update 18 April

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Kia Orana all,

Well the good news is that the Ana is off the reef. Not refloated but rather hauled up onto the hard. Surprisingl,y little damage and still no clear reason why she went up in the first place. Sadly our little cat was hit by a car and lost a back leg. He did not make it through the combined trauma and surgery. Damm! He was a bloody good cat, almost up to dog standard.

In the visiting friends department we have had Paul Collins [e-mail] and family up over the Easter break. Many of you will remember Paul as Station Manager for Air New Zealand here for a number of years. He now owns and operates his own Travel Company in Auckland and handles all my travel arrangements.

On the Diving front, we have been able to access the South Coast a lot lately so naturally lots of repeat Divers and lots of neat Dives, the south coast really is where Diving in Rarotonga excels. No new nudibranchs lately although we are definitely seeing a lot more than we used to and Shane tells me that he almost has our new nudibranch poster completed.

I have recently been in NZ for my annual medical, plus a bit of business shopping. It was good to catch up with family and friends, most notably Lance who was in for a break from Malta.

It is ten years today since my mate Dave died, the dive industry here is not the same without him.

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Photos

fishing on the kaipara
A day out with Keith and Linda

more pets
now we have a pig

zero
Zero with Scruffy

Comments

[Caroline and Kevin]

Sadness about Dave
It is hard to believe it has been 10 years since you told us that Sarge had died. I know that he was an asset to the dive operation up there and that he is missed. And he was a good pal.

[turkishraf]

DAVE SIMMS
Well a few years must have gone by as Dave Simms was the person who inspired me to become a dive instructor. In true Dave style, he was talking to the girl that I was travelling with at the time, and in true Dave style she was not listening. I, on the other hand was. 15 years later, I have a healthy overdraft, five dogs, four landrovers (2 working) a wife and a dive centre. I think Dave would be proud of me.