Hello everyone. If you don't see me in the dive shop over the next couple of days, it is because I am in New York visiting my family for 5 days. NY is so convenient to fly to from Saint Martin, so it isn't difficult for an impromptu trip. Chris is holding the fort down and doing a great job, as usual.
The main reason that I am here is to visit my grandmother, Nanna Vera. She is from England and is visiting my parents in New York (my mum is English for those of you that didn't already know) for about 6 weeks. So I am joining for the last one. You wouldn't know it from her youthful appearance, but in just 5 short years she will be receiving a letter from the Queen of England congratulating her on her 100th birthday. She should be coming to Saint Martin in November, so if you see a lovely British lady with a head like a white hydrangea knitting like crazy, that would be Nanna. I don't think I am going to be able to convince her to scuba dive, but you never know. I have trained a few grandmothers to dive in the past.
So, you probably are not interested at all about what I am doing in NY as some of you are probably from NY! The reason you read my blog is so that you know what is going on in Sunny Saint Martin. Well, from talking to Chris last night yesterday was a great day of diving! We had three divers come in the other day that have been coming to Saint Martin for years, but always dived with centers on the Dutch side. They are staying in Guana Bay, which is almost exactly on the other side of the island from us in Grand Case. They said that they were sick of diving the same sites on the Dutch Side and wanted to experience some of the sites on the French Side, so they came to us. Well, according to Chris they were not disappointed and were amazed at the health of the reef and the biodiversity of the fish. There was even a Humpback whale spotting in between Japanese Garden and Chico at Tintamarre!
Also, there is nice family of four that is just finishing up their certification dives this afternoon. They came in last week and made the booking with me. It was a little difficult to fit them in, as they hadn't made an advanced booking, so if you are a group of three or four, please try and make the booking in advance, as we would hate not be able to accommodate you!
I did want to write a little paragraph about the other day when I was swimming with dolphins. Well, actually I wanted to write a whole blog about it, but then something took my time away, and I didn't get the chance.
Anyway... it was one of those rare afternoons where we only had one diver on the boat and we were going to the Dutch Side for a Deep Dive. So Chris said, "hey, why don't we do a fun dive? We'll all go." Well, I had loads of paperwork to do (running a dive center isn't all sunshine and fish you know... there is a lot of behind the scenes action that goes on as well) so I said I couldn't. Besides, someone should stay in the shop in case future customers stopped by. Everyone was going to go out... Mark and Jenn (our two Divemaster interns), Aure and Stuart (our two instructors) and of course Chris. At the last minute I couldn't take it, so I yelled out "Hang on! I'm coming." I rushed out and put up a sign on the door "Sorry, out diving. Back at 4:30 PM" and we headed out. On the way, just as we were in front of Bay Rouge past Marigot, we saw the breathtaking site of Dolphins swimming our way. Chris quickly maneuvered the boat so that we were navigating with the Dolphins and not crossing in front of their path. Chris slowed the boat, and we went with the dolphins for a bit. Then Chris brought the boat to a halt and the Dolphins were still all around the boat. So I said "I'm getting in, I'm getting in." I grabbed my mask, and jumped over the side.
Well, from the surface Dolphins look so beautiful and graceful, but once you jump in and look at them under the water, they are huge. HUGE! And they move fast. I didn't even have my fins, and although the water was clear, it was pretty deep. The ease with which the Dolphins move through the water really made me realize how clumsy and inefficient I must seem in the water. After just about 2 seconds, I started to feel a little insecure. "Hey. Is anyone else coming in? These Dolphins are really big..." One Dolphin turned around and swam towards me, it was probably only about 10 feet away, and we made eye contact. Although it was a special moment, I have to admit, those Dolphins are big, and I was scared. After a few minutes of looking down at the Dolphins and the looking topside for reassurance from everyone on the boat, I got back on. It stays with you, those moments, and makes it all worthwhile. There is nothing better when you have tons of work to do on the computer and accounts than saying "screw it! I'm going diving" and be rewarded with about 10 Dolphins and some really close encounters in the water!
