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04/20/08 -- Papua New Guinea
Jan and I just returned from a dive trip to Papua New Guinea, we spent a few days at the Tawali resort and did some dives from the resort
and then boarded the Telita a live aboard for the last 9 days of the trip. The Telita took good care of our group of 9 divers and showed us some
amazing critters. We were supposed to be on the Spirit of Niugini but they had some mechanical breakdown so we were transferred on to the Telita.
Paul and his crew did a great job of filling in on short notice and we enjoyed the diving and friendly service they provided us. Unfortunately we
had some rain and overcast days and the visibility was poor so we focused on shooting lots of macro photography and found lots of great subjects.
We did get in a wreck dive on the Blackjack a B17 bomber that was shot down during WW2 and landed on the water allowing the crew enough time to get
out before it sank near a local village. The villagers paddled out in their outrigger canoes and rescued the crew. I have included a few shots from
the trip and Jan and I are looking forward to our next adventure. Be sure to check the web site for our next dive trip.
We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to
our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop.
Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
03/16/08 -- Maui Mantas
I have been taking a closed circuit rebreather class( Inspiration) and we have had divers and camera men here from the BBC out to see the Maui Mantas. We did a
Manta dive with most of us on rebreathers which allowed us to be less obtrusive to the Mantas and get some amazing shots. Between my class and all
the diving I haven’t had a day off this month and it is just flying by. Next month we are leaving on the 4th-19th for Papua New Guinea with a group of
divers from the store which will be a lot of fun.
We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to
our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop.
Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
03/06/08 -- Spinner Dolphins Make my day!
Diving everyday for a living is defiantly the best job ever but some days are just so much better then others. Yesterday we had a small group of divers and as
we headed back to the pinnacle at Double Arches a pod of Spinner Dolphins surrounded us. They were very curious and turned around and came back and circled us
several times, the young dolphins raced right up to us only to be chased back to the pod by a wary adult. We have had dolphins swim through the dive sight many
times but usually they pass through pretty quick these guys hung around and played with us for at least 10 minutes. Part of Maui’s magic is the pods of dolphins
and of course the Humpback Whales singing in the background, I am sure this is one dive are guests will not forget.
We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to
our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop.
Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
02/10/08 -- Whale Season is Here
This year seems to be off to a great start, last week Marty Snyderman, and Mary Lynn Price were here for a few days before the annual Hawaiian Island
Recreational Scuba Association Industry Day held over in Oahu, where they were featured speakers. Sunday, Marty, Mary Lynn, Dave Fleetham, and I were out
enjoying a day of whale watching on the boat with our cameras ready hoping for some great shots. We headed north up towards the wind line and soon found a
pod of 3 whales that decided they liked our boat and for the next 3 hours as the wind blew us across the channel towards Lanai they put on a show. I had
put the engines in neutral and we just drifted down wind with the whales following and circling the boat time after time. They did several spy hops checking
us out and kept swimming back and forth under the boat and surfacing on both sides right next to the boat. The whales chose to stay with the boat and we
drifted for miles with the steady trades pushing us along, it was as if we had become part of their pod. What magnificent mammals so huge next to our small
boat, we felt truly blessed by their friendly attention and curiosity to our group. It is not everyday you get so lucky to share such a great experience with
close friends and can appreciate how spectacular the ocean in my back yard truly is.
We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to
our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop.
Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
01/24/08 -- Happy New Year
The New Year is off to a great start and I am just now getting around to writing my Captains log update. I try to always include a video or a photo to
make it more interesting but this time my friend and dive buddy Mark got the shot worthy of the Captains log. Mark and I were diving on Draeger Rebreathers
which have very little bubbles and noise compared to open circuit scuba which is a real advantage for getting up close to photograph marine life. This female
Eagle Ray was huge and swam right between Mark and I not paying any attention to us, usually Eagle Rays are quite shy and are hard to approach with out
spooking them and seeing them gracefully fly away. The funny looking guy in the background with the video housing is me shooting the Eagle Ray with Mark
in the background, maybe once I get that video edited it will make it into another Captains log.We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to
our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop.
Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
12/31/07 -- Happy Holidays!
This is my last Captains log of the year and I appreciate all of the return customers and the new diver friends we have made this year. Part of what keeps me here is diving with all of my friends that come every year and I get to go diving with you and share a little bit of your world and a little bit of mine. 2008 should be another exciting year with new challenges and opportunities for us. We are excited about our trip in April to Papua New Guinea and the Tawali Resort if you want to join us on this adventure we have 3 spots left, give us a call. This week my divers saw a friendly Hawksbill Turtle at 2nd Cathedrals, he was more interested in munching away at the sea weed he could find on the bottom but posed for a few pictures.
Several of the new items I ordered at the DEMA show arrived this week in time for our Christmas and New Years sale! The new Slingshot fin from Aqualung is here and in stock in our store. We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop. Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
12/22/07 -- Happy Holidays!
