Octopus Diving in NY Times

Hey Everyone... check out the travel section of the NY Times today and you will find an article about affordable Caribbean vacations. In the section about St. Martin you will further find Octopus Diving!

We are really excited about this as it is such great publicity and also we are the only diving center listed in the whole article....

So, if you don't get the Times delivered you can click on this link to see the report:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/travel/25stmartin.html

Also if you are interested in another article that was recently written about us in an English newspaper you can click on this link:

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Taking-plunge-dream-life-Caribbean/article-290119-detail/article.html

Chris called the local newspaper in his home town of Plymouth, England and suggested it could be a great article - they agreed and we got a full page report !!

Despite the reccession and the doom and gloom we are still busy and out diving and snorkeling everyday which is great, there aren't many dive centres in St.Martin who can say the same.

Chris has his parents staying here and they leave tomorrow so we are off to Tintamarre this afternoon for lunch on the beach, looking forward to some r&r in Tintamarre...

Thats it for today so have a great Sunday and we will blog again very soon, any comments are greatly appreciated.

Team Octopus.

Whose Kevin?

This is Kevin. Read below....

Some of you that have been diving with us, may have met Kevin. Kevin is 9 years old, and he lives down the street. When Chris and I bought the shop back in June, we spent the first week going through the entire shop and getting rid of any rubbish. This included masks, snorkels, fins, wetsuits etc that weren't up to the standard that we want to give to our VIP customers (that would be you!).

Kevin walked by one day and Chris said "hey... have you ever tried snorkeling?" At this point Kevin came in and Chris tried one of these old masks on him, and sent him on his way with his new mask, snorkel and fins. This was the beginning of the relationship, and after 8 months I don't think that a day goes by without Kevin coming into the shop at some point. He passes the shop on the way to school and back again, so usually stops by.

Kevin is a really sweet kid... and I love when he comes into visit, but.... (there is always a but, isn't there?) he is also a fusser/fiddiler. So, he has to pick everything up and look at everything. If you are on the computer, he wants on the computer. If there is a stapler on the table, all of a sudden he is stapling together your tax returns and the receipts of your cash customers (never good... :) If you don't watch him carefully he will some how have refunded clients on the credit card machine, or called Zimbabwe or something. So... it is important to keep an eye on him.

Somehow Max convinced him that Santa Clause still exists. So Kevin sat down and wrote Santa a letter, came in and used one of my stamps, and then told me to post it. I told him I would. Of course I read it, I mean, we had to find out what he wanted. (in the letter he explained to Santa that he was in the apartment with the red bike outside that had the flat tire). Max had all the intention of buying him the "grown up walkie-talkie" that he wanted, but when he went to CostULess, there was nothing there. So after Christmas Kevin came in and said to Max "I know Santa doesn't exist because I didn't get my walkie-talkie." So Max told Kevin that Santa came to Max's house to drop it off because Kevin wasn't there and Max will bring it in soon. This is still going on... oh la la.

So... if you ever come here, and you see a little kid (usually in his green school uniform) that is Kevin. One day we will teach him how to dive, but right now he is lucky if I don't tie him up!

Here are some photos.

The first one is of Kevin snorkeling in the rinse tank. He brought me a little crab and then decided to put some water in a container for the crab. But when he put the water in the container he also let the crab into the rinse tank!

This is Kevin.

This is me and Kevin.

This is what Kevin has to say... "this is my friend Sally!"

(this blog was written by Sally)

Octopus at Octopus

Yesterday I went snorkeling at Creole Rock with a family of three. There was Jack (8) and his folks Jon and Mindy. They are a really nice family from Minnesota. Although Jack got a little cold, we had loads of fun. Plus... we saw a huge octopus.

We were just snorkeling around and all of a sudden I saw this thing fly through the water (well... I guess swim through the water is more appropriate). It was tan colored and had a huge bulbous head with all these tentacles behind it. I immediately tugged on Jon's fin so that he could see as well (I think I scared him a little) and that is when the Octopus settled down. It was only in about 3 feet of water, so I really had a good chance to look at it up close. They are so super cool.

