Congratulations to all our October students

Congratulations to all our October students :

SCUBA Diver: Natalie Parry, Llyod Cantillon, Sean France,

Openwater Diver: Jason Hopp, Colette Delavenn, Nico Hendygk, Teariki Denis, Nicolas Kostrzewa, Anthony Bridgett,  Christian Keay, Jonathan Keay, Gerry Keay, Richard Keay, Justin Daugherty,

Advanced Openwater Diver: Carlos Figueroa, Sarah Timmermans, Branden Michaels, Nicolas Kostrzewa, Romain Deteve,

Emergency First Responder:Tarry Dicks, Steven Roseline, Yannich vidot Gilles Haudrechy, Vanesia Beaudouin,

Whale Shark  Specialty: Stephan Popp,  Jurgen , Jacqeline Talbot,

Naturalist Diver: Michael Wolinsky,

Deep Diver  Steven Washington,

Congratulations to all our September students

Bon Plonge and well done to all our  September graduates :

Scuba Diver: Buddy Kuzen,

Open Water Diver: Klaus Fritzsche,Isaac Lengerich, Andrew Whitehead, Borger Oestby, Per Spigseth, Andrew Wolinsky, Mark Bol, Vanessa Scott, Robert Heiderer, Rosanna Gawthrop, Monica Raschle.

Advanced Openwater Diver : Ryan Morse, Leonie Becker, Issac Lengerich, Michael Wolinsky,

Emergency First Responder: Louise Jenkins ,

Rescue Diver:   Louise Jenkins, David, Priddis,

Deep Diver : Robert Vening,

Enriched Air NITROX: Robert Vening,  Isaac Lengerich,

Drift Diver: Patrick Schmoll, Katharina Tataruch,

Delayed SMB:  Partick Schmoll, Katharina Tataruch

BEST DIVE OF THE WEEK

We will be posting what we think is the  best dive of the week..............it may be due to great fish activity , good corals or  intertesting and rare  sightings!!.  It has beed an exceptionally long SE monsoon with  water tempersture staying below 26.C  and  water remaining  heavy with plankton causing lower  visbility  . This means looking towards the macro  side of SCUBA.   This week we had  a superb shoal of Barbel eels on Dredger Wreck all tightly packed together  and a rare Indian Ocean Walkman on the Aquarium

Indian Ocean Walkman, Scorpian Fish

Distinctive orange flash on the side fins

GOOD BYE to our 3 Divemasters

The end of the three month Divemaster  Course with Internship is here and we must say '' good- bye '' to Jarron  as he heads back to Australia. ....... but not after a great beach Bar B Q with bonfire night!!

Jarron, Alex and Lee

Jarron has arrived safely back home  in Australia and is  very much aware of the drop in temperature . Lee will be joining GVI on Mahe  as the latest STAFF member and Alex is off to Aplhonse Island  to check out the bone fishing  that the island is famous for ........ we wish them all well in their future careers and hope our paths will cross again.

Maintenance at the Dive Centre continues

How many Divemasters does it take to rebind a dive boat ladder?? If you are not sure just take a look below!!                                                                      

                                                                                     The last of our 4 boats in the REEF DIVER fleet will soon be out of the ship yard after new engines , new canopy, painting and antifouling so the boys are busy with the final touches to prepare her for  service in a day or two.

Our other Divemasters are still busy painting    but and end is in sight !!  Carpenters are putting in the last of the nails and after a good paint job  we should be ready to move in this weekend!!!  We cant wait!

New T Shirt design is launched !

 The latest T shirt design has been   cleverly completed by Instructor Sabrina

''BETTER A BAD DAY IN THE WATER THAN A GOOD DAY IN THE OFFICE''   is certainly true for all the staff of Underwater Centre. From left to right meet:
Nigel ( Skipper), Michael ( Divemaster / Skipper) , Yannick ( work attachment from Maritime college), Mervin ( Skipper), Sabrina ( Master SCUBA Diver Trainer), Tony IDC Staff Instructor and our new arival,  Jessica ( Divemaster) 

Congratulations to all our Students for August 2010

Congratulations  are due once again to al the following students:

Junior Openwater Diver : Sue Ellen Cheedle,

Openwater Divers:  Laura Lockher , Benjamin Thurston, Jennifer Cook, Caroline Cheedle,  Alex Murray, Jenny Murray, Ryan Morse, Andrew Laboudallon, Emma Forman, Maria Van Geldorp, Laura Vitier,  Brandon Michaels .

