| Only DEMA - The Dive Equipment and Manufacturing Association trade show - is big enough to warrant having a ship sunk in its honour. The Fall 03 DEMA trade show was held in Miami Beach, Florida and attracted over 15,000 people -- 6,537 of whom were exhibitors.
Befitting south Florida's role as America's dive centre, the Florida DEMA had everything including new "gee whiz" gear, new travel destinations and the creation, albeit late, of a new Miami dive site!  "The DEMA Trader became an artificial reef on Tuesday, October 28th. - a couple of weeks after the show," explained Ken English, head of DEMA's Miami Host Committee. "We had planned to sink her during the convention, but encountered some last minute problems." The ship, an abandoned steel trawler, was towed out to sea and sunk within sight of Miami Beach. Within minutes of her sinking, divers had already visited the wreck of the DEMA Trader! |
Back at the Miami Beach Convention Centre divers walked over eight miles of aisle looking  at new equipment, checking out travel destinations and taking part in a non-stop cavalcade of seminars, briefings and multi-media sales presentations.
Although the show drew a record number of visitors and exhibitors, not everyone was pleased with this year's DEMA. "Too much travel and not enough new gear for my liking," said one American attendee. Manufacturers of scuba and camera gear tended to agree and there is talk that DEMA may in the future hold two annual shows - one for gear and the other for dive travel. So what was new at the show? What follows, in no particular order are some of the things that caught the attention of Diver Magazine.
* Recognizing that adolescents are now being certified, Akona Adventure gear is now selling both 2.5 mm shorty and full wet suits in child sizes. |
* Tech divers, the boredom of long decompression stops is over! Dive Entertainment Systems Inc of San Diego California is bringing its Aqua Audio to a dive shop near you. Aqua  Audio is a digital system that lets divers listen to up to 4 hours of music underwater at depths down to 200 feet. The unit plays MP3 files and allows the direct recording of music and audio without the need for a computer. "It is not just for music," explained President Randy Polany. "You can listen to course information while you dive, or, a description of a shipwreck you are about to explore. I talked to one cave diver at DEMA who wants to use it to learn Spanish while he takes his deco stops!" |
 * Vancouver Island artist Jeff King claims that he began painting whales, dolphins and toads after a voice spoke to him about art. He listened to the advice from that voice from the beyond and now his wacky painted vision of the diver's world is the basis for a new line of greeting cards. Keene Kards, a Victoria BC company is now busy selling King's work to dive shops across North America.
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| * Bombardier, the makers of Sea Doos and Evinrude Motors, used DEMA to enter the dive market with its Sea Doo SeaScooter. SeaScooter is a micro mini battery powered personal water propeller (a chopped down underwater scooter). According to Sea Doo its SeaScooter is "the lightest and most efficent water propeller in the world." The Seascooter can run at a speed of up to 2 mph at a depth of up to 65 ft. It is powered by a battery that lasts up to one hour and can be recharged overnight.
* Can't wait to get back in the boat before filling out your logbook? That's okay because a Utah company has invented a waterproof logbook that won't fall apart if it gets wet. Water Logged Products will soon be available in Canada. * There are so many seaside communities wanting to create artificial reefs there is now a dearth of suitable ships to sink. These days whenever the US navy decides to decommission a warship there is a line-up of cities * The eyes have it! Hydro Optix of Culver City, California have come up with a wrap-around mask designed to conquer mask tunnel vision. Resembling a down-hill ski mask, the new Hydro Optix product gives divers a 180 degree unmagnified field of vision compared to 71 magnified degrees supplied by most traditional flat masks. |
 * Scuba Schools International (SSI) has a plan to create the next generation of divers. SSI has introduced Scuba Rangers - a "way cool club for kids". The mission of Scuba Rangers is to involve children in scuba diving so they can experience the excitement of underwater exploration. The certification agency wants to set up Scuba Ranger clubs in all communities where there are divers!
* Speaking of the SSI, its long-time president Ed Christini will retire at the end of this year. SSI used DEMA to introduce its new management team. The new team consists of Gary Clark, president; Doug McNeese, vice-president; and Linda Clark, vice-president. Bob Clark, who founded SSI in 1970, will remain as the training agency's CEO. |
 * Chances are if you dove in Truk Lagoon in the 70s or 80s you might have met dive guide Kimiuo Aisek. The late Mr. Aisek witnessed the sinking of the Japanese fleet stationed in Truk in World War 2. After becoming a master diver Kimiuo used his knowledge of the battle to take visitors to see the warships that litter the bottom of the lagoon. Dr. Dianne Strong has written a book about Mr. Aisek and was at DEMA taking orders for the soon to be published biography. Witness to War will include a foreword by Canadian filmmaker James Cameron. |
 * The name says it all! Fishspearit, Inc of Bell Florida has invented Foldspear. Foldspear is a revolutionary new pole spear that allows hands-free diving and snorkeling. Made of single piece of anodized aluminum and stainless steel it folds up into a small package and hangs from your BC and when needed (when dinner swims by) it quickly snaps into a full-length spear. |
| * US based Manta Industries used DEMA to unveil the release of their newest underwater reel, the CR-1. "This revolutionary reel has been specifically designed to meet the unique ergonomic requirements of cave divers," said company officials. The unit has a "Goodman" style ambidextrous handle, which enables the diver to control line deployment and retrieval.
* Dominica announced at DEMA that it has hired Izzy Madisetti, a marine biologist, to manage the Caribbean island's new underwater marine park. The government is moving to protect * The Shallow Water Scuba Products Company is now promoting its Mini-B Shallow Water Products to consumers of all ages. The new Mini-B Sport breathing system is uniquely designed for shallow water diving to a maximum depth of 30 feet for about half an hour. Compact, lightweight and easy to use, they can be learned in less than a day's training. According to the company, the Mini-B can be used by children as young as 10. The product was developed in the UK three years ago; DEMA was the first time it was given mass-market exposure in the United States. |
 * Nitrox one day, compressed air the next. It doesn't matter with the Sunnto Gekko. The wrist computer can be used with both air and nitrox and can store up to 50 hours of dive profiles and keeps track of up to 999 dives! Both ascent rate and bottom time are displayed graphically with clear colour-coded indicators and it has visual and audible alarms when a diver approaches deco limits.
* Tusa's RS-350 regulator now comes with an active carbon filter built into the second stage. The filter absorbs smells and eliminates particles as small as 10 microns (think really small) from the air. Tusa says that with its regulator a diver breathes the "cleanest and purest air". * 'Saekodive has developed a new semi-dry snorkel that delivers maximum air to users. What makes their 1057 Snorkel different from other snorkels is at the vent. It has a plastic hood, which funnels air into the snorkel and directs water out. The high tech snorkel comes in seven colours including shocking pink! |
competing for the rights to scuttle the ship. Dive shops in the Miami Beach area were at DEMA drumming up support for their bid to get the USS Oriskany. The Oriskany is an aircraft carrier and if Dive Miami gets it way, it will become the largest artificial reef in the world.
a series of reefs along its West Coast. A recompression chamber is being purchased with funding from the European Union. As well, dive and boat mooring buoys are now in place and visitors will soon need to get diver tags before diving in the park region.