Did you hear what they said about Castaway Scuba?

June 2008

Hey Marta, I know you are probably up to your eyeballs going through emails, voicemails, and paper, but I wanted to send you a quick note to again tell you how much Debra and I enjoyed the Dominica trip. Your efforts in coordinating all of the arrangements, traveling with us, and just your personal presence made this trip that much more special for us as this was and is a special time in our lives. We could not have asked for anything better and truly value your friendship. Have a great day there Martalicious! Brice

July 2007

Hey Marta,

Wanted to drop you a line yesterday about the Keys trip, but was a bit overwhelmed when we got back. We had a blast! The accommodations were one of the best we have had on a dive trip and it was a great 29th Anniversary for Debra and myself. The boat Capt, Howard was probably one of the nicest Capt's we ever met, and though the currents were not cooperating, he still found us some good sites to dive and it was a very pleasant and relaxing trip. Really nice boat too. We enjoyed all of our Castaway buddies too, it was like a family get together. Harry Levy, his wife Dee, Debra and I even ate in a restaurant called Castaway's! Super trip and one we would definitely go on again. We'll see you on the 31st.

Brice

Hi Marta,

I just wanted to tell you that I'm completely impressed with the service in your store. I had been looking for a shop to work with since I am an instructor over in Brevard at Cape Canaveral. I work here in Orlando in University Corp Park and have students here also. I had visited two other shops in the area and found yours to be the perfect fit. I was totally impressed with Jamie (I think that's his name) and the other gal in there. They are such nice people and wanted to do nothing but please us. I've already sent 3 of my former students there for rental equipment and it went quite smoothly. Plus I sent one more certified one there and because he'd lost his C card, Jamie and I worked thru it.

I'm also happy to know you have Sherwood. My reg is a Sherwood and I currently have to drive about 30 miles one way to have it serviced at Hatt's in Melbourne. No more of that. Plan on bringing it to you from now on.

So there you have it. Glad we found you and your shop. I'd like to keep working with you and meet you some time.

Sharon

Marta,

Re: the Mardi Gras Party-------Wanted to take a moment and say “thank you” for a GREAT time last night!! I really had a blast. It was nice to see some old friends and make a few new ones. Great time was had by all!!! Thanks again for a great evening!!! DKS

Marta,

As always, great party. Thanks for hosting it and inviting us. cya

B & D

December 2006

Marta

I had mucho fun yesterday (on the Crystal River Manatee Trip)- a much needed solo mission for a busy rookie dad (just what I needed). And you were a top notch captain.

Best to you and yours for the holidays,

Eric

June 2006

Marta,

We enjoyed the great summary remarks about the Dominica trip on your website. You always write with such enthusiasm and humor. You really are good at this business. Both Nance and I would like to congratulate you on another wonderfully plan trip. Everything went extremely well and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. You made a great choice of locations once again. We are so thankful you have such energy for putting together these trips. We truly love them. Never feel more alive than on one of your trips. Thank you.

Danc'n CudaBoy

July 3, 2006

Debra and I did enjoy the heck out of the Keys, and will definitely go again. Thank you for that trip, and doing all of the planning, making the reservations and boat arrangements. It was a memorable event for us. TTYL

Brice

February 18, 2006

It was 82 on the surface and about 73 in the water. The visibility was excellent, and we drifted out in a fairly mild current. The first dive was at Captain Curl (or Pearl) and we saw a couple of nurse sharks, some turtles, a puffer fish, large schools of all kinds of fish and the Dive Master from the boat caught about 8 lobsters. The second dive was on Logger Head and it was awesome! Saw 4 more nurse sharks, one that turned out of the reef and came between three of us, about 5-7 feet long!!!! We also saw a turtle that was the size of a Volkswagen, well, maybe not that big, but he must have been very old, as he looked like a swimming reef with all of the growths on him. Afterwards we had dinner at The Crab Shack. This was a great trip and looking forward to doing it again.

Brice

I tell everyone I know about Castaway Scuba. Larry's class was the best decision I ever made. Larry is a fantastic instructor. The kids loved him. He made all six of us feel safe. We were comfortable with diving as long as he was close by. For that matter, you were all great. Marta, from the moment I walked into your store, it felt right. You have a wonderful group working with you. And believe me, I checked around - including Scuba World.
Nancy

May 16, 2005

To Marta: Thanks a bunch! BTW: I wanted to thank you for being such a good "instructor". The dive crew in St. Thomas actually complimented me on being a good diver, and I have to credit most of that to you. JB

Marta, I had such an AMAZING time this past weekend. Thanks for all of your wonderful planning efforts and allowing us to join in on the fun with a great group of people!

