IMMEDIATE OPENING!

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Sundance WaterSports has an immediate need for a full-time SNUBA Guide position in the beautiful Florida Keys. We are based out of Robbies Marina in Islamorada, Florida. Our snorkel boat, Blue, is a 65 ft power catamaran that serves as our primary SNUBA platform. In additional to SNUBA, Sundance WaterSports also offers parasailing and can cross train if interested. We look to promote from within. If you are looking to acquire a captains license, we can assist with that as well. Please send all inquires to Ryan Shattuck at [email protected] or call (305) 360-0894.

SNUBA® International COVID-19 Sanitization Guidelines

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SNUBA® International takes the health and safety of our operators, guests and staff extremely seriously. In light of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic declaration we have implemented protocols in line with updates shared by the Center of Diseases Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), as well as individual agencies in each country where we operate.


EQUIPMENT SANITIZATION

All equipment should be sanitized by submerging it in a 1% bleach solution or using a cleaning product such as Steramine tablets or any other quaternary ammonium compound. The CDC recommends a solution of 1/3 cup of bleach per gallon of water (25mL per liter of water) with a contact time of 1 minute. Be sure to use these products according to the manufacturer’s directions and then rinse the gear with fresh water.


REGULATORS, MOUTHPIECES & MASKS

Regulator mouthpieces and masks should be thoroughly wiped with a household disinfecting wipe and then rinsed with fresh water before use.


FREQUENT HANDWASHING

Frequent hand-washing (with soap for at least 20 seconds), regularly cleaning high-traffic objects and areas (bathrooms, door handles, countertops, etc.), avoiding contact with people who are sick and staying home when you are sick are some of the best ways to stop the spread of disease. 


In addition to these protocols we recommend that operators have new mouthpieces available for their customers to purchase to provide the next level of customer comfort. 

For additional information please go to https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/covid-19/

CONGRATULATIONS STUART COVE’S! 2019 SNUBA® Operator of the Year

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Stuart Cove’s has been a SNUBA operator for over 10+ years – dating all the way back to 2006. SNUBA is currently available through Stuart Cove’s at  Blue Adventures within the Atlantis Resort – Paradise Island, Bahamas cruise ship passengers and direct dive shop reservations.

Annually SNUBA® International recognizes an operator who exemplifies the spirit and essence of SNUBA. Stuart Cove’s has done a tremendous job representing SNUBA® and we cannot think of anyone who fills that role better. From the ownership, management and staff, you have embraced SNUBA® wholeheartedly. We appreciate your professionalism, your enthusiasm and most of all the long term relationship between our organizations.

On behalf of the entire team at SNUBA® International, I would like to personally thank you for your hard work and increasing efforts to share SNUBA® and the underwater world with your guests!   

LYNN EKSTROM
president

A BIT ABOUT STUART COVE’S…

One could say that Stuart Cove’s decades of success is due in part to James Bond – and you wouldn’t be wrong. Prior to establishing his reputation as a premier dive operator, Stuart Cove landed a job as a stunt safety diver in 1977 for the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. It was clear by the end of production that Stuart Cove was an extremely competent U/W production support coordinator.

By 1983, Stuart began managing the water-sports concessions for Lyford Cay Country Club after which he reinforced his reputation as a leading underwater film production coordinator with his work on yet another James Bond film, Never Say Never Again.

By 1992, after several years of providing outstanding customer service as a dive operator, Stuart took over and expanded the dive operations for South Ocean Golf Beach & Dive Resort, formerly owned by Divi Hotels. After purchasing three (3) custom dive boats along with obtaining a new, larger air storage system and other equipment and opening a full retail boutique, Stuart laid the groundwork for what has become one of the Caribbean’s leading dive centers.

Today, Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas is divided into five divisions: Three divisions offer activities for tourists on the island – Dive Bahamas, Snorkel Bahamas and SUB Bahamas. The remaining two divisions are Fin Photo and Stuart Cove’s Underwater Productions.
 
While much has changed over the years, one thing that hasn’t changed is that almost everyday customers at Stuart Cove’s will see and be greeted by the boss – Stuart Cove – who insists on maintaining a hands on management style by being directly involved with customers and seeing that they experience the adventure of a lifetime.

