Slow Season: what is the collective noun for crabs anyway?

Apologies about the blog hiatus!  Although the season has slowed down considerably, our crew is down to the bare skeleton (which has left me with little time to spare).  In the instructor pool, we are currently down to 2 bodies: myself (that's Rags), and Kiwi (returning from 2008) currently filling in for Marco.   who is in the process of completing his Tec course with Monty (more on that soon!).  Interested in Tec diving?  Contact Monty!

The latest Instructor Development Course also started on Saturday.  As always, Will is taking the lead on the instruction and is being assisted by IDC Staff Instructor Tati Pereira-Hughes who is taking time out from her regular job at Anthony's Key Resort.  All the best to Sigita, Riccardo, Abner and Digby!

Current Weather: Scorching heat, and moderate (understatement!) humidity with some night rain/thunderstorms.  Not a whisper of wind...

Recent Sightings: Spotted Eagle Ray @ Lighthouse, Southern Stingrays @ Tabyana's, a colony of Neck Crabs @ Fish Den (any suggestions on the group noun for live non-eating crabs are welcome!)

A more comprehensive update to follow shortly!

Divemaster Trainees from around the world

Left to right: Digby (New Zealand), Abner (Honduras), Anastiina (Finland), Matt (England), Sigita (Lithuania), Riccardo (Italy)

Here are our current divemaster trainees.  Quite the international crew! (Coconut Tree Divers has, after all, always worked to foster good international relations...).  At this point, Riccardo and Sigita will be the next two to graduate to Divemaster.  Many of our graduates have gone on to work in various places in the world, and some have continued on to become Open Water Scuba Instructors doing their IDC with Will.  

If you have done your divermaster internship or IDC with us and would like to be added to our website (look at the "our graduates" section to find yourself), drop us an email with your photo.

As we haven't been so busy, we're taking the opportunity to work with the DMTs (divemaster trainees, for those of you not familiar with the underwater slang) on meeting some of their  course requirements so that when we are busier, they can focus on the practical aspects of becoming a competent divemaster.  Here they are working on their Search and Recovery scenario.

Marco and the DMTs...hope they find the tank (practising for the sunken treasure!)

And finally, providing the entertainment at beer o'clock (as if the EXTRA cold beer isn't enough) - we have our very own master juggler (we'll make a divemaster of him yet!)....

Riccardo and his 5 balls!!

Recent Sightings: 2 fighting Hawksbill Turtles @ Half Moon Bay Wall; 2 Green Morays, Spotted Moray, Sharptail Eel, juvenile Southern Stingray and Caribbean Reef Squid @ Half Moon Bay (Lagoon); Silversides in their thousands (still there!) @ Blue Channel

Dive Site of the Moment: Half Moon Bay Wall - because the black gorgonians on the wall and the soft coral gardens at 40-50 ft are simply awesome.

Another beautiful September day

Can you spot Captain Fred?

September is often a great month here on Roatan.  The diving conditions are good,  the weather is nice and warm on the whole (with some occasional night rain!), and it's not so busy.  It's actually an ideal time to take a vacation, especially if you're looking to get away from the summer vacation crowds.

As this was an exceptionally quiet Sunday morning, the entire shop went out diving in Half Moon Bay with mesh bags and garbage bags for an underwater beach cleanup.  It's often the case that the bay can get quite dirty after the fishing tournament, but having said that, we found relatively little trash.  Hats off to the clean-up crew who were dismantling the stalls and stages and cleaning up the trash first thing in the morning on the following day!

The day after the tournament: nice cleanup!!

This week, we also said goodbye to the Aussie group - have a safe trip home everyone!

Team Australia!

Dive Site of the Moment: Blue Channel, for the THOUSANDS of silversides and a number of green moray eels.

Recent Sightings: Silversides @ Blue Channel, 2 Shortfin Pipefish (possibly mating!) @ Lighthouse, Mother and Baby Spotted Eagle Rays @ The Wife

The blog is back!!

The blog is back!

The first few weeks of September have seen us to be unexpectedly busy (two boats every morning!), with the arrival of a number of previous customers including the Kearney family from California and Will and Vicky from Houston.  In that week we ran our first specialty trip to Cayos Cochinos on Wish U Were Here - lots of macro life!  This last week has seen a 20-strong group from Australia brought by Jay Chubb, a former divemaster intern.  Part of that group included the band 8 Foot Felix, who played on the main stage at the XII Roatan International Fishing Tournament, held around Honduran Independence day every year.

