Diving in Tenerife May 2012

WOW has it really been that long since I last blogged!!!! Well here is a quick round up of what has been happening at Amarilla Divers throughout May 2012.

You may have guessed we have been rather busy ! and yes we have been doing lots of diving and lots of courses. So lets start with the courses we have been completing.

We had some of our regular divers back for their Rescue Diver course and also some Specialties. Chris Kelly was here for 10 days and managed to complete his Rescue Diver, Deep, Navigation, Night, Project Aware & Digital Underwater Photography courses. All this amounted to Chris being able to achieve his Master Scuba Diver certification too. Well done Chris.

Chris was joined for his Rescue by Tanya & John who all did a great job and it was very lovely to them after spending a great week in Egypt back in January.

We also has a visit from Karen, Bob, Sam (Doc) & Gareth (Pat) during may and Pat & Doc also completed their Rescue Diver course and their Emergency First Response course too.

It has been a great month for course and had Gary doing his Open Water course, lots of Discover Scuba Diver courses, Advanced Open Water course with Sarah, Divemaster courses finished with Dannii, Hannah & Manon and also some Assistant Instructor courses with Dannii too.


We had lots of Specialties going on including Project Aware, Fish Identification, Deep, Night, Nitrox and lots more.


The Amarilla Divers Team has been collecting rubbish all month for their Dive Against Debris and managed to accumulation lots of debris and we are still logging this with Project Aware currently. We estimate that we have found over 60 Kgs of rubbish at various dive sites and this is only a small portion of the debris left in our oceans.  We will still be collecting on every dive and all our divers have been helping raise awareness of this cause.
















We have been to lots of dive sites this month but El Puertito has  been the favourite and here are some of of our divers enjoying seeing the Green back Turtles.

 

Divemaster Update.

OK So whats been happening with the divemasters here at Amarilla Divers in Tenerife!

Dannii who has been with us since October has completed her Divemaster course and also her Assistant instructor course. Dannii has been great to work with and has been a fantastic Dm and diver. She also completed 5 Specialties to reach her Master Scuba Diver certification too and now leaves Tenerife to travel to Thailand and then on to Australia & New Zealand. We are very proud of Danni and we wish her all the best of luck with her travels and we know we will see her again soon for her Instructors Course.

Well done Dannii xx

Hannah also completed her Divemaster course and went back to the UK for 2 weeks and is now back again and has decided to saty in Tenerife. She will be helping round the shop and gaining her 100 dives and experience in readiness for her Instructors course. Hannah managed all her courses from open Water through to DM and even some specialties too.

We also said goodbye for now 'abientot' to Manon after she finished her Divemaster course with Amarilla Divers too. Manon went away with all her courses to Divemaster and also her Master Scuba Diver certification after completing her Deep, Night, O2, Digital Underwater Photography, Nitrox and Underwater Navigator Specialties.

We are hoping that Manon may be back with us for the Summer as she is searching for a job now. We wish her all the best of luck and look forward tyo seeing her again soon.

Chris & Alex are alomost there and only have a few small tasks left to do before completing their Divemaster course and we will update you with that shortly.......well so long as Mary wakes up again !

Thanks for reading and if we have missed anything, I will update again !

Ciao
Safe Diving

Diving Tenerife ~ Life

So before we go in to the latest developments in Amarilla Divers, lets have a look at some of the dive sites and underwater life that we see here in Tenerife.

We are fortunate enough to have a great deal of life to see on our waters of the coast of Tenerife. We do not have much in the way of corals, like Egypt for instance, but we do get a fair share of fish, turtles and sting rays. We also have some stunning under water scenery and a few wrecks to visit too.

So what is our favourite type of site??

Well for me it is definitely the reefy volcanic areas of Abades Beach, Poris Beach & El Faro Del Poris. These sites have loads of life to see, lots of fauna to look at and a wreck ! yes it pretty much has everything in the one site.

Abades beach.

Depth 3-15 meters. All levels of diver. Beach entry.

This is a very good site for beginners and newly qualified divers, as well as for underwater photographers. This site offers so much life, its like swimming in an aquarium. The reef is beautiful and full of life. Angel Sharks and Rays live here, with the reef offering everything from Damsels to Moray Eels.

