Friday, February 28, 2014
Aldora Divers - Polar Express Part 2!
Here's our second part to the story of Aldora Divers' exploration of the Northwest end of the island finding new dive sites & "the sleeping shark caves" ...
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Sharky's Top Dive Op Recommendations...
There are over 100 dive operations on Cozumel, Mexico, with a wide range of size of operations and services.
The majority of them are very good at what they do.
Just deciding which one is right for your diving needs is the problem.
This is a very short list of ops that pretty much run the service and price gambit on the island.
I have either personally dove with these ops/people over the years,
received at least 10 personal recommendations or positive reviews and not negatives
or by observing the way the businesses are run and take care of their customers,
I feel confident in recommending them for your vacation diving on Cozumel...
...to be fair, in alphabetical order...
Aldora Divers - Dave Dillehay and crew are a full service, top notch dive operation complete with
their own property (Villa Aldora) & multiple boats to serve you.
Blue Angel Resort - (Casa Sharky) - Our current dive op and Cozumel home for many years.
Again,a full service dive op, located at the ocean front property. Multiple boats from fast 6-packs to larger 'cabin cruisers' for large groups.
www.blueangelresort.com
www.blueangelresort.com
BlueXTSea - Boutique diving at it's best! Christi Courtney and crew do an excellent job taking care
of your every need. Christi started this business about the same time we first started coming to the island.
I have observed her great management and customer service all these years and highly recommend this op.
www.bluexteadiving.com
of your every need. Christi started this business about the same time we first started coming to the island.
I have observed her great management and customer service all these years and highly recommend this op.
www.bluexteadiving.com
Bottom Time Divers - Raul Plates is the owner/divemaster extraordinaire of this one-man operation.
We used to dive with him many, many moons ago when he was with Blue Bubble who has changed owners several times over the years.He is extremely safety minded, a great guy and excellent at finding those little critters.
www.bottomtimedivers.net
We used to dive with him many, many moons ago when he was with Blue Bubble who has changed owners several times over the years.He is extremely safety minded, a great guy and excellent at finding those little critters.
www.bottomtimedivers.net
Dive with Martin - Our former dive op & a very good one. The only reason we left was for economic reasons. When El Cid bought La Ceiba and changed it to a time-share property, the priced us out and we moved up the street to Blue Angel and started taking advantage of the hotel/dive packages
www.divewithmartin.com
Living Underwater - Jeremy has one of the most highly rated dive ops by members of the Scubaboard and definitely warrants a mention here.
www.living-underwater.com
Scuba with Alison - Alsion is one of our long time, great independent ops that constantly gets rave reviews from loyal customers.
www.scubawithalison.com
ScubaTony - 'Scuba' Tony Anshutz is another one of those small operations doing a fantastic job on
www.divewithmartin.com
Living Underwater - Jeremy has one of the most highly rated dive ops by members of the Scubaboard and definitely warrants a mention here.
www.living-underwater.com
Scuba with Alison - Alsion is one of our long time, great independent ops that constantly gets rave reviews from loyal customers.
www.scubawithalison.com
ScubaTony - 'Scuba' Tony Anshutz is another one of those small operations doing a fantastic job on
the island. "I have never heard anyone say anything bad about Tony", a former 10 year island resident recently told me.
We have had a working relationship with Tony for a couple years now. He has helped us at Cozumel Radio by doing dive reports for us and is another one of those great people to be associated with on the island who runs a very well operated service.
www.scubatony.com
We have had a working relationship with Tony for a couple years now. He has helped us at Cozumel Radio by doing dive reports for us and is another one of those great people to be associated with on the island who runs a very well operated service.
www.scubatony.com
Link to our "Tips for Finding a Dive Op on Coz" YouTube segment
Friday, February 21, 2014
Our Story? ... Ok,...
Hola Tankers! Sharky here,..
The Shark Tank radio show is what happens when 2 passions collide at just the right time.
When most kids around the corn field of Illinois wanted to be cowboys and astronauts, I was fascinated by the world of radio. Besides, I had my own pony as a kid, so I already was a cowboy and the only way to be an astronaut in the '60's was to be a test pilot and I had no interest in flying.
Larry Lujack "Your loveable old Uncle Larr" at WLS in Chicago and local guys like 'Spike at the Mic' O'Dell just made the job seem so fun and it's all I wanted to do.