Thanks again, :-) Wendy

April 5, 2005

I just wanted to comment on how great Castaway scuba is. It is the greatest and most fun around! I'm glad I took a class with such smart and talented people! I hope to come back and dive with you all again.

Sincerely Deanna

March 29, 2005

Hi Marta, I was just visiting the website to see if you have an on-line store so Veronica can spend her $20 gift card she received at the Weeki Wachee egg hunt on Saturday. I’ll call the shop for suggestions on how to spend it. Veronica packed her bunny ears in her luggage for the return trip home. I like the U/W flashlight. We had so much fun on Saturday! It was the highlight of our trip last week. My father-in-law Charles enjoyed watching us through the theatre glass and from the deck while we were diving. He enjoyed the show and jungle cruise as well. Thanks for making us feel welcome and part of the group! I love the pictures which have been posted. I was using a Nikonos V, but Roger was taking digital so we’ll send you some pictures in the near future.

Thanks! Vivian A. Duff

November 7, 2004

Yesterday was mad cool and all in the group had a blast!

The journey down was all dive talk and all the way home was much of the same.

from "One Fin" aka Alex Diaz XL 106.7

Thank you so much for everything Marta.....I can't even tell you how much fun I had!!!! You've got me hooked!!!! You really made my diving experience comfortable. I'll email you the pics Sean took once he gets them to me. Thank you again Marta!!!!!

-AJ D Morning Show Assistant-Producer
The Doc & Johnny Morning Show
WXXL - XL 106.7 FM Orlando, FL
AJD@XL1067.com

5/17/04

Marta, Richard and Dawn,

I wanted to thank you all again for making our Open Water Certification enjoyable and fun.... the drift diving was great, we saw a nice ray and Chris had her first experience with being sea sick and diving...Dawn was great. Richard is a hoot, not a bad instructor either.... if I can swing the time off to take a scuba trip I would do it with Richard. Marta keep playing with your new computer system, thanks for your help pulling it together for us.

Dave and Chris Peterson

12/17/2003-

Happy Holidays to all the staff at Northwest Divers:
I was driving down east colonial one day and spotted a sign advertising northwest divers and decided to stop in to see what they were all about.
What I expected to find was just another dive shop. Instead what I found was a family of friends. My wife and I went on a dive trip with them (her a bubble watcher) at crystal river in 2001 where we met Marta, Larry and wild Rick. There we witnessed the best bunch of people concerned about kids, fun and safety. It was then that I decided that; this summer this is where my son will learn to scuba dive. Thank you for a wonderful summer with my son.
Thank you, northwest and Marry Christmas
PS: I can't leave out Dawn Williams (my sons hero) thanks!

James E Greer

Who could ask for more? The recent Northwest Divers excursion to Rainbow River marked my first dive in a slow moving spring-fed river waterway. While drifting along the relaxing 1 mile shallow-water ecosystem, our group encountered an impressive and diverse contrast of underwater topography ranging from thick saw grass beds, to barren sand and isolated pockets of sedimentary rock. Small boils dotted the riverbed along with a few open spring vents and a penetrable underwater cavern system that leached long jagged lines of tiny exhaust bubbles through cracks in its ceiling surface as explorers entered its restricted interior. These sites combined with local aquatic life such as large bass, brim, and small freshwater turtles presented just a few of the unique sites that could be observed all along this natural native-Florida river route. And … what better way to cap off a great dive like this than with an outdoor picnic, perfect weather, a group of good friends, and a hungry gang of burly tattooed bikers wanting their reserved picnic table back. Nope… It JUST doesn’t get any better than this!

