News
Diving with… Brendal Stevens, Brendal’s Dive Center & Adventure Tours, Abaco, Bahamas

In this ongoing series, we speak to the people who run dive centres, resorts and liveaboards from around the world about their businesses and the diving they have to offer…
Brendal Stevens
What is the name of your business?
Brendal’s Dive Center & Adventure Tours
What is your role within the business?
Owner/Instructor/Capt/Guide
How long has the business operated for?
35 years – we are the oldest continually-owned dive operation in the Abacos-Bahamas
How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?
I have been diving since I was a very young man, now over 45 years. I am a SSI Instructor, SSI ADV Specialty Instructor, ReAct Rite Instructor CPR/First Aid/AED….also taught prior with SDI & Universal Referral Programs for NAUI/SDI/IDEA/SSI/NASDS
What is your favourite type of diving?
I love the reefs & enjoy wrecks, night dives & seeing marine life like sharks, turtles, rays and macro life too.
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?
We are a small, owner-operated family business with great dive staff & crew. We have invested in 4 tour vessels + 1 sailing vessel to accommodate both group & private charters. We are now doing 3 generations of families for certifications and guided tours.
About 85% of our guests are repeat clients & families we are able to share are underwater world and great Abaco-Bahamas wildlife with.
What is your favourite dive in your location and why?
The Coral Caverns are wonderful swim throughs with great coral formations and sun filtered lighting wonderful for photo work. Lots of sea life BIG and small. This area we have 4 dive sites we can offer all different but wonderful. Lots of bottom time and nice natural light.
What types of diving are available in your location?
Reef shallow – 70 feet (20m) great corals, grouper, tropicals, sharks, turtles & rays.
Wrecks – Historic San Jacinto 50-60 feet (18m) great fish and colors & Wreck Sail just recently put down 50-60 feet nice for photos & fish.
Great mini walls shallow to 55 feet (18m) with corals, sharks, grouper, fish, turtles & eagle rays.
Grouper Alley 50-60 feet (18m) with friendly grouper wonderful !
Deeper Ledge 70-85 feet (26m) with sponges, fish life, turtles & sharks
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
A passion for diving and sharing the underwater world and I love to teach and guide.
What is your favourite underwater creature?
Love more than one! Groupers are GREAT – very smart and nice to interact with. Sharks …black tip, reef, nurse, bull and hammerheads.
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
We are offering NEW all day dive tours to new locations with our new custom tour vessel. We are also offering NEW Wild Turtle Encounters for snorkelers, families and turtle lovers!
We are located off main island of Abaco on Green Turtle Cay so we offer:
Daily free pick up for our guests staying on main island Abaco with our vessel. Because of location we are closer to GREAT dive locations and can reach more locations from the dive base.
Is your centre involved in any environmental work?
Yes, we do wild turtle rescue and help. We started the 1st Lionfish Derby ever in 2009 here. It was developed to be copied and used anywhere in the world to help with lionfish.
We are hoping to do more work with Wild Turtle foundation this next season. We are also wishing to start the coral re-growing program.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkelling industry overall? What changes would you make?
¾ of the Bahamas is underwater so we hope many people can SEE and experience this wonderful world young & old. We offer many snorkel tours/experiences here and feel it is important that snorkelers are given information for doing snorkeling since this segment has not been through a dedicated course as divers do when doing scuba classes.
We would like to see better education for use of divers down flags for all people doing snorkelling & free diving.
What would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?
Come and experience our sea life & great wildlife above the water with the menu of tours we offer. The Bahamas turtles, sharks & tropical fish are protected here. The Groupers & Lobsters also have protected seasons.
We are located in a non-urban area with wildlife and natural beauty surrounding both in and out of the water. We offer great dive & activity packages and custom packages based on what is best for clients and their vacation dates. Both group & private are available.
Where can our visitors find out more about your business?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BDCBM/
Bahamas Cacique Award Winner for Tourism Finest & Bahamas and National GEO Tourism Award
News
Reefs Go Live returns for new season

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/
Blogs
Diving with… Ben Williams and Kay Van Leuven, Sunchaser Scuba, British Virgin Islands

In this ongoing series, we speak to 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?
Ben Williams and Kay Van Leuven
What is the name of your business?
Sunchaser Scuba
What is your role within the business?
Owner/operator
How long has the business operated for?
32 years in total and we have been here since 2010, working for the previous owner, then bought the current company from him starting in 2015.
How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?
Ben since 2003 and he is a PADI MSDT and SDI instructor
Kay since 2010 and she is a PADI MSDT and SDI instructor
What is your favorite type of diving?
Ben loves pinnacle dives; Kay loves shallow coral dives
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you, what would it be?
We offer valet diving for a trip of your lifetime. Personal service is key in our business, together with small groups.
What is your favourite dive in your location and why?
Ben favorite dive is the Invisibles because of the amount of marine life; Kay favorite dive is the wreck of the Rhone, because of it’s historical value, marine life and the amount of coral growth on it.
What types of diving are available in your location?
We offer reef and wreck diving, rendez vous diving with your charter boat so we can pick you up straight off your boat.
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
Being able to dive every day and show the underwater world of the BVI
What is your favorite underwater creature?
Ben’s favorite is sharks and for Kay it is dolphins.
As a center what is the biggest problem you face at the moment?
Ever rising supplier prices.
Is your center involved in any environmental work?
Yes, we do treatment for STCLD, shark sightings and beach clean ups
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
The hotel we work out of is still recovering from the 2017 hurricane so more places to stay will be coming along in the future. We have an amazing local non profit called Beyond The Reef in the BVI who are always making new artificial reefs.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkeling industry overall? What changes would you make?
We feel it is a great industry and it is very rewarding being able to teach people to dive and therefore increase awareness. One of the biggest changes that would be great to change is to be able to make things cheaper so it is more accessible to our local kids/divers and therefore increase the number of divers in our local community.
Finally, what would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?
The BVI is very underrated and untouched, making it a great destination for both novice and
experienced divers.
Where can our visitors find out more about your business?
www.sunchaserscuba.com
info@sunchaserscuba.com
+12833442766
https://www.instagram.com/sunchaser_scuba/
https://www.facebook.com/sunchaserscuba/
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