The fascination with radio first came to life at Blackhawk Jr. Collage in Moline, Ill. where after switching my major from commercial art to broadcasting, I became program director and station manager of WBAQ collage radio.
In 1980 I joined the U.S. Navy and not only worked part time for the American Forces Radio Service on Midway Islands, but that is where I also became a certified SCUBA diver...the other half of the equation.
I'm not sure who started it, Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau or Mike Nelson, but the interest in the ocean and diving came very young to this Midwestern kid.
I've always wanted to be a beach bum and to that end, discovered Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band in the '70's and became a Parrothead before that name was even coined.
So when I landed on Midway Island in the spring of 1981 and was told there was a SCUBA diving club on the island and you could get certified there, I was at Koral Kings dive club before my duffel bag was unpacked. Not only becoming certified, but also becoming elected as one of the officers to the dive club and running the club's dive shop in off hours from my regular job as a radioman, working part time for AFRS, hanging at the beach...and of course diving...lots of diving.
During all this time, from the time I was 17, until I started my architectural career, I was paying bills and making extra money working as a nightclub & occasionally mobile unit disc jockey doing High School dances and wedding receptions.
I always joke my first car was paid for by disco.
Jump forward to 1996, and after acquiring the nickname Sharky along he way, the lovely Mrs. Sharky and I decided to make our first trip the beautiful island of Cozumel...not knowing how much it would influence our lives..
We were hooked from the beginning and we've been making Cozumel our vacation home ever since.
Then somewhere around 2011 I became aware of an online radio station based on the island called, oddly enough, CozumelRadio.net.
An English speaking radio station for folks on the island and most importantly the Cozumelhaulics off the island to get an island fix any time they wanted by staying in touch through island ads, events calendars and local music along with an eclectic mix of beach music, reggae, classic rock, new country & classic pop hits.
In the spring of 2012, I met Annie Cheatham, the owner and operator of Cozumel Radio and later that summer approached her about doing a weekly show for the station.
To my delight she said yes and on September 12th, 2012 The Shark Tank radio show was officially launched to many positive reviews by the listeners.
Primarily a music based show, with holiday and special occasion themed shows and working off the motto, "not just beach music, but music FOR the beach", we took the format to a whole new level and folks really took to it.
The show became very successful with listener numbers jumping up every time it came on the air, and by popular demand we started not just running the show in it's regular 2pm (central) Wednesday afternoon spot, but doing a re-play of the show on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings to give folks who weren't able to tune in during work hours a chance to listen.
Even with those options I was constantly asked for a Podcasts or archived shows to be added to the website so fans could listen anytime...we were quite flattered.
By the spring of 2013, the success of the station and show had taken off to the point that we could no longer afford the music royalty fees that were based on listener hours.
Quite simply, we became a victim of a catch 22 situation where the more listener hours we had, the more our operating costs were and generating enough sponsor money from the island to keep us running became an issue along with Annie leaving the island for a business opportunity in Texas, so we had to shut the 24 hour stream down.
I am now co-owner of the radio station with Annie, and the long term plan is to restart the full time streaming radio station again, with The Shark Tank radio show returning in it's full glory as a weekly program, not just bringing back the great eclectic mix of music everyone loved, but also bringing you the best of Cozumel from the Plaza to Palancar.
There's an alternate plan in the works, but it's top secret...
Until then, we are bringing you the show pretty much as it would sound, just without the music.
Just think of our YouTube episodes and segments as what you would get after B.B.King's The Trill is Gone or Zac Brown Band's Knee Deep, or before we launched into Eric Clapton's Mainland Florida or Bob Marley's Trenchtown Rock.
If you haven't done so, become an official "Tanker" by 'following' this blog, as well as 'subscribing' to the YouTube channel and of course 'like' us on Facebook
...gracias amigos!
The Shark Tank radio show is what happens when 2 passions collide at just the right time.
When most kids around the corn field of Illinois wanted to be cowboys and astronauts, I was fascinated by the world of radio. Besides, I had my own pony as a kid, so I already was a cowboy and the only way to be an astronaut in the '60's was to be a test pilot and I had no interest in flying.
Larry Lujack "Your loveable old Uncle Larr" at WLS in Chicago and local guys like 'Spike at the Mic' O'Dell just made the job seem so fun and it's all I wanted to do.
The fascination with radio first came to life at Blackhawk Jr. Collage in Moline, Ill. where after switching my major from commercial art to broadcasting, I became program director and station manager of WBAQ collage radio.
