirements, all students must pass a 60 question exam.  I am so proud to say that all of our students passed the test and are only 4 open water dives away from getting their C-cards!  Here are some pics and a video from the day.

Review session before the big test.

Taking the big test.

Mentors included.

Butterflies, as Paul determines the fate of the Schoobents.

100% pass rate!!

Suiting up before their last pool session.

Dierre, demonstrating how you remove and replace your weight belt.

Rolman, removing his scuba unit.

And replacing it.

And giving Paul the "OK".

Pairing up to practice our tired diver tows.

Gideon and Roman getting a free ride.

Quincy, testing his muscles.

With John measuring in at a towering 6 ft. 4.3675 in., Rolman's got his work cut out for him.

And check out this video of Juan staying cool and calm and nailing his mask removal and replacement while his snorkel continues to get in the way.  Killin’ it!

The Schooba Academy’s first hopefully annual fundraiser!

Thursday, 6/30/11, The Schooba Academy held their first hopefully annual fundraiser at Pub One in Dumbo, Brooklyn.  It was a truly great event, and I feel so tremendously lucky to have such an amazing network of people supporting Schooba.  We owe a huge thank you to all of the people that came out (seriously, ALL OF YOU!  Thank you so much.), to Gideon, Jesse,  and Amanda and Paige Management for their generous donations, and to the businesses that sponsored the event: Ascend Laboratories, Kyotofu, and Westwood Pool Company.  More thanks to Sam for handling the logistics, Steph for guest bartending, and of course Mom, Dad, Rob, Britt, Yosh, Adam, and Alyssa.  None of this would have been possible without you.

The good news is it isn’t over!  We’re giving away two final prizes via an online silent auction.  Click the link below to bid on a brand new K2 Morrow Radium Snowboard and a package of 6 microdermabrasion skin treatments from SLEEK MedSpa!  All bids must be placed by 8:00 PM, July 14, 2011.

The Schooba Academy – Online Silent Auction

And now some pics from the night!

Our official sign.

The support crew, in uniform.

Best cupcakes ever!! Thank you, Kyotofu!!

Making the trip from Connecticut!! ... Yes, that is a zooplankton ecologist on the left.

Manning the door ... womanning the door?

Setting up the movie theater. Thank you Joe and Pete!

Makin' money!

Adam, ensuring the bathrooms are up to Schooba standards.

Juan and Rolman, hanging out in matching shirts.

The vibe.

Win it here!

Schooba's NY Director of Things Related to Computers

"Would you like that Manhattan with bourbon, Canadian whiskey, or rye?"

Schooba Mentors, looking cool.

Every picture ever taken at any Schooba event on slideshow.

Let the raffle begin!

Pretty much the coolest prize ever.

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 4

Only 1 class to go until the open water dives and our first fully certified Schoobents!  Here are some pics and videos from their 4th session:

Getting serious in class.

Breeding healthy divers.

Answering one of Rolman's many awesome questions.

The first ever Schooba Academy water bottle! Super huge thanks to Rob V. for the gift.

The kids, trying to look cool ... Rolman not doing very good.

...And blowing it completely. ...Especially Rolman.

The totally awesome mentors.

Getting good at this whole scuba thing.

Out of air emergencies: Alternate air source ascents.

Lookin' good.

Listening to Instructor Jimmy, going over Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascents.

And then practicing them.

Quincy looking comfortable waiting for his turn to go.

And a short video of the Schoobents practicing their skills:

DLT Foundation grants $500 to Schooba!

The DLT Foundation provides funds to organizations and individuals that transform and affect the quality of the way people live.  A super huge thanks to them for supporting our Schooba Mentor program!

3rd attempt of me trying to take a picture of myself with the DLT check. ... Artistic or photographically impaired?

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 3

3/5 in the books.  Check it:

A classroom session to start, of course.

Boyle's Law? Yeah, we know that.

Getting ready to set up our gear.

Rolman, confident with the attachment of his regulator.

You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Scuba is all about the teamwork.

Gideon, with a nice Giant Stride Entry.

John, with some good buoyancy.

Rolman, demonstrating a killer fin pivot.

Lining up for an underwater lap.

Gideon, neutrally buoyant.

"What you doing?" "Oh, you know, just practicing my buoyancy."

Quincy: "Man, that was so fun. Hey Dierre, do you think it's possible to surgically implant gills behind my ears like Kevin Costner in Waterworld?" Dierre: "As a science teacher, I think I'm obligated to tell you no." Quincy: "Dang. Guess I'll just settle for scuba."

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 2

Pics from the second class of our certification course:

Quincy on the train, studying before class.

Quincy in class, learning about the Eustachian tube

Learning the science of scuba.

Instructor, Paul Bardo

Yes, there will be a test.

JB, looking cool in his swim cap.

You wanna dive? ... You can carry your own equipment.

Learning to assemble the equipment.

Rolman checking his equipment.

Juan and Quincy doing the same.

Quincy, about to take his first breaths on the SCUBA

Learning to trust our equipment. Notice we're not wearing any masks.

Breathing ... underwater ... with no masks.

Juan so comfortable and trusting he's dozing off.

And lastly, a random pic of a little surface swimming.

Meet the inaugural class for the Schooba Mentor program!

Tuesday, 5/31, The Schooba Academy launched its Schooba Mentor program.  In this, our newest program, three students from Lyons Community School have been paired with three totally awesome mentors to complete a full scuba certification course together.  The students are simultaneously receiving free, private tutoring on the science involved in scuba diving.  Have a look at some pics from their first session.

Follow the links below to learn more about the newest Schoobents and to help support them in their quest to Schooba!

Gideon & Juan

Dierre & Quincy

John & Rolman