Diver News

Diver News moved to Facebook

2010-10-26T11:02:00.003-04:00

Hello divers,

Mavbe some of you noticed that this Blog has not been updated for many months - this is because it is so much easier to post everything new around All West Apartments and Ocean Encounters West on Facebook.

You find links to our Facebook pages on both websites:

www.allwestcuracao.com
www.oceanencounterswest.com

Plus you can communicate with us, and share your pictures, via Facebook, too.

Greetings from Westpunt, Curacao

Andreas

Hallo Taucher,

Es ist einigen vielleicht aufgefallen, dass dieser Blog lange nicht gepflegt wurde. Das liegt daran, dass es viel einfacher ist, Neuigkeiten zu All West und Ocean Encounters West auf Facebook einzustellen.

Links zu unseren Facebook-Seiten findet Ihr auf beiden Homepages:

www.allwestcuracao.com
www.oceanencounterswest.com

Außerdem könnt Ihr auch über Facebook mit uns in Verbindung treten, Eure Urlaubsfotos mit uns teilen, u. v. m.

Viele Grüße aus Westpunt, Curacao

Andreas

Nurse Shark @ All West

2010-01-11T19:25:00.002-04:00

Hello everybody,

First of all the entire All West / Ocean Encounters West crew would like to wish you a Happy New Year - we hope to welcome as many of you to Westpunt in 2010 as we did in 2009; special thanks to our many repeat guests!

Now could a new year start much better than by finding a big nurse shark (several guests saw it, and agreed on a size of 6ft+) right there in your house reef?

It seems that after the many sea horses in November now also the bigger critters are finding their way back to our waters (the other day I saw a Hawksbill Turtle at Watamula that had easily the size of some of our female divers)!

Well, feel invited to come and see what YOU can find at All West Curacao :b)

Greetings from our sunny island

Andreas

New seahorse at Alice in Wonderland!

2009-11-12T19:14:00.002-04:00

Hi divers,

I just wanted to let you know that yesterday I found a new seahorse (bright and yellow) at Ocean Encounters house-reef "Alice in Wonderland" while teaching an Open Water Diver course! I hope it stays in the area - next time I have to go with a camera and see if I can get reasonable pictures of it ;b)

Also on All West apartments house-reef a yellow seahorse was found, not too far away from the Neptune statue, swimming further in direction to Playa Kalki.

So keep the search going - it's worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greetings from Curacao

Andreas

Seahorses and Lionfish

2009-10-30T11:46:00.004-04:00

Hello everybody,

Good news is that lately we found new sea horses at Watamula and Rediho City.

Not so good news is that we caught the first lion-fish spotted at Watamula. We got he little guy alive (length maybe 5 cm) and handed it over to the local marine biologists of CARMABI to study.

It was the first confirmed lion-fish sighting around Curacao.

Greetings from Curacao

Andreas

Seahorse at All West Apartments

2009-09-22T21:16:00.004-04:00

Hello everybody,

Still no Lion-Fish sightings in Curacao, but our guest Pascal found a new seahorse sitting close to the fishermen's pier in front of All West Apartments - so after all the excitement about the Mantas earlier this month we are getting back to the roots of Curacao, i. e. cool critters :b)

Greetings from All West

Andreas

Hallo zusammen,

glücklicherweise haben wir noch immer keine Rotfeuerfische vor Curacao gesichtet. Dafür hat unser Gast Pascal ein neues Seepferdchen in der Nähe des Fischer-Piers vor All West gefunden, in der sagenumwobenen Tiefe von 2m - nach der ganzen Aufregung um die Mantas vor gut 2 Wochen kehren wir also zu den Wurzeln unserer Unterwasserwelt zurück, nämlich den coolen kleinen Critters :b)

Ein fröhlicher Flossenschlag von All West

Andreas

Update on Lion-Fish situation

2009-09-19T11:32:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,

Please find below an update on the Lion-Fish sighting - and now capture - on Aruba.

Greetings from Curacao (no Lion-Fish reported yet)

Andreas

Byron Boekhoudt, Coastal Zone Management coordinator of Aruba, reports that yesterday diveshop Unique Sports on Aruba went back to the spot where a lionfish had been reported last week and was able to locate and capture it. People from the Aruba fisheries department (DLVV) were alerted and picked up the fish. Byron Boekhoudt will arrange to take samples of the fish for DNA analysis through the REEF organization, who are working with experts to analyze genetic material from Lionfish from all over the Caribbean and Western Atlantic to establish the relationships between local populations.