In 1980 I joined the U.S. Navy and not only worked part time for the American Forces Radio Service on Midway Islands, but that is where I also became a certified SCUBA diver...the other half of the equation.
I'm not sure who started it, Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau or Mike Nelson, but the interest in the ocean and diving came very young to this Midwestern kid.
I've always wanted to be a beach bum and to that end, discovered Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band in the '70's and became a Parrothead before that name was even coined.
So when I landed on Midway Island in the spring of 1981 and was told there was a SCUBA diving club on the island and you could get certified there, I was at Koral Kings dive club before my duffel bag was unpacked. Not only becoming certified, but also becoming elected as one of the officers to the dive club and running the club's dive shop in off hours from my regular job as a radioman, working part time for AFRS, hanging at the beach...and of course diving...lots of diving.
During all this time, from the time I was 17, until I started my architectural career, I was paying bills and making extra money working as a nightclub & occasionally mobile unit disc jockey doing High School dances and wedding receptions.
I always joke my first car was paid for by disco.
Jump forward to 1996, and after acquiring the nickname Sharky along he way, the lovely Mrs. Sharky and I decided to make our first trip the beautiful island of Cozumel...not knowing how much it would influence our lives..
We were hooked from the beginning and we've been making Cozumel our vacation home ever since.
Then somewhere around 2011 I became aware of an online radio station based on the island called, oddly enough, CozumelRadio.net.
An English speaking radio station for folks on the island and most importantly the Cozumelhaulics off the island to get an island fix any time they wanted by staying in touch through island ads, events calendars and local music along with an eclectic mix of beach music, reggae, classic rock, new country & classic pop hits.
In the spring of 2012, I met Annie Cheatham, the owner and operator of Cozumel Radio and later that summer approached her about doing a weekly show for the station.
To my delight she said yes and on September 12th, 2012 The Shark Tank radio show was officially launched to many positive reviews by the listeners.
Primarily a music based show, with holiday and special occasion themed shows and working off the motto, "not just beach music, but music FOR the beach", we took the format to a whole new level and folks really took to it.
The show became very successful with listener numbers jumping up every time it came on the air, and by popular demand we started not just running the show in it's regular 2pm (central) Wednesday afternoon spot, but doing a re-play of the show on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings to give folks who weren't able to tune in during work hours a chance to listen.
Even with those options I was constantly asked for a Podcasts or archived shows to be added to the website so fans could listen anytime...we were quite flattered.
By the spring of 2013, the success of the station and show had taken off to the point that we could no longer afford the music royalty fees that were based on listener hours.
Quite simply, we became a victim of a catch 22 situation where the more listener hours we had, the more our operating costs were and generating enough sponsor money from the island to keep us running became an issue along with Annie leaving the island for a business opportunity in Texas, so we had to shut the 24 hour stream down.
I am now co-owner of the radio station with Annie, and the long term plan is to restart the full time streaming radio station again, with The Shark Tank radio show returning in it's full glory as a weekly program, not just bringing back the great eclectic mix of music everyone loved, but also bringing you the best of Cozumel from the Plaza to Palancar.
There's an alternate plan in the works, but it's top secret...
Until then, we are bringing you the show pretty much as it would sound, just without the music.
Just think of our YouTube episodes and segments as what you would get after B.B.King's The Trill is Gone or Zac Brown Band's Knee Deep, or before we launched into Eric Clapton's Mainland Florida or Bob Marley's Trenchtown Rock.
If you haven't done so, become an official "Tanker" by 'following' this blog, as well as 'subscribing' to the YouTube channel and of course 'like' us on Facebook
...gracias amigos!
Community and Events Calendar 2014- It's the "Lan'Shark Report"!
2014 Island Events 'n' stuff!
January 2014
February 2014
26th - March 5th - Carnival! Details Here!
March 2014
5th - Ash Wednesday - First day of Lent
16th - Chrysalis Group 2nd Annual 5k walk/run to help the children of Cozumel reach their full
potential through education. Details Here!
17th - St. Patrick's Day
21st - Benito Juarez's Birthday - National Holiday honoring president and leader of the
19th-Century Reform movement.
Banks and government offices will be closed.
Banks and government offices will be closed.