Thinking about that almost makes me forget how cold it is here. I don't know how I used to do it, but I have become a wimp since my time in the tropics, and it is cold here!!!
Well, say hi to the boys for me if you are in Saint Martin this week. They are working hard in my absence, and if you buy something or pay for something, please remind them to write it in the book! Or else it is a nightmare for me!!! Or, if you are in Saint Martin and need something from NY, let me know as soon as you can.
Write more soon...
(Sally wrote this blog :) From NY)
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
For Stuart's Mum
Apparently Stuart's mum reads my blog all the time. This way she gets to keep up tabs on what her little boy is getting up to in Saint Martin all the way from Sunny England (well, sometimes sunny England). So, I thought that I would write a small blog about Stuart, so that she can catch up on some of the great things that he has been up to.
Well, where should I start? Stuart told me not to write anything that would worry you. So, I am not going to write about the deep dive that we did the other day near the Fusheng. I am not going to write about the fact that the main reason that I went on this dive was so that I could see Stuart at 140 feet and hopefully see him under the influence of Nitrogen Narcosis. I told Stuart that I wouldn't write about the fact that at 143 feet I looked over at Stuart and made the Narcosis sign (this is done by putting up your first and second finger together and then making little circles) to ask him if he was narked, and he made the sign right back to me, but it was much more exaggerated and his eyes were wide with is eyebrows up, and I think I heard him mumble something under his regulator like "f-ing right". But of course, Stuart's mum knows that he doesn't ever swear, (he is a clean living young man) so I must have misunderstood the mumbling. I will never in my life forget this special moment that Stuart and I shared in our state of nitrogen narcosis at 143 feet. So, in order to not worry Stuart's mom, I agreed that I would keep this incident off of the blog. So, let's just keep it between us then...
According to Wikipedia (of course the most official of sources) "Narcosis while diving (also known as nitrogen narcosis, inert gas narcosis, raptures of the deep, Martini effect) is a reversible alteration in consciousness that occurs while scuba diving at depth. It produces a state similar to alcohol intoxication or nitrous oxide inhalation. It can occur during shallow dives, but usually does not become noticeable until greater depths, beyond 30 meters (100 ft)."
We teach our students about this, but Stuart had never experienced it himself, so I thought that he should to better his teaching. It is, however, reversible, (as wiki points out) and even if Stuart's mom should find out about the deep diving, she shouldn't worry. Stuart is such an amazing, competent diver, that even in a state similar to the inhalation of nitrous oxide at over 40 meters under the surface of the ocean, he can still maintain his usual safe diving practices.
We were actually diving near the Fusheng in order to find another mythical wreck that is down there just a bit deeper, but we were unsuccessful. Well, that was the legitimate reason for diving, I just wanted to see Stuart Narked!
Other items that Stuart probably wouldn't want me to tell his mum about is that he hurt his foot the other day doing some sort of superhuman-deep-water-forward-flip-entry into the water. He is fine now though, the swelling went down and the doctor said in a few days the likely hood that we need to amputate his leg will go down from 90% to 75%. So not to worry.
What I am allowed to tell Stuart's mum is about what a great instructor he is. We get so much positive feedback from his divers and students that it would make Stuart's mum beam with pride. Recently Stuart looked up his records and he has certified over 200 students, and some of them (believe me) were a challenge. So this is no small feat! I can tell Stuart's mum that Jenn recently brought back some nice curtains from NY to help decorate his apartment, and he also received a sofa from his devoted employers (that would be Chris and me) which has a lovely throw over it. Although, I must tell Stuart's mum that he has an 8 x 10 inch picture frame on the wall with nothing in it!! So if you need an idea of something to send over, a photograph to fill the sad picture frame would be a great idea. He also recently bought a pan to cook, although I think the only action it has seen was the other day when he boiled some water for some tea. The intention to cook is there, however, so Stuart's mum should be pleased with this as well.
