Category Archives: News and Events

Stunning weather and conditions this week so it was the perfect time to get everyone over to Verde Island for the morning. Nothing beats the Verde Island Passage, the center of the center of the world’s best marine biodiversity! Luckily we’re in the heart of it here in Puerto Galera.

What been happening this week

August 25^th was a very big day for a Phil Rudin because he did his 5500^th recreational dive in his 55 years of diving.  Phil used to be a police diver and has over 500 dives done on the job, but these 5500 dives are separate from that. Congratulations Phil!!

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Congratulations to Meena and Arthur on the arrival of their beautiful baby girl, Allan’s first granddaughter, River Blu Mahtani Nash. Such a beautiful addition to the family! Everyone here is looking forward to meeting her soon.

What’s been happening here

After Larry’s little adventure with Tommy and Rene he’s back down here with all the girls and Malcolm too! They are in for a fun week of diving and also cracking on with Nitrox courses for Kris, Seren and Rhiannon. Perhaps getting them all ready for some future live-aboard trips!

Alli was recognized by PADI for her 20 years with them. PADI Territory Director Tim Hunt and Philippine Regional Manager Conny Jeppson presented her with this recognition award.  Alli now joins the others at Asia Divers who have been PADI members for more than 20 years. (Allan, Andy, Tommy, Dave, and Pete)

Delicious new additions to the Menu

Check out what’s new on the menu! Chocos and Mochas for those with a bit of a sweet tooth and the Fresh Blend Juices for those that want the more healthy options. I’d say do the healthy stuff in the morning so you can live it up a bit in the afternoon with the sweet stuff!

Some months ago El Galleon applied for a zero discharge permit. After weeks of waiting the DENR arrived for a site inspection and were amazed at the system El Galleon had built to incorporate its own waste water treatment system. Years ago El Galleon with the help of the DENR built an above ground septic system to handle grey water and waste water from the resort. In the past few weeks El Galleon has doubled the size of this system making it easier and more efficient. The other day we received an approved discharge permit which we were at first disappointed but after reading the permit and talking with the DENR, it was explained that it’s difficult for them to issue a zero discharge permit due to many internal concerns at the DENR. The good news is we have a permit that allows us to no longer have our water tested unlike other resorts due to the fact, we don’t discharge outside the resort. The reality is El Galleon is probably the only resort in Puerto Galera that does not discharge some form of waste water other than rain water. El Galleon works hard to work with environment and is committed to continue to do so.

Travel

Tommy together with Larry Bird and Rene Sten have headed to Yap for some diving and to explore the diving at Ngulu Atoll. Diving with our old friend Bill Acker from Yap Divers www.mantaray.com and have already manage to do 5 dives at Yap with sharks on every dive plus a beautiful Manta spotted on the last dive. An unforgettable shark dive at the Vertigo site that never will be forgotten despite some technical problem with Rene’s camera. More from the boys next week when they report from Ngulu Atoll.

“PADI Women Dive day” and our very own “Men’s Day” weekend was a blast. Thanks to all who came and participated in our celebration for a “healthy ocean – healthy body”.  It was super fun with some interesting things to do and taste for everyone. Alli stated it up with a 6 a.m. loop walk, than Sabine got everyone doing yoga on the platform. The day continued with some diving, drinking some very yummy healthy drinks by Jamie, eating and just all hanging out together. Some went on to do the Hash Run as well…. It was a bit wet, but everyone enjoyed. Continue reading →

This month’s cover shot is by Matt Hutchinson. Matt came here to do his Divemaster course with us over the past few weeks and has been getting some superb photos of the area in his free time. Matt is a very talented photographer and now he’s starting to do underwater photography as well. You can follow him on Instagram @h2onomad

Congratulations to Matt Hutchinson for competing his PADI Divemaster course! The final test, the snorkel test was passed with flying colours so now he becomes part of our hall of fame. We’ve really enjoyed having Matt here and we’re sorry to see him leave. Matt got lots of real life experience during his  Divemaster training at Asia Divers with students and divers and the being part of the team in the evenings at the  Barrel Bar.  Looking forward to seeing you back in September!

Congrats to Toby Morton who became the 3^rd generation of Morton’s to not only become divers, but also to be diving at Asia Divers. It was a very special time for Jamie to have Toby here from New Zealand and to be able to be his instructor. This was Jamie’s first certification as an instructor. Continue reading →

Wonderful to have Paul and Rowena Leszczynski back at Asia Divers. Paul used to work for us in our Manila shop back in the late 90’s and we still get to see them at DEMA most years too.

One of Asia Divers instructors, Magaret Tan was giving a PADI Project Aware presentation to more than 300 students, teachers & parents at a school in Kunming last week. How cool is that?!!

Join in a day of shared adventure and passion for the ocean.

Asia Divers will be participating in PADI Women Dive day on Saturday July 21^st. Events are being held at hundreds of locations worldwide for divers of every level and ability. Since 2015, divers from every corner of the globe have come together each July to bond over their love of the ocean.