Janet and her friend Carissa went along on a charter this week over to Light House Point to try and remove a huge cargo net that was tangled up in the rocks and reef on the dive site near the shark cave. The net was submerged but floating up towards the surface and could have been snagged by a boat cruising close to the wall or worse yet it could entangle a turtle, monk seal or other marine life. The girls took my lift bag and attached it to the net so it would float and not sink back down and entangle more of the reef as they carefully worked to cut if free with out damaging the coral any more then it already was.They got it all lose and towed it back to the boat and Captain Nick was ready with the hefty large yard trash bags and they stuffed it all into trash bags so we could bring it back and haul it off to the dump. What a great thing for those girls to do on their day off, they deserve a big Mahalo for a job well done.
Several of the new items I ordered at the DEMA show arrived this week in time for our Christmas and New Years sale! The new Slingshot fin from Aqualung is here and in stock in our store. We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop. Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
12/15/07 -- This week we had Coast Guard Inspection on Peles RAIV
This week we had our US Coast Guard inspection for a new C.O.I. (Certificate of Inspection) on Peles RAIV.You can not carry more then 6 passengers with out a current C.O.I. for your vessel. The C.O.I. is good for five years as long as you maintain the boat and they still do an annual inspection and sign off on the C.O.I. each year that the boat is in compliance. The Coast Guard is very thorough and has strict standards and can shut your boat down and fine you if you are not maintaining the vessel to their standards or training your staff and following all the mandatory drug testing policies. I have found over the years it is better to try and stay on top of things and be totally prepared for these inspections and things go a whole lot smoother. The Coast Guard gets to know you and has a lot more respect for you if you have done your job properly and you have everything ready for them and it is in compliance. We passed the inspection and were issued a new C.O.I. good for another 5 years with nothing on the boat being written up for repair or being out of compliance.
Several of the new items I ordered at the DEMA show arrived this week in time for our Christmas and New Years sale! The new Slingshot fin from Aqualung is here and in stock in our store. We have been busy entering some of the products we carry to our on-line Quick Shopping Cart Store for those of you that are looking for an easy way to shop for dive gear on line and can’t make it into the shop. Go to WWW.shop.stevedives.com to visit the web store.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
12/07/07 -- What do you do on a rainy blown out week?
This week we have had strong SW wind and rain which has blown out our dive trips.
What do you do when you can’t go diving? It gives us a chance to catch up on paper work, camera maintenance and send off some Emails. I have been working with Steve Kessler our web wizard on the web site and he is trying to help the old guy(me Captain Steve) learn new tricks like posting this Captains log and adding some video clips for you to enjoy.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
11/23/07 -- New Products arrived this week!
The new Compumask from Aeris arrived this week and I was able to get some dives with this new HUD (Heads Up Display) technology. The mask was designed for the military and had to fit 95% of military personnel and the display be readable. I found the mask to fit well and was comfortable while diving and easy to read. The two buttons on the mask make it easy to set up the computer profiles for your dive. We also received the new Endeavor Housing from Amphibico for the Sony HDR-FX7 video camera it is a really well engineered housing for Sonys'top of the line consumer model camera. The store has a new Top Dawg video housing for rent if you’re interested in shooting video on your dive. The Top Dawg housing will fit a variety of Sony camcorders and works well and is simple to operate. Captain Steve is offering a free video class with the purchase of any video housing.
The Whales seem to be a bit early this year we saw two pairs of Humpbacks on our return from Lanai on Friday.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
11/10/07 -- DEMA Show, New Products, Next Dive Travel Trip Scheduled
This week was the DEMA Show in Orlando and Janet, Mark, Freddie, Theresa, and I want to thank everybody that
stopped by the booth and visited our Hawaii section. Janet went to visit family before the show and was able to
work at their shop where they build quality Lanai coverings from Styrofoam and carve and paint our tropical reef
set and a 12’ Manta Ray for display in the Hawaii booth. This was a hit at the show and many people stopped by to
have their picture taken in front of the Manta display.
I always look for our next dive adventure at the DEMA Show and operators from all over the world go to DEMA to show case
their destination. I attended a seminar hosted by the Tawali Resort in Papua Niugini with David Doubilet as the guest speaker
with some of his amazing photographs from the region. We booked the Spirit of Niugini for a 9 day charter which boards from the
Tawali resort beginning April 10th and returning on the 19th. Jan and I plan on staying a few days before the charter at the resort
and take advantage of the fabulous diving and ambience of the resort. Go to www.spiritofniugini.com to see the boat and visit
www.tawali.com to see the resort.
Call or email us if you are interested in joining us on this trip. We have only 7 spaces available now.
Captain Steve will be happy to offer photo and video advice on this trip.
Looking forward to seeing you on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
10/27/07 -- White Tip Sharks and DEMA...
Some of our divers this week were excited by their first encounter with a shark on a dive. Lighthouse point on
Lanai usually has white tip sharks sleeping in the shallow caves along the wall and we were lucky to get some photos
of this poor shark with a large hook in his jaw. White tip sharks are not aggressive towards divers and un-like pelagic sharks
they don't have to swim all the time to breathe so they will rest during the day in the caves and feed at night.
Look for us at the DEMA Show Oct 31st through the 3rd of Nov. and register to win 6 nights at the
Outrigger Resort+ Air Fare to HI on ATA and lots of other prizes donated to HIRSA, the Hawaiian Island
Recreational Scuba Association. We are one of the members and anchoring a corner of their section at
the show.
Looking forward to seeing you at DEMA or on your next trip to Maui.
Aloha,
Captain Steve Juarez
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