 

 The sea grass and soft corals on our volcanic rocks can be very colourful indeed and make for very good photographs. It is always a popular couple of sites for our divers old & new.

We of course have the popular turtle site El Puertito and have regular visits here for Digital Underwater Photography and also other training for Peak Performance Buoyancy courses.

The turtles here are of the Green Back variety and we have a family of around 7 turtles. We also noted recently that there are 2 new turtles at this site and one looks like a Logger head turtle, but we only caught a short glimpse of him :(

 El Puertito

Depth 8-14 meters. All Levels of diver. Beach entry.

A short drive away from our dive center and a short surface swim, brings you this fabulous experience of diving with a family of 6 Green Back Turtles. They are very inter-active and regularly come to investigate the divers. Also found here are Angel Shark (Nov-March) Trumpet Fish, Butterfly Ray and Moray Eels.

Turtle Videos on our YouTube page here.

 

We can often catch sight of the gorgeous Stingrays in Tenerife too and they are so graceful as they glide past us. Sometimes they are a little inquisitive and come in close, they are very beautiful  animals and we can often see them at night time too. 

We also have some nice wreck here in Tenerife and we recently visited El Condesito with a group of our regular divers.

There is not much left of El Condesito as the boat is fall apart as we speak, however this does not stop it from being full of life around the wreck and in the reef areas to the side.

 El Condesito

Depth 12-18 meters. All level of diver. Boat

This was a large coaster carrying a cargo of cement bags, which crashed into one of the walls at the lighthouse. Lying between 12-18 meters, the wreck is in advanced stages of decay, but still an exciting wreck to visit. The wreck is home to a family of Trumpet Fish and Octopus, with the top of the wreck surrounded by thousands of Sardines and frequently sting rays under the cement bags.

Tenerife has a selection of nice Star Fish too and we can often find them on the rocky areas or even in the sandy parts of the dive sites. Some are very large and colourful, whilst others are very tiny.

So here is a small selection of some of the life seen in our lovely waters. Enjoy :)

Diving Tenerife ~ Divemaster intern update April

So what has been happening with our Interns lately???

Sam Black completed his Divemaster Internship and his Assistant Instructors course with Iain at the end of March and finally went back to sunny Scotland where it then decided to SNOW....Yes April bought Sam Snow. After 8 weeks here is Tenerife Sam completed his Avanced Open Water course, Rescue Diver Course, Emergency First Response Course, Divemaster course & Assistant Instructor Course...WOW Well done Sam.

Sam was an excellent candidate and we now wish him the very best for his future in Marine Biology. :)

Manon is still with us and has started to complete some of her Specialty courses with Neil amd also completed her Advanced Open Water, Emergency First Response course and has finished the Rescue Exam. 

Unfortunately she has caught and ear infection and so in grounded for 10 dyas !!! much to her disappointment. However she will be back in the water soon enough for her Rescue Diver course.

Manon has been learning lots of new things since she has been in Tenerife and with French being her first Language, she has been doing an excellent job. all her manuals are in french but she insists on translating it in to English as well. well done Manon :)

Hannah is staying for an extra 2 weeks to get the rest of her training completed and also to complete some PADI Specialties with Neil & Mary. Hannah has completed her Open Water course, Advanced Open Water course, Emergency First Response course, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Deep Specialty & Night Diver so far. She will be starting her Rescue Course this week along with her Wreck Diver Specialty & Nitrox Diver.

Hannah has been doing great and is gaining more confidence everyday. She has even been out for some 'fun' dives with the other interns. Well done Hannah :)

Alex joined us at the end of March and went on to complete his Open Water course, Advanced Open Water course and Emergency First reposnse course. He will now go on to his Rescue Diver course along with some Specialties. He has found a new love for photography and was having a great time with the camera as apart of his Digital Underwater Photography course and adventure dive.

He has gained a lot of confidence in the water and will soon make a great Divemaster. Well done Alex :)

We have also welcomed another new intern to the Amarilla Divers Family and this is Chris Botting. He is a resident here in Tenerife and lives in the north in Puerta De La Cruz. He is currently staying down South for his internship.

