Andy Delgado OWSI 96882
First of all a huge congratulations to Andy who passed his Instructor Exam in Lanzarote and is now a fully fledged Open Water Scuba Instructor!!
Well done Andy!! We will definitely be keeping him busy this summer with lots of courses!! Some great dives this week with water temp creeping up another degree to a warm 22C and the visibility an impressive 25 to 30m.
Rhona 30th May 05
It's getting really busy here now both in and out of the water. The water temperature has risen yet again (now at 21C) and in addition to the usual marine life, it's full of fry. This makes for some very interesting diving as the anxious parents try to fend off predators looking for an easy lunch. We're welcoming several new divers to the ever growing diving fraternity (always satisfying to see excited new converts) and have Mel, Darren and Christie completing their Advanced Open Water over the next couple of days.
Madge, 11 May 05
It′s been a great week here at AQM with Rob back again doing the Divemaster course. Andrea has been cracking the whip and getting us through the skills and stamina exercises. Its been hard work but great fun and am that bit closer to finally finishing the course, which at 4 years must be the longest in PADI history!!! Its always great to see some familiar faces so big warm welcome back to Mike, Matthew and Dianne, Gert and Anja and lots of new faces too. Jo and Ernie have got some great footage for a documentary they are putting together so hopefully we will get to see that on TV sometime soon. Well the sun is shining, water temp is up another degree to 20C and the water is teeming with life..................wish you were here!!!
Rhona, 1 May 05
Under 16's rule
Many of you will know that it is currently against the law for under 16's to dive in the Canaries. Disappointing not only for the under 16's concerned but also for other members of the family who want to all dive together. So I'm delighted to be able to tell you that PADI 's legal department has been working with the Canarian government to introduce new regulations for dive centres here, and the age limit is included in the remit. It looks likely that within a couple of months this outdated law will be replaced - fantastic news! Watch this space for confirmation of the change....
Madge, 28 March 05
Spring is here
After a winter of unusually changeable weather it really seems that over the last 2 weeks at last Spring is here, and this week the water temperature started to rise from its low of 18C to 19C.
Thanks to those of you who came to say hello at the Dive Show in London, it was good to see so many familiar faces and be reminded of what a great mix of characters we've met over the last 11 months! I fear the show was a disappointment for those retailers who discount heavily and normally get queues 6-deep (the Mothers Day factor, maybe?) but we felt we met many divers very interested in trying Tenerife, so mission accomplished as far as we were concerned!
Madge, 17 March 2005
Funny Fish!
We've had several sightings of these odd looking fish recently despite our bible of local fish describing it as the least abundant of the Comber species in the area. Unfortunately it doesn't show on the pic but its belly is blue in stark contrast to the orange, brown and beige of the other markings.
London International Dive Show
It′s that time of year again when all roads lead to the London Dive Show at Excel, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th March. Aqua-Marina has a stand and we are looking forward to meeting up with past guests and no doubt meeting some new ones. We′re on stand number 659, so hope to see you there.
On another note, following our recent upgrade to PADI 5* Dive Centre, we are now in the process of applying for IDC status (Instructor Development Centre) and hope to be able to offer instructor training well before the end of the year, probably in November. We have been fortunate enough to secure the services of Steve Axtell as our Course Director. Steve attained his Course Director qualification in 1992 at PADI HQ in California and 13 years on he is one of the most experienced Course Directors in the industry and is sought after worldwide for his relaxed but thorough attitude to training.
We′ll let you know as soon as we have some more news on this but in the meantime we hope to see you at the Dive Show or, better still, in Tenerife
Madge, 3 March 2005
Greetings to our Norwegian friends
We had a great time last week with some Norwegian divers new to Aqua-Marina - Svein and Stine. They were having such a good time, they persuaded a bunch of their non-diving friends to try it too. Throw in our new Norwegian instructor, Mia, and a fine time was had by all. Personally I couldn't understand much of what was going on, but the laughter was internationally understood. All that remains now is to persuade Perry that he can't spend the rest of his life doing Discover Scuba Diving - you've got the T-shirt Perry, it's time to get the certification!
Madge, 31st January 2005
Angels and Gurnards
We continue to see Angel Sharks on almost every dive now, but in case of doubt that these harmless looking creatures really do have some shark characteristics, we can assure you that they are not to be messed with. They may look very similar to rays, but when threatened or aroused they have a very shark-like attack style. All the more reason to stick to our policy of looking, not touching! Today's divers (Paul, Garry, Miguel, Svein and Stine) were fortunate enough to see a much more unusual species - a Streaked Gurnard. Its pectoral fins are modified so that when it moves over the seabed it appears to be walking, and when it swims, its spectacular blue fins spread out like wings.
Madge, 24 January 2005
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