As most of you know we bought a new compressor and had it shipped to St.Martin, and after 83 hours of use it decided not to work....?? Very annoying.
So we contacted the manufacturer and after much discussion they decided not to back thier 12 month full parts and labor warranty - even more annoying !
So I decided to take it apart myself and instantly found the fault, the high pressure piston had completely disintegrated and therefore we couldn't produce any high pressure air.
Luckily a fellow Brit by the name of Richard Lomas comes to the Ilsand once a year, as he has a house on St.Martin and just so happened to be here this week.
Richard is just like me, very hands on and can repair just about anything, however he specialises in Compressors.
I ordered the new part from the states, had it flown in by Fedex and we fitted it yesterday.
So far its running like a dream and we are filling tanks really fast - awesome!!
Conclusion as to why it went wrong in the first place:
Richard seems to think the same as me, the compressor had a problem and the manufacturer didn't want to repair it or couldn't find the fault and sent it to me !! Nice eh?
On a lighter note, we have two engines for the new boat in Guadeloupe they are 3 years old and have around 300 hours on them but are like new.
The boat will arrive in late August and we will have two new, fast and fuel efficient engines to fit onto it.
More good news..... I have just been offered the chance to attend a Mercury Engine Training school in September where I will be the 4th certified Mercury Outboard Engineer in St.Martin.
This is perfect as I will be able to diagnose faults by connecting my laptop to the engines computer and also save us alot of time and money.
To be able to attend this course one must be nominated by an Authorised Mercury Dealer as this isn't open to the general Public. So.. many thanks to Steffan at Madco for arranging this for me.
Sally is out teaching an Open water course this afternoon and is also upgrading the wesbite, if any of you computer guru's out there have any ideas please let Sally know.
The weather here has been really bad the last few days, we had two tropical waves pass over us, but we have still been diving our local reefs and seeing lots of Turtles.
Thanks for reading the blog,
Chris.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
5 pages in magazine!
I just saw the magazine DISCOVER, and they are using my photos for a 5 page spread! I am really excited... it is the first time my photos will be in a magazine!
For the cover, they want to look at the photos I suggested and then will email me. But I am sure they will use one of my photos! Thanks for all your comments on the cover shot, personally, I also really like the one with the diver and the two jacks in front.
For payment we are getting free advertising in the magazine. I'm not sure if this was a good trade or not, as they are using a lot of my photos, but I'm so excited to see them in print, I may have just let them use them for free!
For the cover, they want to look at the photos I suggested and then will email me. But I am sure they will use one of my photos! Thanks for all your comments on the cover shot, personally, I also really like the one with the diver and the two jacks in front.
For payment we are getting free advertising in the magazine. I'm not sure if this was a good trade or not, as they are using a lot of my photos, but I'm so excited to see them in print, I may have just let them use them for free!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
My mom said I need to blog
I was just skyping my mom, who is in England with my family at the moment, and she said "you haven't been blogging lately." Which is correct, I haven't. I suppose it is a combination of being busy, and also I have been Twittering.
Not that there hasn't been a lot to blog about. We have done loads more certifications, had some fabulous dives. Chris went to Florida to look at a new diving boat, and all lights point to go.... so it looks like we will have a new diving boat soon. We will still take out the same small groups, but the new boat will be a lot more comfortable (more room, more storage space, a more stable hull design, better entry and exit from the water). So that is really exciting. I don't want to post the actual boat, or put photos of it up, until it is signed, sealed and delivered. But, as you can imagine, we are all very excited!
We've been working a lot with Christian lately. Christian is a PADI IDC Staff instructor, and also a French Brevet d'Etat Educateur Sportif (this is the french rating that I went to France to obtain, for those of you who need a recap). He is also a super nice guy... He will be working for us full time next year, but for the moment he is only working part time. Although the last two weeks part time feels full time! He was originally working for the competition (the audacity!), but then decided to take a break from diving to do something completely different. After a few month, however, the lure of the ocean brought him back, and luckily we were able to snab him.
