News
Santi & Halcyon Form Global Alliance
Dive Equipment manufacturers Halcyon and Santi have formed a new coalition that they state “will bring discerning divers and dive business owners a unique combination of premier dive equipment for those divers seeking the very best.”
Here is the official press release:
Dive to the Future
Owners of Halcyon Dive Systems and Santi Diving Equipment are pleased to announce their new relationship which promises to be a powerful association for two of the dive industry’s most innovative brands. Working together, Santi and Halcyon will bring discerning divers and dive business owners a unique combination of premier dive equipment for those divers seeking the very best. The coalition will provide new, collaborative research and development initiatives that will enable divers to extend their limits even more. Tested in the farthest reaches of our underwater world, Halcyon and Santi products continue to be the first choice of explorers, adventurers and serious divers who need their equipment to be well designed and dependable.
The enterprise, scheduled to launch April 2014 has already sparked creative new marketing strategies. By merging the companies’ sales structure in selected countries, including USA and Russia, customers will enjoy great access to premier brands with the additional benefit of having a local expert capable of supporting all of their needs in a timely and cost effective manner. Excellent customer service and a wide selection of Santi and Halcyon products will soon be available to a greater number of divers than anytime previously…truly a winning combination. Both Jarrod Jablonski and Tomek Stachura – owners of the Companies and world renowneddivers, together with their partners have created highly specialized companies to help them achieve their ambitious underwater objectives and satisfy the requirements of the most demanding divers. Now after years of successfully serving this challenging market segment independently, Halcyon and Santi will join forces to bring even greater value through innovation and service to the dive industry.These are exciting times and the new Santi/Halcyon relationship is on target to make a big impact with this first step in what promises to be a strong partnership for many years.
When asked why Santi and why now, Jarrod said, “The dive industry continues to evolve as does our global passion to explore the far reaches of the underwater world. In order to fulfill our ambitious exploration goals and remain a leader in the innovation of equipment design we decided to build a synergistic relationship with another quality focused dive company. I have known Tomek for many years and was pleased to have him join our team on the now famous Mars Project in Sweden. After just a few conversations it became apparent that Tomek and Santi share my vision for the future of diving and will make ideal partners as we move forward with new products and diving projects around the world.” On the other side of the globe the same question was asked of Tomek, why Halcyon and why now and his answer was quite similar: “Over the last few years, the Santi brand has become a world leader in providing innovative solutions and products to appreciative divers all over the world.We recognize Halcyon equipment as the natural partner on our path towards continued growth and success. Obviously, we also followed all their amazing projects and have enjoyed working with them on recent projects. They are also known to be innovators with excellent quality products so it was only natural that we would be interested to join forces. Santi has achieved great success with the technical diving marketplace and continues to be well respected by many famous divers. Now joining with Halcyon we can expand our brand even further and offer a complete gear setup that we know is the best in the market. We are excited about our new relationship and look forward to working closely together. Look for Halcyon and Santi together at the Beneath the Sea Show in New Jersey, USA and the Dive Resort and Travel show in Shanghai, China over the March 28-30 weekend.
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
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.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
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.
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