The octopus was a pretty big one, the head must have been about one foot across. Once it noticed that we had noticed it he took the shape of some anenome. I will try and find a picture on the internet... hold on. I couldn't find a decent one on the internet, so I just taken a photo of the anemone from the Creature ID book by Humann and Delouche.

It's not the greatest photo, but this is what the octopus turned into. You couldn't even recognize it unless you noticed the two eyes peering up at you.

It was interesting that if I moved back a few feet, the octopus would move a little, but if I went any closer, it became the anemone again. I just couldn't believe how it could change itself so quickly. We called Mindy over, and she couldn't see it. I was literally pointing to it, almost touching it, but she couldn't see it.

It was also interesting that there was a grouper following the octopus. I suppose it was waiting for any leftovers if the octopus decided to eat a conch or anything.

All in all, it was a great octopus experience. (I hope that you can appreciate my pun, I know my dad will get that!)

(this blog was written by Sally).

Jean-Philippe is back!

I just wanted to write quickly that JP is back! I know that anyone that met JP and dived with him is going to be happy, because he is fantastic!

JP worked here at Octopus from December 2007 - July 2008. Chris and I took over the business on the first of June, and JP came with it. We were really impressed by him and he was super cool with us taking over and had so many great ideas about improving the center that we were gutted when he told us he was leaving. Even before we came here JP had already made plans to work in France as an instructor for the summer and then travel to the Phillippines. He said if he knew that we were going to be so cool he wouldn't have made those plans, but one of JPs great qualities is that he is a man of his word. So we understood he had to leave.

We contacted him about a month ago, as we knew he had left the Phillipines, to see if he could come back to us. He said "yes" and there was much rejoice. He is a real asset to the team.
Here are some photos to remind you of JP if you met him already, or to give you an idea of what he is like, if you haven't already.

(Sally wrote this blog)

A Great Advanced Open Water

I thought that I would write something more geared towards classes today, specifically Advanced Open Water classes as I recently certified three divers as Advanced students, and it got me thinking... what makes a great AOW?

As you may or may not be aware and Advanced Open Water class is the second level of certification with PADI, it involves making five dives with an instructor, each of which are specialised around one particular theme. For example there is The Night Adventure Dive, The Underwater Photography Adventure Dive, the Search and Recovery Adventure Dive to name a few. There are two obligatory Adventure Dives.... Deep and Underwater Navigation. The other three are chosen by the students.

For me, the Advanced Open Water is about taking divers and increasing their confidence and ability underwater. It is about creating self awareness and producing divers that take responsibility for their own safety and for their buddy's safety. I believe that we accomplish this by task loading, through practicing good diving techniques, and by talking to our students. For example in the Underwater Photography Adventure Dive we go through all of the motions of being a safe diver... and then we throw a camera into the mix, or for Peak Performance Bouyancy we ask students to control their bouyancy, and then we make them jump through hoops... literally. In order to take photos... search and recover lost items... navigate a square using a compass... or other tasks underwater, it forces the students to practice safe diving AND something else. I believe that it is important to stress this to the divers.

"Your compass work was great, you came back exactly to the same place... but did you notice that you left your buddy way behind?"

"Wow, these photos are fantastic... but did you notice that you lost control of your bouyance and kicked up loads of sand?"

Also, for me anyway, I believe that a good AOW class teaches the student to take responsibility for their diving. It isn't always true that you can trust every instructor or dive guide, as much as we wish that to not be true. This is why at Octopus Diving we have all of our students dive with a computer and have them take the responsibility not run into any decompression time while doing the Deep Adventure Dive. We make them take control of the three minute safety stop and tell us when they have finished completing it. We have them use the computer to make sure they ascend at a proper rate, and to rely less on the instructor or the dive guide.

