31.12. 2014
The year of diving Protea Banks ended today in a Faerie Tale. The weather was terrible but we had no wind. Rain pouring down all day, and not just a bit !!
We were hoping for the old rule to kick in – Bad Weather, Good Diving.
And it did so big time.
As we got our to the Southern Pinnacle of Protea Banks we could see that the water is totally blue and felt warmer that the air.
When we dropped we saw the bottom of the ocean 35m below us. 25C kept us comfortable. And sharks without end. I estimated way over 1000 hammerheads,msaw 3 zambezis, 2 black tips, 10 guitarsharks and 1 eagle ray. Absolute paradise. Definitely one of the top ten dives of 2014 !!!!
18 divers came out with us today and 18 divers will not forget the last dive of 2014
We wish everybody a happy new year. 2015 is a pleasant number and promises a brilliant year for all of us. Just remember, nothing will happen without us making it happen……thank you all for your support.
28.12. 2014
Bad weather kept us out of the water for the last two days but it looks good from tomorrow for the rest of the year…
In the meantime our little shop is cooking. We are really busy and pride ourselves in being able to help almost everybody who comes to us. Albeit such a small space, we try to have a bit of every categoty of diving equipment and more.
It is great fun and earns us quite a few encouraging expressions…
In barely two weeks we are back in the plane and this time off to old Germany. Like every January we will have a stand at the famous BOOT expo in Duesseldorf. This definitely keeps us in business. Next year we want to go to a second expo in the South of Germany. This one is usually held in September and promises good outcomes from the southern part of the country and its neighbours. We definitely give it a try.
24.12. 2014 Merry Christmas to everybody
The diving on Protea Banks today was not as fantastic as it was yesterday. The visibility went down a bit to about 12m but we still,saw lots of hammerheads and a couple of huge Zambezis. We were busy today and are working like hell. To orrow we chill for Christmas day and jump right into it again on friday. Another ten to twelve days to go and we will be quiet again in January.
Beulah and i are getting ready to go to the BOOT Expo in Duesseldorf in January.
23.12. 2014
Just in time for Christmas Protea Banks shows her best side. The diving os brilliant !!!
Visibility 25-35m, lovely 25C watertemp and hunderds of hammerheads. It is peak season and it is peak summer right now. Scorching hot days make us want to do nothing else but diving into the cool floods of the Indian Ocean.
With Christmas right at the doorstep i had no choice but to let the guys go alone on the second dive today. I launched myself into the turmoil of the shopping mall to look for christmas presents. I am so lucky that i only have to worry about one person. The problem is however, my good wife has it all !!!!! There is absolutely nothing she doesn’t have. Now what does one do ? And she goes out to buy me real expensive stuff. This put me under proper pressure…
But i managed today. My problems are all gone away and i can sleep peacefully again…..
20.12. 2014
The silly season is upon us. The roads are blocked, the shops are full and the prices are crazy. We put our heads down and get through. In barely three weeks it will be all over. Actually, it is fun to see our little sleepy town waking up. Our business peole are all happy and stressed and everywhere you look is action. I love this time.
The diving has been quite nice. We have about 15m visibility, lots of hammerheads and the water has warmed up again to 24C.
Chistmas is happening just now,and as usual i have no present at all, whatsoever !!
I guess, as long as i get sorted by tuesday i will be fine. Been thinking about this since January…..
16.12. 2014
It rained cats and dogs today and nobody felt like going for a dive. So we umpacked lots of boxes of stock in the shop. Later i took the dogs for a run on the beach. Today is public holiday here and right now it is 18h30 and the sky is clearing. The sun which is about to set in another hour is finally shining again. It looks like a promising dive day tomorrow. About time !!!
13.12. 2014
Dicing on Protea Banks has been terrible lately. We had ice cold water with initially excellent visibility but this turned into a disaster very soon with barely 5m to see.
The 15C water had hardly any life in it. We saw some of the remaining Raggies on the Northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks, but no sharks anwhere else.meven on 2 Baited Shark Dives did we not see a single shark…shocking. We are definitely not used to this. For the first time this year i put on my drysuit….that says it all.
Luckily we ran out of divers and had more time to concentrate on our new shop and other more important things.
The shop is doing exceptionally well. We are on our way to pay the annual rent.!!!
I am just not used to this retailing stuff. I get nervous when somebody walks in and distirbs our beautiful display arrangement. Two days ago somebody came in and wanted to buy full diving kits for his four children. I have never been so afraid before. Seriously !!! Started to sweat and ran around in circles until thankfully Beulah arrived and sorted it all out. I was quite good on the till then…..
So our silly season has definitely started. By the looks of it, we might be in for a good one.
2.12. 2014
We are not diving for two days and are using the time to perfect the shop.
Yesterday the airconditioner arrived, today the bush which obstructed the view to the shop departed…Tomorrow we will hang up the large mirror and Beulah has just ordered me to install another shelf although there is absolutely no space for one.
That’s how it goes and it will never end because a shop is never finished….