Dolphins - some people get lucky at Ocean Encounters West!

Hello Divers,

Who of you would not like to encounter wild dolphins during a dive?

Our guest Victoria Vater got that lucky a couple of days ago - preparing for a normal dive at Alice in Wonderland right in front of Ocean Encounters West dive shop she could not know that she would have the time of her life during exactly that dive: A pod of dolphins showed up and curiously circled Victoria and her dive buddy to find out more about these strange bubblemakers. The encounter may have been short, but Victoria was able to provide us with the follwing video as a proof of this rare diving adventure.

I hope I will have this experience one day too!

Kind regards from Curacao

Andreas

Hallo Taucher,

wer von uns möchte nicht einmal mit frei lebenden Delfinen tauchen?

Unser Gast Victoria Vater hatte vor ein paar Tagen dieses Glück, als sie einen eigentlich ganz alltäglichen Tauchgang an unserem Hausriff "Alice in Wonderland" machte: Eine Delfinschule tauchte auf und umkreiste die Taucher neugierig, um mehr über diese merkwürdigen Blasenmacher herauszufinden. Die Begegnung mag kurz gewesen sein, aber Victoria ist es gelungen, uns das obige Video als Beweis für dieses seltene Unterwasser-Abenteuer zur Verfügung zu stellen!

Ich hoffe, ich habe eines Tages auch einmal so viel Glück!

Viele Grüße aus Curacao

Andreas

Night Diving in Westpunt, Curacao

Hi divers,

It is not only big fun to go diving by daylight - our house reefs at All West Apartments and Ocean Encounters West are also very beautiful at night:

Many fascinating creatures "get out of bed" only after the evening sunset, and you don't want to miss seeing them! Just see some examples below - a reef octopus, a spotted spiny lobster and an arrow crab (sure, the latter you can also see during the day). I took these pictures on a night dive at Alice in Wonderland, the dive site right in front of Ocean Encounters West.

To make night dives a positive adventure, make sure you visit the dive site by day and find your navigation references for the night dive.

If you never dove at night before, it might be a good idea to join a guided night dive with our instructors or take the PADI Night Diver Specialty Course with us; you will soon agree that night diving is a lot of fun :-)

Best regards from Curacao,
Andreas













Hallo Taucher!

Nicht nur tagsüber ist Tauchen das größte Vergnügen auf unserer schönen Insel, unsere Hausriffe vor den All West Appartements und unserer Tauchbasis Ocean Encounters West haben auch nachts sehr viel zu bieten:

Viele interessante Tiere kommen zumeist erst nach Sonnenuntergang "aus dem Bett" wie zum Beispiel der Riff-Oktopus oder die Languste auf den Fotos oben. Zugegeben, die Pfeil-Gespensterkrabben sieht man auch tagsüber... Die Bilder habe ich auf einem Nachttauchgang in Alice in Wonderland geschossen.

Um Nachttauchgänge zu einem Abenteuer im positiven Sinne zu machen, empfiehlt es sich, den angepeilten Tauchplatz bereits tagsüber zu besuchen und sich Navigationsmarken für nachts zu merken.

Wer zum ersten Mal im Dunkeln abtauchen möchte, kann sich gern einem begleiteten Nachttauchgang mit einem unserer Tauchlehrer anschließen oder den PADI Spezialkurs "Nachttauchen" bei uns machen. Dann werdet Ihr bald auch feststellen, wieviel Spaß es macht, im Dustern zu tauchen :-)

Mit fröhlichem Flossenschlag aus Curacao
Andreas

INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT COURSE - 2008 September 18, 2008

INSTRUCTOR CANDIDATE;

OCEAN ENCOUNTERS would like to invite you to attend our next PADI INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT COURSE in Curaçao.

DATE: DECEMBER 5th-15th.

PRICES:
At the end of this list you will see a price list for the required materials for the course. You will need to be able to access these materials at any time during the IDC. Prices are based on our PADI Rating and discount level and are extended directly to you. Prices are inclusive so there are no hidden fees. All payments made in cash will not be charged 5% Sales Tax.

Ocean Encounters is the premier PADI Gold Palm 5 Star IDC dive Center in Curaçao. We are a family owned and operated company with 7 dive boats and 5 locations throughout Curaçao. You are ensured a quality IDC with Staff experienced in Dive Center Operations..

For more information read the FAQ’s below or contact Christian at explorer@oceanencounters.com

If you are not yet a Divemaster but are interested in becoming one we have career plans available.

FAQ’s

Q: What are the prerequisites for participating in an IDC?

A: To be eligible for an IDC you must be a certified PADI Divemaster and EFR Instructor or hold a leadership level certification from another diver training organization. Be 18 years of age at the start of the program. Be approved for diving by a physician. Be a certified diver for at least six months. You must have at least 60 logged dives with experience in Deep, Navigation, and Night diving.

Q: Why should I do my IDC at Ocean Encounters?

A: OE prides itself in quality of education and service. What better place to learn about teaching standards than a facility which actively monitors the performance of its instructors and holds dedicated standards workshops to make sure every student we certify has had the most up to date and comprehensive training possible.

Q: Who’s your Course Director?

A: Our Course Director is Christian Ambrosi 181051. Christian has been actively diving since 1991. In 1996 he became an Assistant Instructor. In 2001 after moving to Curaçao he became an Instructor. Christian has over 5000 dives all over the world, including technical and cave diving and goes diving for vacation! Christian’s experience as an instructor and a dive shop owner/manager ensures you’ll get training and experience from someone with the knowledge of running, operating, and participating in all Dive Shop activities.
OE IDC’s are always staffed with a Master Instructor/Staff Instructor that work not only as Instructors but as Dive Store Managers.

Q: What are Instructor Exams?

A: In order to avoid bias grading and evaluation PADI sends down independent testers to evaluate the Instructors prior to certification. These Exams are right after the IDC and are usually grouped with the term “IDC” when it is being discussed.

Q: How long will the IDC/IE take?

A: The IDC takes about 8 days. The Instructor Exams are two half days and the after party is 1. Ocean Encounters also offers a theory prep evening with pizza and drinks the night before the IDC. In total you should schedule 12-13 days.

Q: Where can I stay and how much does that cost?

A: Your best option us using our “Sleep and Dive” Packages found on our website by calling 1-877- SCUBA – EZ, or emailing uscan@oceanencounters.com. The IDC will take place at Lions Dive Hotel so your best option is staying at Lions Dive or at Breezes.

Q: How much will the IDC cost?

A: You can determine the cost of the IDC by using the Cost Calculator. At the moment you will have to e-mail Explorer@oceanencounters.com and request it. Soon this will be available for download at www.oceanencounters.com

Q: How do I secure a spot in the IDC?

A: You can secure a spot in our next IDC by making payment with our US/Canada sales rep at uscan@oceanencounters.com or 1-877-SCUBA-EZ (728-2239).

IDC Cost Calculator This sheet will be posted as an interactive sheet for you to work on to view your total IDC cost. This does not include hotel or airfare

Tuition including EFRI $420.00 1 420.00
Instructor Application $100.00 1 100.00
Examination Fee $460.00 1 460.00
MSDT Prep (Nitrox, Deep, Digital Photo including participant manuals and Instructor outlines) $375.00
EFRI Application $36.00
EFRI Manual Primary,
Secondary, CFC, CPR/AED $41.74
EFR C.For Children Man. $6.23
EFR Primary,
Secondary Manual $6.23
PADI Inst.Manual (bk/CD)$96.03
Inst.candidate workbook $28.63
PPB Outline $7.58
Project Aware Outline $7.58
AWARE Reef Outline $7.58
Open Water Manual $19.78
O/Water Quizess/Exams $3.90
Adv.in Diving manual $16.98
Rescue Diver Manual $15.89
Rescue Exam $2.54
Divemaster Manual $14.55
Divemaster Exams $4.13
Encyclopedia $18.50
Diving Knowledge Workbk $8.46
Conf. Water Prep slate $5.99
Open Water Prep slate $5.99
Open Water Cue Cards $13.39
Conf.Water Cue Cards $17.59
AOW Cue Cards $17.59
Rescue Cue Cards $28.04
Dive Master Slates $15.60
DSD Cue Card $3.46
Wheel $21.10
RDP $7.95
ERDP $12.96
Total $980.00
Books can be shipped directly to you. Deposit 10% $98.00
Prices are in Dollars

for further information: www.oceanencounters.com

CORAL SPAWNING

Coral Spawning 2008

September 20, 21 & 22

on these days our dive shop is open until 21:00.

We also have some discount prices for those evenings:
Tank + Weight + Dive Light + Full set Equipment $58,-
Tank + Weight + Dive Light $23,-
Guided Night dive including Full set Equipment + Dive Light $85,-
Guided Night dive including Dive Light $50,-

*****************************************

International Cleanup Day - September 20

Free Tank & Weights for all participants
Sign up at the dive shop

The red seahorse at Playa Kalki got company...

Hello everybody,


Our nice red-orange seahorse at Playa Kalki is not the only one: 2 weeks ago there was discovered a second (brown) one, also at safety-stop level. I never get bored anymore staying at 15ft of water for 3 or minutes :-)


To take the following pictures turned out to be quite dangerous as both seahorses found themselves some pretty fierce bodyguards - damselfish seem to be protecting them and bite me as hard as they can every time I point out a seahorse to other divers or try to take photos...


Best regards from Curacao

Andreas















Hallo zusammen,


unser Hausriff-Seepferdchen am Playa Kalki hat Verstärkung bekommen: Vor ca. 2 Wochen wurde ein zweites (braunes) gefunden, dass ebenfalls auf Sicherheitsstopp-Tiefe herumlungert - nie mehr langweilige 3 Minuten auf 5m :-)


Obige Fotos sind unter höchster Gefahr für Leib und Leben zustandegekommen, da beide Seepferdchen sich inzwischen sehr humorlose Leibwächter in Gestalt von kleinen Riffbarschen zugelegt haben, die mich jedes Mal mit aller Macht attackieren und beißen, wenn ich die Seepferdchen unseren Gästen zeigen oder ein Bild machen will...


Fröhliche Flossenschläge aus Curacao

Andreas

Seahorse at Playa Kalki!

Hi divers!

Hallo Taucher!

You know we have been spotting our "private" seahorses in front of All West Apartments since February, now. But since two weeks, we also know the home of a nice seahorse at Playa Kalki, our Ocean Encounters West housereef:

Wie Ihr wisst, beobachten wir vor den All West Appartements bereits seit Februar unsere "privaten" Seepferdchen. Vor 2 Wochen haben wir nun auch eines am Playa Kalki, dem Hausriff unserer Tauchbasis Ocean Encounters West entdeckt:





Alessandra also found this juvenile Highhat:

Alessandra hat auch diesen jungen Streifenritterfisch gefunden:




Alessandra at the end of our dive today:

Alessandra am Ende unseres heutigen Tauchgangs:



Sunny greetings from Curacao,

Andreas

Frog Fish and Sea Turtle

Hello everybody,

I would like to share with you two very nice encounters we had on our boat dives today:

In the morning, we ended up diving in between the boat moorings of Lagún and Playa Jeremy - very nice reef! And at the end of the dive, right under the boat, I found: the next Frog Fish :-)

Thank you to our guest Christopher Perez for providing me with this marvelous photo!

On the afternoon dive to Watamula, our divers met a beautiful sea turtle, and Friedl Pistecky from Austria got this video stream of it:

Have fun looking at it, and always safe diving!

Andreas