Bill Passmore - Blog

Welcome to 2018

1/5/2018

Well, finally an update not only to my blog but also to my website. Added some new photos to the photo page!

Was a great year diving here in Sosua with my friends at Divecenter Merlin. Met lots of new dive buddies and reconnected with a number of old ones. Was lucky enough to spend a LOT of time in the water this past year.

The Coral Restoration Project however, took a major hit from Hurricane Irma, followed closely by Hurricane Maria. We have since started to rebuild and repopulate the nurseries and will keep forging ahead. Thanks again to all of our sponsors.

Looking forward to the diving in 2018 complete with some new camera equipment. Never stop learning or experimenting! Going to set a reminder to update the website and blog monthly! Working on producing prints on high quality photo paper and mounted suitable for framing, a calendar for next year, and a coffee table book!

Have a fantastic 2018, enjoy every moment of it and I hope to see you in the water.

Save Our Reefs

Bill Passmore

Summer in Sosua

8/14/2017

Sousa in the summer. Low season and the tourists are gone, the town is quiet, and the ocean is calm and clear. The best time of our year to be out diving and enjoying the many wonders of our Atlantic paradise.

Been experimenting with all kinds of camera settings and lighting set-ups; some work and some look pretty bad! We are however, learning every day. We have started a monthly get together with a number of the photographers here on the N. Coast to share ideas and techniques so we all can learn and get better at our craft!

I am lucky to have had many good friends come to dive through these summer months. It's always a pleasure to see each of you again, dive, and enjoy some island hospitality afterwards.

The coral project is going well with some new nurseries established, and some of the domes repopulated. Many of the structures are really starting to become great examples of what is possible with a bit of work and determination. Thanks to all our sponsors, especially Divecenter Merlin, for your on-going support.

Managed to get in a short road trip to Manzanillo and dive on an amazing wall in Haitian waters. The corals are spectacular but sadly, due to overfishing, lack of regulations and enforcement of same, the fish life is almost non-existent. On an excellent note, Robinson and his crew at Galleon Divers in Monte Cristi have a super conservation program going on with co-operation of the local fishermen. Great to see!

A special thanks to Frank Genao for sharing a number of my photos on his facebook page: "Everything Cabarete & Coconut Telegraph"

Take care, dive safely, and Save Our Reefs,

Bill Passmore

March Highlights from Sosua

4/1/2017

Hello from Sousa on the North coast of the Dominican Republic. Turned out to be a busy and interesting month of March and as usual we have a short video of our diving highlights for you to enjoy.

Did the yearly trip to Las Vegas for the Nascar race at the start of the month and were lucky enough to be able to take in the wedding of our good friends Bob and Lisa at the Elvis Presley Wedding Chapel. Had a a blast and will not forget that wedding. Congrats to the happy couple

Back home to Sosua and got a couple dives in but then came down with a wicked illness. Ending up losing 12 pounds in a week and pretty much was confined to bed for a few days. All good now and back into the water.

Conditions have been a bit challenging due to the amount of rain and some storms but the ocean is starting to calm down now and the visibility is getting better. The coral growth over the past month has been nothing short of incredible. Photos coming in the next week!

Once again thanks to Divecenter Merlin and all our friends and fellow divers here in Sosua and across the rock!

Enjoy the video and please Help Save Our Oceans

Bill

The Diving is GREAT

3/6/2017

Hello from Sosua, the capitol of diving here on the North coast of the beautiful Dominican Republic.

After some wild storms that shifted a LOT of sand, the diving and the conditions are once again super here in our warm waters. We've been lucky enough to have great friends from Canada and Germany join us - and help with the coral restoration project - and looking forward to more good friends joining us in a few weeks from the USA!

Finally got the website updated so be sure and check out the new gallery in my store! Some great new photos form 2017! On that note, a huge shout out to Ikelite for the excellent customer service and warranty on my camera housing. Much appreciated.

Have to also extend a huge Thank-You to Divecenter Merlin Sosua for their on-going support of the Sosua Bay Rejuvenation Project, as well as to all our sponsors for your help. The corals are looking good and the nursery is thriving.

Off to Las Vegas in a couple days to take in the NASCAR race and then back to the diving.

Please leave a comment, say Hi, and THANKS, for helping to save our reefs

Bill

Curacao 2016

10/23/2016

Well, it's off on vacation!

Enough of this diving diving in the morning, relaxing in the afternoon, and visiting my favorite watering hole in the evening! Time to get on vacation for a week, dive in the morning, relax in the afternoon, and visit a watering hole in the evening!

It's off to Curacao :)

After the bus ride, and the taxi, we had a great flight on PAWA Dominicana. What other airline will the stewardesses give you a breast massage demonstration and they serve complimentary Rum and Cokes! Gotta love it!

Day 1 in Curacao at Sunscape Resort was pretty laid back. A sleep in and then did my check in at the dive shop. All good. Walked on down the beach quite a ways and did a little shopping, back to the resort for beverages and an excellent Italian dinner.

