Letter From the Editor
You know what they say?
They say a lot of things.
They say the only non-negotiable things in life are death and taxes; but, Al Capone might try.
They say you can tell which way is “north” by which side of a tree moss grows on; but, that doesn’t help you much in downtown Los Angeles.
They say that a broken clock is right twice a day; but, what if it’s on a plane that flies over the international dateline?
They say two wrongs don’t make a right; but, three right’s make a left.
They also say that the length of any given “Letter From the Editor” is inversely proportional to how busy said editor is; but, they didn’t account for the editor having weird and unpredictable bouts of manic energy.
Thankfully for everyone (myself included), I am not in one of those manic bursts, and the shop has been incredibly busy. That means, this part is short.
You’re welcome. And thank you.
I mean that literally. We are proud of what our community is, and we are grateful to be a part of it. None of this works without you. Yep, you. I am speaking specifically to you, the human with eyeballs reading this Idiot’s Screed.
Even when it’s cold, even when it’s busy, even when friends and family come and go…. we are immensely grateful to everyone for keeping the lights (and heat) on, a working reg in our mouth, and a buddy to go diving with.
The world is not getting calmer, and that’s fine. We’re not trying to change the world here. We just want to say “thanks” and “Good Lord, how is it still this cold? Seriously, how?”
Love you all.
Just. Go. Diving.
(They also say “Hey Luke, thank you for the photo of me whipping around driving a DPV with mah toes. Been trying to get one of those for years.”)
Tee’s & Sea’s
(Table of Contents, get it?)
- Halcyon Daze: An Evening w/ Orie Braun of Halcyon Dive Systems (Thursday, March 19th, 6:00 PM)
- Symbios Symposium: For Those Who Knows
- Spring Training (If Can You Even Call This “Spring”)
- Summer Loving: Summer Southcentral Trips, Starting Now
- Heli-SZN Summer Slam: It’s A-Coming
- The Dive Alaska Monthly Mixer & Just. Go. Diving. Club
Halcyon Daze: An Evening w/ Orie Braun of Halcyon Dive Systems
Dive Alaska is very excited to host Orie Braun, of Halcyon Dive Systems at 6:00 PM, Thursday, March 19th, for a discussion on all the things that you need to know.
All. Of. Them.
Food will be had. Dive gear innovation will be discussed.
Orie will be presenting on developments, research, and production from one of the world’s premier dive gear manufacturers.
Topics of conversation will include: the new Halcyon Symbios CCR, the ever-expanding Symbios product line, encompassing all the essentials of diving, such as lights, fins, masks, wings, and maybe even some products that are still in the research and development phase.
Orie is the COO of Halcyon, one of the oldest friends of Dive Alaska in it’s current era, a member of a number of exploration projects, including the Alaskan Karst Unified Exploration Project (AKUEP), is an active technical and cave diving instructor trainer, and is overall a cool dude with cool things to say.
He’s a lot of other stuff, but that’s a good start.
Come hear him say ’em. And have some hot food while you’re at it.
Or come and heckle him. We’re not picky.
Just b u there.
Because we love you all.
Let’s. Go. Diving.
In this instance, with Orie Braun, of Halcyon Dive Systems, at 6:00 PM, Thursday, March 19th.
At Dive Alaska.
Rick Flair’s voice: *Woo!*
Symbios Symposium: For Those Who Knows
This one is a bit more specific, and aimed at a niche.
While Orie is in Alaska, he will be conducting an introduction workshop to the new and innovative Halcyon Symbios CCR.
This will take place on Wednesday, March 18th, and pre-registration is required. Those interested should either be: a) already CCR-certified, b) technical trained on OC and active, or c) present a case for why you’re a good candidate, if one of the other two prerequisites aren’t met.
For those interested, if you haven’t already received an email, please reach out directly to [email protected] for information.
Spring Training (If Can You Even Call This “Spring”)
We would call this “spring training”, but there is nothing “spring-ish” about the weather right now.
And we don’t care. And you don’t either.
Because u r rad.
This here’s a non-exhaustive list of the classes that Dive Alaska will be running in the next few weeks. The dates are a range; these aren’t full days.
Unless you want ’em to be.
While all our classes are great (obviously, and no follow-up questions), this an exceptional time of year for certain classes, such as the upcoming Freediver course on March 18th, or the Doubles Diver class on March 26th. Water clarity is great, boat traffic is minimal, and the weather, while brisk, has been largely predictable.
Get u sum Sea! And spring training.
