Visiting DUI

     Before Steven and Eline left the United States, we all took a little road trip down the coast to visit DUI in San Diego.  For those of you unfamiliar with the world of diving, this doesn't mean we're in any kind of trouble (Rolex Scholars are more responsible than that!).  DUI stands for Diving Unlimited International.  DUI started out as a wetsuit manufacturer and local dive store and is now one of the largest and most reputable drysuit manufacturers in the world.  The company specialises in drysuits for military, commercial and recreational diving and is an important supporter of the scholarship.

     After meeting with Susan Long, president of DUI, her father Dick and Faith Ortins took Steve, Eline and I on a tour of the DUI factory and then out for a delicious Mexican lunch.  Every suit is made by hand, and it was impressive to see how much work is put into making sure that every order is completely up to snuff.  We also got to see one of the special hot water suits DUI made for the US Navy divers involved in operation Ivy Bells in the 1970's.  This was a series of top secret missions where a number of nuclear submarines, including the USS Parche were modified to be used as saturation diving support vessels.  These submarines would 'land' on the floor of the Sea of Okhotsk and lock out Navy divers who planted wire taps on a secret Soviet communications cable.

     It was really fun to meet Dick and Susan Long and to see exactly what goes into every DUI suit, especially since I love mine so much!  The people who build these suits really believe that the effort and extra quality they put into them helps the divers that use their suits accomplish tremendous things, and they're right!