The captured lionfish (see pictures below) was estimated to measure about 20 cm from the tip of its mouth to the fork of its tail. It is now temporarily on display at Buccaneer restaurant, who kindly cooperated and provided their aquarium to keep it until everything is ready to euthanize it and prepare the DNA samples according to the protocol provided by REEF. Only four months ago REEF held a very timely workshop in Bonaire to prepare for the coming of the lionfish in the Dutch Caribbean islands.

Lionfish are considered a dangerous pest (invasive species) because they are not native to the Caribbean, reproduce quickly, have no natural enemies on the Caribbean reefs (except for large groupers which are practically extinct because of overfishing), and devour large amounts of small and juvenile fish dramatically reducing recruitment of new reef fish such as snappers, groupers, grunts and parrotfish. They also have sharp highly venomous spines that cause excruciating pain when stung, and in exceptional cases can even cause death in humans. Lionfish started their conquest of the Caribbean in 1992, presumably after having been released or escaped frorm an aquarium in Florida. First they spread northwards along the coast of the US. Ten years later they jumped to the Bahamas, a few years later to Cuba, and in just the past two years spread among all the northern islands of the Caribbean and Central America. A map of their progression can be found at the followoing website:

http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/lionfish_progression/lionfish_progression.html

Because lionfish spread by dispersal of larvae that can travel great distances in the sea currents, and they live down to depths of 175 m (600 ft), it is practically impossible to completely eradicate them once they are established, with new larvae continuously coming in from distant locations. The only practicable response is to control their numbers by capturing them as soon as they are spotted. They are easily caught using two hand nets, and they are good to eat.

Best,
Paul

So far no lion-fish on Curacao, but...

2009-09-15T17:50:00.005-04:00

Hello everybody,

So far we didn't hear of any lion-fish sightings around Curacao, but since they have been invading many parts of the Caribbean Sea already, we have to keep our eyes open. And our divers can help us - have a look at the information below (download the image for full size) and report any lion-fish sighting in our waters, please, if possible with photo, location, depth, and time:

Greetings from Curacao

Andreas

Manta Rays at All West!!!

2009-09-04T17:30:00.002-04:00

Hi there,

Early this afternnon a group of Brazilian divers met 2 huge manta rays when diving Alice in Wonderland right in front of Ocean Encounters West dive shop.

check out the video on YouTube

A bit later, the two giants (the bigger one with a wing span of approximately 15ft, the other one only slightly smaller!) had travelled over to Playa Piscado in front of All West Apartments. One got caught briefly in the moring line of a fisherman's boat, with the result that the line got ripped off the anchor block and the fisherman's boat went sailing towards the open sea on its own. OEW manager Bryan towed it back with our dive boat.

In the meantime, the mantas kept swimming around in shallow water, clearly visible from the balconies of All West Apartments. It looked spectacular, with their wingtips cutting the surface every now and then! While I watched the rays from above, a guest family went down to snorkel with them - the giants passed right underneath them, so you could get a good estimate of their size. I am pretty sure that tonight at Sol Food we'll have a lot to discuss over a couple of beers (and pizza, and brownies), and the rays will grow even bigger in our stories

Greetings from sunny "Manta" Curacao
Andreas

Divemaster Training at Ocean Encounters West

2009-08-20T22:15:00.003-04:00

Hi there,

I would like to let you all know that our Divemaster Trainee Lucy just finished her course with us, managing all challenges involved and helping us a lot running our daily operation as a hard working member of our team - thank you very much, Lucy!

Lucy is now proceeding to do her Instructor Development Course with Christian at Ocean Encounters in Willemstad; we wish her all the best, and of course we know she will do perfectly well and become a good PADI Instructor soon!

Greetings from Curacao

Andreas

Hallo zusammen,

ich möchte nicht versäumen zu erwähnen, dass unser Divermaster Trainee Lucy gerade Ihre Ausbildung bei uns abgeschlossen hat! Sie hat alle Herausforderungen souverän gemeistert, und uns tatkräftig dabei geholfen, den arbeitsreichen Basisalltag zu meistern - vielen Dank, Lucy!

Lucy geht nun einen Schritt weiter und nimmt am Instructor Development Course bei Christian von unserer Ocean Encounters Schwesterbasis in Willemstad teil. Wir wünschen ihr dabei alles Gute, und sind uns natürlich sicher, dass sie auch bald eine gute PADI Tauchlehrerin sein wird!