Advanced Openwater : Benjamin Thurston, Richard Abbott, Ryan Richards, Kelsey Rush, Jennifer Cook,  Adham Khoury, Louise Jenkins

Emergenct First Responder : Laura Sennett , Christian Lesperance, Margaret Mothe,

Rescue Diver : Dave Wilson, Katarzyna Zdaniewicz, Monica Sykopetritis, Joshua Mathias, Jacqui Lane, Katharina Tontsch, Nicky Williams, Sylvie Berthelot, Robert Howard, Silvia Bachmann, Samantha Vareltzis,

Enriched Air ( NITROX) : Christopher Gummo, Kelsey Rush, Andrew Rush, Richard Abbott,  Brandon Michaels,

Wreck Diver: Richard Abbott,

Deep Diver : Richard Abbott,

Peak Performance Buoyancy : Richard Abbott,

Whale Shark season begins !!

 Every year  Team members form MCSS and Underwater Centre  have a start of season Bar B Q. to help get to know each other and make friends.So this year went with a big bang as Dr Rowat cooked up the first of several season  big Bar B Q's

MCSS Team members this year stretch from East  to  West including America, Australia , England, Holland, South Africa. ....7 girls  and 5 boys .

Underwater Staff  decides to let their hair down......Senior Staff Tony , Sabrina and '' CORAL HEAD'' Michael  getting in the mood..


Eventually the evening came to a close and  it was time to go home '' Seychelles style ''..............just how many can you get into  4 x 4 pick up?

Pilots have successfully done two flights  with both days encounters registering 10 - 13 whale shark encounters of fish over 8 meters in length ...............it looks as if  2010 will be a good season.

Rescue Diver Weekend

IDC Staff Instructor  Tony  loves doing Rescue Courses and enjoys talking lots of photos of the whole weekend training .............and this weekend was no exception .

Divemaster Alex is this victim and is being towed back to shore

Follow the course from  Outdoor Classroom ,  taking Exams,  pre dive preperation and course excersise........its serious fun  but a great course!




Divemaster Jarron  assists with in water  ventilation practice

Divemaster Lee is assisting with the course  and managed to have problems on multiple occassions. It seems Monica  exjoyed the CPR excercises!







 Finally everyone had   individually rescued or assisted in a rescue of  at least two victims.  We need to congratulate all candidates on a great job well done and to all the Divemasters for assisting so well  and in having so many repeated priblems!!!  Well done Divemasters

New Book on WHALE SHARKS of Seychelles arrives!

 At last the  boxes have arrived from  the UK with the newest book on Whale Sharks .............written by Dr David Rowat, Chairman of MCSS.

The book has fantastic photos of sharks and snorkelling encounters as well as  up to date  information on research into these  magnificent  creatures.

Recommended retail price is Seychelles Rupees 800 with an introductory '' SPECIAL'' offer  of the first 50 copies sold  before end of October at SR700 ....copies are already  moving  so dont wait. Want to order by e mail. No problem!!  Just get in touch

New member of Staff for Underwater Centre

A  new Divemaster  for Underwater Centre is Jessica Fonseka .  Jessica  has spent much of her  time between UK and Seychelles  and has now opted to live full time on Mahe.  .

She started her diving career with Underwater Centre  who trained her as an Openwater Diver  several years ago  and started her on the path  to professional SCUBA diving certifications.  Jessica has already  put her name forward for the next IDC in February 2011 so we will all be working  hard towards a successfull  IDC / IE .    Welcome to the Dive Team, Jessica

Dive Centre maintenance...can be a laugh!

Sometimes Dive Centres get quiet......... not as hectic and just a few divers  and courses so lots of oppertunity to do maintenance and repairs.

Sounds a bit boring but actaually every event can be a laugh!   Washing the bus '' Mervin style''  is  the first time  the roof of the bus has been so clean!!  ......... thank goodness he is of  very slight  build  although very strong






 Maritime Training  Students  , Andrew ( aka RAMBO)  and  newest  trainee  Yannick attack the concrete  bench  with hammer and jissel.......... bits fly  about  and dust   everywere but the end job is perfect.  Well done to them  both.

Professional carpenters are employed  to completely change the Retail  display area of the  shop................lots of cupboards, shelves and hanging spaces  to display all kinds of sales items. ..... wetsuits, lycra suits, masks, snorkels,  fins, boots,  clips, cameras,  fish ID books  as well as the new Whale Shark book from MCSS.  Watch this space for the final  and finnished  interior design of Underwater Centre

We cant leave out the Dive Masters who are  very busy changing old lockers into new '' DAY LOCKERS'' for boat divers.............never know were to put your towel, beach shoes , dry clothes????.......well now you do.



