There Lies The Port

This local dog looks like a mashup between a pit bull and a dachshund.

I’ve started calling him Stubbs.

…..but this video has been important to me.

As many of you may know I have been in Utila, the Bay Islands of Honduras, since early July. It has been a wonderful time of learning and hard work for me.

Since arriving, however, I have seen something disappointing: the locals often lack the resources to experience the beauty of the undersea resources that mean so much to their community. It’s like living near the Grand Canyon and never being able to look into the beauty.

The young men and women that work at our dive shop cafe and see us excited to have seen the underwater world, high-fiving each other when the boat returns. What about them?

I have spoken to Utilans that wish they could learn to dive. But let’s face it, diving can be expensive.

On another occasion, I chatted with a Honduran instructor that lamented the lack of Hondurans working in the industry here.

After some thought and consulting with friends, family and dive professionals that I trust, I have started a GoFundMe to raise funds for the purpose of helping Utilans experience the undersea world.

Please see more at this link.

gf.me/u/vtr4pi

The funds would be used to provide simple guided dives to expose Utilans to their undersea world, or provide opportunities to individuals to be qualified Open Water Scuba Divers, or perhaps even helping those that excel to become Divemasters and work in the industry themselves. All of these would become ambassadors to their fellow citizens to appreciate and protect their precious resources here.

I know everyone has budget constraints or perhaps other charities that are priorities to them. I certainly don’t want to crowd out those priorities and applaud any charitable giving of time, money or talents. But this means something to me, and I hope it strikes a chord with you.

My pledge to you is that any funds raised will be allocated on an equitable and transparent basis. Regardless of the size, large or small, that is raised here, I will make sure the funds are used for the purpose intended. To that end, I will enlist the help of several people here to help me allocate any funds in the most effective way possible.

We will seek to drive bargains on the costs and choose candidates that will have the most chance of success and appreciation.

I appreciate your reading this and your consideration.

All The Best,

Elliott

www.thereliestheport.com

It’s been raining a lot more…this is the rainy season.

Check out the 7am rain fashions.

So when diving, you can’t talk underwater, so we use hand signals. But before we can do that, we have to get our fellow divers attention.

There are a variety of ways to do that. The most common and accepted is to repeatedly open and close a bolt snap.

That makes a clicking noise. Over the course of a dive or teaching session, we do it probably 50 times.

Unfortunately, when your skin is soft and wet, you end up with pretty torn up thumbs. That’s in addition to the wEar and tear on your hands from other snaps, cables, cords and straps.

Then you get what my thumbs look like after a heavy few days of diving and teaching.

https://www.pnj.com/story/sports/outdoors/fishing/2017/05/20/pensacola-lionfish-festival-targets-invasive-species/101871416/

I can attest, based on videos that I have seen, that the Gulf Coast has a big problem.

Calling all area divers: get trained in Lionfish Hunting, get down to Pensacola and go catch some. They make great ceviche. My roommate has breaded them up for fried fish too.

They are not as visible here in Utila. They are extensively hunted here. BUT, we suspect they have gone deep where there are fewer divers. We hold hunting classes about every week.

Here’s a shout out to all my friends on 19 at the Big Red Machine.

Miss you guys and the occasional trip to Papillon!

I guess Casa Lever has closed the outside for awhile now.

For those that are curious, here is the weather variation here.

More here: