Ocean Divers is changing!

We’re changing how we teach our Master Scuba Diver Trainer Classes! The new change allows Instructors to pick which specialties you want to teach. In the past we taught only the most popular specialties to our new instructors to help them along their career paths. The new change allows you to pick what specialties YOU want and can interchange them* as you wish. Starting August 2013.

Our PADI Course Directors teach more than 30 specialties so there is a long list to choose from. You can now pick the specialties that interest you and that you want to teach. We know Instructors and divers are very enthusiastic about the classes they teach and take. Ocean Divers wants you to be enthusiastic professionals who happily teach the classes you love. We feel this change will encourage more new Instructors to choose to continue their education with our MSDT Prep course.

Since we’re talking MSDT…. Did you know that ANY PADI Instructor can benefit from taking PADI Specialty Instructor training or a full MSDT Preparation course? Our Course Directors teach you the ins and outs of how to teach specialties and add their years of experience in the dive industry to give you every advantage they can. They will equip you with sales and marketing strategies that have proven to be effective. You get that right from the start so you don’t have to try new ideas on your own.

You get to dive and gain experience in each specialty area while diving with a PADI Course Director. Did you know that taking Specialty Instructor training also lowers the number of required dives that each instructor is required to have to teach a specialty? It does! This way you get to teach specialties sooner!

Would you like to learn 1 new specialty and not take the whole MSDT Prep? YES! We CAN do that too! Call for specialty Instructor pricing.

Have you heard about Public Safety Diving? Side mount diving? Full face mask? Not only can you be a certified diver in those specialties, at Ocean Divers we can teach you how to be an Instructor** in those new specialties!  Enroll in a class today!

Please note some specialties require you to be certified in that specialty prior to being an Instructor for that specialty.

*Specialties can be switched for another specialty with the same number of dives. This is due to the limited number of days that the MSDT prep course is conducted.

**You must meet eligibility requirements to enroll in a Public Safety Diver or Public Safety Diver Instructor course. Call for eligibility details.

USS Spiegel Grove LSD-32

The 510 foot long and 84 foot wide Spiegel Grove is a retired U.S. Navy Thomaston-class Dock Landing Ship (LSD-32). She was named for Spiegel Grove, the home and estate in Fremont, Ohio, of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States.

The Spiegel Grove was commissioned in 1956 and decommissioned in 1989. She was one of the eight vessels in the Thomaston-class of landing ship docks that transported troops and landing craft around the world. At her stern, she was equipped with a 170 foot long , 45 foot wide and 40 foot deep well deck for military landing craft. With 2 steam turbine powered engines and two shafts the vessel traveled at speeds of 21 knots.

After many years of red tape and financial problems the Spiegel Grove finally moved from Virginia to Florida in May 2002 to become the largest ship intentionally sunk to turn into an artificial reef. However, the ship sank prematurely on May 17th 2002. During the sinking, the Spiegel Grove suddenly started rolling on her starboard side, ending up upside down on the sea bottom and leaving her bow protruding slightly out of the ocean.

On June 10th 2002, the Spiegel Grove was rolled onto her starboard side at which point she sunk to stay. She is located 6 miles off the coast of Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The depth of the wreck requires divers to be at least Advanced Certified. In July 2005, Hurricane Dennis shifted her right side up due to surge and currents. There are numerous mooring buoys on the Spiegel Grove which provides easy down-lines for divers.

Here at Ocean Divers we get great enjoyment from diving on the Spiegel Grove. The ship attracts numerous marine life from large Goliath groupers to schools of shimmering small fish and colorful tropical fish. There are some amazingly huge midnight parrotfish! There is also a lot of coral growth as we have just celebrated the Spiegel Groves 10th year since her sinking.

 

See any Spotted Eagle Rays recently?

 

Spotted Eagle Ray

Ocean Divers is excited to announce our participation in Mote Marine Laboratory’s Spotted Eagle Ray Conversation Program by encouraging our divers and staff to report eagle ray sightings as part of a larger research project.

In 2009, Mote Marine Laboratory, along with the National Aquarium in Baltimore, initiated a conservation research program on the life history, reproduction and population status of the elasmobranch Aetobatus narinari, commonly known as the spotted eagle ray. The nonprofit laboratory is now expanding the observation of these beautiful creatures into the Florida Keys waters.

What This Project is About

Fishing pressure, combined with their low reproductive rates, make spotted eagle rays a vulnerable species. But there’s not enough information to determine how much danger they are in. The distribution, migration, feeding habits, growth rates and reproductive biology of spotted eagle rays are poorly defined.

What is known is that it is illegal to fish or kill spotted eagle rays in Florida waters. However, they are not protected under federal laws, and international protections are limited as well. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an organization that establishes the conservation status of species worldwide, lists them as near-threatened with a decreasing population trend.

Since the program’s beginning, Mote biologists have sampled, tagged and released more than 300 spotted eagle rays off the Southwest Florida coast to gain a better understanding of the population structure and life history of this species in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mote’s goals are two-fold:

• Gain knowledge about species populations in Florida water through the study of key life history traits;
• Raise public awareness and enhance conservation outreach and education on spotted eagle rays.

Mote Marine Laboratory has been a leader in marine research since it was founded in 1955. Today, the organization incorporates public outreach as a key part of its mission. Mote is an independent nonprofit organization and has seven centers for marine research, the public Mote Aquarium and an Education Division specializing in public programs for all ages.

Odie Hammerhead and the Ocean Divers crew look forward to catching a glimpse of these beautiful creatures and to participating in the Mote Marine Laboratory Spotted Eagle Ray Conservation Program!

To report your spotted eagle ray sightings and share any photos, click here. (link: http://www.mote.org/index.php?src=forms&ref=Spotted%20Eagle%20Ray%20Reporting%20Form)

To learn more about the Mote project, click here. (link: www.mote.org/eagleray)

Sign up for a dive with Ocean Divers so you can look for eagle rays by calling (800) 451-1113 today!

Adrienne

Louis’ Food Corner

           Lovely tomatoes.

Shrimp & Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients – Serves 6-8 normal people (1-2 Louis type people!)

1/2 pound med/large de-shelled (and I prefer de-veined) shrimp,

4 med/large fresh tomatoes (good ones, not those sad, pale and light industrial tomatoes!!!, the heavy deep red preferably organic ones!!, sorry I get carried away),

8-12 chopped (or ripped up!) FRESH Basil leaves (ok dried if you must, by the way Basil is extremely easy to grow, especially in warm climates, but I digress….),

1/2 finely chopped medium onion (I prefer red onions but yellow or white will do fine), Freshly ground black pepper and little sea salt and a little hot red pepper flakes (optional, but I only add a little for “background taste”),

A couple a tablespoons of olive oil to your taste (preferably extra virgin, the first and best tasting press of the olives, extra virgin olive oil is more important when using the oil at room temperature because the flavor is not affected by cooking).

Slightly oiled and toasted Italian or French bread sliced somewhat thin (you can use crackers if you’re in a lazy mood, though I’ll never admit to suggesting this, even though it’s in writing!!!)

Preparation –

Boil the shrimp until they just turn white, immediately remove from water dry them with a paper towel and set aside in a bowl and chill them in the frig, ice helps to cool them fast but keep the ice and shrimp separate so they don’t become soggy. You want them completely chilled before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. Chop them up after they are chilled. I gently wash my de-shelled shrimp before cooking in cool salted water (I’ve been told by fishermen that salted water is good for keeping seafood firm while washing).

De-seed and de-pulp the tomatoes (cut through on the “equator” and squeeze out seeds and pulp, then chop into approx.1 inch cubes).

Add the finely chopped onion, basil, salt/black and red pepper and the olive oil.

Gently mix it all together and chill in frig if you have time, if not don’t worry. Lastly place a generous portion on each slice of toasted bread and ENJOY!! (that’s an order).

This is a Vegan dish!! I’m not getting political here.

PS – You can add a little grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or American Parmesan if you must) and/or Pecorino Romano cheese if you want, though I don’t think that is traditional Italian. Be careful!!!!!

“Everyday is a Festival, Every meal is a Feast”

Caio for now

Louis