Houston's Premier Scuba and Dive Shop Oceanic Ventures Inc.

(713) 523-3483 (dive)
5808 Newcastle Drive
Houston, TX 77401

Eric Keibler

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Local Scuba Diver Receives the Golden Diver award

_MG_7761 On 11 December 2014 our own Ann Keibler was honoured by the Cozumel Tourist Association’s Scuba Fest along with Bruce Hootman, Manuel Victoria, and Alberto Friscione.  The event blends the beauty of the reefs in Cozumel  with education, marketing, business and tourism through events that ran throughout the week.  The catered Gala dinner hosts the who’s-who of Cozumel as well as international celebrities including the Master of Cerimonies, Jean Michele Cousteau.
In addition to the Golden Diver Awards, the organization sank a bust of Ramon Bravo, a celebrated cinematographer, who started his work as a guide and cameraman for Jacques Cousteau.  His work appears in documentaries, movies and television shows throughout the world.  His bronze bust will sit near the bust of Jacques Cousteau near the Villablanca Reef.
Ann felt completely overwhelmed at receiving the news she was being honoured at this year’s event.  In fact, she received a congratulations from her friend Martha Peredes before she even read the note from Scuba Fest.  She was in the airport in LA on her way back from a week in Fiji.  When talking about the award, Ann said,

“I feel so humble to be honoured in another country for the thing I love to do and I received it along with some other very distinguished divers who have given back so much to the diving and heritage in Mexico. It is a real honour and a priviledge to be here with them, especially honouring the work of Ramon Bravo whose bust is being lowered into the sea this week. My thanks to the people and divers in Cozumel, the El Presidente hotel and Scuba Du for helping to make this possible”

As part of the award, I put together a short video about Ann’s life in Scuba including some old photographs from her open water class and some early trips to Cozumel,  You can watch the video by going to our YouTube channel or watching it here…

The event made then Mexican National News!  Unfortunately, the link is no longer working so you will have to take our word on it.
Del Sol Photography has posted a number of photographs from the event on their website.  You can view them here.
Decembertrip-3It was a special event and Ann was deeply touched.  Alberto and Manuel were so gracious and wanted to have their photographs made with Ann, a.k.a. “Momma Buzo.”

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Off to Fiji, Scuba Diving Adventures in the Pacific.

And so it begins, like any journey it begins with a single step and then an aluminium tube hurtling through the air — going west to the beautiful waters of the Pacific.
Our merry band of travellers met at the Houston Intercontinental Airport to start our trip to the Republic of Fiji. Like almost any trip to the Pacific from Houston, our trip began with United Airlines; fortunately our flight was staffed by a large number of “ex-cons” or former Continental Employees which made it a pleasant flight rather than being trapped with a grumpy flight crew.
As we readied ourselves to be hurled into the sky, we were treated by none other than Captain Ron asking us to sit back and enjoy the ride. I wondered out loud if he was still wearing his eye patch. After an uneventful flight we landed at LAX ready for our baggage hike from the United Terminal to the International a Terminal. This was not altogether a light transfer since Ann and I had six checked bags and carry-ons too.
We are carrying children’s books and other donations for the Holy Cross School in Taveuni Fiji which is celebrating its 150 year anniversary while we are in Fiji. The books were donated by clients to give to the school. One special client donated a new laptop complete with reference software that does not require an internet connection. This was completely unexpected and is a special treat for this special school.
Bags checked, $300 poorer and we are ready for the next aluminum tube to deliver us to Fiji. Racing through the sky, we ate breakfast, dinner, snacks, watched movies (Veronica Mars for me), slept, wandered around, slept so,e more and then all if the sudden lights, and Fiji out the window. We are landing in Nadi. Forms filled out, lines snaked through, bags off the carrousel, more scanning, and the we are discussing our massive amounts of luggage with the customs agent. “Yes mam, scuba equipment and books for the Holy Cross school. No, they do not have much value because they are used. No, we have nothing else to declare (of course there were four bottles of Death’s Door Gin but that was within our allowance.
We finally broke free of the customs hall and then it was off to the domestic terminal for our transfer flight to Taviuni. You should have seen that poor agents face when we showed up with six bags and heavy carry-ons. Not to mention all of the other luggage our other guests had to transport. “We may not be able to get all of this on board; the weather is a little questionable and the pilot is carrying more fuel for the trip”. Hmmm more fuel or luggage interesting choice.
Somehow all of it made it on the plane and we are once again off in an aluminum tube. With turbos humming and blades spinning we are off to Taviuni.
As the island comes into view we are greater with lush green foliage and clear blue water. We pass over the resort with a beautiful sailboat anchored out front. After a beautiful landing we are once again moving massive amounts of luggage from the little counter to a truck and then we are off for a boat that will deliver us to the resort.
We are finally here!!