-Frank 7/26/03

The dive trip began with a nice ride upstream the river. We were all sweating since we already wore our wetsuits. The Captain gave good hints where to go on our dive downstream, but I kept wondering if we would remember them under water. Especially such a description as "There is a spring on the right hand side of the river, directly in front of the those three houses." seemed pretty helpful. Somebody answered "So, the houses will be in sight from beneath the surface ..." as soon as we got into the water, everybody was excited - what a nice cool down. And we started to drift downstream. It was a gently relaxing dive. The fish were different and the river bed with grass to the sides was a nice landscape. Unfortunately I didn't find a turtle even though I really searched for them in the grass, but I heard that others had one. There were many little springs that I found interesting. They blew sand to little bubbles on the bottom what looked neat. But there were even bigger ones, one of them big enough to dive inside to see the cavern. After a nice drift of less than an hour we were back where we started and as I got out of my wetsuit, the burgers already "talked" on the grill. Marta had prepared well with burgers, hot dogs, salads, sodas ... only one piece missing: Decompression beer!!! Lucky me, I've asked her that in advance so I could prepare myself. But again, very little participation in this habit. Only my fellow Oliver - himself very familiar with the term deco-beer - joined me. Well, I will try again next time. Thanks to Marta for the delicious picnic!

-Marcel 7/26/03

I dove the river.
It was good.
I recommend it to others.
Don't argue, DO IT!

-Oliver 7/26/03

RAINBOW RIVER IS A VERY EASY DRIVE FROM ORLANDO BY TAKING FLORIDA TURNPIKE TO I-75. THEN TAKE EXIT 341 TO SR484 WHICH WILL LEAD TO SR41 AND SIGNS WILL LEAD YOU TO THE PARK. THE PARK IS WELL LAID OUT FOR FAMILY AND RECREATION TO INCLUDE SUNNING, BOATING, SWIMMING, TUBING, SNORKELING, SCUBA, PICNICKING, AND COOKING OUT ON THE CAMPGROUND GRILLS. THE ENTRY FEE IS A VERY MODEST $2 PER PERSON AND NO CHARGE FOR PARKING. REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A STATE PARK AND NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE ALLOWED AND THE FINE CAN BE VERY STIFF FOR VIOLATION. OUR SCUBA TRIP TOOK US BY PONTOON BOAT UPRIVER WHERE WE DONNED OUR GEAR IN THE WATER, THEN PROCEEDED DOWN-STREAM TO CHECK OUT THE NUMEROUS SPRINGS THAT ARE EASY TO FIND AND ENJOY. SOME OF THE SPRINGS ARE SUBTLE AND GURGLE WATER FROM SMALL OPENINGS THAT LOOK LIKE AND UNDERWATER ANTS NEST AND THE WATER FLOW IS BARELY PERCEPTIBLE; WHILE OTHER SPRINGS ARE GAPING SPLITS IN THE ROCKS WITH LARGE VOLUMES OF WATER ARE EASILY DETECTED. THE DRIFT TRIP TOOK ABOUT 1:20 MINUTES AND ALTHOUGH THE WATER WAS INITIALLY QUITE CHILLY, THAT WORE OFF VERY SOON AND THE TEMPERATURE WAS NOT AN ISSUE. VARIOUS FISHES TO INCLUDE BREAM, BASS, CATFISH, GAR AND OTHER SPECIES CAN BE SEEN AND IDENTIFIED THROUGHOUT THIS VERY PLEASURABLE RIVER SITE.

-Harry 7/26/03

I really enjoyed the Pompano diving, as this was some of the best Wreck diving I've ever been on. The first night in Pompano, a few of us proceeded to the Tiki Bar on site for a relaxing drink as we watched the enjoyed the yachts cruising by. The reef we dove on the first day had so many lobster I only wish it was lobster season, not like I've ever caught one, but.... I thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks show following a night wreck dive. I will say I'm becoming obsessed with wreck diving at night, it's just so mysterious. Saturday's diving was great as well, loved the Sea Emporer wreck, by far my favorite of all my dives. I'll definitely be back to Pompano.

Marta 7/14/03

The first night at the Tiki Bar felt really like vacation in the Caribbean to me - having some drinks and a nice warm breeze at 11pm, you have to imagine that even in summer time you already wear a sweat shirt at this time in Germany! The diving was really great: a wonderful temperature of the water. Exploring the wrecks felt just like being a little boy on a gorgeous playground again. The drift dives at the reefs were like watching TV. You lay back, relax and enjoy the show while the seafood passes by. This distraction can get you in some kind of decompression ... And you can't imagine what comes into your mind while you have to spend a quarter hour at a depth of 10 feet - I should have written it down ... Finally, I have to say I recommend everybody to remind themselves of Dramamine in order to have a relaxed day on the boat instead of being starved to death by the end of the boat trip :-) Unfortunately my American fellows were not really persuaded by the idea of a decompression beer, only Larry joined me. I think it will take several trips to teach these guys the important part about diving.

Marcel 7/14/03

I have searched the "web" and have never found a site that puts me where you've been!

