Brilliant success for Sea Explorers - We were officially nominated for the Tauchen Award 2009 and barely missed the first place. Thanks to all who voted for us. Again this year we will give our best to improve steadily the services for our guests. Dive with a smile! (picture: PADI Event boot Duesseldorf)
Successful Fairs 2010 with Sea Explorers
All the fairs in Europe where we were part of the game (boot Duesseldorf, FESPO Zuerich, Salon de la Plongee Paris and Duikvaker Netherlands) were very successful. The high demand in our unique island hopping and the dive safaris as well as the IDC courses make us feel positive for the future. We hope to welcome many people this year again. See you soon! Pictures: Special thanks to Tina, Linda, Andreas, Jesus, Stefan and Rene (not on the pictures) for the extraordinary support at our booths. Great job!
New massage and Spa facilities in Pura Vida. In addition to our previous services in Vida Spa there are now also new air conditioned massage room, a steam bath and a sauna available to relax after diving.
Good news and nice underwater pictures from our friends and regular costumers from the French part of Switzerland and members of the diving club of Estavayer-le-Lac. Nice pictures taken in our area from the two Daniels, Daniel Strub who won even a medal and Daniel Wernli. Please check out following web pages: www.underwaterphotography.com and http://www.staviasub.ch
Visit of the Swiss TV in Cabilao: In the scope of the broadcast “SF unterwegs” (Swiss TV en route) a team of the Swiss TV was visiting our dive destination Cabilao where the famous moderator Nicole Berchtold did a dive with Rolf and an interview regarding living and diving in the Philippines. The broadcast on Swiss TV will take place on a Friday evening March 19 at 9.00 pm. More info about the show: www.sfunterwegs.sf.tv
On the picture from left: Mario Knoepfler (camera), Urs Bachofner (producer), Peter Conrad (tone), Rolf (dive- and interview-partner), Nicole Berchtold (moderator), Martin (Supporter). On the second picture the crew during their lunch in Cabilao Beach Club.
Tauchsport Kaeser in Berne, Switzerland, opens a new watersports center
Our friends of Tauchsport Kaeser in Berne start with a new challenge and open a new facility on a new location. A few pictures of the big opening celebration with lots of illustrious guests you will find under:
By the way, all three members of the general management of Tauchsport Kaeser are or will be visiting the Philippines in the coming weeks. To the new managing director Daniel Schmid we wish success and good business in the future!
Our Cabilao speed boat “Pegasus“ in a new look. After a complete overhaul the boat is in good shape to serve our guests around Cabilao Beach Club.
Beginning of January another Sea Explorers manager meeting took place in Cebu City to prepare the coming busy months.
January 2010
Like every year on the third weekend in January the Sinulog Festival was celebrated in Cebu City. The highlight of course the very colorful parade on Sunday. For more pictures please click here:
Picture of the month of January
A tiny hermit crab on dangerous ground, on a stone fish’s head. The picture was taken by Urs Frei on January 2 in Apo Island at Rock Point.
Please see one of the most amazing sea slugs, the “Melibe”, on this short video. It was taken by Rolf Muehlemann last December in San Miguel, Dauin:
Rare species again in Dauin in December Halimeda-Ghostpipefish (Solenostomus halimeda) and Bluering Octopus. The pictures were taken by Matthias Rueger who did the Divemaster and Instructor education with us.
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Christmas feeling at Head Office. Children from Children's Joy Foundation were singing Christmas songs at the Sea Explorers Head Office to collect money for the organisation. Thank you very much for the great performance.
November-December 2009
Our new speed boat, named after the rare octopus specie “Mototi” (first time discovered at Bonet’s corner last year), with space for 8 divers and 2 dive guides, brings our guests in Dauin to the closer dive spots in the area.
It is done! After two weeks of hard training our IDC candidates Natalie Böhmerle, Nadja Dubacher, David Joyce, Sebastian Matter, Marla Reyes, Arlene Walang, Matthias Rueger and Patrick Spitz passed the Instructor Examination with PADI Examiner George Wegmann. The Course Director Chris Heim was assisted by the Staff Instructors Matthias Grieder, Mr. Lee and for the first time by the NEW Staff Instructor Hervé Jain, our Quality Service Department Manager. Congratulations and good luck for your future as PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor!