SNUBA on LAST MAN DIVING!…


To book or inquire about a SNUBA excursion at one of Stuart Cove’s sites you may send an email to [email protected] or [email protected].

You may also call:
From the U.S./Canada: (800) 879-9832    
Island contact: (242) 362-4171

Be sure to check out Stuart Cove’s website for fun excursions offered in the Bahamas:

KEVIN CRAM RETIRES!……

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PLEASE JOIN US IN CONGRATULATING KEVIN CRAM ON HIS RETIREMENT!

SNUBA® TOURS OF KAUAI

Kevin’s story, and the story of SNUBA® Tours of Kauai, began on the island of Kauai in 1989 – over 30 years ago – when the island had only two stoplights and even fewer shopping options. Like many places, the island of Kauai hasn’t been immune to the sprawl of urban shopping centers and big box stores, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is the passion Kevin has for SNUBA and the joy with which he brought the beauty of SNUBA to his guests. Like any brand new business, Kevin found it difficult to get his SNUBA business out of the starting gate. At first he even tried offering both Scuba Diving and SNUBA, but quickly found it was better to focus his time and energy on one thing. Lucky for us, he chose SNUBA. Given the small size of Kevin’s SNUBA business and the fragile nature of having a shore dive operation, Kevin has done an amazing job of maintaining strong relationships with surfers and local residents. If you’ve been fortunate enough to join Kevin on a SNUBA tour at any point in the last 30 years – you’ve no doubt done so alongside one of his six children who have helped him run the business at various times.
While Kevin’s children have all left Kauai to start their own lives, Kevin and his wife Kathy have no intention of leaving their tropical paradise. Throughout the years, Kevin’s passion for teaching has extended beyond SNUBA. For years he coached soccer and just recently he taught Spanish at the local high school while he determines the next steps in his career.

FROM KEVIN:

From Kevin, “To tell the truth, I would rather be in the water than in the classroom, but teaching is less physical than lifting SNUBA rafts in and out of the water. I guess that happens when you get old. SNUBA has allowed me to live the type of life that makes most of my Utah high school classmates envious” 
Aloha and Mahalo
 – Kevin Cram (former owner of SNUBA Tours of Kauai)

FROM THE SNUBA INTERNATIONAL FAMILY:

As you begin your next chapter in life we wanted to say Thank You for the last 30 years of dedication and commitment to our SNUBA family.

You took a challenge and leap of faith into the unknown and made a life of SNUBA diving.

You were one of our original licensees and certainly one of the best.

Best of wishes for success, health and happiness!


As of January 1st, SNUBA® Tours of Kauai is now owned and operated by Ryan Kent. Click the button below for more information.

SNUBA Operator Spotlight: Beaches Resorts

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SNUBA® is pleased to spotlight Beaches Resorts

BEACHES TURKS & CAICOS

Beaches Turks and Caicos is a unique Caribbean setting located on 12 miles of the world’s best beach. Voted by TripAdvisor as one of the Top 25 hotels for families in the world, Beaches offerings have ample activities for adults and children alike. With over 1,000 square miles of reef and coral walls, Beaches Turks and Caicos and SNUBA are a perfect match! https://www.beaches.com/resorts/turks-caicos/



BEACHES NEGRIL

Beaches® Negril is located on the world famous 7-mile beach in Jamaica, and was the recipient of Trip Advisor’s® Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Beaches in the World for the second year in a row. Coupled with that award, Beaches® Resort also took the top spot with the Family Vacation Critic, MLT Vacations Quality Assurance Award, Travel + Leisure World’s Best Award and the Travvy Award. (And that’s just a few of them). SNUBA is offered daily at Beaches® Negril directly off the beach. https://www.beaches.com/resorts/negril/


Congratulations SNUBA SXM – SNUBA 2018 Operator of the Year!

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CONGRATULATIONS SNUBA® SXM!

Each year SNUBA International chooses one of its 80+ world-wide operators to be Operator of the Year. Many factors are considered when
selecting which operator most exemplifies the spirit and essence of SNUBA. This year, SNUBA Saint Maarten has not only embodied the true heart of SNUBA, it has also faced and overcome many unforeseen obstacles. Be it dealing with the rigors of government regulations or literally weathering Hurricane Irma, the team at SNUBA SXM located in Saint Maarten, have overcome adversity to become SNUBA International’s 2018 Operator of the Year.


