Mat-Su business offers training to visit underwater world

MAT-SU -- Valley residents who want to learn to explore the underwater world of scuba diving, or who need to brush up on their techniques, now have a local training outlet.

Ron Durheim, acting chief of the Mat-Su Water Rescue Team and a 37-year diver, recently opened Alaska Aquatic Scuba at Mile 38 Parks Highway.

Classes range from snorkeling and beginning scuba to instructor-level dive training. In addition, scuba and snorkeling equipment such as wet suits and dry suits will be sold in a retail area. The shop also has a compressor to fill divers' tanks, and offers service and repair of gear.

Durheim had a dive shop in the Mat-Su, as well as one in Anchorage, more than a decade ago. Former customers have asked him when he was going to re-open the business in the Valley. Class sessions about safety procedures will be held at the store, with skill training conducted in Palmer and Wasilla high school pools.

A Wednesday night class currently is under way. Durheim plans to add more classes, and more instructors, in the future. He is certified to teach scuba by the National Association of Underwater Instructors, Scuba Divers International, and Technical Divers International.

Although Alaska has some of the world's best scuba diving, Durheim said, it takes a boat and time to reach the best areas with clear water. Most people have other locales in mind.

"We have probably one of the highest percentage of divers per capita," he said. "Where do they want to go? Hawaii and Mexico. Most people in Alaska dive on vacation."

Advances in scuba equipment now allow blind people as well as paraplegics and quadriplegics to dive, Durheim said.

"And the equipment today is so safe an easy to use that we have people diving late into their senior years," he said.

One of the biggest breakthroughs is a buoyancy compensation device. The vest-like apparatus carries oxygen tubes on the back, and the garment itself inflates or deflates via a hand-held meter. That allows divers to hover at just the right depth to view what they want to see without expending extra energy.

"It's made diving so much safer," Durheim said.

Things have changed a lot since he began the sport. Durheim basically taught himself while a high school student, but romance later interrupted his participation for a while.

"I sold my first set of equipment so I could take a honeymoon," he said.

Students at Alaska Aquatic Scuba can tailor classes to fit their desires. They can either earn certification in the Mat-Su, or do preliminary work here and schedule certifying dives on vacation.

Alaska Aquatic Scuba is located

at 4740 Greenstreet Circle, the frontage road off Parks Highway. Call 373-3483 (373-DIVE) for more information.