Keep up the great work.

ER 6/2/03

THE BONAIRE TRIP IS PUNCTUATED BY BEAUTIFUL CORAL REEF ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND WHICH MAKES FOR EASY ENTRIES FROM ANY PART OF THE ISLAND. THE SEA LIFE IS SECOND TO NONE AND DIVERS CAN EXPECT TO SEE FROM MINNOW SIZED TROPICAL FISHES TO LARGE MORAYS, LARGE TARPON (THAT LIKE TO PLAY WITH THE DIVERS), AND ANY VARIETY OF CORAL REEF FISHES IN BETWEEN. THIS IS A PLACE TO GO, AT LEAST ONCE, TO EXPERIENCE THE DIVES OF A LIFETIME.
Harry L. 6/6/03

Awesome describes the whole trip in a word. The best dive was the night dive even though it was my 1st ever. Every sea animal you can imagine was seen on that dive. Although i was very nervous, everyone from the dive club made it a enjoyable experience. Spiegel Grove is just enormous. There is NO other word to describe it. You need to see it to appreciate it. I cant wait to go back. The folks from Rainbow Reef Dive Shop were good folks and very knowledgeable of the area. I would recommend them again, although I wish the big boat was faster. Thank you Marta for setting up the trip. I know you busted your Butt. Thanks also to Richard and Laura for letting me hang out with you and making me feel comfortable on my first dive in a long time. You guys are great. Talk to ya'll soon.~Larry

Well I just had a good time in general. I was good to get away for a few days. I'd have to say my memorable part was catching that lobster and seeing that turtle hanging out on the bottom of the reef. I can’t believe I missed Harry falling off the boat. It looks like everything good happened after I left.~John D.

Becky and I had a great time and took total of 72 underwater pictures. Got a few great shots Saturday of 4 divers at the safety stop hanging on the line for fear of being whisked away by the swift currents at the Spiegel Grove. We got a great shot at the "Eagle" of an eel peering out one of the holes with wide open mouth and Becky's head next to it. The last dive, not sure of the reef name (Saturday afternoon after Spiegel Grove) we saw quite a lot - a medium size sea turtle, huge Stingray laying on the bottom, lots of beautiful reefs with lots of sea life swimming about. Hope to bring in the photo's to the shop once we get them back later this week. Again really enjoyed our time and hope to do another soon.

~Damien

SPRING BREAK (DIVING) FROM ISLAMORADA KEY by Harry Levy

FOR OUR “SPRING BREAK DIVE”, WE STAYED AT THE TROPICAL REEF RESORT, WHICH IS LOCATED AT MM 85 ON ISLAMORADA KEY AND IT CAN BE REACHED AFTER A 5 HOUR TRIP (AND 320 MILES) FROM ORLANDO. THE RESORT HAS 2 BOATS FOR DIVING; A “6 PACK” (GUESS HOW MANY DIVERS IT HOLDS) AND A PARTY BOAT THAT ACCOMMODATES UP TO 18, (BUT 12 REALLY COMFORTABLY). OUR (THE NORTHWEST DIVERS EXTRAORDINAIRE) FIRST DAY OF DIVING EXCURSIONS BEGAN ON THURSDAY WITH A VISIT TO THE “EAGLE”. FOR THOSE ON THE 6 PACK THIS WAS A SHORT 20 MINUTE RIDE BUT THE PARTY BOAT TOOK ABOUT 45 MINUTES TO REACH THE FREIGHTER WRECK WHICH IS LOCATED IN ABOUT 100 FEET, GIVE OR TAKE A FEW. SINCE THE WRECK IS BROKEN IN HALF THERE’S ACTUALLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE EITHER HALF IN-DEPTH (NO PUN INTENDED) IF THAT BE YOUR WISHES. EACH HALF IS OPEN FROM THE MAIN DECK DOWN TO THE KEEL AND SEALIFE PROLIFERATES EITHER HALF AND ANY AREA WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION. THE SECOND DIVE WAS ON “VICTORY REEF” AND THOSE OF US (HARRY) WHO ONLY HAD A “SHORTY” FOUND THE DIVE TO BE QUITE COLD, BUT THE VIS WAS ABOUT 40 FEET AND LOTS OF SEA LIFE INCLUDING A COUPLE OF LOBSTERS THAT COULDN’T HIDE FROM THE OBSERVANT EYES OF OUR DIVERS; ESPECIALLY JON WITH THE “BIG CATCH”. ON FRIDAY, THE EAGLE AND ANOTHER REEF CLOSE BY WERE DOVE, AND IT WAS THE STRONG WINDS AND CHOPPY SEAS THAT RELEGATED WHERE WE WENT FOR OUR DIVE. SO WE DECIDED TO STAY CLOSE RATHER THAN NOT DIVE AT ALL.

