Sebastian & Anne-Marieke ~  Chris McCandlish  ~  Debbie Redshaw   ~ Ted Dixon  ~ Jaliyllah Rosati

Sebastian & Anne-Marieke: After 4 years fulltime diving, two years in Malta and the last two at Dive Provo we went back to Europe. We started off with a motorbike tour for about three months through the south of Europe to try and figure out what we wanted to do next. At a sunny terras in Corsica we decided that we would like to go back to Amsterdam, get a more normal job again and enjoy city live, have more time to go touring on the bikes, and so on.

I found a job at the head office of Tommy Hilfiger here in Amsterdam, were I now still work as an ICT coordinator, responsible for a few global computer systems.

Anne-Marieke ended up working as a assistant producer for several Dutch television series. Since the last show is finished she is now looking for some new work. But she is not in a big hurry to get a new job since we expect a little girl somewhere in April!

Concerning the planned motorbike trips, besides multiple daytrips on and off-road, we have done a few weeks tour through the French and Swiss Alps, but the latest and most spectacular was our last trip. A three week journey through the Indian Himalaya.
Crossing the highest motorable roads and passes in the world, on a Indian build 500 cc Royal Endfield Bullet! And diving ? Last year we bought two new dry-suits and went back to Malta to do some diving there again. So only 10 dives since we left Provo... :( So it is about time again.

Greetings,

Sebastian & Anne-Marieke

Chris McCandlish - English PADI, CMAS, HSA and BSAC Instructor from London and graduate from The European Diving Centre in Turkey, first appeared at Dive Provo in 2002.

He made his mark immediately by driving the Octobus, full of guests into Alan's truck. On his first day. While Alan was sitting in the truck....Even though he managed to get himself lost on the wall in Grace Bay and when it came to anything mechanical turned out to be as useful as a one legged man in an arse kicking competition, Alan and Clare kept him for entertainment value and the fact that he talked more than anyone else and ensured particularly annoying divers couldn't get a word in edgeways.

He left after two years to go an annoy the French on the island of St Martin and returned in 2008 for a second 2 year stint once Alan and Clare's memory had faded enough.

Began his second tenure in much the same way he started his first, this time by calling Alan at 3.00am from a bar by continually sitting on his phone and activating the redial. Only the fact that it was his day off the following day saved him from Alan drowning him. Can still talk uninterrupted for three hours on a single breath.

Famous for ridiculous stories he tells clients, favourites include : Gorilla sanctuary on West Caicos, Geyser at North West Point, flying fish are actually juvenile Caribbean penguins and that French Cay was a Nuclear Testing area for France after they got kicked out of the South Pacific.

Debbie Redshaw: Congratulations Dive Provo!! On reaching your 20th year in business!! I can, now, truly appreciate how such a job can seem so easy but by the same time be totally consuming……in a good way of course!!

I don’t think I’ll ever forget my first experience on the island and to say it will stay with me for the rest of my life is a bit of an understatement!! The first morning of my stay saw me awake at (stupid) O’clock to a brilliantly sunny day, and I can vividly remember looking out of the house to a colour sea I had never seen before….was it real?? Soon I found it was, and the job with Alan and Clare saw me diving and snorkeling in the very same water that mesmerized me from day one. As part of my stay on Provo I was tasked with working in the shop, and working on the boat so, in a way, I had the best of both worlds. This meant I already had a good working knowledge of Dive Provo’s customers, so I knew a lot about them by the time came to dive and share my experienced with them in the water.

I decided to leave Dive Provo after four years and now have my own dive business in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK. As I said before it’s not easy but I can say that I am one of those fortunate people who actually like going to work. It does look idealistic when I put on an (old) Dive Provo DVD and remember what it was like, sunny, warm and the best diving in the world!! I must say that on (only certain) days a dive in the North Sea can leave you only slightly longing for a trip to North West point or Grace Bay!!

I have been involved in The Diving Centre Newcastle for four years now, and although it is a long winter here in the North East of England, the diving does get better around the spring and summer months (honest)!! I have decided that the time has come and I am planning a trip to Dive Provo for the end of this year, with some customers of my own. We are really looking forward to it, especially having people pamper us with stunning dives, enjoying the local atmosphere and tell all the tales with a cool drink at the end of the day.

Best wishes for the Future!!
Debbie Redshaw

Ted Dixon: Congratulation to Dive Provo- and Alan and Clare for keeping her going for so long- Happy Anniversary- from Ted Dixon.

I came to Dive Provo in the early years- when she was first started by Ron Kipp (ex Bob Soto’s Diving in Grand Cayman) and John Englander (UNEXSO- Freeport Bahamas). My wife (now ex) Jane and I started as instructors for Dive Provo in about 1987- I became General Manager of DP soon after that. We had three dive boats including the Tres Amigos (named Provo Spirit) – we were always fixing boats just before the guests arrived- (I think that’s just the nature of the industry.)

We lived in Provo for about 8 years on our 40’ sailing yacht, Defiant- Jane and I left in 1999 to go to Cayman Brac to work as General Manager at Reef Divers- since then Jane and I split up- and I have met a fantastic lady from New Zealand- and this is now where I call home. I have lived in Auckland for about 9 years now, with Jenny (now my wife).

Growing older but not up- I work in a sort of related field (?)- I am a shareholder in Cobra Kayaks. Sit on top kayaks built in New Zealand and marketed through out the US, the Southern Hemisphere, Japan, and Europe. We also have a small range of rigid inflatable boats which we manufacture.

I still own Defiant- and sail her around New Zealand in the Bay of Islands. Sailing, boating, diving are still in my blood- there’s nothing as relaxing as a slow drift along the ocean floor or on her surface.

I know that Dive Provo and the Turks and Caicos Islands and people have touched a lot of other lives as well, and all have left some amazing memories and allow us some great stories to share.

I am thankful to have been able to have experienced a small part of the development of Dive Provo.

Happy Anniversary and the best of luck everyone there and to Clare and Alan Jardine.

Ted Dixon
 

About Jaliylah:

In August of 1990 the Ramada Turquoise Reef Resort opened its doors with Dive Provo as its on-site diving and watersports provider. We had exclusive use of the Resort's dock, one of only two on Grace Bay at that time, and ran our dive/watersports/retail/tour operations from a small shop in the lobby.

In October of that year we hired Jaliyllah Rosati to work in the shop, and for the next sixteen years, through the growth of Dive Provo and the Island, the move from the small shop to a much larger shop on the other side if the lobby, the construction of our pool-side Scuba Center, the eventual closing of the Turquoise Reef and morph to the all-inclusive Allegro Resort, the Allegro's closing and move to our new location in Ports of Call, Jaliyllah was there to welcome guests, sign up divers, snorkelers, students, windsurfers, sell gear, and generally annoy nearly everyone!

Finally, in the Spring of 2006, Jaliyllah retired from Dive Provo. She assisted at our local veterinary clinic for three years and has only recently really begun full retirement. When asked how she fills her days now, her usual answer is "Why, doing whatever I want
whenever I get ready!". We think her five dogs and seven cats plus "lunching with the girls" and her hip-hop dance class  probably take up much of her time. She does love to run into familiar faces from her years with Dive Provo, so when you're on Provo keep an eye out for her!