As you can see, the street can get pretty crowded (and this is only lunch time!).

This month also saw the graduation and departure of divemaster graduates Bob Millage (left) and Ken Petry (right).  Congratulations guys, and hope to see you here again soon!!

New Instructors!

Congrats to Laura and Austin for successfully becoming PADI Open Water Scuba Diving Instructors! They worked very hard to make it happen and celebrated in style at Will's IDC BBQ on Friday night. Look out world...here they come!

Tropical Storm Harvey...

It has been a very interesting few days with Tropical

Storm Harvey making a visit to the Bay Islands.

Although it looked as though Harvey might be serious at one point, he turned out to be pretty tame
(thank goodness). We closed the shop for a day and now it's back to business! It's more beautiful
around here than ever!

The days preceeding Harvey were pretty spectacular for diving. We saw everything from Eagle Rays to Nurse Sharks! Turtles seemed to come out in pairs on every dive and Green Morays were found on almost every outing! Pure heaven!

Some new diving friends just managed to leave the island before the storm hit, including Max and Laura who were traveling around Central America from England. These two friends met in Columbia last year and have been exploring for the past five weeks.

Max decided to do his advanced course and Laura aced her open water AND advanced. Natasha couldn't stop commenting on her incredible air consumption.
One particular advanced dive saw a depth of 100 ft for 82 minutes at West End Wall.
Laura still came up with 1,000 PSI!

Now THAT'S hard to beat!

A Step Up...or Down

Giant Stride lovers around the world rejoice! Potlicker officially has a new step on her stern making this entry easier than ever.

She's only been out of commission for a few days thanks to John and Tree's hard work!
Ooooooooohhhh...so white and clean!

Bet You Wish You Were Here...

We just wanted to tease you with some of the incredible photos Mike Gallegos took during his last few dives as a DMT. Thanks for sharing, Mike!

Keep in mind that we offer underwater photography and videography courses right here at CTD. Isn't it time YOU started capturing your underwater memories too?

Back Online at Long Last!

(Natasha lights the candles for BLT's bday cheesecake)

Tigo has, at long last, released us from her grip of terror! After three full days of limited connectivity thanks to updates and system maintenance, we are back online! We have a LOT to tell you!

Last week was a busy one with old CTD friends back in town! Instructor Lauren Schneidewind was back on the deck for a week. Even though she was on vacation, she couldn't help but get back into some instructing work. It was FANTASTIC to see her beautiful face in Roatan once again. We already miss you, Lauren!

Another face we were very happy to see was BLT from Chicago!
He came down to celebrate his 30th bday in style...with an actual cake (not eggs and flour) on the deck. Happy birthday! Thanks for spending it in true Coconutter style
(he's the one hiding in the hat and sunglasses below)!

We can't forget Monty's birthday either! He turned 29 ;) on Monday! There was an incredible cake made but no video or photographic evidence! Hmmm...

In other CTD news, John has spent hours revarnishing the seahorse at the entrance to the shop. Using an array of coatings we know nothing about, he created a BEAUTIFUL rich sheen for our mascot. Great work, John! Now he's on to cutting out the back of Potlicker for an easier giant stride. So far, so good. Natasha better get her paintbrush ready...

We also wanted to post some pics from fun divers Melanie and her son Austin. They are regulars at CTD and managed to get these great shots. They gave a big shout-out to Bear for pointing out this Moray...thanks for the pics guys! Come back soon.

Speaking of mothers and sons, Desiree and 12 year-old Leo were back in Roatan for a week of diving. These two are from New Orleans but have a house on the island (www.lacasarara.com).

This family has been coming to CTD since before Nina was born and Des says her place used to be a hot spot for Coconutter parties!

A family liason nurse in a major trauma center, Des uses her trips to Roatan to unwind and get in some one-on-one time with her son.

"The whole thing about the shop is that it's really friendly," explains Desiree. "The beer is cheap, cold and delicious, the equipment is in great shape and everyone is offered specialized attention. The instructors are more than competent and they are always doing their best. How much better could it possibly get?"

Leo agrees saying, "People who I've never met know who I am. It makes me feel really welcome here."

Their favorite dive sites include Moonlight, The Bight, El Aquario and El Aguila.

