West Bay, 15 January 1997
The West Bay Wench Goes to DEMA!
Actually, I guess that should be:
The West Bay Wench Returns from DEMA!
It seems like forever ago, but it was only last Monday that I left the warm and
sunny Cayman Islands for the convention scene in Orlando, Florida.
After driving 70 miles
per hour on interstate highways and crawling through rush hour traffic on International
Drive in Orlando, I am happy to be back home, where the fastest legal speed is 50 miles
per hour and all our roads (except for a couple of short stretches) are two-lane.
I am also thrilled to be back in a place where it is almost impossible to spend more
than an hour in a car and where daytime temperatures are usually in the 80’s and
only drop into the 70’s at night!
For those of you who are wondering
what DEMA is,
let me explain.
The acronym stands for Diving Equipment and
Marketing Association, and the annual
DEMA trade show is the showcase for diving equipment, resort apparel,
and dive destinations from all over the world.
In addition, dive training agencies and manufacturers offer educational seminars and
repair clinics. If you’re wondering why you’ve never been notified of, or invited to
attend, a DEMA show, let me hasten to explain that the show is open only
to dive-shop owners and operators, travel and merchandise buyers, the press, and
divemasters and instructors, and its location changes each year
[note: next year, DEMA will be held in Anaheim CA - Webmaster].
As you can imagine, the DEMA show is a major event for Cayman
dive operations. Their representatives attend to lure travel agents, dive-shop owners,
and scuba clubs into bringing groups or sending individuals to the Cayman Islands.
(Be sure to check with your travel agent, dive shop, or scuba club for some great new
deals on trips to Cayman!)
Cayman dive shops also attend DEMA to participate in the educational
seminars and shop for merchandise to sell in their establishments.
That’s why you’ll be able to find the latest dive gear, clothing, and gifts on your next
trip to Cayman and how we stay up-to-date on the latest trends in diving.
All of this interest in DEMA may explain why you might not have been
able to reach some of us in Cayman last week. However, most of us are back home now
(and glad of it!) and hard at work, so try again. Give me a few minutes, though.
I’m going to just sit and enjoy the view, as well as the peace and quiet, sunshine,
and warmth.
. . . I’ve got an extra chair . . .
[Please note: =cayman.org=
is now a proud member of DEMA
- Webmaster]
In addition to these essays, the wench also posts frequent short writings about her
View from West Bay.
Check out the latest post!
