Oregon Coast Aquarium
August 18-20, 2006

Your basic event ticket of $35 entitles you to participate in all aspects of the demos, lunch, and raffle as well as admission to the Aquarium and access to the behind-the-scenes area of Passages of the Deep. Pre-registration is required and you will be assigned a specific time to arrive at the facility ready to dive. The aquarium has 3 giant ocean pools which will be made available to divers. The Shark Observation Pool is not visible to the aquarium visitors but does have the best view of the shark exhibit and it is inhabited by baby sharks and other fish. All divers will start in this tank so we may check your buoyancy in a drysuit. A few divers, especially those new to drysuits, will do their entire dive in this pool. The second exhibit is called “Halibut Flats” and has a sunken wreck on a rubble bottom and is home to halibut, ling cod, sturgeon, rock fish and more. Divers who are already comfortable with drysuits and have excellent buoyancy skills may be assigned to dive in “Orford Reef” which features wolf eels, perch, rock fish and other Pacific Northwest creatures and lots of them. The Aquarium staff will make the final determination of which dive site divers will be assigned based on skill, availability, animal care considerations and the schedule of the day. In addition to the regular demo dives, we are offering several new opportunities:

• A Reef Ecology Snorkeling Program will be offered on Friday, August 18th. You’ve heard of “hands-on” training, well this program is “dive-in”! Space is limited to 21 participants. This two-three hour program includes a one hour ecology presentation from the Oregon Coast Aquarium staff, followed by a one hour drysuit snorkel dive in Passages of the Deep. Tickets for this activity are $50 and all participants must be 8 years of age or older. All participants will be fitted into drysuits as well. Please register directly with the Aquarium or with your local dealer.
• Optiquatics is offering an Underwater Digital Camera Workshop on Friday, August 18th. Improve the success of your photo dives, or learn the basic skills essential to capturing the underwater world, using a variety of digital cameras supplied by the industry professionals at Optiquatics. The course fee is $85 for Oregon Coast Aquarium members, and $100 for non-members. Don’t miss this unprecedented opportunity to learn from the best, and photograph the willing subjects within the aquarium exhibits! Please register directly with the Aquarium or with your local dealer. This program is for advanced divers only, who are already comfortable in drysuits and have excellent buoyancy skills
• Sleepover in the Aquarium – Saturday evening August 19th. Experience the aquarium in a whole new way; observing the nocturnal behaviors of the aquarium inhabitants. Sleepover divers who are divers will have priority access for the first dives on Sunday morning! Participants will need to provide their own sleeping bag, pillow, sleeping pad, toiletries and pajamas and need to arrive at the Aquarium by 4pm on Saturday at the registration area to be fitted with equipment for the following morning dives. The fee is $105 per person and includes the Saturday evening banquet, sleepover activities, continental breakfast Sunday morning and diving Sunday morning. Space is limited to 12 divers and 23 non-divers. A non-diver rate is $70. Members receive a $10 discount. Al children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Please call the Aquarium for more information or log onto www.aquarium.org and click on sleepovers for general information regarding these activities. All proceeds support the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

The Aquarium is located at 2820 SE Ferry Slip Rd, just off Hwy. 101 in Newport, OR. For detailed directions, go to www.aquarium.org. There will be a special entrance for divers participating in the event at the 29th St. Gate so look for the signs directing you to that area. You will be able to pull up your car and drop off your gear before parking. The facility will open at 8am for divers participating in the event only. General admission to the Aquarium begins at 9am. Regular admission to Oregon Coast Aquarium for others is $12.00/person, $7.00 for children and $10.00 for seniors.

For those who want to stay overnight and make a weekend of it, there is camping less than ½ mile from the aquarium at the South Beach Park. Call 541-867-4715 for reservations. There are many hotels and motels nearby as well. For more information about the facility and accommodations in the area, see the website www.aquarium.org or call the Aquarium at 541-867-3474.

You will be asked to fill out a liability release form and rental form so bring your certification card and a credit card that can be held as a deposit. A parent or guardian who can sign the appropriate forms must accompany participants under 18. All divers will be required to use our diving equipment to minimize the possibility of contamination. Divers should provide their own masks and fins and may also use their own regulator mouthpieces if desired.

• 8:00am – 1:00pm – Reef Ecology Class begins at 8am. Enrollment is limited to 21 participants. After the class, participants are divided into 3 groups of 7. Each group of 7 will be fitted with a drysuit and take turns snorkeling in the exhibits. Dive times will be 10am, 11am and Noon. They will have up to one hour of drysuit snorkel dives in Halibut Flats or Orford Reef, where snorkelers can get up close and personal with the reef animals discussed in class! This program is $50/person. Participants may register with the Aquarium or their local dealer and must be at least 8 years of age.
• 9:00am – 5:00pm – Underwater Digital Camera Workshop, with Optiquatics, begins at 9am. This fantastic program includes a 2 hour classroom session taught by Joe Wysocki as well as test diving DUI drysuits and various underwater camera and video systems supplied by Joe Wysocki. As the program also includes up to 1 ½ hours of dive time in the exhibits and post dive critique of your photos, participation is limited to 15 people. While all divers will need to register at the same time, only 5 divers may enter the exhibits at one time so dives will be divided into groups of 5 after registration. Dive times will be 12:30pm, 2pm and 3:30pm. Participants may register with the Aquarium or their local dealer. Cost is $85 for Aquarium members and $100 for non-members.
• 11:00am-2:00pm: Lunch will be available to all staff and participants during this time. Please plan your diving and work schedule appropriately to ensure you have lunch. We will have hamburgers, hotdogs and veggie burgers as well as chips and drinks.