The Advanced Open Water is also about self rescue and self preservation. Divers need to take control of their assessment of how safe a diving center is, how safe the diving boat is. We do this by stressing the questions that divers should ask when they go somewhere new... these include:

1. Can I look at your compressor?

2. When did you last change the air filter?

3. Is there an O2 kit on the boat? Can I see it?

4. Do you have a way of communicating with the shore if there is a problem on the boat?

5. When was my regulator last serviced?

These questions should not be frowned upon by diving centers if you ask them. So I stress my students to, I mean after all, this is your LIFE and your HEALTH and SAFETY at risk, so don't be afraid.

Chris and I also have a general rule that we tell all of our students, whether it be Open Water, Advanced, Rescue or Divemaster.... "if the boat and the equipment look like #%@! then it probably is."

Unfortunately there are diving centers that try and save a buck or two by not changing the filters in their compressors as often as they should, resulting in hydrocarbons and other contaminants in the air. When we breath this cotnaminated air at increased pressure due to our depth in the water column, we can have serious problems. Chris and I have left jobs because of bad air. We take it very serious. Chris always asks... "how was the air?" and he is religious about changing the filters. It isn't just the guests that breath the air, it is us too, and our instructors.

We had a diver the other day with a small test kit that attached to his low pressure inflator so that he could test the quality of the air he was breathing... (of course we passed with flying colors) but we were impressed with him, he was taking his own safety into HIS hands.

So, if you are an open water student looking to complete your Advanced Open Water, then you should look for some of the things mentioned above when you take your course. If you are an instructor then you should think about mentioning some of those things in your course.

OK OK OK, enough of the serious stuff! I know that the rest of you just want to know ... whats going on down there? Well... lots of diving and lots of fun. Here are photos of our three most recent Advanced Open Water students who did a great job! There is... Kelly, Cyd and Mike.

Here is a photo of Kelly and Cyd underwater that I took during their Underwater Photography Adventure Dive. They were really great students, look at the bouyancy control.

The diving was great and we had loads of fun at the same time.

Also, some of you might be excited to know that there were whale sharks spotted on the Dutch side. I didn't see it, and neither did any of our instructors, it was spotted by another diving center. Apparently it was a juvenile... but REALLY BIG!

So fingers crossed we will get some more.

ok. I got work to do! Less typing... more diving!

(this was written by Sally).

Some photos from Tintamarre today!

We didn't find any dolphins at Tintamarre today, but we still had some really great dives.... here are some photos.

The tugboat was beautiful today as the visibility was great!

I put this photo in (of me), to show that taking photos isn't just about having a great camera, but it also about the ability to take photos as well. You can see that the photographer has included his lovely yellow fins!

This is Oscar, the videographer I was talking about in my blog a couple of days ago.

Oscar filming me at the Tugboat!

Not sure what Oscar is doing here...

Max blew this perfect bubble ring, but then didn't get out the way for me to take a better photo!

This was a lobster at Moonscape.

Remi and Daniel, our divers from Paris, France!

Tugboat from another angle.

Max on his head at the Tugboat. Somehow.... when a camera is around, Max starts doing all this weird stuff. Bubble rings. Oh wait.... there is another photo I should up load.

This is Max doing the Moonwalk, at Moonscape.

Remi by the Tug.

Remi looking inside the Tug.

Daniel looking around the Tugboat.

A shot looking up as the divers are getting on the boat. The vis was really nice, so I thought I would snap this shot.

Well.... that is all for now. I spent most of the end of the second dive trying to get a bubble shot. I am really trying to get a shot of a bubble coming up, with my reflection in it. So far this is as close as I have gotten.... can you see me?

(sally wrote this blog).

Dolphins... at Creole Rock!

You read the title correctly. Yesterday we had 4 Dolphins at Creole Rock. For Brie (from France) and Steve (from Washington, DC) it was their first experience underwater, so they were having a great time anyway. But the dolphins made it magical!

Four dolphins approached the divers and then started to swim around them. They were so close that the divers could have reached out and touched them if they wanted (of course they didn't!). It is the first sighting of dolphins this season (and for Chris and I are first time since we opened in June). But according to local divers there are loads of dolphins in January, February, March and April, especially around Tintamarre! So we are really excited.

What made the dive so cool with the dolphins, was that Oscar was on the boat as well. So, I will ask Oscar's permission to post the video on Youtube.com and then put a link on the blog site for everyone to see! Too cool, huh?

