Vortex Springs

Vortex Spring is the premier inland Florida dive resort on the Gulf Coast &the largest diving facility in the state. Since 1972 Vortex has been recognized as one of the best & safest diving destinations in the U.S. This Panhandle diver paradise is "the Mecca of dive training" says Southern Diver Magazine. Northern Florida has a crown jewel in this treasure that offers a diving class for every level of SCUBA training which is scheduled at . Every Open water certified diver gets a superior adventure, and Vortex offers cavern and cave diving for certified cavern and cave divers. Vortex offers professional instructors, clear visibility & diving 364 days a year.

Vortex is a top ranked training facility and offers SCUBA diving training at any level. Great course prices are only the beginning. Vortex offers a weed free, clear spring dive. Wildlife is abundant and approachable. Some of our fish are record-size. Entry and exits are assisted by strong docks with stairs to aid in managing SCUBA equipment. You learn to dive wearing top of
the line Dive Rite and scubapro dive gear. If you have special needs, be sure to let us know. We have successfully trained SCUBA students with major physical challenges as well as serious water fear issues.

Palau in Micronesia

Diver observes a rare Chambered Nautilus. At Neco Marine in Palau, “no problem” is the only time you'll see them say ''no'' - no matter what the request. We made all our arrangements with Neco Marine Dive Shop by e-mail for our group from San Francisco. MEETING & GREETING: After the long flight across the Pacific, 14 very tired travelers arrived at the front desk of the Palau Pacific Hotel. I was very relieved to be met by Bert Yates who with his wife, Jan, manages the Neco Marine dive operation. Bert is an ole Arkansas boy and was waiting there in the middle of the night to discuss and reconfirm our diving arrangements that up to now had been only loose internet verbiage. Bert confirmed he did have a big dive boat dedicated solely to our group that would take us to all the special sites we wanted to dive in Palau. Our group of dyed-in-the-wool underwater photographers had definite ideas about where and how we wanted to dive. SPECIAL REQUESTS:” Long bottom times,” I insisted. “No problem,” Bert replied, “We’ll just get started a little earlier.” “Slide film processed every day?” I asked, knowing this was critical to the success of any underwater photography seminar that we had planned. “No problem, just turn it in to the shop and you’ll have it the next morning,” Bert said without missing a beat. He clearly was prepared for all our idiosyncrasies and any potential complications. Nothing I threw his way that late evening we arrived in Palau ruffled Bert’s calm demeanor. He was cool with all of it. And sure enough, the operation delivered. DELIVERING ON PROMISES: During our five days of diving, Neco Marine provided an oversized, overpowered boat that arrived on time. The boat came with freshwater rinse capability, extra tanks, lunch for everybody and a crew equipped with the local knowledge and skill that ensured that we got the most out of every dive. Bert and Jan even organized every detail when we threw them the major curveball: “Martha and I’d like to have an underwater wedding in Chandelier Cave with all our friends there.” Bert’s stoic response: “sure, no problem.” And that’s the way it went: Big currents, big sharks, big photography, big wedding and no big problems. Just another day in this Pacific paradise. For reservations or information on traveling to Palau, contact Robyn Newton at http://www.ricksdivecenter.com/ ..

Why Borneo Divers? Ask Rick

The original Borneo Divers were comprised of four remarkable men – Randy Davis, an American; Malaysians Samson Shak and Clement Lee; and Ron Holland, hailing from England. Randy and Ron came to Asia in the early 80’s, working as commercial divers in the offshore oil fields of Brunei. On their time off, they would charter a native boat, load it with scuba tanks, and set off in search of new dive sites.

In the mid-1980’s they unearthed the mother load, striking gold with then uninhabited Sipadan Island, a tiny oceanic atoll rising out of the depths off the eastern coast of Malaysian Borneo. Their first dive at Sipadan came as an epiphany, and they knew immediately that they were on to something big. Intrigued, they returned with more tanks, tents, a camp stove, and started to bring a few friends along. The result, a little more than twenty years hence, is one of the most popular dive sites in all of Asia.

When in 1989 I first visited Sipadan, there was only Borneo Divers’ one small resort, accommodating 16 guests in simple fashion, and providing the best diving and snorkeling I had ever seen. But "progress" came quickly. When I returned with a group the following year, there was already a second lodging on the island, operated by Chinese businessmen, and catering mostly to Japanese divers. This growth trend was to continue.

Along the way, Jacques Cousteau brought the Calypso to Sipadan, pronounced it superb, and stayed five weeks, producing a film entitled, "Ghost of the Sea Turtle," and changing the pronunciation of the name Sipadan along the way. Skin-Diver Magazine published a major editorial. Then the executive editor of In Depth Magazine visited Sipadan, crowning it, "The World’s Best Beach Dive." As a result of this kind of acclaim, today you will find no less than five "resorts" on Sipadan, plus two or three more on neighboring Mabul. All are exploiting Sipadans exceptional diving, and some of them sell their product cheaper than Borneo Divers. Why then should you pay a bit more to go with the original discovers and developers of Sipadan, Borneo Divers?

