Peter Hughes Diving Changes Its Name To Dancer Fleet

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:41:09 +0000

Miami, FL ⎯ For almost 20 years, Peter Hughes Diving, Inc. operated the worldwide group of luxury liveaboard yachts known as the “Dancer Fleet”. This month the company has announced they are formally changing their name to “Dancer Fleet, Inc.”. Along with the name change is a rebranding of the entire organization that incorporates the new name and logo.

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Help on the Horizon

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:47:39 +0000

By Cimeron Morrissey

Since the April 20th explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform, the broken well has spewed between 89 to 176 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, according to federal estimates. Governmental and nonprofit organizations are mobilizing volunteers to help protect the water, wildlife and coastline that lie in the path of the oil. Here’s what you can do to reduce the oil spill’s impact on dive sites, fragile ecosystems, marine life and the people whose livelihood depend on these natural resources:

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Kittiwake Sinking Postponed

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:22:04 +0000

The Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) regrets to inform the public of an urgent situation that has arisen which will cause the Kittiwake sinking events scheduled to take place between July 24th – 27th, 2010, to be postponed.

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Scuba Diving with Sharks at Aqua Trek in Beqa Lagoon

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:05:58 +0000

I recently had one of the most exciting dives in my life at Beqa Lagoon in Fiji with the team of Aquatrek. I had simply a blast, diving with 8 different species of sharks in the same dive site. Insane? Amazing? Exciting? Fantastic? You Bet!

So I decided to have a quick chat/interview with the team of Aquatrek Fiji

Gabriel here from Scuba Herald… to start, tell us a bit about the history behind Aquatrek…

When did you started and who is the team behind your diving operation?

Aqua-Trek opened Fiji’s first PADI 5-Star Instructor Development center in 1987. In 1989 Aqua-Trek developed Fiji’s first shark dive off the Mamanuca Islands in Western Fiji. In 1999 Aqua-Trek developed what is now known as the #1 Shark Dive in the World, in Beqa Lagoon. Over the last 20+ years Aqua-Trek has been one of Fiji’s premier dive operators serving divers all over Fiji. Our Beqa facility is comprised of top notch PADI trained instructors and dive masters all trained to uphold a high quality standard of service and safety for divers.

During the years, Fiji has become a key destination for divers worldwide, can you please ell us why do you think Divers keep choosing Fiji for their diving holidays.. Why Fiji?

Fiji is a destination that provides divers and non-divers with an amazing overall memorable vacation experience. Fiji is a romantic, beautiful, pristine country with amazing beaches and lush landscapes. It offers world-class diving and a huge variety land based adventures. The country is rich culture and tradition and the people are genuinely friendly, caring, happy people. And it is very affordable! The US dollar is currently worth 2 FJD!

We well that you offer a very unique type of diving experience…. Tell us a bit about shark diving at Beqa Lagoon.

Yes, aside from beautiful soft coral diving, Aqua-Trek Beqa is famous for its Ultimate Shark Encounter dive. This dive was developed by me, Brandon Paige. In 1999 I began dumping food on an area of dead reef to see what would turn up. Much to my excitement, I had attracted 8 species of shark including massive bull sharks and tiger sharks! There were times I had 40+ sharks on one dive. I trained my staff to work with the sharks and we began offering this exciting dive to our dive guests. It’s been over 10 years now and our dive is now recognized internationally as being one of the best shark dives in the world. We have a pristine safety record and we are proud to say that we have contributed to the conservation of sharks by educating people.

I understand that you have also created shark conservation program to protect sharks in Fiji?

I created these dives to educate divers on sharks and shark behavior. Sharks are endangered due to shark finning and the sale of shark products. Sharks are a vital part of a healthy marine ecosystem. Without sharks the entire ecosystem will break down die. Sharks have long been portrayed as mindless eating machines and a threat to humans.