 Changes are  going on continuously ......... many of them small  but all make a big difference to the   Dive Centre image.  We hope you will enjoy   when next you visit.

Jeff revisits Underwater Centre as aka J Bond 007

Jeff  has visited us for over 15 years  and we just fell in love with his new wetsuit!!  James Bond 007 was in town ..... and what fun we all had both above and below water .  maybe it was the fancy dress wet suit that did it but Jeff's first dive was also the first WHALE SHARK encounter of the season with all the divers managing a 10 minute swim with the giant of the sea. Since then there has been 2 whale sharks and 2 manta rays seen  so we are hoping for a great season

Whale sharks must be in season all around as HMS Northumberland had an encounter  out in deep water and actually managed to do a short swim along side the ship!!

Seychelles Maretine Training work attachment student gets certified

Andrew Laboudallon has been on work attatchment from the MTC college for several months and has assisted with all kinds of jobs  around the Dive Centre and on the Dive boats so finally the day came for him to graduate as a PADI Openwater Diver.

 

Hopefully he will continue with this SCUBA training in the next student year of 2011.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JULY STUDENTS

CONGRATULATIONS TO JULY STUDENTS.....well done and happy diving

MASTER SEAL TEAM:  Amalia Gru,

SCUBA DIVER: Antoine Geron, Gordon Cockburn,

JR OPEN WATER DIVER: William Robins, Ole Reyer, Calandra Tapp, Samuel Tapp, Lizzie Cole

OPEN WATER DIVER: Fazila Talati, James McGill, Keiran James, Carl McGowan, Anthony Carr, Philip Mayo, Andrew Hill,  Andrew Peasegood, Jacqui Lane,Jurien Didon,  Steven Washington,  Carl Spalin, 
Sarah Flury, Max Reyer, Anne Reyer, Adham Khoury,  Ulf Reyer,

ADVANCED OPEN WATER: Christopher Gummo,  Steven Washington,  Jason Smith,

EMERGENCY   FIRST RESPONDER;  George Cole,

RESCUE DIVER: Lynette Ferreira,  George Cole, Allison Herman, 


ENRICHED AIR DIVER (NITROX): Jared Beck, Hernan Borja, Martin Whiteley, Victoria Cole, Lee cassidy, Alex Filous, Jarron Cole,

NIGHT DIVER;  Philip Hanton, Martin Whiteley, Hernan Borja, Will Jackson,

WRECK DIVER; Hernan Borja,


UNDERWATER NAVIGATOR;  Hernon Borja,

DIGITAL U/W PHOTOGRAPHER ;  Steven Washington,  Richard Abbott,  Jason Smith

MASTER SCUBA DIVER : Thomas Conely,

DIVEMASTER;  Jarron Cole, Lee Cassidy, Alex filous.

DIVEMASTERS doing a great job

Our newest Divemaster Trainees  have been doing a great deal of study and have managed to pass all exams with flying colours. 

They then went on to practical training  going diving with certified divers and assisting Instructors with all kinds of PADI courses  and before long were fully qualified DIVEMASTERS.

Training now continues with INTERSHIP   till mid September before they leave us for  employment withing the diving industry.

RFA DILIGENCE revisits SEYCHELLES

It was with great pleasure that Underwater Centre   welcomed crew of RFA DILIGENCE on a repeat visit to Seychelles



Old friends dives regularly and completed the NIGHT DIVER SPECIALTY  course with  new crew members doing the PADI Openwater Diver course  and several happy divers  just going diving








The weather was good , the divers enjoying all the dives and many happy faces  were seen  after graduation.

We wish everyone on board safe sailing and hope to see you all again very soon 

Congratulations to all our students for June 2010

Congratulationa to all out students.............well done!!!!

Open Water Diver:  Richard Abbott,  Mark Sharples, Laurence Poulton,  David Coppock, Jamie Bowden, Steven Washington

Advanced Open Water Diver: Sylvain Oliveira,  Shaun Cubitt

Rescue Diver : Hernan Borja, Thomas Conley, Jan Moser,  Jared Beck

Peak Performance Buoyancy : Hernan Borja,

Digital UW Photographer :  Edward Bridge, Charlotte Pryor, Thomas Conely,

Search & Recovery Diver:  Thomas Conley,

Enriched Air NITROX : Thomas Conely,

Deep Diver: Hernan Borja,

.