Hmmm, what else would Stuart's mum like to know. Since Stuart has been with us he has blossomed as a boat captain and has completed a firefighting course, a sea survival course, a marine radio course, a power boat course, and also is picking up a bit of french a long the way. We were going to start having french lessons once a week, but this hasn't happened yet. I blame Calmos, the pub down the road! He is an excellent boat captain though, driving Octopussy with pride. I could probably come up with some inappropriate comments about the name of the boat and Stuart as captain, but for the sake of Stuart's mom, I won't.
I won't write about Stuart's love life, as he is a tall guy (I was going to write big, but since he has been throwing those tanks on and off the boat he isn't really that big any more) and he may throttle me if I do! Boss or no boss, some topics really are off limits. Although I will say that as his mom already knows, he is a real catch!
I will now search through all my photos for the one that Stuart's mum will appreciate the most... I'm thinking the one below, where Stuart is about to teach a Rescue Diver course and he is all serious!!!
I hope that Stuart's mum enjoyed hearing all about Stuart in Saint Martin, and I also hope that Stuart doesn't batter me for writing this.
(Sally wrote this blog :) )
Well, where should I start? Stuart told me not to write anything that would worry you. So, I am not going to write about the deep dive that we did the other day near the Fusheng. I am not going to write about the fact that the main reason that I went on this dive was so that I could see Stuart at 140 feet and hopefully see him under the influence of Nitrogen Narcosis. I told Stuart that I wouldn't write about the fact that at 143 feet I looked over at Stuart and made the Narcosis sign (this is done by putting up your first and second finger together and then making little circles) to ask him if he was narked, and he made the sign right back to me, but it was much more exaggerated and his eyes were wide with is eyebrows up, and I think I heard him mumble something under his regulator like "f-ing right". But of course, Stuart's mum knows that he doesn't ever swear, (he is a clean living young man) so I must have misunderstood the mumbling. I will never in my life forget this special moment that Stuart and I shared in our state of nitrogen narcosis at 143 feet. So, in order to not worry Stuart's mom, I agreed that I would keep this incident off of the blog. So, let's just keep it between us then...
According to Wikipedia (of course the most official of sources) "Narcosis while diving (also known as nitrogen narcosis, inert gas narcosis, raptures of the deep, Martini effect) is a reversible alteration in consciousness that occurs while scuba diving at depth. It produces a state similar to alcohol intoxication or nitrous oxide inhalation. It can occur during shallow dives, but usually does not become noticeable until greater depths, beyond 30 meters (100 ft)."
We teach our students about this, but Stuart had never experienced it himself, so I thought that he should to better his teaching. It is, however, reversible, (as wiki points out) and even if Stuart's mom should find out about the deep diving, she shouldn't worry. Stuart is such an amazing, competent diver, that even in a state similar to the inhalation of nitrous oxide at over 40 meters under the surface of the ocean, he can still maintain his usual safe diving practices.
We were actually diving near the Fusheng in order to find another mythical wreck that is down there just a bit deeper, but we were unsuccessful. Well, that was the legitimate reason for diving, I just wanted to see Stuart Narked!
Other items that Stuart probably wouldn't want me to tell his mum about is that he hurt his foot the other day doing some sort of superhuman-deep-water-forward-flip-entry into the water. He is fine now though, the swelling went down and the doctor said in a few days the likely hood that we need to amputate his leg will go down from 90% to 75%. So not to worry.
What I am allowed to tell Stuart's mum is about what a great instructor he is. We get so much positive feedback from his divers and students that it would make Stuart's mum beam with pride. Recently Stuart looked up his records and he has certified over 200 students, and some of them (believe me) were a challenge. So this is no small feat! I can tell Stuart's mum that Jenn recently brought back some nice curtains from NY to help decorate his apartment, and he also received a sofa from his devoted employers (that would be Chris and me) which has a lovely throw over it. Although, I must tell Stuart's mum that he has an 8 x 10 inch picture frame on the wall with nothing in it!! So if you need an idea of something to send over, a photograph to fill the sad picture frame would be a great idea. He also recently bought a pan to cook, although I think the only action it has seen was the other day when he boiled some water for some tea. The intention to cook is there, however, so Stuart's mum should be pleased with this as well.
