Never to Old!

The guest blogger this month is our very own Ailsa ‘Granny’ Pearce. Ailsa has worked in the diving business in Lanzarote for many years and made lots of friends along the way.

It is easy to see how passionate Ailsa is about Lanzarote both on land and under the sea.She always joins us on  PADI Womens Dive Day and  Ocean Clean Up Dives to keep our beautiful play ground a clean and healthy enviroment.

Ailsa now dives for fun and is such an ambassador for the sport. All our divers love chatting with  her, Granny’s stories are always the best!

Photo’s courtesy of Ailsa’s dive buddies , Marie Hanson and John Rayner.

NEVER TOO OLD!

Yesterday, I was driving towards the beautiful Ajache Mountains in Lanzarote on my way to Puerto Calero marina.I was struck by the breath taking views, Los Lobos Island, Fuerteventura beaches, glistening and seductive, and the mountains themselves basking in the midday sun.For the last 15 years I have revelled in the joys of life in Lanzarote, and with the stunning vista facing me on my drive I reflected on how fortunate I was to end up here.

 

My life has led me down many paths, and a lot of them via my sport, but the one thing I’d always wanted to do but never had, was to scuba dive! Like many, the quotes and magical films of Jacques Cousteau, Lloyd Bridges, Hans and Lottie Hass, had fired my imagination. A sequence of circumstances led me to begin my dream at the ripe old age of 59. Ridiculous, said some, a new hobby at your age should be knitting or painting! But undaunted I wanted to have a go!

That was the beginning of a new life for me! A new world of wonder, a new outlook on our messed up world and a new meaning to my whole being began!

So, and as not to bore you, I set off to learn to dive. I was anxious to become competent and self sufficient as am very competitive (sporty background) and need to be totally comfortable in what is an alien environment to air breathing man! I just loved it, actually feeling more at home under the waves than above and still do! It was the start of an incredible journey, one I am still enjoying!

 

I had a couple of blips when I had to remain above water for a few weeks, which delayed my goal of 2000 dives in 10 years but I achieved it in the end, albeit with a few extra weeks needed to complete!

So, the purpose of this ditty, for those intrigued, is to say that whatever your dreams may be, they are possible, just hold on to them and go for it! Age is NO barrier! Live the dream, dive the dream, I did and still do!

If your dream is to see the hidden underwater world, Island Water Sports is a good place to begin! You will receive informed and inspiring instruction measured to your individual progress and understanding, because, this is a sport where insufficient training and knowledge can be life threatening, so tailored teaching is essential.

All Island Watersports dives are carried out in small groups, whether it’s your first dive or your 1000th.

 

Right!!! Off you go!!!! I’m driving past my beautiful mountains again, on my way to…..?  Yes!!! Of course!!! To get my gills wet!! You are never too old to try something new!

 

Museo Atlantico Awards

 

Island Watersports are delighted to be awarded Best Operating Company and Best Eco Dive Guide in the Museo Atlantico Winter 2017-2018 awards.

Grateful thanks to all our divers for completing the survey and providing feedback.

The Museo Atlantico dive is becoming one of our most popular dives and it is not difficult to see why.

Since the first installation in 2016 the sealife around the statues has grown to provide an  amazing display of marine life.

We dive the museum every week of the year so if you haven’t visited yet give us a call. Set in an area of 50 x 50meters at around 12 meters depth this is an ideal dive site suitable for all level of divers.

Did you know that you can also dive the Museo Atlantico even if you have never dived before?

Ask us about our Museo Atlantico Experience for non divers, after two training dives you can enjoy a guided dive to the Museo Atlantico, Europes first underwater museum.

Now that is what makes a holiday special!

World Oceans Day June 8th

To celebrate World Oceans Day we have an amazing video to share,  Angels in the Water.

All the team at Island Watersports  just love this video starring our endangered Angel Sharks with some of the footage filmed in Lanzarote.

Thanks again to Michael Dann for this beautiful ‘Love Story’

Angels in the Water

Angel Sharks Mystery Blog

 This is a Guest Blog, our very first, written with Mystery and Intrigue in mind by Michael Dann who has been scuba diving in Lanzarote for 30 years and has a keen interest in Angel Sharks.