Mit fröhlichem Flossenschlag aus Curacao,

Andreas

Coral Spawning 2009

2009-08-20T22:09:00.001-04:00

Coral Spawning 2009

September 10^th, 2009

Come and join Ocean Encounters West for this year’s spectacular spawning event!!

What is Coral Spawning?

Twice a year, in September and October, one week after full moon, all over the world this miraculous event happens: the coral starts spawning. In a period of a few days several types of coral, sea urchins, soft corals, worms, brittle stars and sponges release their eggs and sperm.

For information about coral spawning and to contribute to the spawning observations go to the Reef Care Curaçao web site.

When & Where

Sept. 10^th @ 6:00pm: SOL Food – Westpunt (www.curacaosunshine.com)

Dr. Mark Vermeij from Carmabi will be giving an awesome Coral Spawning Presentation detailing what to expect and diving protocols
Sunshine will be serving her legendary Pizza with Non-Alcoholic Drinks

9:00pm at Ocean Encounters West – Playa Kalki, Westpunt

o Guided Night shore dive to witness the spectacular spawning event

After the dive social – talk about what we witnessed over a few Polars!

Price: $75 USD/pp (all incl.) – space is limited – please reserve in advance!!

Dive Shop Ph#: 5999-864-0102 Email: info@oceanencounterswest.com

www.oceanencounterswest.com

Back to Curacao / Zurück auf Curacao

2009-08-13T18:47:00.004-04:00

Hello everybody,

I am back to Curacao for 2 weeks now, and I hope I will be able to provide you with some exciting news again soon.

Lately we found a new seahorse at Watamula (thanks to Martin and Stephanie for finding it, and to Carsten for taking the photo!), and had some beautiful eagle ray sightings - the good things never change :b)

Visit us in Westpoint and find out!

Greetings from Curacao

Andreas

Hallo zusammen,

ich bin seit 2 Wochen zurück auf Curacao, und hoffe, Euch zukünftig wieder regelmäßiger mit taucherischen Neuigkeiten versorgen zu können.

Zuletzt haben wir ein neues Seepferdchen in Watamula gefunden (danke an Martin und Stephanie für die Entdeckung, und an Carsten für das Foto!), und einige schöne Adlerrochenbegegnungen gehabt - die guten Dinge ändern sich nie :b)

Also besucht uns in Westpoint, und macht Euch Euer eigenes Bild!

Viele Grüße aus Curacao

Andreas

How about a nurse shark?

2009-04-15T03:59:00.003-04:00

Hi divers,

Curacao - and especially the Westpoint area ;-) - seems to become real "shark waters"...

After all the excitement about the hammerhead in March my colleague Angel now sent me this photo of a nurse shark taken during one of our boat dives in April.

I think it's about time to return to seeing some seahorses and frogfish instead; who wants to see the big fish anyway? :O)

See you

Andreas

Hallo Taucher,

Curacao, und hierbei speziell der Westen ;-), scheint sich langsam in ein echtes "Hai-Gewässer" zu verwandeln:

Nach all der Aufregung um "unseren" Hammerhai im März hat mir mein Kollege Angel nun das Foto von einem Ammenhai geschickt, dass Tauchgäste auf einer unserer Bootsausfahrten aufgenommen haben...

Ich bin ja der Meinung, wir sollten zu unseren Wurzeln zurückkehren mit Seepferdchen und Anglerfischen - wer will schon die ganzen großen Fische sehen? :O)

Mit fröhlichem Flossenschlag

Andreas

Manta @ Watamula

2009-04-15T03:53:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

I mentioned it already in my last blog entry: Our divers met a huge manta ray at Watamula!

Now I have some photos for you taken by our guests:

Wish I had been there, too!!!

Greetings from All West

Andreas

Humpback Whales @ All West Apartments!

2009-04-07T03:53:00.005-04:00

Hi divers,

Can you believe this? 1 week after I took KLM flight 785 to Europe they see a female humpback whale in our bay having a baby ans I am not there.

Unfortunately the most detailed photo I received is this (the black thing in the centre of the picture is the mother whale descending):

But one more time I have to say: Everything's possible at All West Curacao!!!!

Greetings from Hamburg, Germany

Andreas

BTW: They also saw a big Manta ray at Watamula these days...

Hallo zusammen,

ist es zu glauben? 1 Woche nachdem ich den KLM Flug 785 nach Europa bestiegen habe, taucht eine Buckelwalkuh vor All West auf und bring ihr Kalb zur Welt!

