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Davy Jones Diving News BlogThis is an informal News Blog to keep you updated on the day-to-day events at Davy Jones Diving Centre in Gran Canaria. We will put the gossip, the sightings, the high (and perhaps the lows!) here.
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They are mending the road! Yes, you have all complained about the track to El Cabrón and asked how it damages the vehicles. Well, for the last few days the Cabildo has finally got round to not only filling the surface, but also back-grading it and actually compacting it with a roller. We could here the vibrating roller underwater yesterday! Brian
Extra insurance now on all Daycourses and PADI Open Water Courses When
diving in Spain, the laws require that every diver is covered by both suitable
medical insurance and a type of 3rd party insurance called 'responibilidad
civil'. For most tourists this is not a problem, as their holiday insurance
will cover both of these. However there may be some people, such as residents
or backpackers or long term visitors who are unaware that these are not
covered entirely by their policy. To prevent anybody having a nasty shock when
their insurer tries to wriggle out of any payments, we obviously work
extremely hard to make sure that we have no accidents in the first place, and
indeed our Daycourse and Open water students have a 99.998% safety record.
(Yes, just two non-fatal incidents in aproximately 10,000 dives). However,
just in case of a future problem, we have taken out a group policy with a
Spanish Insurer which guarantees to cover all medical and legal issues for
every single day-course and Open Water Student that we teach. So rest assured,
you do not need to dig out that policy and check it word for word before your
dive .. we've got you covered.
Brian
Eduardo to the Rescue! We never know what we will find from one day to
the next, and today we came across a small turtle, trapped in a discarded
plastic bag, while diving in the El Cabrón Marine Reserve. The Turtle
was having difficulty moving with the bag attached, but fortunately the bag
slowed it down enough and Ed was able to catch it, remove the plastic bag and
set it free. The Turtle was able to swim away on its own. The lucky turtle has
no doubt had its life extended by the swift reaction of Eduardo to the
problem, and the lucky divers saw not only the rare sight of a turtle in the
Reserve but a good example of protecting and supporting our marine
ecosystem.
Brian
Hammerhead Sharks near the Reserve One of our friends from the Windsurf
community told me that this week while surfing 2km up the coast from Arinaga
he saw a Hammerhead Shark! It was about 2m long, on the surface with its
dorsal fin showing, about 500m out from the coast. This is not the first
report of offshore Hammerheads we have had, as windsurfers see them a couple
of times each year. Underwater we are less lucky, apparently Hammerheads are
cautious of divers and will move away from them before we detect the sharks. I
have only heard one report in 9 years of somebody seeing a Hammerhead well
overhead when they were at Punta de La Sal in 30m. Still, you never know what
you might see in the Marine Reserve!
Brian 
Brian 
Brian 
Brian
Crazy weather! We can see SNOW today from in front of the dive centre!
Yes, up on the tops of the mountains the dusting of the last two days is
clearly visible from down here! It's very rare to get snow at all in GC, and
this is the first time it has been visible from Arinaga. Strangely, the diving
in the Marine Reserve has been uneffectd .. the storm has hit the other side
of the Island and we are in the lee.. but with air temperatures below normal,
it is actually warmer in the sea than in the air! The forecasters tell us it
will all blow over in the next two days and warmer weather wil return.
Brian
First price rise in 5 years It's now five years since we last changed
our prices in 2006, and the recent increases in fuel charges, along with
increasing costs of safety items (such as more frequent testing of Oxygen
bottles) mean that from the 3rd April we will be applying a small increase in
most prices, of around five euros per day. However, if you confirm your
booking now before the new prices are introduced, then we will honour your
booking at our current prices.
