Just a couple of months into the new Komodo season and our shop is literally buzzing with activity. We almost have our full quota of staff in house and everyone is busy with a host of projects that are set to make this our finest season yet.
Kevin, our amazing manager has been working long and hard with the boat crews to refurb both our day boat, Diana and our budget liveaboard, Bali Prima. Diana has an extra engine, making her super speedy for reaching the best sites in the park. Bali Prima has had a complete overhaul; new kitchen, more spacious bathroom, complete with western toilet and shower, the sleeping area has been made more comfortable for our guests.
The Jaya crew, along with Martyn, are busily working on making the Jaya even more wonderful. There’s the essential maintenance which we systematically implement on all our boats, both for safety and comfort, but it’s the little things too. Re-padding mattresses for a better nights sleeps and refilling the bean bags on the sun deck, to ensure catching rays between dives is as relaxing as possible.
Marsel has been running the Bali Prima with all his gusto and lovable charm, but not only that, he is busily studying for his Instructor Course which he will be taking later on this year.
Steve is servicing all of our equipment to make sure it’s in great working order for all of our guests and teaching theory to our Indonesian interns.
Pit is busy planning out the schedule for all of DMTs who are joining Wicked for professional training this year. Not only that, she’s busy collating manta research data and preparing for our educational trips which will start later in the season.
Jo is arranging the next stage of our schools project, which will see us teaching the SSI Open Water course to 6 tourism school students, all of whom are native to Flores. She is also co-cordinating the community Reef Check pilot surveys, which are being sponsored by Reef Check Indonesia.
Gafur and Fauji are finishing up their Dive Guide course and refreshing their knowledge, as they prepare to begin guiding as dive professionals throughout this entire season at Wicked, and more to come, we hope.
Komodo intern, Yadi, is studying hard at around his half way stage in his Dive Guide course. The last few days have been busy; swim tests, preparing day boats, rescue skills practice and also guiding our staff to practice his skills.
Rinca intern, Sari, has just finished her exams at the local tourism school SMKN1. However, the studying doesn’t stop for Sari. She is joining us for an intern programme, which will see her being trained to become the first local, female Dive Guide in Labuan Bajo. Having completed numerous try dives, she is now studying theory for her Open Water Course.
DMT Ryan and Tom while not studying or selling trips in the shop, are helping to create a new display area in the shop to showcase all of our exciting ecological projects, complete with community mural.
And of course, our wonderful shop staff Melanie, May, and Rensi are making all of this possible for us by answering our many questions and arranging everything from tailors and engines. Our boat crews are effortlessly managing the logistics of our boat schedules, headed up by captains Yanto and Mo. They are without doubt the best support team we could ask for.
But, do you want to hear the best bit? While all this goes on and we busy ourselves with these tasks, the cultural exchange that is happening is something that money cannot buy. We hail from all over the world; the mountains of Flores, villages of Rinca and Komodo, the pirate area of Sulawesi, rainy UK, flat Holland and the US of A. We are one big team. We are teaching each other all day, language skills, cultural differences, history and stories from our lives. It’s an incredibly special thing to see and this big team defines what is at the core of Wicked Diving: we are one big family. We look forward to meeting you in 2014!
