A dive shop might not be something one would expect to find in a small town like Harlem, but people from all over the country have come to Harlem just for that.
When the idea presented itself to Rose Bennett, the owner of Bubbles or Not Diving, and her husband Robert, she knew it was inevitable.
Bubbles or Not opened its doors in June 2019, Father’s Day weekend. The Bennetts were living in Hawaii, where Robert Bennett grew up, before transferring to Georgia where they settled in Harlem. Robert Bennett then retired from the Army, and he and Rose Bennett, who worked for 24 years as a civilian Department of the Army employee, settled in Harlem. A conversation at Armando’s Italian Bar & Grill and the discovery of an empty available building on Louisville Street led to what became an entrepreneurial adventure.
“I told him, ‘You know what, that wouldn’t be a bad idea,’” said Rose Bennett. “‘If we don’t do it now we’ll never be able to do it.’ So it was the right time, at the right moment.”
The store’s quaint moniker is a reference to the range of training and activities the business has available. Divers are usually tracked by the bubbles produced from exhaled air going through regulators on conventional scuba cylinders.
A lot of technical, or non-recreational, diving is done with rebreathers, which are diving apparatuses designed to recirculate breathing gas exhaled after replacing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide. Rebreathers do not produce bubbles.
Not only does the store sell wetsuits, fins, masks and other diving equipment, but it specializes in diver training. The shop offers certification instruction for amateurs and the curious, including discover SCUBA diving, rescue diving, open water and even technical, or non-recreational, diving courses.
Among Rose Bennett’s favorite courses are the rescue diving, including emergency first response classes and panic diving. Bubbles or Not often conducts practice scenarios at Clarks Hill Lake so students can develop their skills.
Rose Bennett notes that plenty of customers drive as far as Atlanta, parts of North Carolina and even California to get their certifications at Bubbles or Not. But the shop has proven lucrative because of the overall growth of Columbia County as well as Harlem’s proximity to Fort Gordon.
Not only are there plenty of divers and people in the area interested in learning more about the underwater activity, but many of them are military.
Several customers with PTSD find diving to be soothing, says Rose Bennett. She calls it “underwater yoga.”
“When my husband and I first opened the shop, we didn’t do it for the money,” said Rose Bennett. “Basically, we wanted to share our passion for diving.”
Bubbles or Not achieves its charter to inspire and educate by offering not only certification classes but also diving trips. Once divers get certified, they’re usually interested in taking trips. Bubbles or Not has a travel agent to accommodate them. The shop has hosted diving trips to various international locales, including Bermuda, Cozumel, Mexico and even the Philippines.
Robert Bennett died in February. Rose Bennett honors his memory by continuing Bubbles or Not’s mission with zeal and spirit that he had while they both were operating it. The business is a part of the Harlem Merchants Association and enjoys fervent support from locals.
She constantly encourages those curious about diving to sign up for one of the courses and launch their own journey into an adventure she and her husband enthusiastically embarked upon for 25 years.
Rose Bennett affectionately recalls, when they were both running the store, and a customer would come in asking for the owner.
“He would say, ‘She’s the real owner,’” said Rose Bennett. “‘I’m just here to fill the tanks.’” Bubbles or Not Diving is located at 211 N. Louisville St. in Harlem. For more information, visit its website at www.bubblesornot.com
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
