When we got in touch with Glenn Faires, the Golden Rock Divers owner, little did we knew Glenn is also the inventor, designer and test pilot of Dive Glide, the world’s only underwater glider! When we asked Glenn what sets his dive shop apart from the others he said, "nothing; it’s a dive shop with tanks, compressors and dive gear ". But don't be mistaken, as you are about to find out, Glenn makes his point clearly enough. Running successfully a five-star dive centre for 20 years, he certainly knows what matters.
Saddle-shaped Sint Eustatius is dominated by its highest point - 602 m Quill volcano.
Photo: © Walter Hellebrand at nl.wikipedia
Words by Glenn Faires: If you are an extreme waterman/waterwoman what matters is does the dive shop know what they are doing? Will they listen to your questions and service your needs. When picking someone to dive with the most important thing is do you feel comfortable around them? The point of diving is to have a good time and to do that you should like the people you are doing it with. Diving with others is a shared experience that requires nothing more than to just take it all in together. The great dives that you remember and the less than great dives that you all learned from, this is what matters. Not how many boats we have, how long we have been doing it or what kind of gear we use. It’s about following your passion in whatever direction it takes you with people who have the same passions. It's not about the must see dive it’s about seeing the dive you are on now! At Golden Rock Divers in St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean it is our customers who help us follow our passions and sharing that with them is what matters to us.
Commonly you will come across turtles, sharks, sting rays, and all the normal Caribbean fish.
Like many divers it a journey first just mastering the whole breathing underwater part. Then you either get into teaching others, learning about marine life, and or all the cool toys. I have definitely been through all these levels and continue looking for the next passion to follow. I finally had to come up with a totally new one when after 8 years of testing I patented the world’s only recreational under water glider. This is a total new way of being in the water like you really belong there, and if speed, power and grace is for you then DiveGlide will likely be your next passion too.
So what's up with the DiveGlide? If your stoke revolves around water and especially under it. If you are on a constant journey to be a part of this extreme environment then you need to check this out. The world’s only underwater glider is here and it is like nothing you have ever done before! DiveGlide has been and still is being developed by surfer, diver, sailor, and underwater glider Glenn Faires on a small island somewhere in the Caribbean. This new form of diving comes from his lifelong passion for the sea.
DiveGlide has no batteries, makes no running noise and has speed and grace, it will set you free! For power it uses Scuba tanks and weights to create up or down energy and the wing converts this force to forward motion and maneuverability. There is a learning curve in flying through water and some skills are required, however anyone who wants to can do it just some do more with it than others. These unique gliders are being built by Glenn at his work shop on St. Eustatius. At the time of this article his shop and Flow Bonaire are the only places on the planet where you can fly one, there are several others in production and hope to have them out there soon. If you can't wait contact Glenn he can point you to the closest one or maybe you want to be the next to have one in your part of the world. Check www.diveglide.com for more.
If any of these sounds good to you check Golden Rock Divers out and see if you think you would like to follow your passion with them. You may also contact Glenn at grdiver@gmail.com should you be thinking of paying Statia a visit.
Photos: © GRDC
Source: http://www.goldenrockdive.com