A TEAM EFFORT

Led by the husband and wife team of Michel and Kelly Wouterse, SNUBA SXM has become an integral member of the SNUBA family. After meeting SNUBA’s Director of Caribbean & Latin American Operations, Alex Edelmann, Michel decided to change course and become a SNUBA Operator. Michel worked for Swalinga Charters from 2009 to 2015 before joining the SNUBA team.


THE DECISION TO SNUBA

Michel’s decision to run a SNUBA operation wasn’t without some reluctance. “To be honest, it was a little bit weird in the beginning and it felt like an enormous step backwards.” he admitted. “But my opinion changed in about four weeks. Seeing how easily people took to SNUBA and transitioned to scuba was a huge game changer.” As a Platinum PADI Course Director, with over 1,800 Instructor courses led, Michel quickly recognized the significance of SNUBA and how SNUBA complemented the dive industry.


DOWN BUT NOT OUT – OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

Since opening in 2016, SNUBA SXM has had its fair share of challenges. In late 2017, SNUBA SXM and many others in the Caribbean, were devastated by Hurricane Irma. Irma topped out as a Category 5 hurricane and ended up being fifth costliest Atlantic hurricane in history (64.8 billion in damage). SNUBA SXM lost everything, including its diving platform.

Now just over a year later, with a brand new diving platform and a renewed energy, SNUBA SXM and its staff are back on track and conducting SNUBA tours – a miraculous feat considering the destruction and damage to the environment and infrastructure suffered by Hurricane Irma. Michel and Kelly, two professional and resourceful people, represent everything SNUBA. We are so proud to announce their selection as the 2018 SNUBA Operator of the Year.

Want more information about SNUBA SXM? Check them out here: https://snubasxm.com/

Congratulations Pride of Maui! The 2017 SNUBA Operator of the Year!

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Many would be surprised to learn that Pride of Maui, a 65-foot maxi-power Catamaran, was originally built in the small Iberia Parish village of Loreauville, Louisiana with a poPrideBoat375pulation of less than 1,000 people! Built in 1992 and based on the vision of Roy Cleghorn, then a retired dentist from the Lake Tahoe area, Pride of Maui made its way to Maui through the Pacific Ocean by way of the Bayou Teche canal. As a result of its stability and comfort, its size and seating and layout that permits unobstructed panoramic views, Pride of Maui is today one of the more revered and respected large yachts on the island of Maui.

 

KaitlynPrice of Maui has been offering SNUBA to its guests for over 15 years and has the distinction of introducing more guests to SNUBA than any other passenger vessel in the nation! In fact, Pride of Maui is the nation’s leading SNUBA diving vessel!
When booking a SNUBA tour with Pride of Maui, you’ll have the incredibly unique opportunity to SNUBA the Molokini Crater – one of only three volcanic calderas in the world. Located just a few miles off Maui’s shore, it is Hawaii’s only island marine sanctuary formed nearly 150 thousand years ago! The quality of the water surrounding the crater combined with the absence of any sentiment make for a remarkably vivid underwater experience. 

 

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It has become extremely important that our coral reefs remain healthy! Coral reef ecosystems provide protection against erosion, cultivate fisheries and create and sustain underwater tourism. And did you know that coral reefs act as the medicine chests of the sea? Marine creatures can produce compounds used to treat human illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases and even leukemia! Conserving the vitality of our precious coral reefs is a fundamental issue that we all face. Check out Pride of Maui’s blog post: Top 10 Things You Can Do to Help Save Hawaii’s Coral Reefs. 