Come and join us for the weekend of July 21-22 to celebrate the wonderful women diver’s around the World! We’ll be making it a special “Healthy Ocean, Healthy Body” weekend with some fun things to do and taste as well.  On Saturday there will be a Dive Against Debris, where we’ll get a chance to make our ocean healthy by cleaning up one of our local dive sites. All friends and family are invited to join of course…boys and girls! To make our body healthy we’ll also be offering a Yoga class by Sabine, our PADI Course Director, early morning walks and some great specials in our Spa. To top it all off we’ll have some yummy fresh fruit drinks available. Please join us for a fun weekend by contacting admin@asiadivers.com

Dish of the week, by Chef Jamie

Shanghai DRT show

If you’re in Shanghai this coming weekend please drop by the DRT show. The DRT Show is considered to be the largest gathering for diving enthusiasts, marine conservationists and anyone with a passion for the underwater world. April  6-8  at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center.  Alli, Elly and Dave will be at the Philippine Department of Tourism booth representing both El Galleon/Asia Divers and Tech Asia. http://www.chinadiveexpo.com/

ADEX in Singapore

Inhouse PADI Course Director Sabine Henkel will be at the ADEX Singapore – get in touch – best via facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoPro.eIDC/

It’s been a fun week to start 2018 for everyone as they all got their PADI diving certifications. Congratulations to Kyle, Marcil, David, James and Alexandra for all their hard work over the holiday. They we’re thrilled to complete their courses and then have a fun dive with no actual skills to do at the end of their training and to make a family underwater video. Luckily for everyone we had a very hungry turtle that was happy to have himself filmed for quite a while to become one of the film’s stars!

Divemaster Duo! Juliana and John teamed up over the Christmas/New Year holiday to do their PADI Divemaster course. Not an easy job with so many options to stray off and enjoy the festivities, but they stayed focused and did it good!!  Congratulations to you both. You’ll be seeing more of John over the next while as he’ll be helping out around the resort and also getting into leading dives by himself.

It’s always a fun time to go out on a scooter dive! First time for Sheika ….she teamed up with Pete and Trevor to fly underwater. Next time you’re in PG ask one of our instructors about trying out the DPV.

Blast from the past photo

Allan says that this is probably the earliest photo he has of himself with diving gear on (tank and weights were close by). Allan would have been around 13 years old when this photo was taken.

You know that Christmas is really here when EL Gal/Asia Divers and Ocean Dive Supply have our Christmas party…and oh what a party it was. Lots of games, a talent competition, great food, cool prizes from the raffle, gift exchange, and non-stop bell ringing in the Point Bar made this an amazing night.  We’re ready for the holidays!

Christmas plans

Just a reminder that if you’re still a bit stuck on what to do over Christmas…we’ve got rooms here. Contact admin@asiadivers.com to join the fun! On the 24^th, Santa arrives to hand out toys to the local kids followed by a lunch for them on the morning of the 24th. Our Christmas dinner at El Galleon will be on the evening of the 24th followed by some fun time up in the Point Bar. Christmas Day, we’re going to do a Verde Island dive trip in the morning followed by an amazing Christmas lunch on the island with time for relaxing, playing volleyball and getting into a festive mood. We’ll have a boat for the divers leaving at eight and another boat for the non-divers leaving later in the morning. We’re also planning to do the BCD/Beer float in the ocean on the way home….just like we did for our anniversary party.

Tommy on his Christmas dinner tour around the Philippines continues in Alona with Luz, Riza and Marlie and in Cebu with Rose, Vangie, Jane and Jomar

This is a great shot taken at our 30^th Anniversary weekend by Beth Watson. As our official photographer for the event  she has come up with quite a fine selection of photos. You can see of all these images on our website: http://blog.asiadivers.com/30th-anniversary-photos/ and and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/asia.divers/ . They are also on Beth’s website http://www.bethwatsonimages.com/asia-divers-30th-anniversary-weekend/

Thanks to Beth for taking some amazing photos of our Anniversary week that we’ll keep in our memory treasure chest forever.  It’s always interesting when Beth and Steve arrive here.  You can see what happens to our camera room with just their gear in it…actually, most of it is Beths!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

If you’re still undecided what to do over the Christmas holiday contact us as we do have a couple rooms available.  Experience a warm and fuzzy Christmas with friends here! Contact admin@asiadivers.com

What’s been happening this week

A big congratulations to Jenny Moore for having the endurance to crack on with her PADI Open Water course on her honeymoon and not get too distracted by all the Anniversary festivities either! Puerto Galera is a wonderful location to learn to scuba dive and there is so much to see in the water.

It was great to have Klaus here with us for the party week and to see him earn a 600 dive t-shirt. We missed Gabi this time, but loved the poster she made for us.

Patrik Bonnier has been with us over the past couple weeks gaining some practical experience as a Divemaster which happens to include lots of time at the Barrel Bar! We have a “Divemaster Experience Week” program for folks who have been certified as Divemasters but would like to gain some good experience in a busy dive center. It’s also a great warm up to those who are starting their IDC. Have a look here for more info: http://www.asiadivers.com/PADI-diving-courses-philippines/learn_divemaster.html

Congrats to Cathy-Ann Chouinard (Cate) who “Discovered Scuba” with Alli, in-between all the laughs!