We had a great turnout for our Oyster Dive. Everyone had a great time and loads of Oysters were brought up. Hope you can join us on Dec. 19.
Archive
Category: TravelWe now have a buddy finder for those looking for a new dive buddy. Hopefully you will be able to find someone to dive with on your day off. We have promised you this for a while now so we hope you enjoy it. Please follow the directions on how to use it. Click here to got to the Scuba Venture Buddy Finder.
From Phillipe Cousteau to David Doubliet, just about every diver has stated that Little Cayman is one of the world’s premier dive destinations – with pristine reefs, excellent visibility and incredible diving.
2008 Scuba Diving Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards:
#3 Top Dive Destination
#2 Top Marine Life
#2 Healthiest Marine Environment
#4 Top Macro Life
#1 Top Wall Diving
#2 Top Underwater Photography
#4 Most Popular Dive Resort
The Cayman Islands have strict Marine Conservation Laws and many of our 57 dive sites are within protected Marine Park Zones, including the legendary Bloody Bay Wall – Little Cayman’s most famous dive attraction. Here, coral canyons and sand chutes lead you through into the pristine deep blue waters of the outer reef before plunging to 6000ft (1800m). These exhilarating walls are covered with brightly hued sponges, corals and sea fans. The 80° F (26.6°C) water is second to none when it comes to clarity and it is said that more underwater photographs are taken in the Cayman Islands than in all other Caribbean destinations. The Caymans’ trademark turtles are a common sight and eagle rays, angelfish, reef sharks and grouper count among the 500 species of fish that have been documented here.
***Info from Little Cayman Island Beach Resort
Ocean Dive on October 18th
: The Immaculata: The Immaculata lies in 95 feet of water, 18 miles south of Jones Inlet. She was a 270 foot sailing vessel decommissioned to a garbage barge. She sunk in the 1920s. This wreck, or wrecks, contains many old bottles buried in and around her broken remains. Today, years later, the wreck is still producing artifacts for divers who explore her scattered ribs. There is also a large fluted anchor in an area of the wreck that appears to be the bow section. The bottom composition is very silty, so divers should make a conscious effort not to stir it up. In my time spent on the bottom I have only seen three sets of ribs which indicate a single schooner wreck. This wreck is excellent for lobsters and spearfishing. Though low lying and scattered over a large area the location is excellent for lobsters, fish and artifacts. This area was the location of the dump for the garbage from New York City in the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s. That is why there is an abundance of old bottles in and around this wreck. The wreck seams to be in three sections, or it may be three different wrecks.
The Tolten Formerly named the S.S. Lotta, the Tolten, a 280 foot by 43 foot Danish steamer, was taken over and renamed by the Chilean government when WW II began in Europe. She was built in 1938, displaced 1,858 gross tons and had the distinct misfortune of being the first Chilean vessel sunk during the war. On March 13, 1942,the Tolten, having unloaded her cargo of nitrates a day earlier, was traveling in ballast to New York when she was struck by a pair of German torpedoes fired from the U-404. The subsequent explosions ripped the ship apart, sending her to the bottom within six minutes. At the time of her sinking, Chile was a neutral country and had been assured by Germany that none of her ships would be attacked as long as they traveled with their running lights on. The Tolten had been stopped before her attack by a U.S. Navy patrol boat and had been warned to be on the lookout for submarines and to travel "Blacked Out". Much to her demise, the Tolten took the patrol boat’s advice. Out of 28 crew members, only the electrician, Julio Faust, survived to tell the story. Julio managed to cling to a life raft for nearly twelve hours before being picked up by a Coast Guard vessel. Today, The Tolten’s broken up hull can be found lying on her starboard side in 90 feet of water, 40miles out of Debs Inlet and 16 miles from Barnegat Inlet. Since her sinking, she has been wire dragged clear to a depth of 50 feet, so as not to be a hazard to navigation.
Training:
Marine Life ID: July 7, 8, and 9 with the aquarium trip to be decided **U/W Hunting/Spearfishing: July 10 classroom 6:30-9:30 PM (training dives to be scheduled)
Nitrox: July 12, classroom AM, training dives PM
DAN Adv. O2: July 14 , 6:30 to 9:30 CPR: July 13, 6-9 PM First Aid:
July 15, 6-9 PM Stress & Rescue: July 18 & 19, classroom AM, training dives PM Equipment: July 20 & 22, classroom
Advanced Training: July 21 classroom, July 23 night, July 25/26 training dives **New or changed class date.
Travel:
Cooper River: July 17-19: 2 nights stay and at least 3 dives per day looking for fossils.
August 29 Roatan Trip: Staying at CoCo View Resort: October 30 to Nov. 7 (We have a few spots left) Please let us know if interested ASAP!
Australia: Mike Ball’s Live Aboard: July 10 to 23, 2011
**Other trips coming soon! ****
Please see our website at www.scubaventure.net for trip details.
Equipment Specials:
Loads of GREEN LABEL Specials throughout the Store……..Regs., gauges, computers, suits and much, much more! Repair Room News:
Remember that your new scuba equipment must be serviced once a year, whether you dive or not, to maintain your manufacturers’ warranty. They do have grace periods incase you forgot which month you bought it in. Call the store if you are not sure of the purchase date. A regulator that has not been used for a year may have O-rings that stick and once you use them they rip.
ScubaVenture Day Picnic at Dutch Springs:
Store News: A reminder that we will be having our Scuba Venture Day Picnic Saturday Aug. 15 this year. Food, drink and an underwater scavenger hunt. This picnic is for your entire family but you must register even if you have a season pass to Dutch. Discount passes for Dutch will be available within the week. Saturday, August 15 at Dutch Spring 10:00 AM Start Time Free Food & Drink, Scavenger Hunt, plus free Whites & Scubapro Demos to try! *****No charge to use the demo drysuits, fins, or computers. John Stella from Whites and Scubapro will be at the picnic. Admission to Dutch is extra.
Seventeen of us just got back from our group trip to Egypt. We had a great time but boy are we tired! One of our travelers called it an "Egypt Boot Camp" because we were going from 5 or 6 in the morning until 8 or 9 at night. We stayed at the best resorts, traveled to all the exciting temples, visited loads of tombs, traveled into Jordan to see PETRA, visited and dove on Cleopatra’s destroyed temple, dove in the RED SEA, and much, much more. The education we all received was priceless. We traveled from Abu Simbel to Alexandria, and from Memphis to Jordan. It may take awhile to get all of the pictures and videos together but you will see some on our website soon.