Leider habe ich kein detaillierteres Foto bekommen als das weiter oben in diesem Eintrag (der schwarze Klumpen in der Bildmitte ist die Wal-Mama beim Abtauchen); nichtsdestotrotz kommen wir einmal mehr zu der Schlussfolgerung - nichts ist unmöglich @ All West Curacao!

Fröhliche Flossenschläge aus Hamburg

Andreas

P. S.: So ganz nebenbei haben unsere Taucher dieser Tage bei Watamula auch noch einen riesigen Manta (rochen, nicht -Manni) gesehen...

Hammerhead @ All West Apartments

2009-02-28T10:41:00.006-04:00

Hi Divers,

This was one of the most thrilling Ocean Encounters (West) I have ever experienced around Curacao:

Just about half an hour ago, a couple of All west Apartment guests from Germany and I have been snorkeling with a 6ft long hammerhead shark right off our beach in shallow water - beautiful, unforgettable!!!

Thank you to Gisela Kurzke for providing me with the following photos and video stream!

Happy greetings from Curacao

Andreas

Hallo Taucher,

das war eine der aufregendsten Unterwasserbegegnungen, die ich auf Curacao bisher hatte:

Vor etwa einer halben Stunde konnten einige Gäste aus Deutschland und ich direkt vor den All West Appartements im Flachwasser mit einem etwa 2m langen Hammerhai schnorcheln - wunderschön und unvergesslich!!!

Vielen Dank an Gisela Kurzke, dass ich Ihre Fotos und das Video hier zeigen darf!

Mit unglaublich fröhlichem Flossenschlag aus Curacao

Andreas

"Hitchcock's Birds" @ Playa Kalki

2009-02-27T19:07:00.005-04:00

Hi Divers,

Not only Curacao's underwater creatures are very exciting; also on shore there is a lot to see.

Lately, the couple of Brown Pelicans we used to admire fishing in front of our dive shop or posing on our dock have been breeding - now there is 6 to 7 pelicans around that are very nice to watch, elegant flyers all of them.

When they are all together sitting on the dock in the morning hours it seems to me a bit like a scene out of Hitchcock's famous movie "Birds", though ;-)

Best regards from Curacao

Andreas

Hallo Taucher,

nicht nur die Unterwasser-Lebewesen rund um Curacao sind aufregend zu beobachten.

Kürzlich hat das Pelikan-Paar, das wir schon länger beim Fischfang oder beim Posieren auf unserem Bootsanleger (ihrem "Laufsteg") bewundern durften, gebrütet. Jetzt zeigen 6 oder 7 Pelikane regelmäßig vor unserer Tauchbasis ihre eleganten Flugkünste.

Wenn sie allerdings morgens alle zusammen auf dem Pier sitzen, erinnert mich das doch ein wenig an Szenen aus Hitchcocks Klassiker "Die Vögel" ;-)

Ein fröhlicher Flossenschlag aus Curacao

Andreas

Hammerhead @ Playa Shon Mosa

2009-02-11T18:42:00.004-04:00

Hi all,

This sounds incredible, but it's true - have a look at the video stream below; thank you very much to Marek for allowing us to put it here:

All West Apartments guests Marek Teterycz and his girlfriend Catherine met a big hammerhead shark today shore diving in front of Playa Shon Mosa at a depth of 50ft!

One more time we get a proof that everything is possible diving around Curacao :-)

Best regards

Andreas

Hallo zusammen,

es scheint unglaublich, ist aber war:

Unsere Gäste Marek und Catherine aus den USA haben heute vor Playa Shon Mosa in 16m Tiefe einen großen Hammerhai getroffen. Zum Beweis schaut Euch einfach das kurze Video oben an!!! Vielen Dank an Marek, dass wir dieses Video hier zeigen dürfen.

Einmal mehr bleibt also festzuhalten: Nichts ist unmöglich, in den blauen Wassern rund um Curacao!

Ein fröhlicher Flossenschlag

Andreas

Dolphins @ Watamula!!!

2009-02-07T17:43:00.002-04:00

Hello everybody,

Yesterday I had one of the most exciting ocean encounters (west) ever:

Doing my safety stop towards the end of a drift dive at Watamula a group of 20 - 30 dolphins came swimming by!

Other than on the dolphin dive organized by our colleagues in town together with the Ciracao Dolphin Academy, I had never seen these facinating mammals while SCUBA-Diving - and now there were so many of them; it was simply thrilling!

Unfortunately nobody had a camera in the water, so I cannot post any pictures of this marvelous scene. Maybe next time I even get a bit more lucky...

