This past weekend, Santa once again returned to the City of West University Place to pose for photographs underwater. This annual event benefits the West University Parks Department and showcases Santa’s love of diving. Santa posed with divers, snorkelers, swimmers who were adults and children.
The Oceanic Ventures Staff including, Travis Hershey, Zaide Scheib, Joel Hershey, Leia Zuczak, Coad Worden and photographer Eric Keibler, helped with the event by keeping things organized and flowing.
We had a great time and met a lot of fun people during the event. If you missed the event, we will all be back again the second weekend of November 2017.
Charity
Charity Art Lecture and Sale
Ann and I were first introduced to Fr. Tham’s art at the Art with a Heart charity auction which benefits the San Jose’ Clinic here in Houston. In that art auction, there was a beautiful watercolor of a tiger and we just fell in love with it. So, we both kept going back and bidding, making sure we were the high bidder — a lot of work but it was worth it. It now hangs in our bedroom.Over the years we have had the opportunity to see some of his other work (and yes purchase it). Fr. Tham will be speaking at the University of St Thomas at a bio-ethics conference in November so we are very fortunate to have him speak about his artwork and the making of the watercolors. He studied traditional Chinese watercolor techniques and has produced some truly stunning pieces of art.
Art Sale and Auction
There will be an auction of some of Mark Austin’s glass art and some other artwork as well as the ability to purchase some of Fr Tham’s Artwork. You can preview some of the watercolors here.
The proceeds of the sale will benefit his order and the Oceanic Ventures Foundation’s work in Fiji.
WHEN: Sunday, November 13 3:00 – 6:00
WHERE: Black Labrador, 4100 Montrose Blvd
Oceanic Ventures Celebrates 25 Years and Scuba Divers Give to Charity
Oh, what a night… not December 1963 but November 10, 2015. A large group of divers descended on Paul’s Kitchen to help celebrate our 25th Anniversary and to support the Oceanic Ventures Foundation which raised almost $15,000 for the charity.
The Dinner for Scuba Divers
Imagine beginning your evening with a Rum Cocktail or a Glass of wine. That is precisely what happened thanks to Don Q Rums and Ste Michelle Wine Estates who helped to sponsor the party and the first beverage of the evening. During the social hour, the guests greeted one another and exchanged diving stories, talking about the places they had been and where they were going next. At the same time, they were looking through the silent auction which had some really amazing items donated by a variety of clients and vendors including some great travel destinations from Fiji, Cozumel and Grand Cayman.
Chef Paul Lewis, prepared an exceptional meal featuring a salad of local greens, along with a grilled steak or pan seared chicken breast or a mushroom pappardelle and their famous buttermilk drop biscuits and a trio of miniature desserts. Accompanying the meal was a 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon or a 2014 Chardonnay both from Seven Falls Cellars or a Don Q Rum infused Mai Tai. This was not banquet food but rather individually prepared plates served by a very attentive staff in the same manner as they serve a similar four top table. During dinner diners were entertained by Amin Safari playing on the patio. (Rumor has it, a number of divers are going to gather on the patio in the near future to hear them again.)
The Spirit of Scuba Diving Award
As dinner came to an end Dive Mom introduced the new Spirit of Diving Award. The recipient of the award truly embodies the spirit of diving. Having just returned from a two-week tour of the “stans” (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) she was heard to say “it was nice but it was just not a dive trip, I want to go scuba diving! I loooove diving” During her first year as a certified diver she fell in love with diving and completed one-hundred (100) dives including a lot of diving in the local lakes in the winter (a.k.a. dry suit scuba diving). She continued that trend achieving her 300th dive, in her third year of diving, in Komodo Indonesia. If you ask her she will tell you “I just love diving!” She is always excited about learning new things, trying new equipment and challenging herself to learn more. She even has a diving sticker on her motorcycle helmet. This year’s recipient is Susan Long.
The Silent Charity Auction
The cocktail hour also saw the opening of the Silent Charity Auction benefiting the Oceanic Ventures Foundation a 501 (c)(3) organization. The items in the auction varied from Rum to a complete garden makeover and included such things as handicrafts from Ecuador and Fiji to Jewelry and luggage. The divers were very generous to the charity even contributing directly to helping promote eco-education in Cozumel, sending books to Utila, purchasing bikes for the Bonaventure Boys Home in Grand Cayman, and uniforms and books for schoolchildren in Fiji at the Holy Cross School in Wariki.
The Sponsors and Supporters for the Evening
The dinner was generously underwritten by Oceanic Ventures, Inc., Don Q Rums (a part of Serrallas USA) and Ste Michelle Wine Estates. Along with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and DUI, each recipient received a gift bag which included a $25.00 Gift Certificate from Oceanic Ventures, a bottle of Rum from Don Q Rums, a pen from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and a OMS Light Pouch from Diving Unlimited International all contained in a jet black bag from Don Q Rums.
The groups of supporters for the Silent Auction were varied and the items were really fun. The donors were; Amanda Kingston Beetle, Ann and Scuba Steve Brennan, Bess Bright, Judge Katherine Cabaniss, Christine and Jesse Cancelmo and Cancelmo Photography, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, DiveTech Grand Cayman, Don Q Rums, Michael Duskin, Nancy and Jay Easterbrook, Kim Ellis, LLC, Lee Emerson, Dawnell and Greg Gebhardt, Joseph Henry, LLC, Java Pura, LLC, Barbara and Steve Jurbala, Ann and Eric Keibler, Kettle One Vodka, Jamie and David Morris, Nail Care by Kim, Oceanic Ventures, Inc., Paul’s Kitchen, El Presidenté Intercontinental Cozumel, Walter Rominica & Seven Fathoms Rums, Sau Bay Fiji Retreat, Sea & Sea Photographic Products, Zaide Scheib, ShredTex, Sweetwater Pool & Patio, Westside Tennis Club, Cheryl White and Avalon Realty, Yiling Massage Therapy
Photographs from the Event
You can see all of the photographs from the event by going to this page!