September-October 2009
MARES comes to the Philippines. Vice President Sales & Marketing of MARES diving equipment Stefan Michl, based in Rapallo Italy and the Head of Sales & Marketing of MARES Asia Pacific Matthias Dorsch, based in Hongkong visited Alona Beach beginning of October, of course mainly for business and not for holiday reasons. On the picture together with the Sea Explorers Head of Maintenance and Quality Service Department Hervé Jain.
The sail yacht SY Philippine Siren of Worldwide Dive and Sail arrived in Philippines and is docking right now in Mactan Yacht Club before starting with the dive cruises. On the first visit of Chris, Martin and Rolf on the ship Martin almost get hired as the new captain due to his excellent ship and diving knowledge . With this ship we will do our Tubbataha tour in May 2010.
FREE Travel Magazine E-zine
A nice article about travelling and diving in the Philippines written by Larry Taylor, who was visiting also Sea Explorers Dauin and Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort on a familiarization trip last April. The website is:
Sea Explorers CH-PH-community meets in Liestal, Switzerland in September. The hosts were Joann & Marcel Kestenholz-Delim with Miguel, the attending guests were Joy & Beat Kohler-Jipulan with Jonathan, Juvy & Chris Heim-Bais with Anthony, Agnes & Markus “Wäwä“ Wetterwald-Pabilona and the “youngest“ married couple Gina & Matthias Wirz-Almoguerra
September 2009
Marine Awareness
Sea Explorers participated again in the PADI Coastal Underwater Clean-up day on September 19 and could collect a lot of plastic, fishing lines and nets, etc. On the Picture you can see our Cabilao branch team - many thanks for your excellent contribution.
August-September 2009
From the party to the snow. Chris traveled together with his wife Juvy and son Anthony to Switzerland to their well deserved holidays beginning of September. On the Titlis mountain in the Swiss alps Juvy and Anthony were able to touch some snow first time in their lives, an unforgettable experience for sure.
In the last months, we let our guests fill up a feedback form and announced that there will be a draw on our 20 years anniversary party on September 1 for a free 20 dives package. Our Co-founder and “Fortune” Patrick Gillieron pulled out the form of Mariet Geenen as the winner, Congratulation! The picture of the Pygmy seahorse was taken by Mariet on her last visit a few weeks ago.
On the 20 years anniversary party of Sea Explorers the whole team of the five dive centers and the head office as well as some guests met in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in Dauin-Dumaguete. After the welcome speech and Catholic Mass on the beach the sportive abilities were proved in a paddle boat race, swimming contest and a sack race. After the first hunger and thirst were sated Patrick Gillieron, co-founder of Sea Explorers, showed us some pictures from the beginning of our company. Sea Explorers Team is not only talented in diving matters. It was showed in several enjoyable and felicitous dance, singing and various presentations. The evening and even morning was rounded off with live bands and disco.
End of August at the “Winterthurer Musikfestwochen” (famous Music festival in Switzerland) it shows that the divers world is sometimes small and even interested in culture. By chance, our regular German guests Simon Goss and his girl friend Liesa Mattig met our Instructor Dorothee “B-Bhing“ Aguilar together with her partner Daniel Wernli (he was already working as a free lance instructor with Sea Explorers as well).
Sea Explorers advertisement on Enduro World Champion, Mika Ahola. Mika has also other abilities than driving motor bike shows the nice video on You Tube, the shooting he did during his visit beginning of this year:
The Department of Tourism Team America and Europe with Zeny Pallugna and Verna Covar-Buensuceso visited Pura Vida Vida Beach & Dive Resort beginning of August for an ocular inspection.
August 2009
Lots of our guests who visited already Malapascua in the last years know the pretty smiling face. After some hard working months with preparation our free lance divemaster Dishely did a big step forward and is now a proud PADI instructor. Congratulation and all the best!
Dishely Pilapil, Sandra Steinecker, Rolf Meurer, Siegfried Ruhland and Randel van Heerden passed the Instructor Examination on August 11 and the PADI Examiner George Wegmann handed over their certifications. Congratulation and all the best in the professional instructor career!
