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.

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!

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:

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

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 1

The Schooba Mentor program kicked off this past Tuesday, and both students and mentors began their training for the Naui Scuba Diver Certification.  Instruction for the course is being run by Ocean Horizons Scuba.  All classes will consist of a classroom and pool session.  Tuesday provided a basic introduction to scuba and its equipment, followed by a pool session covering basic swimming and skin diving skills and techniques.  Session 1 is in the books, so grab a slice at Schmooks, your crochet hooks, that Sharper Image alarm clock that made sounds of babbling brooks,  and have a looks!

John and Rolman, walking on the street.

Gideon, Juan, and Quincy, talking and walking at the same time.

Dierre and Quincy, about to walk into their first ever scuba class.

In the classroom, checking out the reading material.

Rolman and Juan, showing off their scuba stuff.

"No, Quincy, sleep is important. Please don't stay up all night reading your new scuba manual. Try and spread it out over a few days." - Me

Laser focus.

Sponge-like minds, in action.

Learning about diving cylinders.

The classroom

The crew, looking cool and fit, by the pool.

Now with their scuba instructor, Paul Bardo of Ocean Horizons Scuba.

The pool

Mask clearing.

Quincy and Dierre, about to learn some scuba skills.

Perfecting our kicks.

John and Rolman, finding it funny that they both had dreams about scuba diving the previous night.

Schooba Mentor program launches today!

The Schooba Mentor program pairs students from low-income communities with a totally awesome mentor to complete a full scuba certification course together.  The student simultaneously receives free, private tutoring on the science involved in scuba diving.

Starting today, three student-mentor pairs will begin their NAUI Scuba Diver (Open Water) course.  The training will be done by Ocean Horizons Scuba, and the open water dives will take place place off of Beach 8th/9th St. in Far Rockaway, Queens this summer.  I’ll be posting information on our newest Schoobents individually throughout the week, so stay posted to learn more!

…Oh, and how can you become a mentor!?  For now, email me (zach@schooba.org).

Pool session 3/13/11

On January 15, The Schooba Academy launched its pilot program.  On March 13, it went out with a bang.  For their last event of the course, the Schoobents got back in pool to test their wits at some underwater science!  (All underwater photos courtesy of Oceanblue Divers.  Thank you!)

The mile long walk from the L train ain't no thang for The Schooba Academy.

Again, we did our training at Waterside Plaza with Oceanblue Divers.

We took a short detour to bask in the sights, sounds, and smells of the glorious East River.

We got to the pool and began gearing up.

Lassana and Rodney gearing up.

Some more gearing up

The scene upon arrival.

Matt, taking in the Schooba scene.

There was a quick refresher course, and we were all set to go!

Big thanks to JW for coming down and helping out both in and out of the water.

"Hey Zach, can you help me out. Please hurry up because I want to go scuba diving so bad. Schooba rules." - Rolman

"Now that's more like it." - Rolman

Once underwater, some science was in order.

The classic Cartesian diver experiment, not so classic anymore.

"Yo, that's crazy. Let me see that! ...Science rules!" - Rolman

"What are you guys so excited about? Hold on, I don't want to miss any science. I'm coming over." - Lassana

"Hold your horses. I'm coming. This underwater world is new to me." - Lassana

"Ok, I made it. Now, let's see what all the fuss is about." - Lassana

"Oh, no way! Science underwater!! Now, that's cool. No, I won't give it back yet. Not until I experiment with it for a while." - Lassana

Lassana experimenting underwater.

We then turned our science experiment into a football and invented a new sport!  …All the while investigating the amazing properties of water.

Juan examining hydrodynamics.

Rolman doing exactly the same.

The pool was our playground inside of a classroom.  We scuba’d, we science’d, and we had a whole lot of fun.  A few more shots from the day:

Rodney surfacing after his first experience underwater. ... He didn't stay for very long.

Me chillin' with the dudes underwater.

Rolman cleaning up after his science experiment did not go as planned. (It's a balloon.)

Lassana, feeling right at home.

Group shot before our departure.

Big thanks to Oceanblue Divers and all who came down and helped out.  More to come soon, so stay with the tune!