Distinguishing characteristics about Christian are... he loves to sing, and seems to know a million French songs. He has joke about everything, and they are normally really funny! He is excellent with students as he is so patient and has a way of explaining things really well. (I know this from what his students have said about him, and also from team teaching with him). He is fluent in English! He has traveled extensively, and in consequence has a lot of great stories. And... He has a wetsuit that has a skeleton on it! We are really happy that he decided to come back to the diving industry. I need to add him to the website on the About Us page... I am adding this to my "to do" list right now.
You can see Christian here below with his two students Tony and Patty. They were really great people and we hope to see them again soon. Patty was a little nervous at first, but Christian soon fixed that, and you can see them here, definetly not skittish underwater.
We have also ordered some more t-shirts, as we have sold out of loads. We are getting some more designs and more colors as well. Hopefully they will arrive soon. We are having them made on island (in support of local businesses) but alas, this sometimes takes a long time!
Also, my photos are going to be published in a magazine. I took a whole bunch of my photos to a company that publishes magazines for Saint Martin. You know, all the free magazines that are left in your hotel room or villa. Well, they really liked them, and in exchange for free advertising in the magazine (this is how they make all their money) I am letting them use some of my photos. They just emailed me back to ask if I have any good photos for a cover shot! So maybe I will be on the cover!
You know, I should have a blog book on the boat. I come up with the best ideas about blogging when I am under the water, but then by the time I get back to shore, unload the boat, kiss and hug the divers goodbye, the idea is gone. woosh!
Not that there hasn't been a lot to blog about. We have done loads more certifications, had some fabulous dives. Chris went to Florida to look at a new diving boat, and all lights point to go.... so it looks like we will have a new diving boat soon. We will still take out the same small groups, but the new boat will be a lot more comfortable (more room, more storage space, a more stable hull design, better entry and exit from the water). So that is really exciting. I don't want to post the actual boat, or put photos of it up, until it is signed, sealed and delivered. But, as you can imagine, we are all very excited!
We've been working a lot with Christian lately. Christian is a PADI IDC Staff instructor, and also a French Brevet d'Etat Educateur Sportif (this is the french rating that I went to France to obtain, for those of you who need a recap). He is also a super nice guy... He will be working for us full time next year, but for the moment he is only working part time. Although the last two weeks part time feels full time! He was originally working for the competition (the audacity!), but then decided to take a break from diving to do something completely different. After a few month, however, the lure of the ocean brought him back, and luckily we were able to snab him.
Distinguishing characteristics about Christian are... he loves to sing, and seems to know a million French songs. He has joke about everything, and they are normally really funny! He is excellent with students as he is so patient and has a way of explaining things really well. (I know this from what his students have said about him, and also from team teaching with him). He is fluent in English! He has traveled extensively, and in consequence has a lot of great stories. And... He has a wetsuit that has a skeleton on it! We are really happy that he decided to come back to the diving industry. I need to add him to the website on the About Us page... I am adding this to my "to do" list right now.
You can see Christian here below with his two students Tony and Patty. They were really great people and we hope to see them again soon. Patty was a little nervous at first, but Christian soon fixed that, and you can see them here, definetly not skittish underwater.
We have also ordered some more t-shirts, as we have sold out of loads. We are getting some more designs and more colors as well. Hopefully they will arrive soon. We are having them made on island (in support of local businesses) but alas, this sometimes takes a long time!
Also, my photos are going to be published in a magazine. I took a whole bunch of my photos to a company that publishes magazines for Saint Martin. You know, all the free magazines that are left in your hotel room or villa. Well, they really liked them, and in exchange for free advertising in the magazine (this is how they make all their money) I am letting them use some of my photos. They just emailed me back to ask if I have any good photos for a cover shot! So maybe I will be on the cover!
You know, I should have a blog book on the boat. I come up with the best ideas about blogging when I am under the water, but then by the time I get back to shore, unload the boat, kiss and hug the divers goodbye, the idea is gone. woosh!
I want to say thank you to Tony, for letting me use his photos, and because he and his wife were such a nice couple.
Okay, back to work. I am looking for that perfect cover shot for the magazine!
(sally wrote this blog :) )
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