The El Hierro party has now returned, tired and happy, but with mixed reports. Everyone really enjoyed the diving and all were glad they went but several expressed a feeling that El Hierro suffers from a little too much hype - it's not significantly different from diving in Tenerife, it seems.
However, for those who like peace and quiet it's paradise - only one bar that was open (the southernmost in Europe!), and not a McDonalds in sight. Here are just a couple of the photos captured by Sam - thanks Sam and good luck in next week's London Dive Show Photo Competition:
Steve and Madge will again be exhibiting at the Dive Show to be held at ExCel in London's docklands on 1st and 2nd April. To find out more about the show, this is the web address: www.diveshows.co.uk - you can book tickets online to save queueing on the day. The Aqua-Marina stand is number 365, conveniently located very close to the Blue Holes Bar! We hope to see you there.
Aqua-Marina is delighted to welcome 2 new members of staff to the team - Mats and Diana.MSDT Mats from Sweden and OWSI Diana from Germany have joined the team and we are all really looking forward to working together.
Neil is off on our first trip on Sunday to the nearby island of El Hierro with 6 of our divers El Hierro has a marine park and boasts the best diving in the Canaries so we have high expectations of some top class diving. And since one of our party is an award winning photographer (Sam Bean) we are very much looking forward to photographic evidence.
We are pleased to now be offering Enriched Air courses or fills for your dives. To get certified takes just one day and will enable you to dive on Enriched Air anywhere in the world. Let us know if you are interested in taking the course or going for an enriched air dive if you are already qualified and we'll make sure all the necessary equipment is ready and waiting when you arrive.
We are sorry to be saying goodbye to Mia who is off to Thailand shortly, and with Pekko also now working in a different industry we are currently without any Scandinavian instructors at all. Not for long though - we are actively recruiting, so if you know anyone who might fit the bill do let them know.
We are now taking bookings for the next Instructor Development Course and Instructor Exam to be held here in May. The IDC will commence on Saturday 13th May through until the 19th. The EFR Instructor programme and specialities will be run from 20th to 22nd and the IE itself will be held on 23rd and 24th May.
Bookings can be made via email, phone or fax (see website home page or call us for further details). So come on and book now - it could change your life!
In response to demand from several of our regular divers we are now arranging a trip to the protected marine park off the island of El Hierro for a few days in March. If you are interested in joining us contact us asap to secure a place.
Following the success of John Liddiard's dive-round-the-island trip (all done as day trips) we have decided to run more such excursions. The North, East and West coasts all offer something a bit different, so for those of you who dive here regularly and want a bit of a change, just ask when you book and we'll schedule something in. Some of these are shore dives and some boat dives with another dive centre.
We received the following email from marineconnection, a charity working to protect the marine environment which may touch the hearts of many of you:
The Red Sea is without doubt one of the worlds top dive destinations with thousands of divers visiting the area yearly. The main attraction of the Red Sea is the vast numbers of different species of marine life that can be encountered close up. Why is it then that Sharm el Sheikh feels the need for facilities that keep dolphins in captivity, especially when you can see these wonderful creatures just off-shore?
We are aware that there are plans to build more facilities for dolphins in Sharm el Sheikh; this can NOT be allowed to happen. In 2004 we successfully campaigned with help from the British diving community for the removal of 2 Beluga whales from a facility in Sharm el Sheikh. This time we are asking the worlds diving community for help in making Sharm el Sheikh a CAPTIVE DOLPHIN FREE ZONE. All we are asking is that you take a few minutes to send out a couple of emails.
Further information on this subject and contact details can be found on our websitewww.marineconnection.org
Just do it!
Madge, 7 January 2006
We're delighted to welcome John Liddiard from Diver magazine here this week.We've been co-ordinating a round-the-island trip for him, diving in 6 different dive centres. So far he's been delighted with the variety of sites and the quality of the diving, so we're now looking forward to seeing the article in print - probably sometime in the summer.
Madge 7 January 2006
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