Kind regards from Curacao

Andreas

Hallo zusammen,

gestern hatte ich eine meiner schönsten Unterwasserbegegnungen überhaupt:

Als ich zum Ende eines Strömungstauchgangs in Watamula beim Sicherheitsstop war, kam eine Gruppe von 20-30 Delfinen dicht vorbeigeschwommen! Außer auf dem von unseren Kollegen in der Stadt und der Dolphin Academy organisierten Dolphin Dive hatte ich vorher nie die Gelegenheit mit diesen faszinierenden Meeressäugern zu tauchen; und dann waren es gleich so viele - einfach umwerfend!

Leider hatte niemand eine Kamera dabei, so dass ich hier keine Fotos veröffentlichen kann. Vielleicht habe ich ja beim nächsten Mal noch mehr Glück...

Ein fröhlicher Flossenschlag aus Curacao

Andreas

Our new (old) dive boat - the "Palavos"

2008-11-17T18:57:00.006-04:00

Hello everybody,

Finally we got her back - after long refurbishing efforts the "Palavos" is back in the water and ready to take divers and snorkellers out for exciting trips to the marvellous reefs around the island of Curacao!

"Palavos" is big (fitting easily 20 divers +, if necessary), beautiful and comfortable. Some people get so excited about her that they even stand on their heads in front of the boat:

We hope to see you on board soon!

Kind regards from Curacao

Andreas

___________________________________________

Hallo zusammen,

endlich ist es soweit:

Nach lang andauernden und gründlichen Überholungsarbeiten ist die "Palavos" wieder im Wasser und bereit, Taucher und Schnorchler zu den fantastischen Riffen rund um Curacao zu fahren!

"Palavos" ist groß (20 Taucher, wenn notwendig ein paar mehr, finden bequem Platz), schön und komfortabel - einige Gäste geraten bereits dermaßen aus dem Häuschen, dass sie vor dem Boot Kopfstände machen:

Wir würden uns freuen, Euch auch bald mal an Bord begrüßen zu können!!!

Viele Grüße aus Curacao

Andreas

Dolphins - some people get lucky at Ocean Encounters West!

2008-11-05T19:35:00.003-04:00

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

2008-10-02T19:01:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-19T09:16:00.001-04:00

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

2008-09-16T05:37:00.002-04:00

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...

2008-07-04T20:34:00.006-04:00

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!

2008-06-06T17:44:00.004-04:00

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

2008-05-20T19:55:00.005-04:00

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

New Frogfish at Lagun

2008-05-10T15:20:00.003-04:00

Hello everybody,

Yesterday I found a new frog fish sitting on our Friday morning dive-site Lagun :-) It is almost as big as my fist, of bright yellow, and obviously likes the sponge it's sitting on - today, it was still there; and if we are lucky, many more guests diving with us on Fridays may be able to see it and take pictures. It looks more or less like this:

Take care, and always good diving,

Andreas

Everything is possible - dolphins in front of All West Apartments

2008-04-23T18:39:00.005-04:00

Hi there,

All West Apartments guests were happy people on Saturday and Monday: A group of approximately 40 dolphins stayed and played around in our housereef bay!

Our divers saw them from our diveboat, the "Orca"; they used the boat to surf in front of the bow - and they kept company with our guests who snorkelled out to meet them, for more than 1 hour :-) We even had a 6 year old boy snorkelling with them! On the way back to the beach he also saw his first stingray!

Kind regards from Curacao
Andreas

Hallo zusammen!

All West Apartments-Gäste bleiben die Glückspilze auf Curacao:

Am Samstag und Montag hat sich eine Schule von ca. 40 Delfinen in unserer Hausriffbucht getummelt. Unsere Tauchgäste haben sie von unserem Tauchboot "Orca" aus gesehen, in dessen Bugwelle sie gesurft haben. Schnorchelnde Apartmentgäste, einschließlich des erst 6-jährigen Joscha, haben die Delfine mehr als 1 Stunde lang bespaßt :-) Auf dem Rückweg zum Strand wurde dann noch ein Stachelrochen gesichtet!

Mit fröhlichem Flossenschlag aus der Karibik
Andreas

Seahorse in front of All West Apartments

2008-04-17T16:33:00.007-04:00

Hi everybody,

All West Apartments guests are lucky since weeks:

A seahorse is staying in our housereef in the very shallow, so even snorkelers are able to see it! 2 weeks ago, it even had a companion; maybe they were trying to work on some more seahorses.

