I was wondering about all the hype concerning aquarena: you pay them a bunch of cash for them to train you to work their pool, and then you're allowed in under the condition that you'll be working the whole time? Doesn't exactly sound like fun to me, especially the pay-to-work part. If it were free, but they asked you to do a few things as part of your dive in exchange for admission, it seems they wouldn't have any problem getting divers, given the excellent conditions of their pool.
On tomorrows dive, I get to
try to navigate between ten dive sites close to an 1/8 of a mile apart while most of the time I can only see 10'-20' in front of me. Some of the spots I have to hit are the size of a coffin. For me that's a challenge. Back in April, I hit 70% spot on. That was a good dive. Tough to find a mono filament line underwater.
Its a minor miracle that they allow divers at in the lake. Critical habitat for six or seven endangered species and a host of regulations that go along with it. Most of the "training" consists of making divers aware of the "sensitive" nature of the site. The "real" training comes when you dive with experienced divers who show you little things like how to navigate the lake, where to look for critters and how to clean areas without screwing them up.
Here's the way I look at it. The course runs around $225 and certification is good for life. If I dive at Windy Point, Richard and company are going to hit me up for $15. I like to dive once a week, so based on a 50 dive year, I save $525 a year. BTW, I can drink the water coming out of Deep Hole. In addition, if I don't see a 5lb bass on a dive, it is a very bad day. The fish literally follow you like puppy dogs. On a very good day, you have a chance to see soft shell turtles, snapping turtles, and fresh water eels.
Before you start working, there aren't many Texas open water dive sites that have the clarity to practice great photography. I already mentioned how clean the water is coming out of Deep Hole. There is another benefit to this spring fed lake. The specific gravity and temperature of the water is an exact match for many of the great cenotes in Mexico. Not a bad place to practice before heading south. I have never heard of a dive request for the Training Area to practice skills being denied.
If you dive a lot, you save money. You get to see more fish on a single dive in Spring Lake than you will see in a years worth of diving someplace like Lake Travis. You can hone your photographic skills in water that is equivalent to most Caribbean destinations. Finally, you get to practice your buoyancy, trim and going slow in the exact conditions you will find in Mexican cenotes. In all of my dive condition reports, the temp is "same". I dive in 72 degree water 365 days a year.
On a final note, last July the annual population survey was conducted for the endangered species. It showed that the number surveyed were down by 50% from the previous year. The population might have found places to hide or the survey represents a true decline. All I know is that the change in attitude from the nondiving staff at AC is a complete 180. Right now, we are rock stars and they truly appreciated for our work.
That is what all the hype is about. Just my opinion and when I took the DFS class it was $75.
