Volgers van onze blog zou hebben gemerkt dat ik niet veel schrijf de laatste paar weken. Schuld op het feit dat ik werd een grootmoeder van een mooi meisje met de naam Skylar Rose, die volledig veranderd mijn wereld voor een tijdje.

Maar nu ben ik terug, en ik beloof dat ik zal proberen om meer regelmatig opnieuw te schrijven. Laten we beginnen met een beetje iets dat we namen deel aan de op 4 juli.

Zoals jullie allemaal nu we deel uitmaken van Dive Task Force CHATA en met ons een aantal andere duikscholen. Een van de dingen die we doen, is het organiseren van schone ups samen. De eerste opruimen we georganiseerd was vorig jaar november, toen we schoongemaakt Boca Sami op het oppervlak en natuurlijk water. Deze keer hebben we gekozen voor een duikplaats meer naar het westen van het eiland, Playa Piskado.

Deze keer hebben we schoongemaakt op het oppervlak en onderwater. We waren allemaal erg blij om zo’n grote groep te zien van vrijwilligers opdagen. In totaal waren er zo’n 130 vrijwilligers, 100 duikers voor de onderwaterwereld opruimen, 30 voor het oppervlak. Wat blij ons te zien is dat de bezoekers naar het strand spontaan begon te helpen.

Elke duikschool lichtte het is vrijwilligers en daar gingen we schoon te maken. Duikers gingen het water in om fishlines, bekers, blikjes, maar ook leidingen en banden te verwijderen. Op het eerste gezicht was het vooral plastic borden, bekers, bierflesjes wat we hebben gevonden.

Na ongeveer een uur en een half van het duiken en het schoonmaken van alle duikers, waar weer aan de oppervlakte. Nu was het tijd voor een loterij met prijzen gesponsord door de duikcentra en een BBQ. We hebben allemaal genoten van het goede eten en drankjes, die ook al werden gesponsord. Schildpad en Ray samengevoegd en maakte een video en foto’s van het hele evenement, ook kosteloos.

Al met al hadden we een geweldige dag, en we zullen zeker meer van die organisatie. Dank aan alle sponsors en vrijwilligers voor het samenvoegen van ons in onze zoektocht naar een schoner Curaçao !!

After deciding where you will spend your vacation part of the fun is planning what you want to do on your vacation. Curacao is off course ideal for diving. When looking for a dive center that lives up to your expectations and wishes there are some things to consider.

Before you start contacting dive centers there are already several things you can do to filter out the ones you want to get in touch with.

First of all you can check whether the dive center is connected to a dive organisation. For instance, if you are looking for a PADI dive center you can check the PADI website (apps.padi.com/scuba-diving/dive-shop-locator/) to see which dive centers are official PADI dive centers in the area that you are going to spend your vacation. This way you already know a little bit what you can expect, since the dive center will not be approved by the organisation if it does not live up to its standards.

But this still leaves you with a lot of choices. Here on Curacao CTB (Curacao Tourist Board) and CHATA (Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association) try to make sure the quality of the dive centers is as high as possible. Therefore CTB audits the dive centers regularly. They have a very complete list of minimum standards that every dive center needs to live up to in order to get the CTB approved sign, to make sure your dives will be as safe as possible. The standards are available for you to read here: www.curacao.com/en/directory/do/dive/#!the-ctb-quality-standard

The standards are made and yearly revised if necessary by CTB and the CHATA Dive Task Force members. Members of the Dive Task Force are all CTB approved dive centers who work together on several projects. They try to give Curacao exposure as a Dive destination, but they also work together with Coastguard and other official institutions. For example, at the moment we are talking to Coastguard to see how we can raise more awareness about the dive buoy. The buoy is mandatory by law, but how can we make this more known to as well the divers as to the fishermen and jetski owners. What are the rules, how can we make diving as safe as possible for all divers and wannabe divers visiting the island of Curacao?

An other subject we are working on as DTF at the moment is to see how we can keep Superior Producer available as a wreck dive, even with the second Mega Pier being built.

In short, if the dive center you want to contact is associated with a dive organisation, CTB approved and even better also a DTF member, then you know the basics are covered, the dive center has proper insurance and works along the standards of the organisation. Now you can contact every dive center that you have filtered out and see where you get the best response. Where do you feel welcome, where do they offer what you are looking for, where do they answer your questions and how do they answer them. Choose the one where you feel best!

As you will see we as Relaxed Guided Dives fit all of the above. We would love to welcome you as our guests to see that we also live up to our name and help you make your vacation a memorable one.

This past couple of weeks we have been diving with a lot of newly weds, wanting to spend their honeymoon diving in Curacao.  And boy, did we have fun.

Some of these recently married couples decided to do the Open Water course during their honeymoon. Others were already certified and did a couple of days doing guided dives with us. We always feel privileged to be such a big part of a life lasting memory!

Usually we do 2 dives on 1 day with our diving guests, and we offer a nice lunch in between. Since we do each dive on a different dive site we cover a big part of the island and see a big variety of corals doing so.