There was a time when underwater photography was an expensive novelty for writers,
film makers, and scientists.  Nowadays it seems every diver has a waterproof camera resulting in lots of photos being taken every day. Yet that does not mean necessarily that the photographers ‘know’ when they have taken something really good. For such is our limited knowledge of what happens under the sea that the story of any photo taken could be ‘really good’

Which is what we have here, the most interesting photo of an Angel Shark taken in Puerto Del Carmen this Season, it is, on the surface a simple photo. But, like the tennis match in Antonioni’s film Blow-up, closer examination, ‘blows away’ the simplicity.

To leave us in mystery writer territory – who done it and why.

Let us examine the evidence (get those little grey cells working). There are two Angels in the photo. On the right is a girl, she is very pregnant having no energy to pit (throw sand over her to hide) instead she has nested, wriggled into a shallow depression in the sand. She is one of the twenty plus girls who have come this year and she has what she came for.
But on the left is actually a boy – girls do go about together.  So what is he doing there?  His whole life experience – he was born just near where he was photographed, grew up here and  has been coming here  all his grown up life, tells him in which ‘condition’ he has found the girl. He knows. He knows. He knows.
Then why isn’t he off down The Harbour chasing the girls I saw this morning? Maybe he has chased them! Or maybe one of the other two boys has! Or they are up to this time un-chasable! And for the moment he is hanging around this one.

Why? The question cuts to the centre of the case. Why is the boy where he is? Why is he taking any interest in that which cannot interest him?
But she does, why?   Is she ‘his’ girl and he is just checking she is OK? Or because she is any girl in that condition and he is ‘obliged’ to check up and maybe ‘look out’ for them? Because this is somehow ‘built in’ to what he is doing? ‘Supposed’ to be doing to comply with the breeding Model the Angels have developed.
Is this what is happening? Or is it just a fluke? Does the photo make it seem more than it is? Or is it much more than it seems?
There was one other occasion when two boys were seen lying either side of a very pregnant girl, this sighting gave rise to the almost blasphemy of the idea that sharks can look after each other. For as everyone knows sharks are ‘axe murders’
How sharks behave is a trial by a largely uninformed public opinion
But Agatha’s Belgian super sleuth is on the case and a book has been written
Watch this space.

Thank you Michael, we are looking forward to reading your book.

Europes First Underwater Museum

Museo Atlantico – Europes first underwater museum, created by artist Jason deCaires Taylor.

 

Since the first installations back in 2016, the Museo Atlantico has proved to be a very popular dive site and a ‘must do’  for many of our scuba diving visitors. At a depth of 14 meters this dive is suitable for all certified divers and now non divers have the opportunity to dive here too.

These latest pictures from our trip this week show how the flora and fauna are making the museum home.

 

Our guide Iain Irving was delighted to see a spiny sea star making it’s home on the girls head at the hybrid section, wrapping itself around the bun on the back of her head.

There is always plenty to see on this dive , Barracuda, Angel Sharks, Trigger Fish, Bastard Grunt and the Spiny Sea Star were the entertainers  yesterday.

 

Now you can dive the Museo Atlantico even if you are not a certified diver, just complete 2 training dives with us and then you will be able to dive the museum.

Interested ? contact us for more details.

2017 – Diving Year Review

2017 was a year of new beginings for Island Watersports Dive Centre  as George and Iain formed a new partnership and, along with John,  moved to a new location in the Old Town Harbour of Puerto Del Carmen, Lanzarote.

 

Still with all the great facilities that our divers expect - hot showers, toilets and changing rooms to make our diving experience as relaxed and enjoyable as possible.

Below is a look back at some of the many highlights and hopefully some special memories for our divers too.

 

 

Work is finished on the new dive centre in February and our first visitors arrive, welcome to the Voigtlander family, Sally and Diane who took the snorkelling challenge  and Nick who kicked off the year by becoming a Master Scuba Diver.

March saw our first clean up dive of the year , thanks to all our volunteers, Charles,Peter, Ailsa, John and Iain.

 

We where invited  by Rooftop Entertainment to watch the  6D Cinema Underwater experience at the Biosfera shopping centre, Puerto Del Carmen.

