The Anchorline eNewsletter

I grew up in Fresno and Bob’s Dive Shop was pretty much always part of the landscape.  I remember seeing it on Blackstone and Abby when it was attached to Herb Bauer’s Sports.  When I wanted to buy a mask with prescription lenses for my wife, I didn’t even think about going to any other shop.  The staff was really helpful and friendly.  They understood the mask was likely to be used only a couple of times a year and steered me away from the more expensive models.  That really impressed me. About a year later, I was getting my very dirty truck washed.  I had been working in the Mojave Desert for several weeks, so imagine a truck-size pile of dust with wheels.  I had taken my mail with me to have something to do.

Steve “Sharkchow” Juarez

There were two very interesting pieces of mail.  One was a check from a client that hadn’t paid me for a year, the other was a flyer from Bob’s Dive Shop advertising a study at your own pace course.  I looked up to see Bob’s Dive Shop.  Diving was always something that interested me, but I couldn’t figure out how I could find the time to take the classes.  This had to be an omen.  Flyer in hand, I crossed the street and met Mary.

I chatted with Mary about diving and told her my big fear would be not having anyone to dive with.  She told me about the Sub Club and the dive trips the shop organized.  She asked me to come back later and meet the instructor. I think I went back the next day, bought my gear and met Ed, who would be my instructor. 

Since certification I have had so many memorable dives.  There was the night dive in Lover’s Cove, Monterey, where Big Jim and I were the first in and the last out; the Metridium Field with Flipper.  There was a dive in the Channel Islands with Ed where the sea floor was carpeted with brittle stars. The Monterey dive with Jack where the Pinnacles were covered with strawberry anemones and we were so cold we were both in the shop the next weekend buying dry suits.

I saw my first shark with Mary on a dive in Cayman Brac.  I still laugh when I think of Wally chasing the shark with his camera. There was a night dive with Ed in Yap where the stars were so close, we could have re-arranged them.  In Fiji a stream of pennant fish went over the edge of the reef in front of us and I was stunned by the numbers of fish.  The beach dives right in front of the resort in Bonaire were amazing.  Jack, Krista and I watched sunrise underwater from the channel in front of the resort in Tonga.

It has been 15 years; I’m closing in on 500 dives.  Ed and Mary have become close friends, as have several other Sub Clubbers.  I’ve traveled the world with the Sub Club, diving some of the world’s most amazing reefs with good friends to share the experiences.  It just doesn’t get any better.