Here are a few shots of their last dive. See you guys next July!

On a sad note, it's time to say goodbye to the Gallegos family :(
They are heading back to California after completing their DM course. We will certainly miss them especially since Persephone and Emiliano have become our dive shop babies.

On the other hand, there really was a lot of hair to handle between PJ and Mike...

Until we meet again...

Tigo Trouble!

We have a lot to tell you, but Tigo has been acting up lately.
It's been difficult to access the internet for any more than just a few
minutes over the past three days. Uploading photos has been impossible.

The blog will be back to it's regular hilarities very soon!

Btw...the Seagrape Jelly finally set! Success!

Paula's back, baby!

Paula Biggar is back in town!
Here first visit to Roatan was in 1991 and she's been to CTD FIVE times over the years.
She remembers West End when Fosters was the only spot around!
This highschool spanish teacher usually comes diving alone and says that Texas is her all-time favorite dive site.

"I know so many people at the shop now," explains Paula. "I've always felt the staff were very good and thorough. I don't have a computer so safety is very important to me. I've always felt comfortable and like I've been in good hands.
To be honest, it feels like I'm coming home every time I arrive."

Awwwwwwwww........we feel the love!

Better than XBox 360...

We all want to say a big thank you to Casey and Janel Adams for visiting our shop!
This DC area couple is simply amazing and Casey did his open water, advanced, EFR, rescue, wreck, deep, u/w photo and nitrox specialties while here! He now has over 41 dives!

"The family atmosphere is what makes Coconut Tree so special," says Casey. "Everyone is your friend when you leave and that's an amazing feeling."

These two have been together almost 15 years and are very special indeed. Janel especially found her way into Natasha's heart when she brought her a cinnamon bun from Rotisserie Chicken after a night dive (thanks again!!!).

Unfortunately their time here ends tomorrow and we wish them the very best. We are sure their two pugs will be eager to see them!

Come back guys! It won't be the same without you :(

A big congrats to 12-year-old Casey from Charleston for completing his JR open water course. His parents couldn't believe their ears when he exclaimed that, "diving is better than XBox 360!"

This Grade 7 student aced his academics and took to the water like a fish.

"Being able to see things I've never seen before is cool," he said just before his certifying dive. "My friends' mouths are going to drop all the way to China when they find out
I went scuba diving!"

Is it time to get YOUR kids out of virtual reality?

...and there was much relief!

Thankfully, more pectin has been located in French Harbour. That was a close call.
The Seagrape jelly experiment can now continue.

Oh and for those of you who are wondering...you're right, PJ doesn't ever wear a shirt.

The Seagrape Jelly Didn't Set!!

PJ's seagrape jelly experiement continues...

It has been a rough few days with the jelly showing no signs of setting.
There has been much pacing.

More pectin is desperately needed. Although PJ says it tastes delicious, it isn't close to ready.
The question now is, who will be heading to French Harbour to get it?

The seagrape jelly saga continues...

Diver, diver! Are you okay?

Drop your weights! Inflate your BCD!
It's all about rescue this week with Marco teaching four students the ropes! Ken, Casey, Sigita and Riccardo have been sleeping like babies at night after long days of practice. The rescue course takes your skills to a new level and creates a much more confident diver.
There won't be much these four can't handle after this!

While some are practicing surfacing unconcious divers, others are enjoying their 100th dive with CTD! Congrats to JR (pictured with his lovely wife Peg) on making his big dive at Bear's Den earlier this week. JR came to us five years ago to do his Advanced
Course and has been back to the shop four times.

He says he keeps coming back because he, "loves the people and the reef...in that order."
His fave sites include Overheat Reef and the West End Wall.

Thanks for coming back guys! See you next year!

Meanwhile, Sam continues his new job as the shop assistant.
Today's tiring task was bailing water from one of the boats.
PJ says he'll tell him about the bilge pump next year ;)

Another Great IDC & IE!

Congrats to Layne and Nate for becoming CTD's newest Instructor Development Course grads! After an intense Instructor Exam where they laid out their skills, they celebrated at Will and Loren's infamous IDC BBQ! Kudos to Bear for assisting on his first IDC as a staff instructor and for beating Jose to the title!

Love is in the Air!