The only downside to the whole dolphins at Creole Rock, was that I wasn't on the dive! But... it makes me hopeful that I will see them in the future, and soon too! We went looking for them at Tintamarre today, and we didn't see any, but the season is upon us!!!!

(Sally wrote this blog)

Interested in getting an underwater video?

We have recently had a new member join the Octopus Team... Oscar.

Oscar is an underwater videographer from Holland as well as a PADI Instructor. Chris met Oscar in Island Water World (a marine supply store) one day about a month ago and after a long chat swapped details with him. Then a few weeks later Oscar approached us and asked if we think there would be any interest for underwater videos on our dive trips. We said we weren't sure, but possibly yes. Turns out there is.

If there is room on the boat we try and get Oscar on as well. We still will take no more than 6 people on the boat, so Oscar does count as one of those.... we don't want to crowd the diving. If there is room though, Oscar is there to film everyone's underwater experience. He then edits the footage after the dive to have the DVDs ready in less than 24 hours. So far we have had great feedback. His videos are great, with original music from a local artist, and everyone seems to like him. You should check out his website www.st-maartendivingvideo.com. His company is called St. Maarten Diving Video N.V.

I wish that I knew how to add video to the blog, but I'm not there yet.

It is totally voluntary, and even if Oscar is on the boat there is no obligation to buy his DVD. Also, Oscar works for himself, not for us. We just think that it is an extra service that we can provide by having Oscar on the boat. He went out this morning and filmed the two dives, and the two couples that he met are coming in tomorrow to look at the video he is producing. If they like, they can purchase it, but it is cool because they get to see it before they decide!

So, if you would like to make sure that Oscar is on the boat the same day as you, just let us know and we can make sure that he is.

Don't forget that I am also available for underwater photographs if requested. So now we can offer photo and video to help keep the memories of Octopus Diving going!

(Sally wrote this blog).

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Sorry I haven't blogged in such a long time! It has just been really busy here over the holiday season, and we have been diving diving diving,so I haven't been blogging blogging blogging! You may be able to tell that the last blog wasn't written by me, it was written to a much higher standard than my usual ramblings on.

I was diving at Creole Rock the other day and I was thinking how awsome it would be if I could blog while diving. I think that it is in these moments underwater that I come up with the most profound thoughts. However, right after the dive, I never seem able to recapture the thought.... kind of like when you drink too much red wine, and then the whole world makes sense, but the next morning you can't remember how.

We really have been working hard though. The season picked up dramatically (just like everyone said it would) around Christmas, and that is continuing. We have nothing to compare it to, this being our first year in business, so we are always skeptical at believing what "they" say.

I did want to blog about the last dive of 2008, and the first dive of 2009! The last dive of 2008 was spent on the Gregory with 3 advanced open water students. (Nikita, Derek and Mike) and three divers (Ruud, Brian and Melinda). It was a dive late in the afternoon, so the sun wasn't super high in the sky, but it was still a great dive. There was a shark and a HUGE eagle ray. Plus all the fish that normally congregate aroundt he stern of the Gregory. Everyone was in really high spirits and we had so much fun on the boat ride back. It was a really calm day, so there were hardly any waves and we could really speed up. It was a great last dive.

Then... the next morning we had the most perfect conditions for the start of 2009. Not a cloud in the sky, beautiful, calm waters, we did two great dives in Tintamarre. I was lucky enough to be diving with G and John, two super divers from San Diego. We spent our surface interval at Tintamarre beach covering ourselves in mud, and then finished up with a dive on the Tugboat! It was just perfect.

So, I am taking it as a good omen for the year to come. Great diving, great conditions and really great people as well!

Alright, its time to get the tanks ready for the night dive tonight! Fingers crossed we see an Octopus feeding!

Oh.... and happy new year to everyone! Especially to the new followers of the Blog, Ashish and Cathie and Greg! Now the ratio of my family members and actual divers following this blog is starting to even out! Yeah!

(this blog was written by Sally)