Welcome to HMS NORTHUMBERLAND

Mid June saw the arrival of the HMS NORTHUMBERLAND  and we were pleased to help with diving for certified divers and courses for beginners.

             2 very important people ........the Captain and the Chef

Several of our dive sites were visited  , including SHARK BANK, GROUPER and BAY TERNAY MARINE PARK

           Group photo of divers, students  and Underwater Centre staff

The WHITE  ENSIGEN  flag  was proudly dispalyed at the Dive Centre and then  taken underwater for a   group photo of all assembled  ships divers

Since leaving Seychelles the ship reports that they have seen several WHALE SHARKS  in a large group that counted  over 30 !  This is great news as these sharks will soon be arriving in Seychelles waters for the September and October  Marine Conservation Society research program

.

Good Bye to Charlotte and Edward and Hello to Alex, Jarron and Lee

June was the change over month of our Divemaster trainees. We said goodbye to Charlotte  and Edward .......to be missed greatly ...........and said hello to Alex , Jarron and Lee  who will be with us for 3 months doing their full training and internship program.

                 New Divemaster Trainees Lee, Alex and Jarron

What a mix of students..........Lee is from the UK, Jarron from Australia  and Alex from the USA and already they are a great hit with the staff and clients!!

Congratulations to all out students for May 2010

It is the end of the month and time to congratulate all of our students who have all worked so hard !!

Scuba Diver: Gustavo Manso, Kevin Franks, Susanne Boretsky,

Openwater Diver: Christopher Gummo, Benjamin Nelson II, Suzanne Krauss, Paul Prokopovich, Mylene Gallaud,  Daniel Holzinger,  Kevin Franks, Gustavo Manso

Advanced Openwater Diver: Tracy Young, Thomas Conley,  Marjorie Odier,

Emergency First Responder: Hernan Borja, Thomas Conley,  Jared Beck,

Rescue Diver: Elizabeth Harris,  Michael Muller, Tai Higgo,  Alex Filous, Iona McDonald, Lee Cassidy Jarron Cole

Enriched Air Nitrox Pedro M Pires da Cruz, Christina Sundelin, Charlotte Pryor, Norbert Purcell,

Deep Diver: Edward Bridge, Christina Sundelin,Seppo Nurmi, Thomas Conley

Wreck Diver Thomas  Conley,  Edward Bridge,  Peter Clark, Christina Sundelin, Seppo Nurmi

PADI Project Aware: Christina Sundelin,

Boat Diver: Christina Sundelin,

Digital Underwater Photographer : Christina Sundelin,

Master Scuba Diver : Christina Sundelin, Seppo Nurmi

Divemaster Discover Scuba Diver Leadership : Charlotte Pryor

Master Scuba Diver Trainer: Sabrina Didon

End of Divemaster Internship is coming soon!

Our 3 Divemasters, Charlotte, Edward and  Christina are leaving us soon and its been a busy time for all 3!!

Congratulations to Charlotte for completing her Divemaster Leadership program and she is now able to teach DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING courses . She has been doing very well with lots of compliments coming from satisfied clients.

Before she leaves , Charlotte will also  have completed several specialty courses to include Nitrox and Diver Propulsion Vehicle . .... so no surprise she is smilling .  Instructors Tony  and Sabrina  are very happy  as well as they are  in demand  for all the 14 specialties that they can now teach
 
Congratulations to Edward who seems to have found a neich in assisting with childrens courses as seen by the big smiles of our latest PADI SEAL Team student Amalia . He is also underway with several specialty  courses that have included the deeper wreck of the Aldaberan  at 40 meters

Congratulations to Stina who has left  Seychelles as a Divemaster and Master SCUBA Diver with her 6 specialties . As a parting  surprise we have a visit from the Swedish Navy so dive briefings were all in Swedish for these special boat dives.  Stinas leaving party  was a simple but fun affair...........a Seychelles Turtle  farewell ''card'', balloons and lots of cake!!.  Bye Bye, Stina  and  safe diving .

 

Stina and Dive Centre team &.Swedish Navy dive group

.

SHARK BANK.............always a great dive!!

SHARK BANK.............always a great dive!! even  though you rarely  see sharks .

What is often seen are eagle rays , large sting rays that allow you to get up close and personal . Photos of  eyes and breathing holes  are so detailed .Unusual sightsings of mixed species  of rays really makes for fantastic photos. Some of the eagle rays shoals can have over 20 rays. some of the large sting rays are estimated to be over 3 meters across.........absolutely huge!!

 Just look at some of the  photos of our Rays .  Enjoy.

.