In reality sharks are intelligent, graceful denizens of the oceans. After the shark dives were developed, we set out to protect them and created the Aqua-Trek Shark Conservation and Sustainable Tourism Program. We worked with the villages that own the reef rights and the Fiji government to declare both Shark Reef, Lake Reef and the corridor in between marine protected areas (no fishing zones). Each diver pays a fee to dive these areas and this money goes directly to the villages that own the reef rights. This provides the villages with sustainable income. The program supports the involvement of the community in the management of natural resources and it allows them to realize the economic potential as well as the sustainable livelihood that can be derived from conserving and protecting their resources.

This program has been recognized internationally as being a model for other island nations. It has received two international conservation awards from the World Travel and Tourism Council and SKAL International. We are currently working hard to pass legislation in Fiji to ban shark fishing and the sale of shark products.

Do divers need any previous experience to dive with sharks? Yes. The Ultimate Shark Encounter is a high energy dive with a lot of sharks and a lot of fish. There is a lot going on. Divers need to be comfortable in the water and with their gear. They need to be able to pay attention to the dive masters. We recommend certified divers have that level of experience and comfort so they can enjoy and appreciate the dive.

What can you tell us about the sharks in this area…. ?

Aqua-Trek’s Beqa shark dive is the only dive where divers can see up to 8 species of shark. Grey reef, whitetip, blacktip, silvertip, nurse, lemon, bull sharks and tiger sharks. Our dive gets multiple bull sharks, some of the largest anywhere. The elusive Tiger shark too. There is an interesting hierarchy amongst the different shark species. When the tiger shark arrives, it is like the queen has arrived. All the other sharks disperse so she can feed. This dive also brings in over 300 species of fish. We get Napoleon wrasse and the rare Queensland grouper.

We know many people reading this interview would love to dive with sharks… for all the divers out there that haven’t dive with sharks yet, can you “try” to describe for us this type of experience?

We have a full description on our website at http://www.aquatrek.com/beqa_diving/beqa_shark_diving.cfm

Where do you see Aquatrek in the next years?

In Fiji, where we’ve been for over 20 years, but only in the best locations for divers!

Can you tell us in 5 words what diving with Aquatrek is all about? (only 5 !)

Quality, Comfort, Safety, Expertise, Fun!!

Wan to have a chat with the guys of Aquatrek? Contact them today…

Aqua-Trek Reservations

USA Toll Free: 1-800-541-4334

Direct: 415-728-7076

info@aquatrek.com

www.aquatrek.com

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Adventure Sports II suing British Petroleum

admin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 05:11:07 +0000

So lately is all about the Oil Spill… and how is this going to affect the diving industry? well… it seems some companies are starting to take things in their hands, and that’s why this news has some huge relevance for the diving industry.

This proves that if you can’t find solutions from BP… use the law to sink them and get justice.

Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. has filed a lawsuit against British Petroleum (“BP”) and several other companies with ties to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The firm represents Adventure Sports II, a SCUBA diving business, which has incurred damages related to the BP oil spill disaster, including loss of profits, business income, and earning capacity.

Current estimates say between 40.7 million and 114.5 million gallons of oil already have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, and oil continues to spew from the undersea well every day. Beaches up and down the Gulf Coast have been closed to swimmers, and visitors who are ordinarily drawn to the area’s emerald waters are canceling plans. But even in areas where waters are open and diving is safe, travelers are staying away out of fear about oil contamination. According to the Adventure Travel Trade Association, dive industry sales total more than $800 million annually.

“The SCUBA diving business is taking a double hit, impacted by actual oil spill damages, and the fear that surrounds reports of the leak’s effect on the Gulf of Mexico,” Rhon Jones, head of Beasley Allen’s Environmental Law section, said. “Even when the water is clean and safe and dive sites are open, many travelers are still avoiding the Gulf Coast because of misconceptions about where the oil is now, and fears about where it might spread in the coming weeks and months.”

Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/06/18/2372601/beasley-allen-files-lawsuit-on.html#ixzz0rQ2Et4r4

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Kittiwake set to make a splash in the Cayman Islands

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:46:32 +0000

It will be an exciting week in Grand Cayman beginning July 24th! The Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) is pleased to confirm that the ex-USS Kittiwake , a US Naval Submarine Rescue Ship (ASR-13), which has been a work in progress for over seven years is going to be sunk this July. The project was spearheaded by CITA and supported and funded by both the Cayman Islands Ministry of Tourism, Finance, Investment and Commerce, the Department of Tourism, CITA and our many sponsors, has finally come to fruition.

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Florida Keys Tourism Sector Enjoys Strong Memorial Day Weekend

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:40:15 +0000

Florida Keys tourism interests enjoyed a busy Memorial Day weekend, despite earlier reservations cancellations stemming from worse-case-scenario speculations that the Keys would be affected by the Transocean/BP Gulf oil spill.

In fact, the Keys have yet to see physical impacts from the spill, according to Billy Causey, superintendent of the southeast region for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Sanctuaries.

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The New Cool destination for scuba Diving?

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:40:09 +0000

People are getting tired of the same all same scuba destinations… please no more trips to Honduras… or no more same all same Hawaii… what about something different. What about Croatia?

Well it seems that Croatia is not the new Scuba Destination to keep in mind…

While the beaches of the jagged Croatian coastline fill up with tourists during the summer period, those who can, escape into the silence and darkness of the abysses, amidst the archaeological sites and sunken wreckage from the two world wars. About 150,000 scuba divers search for peace and emotions in the Croatian waters each year. A group of clients that the country is now eyeing closely thanks to so-called ”underwater safaris”. With about 400 underwater archaeological sites counted by the Croatian Ministry of Culture, including 200 dating back to prehistoric times, Croatia is the fourth country in Europe for its number of underwater archaeological sites. And to protect this immense patrimony, the Croatian ministry has declared 92 cultural heritage sites, placing them under protection.

No diver can travel alone among the wreckage and archaeological sites. Individual dives are prohibited, but they are allowed in groups. In 2009-2013 alone, the Cultural Ministry issued 25 permits to organise underwater activities at protected sites. These are, according to the Croatian tourism group, the four archaeological areas around the island of Mljet, Lastovo and Vis and in the area of Cavtat. In these areas there are 35 sites. Among the hundreds of opportunities offered to scuba divers, the most important are represented by vessels sunk off the eastern Adriatic coast between the World War I and World War II.

The most famous site on the Croatian Adriatic coast is ‘Barun Gautch”, (84 metres long and 11 metres wide), the Austro-Hungarian passenger ship, which was sunk at the start of the Great War by a mine in the waters off the coast of Rovinj. Various Italian ships can be seen, including the ‘Francesca da Rimini’, which sunk off the southern coast of Kaprije island, in the Sibenik archipelago, after being torpedoed by the Allies in 1944. Forty-two metres long and 12 metres wide, before the ship was hit, it was used to transport military cargo between the Croatian and Italian coast. After September 8 1943, it was used by the Germans for the same purposes. In the Kvarner Gulf is another Italian vessel, the wreckage of the ‘Lina’, while near Cres is the Italian freighter, ‘Tihany’. Fascinating due to its vertical position on Split seabed is the ‘Teti’. A final example is the German torpedo-boat S-57, which sank off the Peljesac peninsu

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Aggressor, Dancer Fleet Honor Nekton Reservations

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:34:11 +0000

Aggressor Fleet and Dancer Fleet are pleased to announce that the companies are honoring unfulfilled reservations made by Nekton Diving Cruises customers for Nekton charters after May 20, 2010. Nekton Diving Cruises ceased operations on May 17, 2010.

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The Cayman Cowboys are returning to Grand Cayman for the Cayman Cowboys Bucket List Reunion

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:05:54 +0000

Everybody that was involved in the Cayman diving scene prior to January 1, 1990 is invited.

The event will be held on November 5-6-7, 2010. Numerous hotels and condos have provided discounted rates from Nov 1-15.

At time of publishing we have over 200 names on our Email list but know of many we have inadvertently missed. We have established a web site at: www.ronkipp.com/reunion .

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