ScubaBoard Invasion 2015 Cozumel Trip Report
A few short weeks ago we wrapped up another wonderful Diving Social event, ScubaBoard's 15th Birthday Party Invasion was a blast!!!!!!Now for the details.
We (Cardzard and I) started the event planning by choosing Bay Adventures again for our travel agent for the 5th year in a row. They were there to take care of all the bookings for the group, answer questions, assist with travel insurance and airfares. I must say that Al and Felix did an exceptional job which made our planning so much easier. We and the SB members just love Bay Adventures!
We can not thank them enough for their efforts!!!!!!!!!
We chose Hotel Cozumel as the Invasion 2015 hosts. They did a wonderful job for the ScubaBoard Invasions 2011 and 2012 and were happy to take care of us again. They did a wonderful job from the very moment we stepped on the property. They welcomed us with a smile and a drink. Our room was ready, clean and worked well as a home away from home for the week. We felt the property was well maintained and spacious. Our group of 113 had plenty of room to spread out. You could sit, swim and relax with others or if you chose to be more private, there was more than enough room to do so. The staff were friendly and worked hard to take care of us. The food was good, plentiful, with nice variety and beautifully presented. They gave us a private welcoming cocktail party and and farewell dinner even providing ScubaBoard with a gorgeous cake for it's 15th birthday! They also surprised us with a Mariachi troupe who played while we ate! Enrique, Angel and the rest of the Hotel Cozumel staff did an outstanding job of taking care of our group! We can not thank them enough for their efforts!!!!!!!!!
For our fabulous diving we chose Apple and Dive Paradise as our Dive Op hosts. They worked with us in advance with information on the boats and preplanning. They had a additional staff at the docks to assist in loading our large group. The 1st morning was a little rough as to be expected, but everything went pretty smooth after that. The only hold ups after that was if a crew member was late in getting to the boat. (we won't name names, uhm Jim, lol) We had 92 divers and they handled us beautifully and efficiently. Kudos, kudos, kudos! We had great DM’s and Captains for the week who took us on many fantastic dives. They were even great helping us to load and unload our gear at the beginning and ending of the day. The boats went at a steady pace (I know some would prefer them to go faster). I liked the pace as I didn't need to hang on for dear life, fewer Crew had sea sickness issues and we was able to socialize with the changing dive crews each day.
The staff at Dive Paradise was top notch all week long and we can't thank them enough!!!!!!!!!
And thank you again to all the wonderful ScubaBoard Invasion 2015 Sponsors who donated almost $20,000 in Prizes for the Crew to win. Some prizes were simple raffled at the welcome and farewell parties and some were won in contests adding to the fun. We had prizes to give away like trips, gear, software, gift certificates and even 1 lucky crew member was surprised with their Invasion Package for free! Check out the Invasion Sponsor's Page for all the lucky winners.
What wonderful generosity and support from all of these great Invasion Sponsors. You Guys and Gals ROCK!!!
In closing, Cardzard (Dennis) and I want to Thank all the ScubaBoard Members, their Families and Friends who truly made this Invasion such a success. We couldn’t of asked for a better group of people! Everyone worked together, made new friends and were good to each other. What great ScubaBoard camaraderie! All the laughs and memories are priceless! We are currently putting together a final video from the event. Any of the Crew who would like to share their photos for the video and with others can post them at the account on shutterfy. If you forgot the password, just send us a PM. We also want to hear about your best top side and underwater moments. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sc...cozumel/510093-inquiring-minds-want-know.html
We’re heading to the Philippines for next year's ScubaBoard Invasion (ScubaBoard's Sweet 16 Birthday) and know we'll see some of you there!
Moonie and LuLu have already confirmed they will attend.
We have also started a new event series for the late Fall called the ScubaBoard SURGE (yes, we must be crazy) being held in Curacao and we know we'll see some of you there too! We love Diving Social and wouldn't want it any other way.
