News
Diving with… Aquanauts, Grenada
In this ongoing series, we speak with the people who run dive centres, resorts and liveaboards from around the world about their businesses and the diving they have to offer…
What is your name?
Gerlinde Seupel
What is the name of your business?
Aquanauts Grenada
What is your role within the business?
Owner
How long has the business operated for?
19 years
How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?
25 years, Master Scuba Diver Trainer and Scuba Yoga Instructor.
What is your favorite type of diving?
Easy, relaxing drift diving over a beautiful reef in Grenada.
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?
Aquanauts Grenada has a great and friendly team of Divemasters taking you to beautiful reefs and exciting wrecks; safety comes first but fun comes second with us! With Aquanauts you can go snorkelling, start or continue your scuba education, explore technical diving up to rebreather diving or become a scuba yoga diver with me.
What is your favorite dive in your location and why?
My favorite dive site is Kohanee because it is the most colourful reef here with lots of sponges, black corals, schooling fish and always something to encounter – from seahorses to manta rays.
What types of diving are available in your location?
Reef diving, Wreck diving, Drift diving, Deep diving, Scooter diving, Shark diving, Underwater Sculpture Park, Technical diving, Decompression diving, Rebreather diving and Yoga diving.
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
Meeting new divers and sharing their adventures.
What is your favorite underwater creature?
Manta Ray for its grace and intelligence.
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
Scuba Yoga weeks, CCR – Silent Diving weeks, Buddy weeks and Grenada Dive Fest.
As a center what is the biggest problem you face at the moment?
The lack of a budget airline from the UK and declining diver visits from the UK.
Is your center involved in any environmental work?
Yes, lots of activities: Mangrove Regeneration Project at our dive dock, Mangrove Protection Awareness Campaign, regular underwater cleanups, reducing – reusing and recycling of Plastics, recipient of PADI Green Star the 3rd year in a row, campaigning to ban Styrofoam products on the island and more.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkeling industry overall? What changes would you make?
Less restriction – more fun!
What would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?
At Aquanauts and in Grenada : Wrecks become Reefs – Staues become Reefs – Guests become Friends – Experience the Transformation!
Find out more at: www.aquanautsgrenada.com
Blogs
Jeff chats to… Christopher Bartlett, MD of Indigo Safaris, about scuba diving in Dominica and Mexico (3 of 5)
In the third in this exclusive series of five videos, Jeff Goodman, Scubaverse Editor-at-Large, chats to Christopher Bartlett, Managing Director of Indigo Safaris, about their diving and wildlife adventures, and some of their top destinations. In this episode Christopher talks about Dominica and Mexico.
For more information, please visit www.indigosafaris.com
Rather listen to a podcast? Click on this link to listen HERE.
CCMI brings the ocean directly to classrooms around the world through live-stream lessons from underwater
In 2018, the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) launched Reefs Go Live, their innovative, flagship education programme that live-streams directly from underwater on the coral reefs in Little Cayman to students in classrooms around the world in real time. For the 2022 season, the four episodes of Reefs Go Live reached more than 107,000 viewers in 22 countries. CCMI’s Reefs Go Live team hopes to expand their reach with four new episodes and supplemental teaching resources to help integrate the material into classroom lessons.
Science Communications & Development Manager for CCMI, Beth Chafin, is excited to be part of another year of Reefs Go Live:
“Knowing we have an audience that spans the world, our team is energised as we plan and implement our Reefs Go Live season for 2023! We feel that creating a connection to the ocean and sharing the beautiful coral reefs of Little Cayman with others, both locally and abroad, is one of the most important ways to increase support for critical, timely issues such as marine protection and sustainability. At CCMI, we are fortunate to have these stunning reefs at our doorstep; not everyone is so lucky to be this connected to coral reefs, but healthy coral reefs are vitally important to everyone on earth. Bringing the ocean into classrooms and homes through Reefs Go Live allows us to share the work we do at the Little Cayman Research Centre, facilitate real-time interactions between viewers around the world and our experts in the field, and inspire the diverse audience to take positive action for the future of coral reefs.”
The first episode of 2023 will take place on Friday, 31st March at 10 am Cayman time (UTC -5h). The episode, ‘Finding Hope on our Reefs’, will feature what CCMI’s long-term monitoring of Little Cayman’s reefs shows us. The data from the annual surveys reveals important trends in reef health over time that reflect global threats and the benefits of strong local protection. Reefs Go Live hosts will explain why this annual monitoring is important and what the results tell us about the future of our coral reefs that we all depend upon. Viewers of each episode will be able to ask questions of the diver and participate in polls through the online platform to make Reefs Go Live an interactive experience.
Additional episodes for this year will run at 10 am (UTC -5h) on the following dates:
Thursday, 11th May: Adaptation on Coral Reefs
Wednesday, 24th May: Reef Resiliency & Restoration
Thursday, 8th June: World Ocean Day – 25 Years of Coral Reef Research
Registration for Reefs Go Live is free and is only required once to receive access to all episodes: https://donate.reefresearch.org/rgl2023.
Reefs Go Live provides an opportunity for students from all over the world to engage with the stunning ocean environment in its most natural format. As coral reefs around the world face unprecedented pressure, generating increased engagement with these precious ecosystems creates an opportunity to promote marine sustainability in a positive and fun way.
Reefs Go Live utilises streaming technology with underwater video and audio equipment to enable real time broadcasting from Little Cayman’s stunning coral reefs. Little Cayman, a Mission Blue Hope Spot, hosts one of the healthiest reef ecosystems in the Caribbean, which overall remains healthy and shows resiliency to climate change impacts. The broadcasts and education materials draw connections from CCMI’s current research conducted in Little Cayman to the national science curriculum and key ocean literacy principles, making CCMI’s work relevant and accessible to students and viewers of all ages, and emphasizing the relationship that we all have to coral reefs, no matter where we are.
Reefs Go Live is a free education programme that is made possible by the generosity of The Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation. To register for the broadcasts and teaching resources, please visit: https://reefresearch.org/what-we-do/education/reefs-go-live/
Jeff chats to… Christopher Bartlett, MD of Indigo Safaris, about scuba diving in Dominica and Mexico (3 of 5)
Reefs Go Live returns for new season
Diving with… Ben Williams and Kay Van Leuven, Sunchaser Scuba, British Virgin Islands
Lovin’ Saint Lucia: Two wreck dives and a wedding (part 3)
Top 5 Caribbean Wreck Diving Destinations
Barbados – The Shipwreck Capital of the Caribbean
Caribbean Conservation in Action: Coral Conservation during Covid
Caribbean Conservation in Action: Tagging Turtles in the BVI
Jeff chats to… Christopher Bartlett, MD of Indigo Safaris, about scuba diving in Dominica and Mexico (3 of 5)
Curaçao Dive Site of the Month – Smokeys (Watch Video)
Jeff chats to… Dr Katey Lesneski from Coral Vita, winners of the Earthshot Prize (Watch Video)