Chris came as an Open Water diver and has already completed his Advanced Open Water course & Emergency First Reponse course. Plus he is starting some of his Specialty courses too.

Chris has a passion for the water and is a keen Surfer. He loves the water and has been doing a great job with his diving too. Well Done Chris :)

Finally Dannii, now as you know Dannii is also a resident here in Tenerife and so is only in for 2 days a week, however this week could be the end of her training. Dannii has a few Specialties to complet but other than that she mainly needs her stamina, last part 2 exam and some DSD work shops. Dannii has grown as a diver and Divemaster and we are very lucky to her have her. She will be a great asset to any dive center and we hope she will complete her Instructors course soon enough too.

Well Done Dannii :)

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Diving Tenerife ~ April update.

Sorry for the delay in blogging!! we have been rather busy in the center with Divemaster Interns and our regular divers.

So here is a quick round up of what has been going on in Amarilla Divers.

Colin reached his 100th Dive and was certified as and OWSI and then taught his first PADI course with Alex one of our latest Divemaster interns.  Alex came as a non-diver and went straight into him Open Water course with Colin. The course went well and both Alex & Colin had a great time doing the training.

  

Colin will be back with us in May for a couple of weeks and also in the summer to get some more certifications under his belt and more experience. Colin has done a fantastic job so far and we know he will make an excellent instructor.

We have also had a few more new divers join Amarilla Divers. We had Michaela, Mark, Robin, Susannah & Jon all do their Open Water courses with Neil & Mary. Whilst the Divemaster interns have been busy helping out with courses, they have also been completing some of their own. 

   

 

Hannah has now completed her Peak Performance Buoyancy, Night Diver & Deep Diver Specialties, plus her Advanced Open Water and Emergency First Response course. She has finished her Rescue Exam with a great score and is almost at her 40 Dives to start her Divemaster course. Hannah is also now staying on for a couple of weeks extra to gain more experience.

 Aaron was also here for a weeks holiday and wanted to complete some Specialty course and so he managed to pass his Night Diver, Deep Diver & Wreck Diver courses with Neil. He now needs just a few more dives before he can apply for his Master Scuba Diver certification. This is the highest NON-professional certification in the PADI System and is gained through Rescue Diver & 5 PADI Specialties.

Robin Millar was back for some diving and he was joined by Tony Farmer, Tony Gillies, Alan and the divemasters for some nice dives to Radazul, Tabaiba, El Meridian & El Condesito. We have had some great dives lately and everyone as been getting some nice photos and some great diving too.

We will be introducting you to our latest Divemaster interns soon and giving you an update on how all of them are progressing too.

Remember that we run Divemaster internships all year round and also have the option of doing the Assistant Instructor course if you have been certified for a minimum of 6 months.

If you are interested in changing your life style and becoming a PADI Pro, then contact Mary and have an informal chat to discuss your future.

mary@amarilladivers.com

see you soon :)

Night Dive Specialty & more!

Well Chantelle was back with us for a week and wanted to master the art of Night Diving! So along with Manon & Billy they started their Night Diver Specialty course with Neil & Iain.

The first dive for Chantelle was excellent and she managed to see Sting Rays, Octopus and lots of life. This made all the more eager to do the next 2 dives.

They all did an excellent job with the Navigation skills and when it came to lights off, even the others on the dive switched their lights out too.  It went very weel and so now they have another card to their collections. Well done Guys.

Colin is still here with us at the dive center and now only has 10 dives left, it is very exciting and he now wants to practice his skill circuit and so we will be jumping in the pool soon enough. We will hopefully be joined by Sam & Dannii for their final scores on their skill circuits too.


Hannah has been reading some of her Advanced manual and has been in the pool with Mary watching some Open Water courses with Mark & Michaela. Neil has also been teaching Open Water with Robin!! The Divemaster interns are getting to deal with REAL Students and see how their skills conpare but also how to deal with student control. This is a very important skill to learn for any Professional Diver.

The winds have been strong lately and the sea visability has been pretty AWFUL to be honest!! We have been to a few different sites. We have visited El Puertito, Poris Pier, The House reef, Black Cove and Abades to name a few.

We are hoping the winds will change soon and the great visability that we are so used to will return to our waters!!


