A trip to Jupiter
By V Jordan

Before last Sunday if anyone had asked me to describe Jupiter I would have led with this. It is massive. If it were hollow, a thousand planets the size of earth would fit inside of it, and wouldn’t scratch the wallpaper. Yet it’s made primarily of dense gas, and if I tried to stand on it, I’d fall right through to its more solid core. I have always wanted to visit Jupiter. It’s the largest planet in our solar system, and it’s only five planets from our Sun, magnificent. But its minimum distance from Earth is 588.5 million km, that’s 365.7 miles. It took Galileo six years to get there. The question for me has always been: How do I get there and get back to Washington, DC in time for work?

One day, on a regular drive to the dive trip from DC to Key Largo, it was suggested by a great friend and our ace resource detective Lt. Mike Smith that we plan to visit another dive shop on our path to the Keys. He had researched the shop, visited their website, and spoken to the owner, Gerry Carroll. When we entered the shop I was impressed, first with the greeting and hospitality we received from the owner and staff. Next, with the clean, professional layout, the neatly mapped floor plan presented me with the perfect opportunity to show Tish, my dive master candidate, how dive retailers should look in the future. What was most evident to me was the competence, service, and streamlined approach to a smartly planned business. This shop sells a few basic brands, mostly Scubapro and Halcyon, but they will service anything they can think of. Often in a bad economy, standards, competence, hospitality are the first group of casualties for many small businesses.

Strolling across the clutterless floor I couldn’t help but think, someone had a good business plan and followed it. Their boats are docked a hundred feet from the front door; the boat captain and his crew were a polished team. After launching off the rear, we huddled around Sandy, our guide, descended in unison and drifted along the reef and sand at 70 feet or so. The sea life was amazing. Lobster, eel, and an array of fish inhabit the reef. Volkswagen-sized turtles seem to congregate in the hollows. After a forty minute nitrox-aided experience we ended our good time, and rising to a safety stop in mid-water with our marker bearer was easy. That’s because her buoyancy control was so good, as a guide she demonstrated to my DM candidate how a DM should look, and why mastery of skill is so important. When we pierced the surface the boat was always in sight and boarding was a piece of pie. We arrived at the docks well within the estimated time of return. Returning to the shop I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Lt. Smith and Tish had left their regs at the shop for servicing while we were on the dive. So, I said to Gerry: Let me get this straight -- if you have the parts, while I dive your tech will give me a loaner and service my regulator while I dive? Yep, he said.

And the name of the shop is guess what? Congratulations, it’s Jupiter Dive Center, located in Jupiter, Florida. I made it to Jupiter after all, and it didn’t take me six years to reach it. In my experience, these things happen by design. So check it out for yourself.