Saturday, August 19th

• 8:00am-5:00pm: The time you signed up for is your registration time (see specific time below). Please meet at the registration area with your mask and fins and be ready to go by that time. Your actual dive time will be one to two hours after your registration time. All divers must fill out liability and rental forms at registration prior to being fitted with equipment. All divers will be fitted into a drysuit and insulation as well as various accessories such as zip gloves and hoods. Divers will be assigned to an exhibit based on their comfort level with diving and drysuits. The aquarium has 3 giant ocean pools which will be made available to divers. The Shark Observation Pool is not visible to the aquarium visitors but does have the best view of the shark exhibit and it is home to baby sharks and other fish. Most divers will start in this tank so we may check your buoyancy in a drysuit and for some divers especially those new to drysuits will do their entire dive in this pool. The second exhibit is called “Halibut Flats” and has a sunken wreck on a rubble bottom with lots of fish. Divers who are already comfortable with drysuits and have excellent buoyancy skills may be assigned to dive in “Orford Reef” which specializes in features wolfeels, rock fish, perch and other Pacific Northwest creatures and lots of them. The Aquarium staff will make the final determination of which dive site divers will be assigned based on skill, availability, animal care considerations and the schedule of the day.

Divers who are new to drysuits will be guided on their test dive by a certified and insured instructor or divemaster. DUI staff will be on hand to assist with the sizing and fitting of suits and answer technical questions. All test divers will be given a free Test Diver hat, Dive Chronicles magazine and a coupon for free “stuff” if they purchase a drysuit or BC after the demo.

• 8:00am – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for the 9am and 10am dives.
• 10:00am – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for the 11am and 12pm dives.
• 11:00am-2:00pm: Lunch will be available to all staff and participants during this time. Please plan your diving and work schedule appropriately to ensure you have lunch. We will have hamburgers, hotdogs and veggie burgers as well as chips and drinks.
• 12:00pm – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for the 1pm and 2pm dives.
• 2:00pm – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for the 3pm and 4pm dives.
• 4:00pm – Registration open for “Sleepover in the Aquarium” on Saturday evening. Divers participating in this program will get the chance to sleep in the Aquarium as well as do the firs dives in the morning. Participation is limited to 12 divers and 23 non-divers. Cost is $105 for divers and $70 for non-divers. Members receive a $10 discount. Divers participating in this program will need to be fitted for a drysuit at 4pm so they will be ready to dive first thing in the morning.
• 6:00pm – Dinner and Presentation – Catered dinner and slide show at the Aquarium. This is a fantastic setting for dinner so we hope you will join us. Cash bar. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 onsite though the number of onsite tickets will be severely limited. Note: Participants in the Sleepover will be limited to two alcoholic drinks.

Sunday, August 20th: See details from Saturday.

• 7:30am – Registered “Sleepover” Divers will check in at the exhibits for 8am and 9am dives.
• 9:00am – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for 10am and 11am dives.
• 11:00am – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for 12pm and 1pm dives.
• 11:00am-2:00pm: Lunch will be available to all staff and participants during this time. Please plan your diving and work schedule appropriately to ensure you have lunch. We will have hamburgers, hotdogs and veggie burgers as well as chips and drinks.
• 1:00pm – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for 2pm and 3pm dives.
• 3:00pm – Registered divers check-in and begin drysuit fitting for 4pm dive.

The focus of the event is the drysuit and BCS demos. However, there are a number of other activities to entertain the divers throughout the day:

• SeaLife® ReefMaster® underwater digital cameras will also be available for demo. First priority will be given to DOGs and demo divers who have done 1 or more dives in the drysuit. This is to ensure minimal task loading. Images will be copied onto a CD for divers to take home for FREE!
• Every Test Diver and DUI Owner will receive a FREE Test Diver Hat. DUI Owners will need to present their DUI equipment and an event ticket to receive their hat.
• Special coupon offer! DUI has designed coupons for all DOG Rally & Demo Day divers that will provide an incentive to buy NOW. For Drysuits: The coupon will be good for a FREE Sport Package on a stock drysuit or a FREE Signature Package on a Special Production drysuit. That is a $200 to $220 retail value!! For BC’s: The coupon will be good for a FREE DUI Gear bag – A $64 retail value! The coupon will ONLY be valid at dealers fully participating in the event, and must be redeemed within six weeks of the event.