Monday, February 29, 2016

George comes back to complete AOW course


 We love when divers have  return visits  and its great to see Georg back with us.
 Last time he did the |Open water diver course . This time its the Advanced Open Water course

Georg after his Deep and navigation dives

Divers coming back after a great trip

Slowly Backing the dive boat up to the beach
The weather has turned fabulous...blue skies, too much sun!!  and calm seas  so off to SHARK BANK  and Rays Point. YES lots of fish, rays, and several sharks were seen!!

 So here they all come back to the Dive Centre.

Setting the back anchor to maintain position
Divers and equipment begin to get off the boat

The slow walk up the beach tot he Dive Centre and fresh water showers




Resident Mike dives twice every week during his Seychelles visits

Happy Instructor Sabrina had a good dive

Dive Master trainees have a Deep Dive scenario on Shark Bank .....were better!!??


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Divemaster trainee Alex and Skipper NIckmann

Sometimes we do get a few quiet moments at the Dive Centre  and get to make friends .
Alex is from Venice , Italy and local skipper Nickermann  getting to know each other

Alex is studying  to become a Dive Master. Nickerman wants to increase his CV with Rescue Diver  and Dive Master 

Love the banana shoes

 I just had to take a photo of the Banana shoes...........I think they are just wonderful


If I knew how to get them in from china I would retail them !!

Stormy Day maintenance


During the NW Monsoon sometimes we get a good storm passing through ...especially if there is a cyclone to the south around Madagascar and Mauritius. So if not diving there is always something to do . Today was no exceptions. 1/2 the staff are training in the swimming  pool  to get ready for PADI certification tomorrow and the others are busy doing repair work and maintenance .
Our newest staff members Kevin and Dean are busy giving equipment racks a new coat of paint

 We had a very busy morning today  working on equipment room a, compressor room and outside wash bins
Dive Master Mike and trainee Ro give the wash basin a fresh coat of colour
Last job is repaint the tools board ..Kevin gets as much paint on his hand and on the board!

Skipper Nickmann and Dive master trainee Ro painting walls

 

Sunshine and clam seas are back after the 48 hour storm

Glad to report that the storm only lasted 48 hours and that the sun is shining again on Beau
 Vallon
view outside the Dive Centre ...blue skies and turquoise waters....lovely!!
.

Friday, February 19, 2016

A good boat dive with Underwater Centre

Backward roll starts the dive...remember the Buddy Check first

Descending down gently. use the an choir line please!

enjoy the coral reef
Ascend slowly back to the boat

Inflate the BCD and relax........get ready for the deep water exit


Always watch out for the wonders of nature

during routine cleaning of the Dive Centre and prepping the wash bins today look what we found...

attached to the inner wall was this beautiful PRAYING MANTUS . We all took photos and his eyes never left us

Green Praying Mantus with enormous eyes
Not everyone likes bugs but we do get some fantastic specimens that really enthrall us

Final exams for Dive Master trainees are looming


 We have 3  Dive |Master trainees at the moment and the final written exam is looming  very close

 cramming of RDP tables ...exams are coming !! 
We are lucky to have a mixture of trainees this month .
 Ro is a School teacher form England

Alexandra is a Gondolier from Venice .......the ONLY girl to hold such a title . She speaks English German and of course Italian.

Montell is a Seychellois  who has just complet4ed his accountancy studies  and is waiting for his graduation certification before starting in the family firm. With his love of diving what better way to spend the interim 3 months . He is fluent in English, German and Creole with a smattering of French

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Stormy day on Beau Vallon beach NW Mahe


It would be wrong of us to say that every day is a Paradise day ...........we do get rain and during the NW Monsoon the occasional storm . Today is such a day as there is a Cyclone in Mauritius

Due to such rough seas we cancelled all dives today. ..this happened only once 4 years ago so it isn't a regular event


This is the windward side of the island during December to March . Good news is the storm is due to reduce starting tomorrow!!  HURRAY!!

 

Equipment room after all the painting


All the painting is done and racks are back in place ......not bad for a few hours of work

Note Ro's artistic water effect from dark blue to surface white waves

What to do on stormy days

during the NW Monsoon season we sometimes get bad storms especially when there is a cyclone around Madagascar and Mauritius. So it was to day .
                     1/2 the staff are doing training in the pool and the others are busy painting and doing maintenance  around the Dive Centre.

Skipper Nickmann & Dive Master trainee painting walls

Kevin  painting the tools board

Dive Master Mike and trainee Ro giving the wash basin a new coat of colour


Newest staff members Kevin and Dean giving the equipment racks a new coat of paint 
 

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Happy Chinese New Year

Putting on weight belt

Every year we are pleased to welcome our Chinese visitors who visit in February to celebrate the Chinese New Year holidays

 

Ready to hit the water  for their first SCUBA dive

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

February 16th 2016 ........a very wet day in paradise


 Its the rainy season and although we have had lots of sunshine lately the rain was always going to come  for a sharp and heavy downpour.............and it did!!!

rainy days in paradise

Happy Valentine's Day


 Underwater Centre always likes to celebrate Valentine's Day  with soft toys, good wishes and
Meet the staff
 lots of photos. Special dives are scheduled and good wishes placed on the board

 
 
 
UWC Instructor TED wishes everyone a Happy Valentine's Day

Merry Christmas for UWC and MCSS staff members

                         Christmas  day was  celebrated  at home with friends and pets around
We hope everyone had a wonderful day  with lots of friends, food and flowing good spirits

Is there a Dr in the house?   Meet Dr David and Dr Imogen from MCSS

Meet Dorra the newest pet to arrive at home 
12 year old Dobby joins in the Christmas spirit

MCSS and UWC staff ready for  lunch