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

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

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Oceanic Ventures Celebrates 25 Years and Scuba Divers Give to Charity

Program Cover
Program Cover

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.

Table SettingChef 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

The Spirit of Diving Award Recepient
The Spirit of Diving Award Recepient

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

OVI25thanniversary-200The 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

OVI25thanniversary-212
David Morris with Don Q Rums and Serrales Brands USA , with his Wife Jamie and Ann Keibler

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

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Scuba Diving Party – 25th Anniversary Party

25th Anniversary Scuba Party Ticket
Tickets for the Anniversary Party
It is hard for me to believe but Oceanic Ventures is about to celebrate its twenty-fifth year in business.  It only seems like a few years ago when we moved into our small office  and started introducing people to scuba in an all new way.
Oceanic Ventures Scuba Diving and Adventure Staff in 1998 and the Facility before the Expansion
Oceanic Ventures Scuba Diving and Adventure Staff in 1998 and the Facility before the Expansion
Our concept, which is the same today, is that instead of a large impersonal store, Scuba divers would appreciate more of a “boutique” where classes are taught in a casual friendly manner in a classroom that resembles your living room more than a classroom.  Of course we have grown a lot since that early day in December but our dedication to our clients has remained the same.
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.
Sponsors for the 25th Anniversary Party
 

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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.

OVIF-119Our 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 UnderwaterSanta 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:

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!

Santa and HEather

 

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Scuba Divers Make Donation to Bonaventure Boys' Home in Grand Cayman

Eric Keibler Presents CheckEric Keibler, Managing Director of Oceanic Ventures presented a check for $3,630 to Jennifer Leach-Tippetts, Facility Manager for the Bonaventure Boys Home in Grand Cayman.  This donation was made possible by the generous donations from our friends, sponsors and staff at a weekend of rebreather diving in Houston.  During the presentation, Eric explained that Oceanic Ventures and the Oceanic Ventures Foundation wanted to give back to the communities that they travel to for diving.  Ann Keibler started encouraging clients and staff to bring school supplies with them in their luggage to donate to local schools.  She said, “It was a fun way to meet people and give back to the community!  It also helps you to leave a little room to buy some things to help support the local economy where you are visiting.”  Over the years this simple idea morphed into a program to help support schools and communities in diving locations like the Philippines or Grand Cayman.

To help the Bonaventure Boys’ Home, Oceanic Ventures and Innerspace Systems hosted a weekend of rebreather diving events March 29 – April 3, 2012 in Houston, Texas. The program included lectures, pool demos of a new recreational rebreather the Pathfinder plus a benefit dinner with keynote speaker Leon Scamerhorn, CEO and founder of Innerspace Systems.  While the organizations wanted to introduce the new Pathfinder Rebreather System to the diving community in Houston, they also wanted to use the event to raise funds for the Bonaventure Boys’ home. Grand Cayman has been the leading destination for rebreather divers with the first Inner Space Rebreather event hosted by Divetech in 2004 and now its ninth year in 2012.

Eric says, “Rebreathers are the latest trend in diving enabling divers to discover the underwater world in relative silence without disturbing the fish. This allows you to get closer to the fish and other creatures. Photographers find them to be a wonderful tool and a enjoyable way to go diving.” According to Ann Keibler, “this was a fun event that will allow divers to experience what it is like to dive silently underwater with no bubbles while helping out children. We chose the Bonaventure Boys Home as our charity due to the fantastic work they do and our continued visits to Grand Cayman and Divetech.”

The Bonaventure Boys’ Home is a not for profit government funded Foundation that is a part of The CAYS Foundation (Children and Youth Services) in Grand Cayman. The Boy’s Home serves at risks boys and families that need help to achieve their full potential. Jennifer Leach-Tippetts, Bonaventure Boys’ Home Facility Manager commented “We appreciate donation to help fund extra programmes and supplies for our residents and we greatly appreciate the donation Oceanic Venture Foundation is able to give to The Bonaventure Boys’ Home. The monies raised will be used to purchase recreational equipment, resident outings, summer camp fees, clothing and shoes, rewards for incentive programmes and/or bedroom furniture for parents’ homes in preparation for transition.”

We especially want to thak all of the people who made this possible.  Were it not for their generous support, nothing would have happened.  Those people we would like to specifically thank are:

We are also in the news at:

Bonaventure Boys Home in Grand Cayman
Here is a look at the weekend’s event:

 
 
 
 

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Eric Keibler is in the News

cayman newspaperEric Keibler and Oceanic Ventures made the newspaper in Grand Cayman this morning!
The Cayman Compass publised Eric’s photograph and a note about the upcoming Rebreather Scuba Diving Event in Houston on March 29-April 1, 2012.
See the post here.
We hope everyone in the Houston area will join us for a unique evnt which featuers rebreather trials in the pool, presentations by Leon Scamahorn, CEO of Inner Space Systems and dinner with Leon on Saturday evening.
Form more information, please email Eric.