Sunday started out the kind of day where all you really want to do is go back to bed. It was drizzling, cold, grey, and foggy. Okay, it doesn't matter; when you're diving you can't tell. But I guarantee your mood and 'chilly tolerance' will be mightily affected by all that grey drizzle. Too bad! Drag yourself out, load the car and Voila!

The Sun Shone. It Shined. It shimmered. It got downright HOT! By the time our group of 9 divers got in the drink, life was all better. Visibility with the sun out stretched out to a dramatic 75 feet. I didn't go in as I'm still nursing a wounded shin. But even from shore, I could see the bottom at 15 feet below - At Puhi Bay, that is unusual. Shawn led the main group with Carlos bringing up the rear guard. Shane assisted two enthusiastic but relatively new divers as they followed the main group.

I'll tell you the end of the story first: They all emerged from the water 40minutes later with smiles on their faces. Boy, that's Golden. Literally. And, that really is the point. Now, you can view that from two entirely different perspectives. And, both are right, and both mean the exact same thing. This is one point I learned in SCUBA Instructor's school; divers want to dive. And, they are prepared and willing to pay for it. Really! Think about it for a minute. You paid for your certification, you paid for all your gear, and you pay for every tank you breathe while underwater. You're willing to pay for AIR! Air is more free than water and yet we're happy to pay for it and the privilege to blow it away underwater. You can't dive if you're not willing to pay for it (even as little as you possibly can).

Dive shops understand that and are in business to give you what you want; the resources you need in order to dive. Divers are thrilled that there is a SCUBA shop nearby so they can access the resources they need to dive. See, both perspectives have the same goal. A dive shop is in business because you need them to be there. It's really that simple. The proof? Well, Monday, some of the divers from Sunday loved it so much, they went back to one of the dive stores and rented more equipment, more air, and ran off to do another dive.

I've lived in places where the nearest dive shop was nearly 2 hours drive away. Man, I hated that! Can you imagine burning up that much gas for a single tank of air? I did it all the time - I only had one tank, and I had to get it filled. I didn't like it, per say, but you do what you gotta' do, right?

Here, then, is a plug for local dive shops. Attention Divers! Support your local shops. Yes, it'll cost you a bit more than the online retailers, but, BUT, just wait until the local shop closes down and see if the online guys will fill your tanks with air - NOT - see if the online guys will loan you their regulator while yours is out on warranty repair - NOT - see if they'll even provide repair after the warranty is out with only a day or two to complete the repair - NOT - ask the online shop where the best dive site is in your area and draw you a map - NOT - ask them to take your depth gauge out on a dive 'cause you think it's off and you want it checked - NOT!  I've had my local dive shop do every one of those things for me. I give them my business, and they are there when I need them (which is pretty often as it turns out.)

Saving a few bucks now, will cost you far more than you can even begin to guess-timate down the road when the local guy is out of business. No BigBox store or online outlet will ever provide you with the service, experience, and support that the local guy can.

In short, let's go diving and let's not forget who fills our air. In fact, give 'em a big hug next time they fill your tank. Maybe not...