Come Back soon for more Fun in the Sun with Amarilla Divers.

Divemaster Interns Update.

Sorry for the delay in posting, we have been busy busy with the interns!. So here is what has been going on at Amarilla Divers.

We have 2 new Divemaster Interns with us now for 8 weeks. They are Manon, who is from France and intends to do her Instructor course this year. Manon loves the water and loves fish and has always wanted to be a Mermaid! yes a mermaid. So working as a diver is the next best thing. Manon has been completing her Open Water course and Advanced Open Water course with Neil and has been swimming with Turtles too.

 Manon will be working through her Rescue, EFR and Divemaster course soon but will also be completing the Master Scuba Diver certification. We look forward to working her :)

We have also been joined by Hannah from the UK. Hannah is studying to be a nurse and has taken some time out to train as a Divemaster here with Mary at Amarilla Divers. Hannah has completed her Open Water course in the last week and is now going to enjoy some pleasure dives before starting her Advanced Open Water course here in Tenerife.

So what have Dannii & Sam been up to.

Well the guys have both started to complete their Stamina and got an excellent 5 points each for their tread water. Sam has managed an excellent score on both Divemaster exams and scored 97% overall, this is brilliant and we are very proud of his progress. 

Sam has also been in the pool for some Divemaster Workshops for Scuba Review & Discover Scuba Diver with Iain and did a great job with his Skill demonstration.

Dannii & Sam have been practising their skill demonstration for their skill circuit and have had some very good skills.

Sam has also been doing his mapping project and his chosen site was Abades, we are looking forward to seeing his final sketch.

 

What else has been happening..... 

We have been joined by Colin, now he did his IDC and IE in Cyprus in 2009 with a CDC Center, Career Development Center, he passed all his instructor exams. However because he did not have the required 100 dives, he was only signed off and an Assistant Instructor! So he joined us to complete his final 30 dives.  Colin has been doing some night dives, reef dives, turtle dives and has even been doing some try dives in the pool. He has been sitting in on some courses as well to get himself ready for teaching. 

Colin has been great and we look forward to his 100th Dive :)

So that is all for now and we will do another update for the dive center soon. 

Check back Ciao For now :)

Dive Center update - Divemasters too!

Well after a busy week with Rescue Training last week,  this week the Divemasters interns have been sitting in on Discover Scuba Diver Courses, guiding dives, completing skill circuits, try diving in the pool and completing their Emergency First Response practical.

SO what have we done? Wll  the week started with Josh & Marcus from Brighton who joined us for some Discover Scuba Diving with Neil & Sam. The lads did a good job but Josh decided it was not for him! So Neil, Sam & Marcus went of down to El Puertito to see the Turtles, they were also joined by John who had been diving with us last week.

The visibility was not so great but that did not stop the turtles from wanting to play! We saw 4 turtles in total and everyone was over the moon :)

We have also been round the see the sting  rays a lot this week, one time we had NONE, the next we had 4 large atlantic Rays! can't win them all...

We had Dannii doing her PADI Deep Diver Specialty with Iain, this was dive 2 and Dannii is doing really well and will have this certification soon to add to her Enriched Air Nitrox. Dannii is going for her Master Scuba Diver Certification alongside her Divemaster.

We had a young lady with us this week for a DSD in  the pool, her name is Lucy and she was an absolute natural in the pool. Lucy has had swimming lessons at home in the UK and is an excellent swimmer and so diving was the next thing on her list of 'to do's' She had a great lesson in the pool with Neil and managed the skills really well. She was slightly worried about the sea as it would be deeper, so instead we cam back  the next day and  had another session in the pool with Mary and played some underwater games.

Lucy was a star and we hope to see her soon with her new gaind confidence and go to the sea :)

Sam has been getting used to using his PADI Instructor Manual with some 'lovely' homework regarding the PADI Standards & procedures in preparation for his Divemaster exams.
Sam has been a great student and is doing really well. He is enjoying his time with Amarilla Divers he is learning new things and diving loads, he now only has a few weeks left and we will keep you updated.

Next blog we will introduce our NEW Divemaster Intern to you all, so pop back soon

Ciao... :)