If you are planning to have a look and need some more information on where to find the seahorse, feel free to contact me: andreas@allwestcuracao.com.

Best regards
Andreas

Hallo zusammen,

All West Apartments Gäste haben in letzter Zeit Glück:

Ein Seepferdchen hat sich im Flachwasser in unserem Hausriff niedergelassen; auch Schnorchler können es mitunter bestaunen. Vor 2 Wochen hatte es sogar einen Gefährten - ob sich da wohl Nachwuchs anbahnt?

Wer sich das Seepferdchen anschauen möchte, und noch genauere Informationen zu dessen Standort benötigt, kann mich gern kontaktieren unter andreas@allwestcuracao.com.

Viele Grüße aus der Karibik

Andreas

Fotos of the Frogfish at Kortape Point

2008-03-31T09:56:00.002-04:00

Many thanks to our guest Bob for providing us with these nice images:

Kortape Point is on our boat trip schedule every Wednesday morning!

Kind regards from Curacao
Andreas

Elvin's Planewreck has a new look

2008-03-30T17:47:00.003-04:00

Hello everybody,

After we experienced rough seas a bit more than one week ago, Elvin's Planewreck now looks quite different: The body is broken in two parts, the cockpit is not longer in its place.

In my opinion, the wreck is an even more interesting dive now.

But maybe you'd rather join us on one of our next boat trips there to form your own opinion about it. I add a few photos to this post so you see roughly what you are up to.

Kind regards,

Andreas

PADI Digital Underwater Diver Course

2008-03-19T19:29:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we had a PADI Digital Underwater Photography Course at Ocean Encounters West, and we would like to share some of the results with you; all these photos (except the portrait of herself and her father David) have been taken by Charleen from New Jersey with a Sealife ReefMaster Mini Digital Camera, some using also an external flash. The divesites were Alice in Wonderland - the housereef of Ocean Encounters West - and Elvin's Planewreck.

We are proud of the results obtained during the training dives, and invite divers interested in using a Digital Camera during their dives to contact us and maybe sign up for a course, too. You may bring your own camera, or - for a maximum of two students - we can also share Andreas' Sealife DC 600 featuring wideangle lense and external flash.

The photos show:

The Students: Charleen and David

Juvenile Parrotfishes and Blueheads feading on a Sergeant Major's nest
A swarm of French Grunts
A Scrawled Filefish

Dolphin Dive with Ocean Encounters and Dolphin Academy

2008-03-18T21:49:00.003-04:00

Hi there,

Did you ever dream of diving with dolphins, and getting even to touch them? On the Ocean Encounters Dolphin Dive operated in cooperation with the Dolphin Academy at Curacao's Seawater Aquarium you can! I tried it on Monday, and was really amazed by this incredible animal encounter. We met the dolphins and their trainer in an open water environment out on a reef close to the aquarium. The 2 dolphins went zooming around like a pair of Quidditch-Players, but also came very close, so everybody could pet them! It was great to be with them :-)

If you want to try this, too, you can make your booking with Ocean Encounters West.

We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

Kind regards from Curacao,

Andreas

Whale Shark

2008-03-18T11:26:00.003-04:00

Thank you to Olga and Harald for the picture of the whale shark.
We are waiting for him to come back to All West.

Frogfish at Kortape Point

2008-03-14T18:34:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

on Wednesday I found the home of a frogfish new to us during our boat dive at Kortape Point. It looks similar to the one found by All West Apartments guests Ilona and Bernd in Februaray (see photo).

We offer boat trips leading to Kortape every Wednesday starting 8:30 am at Ocean Encounters West. The first dive-site on these trips is Hell's Corner.

Kind regards

Andreas

All West Apartments and Diving

Ocean Encounters West

Wale Shark at All West Curacao!!!

2008-03-14T06:00:00.012-04:00

Over weeks now, we have been spotting eagle rays on a regular basis, same as 2 seahorses living right in front of All West Apartments (Thank you to Michael and Ilona for leaving me with these nice photo J):
On Tuesday this week, however, all this was topped by the most exciting encounter with a gigantic whale shark (at least 24ft long) that was spotted by our guests 2 times in our house reef and once right in front of our dive shop Ocean Encounters West at Playa Kalki!!! There has been more talking about that fish than about the group of approximately 30 dolphins passing by Playa Kalki on the same day.

Welcome to our blog!

2008-03-14T04:19:00.000-04:00

To keep you informed about the news at Ocean Encounters West we opened this blog for you.

Feel free to also post your experience you had with us.