Brian
Royal Philharmonic entertained by Davy Jones Diving while in Gran
Canaria It's always nice to entertain other professional entertainers, so
we all enjoyed hosting members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from London
when they visited Las Palmas last week. The Orchestra was in Las Palmas for
the XXVII Festival de Música de Canarias, and several members took time
out from their busy schedule to spend a day diving with us in the Marine
Reserve in Arinaga. So on Friday we were able to show them the 'diving
fantastique' in the Marine reserve in Arinaga, while on Saturday they played
'Symphonie Fantastique' by Berlioz to an aprechiative audience in the Alfredo
Kraus Auditorium.
Brian 
Brian 
Brian 
Brian
More Tiger Shark Teeth Further investigations have produced another
Tooth from a Sand Tiger Shark in a special area in the Reserve. However it
looks like they may have been there for a long time and are not recent as we
originally thought.
Brian 
Brian
... and now Manta Rays in Arinaga! If you read the old guidebook to the
reserve it talks about the possibility of sighting Mobulus Rays (a small type
of manta ray) in the El Cabrón Marine Reserve. Till this year it was
simply one of those divers myths... But then in July one of our reliable
friends claimed he saw a group of three, and after a couple of other reports,
last week our instructors Uwe and Graham came across one, followed a couple of
days later by another sighting. Over the next couple of weeks we want to do
some more controlled dives to try to find out is this a lone individual or, as
we find in the north of the Island, a family group... watch our sightings for
more updates! oh, and by the way in the same week a windsufer saw a Hammerhead
shark on the surface in the same area!
Brian 
As we have no recorded sightings of Sand Tigers, it is not clear wether the group of teeth represent a regular (nocturnal?) visitor, or some historical activity.
Brian 
There are four categories of award, Water Sports, Wellness, Family and Volcanic (for other adventure sports), and they have been awarded to companies like ourselves who deliver a quality service to customers through great experiences, and also highlight or complement the unique nature of the Canarian lifestyle, culture or nature. You can find out more about these seals of approval on the official website of the department of Turismo de Canarias.
Brian 
Early this year however we began to notice large numbers of bleached shells in the Marine Reserve, and after talking to our friends at the University of Las Palmas, we now believe that these are being attacked by some form of virus. Numbers have dropped sharply in many areas over the last two months, although it appears that the 'native' urchin species have not been effected. It appears in some areas that the native algaes and plant life rea returning quickly, so we can only hope that these changes lead to the revitalisation of the reef here.
Brian
We have discovered a new Dive route! Occaisionally, we explore some of
the less well know parts of the Marine Reserve, and can often come across
unexpected secrets. Yesterday was a good example .. we dived in a new area,
from a known entry point .. and discovered a really nice little cave which you
can get right into to explore. This cave is the only one with a blowhole back
to the surface, which you can swim up into! It is not very deep, but will only
be diveable in certain weather conditions. So, if you think you have done all
the dives in the Marine Reserve, we now have something extra to show
you!
Brian
Congratulations to Graham! After lots of study over the last few months and
hard work, he has become our first diver to 'go all the way' and become a PADI
Instructor, passing his Instructor exam first time over in Fuerteventura
recently.
Brian 
Brian
John Liddiard's article now online. You can now read the review of
diving in Gran Canaria, that was originally printed in the February 2010
edition of DIVER magazine in the UK. You can read John Liddiard´s
article
"Tapas Diving in Gran Canaria" here.
Brian
Prices held for another year We know that many of our customers are
being more cautious in these times of poor exchange rates and financial
crisis, so for the third year we have held down our prices at the 2007 levels.
We are continuing to make savings on utility bills, changing insurance
providers, lower fuel prices and other small changes without effecting
customer safety or customer service.
Brian
Congratulations to Helen! Our eldest daughter came to visit us last
week, and finished off the week by running the first ever Marathon in Las
Palmas, Gran Canaria. She finished in a time of 4 hours and twenty three
minutes, coming in as the 17th woman overall and 6th in her age group! None of
our 'very fit' staff felt they could have managed this feat, although Uwe and
Nicole had been tempted to do the half marathon.