Hmmm, what else would Stuart's mum like to know. Since Stuart has been with us he has blossomed as a boat captain and has completed a firefighting course, a sea survival course, a marine radio course, a power boat course, and also is picking up a bit of french a long the way. We were going to start having french lessons once a week, but this hasn't happened yet. I blame Calmos, the pub down the road! He is an excellent boat captain though, driving Octopussy with pride. I could probably come up with some inappropriate comments about the name of the boat and Stuart as captain, but for the sake of Stuart's mom, I won't.
I won't write about Stuart's love life, as he is a tall guy (I was going to write big, but since he has been throwing those tanks on and off the boat he isn't really that big any more) and he may throttle me if I do! Boss or no boss, some topics really are off limits. Although I will say that as his mom already knows, he is a real catch!
I will now search through all my photos for the one that Stuart's mum will appreciate the most... I'm thinking the one below, where Stuart is about to teach a Rescue Diver course and he is all serious!!!
I hope that Stuart's mum enjoyed hearing all about Stuart in Saint Martin, and I also hope that Stuart doesn't batter me for writing this.
(Sally wrote this blog :) )
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Could it get any better?
Hey Blog Followers,
Thanks again for following the blog and hope that you are all well.
Its been a while since we blogged, mainly because we have had another crazy few weeks of business which is just awesome.
Both boats have been working this week and last and we have had Certification after Certification.
You may wonder about the Title, well it's true, could it get any better? Sally and I have been out diving along with Stuart and Auree and we have seen Dolphins, Eagle Rays, Turtles, huge amounts of fish and the sea conditions have been absolutely amazing.
On Tuesday 16th March the ocean was like a swimming pool (not full of Band aids and chlorine) just dead flat and calm, so we closed up and headed out for some exploration dives. We found a shallow reef on the charts (which bottoms out at 45 feet) and headed out some 7 miles offshore to dive it.
We got kitted up and jumped in, I clocked 110feet and found nothing but flat sand and a barracuda!! You never know.... that treasure chest is out there somewhere and one day we will find it!!
So we headed back to Tintamarre for a few beers and some well deserved RnR. Stuart and Auree decided to bury little Alex on the beach which was entertaining. Then Auree saw Dolphins on the way back and Stuart says he saw Elvis..its amazing the affects of a few Presidente beers!
Anyway a great day out and alot of fun.
Congratulations to all our Students espcially, Scott, Patty, Kelly, Connor and Keith all passed Open Water and Advanced Open Water with us, we had a great time with all of you and you are awesome divers.
There is so much to tell you, so I will try to keep it short.
Sally and I moved into our beautiful new house in Grand Case, that is located on the beach that will also be the new Dive operation. The shop will stay in Grand Case on the street as a booking shop and boutique but the new place will house the compressors, Nitrox filling station, equipment, free parking and offer customers a piece of heaven in Grand Case to chill and enjoy a beer after your dive.
Good news for us - no more loading tanks on the boat, we aim to fill the tanks on the boat.
Also free 32% Nitrox for certified customers - we will be the only dive shop on
St. Martin / St. Maarten to offer this and it should be up and running by next season.
As some of you are aware I recently went to the UK to see my Family (Hi Dad - he reads the blog all the time!!) and also had the chance of using an Inspiration Vision Closed Circuit Rebreather.
This was an extremely interesting experience and not quite what I expected.
Water conditions weren't great, we were diving a quarry where ambient temperature was zero and water temp 4 degrees C or in old money thats 39 degrees F.