April 2014
13th - Palm Sunday
15th - 1st day of Passover
17th - Maundy Thursday "Holy Thursday" - bank holiday
15th - 1st day of Passover
17th - Maundy Thursday "Holy Thursday" - bank holiday
18th - Good Friday - bank holiday
19th - Holy Saturday
19th - Holy Saturday
20th - Easter Sunday
28th - May 3rd -Feria del Cedral - Cedral Festival - The anniversary of the first Catholic mass in
Mexico, which was celebrated in El Cedral. A more than 150 year old tradition, the fair at
El CedraL is held every year during the first week of May to commemorate the Day of the
Holy Cross, honoring the safe passage of the 11 founding families who fled the mainland to
Cozumel in 1848 during La Guerra de Castas (The Caste War).
Residents and visitors can enjoy the many food stands, games, dancing and shopping displays
throughout this week-long festival. Particularly of note are the “Head of the Boar” and “The
Ribbons” traditional dances which are performed on May 3, Day of the Holy Cross (DÃa de la
Santa Cruz). The event also features cattle exhibitions, races, rides and bullfights.
Mexico, which was celebrated in El Cedral. A more than 150 year old tradition, the fair at
El CedraL is held every year during the first week of May to commemorate the Day of the
Holy Cross, honoring the safe passage of the 11 founding families who fled the mainland to
Cozumel in 1848 during La Guerra de Castas (The Caste War).
Residents and visitors can enjoy the many food stands, games, dancing and shopping displays
throughout this week-long festival. Particularly of note are the “Head of the Boar” and “The
Ribbons” traditional dances which are performed on May 3, Day of the Holy Cross (DÃa de la
Santa Cruz). The event also features cattle exhibitions, races, rides and bullfights.
May 2014
1st - 15th - Sharky's Big Cozumel Adventure 2014!
5th - Cinco de Mayo - locals in Cozumel remember Mexico's victorious battle at Puebla, when the French were defeated. This is a national holiday and the cause for much celebrations, including street parties and an impressive fireworks display at the end of the day
11th - Dia del Madre (Mother's Day), mothers around Cozumel can expect to receive flowers and more on this special day
16th - 18th - Rodeo de Launchas Mexicanas fishing tournament -
Official website
17th-18th - AEROSHOW COZUMEL 2014 will include for the first time with the ENTHUSIASTIC participation of the AIR SHOW Team, who presented RADIO CONTROL airplanes more big there in our country, two PIPER scale 50% and 60%.
17th-18th - AEROSHOW COZUMEL 2014 will include for the first time with the ENTHUSIASTIC participation of the AIR SHOW Team, who presented RADIO CONTROL airplanes more big there in our country, two PIPER scale 50% and 60%.
June 2014
July 2014
4th - Independence Day U.S.
July 2014
August 2014
September 2014
16th - Independence Day, Mexico
28th - Sharky's 25th annual 29th Birthday :-)
October 2014
November 2014
27th -Thanksgiving - U.S.
December 2014
25th - Christmas Day
Cozumel Fishing Schedule...
What's biting & when!
January: Amberjack, Barracuda, Bonito, Grouper, Mackerel,
Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
February: Amberjack, Barracuda, Bonito, Grouper, Mackerel,
Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
March: Sailfish, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito, Grouper,
Mackerel, Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
April: Sailfish, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito, Mackerel,
Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
May: Sailfish, Blue Marlin, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito,
Mackerel, Shark, Tuna, Wahoo.
June: Sailfish, Blue Marlin, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito,
Mackerel, Shark, Tuna, Wahoo.
July: Sailfish, Blue Marlin, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito,
Mackerel, Shark, Tuna, Wahoo.
August: Sailfish, Blue Marlin, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito,
Mackerel, Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
September: Amberjack, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito,
Mackerel, Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
October: Amberjack, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito, Mackerel,
Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
November: Amberjack, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito, Mackerel,
Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
December: Amberjack, Mahi-Mahi, Barracuda, Bonito, Mackerel,
Shark, Snapper, Tuna, Wahoo.
Chrysalis Group 2nd Annual 5k Walk/Run..
Click below for the full scoop!:
The Shark Tank radio show!
Sunday, March 16th, 2014
The Links:
Information
can be found on their Facebook pages:
The Chrysalis Group website:
www.cozumelchrysalisgroup.org/
Register here! For yourself or to sponsor a youth athlete!
www.payitsquare.com/collect-page/23861
search for “5k walk”
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