I recently took the bull by the horns and asked that question directly of the Borneo Divers. Between their responses, and my own experiences there with ten visits over as many years, here are some points for you to consider:

• Location, Location, Location – Borneo Divers’ property is directly in front of the drop off. It’s no more than 30 feet from the dive shop to the water’s edge. Walk forward 25 feet over a natural sandy bottom, and you step directly from three feet of water, to over 2,000 feet. But no need to go deep, as the wall sticks out of the water at low tide. Turn right, swim for 45 seconds, and you are in the midst of the coral garden that In Depth so accurately commemorated. Borneo Divers’ resort is situated superbly. Each additional resort in Sipadan is located farther away from this drop off. Unfortunately, rather than go to the effort of carrying their tanks to the natural entry point, divers from those resorts are walking over the top of the reef to get to the wall, in the process smashing pristine coral formations. The resorts yet farther down the island have no beach diving access whatsoever, only boat diving. For their part, Borneo Divers is providing three individual boat dives per day, plus easy access to superb shore diving, without destroying the reef that you came to see.
  
• Quality of the Product – Borneo Divers have, by far, the best physical plant. That it to say the best refrigeration, the best kitchen facilities, the most spacious and comfortable dining hall, the largest and best kept bath house and toilets facilities, etc. At a less expensive property you won’t necessarily "get what you pay for," but you definitely will get "no more than what you pay for."
  
• Concern for the Environment – Borneo Divers are the only resort to have a large scale, dependable desalinization system, providing water for showers, toilets, etc. Thus they avoid the use of well water on this tiny island, and further depletion of the water table, land subsidence, etc. (Bottled drinking water is brought from the mainland.) On another note, at considerable expense Borneo Divers have taken it upon themselves to purchase the turtle egg-collecting rights at both Sipadan and Sangalaki. They are leaving them to lie fallow so that the robust turtle population may continue to prosper. They also do their best to deter guests from molesting the marine life, breaking coral, "riding" turtles, etc. Apparently, this can not be said for some of the other operations.
  
• At their own expense – The Borneo Divers have placed, and maintain, the only professional decompression chamber on Sipadan Island. The Borneo Divers operate a commercial diving division back on the mainland, so they have the tooling and expertise to operate a proper chamber.
  
• Don’t Support Illegal Operations – Due to their negative environmental impact, two of the other resorts on the island are actually operating illegally. The Wildlife Management people have tried to shut them down on multiple occasions, but they keep coming back. It appears that "money talks" in Borneo too. But you don’t have to add your dollars to the equation.
  
• Dedication to Diver Safety – Borneo Divers’ Sipadan Island Resort is a PADI 5-Star Facility. They operate to a standard of professionalism in diving that some of the other resorts don’t even comprehend. Here is how Ron Holland explained it to me. "If they want to cut prices, they have to economize somewhere, and that is usually in the man-power. This means cheap labor, inexperienced and untrained staff. Sadly, this includes their dive-guides. Did you know that the last serious dive accident was with (name deleted – KDK)? Two Taiwanese divers died because they where allowed to deep dive all the time. Their last known profile was below 100 meters, (over 300 feet!). That’s what we found from the dive computer on the body of the diver who passed away in our (Borneo Divers’) decompression chamber. His buddy went a lot deeper and is still going down! Ken do you know what one of their dive guides told me when questioned soon after the accident as to why they allowed their guests to just do what they wanted? (Apart from the safety aspect, this also includes, riding on turtles, walking across or lying on the reef, fishing on the reef at night, etc.) The answer was that they didn’t want to upset the guest because it would effect their tips!"
• Yes, the Borneo Divers are businessmen also, but I know from long association that they have a strong commitment in their hearts, as well as in their business dealings, to maintain the precious natural beauty that they discovered at Sipadan. Again, I will let Ron Holland explain their feelings in his own words.
  
  

  
  "What is happening on Sipadan should be your concern, as well as ours. We can not fight the problems all by ourselves. We’ve tried for years now and we are losing ground, because there are always agents out there in the world who don’t give a damn about the future of Sipadan and just want to sell it cheap for the sake of a few bucks. Well Sipadan is not cheap. It’s a delicate, remote island paradise, and to run it efficiently and safely you have to spend the money to do it right. If most of the agents world-wide would stop selling these illegal operations, they wouldn’t last long." Ron Holland

  
  

Come Join Rick for a undesirable diving Adventure
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Gems of the Sea in Southern California

Located approximately 20 to 80 miles offshore from the metropolis of Southern California are the underwater treasures called the Channel Islands? These Islands consists of eight major islands and you can sample all of them during a venture on one of the many "live-aboard" trips in California. Each island is a bit unique and offers a slightly different selection of marine life that you want be disappointed. Depth’s on, the bottom terrain, water visibility, and gaming opportunities are a bonus for divers. California divers have dived them all, thousands of times, and have first-hand knowledge of most of the more popular sites to make your diving adventure aboard the Great Escape the very best. Try a Liveabord to introduce yourself to the Channel Islands if you are in the California Area.. You want regret it!