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Trainer’s Corner – Sandals LaSource, Grenada

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After a full day of travel, we safely landed in Grenada. The resort itself was beautiful. One of the newest Sandals resorts – nestled on the mountainous island has beautiful scenery and great shallow reefs. Perfect for SNUBA!As is the case on most of these types of training excursions, every training session has its own unique hurdles and challenges that must be overcome. However, the professionalism of the dive team combined with talented SNUBA guides made these particular training sessions extremely fluid. The soft coral in the area is in an abundance and the reef fish were out everyday. We’re so excited for the future success of Sandals LaSource and we feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with everybody in the area. Cheers!
On our most recent trip, we opened Sandals
LaSource, Grenada. On our way to Grenada, we made the obligatory pit stop in Nassau to work with our lifelong friends over at Stuart Cove at South Ocean, and the Atlantis. Spending time in the Bahamas is never a dull time! After a few days in Nassau, we grabbed our gear and headed south.

Scotty’s Corner – Sandals Beaches Resort, Turks & Caicos

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learn and who were open to the idea of SNUBA. The interesting thing about about this session was that the diving would be done from the beach rather than from the boat like all the other Sandals/Beaches locations. With a busy season and max capacity at the resort, we weren’t short for clientele! When I conduct training, I usually offer free SNUBA dives to guests in order to knock “training dives” off the potential guides. Usually we have to put in a little leg work and convince some people to join us for a FREE training dive, but always get people to join. This trip was the complete opposite. We had hordes of people wanting to try SNUBA, so much so, I was having people ask me if they could pay me to experience SNUBA. This is something that has never happened to me, but made training a little easier, and the guides gained more experience this way. All in all the training was a success. The service at the resort is top notch, the guides are professionals, and the water was warm and clear. Not much more a guy can ask for, right?
Over the last few years, I’ve charged with opening all of the Sandals/Beaches resorts around the Caribbean. Each time I have the opportunity to visit a new resort, I’m anxious to see what the resort has to offer. This particular Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos was the largest of their fleet with nearly 800 rooms. It included a water park for the kids, over 20 restaurants, and nightly entertainment for the whole family. It was a sight to behold! This training included four guides – all very eager to

Congratulations V.I. SNUBA Excursions – 2016 SNUBA Operator of the Year!

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VISnubaSub1

Owned and operated by Frank and Tammy Cummings since 1988, V.I. SNUBA Excursions is the oldest running SNUBA Operation in the world! Before launching their own SNUBA operation, Frank Cummings, a “surfing and sailing waterman from the Monterey Peninsula”, worked for Columbine International – a company whose tools and connections eventually assisted in theStaffordQuote building of SNUBA rafts in America. Hooked immediately on the idea of launching an underwater activity that bridged the gap between scuba diving and snorkeling, Frank opened the first SNUBA Recreational Center on the island of St. John in the U. S. Virgin Islands. After proposing the SNUBA dive system to the U. S. National Park Service and receiving permits to conduct SNUBA at Trunk Bay in the Virgin Islands National Park, SNUBA was finally offered as a shore excursion tour on Cunard, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Holland America cruise lines. Today, V.I. SNUBA Excursions provides SNUBA guests the opportunity to enjoy the warm, crystal clear blue waters from both St. John and St. Thomas – and Frank and his family are doing exactly what they set out to do when they moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands all those years ago!

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When asked about their favorite story from the islands, both Frank and Tammy talk fondly of raising their daughter to be a SNUBA Guide. Kaitlyn started riding the SNUBA raft when she was 3 years old.  A life jacket, floppy hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and a stripped down Barbie Doll were esKaitlynsential gear for the ride.  From Frank, “I fondly remember looking up from 10’ to 15’ deep and watching the Barbie Doll guided by my daughter’s hand, porpoising through the water.” At the age of four, she calmly asked a gentlemen clinging to the edge of the SNUBA raft what was wrong. When he replied he was a little scared she responded “Oh, you’re okay, you’re a big boy”! 

StThomas


MannersQuoteLooking for some good old fashioned advice when visiting the islands? “Old fashioned manners are worth their weight in gold”, says Frank.  “A ‘Good Morning’ or a ‘Good Afternoon’ will almost always result in a dazzling smile and a friendly demeanor while abrupt rudeness will turn off most islanders in a hurry!” can be.

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Frank, “SNUBA is an incredible tool that enables people to conquer their fear of diving in a safe and easy manner.  SNUBA Guides must have a certain demeanor – Patience and calmness are an absolute must, combined with a genuine kind regard for people. With that, you know you’re in the best of hands when you SNUBA with V.I. SNUBA”!

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