Brian
Gran Canaria a major feature in Diver Magazine this month!. Finally,
Diver magazine in the Uk has printed the review of Gran Canaria, based on John
Liddiard's diving trip here last year. It covers all the best sites .. El
Cabrón of course, as well as the wrecks of Las Palmas, and the diving
on the West Coast near Mogan. Grab yourself a copy while it is still on the
newstand and enjoy some of John's great photography and reporting.
Brian
Wow, what a month January has been. This winter we have had a continuous spell
of great diving here in Arinaga. Day after day we have posted 'excellent' for
the conditions, caused by a very stable high pressure system over the
Canaries. Over Christmas this produced some storms on the West coast, but
fortunately Arinaga was largely uneffected. The water temperatures are still
high at 21C, and I haven't put my semi-dry on yet!
Brian
Angel Sharks return at same time of year. Just like the last two years, Angel
Sharks started to return to the Marine Reserve in mid November this year ...
but unlike previous years the water is much warmer. The research we have been
carrying out withe the University of Las Palmas suggested that they preferred
a temperature of 21C, but this year temperatures are above average, still just
on 22, yet the Angel Sharks have all returned ... looks like we will have to
keep on with this research project!
Brian
The Christmas Tree is back! As in previous years, this annual highlight has
been put in place by the local dive clubs. Join us for a dive and we can all
sing carols around the tree, wear silly christmas hats etc. Water temperatures
have remained good this year taking the 'nip' out of the dive.
Brian
...and the great conditions continue...
Yes, diving during November continues the trend of this autumn with calm conditions, great visibility and gentle currents. Some northerly parts of Tenerife were effected by heavy rain and flooding in the middle of this week, but Arinaga was totally uneffected!. This week seems to have instead been full of really special dives... The Cape lobster that jumped onto me on Wednesday; the stingray that kept investigating us on the Night Dive; A mother stingray giving (live) birth to baby stingrays on Friday .... and slightly to the surprise of all of us, the return of the adolescent and adult angel sharks this week.
Brian 
Brian
Another stunning autumn here in El Cabrón and the good weather
continues! Since late September we have had a really stable warm air stream
which has given us day after day of excellent conditions. And with the
conditions have come lots of exciting sightings. Mobulus rays at Sardina, Baby
angelsharks in the bay, seahorses, lots of rays including family groups, a new
type of nudibrach we have never seen before. Several divers this week said
they enjoyed diving here more than in the Red Sea! When asked why they said it
was less crowded (No Russians!), and had more variety of diving sites, and our
style was more chilled out. So if you are thinking of a late autumn break
before christmas, don´t delay, give us a call now!
Brian
Good news for travellers from the UK and Ireland! Ryanair have planned a lot
more flights from the UK to Gran Canaria for this winter from Late October.
There are now cheap flight opportunities from Birmingham, Bournemouth,
Bristol, Dublin, East Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool, Luton, Stanstead, Shannon
and several other European destinations. There are lots of bargains to be had
at the moment so check out your dates quickly.
Brian
We have just had a stunning week, weatherwise, with lovely air temperatures,
low winds and great visibility. In one week we have had so many diving
highlights as well! We saw the (very rare for us) Spiny Pufferfish on two
days, saw a mother Stingray with six or seven babies around her, Angel shark
swimming, stingrays, and lots more besides. When conditions are like this we
can come across virtually anything, and to prove this on a recent night dive
we discovered our first ever Small European Locust Lobster - so small we had
to photograph it and then look it up in the book! This Spring we seem to have
seen a lot more nudibrachs than normal, and we have also come across more Sea
Hares during the day then we normally do. Once again the Marine Reserve keeps
it's reputation of being full of surprises.
Brian 
Brian 
We had some great dives during the week, including the wrecks of both Las Palmas and the West Coast, and of course a real exploration of parts of the El Cabrón Marine Reserve. So keep your eyes on Diver and this summer we hope to see some exciting pictures which really showcase the diving in Gran Canaria.
Brian 
Brian |
