Sunday, March 18th, 2007....Hmmm... now then... swimming with dolphins... then what... Oh yes, a huge Goliath Grouper in Grand Central...errm... a tame Octopus at night on the Fearless, not forgetting the Manytoothed Congar Eel and 3 turtles the size of houses on the Rhone... not bad eh?...and we only had one diving guest on this trip!

Whilst diving wasn't the main focuss of this trip, it featured highly in the memories for me for sure as one of the best. The bulk of this weeks group were intent in relaxing from the high stress world of teaching in New York state and they managed it with ease, especially as the painkillers and Magharitas began to flow.

Friday, January 19, 2007 The brains of the USA came on board for 8 days with us learning about the Marine Environment of the BVI... or at least I think that was what they were meant to be doing! This trip was a fantastic opportunity for us to explore some rarely visited spots in search of the most diverse range of above and below water conditions. In between the demanding class schedule (Hmmmm) it was time for watersports and some great sailing too once the winds picked up mid week. Underwater, some great dives took place, Brown Pants being one highlight for me, plus a fantastic Night Dive on the Fearless at Peter Island, a much overlooked dive in my opinion, that really delivers especially at night. We hope all the students have great success with their projects, and the future.     Tuesday, January 23, 2007 We moved this time from the youth of the USA to the High Flyers of US Business. Our nine guests from the Cincinatti Young Presidents Organisation were definitely here to unwind from the stresses of their regular lives, and the the BVI didn't dissapoint in giving them every opportunity. With only four days to play with we packed a lot in... including our famous spa services, resort diving courses for five of the guys, and also a half day's fishing! There didn't seem enough time for relaxation, but everybody seemed to manage it OK. The YPO is a forum for successful business people to manage and learn from their peer group, but I think the main lesson from this trip came on the last day, with a fine demonstration of the different drying times of salt and freshwater soaked garments! We have hosted a number of YPO's from other cities but I think Cincinatti wins the "no rest but lots of relaxation" stakes - until they are challenged! Monday, December 12, 2005 A full-on diving charter this week with a great group of guests who have become new friends to us all. We hope very much that Blue XT-Sea diving in Cozumel is soon back on it's feet. We were lucky with the conditions this week, and got to some more unusual sites, including Brown Pants (you'll have to come out with us to find out why it's called that!) and Round Rock Drift. It was very encouraging to see the improvements to the reef too.. the coral bleaching that we have seen recently has quickly reversed, bringing back the true colours of the BVI. Our picture this week is alongside the Queen Mary II... Largest Trimaran meets the Largest Cruise Liner... quite a picture! Saturday, July 7, 2005 Stayed in the Francis Drake channel for most of this week as we had 4 new divers finishing their Open Water certification... congratulations to all for passing with flying colours. We couldn't miss the Chikuzen though and it treated us with a rare viewing of the VW Beetle sized Jew Fish that lives there... although when it "Barked" at the divers they beat a speedy retreat! Light winds most of the week made for some slow but very relaxing sails bewteen the islands, and lots of Hobie Kat action... well done Kyle and Sam for only capsizing the once!

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Well the Old Man creaked his way on board this week to take out some long time friends and some new ones. Peering myopically into the haze of his worsening eyesight and cupping a hand constantly to the better of his two deaf ears, Duncan somehow found his way around the Islands without touching the sides. This was a week of Ten Tonners - members of our Ten Ton Club who have all done at least ten trips. Their fearless leader is Mark Scholle who was on his 19th trip. He was accompanied by the lovely Marcia and old friends Gary, Jack, Charlie and Tom and Rene Stevenson. It was great too to welcome the father and son team of Steve and Andy Eibling and our four fearless ladies from Club 1,  Paula, Joni, Kelly, and Diana together with our keenest divers Meredith and Phil.

Some great dives on some new places for the crew and some old favorites. When Duncan comes on board he takes the opportunity to show the crew some seldom dived secret spots. The wind was a bit light all week unfortunately but we did have a magnificent sail into the sunset on our last evening with good company, drinks and shrimps under billowing sails on the top deck. The photo tells it all. Call it sails, shrimps and sunset!