Happy 60th birthday to Allan Nash who is spending it at the “Desert Trip” with Arthur, Roscoe, Flory and Josh enjoying the great music of the Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger waters and the Who. We’re only a wee bit jealous!!!!!
It’s been a fantastic time for the group of 49 teenagers and 5 teachers from Sha Tin College, Hong Kong. They took part in PADI diving courses and activities in for the past week. In the group we had 17 new Open Water divers, 4 Advanced divers and 2 Nitrox. The Activities group kept busy with sailing, Extreme Sports, water sports, zip line and a trip to Tukauran where they got to enjoy the waterfalls. The whole gang also spent a day on Verde Island visiting a local school and having a beach BBQ and then we had a fun send-off in El Galleon with a cultural dance performance, fire dancers and a great band! Phew…that was a very action packed time for everyone! Thank you to all of the teachers; Mick Wilson, Wendy Ho, Katherine Turbett, Victoria Harvey who made the week such a success and especially to Alan Dickson for getting this all organized. Looking forward to seeing you back again in 2017! Please see the Sha Tin video produced by Rob https://www.facebook.com/Calypso-Multimedia-1720696354808939/?pnref=story. According to Rob it was once again quite an exciting challenge trying to fit 49 students, diving, sailing, paintballing, etc… in a 20 minutes film. The kids picked the music…most of it wouldn’t have been his first choice but it’s their film after all.
Thanks to Mat Watts for this absolutely amazing cover photo for this month’s newsletter. Juvenile Angel fish are so hard to shoot as they always are moving and for sure don’t like having their photo taken, never mind getting them to look straight at you. What makes this even more extraordinary is that despite the odds he got it perfectly lit and focused on the face…WOW!!! The ‘Monday News” is Asia Divers weekly newsletter which will keep you informed of all the shenanigans going on here. If you would like to subscribe to it please send an email to instructors@asiadivers.com
It was quite the night for Gareth Bowen as he celebrated his 40th birthday in fine style at the Point surrounded by all his friends, including a few “Animals”. The night started off quite calmly but when a table and Larry Bird in his priest collar got things going, it all started to go downhill. Gareth had a great night, survived his birthday and is now a “Cardinal” and an “Animal”!
A few “Freeflowdivers” from Singapore who came for a visit that proved to be way too short for all the activities planned…
While Achim and Lutz explored the reefs and wrecks, Juta accomplished her Open Water Diver certification with flying colors. And on her very first dive as a PADI diver, Juta already took part in the Dive Against Debris -what a great start!
This holiday is celebrated in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Korea. The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with full moon at night, corresponding to late September to early October of the Gregorian calendar with full moon at night. We’ve been very busy with many people from China over the holiday celebrating the extra few days off work and the chance to go diving.
If you happen to be in Manila September 9th to 11th, drop by and visit us at the DRT show. The Diving & Resort Travel Expo is a 3 day event being held from 9th September to the 11th September 2016 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Pasay, Philippines. This event showcases product from Marine & Boat, Travel & Tourism industries. Tommy, Dave and Alli will be there at Ocean Dive Supply and Tech Asia booths.
Show hours:
9th—11th Sept 2016 – 12.00am – 8.00pm
10th Sept: 12.00am-7.00pm
11th Sept: 12.00am-6.00pm
There will be many interesting guest speakers at the DRT show, including our good friend Beth Watson. Beth is an amazing photographer and has done a lot of her work here in Puerto Galera.
Check out her presentations:
Date & Time: 10 September 03:50-04:30pm
Topic: Shooting Wide Angle – A Path to Freedom
Venue: Stage B
Date & Time: 11 September 03:00-03:40pm
Topic: The Photographer’s Friends – Breathing, Buoyancy & Bubbles
Venue: Stage A
This month’s cover photo is by Beth Watson. Photography and scuba diving are Beth’s passions. Adoring the ocean and everything it has to offer, she focuses on capturing images that are unique, creative and thought-provoking. Through her imagery she strives to illustrate the beauty and wonders of the sea, hoping it will inspire others to conserve and preserve our ocean environment. Fascinated by it all, she enjoys the challenges of photographing wide-angle reefs and wrecks, as well as the tiniest animals in the sea. Beth is a international multi-award winning photographer who has done some of her best work here in Puerto Galera. Her images have been published in books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, websites and have been selected for juried art exhibitions. Visit www.bethwatsonimages.com for additional information. If you would like to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to keep up to date on everything going on at Asia Divers/El Galleon please email us at instructors@asiadivers.com
Cheng Wang is back with us in Small Lalaguna and a busy little bee she has been! Completing 4 more PADI Instructor specialty courses and taking part in her Instructor Internship where she has already gained 8 certifications. The instructor Internship is included for all our instructor candidates and is a great way to get some teaching experience while under the supervision of the more seasoned Asia Divers Team. It’s also a great way to gain a few certification credits so you can start to climb the ladder towards the dizzy heights of PADI Staff Instructor.
Have a look at this very nice article about us with some amazing photos by Beth Watson in The Scuba Diving Resource: https://scubadivingresource.com/magic-puerto-galera-philippines-asia-diversel-galleon/
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