Day 2 started bright and early at Ocean Encounters dive shop! Great people, great facility and a super dive boat! 2 excellent dives here today and then some relaxing on the beach! Maybe some photos to follow! Off to shower and have dinner soon!

Going to be an excellent vacation!

Dive safe and save our reefs!

Bill

Centro Leon, Eyes, Jeff , Cousins, and Kids

9/19/2016

Wow - been a while since a blog post and there has been a lot going on, so - here we go!

First, I had the wonderful experience of having my photos displayed in Centro Leon in Santiago, a major gallery and museum in the Caribbean. The turnout was fantastic and I want to say a HUGE thank-you to everyone especially the people from Centro Leon, Adolfo Faringthon from Casa de Arte Sosua, and Andres Pastoriza from ADSS.

In early June a suffered a torn and detached retina. From the start of the symptoms to being completely blind in my left eye was less then 24 hours. Pretty wild. Fortunately, thanks to great friends and an amazing doctor, I was able to be operated on quickly and although the healing process was close to 11 weeks (no flying, no diving) my vision has been restored and all is back to normal. A huge thank-you to all who offed support and help through the process. Muchly appreciated.

Late August gave our group (The Sosua Bay Rejuvenation Project", the opportunity to dive and film a documentary with Jeff Corwin. Jeff is a noted environmentalist and TV personality who has hosted shows on Animal Planet and other networks. Jeff and his film crew joined us in Sosua Bay to document the coral regeneration project we have operating. Watch for the TV show coming later this fall.

Early September gave me the chance to dive with my favorite cousin I had never met - Bill Kaltenbach! Bill, his family and friends were on a cruise that stopped in Amber Cove for the day and we took the opportunity to meet and enjoy two dives in our warm waters. GREAT to meet him, dive with him and looking forward to having him come back for more underwater fun!

September also had us doing presentations to the children of the grade two class at The International School of Sosua. AMAZING! They are studying corals and were VERY attentive and asked GREAT questions! Super to see the ocean will be in great hands in the future.

Sitting in Canada right now as I type this. A quick trip to the Great White North for a wedding and also had the chance to stop in at Northwest Scuba in Edmonton and visit with Ken Holliday. WOW - the shop looks great and the staff are super friendly and knowledgeable. Be sue and stop by if you are in Edmonton and Ken and his staff will take care of all your needs.

Looking forward to getting back to the warmth in the Dominican Republic and back into the water to get busy on coral domes for our sponsors.

Have a great day, appreciate each and every day, and please help save our reefs.

Bill

Lots of Good Stuff - and one challenge

6/13/2016

This past month has been a very busy and very interesting one here in Sousa!

Thanks to the generous donation by the Pastoriza - Taveres family, the cannons are in the water and have created an amazing new multi-level dive here in out bay. Be sure and check out the great photo opportunities.

When you end this dive, you will be at the Staghorn Coral dome project, where we are repopulating the reef with corals from our nurseries. Follow this project on the Sosua Bay Rejuvenation Project facebook page and on my blog page here on my website.

Thank-you to the Pastoriza family for donating 5 new domes, one for each of their grandchildren. It will be pretty cool to be able to watch the corals grow over their lifetime. Nice to see the ocean will be in good hands for years to come.

June 6 marked the one year anniversary of our monthly beach and divesite clean-up. Thanks to everyone who has come out to help, to all our sponsors, and to all the dive shops for your involvement. We ARE making a difference.

June 9 to 23, Centro Leon - a major gallery in Santiago, is holding an exhibition of my underwater photos to raise awareness of our environment, of the beautiful diving we have here on the north coast, and of the benefits that diving can bring to the Dominican Republic. Thank-you to everyone involved for making this project a reality.

And the challenge: well I was diagnosed with a detached retina and had to undergo emergency surgery to repair it. Although it means no diving and no flying for 3 months or so, the operation seemed to go well and it is healing!

Thanks for reading, please explore my website, and dive safely and help save our reefs.

Bill

Sosua Bay Cannon Project

5/18/2016

With HUGE thanks to the Pastoriza - Tavares family, we have created a new dive site here in Sosua. A multi level dive for the more advanced divers and an easier dive for the less experienced. In fact, on a clear day you can see the cannons from a glass bottom boat! Watch the video to see the story of history being restored to the bay. Thanks to everyone who helped with this project.

Divesite Cleanup April

4/4/2016

Wow - an amazing day today. A massive thanks to Los Gringos Sosua for your sponsorship of the beach and divesite cleanup. The meal was amazing and the service was awesome! We all will be back.

Have to say thanks to all our other sponsors: Dive Cabarete, Aqua Adventures, Northern Coast Diving, Divecenter Merlin, The Dollar Shop, Playero, North Coast Design, The Checkpoint Bar and Snackshop, ADSS Sosua

Thank-you for helping to save our reefs and take care of our environment

Bill

Underwater Sosua

3/15/2016

Join me in a 3 1/2 minute photographic journey through the underwater world here in Sosua on the North coast of the Dominican Republic.