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Hello from Houston, Scuba Diving in Micronesia, Update 8

Jim With Sharks, photo by Katrina Adams
Jim With Sharks, photo by Katrina Adams
We have been home now for a week and I finally feel like I am back in the right time zone.
We had a fun time in Kosrae and got to experience life as eco-tourists for a week.  Of course, nothing ever really dried out and when I opened my bags, I knew what my Mother felt like when I returned from camp.  Holland laughed when we were talking about it and she said “i added Lysol to the laundry just to make sure that smell went away.”  It seems that when clothing is put away in a travel bag for 30 hours where it was exposed to sun on a runway, the belly of three jets and who know what else, it takes on a life of its own.  I had to fight the washing machine to just take the clothes — it was not in the mood for cleaning them.
Scuba diving in Kosrae is a little different from other Pacific destinations.  The reefs are made up of lots of hard corals with some soft corals.  My experience in other areas is that the soft corals are more abundant that the hard corals.  One of the more interesting coral formations is a spreading pillar coral which may explain some of the local legends about small cities underwater,
Of course, during my two week absence, Dive Mom saved up a lot of tasks for me including the bill paying and inventory functions of Oceanic Ventures and Eric and Ann, Inc.  This meant that I had a lot of accounting to do — which I hate.  I also have a lot of other demands on my time from students and clients needing equipment and a schedule for training.  Life just does not go on hold while traveling in the Pacific.
I have over 500 photographs from my stay in Kosrae to process and ??  I will be posting some of those soon.  I know that Holland and Steve have been working on their photographs from Chuuk because they have been posting them on Facebook.  And I must say, they took some really fun photographs.  I can’t wait to see what they turn in for the Photography Contest.
 
Keep checking back — I leave for Fiji on Thursday!

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Scuba Ranger Edouard Snorkels in Indonesia

edourd brandedDuring their summer vacation in Indonesia, Scuba Ranger Edouard put his snorkeling skills to use and spent a lot of time in the water with his family.  According to Edouard, “it was a blast!!”  His mother even commented that during his adventures he saw turtles for the first time underwater!  Dive Mom was heard saying that she “cant wait to hear more about his adventures at the next Scuba Ranger Club meeting this fall!!” 

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Ann Keibler Wins Award from Cayman Islands Department of Tourism for Adventure Travel

