It's been a busy, great and emotional last couple of weeks. Busy because we are packing up and leaving the US after a great three and a half years in America. Emotional... well we are leaving some fantastic friends many of whom will remain so for life. Thank god for Facebook because as a guy I'm not great at staying in touch!! Emotional too as we ponder the year ahead. We can't wait to be back in New Zealand with our NZ family and friends. We also look forward to our planned adventures in Gozo and places between, later in the year.
In the "great" box, much progress has been made regarding the WorkSafe NZ adventure activities registration requirements for Dive Operators in New Zealand. The safety systems for Sidemount Pros are now developed and with the auditors. Having been through many corporate audits before with technology giants such as HP and Philips and also in the Pharma industry with AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb, this is going to be an interesting experience. At least I know from past audits the importance of documented process and also how this must be backed up in practice with documented evidence of the process being followed. Net of it all for our clients/students is they can rest assured that we have been through the wringer on safety - never a bad thing!
In other very positive news (and yes the headline was a spoiler), we are very proud to have become an xDEEP dealer for New Zealand. There are several very good sidemount systems out there but in my opinion (and that of those I respect in sidemount), there is no better system than the xDEEP Stealth 2.0.
xDEEP are based in Poland and everything is built to EU standards with CE certification. Designed by sidemount divers for sidemount divers, the Stealth 2.0 is modular, easy to set up and fantastic to dive. My favorite part without question is how streamlined it is. This makes achieving and holding perfect trim much easier. It also means you are without clutter and mass in terms of working with the system as you dive. There is less opportunity for confusion under pressure as everything is in reach and where you expect it to be.
Our first xDEEP order is in transit and should be in NZ in January, several units are already sold but there will be stock available, so just take a look at the Equipment section of the site and reach out to me if you have any questions. I will have some units available for test dives so let me know via the Contact Page if you want a try sidemount diving with a Stealth 2.0!
Thanks for your interest in Sidemount Pros. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever you call this time of the year. Hope to see and dive with you in 2016.
Cheers Steve