News
The Captain’s Blog: 50 Years of Diving
‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind’.
It’s been 50 years since Neil Armstrong addressed the world with those words… transmitted across space from nearly 400,000 kilometres away. It was an event that has become the benchmark against which all other human endeavors will always be measured… the effort, the planning, the sheer audacity of it, was then, and remains today, peerless.
But let me go out on a limb here and say, that what really got them there, got them to the moon after just 8 years in the pursuit of the matter… was enthusiasm. No one got distracted, there were no smartphones, internet and reality TV, and the result was… well… nothing quite inspires like Armstrong’s famous words.
Meanwhile, back on earth… 50 years ago, a young Mike Ball was setting up what would become one of the worlds most long-lived dive companies. From humble beginnings as a small ‘diving department’ in a sports store, Mike dreamt big and built the world’s most famous dive boat fleet. Trips on Watersport, Spoilsport, Supersport and Paradise Sport became bucket list items for divers around the world and along the way, Mike racked up an impressive list of diving innovations: Stinger suits, solo diving, custom built catamarans, on board photo developing, specialised rebreather diving.
But it wasn’t these things that kept Mike Ball Dive Expeditions at the forefront of diving trips all these years. Sure, they played a part, but the backbone of the success, was again, enthusiasm. Enthusiasm in its product, its marketing, its change management… and most importantly, the day to day enthusiasm of its staff.
Mike’s real talent wasn’t the boats or the diving, it was in choosing the right people to run those boats and orchestrate that diving. And these good choices have just kept on going, decade after decade… the right crew, doing what they love, showing the diving public what they love.
Today on Spoilsport, on any given trip, we have a mix of ‘new crew’ and ‘old crew’… crew that have been on board for one year, and others that have been on board for 10 or 15 years… what they have in common is that they are all doing it because they love it… and for the divers we share our world with, that makes a tangible difference to the quality of outcome they’ve come to expect from Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. The world’s best dive company, delivering the world’s best diving. And like the NASA space program from 50 years past…the enthusiasm on Spoilsport, simply never wains.
Captain Trevor Jackson
Find out about the Mike Ball’s Dive Expeditions.
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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