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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Brian 
Brian 
For more information see our PADI Diving page
Brian & Marilyn
Celebrate our tenth anniversary here in September
This September, Brian and Marilyn will celebrate the
tenth anniversary of taking over the dive centre here in
Arinaga. To celebrate we are planning a series of
activities - join us for fireworks during the Arinaga
Fiesta, a special party in the middle of the month,
excursions to other highlights of the island, such as to
see the Manta Rays at Sardina del Norte or even the wreck
of the Plasencia. We also plan to run special days for
PADI Specialities which work well here in the Marine
Reserve (Digital photography, Aware shark conservation,
Multi-level, Nitrox etc). If you are planning to come
diving in the Canaries in September then make sure you
follow our plans here and have some fun celebrating our
tenth birthday with us.
Brian
Celebrating World Oceans Day - 8th June 2012 Today
was World Ocean Day so it seemed like a good idea .. to
go Diving. Our group today was truely international, with
divers from Australia, America, Switzerland, and Germany
who live in Austria, Germany and Spain.
Brian 
Brian
We hit the million mark! This week, we have passed
the Million mark in terms of pageloads on the
DavyJonesDiving.com website! We have been tracking our
pageloads since about 2004, when we installed the
StatCounter software on our website, and this confirms
the steady progress we have made to this point. Since
2004 we have changed a lot, and now have pages in German,
Dutch, Spanish, Norwegian and Swedish, and have recently
optimised all the pages for viewing from a smartphone. I
am sure it will take less time to reach the 2 million
mark!
Brian 
Brian
Looking for News about Davy Jones the singer and
actor? It was sad to hear that Davy Jones, former
singer with the Monkees, died in his sleep from a Heart
Attack yesterday. The only connection between us and the
singer was the common name. We obviously pass our best
wishes and condolences on to the family and friends of
Davy, and would like to reassure all our friends that all
the team here is fit and well.
Brian 
Brian
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 |
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