July-August 2009
Picture of the month by Rolf Muehlemann
Saddleback anemone fish are laying their eggs on a Red Horse Beer bottle, this can happen only in the Philippines. Cheers!
We were lucky things didn’t turn out worse. In the early morning of August 2 a kind of tornado passed Dauin and left an aisle of destruction. In Pura Vida beside big broken branches and smaller damages we just had to deplore one fallen coconut palm tree which fell miraculously exactly between two of our bamboo cottages.
After more than 20 years in the Philippines still quite Swiss! Chris heralds and yodels (at least trying) the Swiss National Day on August 1 in Pura Vida.
Not only Sea Explorers can celebrate a jubilee this year. In the middle of July St. Moritz Hotel & Restaurant in Cebu City (close to our head office) invited for a delicious 30 years anniversary dinner. Congratulation, thank you very much for the invitation Heinz and keep it up!
June-July 2009
New restaurant in Coco Grove Beach Resort, San Juan, Siquijor
Fine dining will be possible now as well in the new “Salamanta” restaurant directly on the white sandy beach in the newer part of Coco Grove, not too far from our dive center.
News from Cabilao
Since June Ronald van de Vooren, our former manager of Sea Explorers Siquijor, is taking care of the new dive center in Cabilao.
“Dive with a longer smile” as well in Cabilao now. Finally it’s done, we just installed a new Nitrox station and we are now able to offer here as well Nitrox-diving.
June 2009
Chris on marketing trip in Hongkong
Middle of June Chris left the Philippines for a few days to do some marketing in Hongkong. On his visit he was professionally guided by our old friend Becky Chan and businessman Manfred Baetz, thank you very very much for your time and outstanding support! Thank you very much as well to our agents and Mares Asia Pacific Head Quarter especially its head of sales and marketing Matthias Dorsch who took some time for Chris and Sea Explorers.
3rd “Celebrate the Sea Festival” in the Philippines
The third edition of the “Celebrate the Sea Festival” in the Philippines took place within the impressive scenery of the Manila Ocean Park middle of June. Underwater- drawing and photo competition, several forums and of course film and photo shows of world famous personalities like David Doubilet (Honorary president of the festivals and National Geographic photographer, Michael Aw (UW-photographer and director of OceaNEnvironment and Ocean Geographic), Peter Scoones (Cinematographer BBC) etc.
In the evening the illustrious guests were invited for the award ceremony and gala dinner and were warm welcomed by Undersecretary and Executive Director of PCSSD (Philippine Commission of Sports Scuba Diving) Cynthia Carrion.
May - June 2009
DUCOMI-Pier
Regrettable news from Dauin-Dumaguete. Despite massive protests of divers and environmental protection communities the renovation and the removal of the marine life on most of the piles of Ducomi Pier is going on and the damage on the maritime life will be worse than expected. It looks that even a dive ban is discussed starting July 2009.
Construction in Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort
The Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort will be extended. Starting middle of May until approx. October, two duplex buildings with one family room and one suite room each will be constructed between the reception and the Vida Spa. With the construction work will be started around 9 am to not disturb the quietness for our guests in the morning. The massage room will be transferred to a deluxe room during that time. Thank you for your understanding.
Sea Explorers will not continue the business relationship with the Love’s Lodge Resort in Moalboal later than May 2009. To ensure the continuity of our dive services in Moalboal we have found an interesting alternative. A new resort called Turtle Bay Dive Resort, just a few hundred meters south of Love’s Lodge, will be the place to welcome our guests starting June 2009. The new dive center, which is integrated in the resort, will not be owned nor directly managed by Sea Explorers. But the resort owners will make any efforts to keep up the standard we have. From our side, we will perform a regular quality assurance on spot. Unfortunately, dive transfers by boat to/from Moalboal cannot be provided anymore (except for bigger groups).
April-May 2009
From 29 April until 2 May 2009 for the first time the international "Festival mondial de l'image sous-marine" took place in Fribourg (Switzerland). 414 pictures of 39 Photographers from several countries took part on that uw-photo competition. We are proud to announce that our longtime repeater and friend Fredy Brauchli from Switzerland won 2 awards with pictures from Dauin-Dumaguete.