First dive was planned at 90 minutes (you need 6 hours to be certfied) where I lasted a gruelling 87 minutes before I got out and cried with pain...
We then decided that the quarry was too cold and went to HMS Scylla in the seas off Cornwall. The vis was like diving in soup so we hit 16 meters couldn't see eachother and came straight back up and off to the quarry again!!
The best way I can describe using a CCR is like riding a bicyle all your life and then jumping on a uni-cycle that is computer controlled - a very challenging and humbling experience as a Master Scuba Intructor!!
But in warm water this could be a great experience and soon i will be buying one with the intention of becoming a CCR Instructor and teaching CCR in St.Martin / St. Maarten. We will be the first to offer this and as usual it will be low Instructor to student ratios, one to one.
Sally will write more soon, maybe even this afternoon!
Thanks for reading,
Chris
Thanks again for following the blog and hope that you are all well.
Its been a while since we blogged, mainly because we have had another crazy few weeks of business which is just awesome.
Both boats have been working this week and last and we have had Certification after Certification.
You may wonder about the Title, well it's true, could it get any better? Sally and I have been out diving along with Stuart and Auree and we have seen Dolphins, Eagle Rays, Turtles, huge amounts of fish and the sea conditions have been absolutely amazing.
On Tuesday 16th March the ocean was like a swimming pool (not full of Band aids and chlorine) just dead flat and calm, so we closed up and headed out for some exploration dives. We found a shallow reef on the charts (which bottoms out at 45 feet) and headed out some 7 miles offshore to dive it.
We got kitted up and jumped in, I clocked 110feet and found nothing but flat sand and a barracuda!! You never know.... that treasure chest is out there somewhere and one day we will find it!!
So we headed back to Tintamarre for a few beers and some well deserved RnR. Stuart and Auree decided to bury little Alex on the beach which was entertaining. Then Auree saw Dolphins on the way back and Stuart says he saw Elvis..its amazing the affects of a few Presidente beers!
Anyway a great day out and alot of fun.
Congratulations to all our Students espcially, Scott, Patty, Kelly, Connor and Keith all passed Open Water and Advanced Open Water with us, we had a great time with all of you and you are awesome divers.
There is so much to tell you, so I will try to keep it short.
Sally and I moved into our beautiful new house in Grand Case, that is located on the beach that will also be the new Dive operation. The shop will stay in Grand Case on the street as a booking shop and boutique but the new place will house the compressors, Nitrox filling station, equipment, free parking and offer customers a piece of heaven in Grand Case to chill and enjoy a beer after your dive.
Good news for us - no more loading tanks on the boat, we aim to fill the tanks on the boat.
Also free 32% Nitrox for certified customers - we will be the only dive shop on
St. Martin / St. Maarten to offer this and it should be up and running by next season.
As some of you are aware I recently went to the UK to see my Family (Hi Dad - he reads the blog all the time!!) and also had the chance of using an Inspiration Vision Closed Circuit Rebreather.
This was an extremely interesting experience and not quite what I expected.
Water conditions weren't great, we were diving a quarry where ambient temperature was zero and water temp 4 degrees C or in old money thats 39 degrees F.
First dive was planned at 90 minutes (you need 6 hours to be certfied) where I lasted a gruelling 87 minutes before I got out and cried with pain...
We then decided that the quarry was too cold and went to HMS Scylla in the seas off Cornwall. The vis was like diving in soup so we hit 16 meters couldn't see eachother and came straight back up and off to the quarry again!!
The best way I can describe using a CCR is like riding a bicyle all your life and then jumping on a uni-cycle that is computer controlled - a very challenging and humbling experience as a Master Scuba Intructor!!
But in warm water this could be a great experience and soon i will be buying one with the intention of becoming a CCR Instructor and teaching CCR in St.Martin / St. Maarten. We will be the first to offer this and as usual it will be low Instructor to student ratios, one to one.
Sally will write more soon, maybe even this afternoon!
Thanks for reading,
Chris
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