Descend Downunder

Merry Christmas from Charlie Mackenzie

 

A Fishy Wishy 

Christmas to All...

Have a safe festive season and wonderful new year!

From all the team at Descend

 

Course Congratulations..

Congratulations to the following who completed their Nitrox course on 21st November… Glenda Fisher, Kylie Clarkson, Chris Lethbridge, Lloyd Mildren, Iain Robertson and Amy Alexander.

Current Courses..

Our cave diving course is underway with a group heading over to Mount Gambier with Des and Rick next weekend to complete their practical dives.

We also have an open water course heading down to Queenscliff next weekend with Kirk and Scott to do their open water dives!

Open Water Courses..

Next Open Water course commences 7th January -Full time format - great holiday fun for the whole family!

Once school is back there is also a part time course starting 5th February - If you have friends and family interested let them know to contact us here at Descend on 60411405.

Christmas Opening Hours..

See below for our opening hours over the festive season… Oh and don’t forget that if you’re stuck for Chrissy ideas we also do gift vouchers.

Friday 21st - 8:30 –5:00

Christmas Packages..

We have some fantastic camera and scuba packages this month for Christmas, these make a great present for someone or else a nice little treat for yourself! See the three attachments for further information...

New Arrivals..

Lilly Ann Macaulay

Congratulations to Ashley and Bec Macaulay on the safe arrival of their new little girl Lilly Ann who arrived on the 24^th November weighing 7lbs 12oz. Wishing you both all the best for your new addition to the family. 

Bicheno - Easter 2008 - 21st - 24th March

Join us for our club weekend to Bicheno over the Easter long weekend next year. Crayfish, scallops, kelp beds and amazing soft corals.

Package includes:

4 x nights accommodation

2 x Double boat dives - includes cylinder and air

Unlimited shore dives  - includes cylinder and air

Return bus transfers Launceston to Bicheno

Must organise own flights to Launceston

Price to be confirmed. Register your interest now!!

Truk Lagoon 2008..

This is not a trip to be missed! Next year we are heading to the amazing destination of Truk Lagoon, Micronesia. Departing 4th August with an optional extension of a few days diving in Guam. For further details please see attached flyer.

Hurry only a few places remaining!!

NEWS FLASH...

Australia Day Long Weekend - 26th - 28th January

We are planning to head down to Port Phillip Bay over the Australia Day weekend, at this stage the price is to be confirmed. If this trip appeals to you register your interest now! Stay posted for further details. 

Ground breaking news…. From Des

Change is inevitable but it doesn’t always have to be bad and it usually represents opportunity. As a staunch Liberal voter I was initially devastated at the massive swing to Labour that unseated the Government in last weekend’s elections. Will this be the end of life as we know it? The answer is of course no it will not be the end. The Rudd Government will be keen to continue to win voters so they get in again at the next election so I am guessing they will become more liberal, and with a heap of fresh ideas, there is a very good chance our country will continue to prosper.

Closer to home, there have also been massive changes at Descend. Yes we have painted the building (swish isn’t it) but the major change is that I have sold the business to Kirk Savage. Shock, horror, will this be the end of life as we know it? Again the answer; no it will not. I am privy to some of Kirks’ new and exciting plans and I think we are in for some great times and expansion of the business, but I will let Kirk tell you about them as they come to hand.

For the moment I want to reflect on the past. I find it hard to believe that I have been diving for 42 years and running Descend for almost 30. In that time we have gone from a very modest part time operation to win “Best Micro Business in Australia” in the Commonwealth Government Telstra Business awards in 2003. We have also grown from one, very enthusiastic, part time employee to five full time staff, the equivalent of two more full time casual staff, and a turn over of over one million dollars. We attract major numbers of international students and we have completed commercial diving contracts that others said could not be done. We are the only trainers in Australia to provide hyperbaric training for tunnel boring machines and we have just won our fifth tunnelling project, which will be in Melbourne, and we are currently negotiating another deep, mixed gas tunnel, in Hong Kong. In January of this year we completed the first ADAS international commercial diver training programme for non English speaking divers in Turkey and we have the possibility of another one in April 2008. We wrote most of the ADAS texts and our risk assessment is now compulsory for all ADAS training schools. Not bad for a boy from the bush that they said would not last more than twelve months in a dive shop four hundred kilometres from the coast.

Of course it has not been a one man band and I have been lucky to be supported firstly by Val, who has stood by me during all of my hair brained schemes and Kristy who has been with Descend for over thirteen years and who for the last few years has almost single headedly run the retail operation. Scott has always been my sounding board and back up and full time staff Andrew, Rick, Kirk and of course all of my part time instructors and Divecons. It would also be remiss not to mention the huge amount of help I received from Alistair MacDonald in the early days and of course Stan Bugg who not only taught me to be an instructor, and to cave dive, but has been a good mate, supporter and dive buddy for over thirty years. Geoff Reed is always there for me and we share a passion for classic diving equipment. We have shared many little adventures and I hope there will be many more. Then of course there are instructors like Ian Aldrich, Ashley MacAulay, Iain Robertson and Gordon McBurnie, and I am probably forgetting some, but you know who you are. Thank you to you all.

It’s been an amazing journey. I have had the privilege to teach literally hundreds of recreational students and commercial divers. Some have found their life long partners through Descend, and some have bought their children back to learn with us which I think is the ultimate compliment. I have been able to dive all over the world, from Canada to Mexico, Tahiti to Truck, Borneo to the Solomon’s its been fantastic and I can honestly say I have enjoyed them all even the challenge of diving in raw sewage.