Advanced Scuba Diving Classes at Rick’s Dive ‘N Travel Center

Congratulations! You've successfully completed your entry level diving course and now a certified Scuba diver! But the fun has just begun. With an emphasis on experience, Rick’s Dive’N Travel Center you will consider enrolling in the PADI Advanced Open Water program along with consideration for the Rescue Diver Course which will definitely help you to be a well rounded diver which is where you want to be in the first place! The class consists of a brief academic session and/or on-site information and five (PADI) fun Open Water dives which can be completed during one of our

regularly scheduled weekend group classes or on one of our many tropical diving adventures or the Florida Spring’s, which is usual this time of year.

Rick’s Advanced Open Water program is the perfect way to polish and extend your scuba skills in new diving environment under the supervision of our professional seasoned staff members. The course is the ultimate on hands-training designed to give you that extra confidence you need to dive independently.

Don't have the time to devote an entire weekend? No problem! Complete three dives instead of five and earn PADI's Adventure Diver Rating. All dives completed as part of either our Adventures in Diving Program or Advanced Open Water course may be credited toward the corresponding specialty.

If you can't make one of our scheduled group classes, or f you want to select your own elective dives, dives that is scheduled at your convenience with one of our instructors our 15 professional PADI Instructors.

Prerequisite: Entry level scuba certification plus 12 years of age.

Student Provides: Student materials, manual, all personal scuba diving equipment, lake entry fees, and travel expenses.

For more information

Contact Rick’s Dive ‘N Travel Center

Ask for Sandy Carroll or Tom Styles

Bonaire

Bonaire is a small island located in the southern Caribbean known for its pioneering role in the preservation of nature, in particular the preservation of the marine environment, and for its excellent scuba diving, snorkeling, and windsurfing, among other things. Kayak in the mangroves, the gentle bay or venture out into the open ocean for a real challenge. Enjoy the nature of the land cycling or mountain biking.
Many descriptions and slogans have been written about Bonaire: Best Kept Secret, Unhurried, Unspoiled, Unforgettable; Diver's Paradise; and the list goes on... The fact is that all these statements are true, and then some. Another truth is the statistic that over 55% of arrivals on Bonaire are repeat visitors!
There are a number of reasons people visit our island. First timers generally have heard about the climate, the water, the sun and what there is to do. When asked, repeat visitors generally say that they did not have enough time to do all they wanted to on their first visit. If it is the third or fourth trip, the answer is basically the same but with this addition "It is the warmth and friendliness of the people" that keeps visitors returning year after year.
Bonaire has the reputation of being laid back, slower paced and very tranquil. The good news is that while this is all quite true, the island also offers a lively nightlife, fun places to visit and world class restaurants. When you first come to the island, you are a visitor, but when you leave, you are a friend.
We enjoy Bonaire so much that we literally organized a group for the Millennium with 120 people; yes this is no embellishment. We had most all the hotels too. If you want news about Bonaire we have travel books on almost any destination you desire.
To help you find your way around Bonaire, you only need a simple Bonaire map provided by the resorts – It’s easy to get around with a map
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Calendar covers the latest happenings on Bonaire, from the present through months from now, so you can best plan your schedule to include these upcoming island-wide events in which both tourists and locals can participate, or see what is happening on a regular basis like nature slideshows on the Weekly page.
Forms of recreation on Bonaire can help you locate a good dive operator, such who to call to rent a windsurfing equipment, where the best beaches are, where to cycle, and what to do for evening entertainment. And of course, what Bonaire is known for is covered extensively - scuba diving and snorkeling.
Eating - need we say more? The Restaurants are in abundance and provides information on all Bonaire restaurants, with cuisines ranging from Italian and Lebanese to Antillean, American, and Indonesian
If you're looking for cool Bonairean art, jewelry, souvenirs, or even more mundane things like appliances; The Shopping in Bonaire is somewhat like the States.
Getting to Bonaire can unfortunately be a challenge sometimes, and once you're here, you definitely need a set of wheels (Bonaire is a small island, but not small enough to walk everywhere). This will help you to the various airlines, car rental companies, tour companies, taxi services, and bike & scooters so you can find just what you need.
Have a good day on Bonaire!