Oh yes, you heard it folks...love is in the air on the CTD deck this week! Bow-chicka-bow-wow! California couple Jen and Jason have been together for three years and couldn't resist a little alone time together in Roatan. They are adorable and Natasha says
Jen is her lucky diving charm! These two lovebirds tagged along for the wreck dive on Natasha's Advanced Course and they spotted TWO Moray eels, extra-friendly garden eels, the biggest grouper EVER, massive schools of Blue Tang and a turtle to
top it all off! Incredible!

Speaking of the Advanced course, congrats to (in order of appearance below) Phil, David and JP for finishing theirs! Phil is a Grade 7 teacher and avid surfer from California while David and JP are highschool teachers from Montreal. These three could simply not believe the String of Pearls last night and didn't want to get back on the boat! JP described it as, "the best experience of my life!" That was, of course, until he fell in-love with El Aguila
(the wreck) this morning!

Sadly we do have to say goodbye (for now) to our longtime friend, Andreas. This New Yorker has been to Roatan FIVE times to dive at CTD and has logged over 120 of his 183 dives on our reefs! His fave sites are Hole in the Wall, Spooky Channel and Bear's Den. Nice to see you again, Andreas! We'll catch you on the flip side.

On a not so side note, a very big welcome to our three new DMTs. Abner and Ewilina are two more lovebirds here to learn the ropes.

Bob (below) has decided to take a career break after hearing about CTD and the DMT program from Instructor Bisch (a former DMT and IDC star). A Roatan regular, he's already fitting in very well.

Before we sign off this post, we'd like to mention Seagrape season! UGH. While it is the absolute bane of Gay's existence (sweep, sweep and sweep the deck some more), PJ has decided to see the glass as half full. He spent his only day off making Seagrape jelly and, although the initial tasting was "f*ck!ng disgusting" according to PJ, 4 1/2 cups of sugar sure made it taste better. The verdict is out until the official taste test next Wednesday.
We have yet to decide on who the victim...err...lucky person will be!

The New Key for Wish!

After a particularly interesting "incident" involving a lost key and Tree acting as a snorkel guide so that he could hotwire the boat, we have a new keyring! This key isn't going anywhere thanks to PJ's creativity!

Oh and yes, Carl, this is for real.

FROGFISH!

It was quite an exciting day for the IDC group yesterday. Bear (who's finishing up his Staff Instructor rating) found a Frogfish at Mandy's Eel Garden! Great find! Thanks to Will for the photographic evidence!

Our New Employee

The shop has a new employee these days. He may look a tad familiar...yup, it's Sam! Gay and PJ's son has joined us for the summer as the new shop assistant. So far so good...but we'll keep you updated on his work ethic!

The Rones Family Discovers Scuba!

It's a fun day for the Rones family from Atlanta! David, Wendy and their three sons are exploring Roatan via a cruise ship and are having a blast doing a discover scuba diving experience with Rags! David is already a certified diver and can't wait to get his whole family involved in his passion for diving.

After a quick session in the classroom this morning, they made their way into the bay
to practice some simple skills. Soon they will be taking over Wish U Were Here
for their own private diving adventure on our gorgeous reef!
What a great memory for this awesome family.

(Above) Rags explains the basics of buoyancy control.

Tamara helps the family gear up for their confined water session.

Full Boats!

It's been a busy week so far with fun divers and courses like crazy! This is a photos of
today's full boat list...not a single spot to be had (not even on the night dive)!
This morning's dives at West End Wall and Shallow Seaquest were a turtle-lover's
dream and a great start to an awesome day of diving at CTD!

Chef Marco's Communal Cooking!

Most everyone who has paid a visit to CTD knows that we work AND play together! Communal cooking nights have become a tradition and this week was no exception. Chef Marco came to CTD to do his open water course and has since done his advanced, rescue, nitrox and sidemount certifications! Next year he will be back to do his Divemaster course.

Knowing his culinary background, Instructor Marco convinced him to share his talents at a communal cooking night. The menu consisted of fresh salad (the most veggies some of us have had in a while), homemade dressings, fresh bread, herbed chicken, ratatouille, rice and a DELICIOUS dessert. Everyone left stuffed and happy. Next week we'll be doing homemade tacos...you should join us!

The homemade salad dressings were AMAZING!

Although we sure wouldn't be able to spell the name of this dessert, it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and topped with pineapples and apples cooked with sugar and RUM!

The final masterpiece!

We all ended up stuffed, happy and tired!