Article Author:

Captain D.J.
Master Instructor

Rainbow Reef would like to congratulate the following brand new PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors who graduated from the Instructor Exam today:

• Kristen Franzen
• Michael Cosby
• Jason Nocks

They all did a great job and the Instructor Examiner said “PADI HQ is going to ask me if I was drunk because all of the scores are so high. I haven’t had a weekend this easy in a long long time.” Which is his fancy way complimenting the outstanding work by the candidates during the exam.

Kristen is participating in the Rainbow Reef Internship and she’s been working up to this for the last couple of months, so it’s a big milestone for her. Who knows, she might be your Instructor if you decide to visit Rainbow Reef for a class!

Michael Cosby is visiting us on leave straight from Iraq where he is an f-16 pilot in the Air Force. Please join us in thanking Michael for defending our country and way of life. We hope he can safely return home to his friends and family as soon as possible.

Jason is a local Key Largo resident who recently completed his DiveMaster certification and then decided to join us for the next step of becoming an Instructor. We wish him luck in the Dive Business wherever he may go!

If you are interested in following the dream of becoming a Dive Instructor, don’t hesistate to contact us and we will do our best to help you make it come true.

Special thanks to Owen Fonda for being the man behind the camera and bringing you these great action photos!

Article Author:

Captain D.J.
Master Instructor

Hello everyone!

Busy summer we’ve been having so far! Lots of great diving and the weather couldn’t be much better over the last 3 weeks or so. Light winds, great visibility and no waves or current have been the norm! The water is really warming up to, my computer said 85 degrees at depth today! I guess that is how it is supposed to be! Nice to have it!

This past weekend we had lots of trips and classes. Our Friends George & Mel Yates from Team Divers were diving and doing class all weekend. We had some other return friends, Jerry and Nancy Simon along with their friend Ed were in town for a few days as well.

We managed to grab a little video of the diving on Saturday afternoon. We ventured out to Molasses Reef and dove at “Winch Hole” and “Fire Coral Cave”. On this trip we had Owen’s Discover Scuba class with Heather and Raiden, as well as as Bill’s Open Water class with Jennifer. They were treated to about 100 feet of visibility, flat seas and a very light current that was nice because it was probably keeping the water clean for us.

They say that Saturday (which was 07-07-07) is supposed to be a lucky day. I think they are right. The special star of this video is the BLACKTIP REEF SHARK that was zooming around. We seem them quite a bit, but we don’t usually get a chance to capture them on camera. You can see how camera shy this fellow is. He wasn’t too happy to get filmed and left the scene rather quickly once the camera started rolling.

Click here to see the VIDEO!!! (requires Flash) and get on board with us to check out a few minutes of our Saturday Afternoon trip in Key Largo. After that, come dive it with us in person! We’d love to have you!

Article Author:

Owen
Master Scuba Diver Trainer

Please refer to the attached photo of JERRY and NANCY SIMON of Conneticut. Who said a fire couldn’t be started under water! As you can see the sparks are still flying after oh so many years of marriage. Actually, they defied physics twice. The second time was moments after this passionate kiss when they both smoked a cigarette. Witness to this shameless display of underwater affection were good friends of JERRY and NANCY, ELVA WHITE, and BRIDGET FINDLEY. JERRY and NANCY did take a few moments to actually appreciate the marine life during the dives at the Benwood wreck and Sandbottom Cave at French Reef. Photos attached. Enjoy!

Article Author:

Owen
Master Scuba Diver Trainer

The sun was hot, the water was warm, and the marine life was “aplentyful” as Rainbow Reef Divers visited Snapper Ledge and Molasses Reef. Molasses had it’s usual abundance of marine life with Large Barricuda, schools of Tarpon and Permits, and a Hawk Bill Turtle, to name a few. Snapper Ledge provided the unique sight of a 6 foot Nurse Shark plundering the reef for food while a Very Large Green Moray Eel was inches away, staring with envy, at the event. Lobsters were congregated inside a cut of the reef (Obviously recovering from their July 4th celebrating). A large number of Trumpetfish were at the site and a couple of them were quite curious about the camera lens. I was ready to file for a restraining order when one of the curious little fellas finally decided to take his curiosity elsewhere. Lastly, there were the usual large schools of snapper and french grunts hovering around the reef. KEITH GRISWELD was fortunate enough to witness nature’s show as he was completing the open water dives course of his PADI Discover Scuba Course. Keith’s Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor was Rainbow Reef Intern TANIA SOARES. Rainbow Reef Course Director TOM WITMER, conducting a Master Scuba Diver Training course with his student RAFAEL, were also along on the trip. Lastly, KELLY and CHRIS ORMES completed the last of their open water dives to become certified PADI Open Water Divers. They were instructed by Master Scuba Diver Trainer BILL FINDLEY. Congratulations to everyone.