News
Nominations Open for 2016 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year Award
For decades, Divers Alert Network and Rolex have collaborated to award one of the most prestigious honors in scuba diving: the DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year Award. What began as a grant to DAN in the late 1980s has become an annual tradition to honor one individual who has made significant contributions to DAN’s mission of dive safety within the past year.
Since the award was first presented, the list of winners has grown to include dive physicians, educators and scientists of professional renown and altruistic character. “Through this award, DAN and Rolex have acknowledged outstanding individuals who have devoted their careers to making diving safer for all of us,” said Bill Ziefle, President and CEO of Divers Alert Network.
Nominees for the 2016 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year Award should be individuals who are passionate about diving, promote and support DAN’s mission to prevent and manage diving incidents, demonstrate exceptional dedication to establishing a culture of dive safety, and are committed to the highest level of care for the environment. As leaders in the dive community, nominees must also go above and beyond to ensure all divers: Prepare smarter through proper dive training, equipment maintenance and predive rituals; dive smarter by exercising dive safety protocols, adhering to conservative diving profiles and maintaining high levels of situational awareness; and respond smarter through first-aid training and continuing education.
The 2016 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year will be awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2016 Beneath the Sea Dive Show in Secaucus, New Jersey, on April 1-3, to receive a custom-engraved Oyster Perpetual Rolex Dive Watch, personalized jacket and a commemorative wall plaque in recognition of his or her efforts. Rolex will also generously donate $10,000 to DAN to fund this experience and to support the essential safety initiatives DAN provides through medical research, services, safety education and first-aid training.
The 2016 DAN/Rolex award winner will be selected by a committee comprised of DAN President and CEO Bill Ziefle, senior DAN staff, at-large members, Rolex representatives and past award-winners. All qualified nominees will be notified on December 21, 2015. The winner of the 2016 DAN Rolex Diver of the Year Award will be notified of this honor by January 22, 2016.
Candidates can be nominated by completing an application that showcases the diver’s contributions to dive safety. Nominations can be submitted for consideration no later than December 18, 2015 to Garrett Broyles at gbroyles@dan.org. Nominations can also be sent via postal mail to Divers Alert Network, DAN/Rolex Awards, 6 West Colony Place, Durham, NC, 27705.
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
In an interview recorded exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman interviews Jeremy Higson from Sea to Sky about the itineraries the tour operator offers in Oman.
For more information about diving in Oman, contact Sea to Sky now:
Email: hello@mysetaosky.co.uk
WhatsApp: + 39 379 236 7138
Website: www.myseatosky.co.uk
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