PADI Rescue class

Instructor Tony demonstrating Fireman's Lift egress

We have  been busy with a large Rescue class as a pre-requisite for the PADI  Divemaster training program
Rescue is a demanding course with both theory , exam and lots of practical training ....but it is lots of fun  as well

Students practice egress .its harder than it looks!!!

Students worked hard to master all techniques for underwater search patterns, various  ways to exit  a victim , to control crowds and arrange for  emergency evacuation via the Ambulance service.

Rescue Diver certifications

We wish everyone well with their next step of training in the PADI Divemaster internship .......3 months well spent  learning the first of the PADI professional courses

Mural is comlpeted!!!!

The girls have finally managed to complete all the paining of the wall mural.............and it looks fantastic

looking toward the beach..Dive Cente on the left

Looking from the Dive Centre

The wall is actually the back wall of the Pizzeria kitchens...........plain , boring cream coloured paint but no longer!! The pathway between the kitchens and the Dive Centre leads to the beach  so hopefully lots of people will be able to see the wonderful work of the  two girls .
The chalk boards are used to list the various dive sites planned for the week and to daily draw the dive site map with tthe required details of :
depth
bottom time allowed
features and hazzards
High tide and Low tide
what to look out for as ' special' on the dive site

Meet the artists Aless and Laurna

Frog Fish seen at Twin Barges

Photo sent from Henri

I must has swum past this small coral head a hundred times but I never noticed this guy. Next to the Twin Barges just on the sand  next to the main reef is this small coral head and you will need to look closely to see the frog fish. Note the small 'hands' at the base then the upside down mouth and then the  'frog' like eyes.....this is a beauty!.and I thought it was just a bit of red sponge!!!

Meet the pets

We are all fond of our dogs at the Dive Centre .....Mike the Divemaster has a new puppy for his son at Christmas and Tony occasionally breeds the German Shepard . David and I have the usual  mix  of ''muts' as a non pedigree is called!

Dobby  was named after the house elf in Harry Potter due to the huge ears. Found on the road as a starving abandoned puppy he is now 10 years old and doing well.............just a few grey hairs and a passion for finding unusual places for a sleep

Ben

Bill

Brothers Bill & Ben came in 2005 so will be 10 this year . As 2 small puppys they have grown into 2 lovely gentle  BIG dogs .  Ben rules the  pack , of this there is no doubt  although I would say he is not the smartest of the group....but they make a good 3 some .
    Laziest of them all is Bill....mostly snoozing in the shade but to be fair it must be hot under that  long hairy coat. He is also the'' talker'' of the family and often grumbles at you for  meal times .

Wall mural almost complete

The girls have been working  very hard and have completed several sections of art work ... most of the time we don't now what it will all work out as but they do!!

 The octopus and corals sitting on sand  are  placed at the bottom of the wall

Porcupine puffer fish swimming past brain coral
He is a happy fish not yet excited and puffed up!!

The Hawksbill turtle may be my favorite part of the mural..I think he is wonderful just gently swimming over the coral reef

The Manta ray ...always a favorite but not too common . We get many rays in Seychelles . The most common is probably the Eagle Ray followed by the  Marble sting ray, Devil ray and then the rarer  one such as Porcupine Ray.





It will only be a day or two till the girls have completed their masterpiece ....................................so watch this space for the full picture!!

Progress on the wall mural

Lauren and Aless have been busy with their art work on every occasion they get.....................and the wall is looking amazing.

The girls are on their final week and are due to leave us on March 7th so the pressure is on.

Happy Birthday Jenny

The UK dive group have in the past visited us several times and when it came to Jenny's big 50th birthday bash she called the shots and chose Seychelles !
    The big day was day 1 of diving and so all the usual bluster of getting everything out of bags , checked and being ready for the boat departure meant no one said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY" .............but it was planned this way! The surprise was to be when she surfaced after the first dive  to find the boat covered in balloons and Happy Birthday streamers .
  On getting back to the  Dive Shop it all happened again with  coffee and  birthday cake to finish off the morning.

Happy Birthday , Jenny