Now you need to get this straight. This is “thank you” not “goodbye” I am not hanging up my fins just yet and in fact next weekend I will be diving in Mount Gambier with the current cave course. I have agreed, and in fact I am looking forward to, acting as a consultant for Kirk to help guide him through the change. I expect to be pretty much full time for the next couple of years. I have moved my office into the old dive shop showroom so I am back where I started from. I have a lovely big, quiet area where I intend to display my vintage collection of dive gear so you can still drop in for a cuppa and say G’day. I want to get some more diving done and now I should not have the excuse that I am too busy running the business. I want to spend more time with Val travelling while we can still enjoy it and I can’t wait to get my teeth into some new projects and finish some old ones like the Ted Eldred book. I want to go fly fishing, spend time with my new grand kids and grow vegies in my garden. There are heaps of things to look forward to.

Finally, Descend survives only on the diving industry. To cater properly for your needs we need your support. You gave it to me willingly and now I ask you to give it to Kirk just as willingly and I am positive, that in return, he will support you and do his best to make sure your needs are met. Yes I am sure there will be changes. I think they will be changes for the good of the business and the divers and they will present you with opportunities. Opportunities for travel, further education, more diving and even more employment. I am looking forward to watching Descend develop over the next ten years.

Happy and safe diving.

Des

A word from the new “Boss” - Kirk Savage

Where to start? It’s a hard act to follow!

The first thing that I had to get use to was, not calling Des “Boss” and telling him what to do. I haven’t really come to grips with that, although I’m quickly realising that I’m the Boss, as everyone has gone home and I’m sitting at my desk trying to work out where the day went! I guess that a part of the deal.

Next, I’d like to say it is business as usual. Although there has been some shuffling of chairs, the business, as far as what we do and why we do it, is not going to change. The bottom line is that we all love diving!! I don’t understand why all the “other” people don’t do it??

The future going forward - 

It is my goal to keep Descend as the premier Commercial Diving School in Australia, a Leading Commercial Contractor doing things that others cant or wont even attempt and grow our Recreational Diving Club to bigger and better than it has ever been. Now that is a pretty big statement, especially seeing first hand the result of what Des has accomplished, starting with his early days under the house in the back yard to where we sit today. Although it is a big statement, I believe that it is possible and with your help and support, I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Des has mentioned some of the Commercial Projects on the drawing board, some already penciled in and some still in negotiation.

On the Commercial Training side of things, we are in the early stages of developing some additional training courses that are not being provided by any other school in Australia, this will make Descend a pioneer as far as ADAS training schools goes. More will be revealed as things develop. Commercial Training is a big part of our business. To make things a bit easier during our courses, we have recently ordered a 2nd dive boat. This boat is a little bit longer and a little wider than our existing vessel. We plan to have some pretty swish extras on it that again will set us apart from the other schools. We have also ordered some more gear, this is to cater for a few extra students on our next course commencing in January, which is fully booked out. Our May course is also filling quickly which is all positive news.

And of course the other part of the business is the Recreational diving. This is a area that I want to place a lot of focus on, organise more diving trips, more training courses and get it back to where it used to be. This may take some time and as you all will already know, Kristy is busy with Charlie at the moment, but upon her return to work and along with Amy (who has been doing a fantastic job during Kristy’s absence) it is going to be a focus for them, “their pet project if you like”. So if you have some ideas on diving locations you want to go to or training programs that you’re interested in, let either Kristy or Amy know and we will try and make it happen.

If you haven’t been into the shop for a while, I invite you in to have a look around. We have got some new “toys” in, which I’m sure will make great last minute prezzies, and if there is something that you want and we don’t stock, just ask! It is very simple to get anything that you need.

To finish up, Descend is a unique business; we are the only school in Australia that offers the full range of services, Recreational Training, Commercial Training, Commercial Contracting, Hydro testing and gear servicing.

I would also like to thank all the staff for their support in the transition period and the club members for their well wishes on the purchase. I look forward to catching up with people that I’ve met and meeting everyone else that I haven’t.

I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas – New Year.

Kirk.

In Memory of Russell Godson

11 - 2 - 1953 - 25 - 11 - 2007

I taught Russell and his son Lloyd to dive many moons ago. Russ was a keen diver and we enjoyed his company on many dive outings and trips. Russ started his working life with the PMG later to become Telecom.

He then established Godson’s Electronics and then later Lanier Voice. Russ had an amazing enthusiasm for life, capacity for work and a wicked sense of humour.

About twelve months ago he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour, which despite two surgeries, radio and chemo therapy, eventually took his life. He passed away on Sunday 25th November surrounded by his family.

In April of this year I was privileged to be part of Lloyd’s Bio Sub project and on the final day paddled Russ out in a canoe so that he could be the first to welcome Lloyd back to the real world. It was an emotional moment. Russ will be sadly missed by all his diving friends.

Our thoughts are with Marie, Mandy, Brad and Lloyd at this sad time.

See below attachments for camera packages and Truk Lagoon information...

Christmas MJU790 Camera Package (DOC 211 K)

Christmas FE280 Camera Package (DOC 228 K)

Christmas MJU795 Camera Package (DOC 254 K)

Truk Flyer (PDF 190 K)