Twenty-Five Years of People and Adventures – The Video
Scuba Diving Party – 25th Anniversary Party
Over those years, we have taught a lot of students from four year-old to seventy-six year-old snorkelers and divers; and, we have begun training the third generation of scuba divers, snorkelers and free-divers. We have expanded our course offerings from recreational scuba diving to technical diving, rebreather diving along with wreck and cave diving. However, we have never forgotten how much fun it is introducing people to the world underneath the surface.
But enough about history. David Morris and Joe Henry both said “we need to have a party to celebrate 25 years in business.” While Dive Mom thought it might be more appropriate to do one in the new year after we have survived the 25th year, but the boys prevailed and on the 12th of November we are hosting a big birthday celebration in honour or our 25th year in business.
We have a fun party planned at Paul’s Kitchen with dinner, story telling and photos from some of those first twenty-five years. Because the proceeds of the dinner will be going to the Oceanic Ventures Foundation, we will be having a silent auction that evening. So far our Auction Chairman, Joe Henry and Ann have collected about thirty items and they are just getting started. You will find things like dive trips to Cozumel, golf outings, liquor and food baskets, jewelry, and items from around the world. And, they are not done yet collecting things yet.
The party will be a ticketed event and your ticket will include admission to the party, a welcome cocktail, a steak, chicken or vegetarian dinner and dessert as well as a special gift bag with treats including a $25.00 Gift Card from Oceanic Ventures, and other items Cayman Island Department of Tourism, Don Q Rums and more!
We hope that everyone, including some of our early supporters will be there with us to celebrate twenty-five years in the adventure business. You may purchase your tickets by calling the store or going to our new on-line shopping site here.
Discover Rebreather Scuba Diving in May
You have read about them, you have seen IMAX and Underwater photographers using them, you have heard research divers and scientists talking about htem and you may have even seen them at the lake or on a dive trip. Now is your opportunity to find out more and to try one out in the pool.
Oceanic Ventures, Houston’s leading scuba diving and rebreather sales and training facility is hosting a weekend devoted to the Next Wave in Diving – the fully closed circuit rebreather. During the event you will have the opportunity to talk to people who dive rebreathers on a regular basis for both recreational as well as technical diving. You will learn how they operate, why divers love them, and why you might want to start diving them. Then after you have gather up some information, you can experience rebreather diving in the pool and have your photo made while diving a rebreather so you can show it to all of your friends.
Leon Scamahorn, CEO of Innerspace Systems the manufacturer of the Megalodon and Pathfinder rebreathers will be our special guest at a dinner Saturday evening. He will be showcasing rebreather diving with some new photographs and stories about his own diving experiences. The Oceanic Ventures Foundation will be conducting a sealed bid auction during the event to help fund its ongoing mission of education and assistance in the places we visit as divers.
Email us at events at oceanicventures.net for more informaion.
The Holidays are Coming for Scuba Divers
Wow, it has been a busy month here at Oceanic Ventures this month and it is not even half-way over.
Our charity event, A Night in Old Havana, was a great success. We grossed over $8,000 for the Oceanic Ventures Foundation which was set-up to donate money and products to the places we visit as scuba divers. The event itself was based around an old McNamara family photograph (yes, I really am Irish). Sheridan, the professional Mixologist from Don Q Rums, served up very special cocktails while Ashton kept the trays of food rolling from the kitchen. Zaide and Alex helped serve the treats as did Ann and Eric. There is no way we can ever thank all of the people who helped up pull this event off, but we will try. We would like to especially thank Bob and Joyce Hoover, Ashton Arsement, Zaide Scheib, Jeremy Eich, Rosemary Keibler, Steve Soulen, Steve Jurbala and Joel Hershey. We also want to thank our sponsors Don Q Rums, Cobalt Coast Resort, Dive Tech Grand Cayman and Tusa. We also received some extra special gifts from Jim Turley and Lee Emerson. You should check-out all of the photographs from the party. We have posted them on our Facebook page.
Santa also dropped by for some underwater photographs. We had both scuba divers, free divers (snorklers) and just swimmers jump in to have their photos made with Santa Claus. Our favorite elf, Zaide, had a great time posing with Santa. And, we almost made it onto Fox News — the talent, Ruben Dominguez, canceled on us at the last minute and the camera man did not want to film without him. The loss was even harder since Eric, Ann, Alex and Heather, the Activity Coordinator for West University, all had to be at the pool at 6:30 in the morning! But oh well, we still got a few fun photos of Heather with Santa Clause. We want to thank everyone who came out and helpped as well as those who helped us with the event including Travis Hershey, Zaide Scheib, Joel Hershey, Keegan Madden, Alex Witschey and Eric Keibler.
Of course, the specials do not end with these events. The Holidays continue with some other special events including:
- November 23 Breakfast at Tiffany’s
- November 29 Black Friday Relief
- November 30 Small Business Saturday
- December 3 Tote Bag Tuesday
- December 12 Frank Sinatra’s Birthday
- December 14 Sarong Saturday
- December 17 Bathtub Party Day
- December 23 Phileas Fogg Day
- December 30 Make Up Your Mind Day
There are special pricing and give-a-ways each of these days. You really must read more about them; they will be loads of fun!
