Where are you traveling? We’re probably there!

Alas, summer is approaching, time for trips to the beach, blockbuster movies and scuba diving vacations…time to escape to a new and exciting destination - Orlando, Florida; Bahamas; Toronto; San Diego, California; Brazil; Italy; Malaysia – anywhere!

Choice Hotels , a sponsor of PADI Diving Society, has over 5800 participating properties worldwide and probably has properties wherever your want to travel. PADI Diving Society members can take advantage of a 15 percent discount* at participating Choice Hotels. Visit the online benefits directory or look for the ad on page 17 of the PADI Diving Society Member Handbook.

Stay between May 21st and August 13th and earn points towards a $50 cash card or double the Choice Privileges® points visit www.choiceprivileges.com for details.

If you do not already belong to the Choice Privileges program go to www.choiceprivileges.com/signup/PADIDS to join today. It is FREE! Members can redeem points for free nights worldwide, Airline Rewards, gift cards and more! Not a PADI Diving Society Member? Join Today!

Remember to reference both your PADI Diving Society Special Rate Identification and your personal Choice Privileges member number when making reservations.

Going on vacation has never been so rewarding!

*Discount subject to availablity.

More from Total Sub!

Ahoy Mates...

Pictured: Larry and Traci of PADI Travel Network

Day Two: May 9th
The guests begin to arrive, anxious to see old friends and meet new ones. They are ready to start diving and exploring the Cayman seas. The guests are divided into teams which allow us to denote who dives when and where. I’m the team leader for the Blue Team!

Day Three: May 10th
Sunday morning the Blue Team headed out to the Trinity Caves know for its swim-throughs, which for me was a first time experience. Throughout the swim-throughs we found tube sponges, seafans and schools of Fairy Basset which reminded me of my father’s fish tank.

Day Four: May 11th - Day of the Pirates!
Before diving off into the Caribbean Sea our Divemaster Freddy explains the story behind each dive site. On Monday we came upon a site called Bonnie’s Arch. One of the many speculated stories was that a heartbroken woman named Bonnie jumped off the cliffs surrounding the known site. Her memory lives beyond the shadows of the arch and her beauty surrounds the amazing coral garden along the top of the reefs. As I took my long stride off the boat and descended toward the arch, I felt a calm awakening while my body floated effortlessly though the water. The arch was guarded by a salt water alligator – another mystery of the arch that you’ll have to come see for yourself. Swimming underneath the arch was a large Parrot Fish that seemed to also be protecting this infamous site or possibly protecting Bonnie from the perils of a broken heart.

That night the PADI staff hosted a Pirates of Cayman Costume Party and Contest at My Bar at Sunset House. Everyone decked out in their best pirates attire and attempted to speak like pirates- argg! Those that didn’t come wearing a pirates costume were told to walk the plank.

We started the festivities with a treasure hunt around the Sunset House property. Each guest came back with an 10th Anniversary Total Sub Duck- collector’s edition, and redeemed it for a fabulous prize.

Afterwards our pirates and wenches came forth for the costume contest.Randy Meyer and wife, Jeri Cooper-Meyer won the best Cayman Pirate and Wench with their homemade costumes, pictured left.




Check out Ty Sawyer's Pirate Party Blog on Sportdiver.com! Pictured: Ty Sawyer and Me!!! Argg -
Stay tuned for more…


Click Here to read Day One!

Ajá Reneé Smith
Marketing Consultant, PADI Diving Society

Be a part of history - cast your vote for the New 7 Wonders of Nature The New 7 Wonders of Nature contest is a modern spin on the original Seven Natural Wonders of the World where the people choose the global vote. Every vote helps preserve and protect the environment and the campaign will help raise awareness and appreciation for the world's natural beauty. Only natural sites - not those created by humans or altered by humans - are eligible. The finalists are in one of seven categories: Group A - Landscapes and ice formations Group B - Islands Group C - Mountains and volcanoes Group D - Caves, rock formations and valleys Group E - Forests, national parks and nature reserves Group F - Lakes, rivers and waterfall Group G - Seascapes People around the world will cut the 261 qualified nominees to 77 on 7 July 2009 - you can vote now so make sure your voice can be heard. You can even see where your favorite site is ranked. On 7 July 2009, an expert panel under the leadership of Dr. Federico Mayor (the former Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) will select 21 finalists from the Top 77 nominees. These 21 finalists will be put to popular vote in July 2009. Voting will continue until 2011.

Sunset at Total Sub

Day One: May 8th 2009

I’m sitting in my hotel room at Sunset House after an amazing day of diving off the shores of Grand Cayman trying to relax before heading out to see the sunset. I’m here co-hosting PADI Diving Society’s Tenth Annual Total Submersion Dive Festival. Each year Society members come to Sunset House for seven nights and eight days of diving, specialty clinics, trips to Stingray City, special guest, meeting up with old friends and more. Not only is this my first Total Submersion event, but it’s also my first warm-water dive.

The guest of Total Sub don’t arrive until tomorrow so I used the opportunity to get acclimated with the diving and meet the staff of Sunset Divers who would be in charge of all diving activities throughout the week. My dive buddies this morning were Traci from PADI Travel Network and her husband, Larry. We excitedly boarded the Eagle Ray Boat with Captain Ivan and Lauren of Sunset Divers and in no time we were off diving!
The first dive site was Eagle Ray Rock which is on the west side of the southwest point of the Island. We dropped above a wall that began at 55 feet and continued on a vertical drop. From the moment I descended I couldn’t believe how clear the water was. I turned up to look back at the boat and at 60 feet I could see it glimmering in the sunlight. This particular dive site was filled with colorful sponges, coral and sea fans. As we toured around the coral I found myself letting my arms extend out to the side as if I was flying. I wiggled my gloveless hands and felt the freedom of this underwater world. Not only was I appreciating the beauty of this dive site, but I really started to appreciate the cold-water diving back at home in California. There’s a big difference between the reefs and warm water of Cayman compared to the Kelp Forest at Catalina Island off of California’s coast, but that’s the beauty of diving – no mater when and where you dive you can always find something spectacular about that site that you can’t always find somewhere else.

We left Eagle Ray Rock and headed to our next dive site at Armchair Reef. The reef begins at around 20 feet and is a great spot for those that want to do shallow water diving, the deepest area of the reef is at about 65 feet. I was fortunate enough to see my first French Angelfish and followed it for a bit as I was mesmerized by its big yellow eyes. I believe that my dive buddy took a photo of me next to the fish which I’ll have to find and post later! I also saw a tiny Spotted Drum, Trumpet fish and Juvenile Fish and spotting them made me realize how important it is to have an underwater camera. How else would I be able to capture these images and show them to my friends and family back at home? Fortunately on my next dive I will, as Olympus USA has generously supplied cameras for Total Sub staff and guests to try!

I’m looking forward to the guest arriving tomorrow and diving (and photographing) the other many dive spots of Cayman. Stay tuned for more…

And don’t forget to check out Ty Sawyer’s blog who is our special guest at Total Sub.

Click here for my next blog on Total Sub!

Ajá Reneé Smith
Marketing Consultant, PADI Diving Society