We went dressed to impress! It was a great evening and we have been back since but not in dive gear

Our trips to the Museo Atlantico proved to be incredibly popular with our divers and that is still true today, as Europe's only underwater museum it is a must see when diving in Lanzarote.

We were joined by so many diving friends in May and it was drinks all round when we surprised Christoph and Thomas with a little party as they celebrated their 10 year anniversary and 200th dive while they were on holiday.

The outside seating area of dive centre is proving to be a great place for a chill out after the dives, thanks Marco and Trui for the great pictures.

We were delighted to hit 1000 likes on Facebook this month thanks to all our divers, family and friends.

 

Worlds Ocean Day in June was celebrated by another Ocean Clean Up Dive and again we were joined by our wonderful diving volunteers.

Just a quick note - we do clean up dives every 3 months or so , all certified divers are welcome to come along and join us , we provide the tanks and weights for free.

 

 

More great news for June, we were awarded with another Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence.

The whole team at Island Watersports were absolutley delighted with this award as it is a result of all our divers reviews and feedback.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write these reviews, it really makes a huge difference to our business.

 

July was an eventful month - we were joined by Caroline, Heidi, Ailsa, Corinne and Marie for PADI Womens Dive Day. Caroline and Heidi had never dived before and completed their first  scuba diving 'Try Dive'experience. They were just amazing and  great fun was had by all.

Ollie celebrate his 18th Birthday which meant he could complete his PADI Dive Master course, something he had always wanted to do since he first started diving with us. Thanks for the great party guys. Bring on next year Hattie and  Alice!

We met Nadine and her family who were keen Geocachers and they completed our Geocache, GC 6C00N, training dive package.

 

It was dive courses all the way through August and nice to see so many regular diving friends continuing their diving journey with us.

Max , Lena, Basti and Christina all completing PADI  Deep and Advanced courses, Ross doing his PADI Rescue Course and Brian practising skills for his BSAC Dive Leader qualification.

 

 
The Old Town Puerto Del Carmen celebrated the Feria Del Mar in September and Island Watersports were invited to join in with a stand at the show. Georg and Marie were there for 4 days and met many new divers and visitors to Lanzarote.

Our very own Pokemon guru Christoph finally left us after diving for 5 weeks, so celebrations began and ended at the Tapas evening where too many local tapas and wines were sampled. Living the dream!

 

On to October and again it really was a month for courses with Steve and Colin crashing in their PADI Advanced courses and the Nitrox specialities all over a long weekend, nice skills boys. Also a very determined Claire travelled down from Costa Teguise everyday to complete her PADI Open Water Course.

Our 'Try Dive' experience was again very popular this month along with night dives as the days grew shorter.

 

 

Finishing touches were completed to our new web page in November, many thanks to Stevie for all his hard work over the last few months.

The addition of a flights and accommodation page has proved very popular with our diving friends and we are happy to be able to recommend to our divers an ABTA bonded travel agency in Camel Travel .

 

 

 

  December saw  John  retire after 7 years with Island Watersports.  We wish him and Ailsa a very happy retirement as they ride off into the sunset. The kettle is always on John xxx.

Christmas hats at the ready for our Christmas Day dive, many thanks for the bubbles Ally, Cheers !

Ocean Clean Up Dive – Ocean Rescue

  

At Island Watersports Lanzarote we take our responsibility to the enviroment very seriously and carry out Ocean Rescue, clean up dives every few months. We do our best to keep the beautiful Atlantic Ocean around Lanzarote as clear of rubbish and plastic as possible. Scuba diving in Lanzarote is a very popular sport and the area around Puerto Del Carmen boasts some of the best dive sites on the island.

Our last Ocean clean up dive of the year was a great success. We targeted the area of Black Beach in Puerto Del Carmen where we collected 5 full bags of plastic, drink cans and other debris from along the harbour wall, over the arena to the drop off.

During the dive our divers took great care to ensure that no sea life was actually living in the cans and bottles we removed, they did have to relocate a few baby octopus.

Check out our facebook page for all the great pictures (full album on flickr) and keep following us  for details of our  next Ocean Clean Up dive, all certified divers are welcome to join us and we supply tanks and weights for FREE.

Finally, a huge thank you our wonderful scuba diving volunteers, Ocean Heroes, John, Ailsa, Ian, Michael and Iain, a fantastic job guys, well done!