If you've ever dived with Ambassador before, then you may have met me. I did my PADI Open-Water training there, as well as my PADI Rescue Diver training. I was almost done with my Divemaster training when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the Cayman Islands closed their borders and implemented a very strict curfew. I'm writing now to ask for help raising funds to keep Ambassador Divers in business. Since the Cayman Islands closed their borders on March 19 and mandated the closure of all non-essential businesses the following week, the tourism sector of the economy here has disintegrated. At this time, it appears that the borders will remain closed until January, 2021 at the earliest, as we wait for the pandemic to subside.Īmbassador Divers has been operating for 27 years, which makes them one of the oldest watersports companies in the Cayman Islands. One of the owners, Jason Washington, is a Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Honoree. If Ambassador can't weather this storm, then an important piece of diving history will be lost.īut that's not all, nor is it the most important thing. I dive with Ambassador regularly, and I'm supporting them now, because they are one of the premiere ocean conservation teams in the dive industry. GAINESVILLE IDIVE HOW TOĪmbassador Divers has gone to great lengths, at their own expense, to raise awareness and educate the public about the conditions of the oceans and reefs, the various species living in the Caribbean, and how to help preserve the ecosystem. Jason Washington has been instrumental in organizing the Cayman United Lionfish League (CULL) in an effort to remove an extremely destructive invasive species that has decimated native fish populations all up and down the East Coast of the US, in the Gulf of Mexico, throughout the Caribbean, and along the coast of South America. Jason also is responsible for bringing lionfish into the restaurant market. Because of that and CULL, the lionfish populations around the Cayman Islands have been held in check. In order to do the good work of ocean conservation, dive operations like Ambassador rely on the tourism industry, which brings recreational divers to the island. This year, however, the Cayman Islands' tourism industry was shut down right at the beginning of the high season (spring break in the US). And as far as anyone can tell, there will be no tourism in the Cayman Islands for the rest of this year. In fact, all of the hotels have shut down completely and announced that they will not reopen in 2020. As a result, Ambassador Divers must vacate their dive shops, which means they have to find a suitable place to store and maintain all their equipment. The boats also need maintenance, and there are slip fees to pay to keep them docked. Yet there has been no revenue since early March, nor will there be any for the rest of the year. Most importanly, several members of Ambassador Divers' staff were unable to leave the Cayman Islands before the borders closed. If Ambassador folds, then our favorite dive instructors will be stranded with no health insurance. That will leave them at greater risk regarding COVID-19 in a country where medical expenses are as high as in the U.S., if not higher. I will start this campaign with my own donation of $100. That's just the cost of a single, two-tank dive expedition. If we can all scrape our pennies together and make a donation, then we can help Ambassador Divers stay afloat by assisting with their basic maintenance costs and the costs of health insurance for their staff. I pledge that all of the funds raised here will go toward that. Your support means a lot, not only to me but to Ambassador Divers and their staff. I, for one, would be most grateful for your help, as I'm sure our friends at Ambassador will be as well.Though High Dive is celebrating 10 years, the venue itself has been open since 1992, undergoing a host of name and management changes in its nearly 30 years of operations.
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