SATURDAY WAS THE DAY FOR DIVING THE “U.S.S. SPIEGEL GROVE (LSD-32)” AND EVERYONE WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DIVE WITH UTMOST ENTHUSIASM. IT WAS REACHED AFTER A 45 MINUTE HI-SPEED TRIP BECAUSE THE WRECK IS LOCATED PRETTY MUCH EAST OF KEY LARGO. BUT THE TRIP WAS WELL WORTH IT AND ALL DIVERS WERE GREETED WITH GREAT VISIBILITY, RELATIVELY WARM WATER, AND EVEN THOUGH THE CURRENT WAS NOT FORMIDABLE, IT WAS NOTICEABLE. THE WRECK WAS ALIVE WITH LARGE GROUPER AS WELL AS DOWN TO THE SMALLEST ARROW CRAB AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. “SOME” OF THE DIVERS HAD TO GO PLAY IN THE SAND, WHILE OTHERS WERE BUSY LOOKING INTO THE VARIOUS PORTS, DOORWAYS, AND OTHER OPENINGS TO SEE WHAT HAD TAKEN UP RESIDENCE INSIDE. THIS IS A SPECTACULAR DIVE AND SHOULD NOT BE MISSED WHEN COMING TO THE KEYS FOR ANY DIVE EXPEDITIONS. THE SECOND DIVE WAS DONE ON FRENCH REEF THAT BOASTS A NATURAL CORAL CAVE. BUT AS THE DIVE MASTER CAUTIONED, MAKE SURE THAT YOUR EYES ARE ACCLIMATED TO THE DIMMED VISIBILITY AND ENTER THE CAVE WITH YOUR ON, BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT MIGHT BE SLEEPING IN THE CAVE AND YOU AND THE RESIDENT MAY BOTH BE SURPRISED. WHILE ON THIS REEF, WE SAW A LARGE STINGRAY, AND EVEN HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO SEE SOME STONEFISH, WHICH WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW DIVERS WHAT NOT TO TOUCH!OUR DIVE DAY ENDED WITH A NIGHT DIVE ON DAVY CROCKER REEF. WE SAW NURSE SHARKS, LOTS OF SMALL LOBSTER, FAR TOO FAST TO CATCH; SCHOOLS OF YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER, MORAYS, CRABS, LARGE TURTLE, AND TOO MANY MORE SEALIFE TO LIST. THIS WAS A SPECTACULAR DIVE TO SAY THE LEAST. BUT WHEN WE CAME UP; SURPRISE, SURPRISE; THE DIVE BOAT WAS A COUPLE HUNDRED YARDS AWAY AND IT WAS A SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT TO GET BACK.

BY THE WAY, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT JOHN DOING A GREAT ENTRY FROM THE GUNNEL OF THE 6 PACK DIVE BOAT FOR THE FIRST DIVE? ONLY PROBLEM WAS THAT THE CAPTAIN WAS EXPLAINING THE ENTRY AND JOHN WAS EXERCISING THE ENTRY, EXCEPT IT WAS A LITTLE BIT PREMATURE. IN ADDITION, DID YOU HEAR THAT HARRY ALSO LEFT THE 6 PACK EARLY? YEP, ON THE SPEIGEL, FELL RIGHT IN FROM THE GUNNEL WITH FINS AND MASK IN HAND WHEN THE CAPTAIN WALKED TO REAR OF THE BOAT AND A WAVE SIMULTANEOUSLY CAUGHT THE BOAT; AND HARRY WAS UNCEREMONIOUSLY IN THE WATER. GOOD THING WE HAVE CLASS ON DONNING EQUIPMENT WHILE IN THE WATER!

The Spiegel Grove is BIG. That's the main thing, I think. When I dove it there wasn't much current which made the dive great! We saw large grouper and some small crustaceans-fairy shrimp, Arrow crab; French Reef/Christmas Tree Cave was gorgeous. Big stingrays, turtle, grouper, lots of reef fish. The Eagle was also fun-much calmer than last year when we tried to dive it.~Elenita B.