Ann Wins Cayman Islands Department of Tourism Tanks a Lot Promotion
Ann Wins Cayman Islands Department of Tourism Tanks a Lot Promotion
Ann Keibler won first place in the June Tanks a Lot Scuba Diving and travel Promotion which was awarded the end of July.  This is the second time in 2014, Ann has been awarded a prize by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.  She was also the winner of prizes three times in 2013.  According to Ann, “we are a Cayman Islands Travel Specialist” and we love to send people to go diving there.  It is a fantastic place to go and get away and enjoy some truly spectacular scuba diving.”
Oceanic Ventures is a full service travel company specializing in adventure and scuba diving travel.  “we have contacts all over the world and know how to find the right destination and property for our clients. whether it is a backpacking, rafting type operation or a five star resort we can help you find the right fit.”
According the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, “the ‘T’anks A Lot,’ programme offers monthly cash prizes (up to $365!) and a chance to win the ultimate grand prize: use of a Porsche Cayman for one year to dive operators that show outstanding support for the destination’s dive industry. Renowned as the birthplace of recreational diving, the Cayman Islands is home to 365 diverse dive experiences and is lauded as the Caribbean’s premier dive destination.
According to Cayman Islands Director of Tourism Shomari Scott, the ‘T’anks A Lot’ programme was conceptualized as a fun way to keep dive centres focused on the destination, while at the same time offering a chance to win an exceptional prize. “Diving in the Cayman Islands is an unforgettable and extraordinary experience and we wanted to find an equally unforgettable and extraordinary way to show our appreciation to dive operators who recommend our Islands to their valued clients.  We feel that the chance to drive a Porsche Cayman for 365 days – which reflects our 365 dive sites – will certainly be memorable to the lucky winner and we encourage dive centres across the US to enter before the closing date of October 31st.  Every confirmed booking equals one entry into the grand prize drawing which gives every dive centre whether big or small a chance to win the Porsche.”   
Ann loves helping people and she is not afraid to tell anyone that she fully intends to be driving that Porsche next year!

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Hello from Kosrae, Scuba Diving in Micronesia, Update 7

We left Chuuk five days ago and already the memories of ship wreck diving have faded, replaced by visions of fish and corals. We are staying at the Kosrae Village Eco Resort. It is definitely different coming from a live aboard dive boat to a land based resort and then throw in the Eco-lodge aspect and we have had a big shift.
The diving is done off small catamaran style boats that are 10 minutes away in the harbour (not a big one since there is only room for about 8 boats). Kosrae has a system of buoys around the island which is a mixed blessing. On one hand it has helped to minimise the damage to the reef from anchoring but on the other, it makes,it easier for the fisherman to tie up and fish on the reef. As a result, the reefs, especially those near the harbour are devoid of fish life. This is not to say that there are no fish but there are no large fish not schools of fish other than some very small ones.
Moving away from harbour, the fish populations increase but there are still no large fish in many spaces. We only spotted one large grouper. Thankfully there were sharks, barracuda, small jacks and wahoo on the reefs away from the harbour.
The one thing that really sets Kosrae apart from other Pacific destinations are the hard corals. Large stands of stag-horn coral, lettuce corals, pillar corals and other species cover the reefs as far as the eye can see. From twenty feet to one hundred twenty feet the corals are alive, healthy and growing.
Life here is pretty simple but the meals are not. Locally grown or locally produced is the key. Fresh tuna sashimi and salads with mangrove crab are beautiful additions to the grilled wahoo and tuna. The smoked fish is different but is perhaps a little “too smoked” because it over powers the delicate tastes of the fish.
Thursday was a big day in the restaurant… The frozen food container had arrived and was unpacked. Bacon, ham and beef were now available for meals. But the big thing was that ice cream was once again available! Hot fudge Sundays were back on the menu as was Rocky Road ice cream, Bruce’s favourite flavor.
Everyone has had a surprise or two in their cottages. Spiders and geckos are the norm but there were some unusual findings as well. I found that small ants like to shave, having attacked my shaving oil; Eric found that the small crabs really like having their mouths washed out with soap especially the melon soap from Chuuk. On another night he found his bathmat alive and moving as a hermit crap snuck under it and was lurking about the bathroom. During one shower, Cheryl found herself as an exibitionist for a large land crab who seemed intent on joining her in the shower.
Of course nothing can top Susan’s story. It seems she was joined in her bathroom by a large fruit bat. Known locally as flying foxes, Katrina describes them more as the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. Imagine the surprise of stumbling into the bathroom in the middle of the night and finding a nocturnal visitor come through the door. Yes, the bat was so startled by Susan’s appearance that it hid in the shower stall until she left. It was then able to sneak out and flee. To warn his friends, he left the bathroom light on in unit three so no other bat would have to be scared.
We have only a few more days of diving here but we also have some adventures coming up. Two trips by canoe through the biosphere region, some archeological site tours and some handicraft shopping.
So, until the next update…