- PADI Rescue Diver: Wednesday, March 11th – Sunday, March 15th
- Wed – Fri (evenings) / Sat – Sun (morning-afternoon)
- PADI Freediver: Wednesday, March18th – Sunday, March 23rd
- Wed – Friday (evenings) / Sat – Sun (morning-afternoon)
- PADI Open Water Referral: Wednesday, March 18th – Sunday, March 22nd
- PADI Open Water & Drysuit: Wednesday, March 18th – Sunday, March 29th
- PADI Drysuit: Thursday, March 26th – Sunday, March 29th
- Thu – Fri (evenings) / Sun (morning-afternoon)
- PADI Advanced Open Water: Saturday, March 28th – Sunday, March 29th
- PADI Doubles Diver: Thursday, March 26th – Sunday, March 29th
- DAK Maya Birthday Diver: Wednesday, April 1st
- PADI Freediver: Wednesday, April 8th – Sunday, April 5th
- Wed – Friday (evenings) / Sat – Sun (morning-afternoon)
- PADI Open Water Referral: Wednesday, April 8th – Sunday, April 12th
- PADI Open Water & Drysuit: Wednesday, April 8th – Sunday, April 19th
- PADI Drysuit: Thursday, April 16th – Sunday, April 19th
- Thu – Fri (evenings) / Sun (morning-afternoon)
Want to know more, or don’t see a class? Just ask! We’re flexible. Or we’re not. But you don’t know if you don’t ask!
Weeeeeee!
Summer Loving, Summer School, Summer Vacation
It’s all right there in the title. Below are a handful of courses and trips that are a few months out, for those amongst you who want to plan in advance.
Summer can’t come soon enough (it is so freaking cold, at time of writing), and we are here for it.
It’s all so trippy, maaaaan. Here’s a couple of the shop trips in SC Alaska we’re running this summer. The Fox Island trips are obviously uncapped. We don’t own that island. We don’t own Kayaker’s Cove either, but there is a limit on space for those, so spots are first-come, first-serve.
- Fox Island Overnighter: Saturday, June 20th – Sunday, June 21st
- Kayaker’s Cove Weekend: Friday, July 24th – Sunday, July 26th
- Fox Island Overnighter: Saturday, August 1st – Sunday, August 2nd
- Kayaker’s Cove Weekend: Friday, August 14th – Sunday, August 16th
It’s Summer School! Here’s a handful of classes in the middle-distance, if you’re looking to make some summer plans.
- PADI Freediver: Wednesday, May 20th – Sunday, May 24th
- Advanced Open Water: Saturday, May 23rd – Sunday, May 24th
- Emergency First Response: Monday, June 1st
- Emergency Oxygen Provider: Monday, June 1st
- Rescue Diver: Wednesday, June 3rd – Sunday, June 7th
- Nitrox (Enriched Air): Monday, June 8th
- PADI Freediver: Wednesday, June 17th – Sunday, June 21st
- Wreck Diver: Saturday, June 20th – Sunday, June 21st
- Advanced Open Water: Saturday, June 27th – Sunday, June 28th
Heli-SZN Summer Slam: It’s A-Coming
It’s Heli-SZN, Fellas!
Obviously, we are using “fellas” in a strictly gender-neutral sense, because the Sea and the Sky are for all of human kind.
Biologists and aviation experts may say “Akshually, humans are not equipped to do either of those things without significant amounts of technology.”
Well, we would politely respond, “Shut up, nerd! Sky Bird, take us to the Big Blue Beyond!”
If you can’t tell, we really enjoy getting to do this.
The 2026 season for helicopter ice diving (freediving or scuba) is open now. This is in partnership with our good friends at Sheep Mountain Lodge, and Sheep Mountain Air, and more information on diving in a glacier can be found on our website.
For those who aren’t keen on jumping into a sapphire-blue, glacial moulin… c’mon, seriously? Do you know how few people have ever done that?
That said, Sheep Mountain Air provides the absolute premier flight-seeing experience in SC Alaska, regardless of diving. Sheep Mountain Lodge is also a wonderful place within driving distance of Anchorage to take visitors, guests, or maybe even straight-up elope.
Not actually kidding about that last one; check their website.
We cannot recommend them enough, as if trusting them to fly us around isn’t enough of an endorsement.
“Oh, hi Mark!”
The Dive Alaska Monthly Mixer
For those who don’t know… on the last Thursday of every month, Dive Alaska hosts a “Monthly Mixer”.
Divers and non-divers alike are welcome, as are pets, friends, family, whoever. Food and drinks are provided, and contributions to the communal eats are always appreciated.
This is a very (sometimes exceedingly) informal opportunity to hang out with friends, make new dive buddies and plan, unwind after a long week, talk diving, chat about whatever, with whoever, and overall, just relax amongst like-minded company.
All are welcome, and we always love to see you there.
The Alaska “Just Go Diving Club”
If you’re on Facebook, and you’re an active local diver who always looking for a dive buddy, check out The Alaska “Just Go Diving” Club. It’s a space reserved purely for helping local Alaskan divers find dive buddies, and that purpose only.
This is group is explicitly not affiliated with any dive shop, instructor, or agenda. The sole purpose of The Alaska “Just Go Diving” Club to just go diving.