On Playa Largu for instance we saw a lot of soft corals. On this day there were lots and lots of fish to see and we finished the dive with an orange Longsnout Seahorse. This was the highlight of this dive! A nice little movie of it can be found on our Youtube account.

The first dive was followed by a nice lunch. We drove to Shon Mosa, one of the most romantic secluded beaches on island. Chairs were set out and we enjoyed our sandwiches, fresh fruit and some nice cold orange/apple juice and water. Of course the previous dive was debriefed and we looked at the pictures that were taken, especially the ones of the Seahorse.

After lunch it was time to go we diving on Playa Manzalina, where we enjoyed the hard coral landscape. Lots of moray eels were found at Snakebay, from big green ones to white spotted ones and gold chain moray’s. Our group of 5 divers, of which 4 were spending their honeymoon diving in Curacao, where ecstatic after this dive, they couldn’t stop talking about it.

Today we were diving at Playa Lagun. Here our diving honeymooners saw their first Hawksbill turtle. One of the divers also spotted an enormous Green Moray eel. I had to laugh so hard seeing him trying to point it out to his husband, who had no clue what he had to look for. In the end he did see the Moray eel though, and was impressed. On our last dive today we visited Neptune at Playa Piskado, swam with a couple of Green Turtles and looked at some Lettuce Snails. For me it’s always funny when I point those out. Most people don’t realise it’s a creature they’re looking at and think I point out a plant of some kind. Later they hear it was a snail and always agree it’s name is well chosen.

Are you going to be married soon? Think about spending your honeymoon diving in Curacao with us! We will do our best to make it a memorable experience!!!

Since 2008 it’s mandatory by law on Curacao to be visible during your whole dive or snorkeltour. This means a letting a Surface Marker Buoy up at the end of your dive, just before you ascent is not enough. Every dive group should dive with a buoy and dive flag. Using the SMB during the whole dive is not a good idea, if it’s not totally filled with air it will be blown flat against the water surface by the wind and miss it’s purpose totally.

Snorkelers also need to be visible during their tour in the water. This can be accomplished by towing a buoy, having a small flag on your snorkel or wearing a brightly colored snorkelvest.

Being visible means boats and waterscooters know where they can expect divers/snorkelers. They can make sure to stay well away from them. In the past sadly it did happen that snorkelers have been run over by boats, just because they were not visible.

Now, in our experience people often complain they don’t want to wear a snorkelvest or dive with a buoy and flag. But it’s for your own safety!!!

Just past week the snorkelvest proved it’s worth when a group of snorkelers made a tour in the Blue Room area. 1 of the snorkelers got separated from the group. There was a strong surface current and she was not able to make her way back to the group or to shore. Because she was wearing the vest she was able to stay on the surface and it made her visible for a nearby boat, who came to the rescue.

We always have a buoy with us when we dive and we never had any problems with boats or waterscooters. Better even, one time a boat owner came to me and thanked me for diving with the buoy. They said they always stayed well away from the lighter blue shallow parts, but were still always scared that they might miss seeing a snorkeler that went out far, or a surfacing diver.

Dive safe, dive with a buoy, snorkel safe, wear a snorkelvest!

Before we can do a Discover Scuba Dive with you, or start the first dive of a new course you will have to fill out a Medical Statement. Can you answer each question with ‘No’ then we can go on, but if one of the questions is answered with ‘Yes‘ you will have to go and get a written consent of your doctor in which he says you are fit to dive.

This of course is a rule that is there for your safety and health, it’s not for us. In all the years we have been diving now we have seen several situations concerning the Medical Statement. Some funny, some sad, some we can’t understand.

Today I want to share some of those stories with you!

One day a couple comes in to do a Discover Scuba Dive and start filling out the form. The first question immediately hit jackpot: Are you, or could you be pregnant? (Always a hilarious question if the diver is male btw). The lady comes to me and asks where the nearest Botica (pharmacy) is. She goes, buys a pregnancy test and disappears into the bathroom at the dive center. A couple of minutes later she appears with good news and bad news. The bad news was she was not pregnant. The good news? She could do the dive!!!

Another story concerns a lady who had Asthma and used medication for it every day. This meant we had to disappoint her and tell her to come back after getting a letter from her doctor. She was crying, feeling she was already punished enough by having this condition and now being punished even more. Sad, indeed, but your health always comes first.

What we can not understand is that some people are willing to falsify the Medical statement, just to be able to dive. 45 minutes of fun, but risking your health. Medication can have different reactions under pressure for example. What about the mother who wanted to do a Discover Scuba Dive with her 3 children. Turned out 1 of them also had Asthma and also needed medication on a daily basis. When we told her to go to a doctor first to ask permission the child was crying of course. So she asked for a new form and wanted to change her answer to ‘No’. Why would you take this risk? Just because you don’t want to see your child crying? What if something happens underwater? Would you not blame us for taking him whilst knowing of his condition? We did not take the child with us on the dive, eventhough we felt sorry for him.

In short: Before your first dive, or your first course dive you have to fill out the Medical Statement. Be honest, answer truthfully.We always want to dive, but  your health, your life we care about most!