Are you looking for a perfect diving getaway — a place where you can dive your brains out, see exotic fish, turtles, manta rays and other cool animals; improve your underwater photographic skills; win some great prizes; rub elbows with the elite; make some new diving friends; and forget about the pressures of work and paying the bills, even if it is just for a week? That sure sounds a lot better than fighting traffic, hustling to meet the next round of deadlines and beating your brains in to do your duty for the good ol' IRS. The good news is, we know just the place you are looking for and when to go!

It's a no-brainer. It's Kona, Hawaii, the week of May 8 to 15. Join us at the Kona Classic 2004 for a week of nonstop diving, underwater photography, underwater-photography seminars taught by leading professionals, socializing and endless enjoyment. During this fun-filled week you will have a chance to share your work and win some great prizes, but more important, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to improve your underwater-photography skills by learning from and diving with leading professionals and meeting a lot of other underwater photographers. The photo pros include Marty Snyderman, David Fleetham, Eric Hanauer and Bonnie Pelnar. We will boat dive in the mornings, meet for seminars and critiques in the afternoons, dive on at least one night (the manta dive), and still have plenty of time to take in a few sights, eat at some great restaurants and recharge our batteries.

The event is sponsored by theunderwaterphotographer.com, Body Glove, Aqua Lung, Pelican, Sea & Sea Cameras and more. The dive operators include Jack's Diving Locker (800-345-4807), Kona Coast Divers (800-KOA-DIVE), Big Island Divers (800-488-6068) and Hualalai Watersports (808-325-8222). We welcome underwater photographers of all experience levels, so please know that if you have as much as an interest in trying your hand at underwater photography but have never shot a single picture in your life, you are as welcome as the great Jacques Cousteau or any other I-already-own-a-ton-of-gear underwater photographer would be. We will have some loaner cameras for new photographers to try, and we'll help experienced shooters refine their skills with their own systems.

This year, the Kona Classic is partnering with Reef Check to help build awareness about keeping our reefs healthy and vibrant. Reef Check was founded in 1997 as a grass-roots, volunteer initiative to help local communities learn how to monitor the health of their coral reefs using a standard, scientifically rigorous method. Since then, Reef Check has expanded to include teams of volunteer scuba divers and snorkelers who use Reef Check's methods in more than 60 countries and territories. In addition to providing crucial data to scientists and resource managers, our global teams educate the public about coral-reef health and solutions to these problems. Most importantly, Reef Check provides the tools and training for local communities to manage and protect their coral reefs. For more information, visit www.reefcheck.org.