Paul Repka- Computer Genius or Beach Bum??

The story of Paul Repka begins on a sunny afternoon after a long day of diving, when a bald, bearded, biker-looking old guy walked onto the deck of CTD. As Will, our resident Course Director greeted him, all of the DMTs started wondering who this person was, who looked so completely out of place at a Dive Shop. Soon it was known he was to join the ranks of the DMT's, and so would become part of our little family.

Paul Repka. Old, biker-looking, bald and bearded..

Everyone suddenly had a question for him.

"Are you a biker?", "How old are you?", "Are you insane?"

As it turns out, Paul was just a regular suburban man, Milwaukee born and raised, (or Mwaukeeee, as he calls his home town), who decided to take a break from his consulting firm and spend a month or two in the pristine beaches of Roatan. A computer nerd who plays hockey, likes to fish, drinks like a fish, and in his free time he loves jetting off to somewhere in the Caribbean to dive, usually accompanied by his lovely wife, Peg. (sorry ladies, he's taken)

Paul and Peg, out in the blue.

He was not an amateur diver, being already certified as a PADI Rescue Diver, and now he was looking to Go Pro. But being a DMT wasn't going to cramp his style. First thing he did was to find the coolest house in West End and establish a home base. He then proceeded to throw a couple of parties there, which turned him into everybody’s best friend from the start. He was a great DMT, working as hard, and most of the times harder than everyone else to make sure things ran smoothly around the shop. A great and fun diver, he was ready to act whenever a customer needed anything, from spare weights to friendly advice.

Receiving his diploma from Will
after completing the IDC

But it wasn’t all fun and games. Paul was a man on a mission, and he planned to get as much out of the vacation as he could. In a short time he had a spear fishing license, and a Side mount certification. Pretty soon he decided he would start his IDC and get certified as an instructor. After a lot of hard work with Will, he aced his Instructor exams and was officially certified. He then proceeded to pop his cherry here at CTD and certified his first two Open Water Divers!

Repka and his first two Open Water Students

Three months after he arrived on Roatan, Paul was now a Dive Instructor, a known personality around the bars in West End, and all-round beach bum. After being declared mentally insane by his wife, he packed his bags and made his way back home, throwing a huge going away party that lasted for about a week.

A night on the town for P, Repka

A really cool guy, we all learned something from Paul and he learned something from all of us.

Everyone at CTD will miss him and hope he eventually convinces his wife of moving down here.


Here are some things the Staff at CTD had to say about Paul:

“Paul is  hilarious and a great lionfish hunting buddy”

Even underwater he never lost his groove

“Paul is the inventor of a new Side-Plop Open Water Entry, the Repka”

“Pauuuul??? Is always good for a laugh and provoked mask clearing practice a little too often”

At Sundowner's Beach Bar, where he spent most of his time.

“We will miss that Salope”

“Pauuuul? Obnoxious but funny, so he gets away with it and we love him”

Dinner party at Paul's

“Paul was a great person to have around the shop, always ready to help with a smile and a joke. Love You”

“Paul was the most beautiful Yaba Ding Ding Queen we’ve ever seen”

After seeing this photo, Peg (Paul's wife) started worrying about
his mental health and decided
he should get back to the real world

Meet Notmy!

The new SCT (Shop Cat Trainee)

Notmy has been hanging around the shop for six weeks now.  Whenever she peeped out from under Cindy’s deck, PJ would frighten her away and yell “it’s not my effing cat” (hence the name). We finally coaxed her out from under the deck with the promise of spaghetti meatballs.

Sunglasses? Notmy is Notsure!

She has some sharp little fangs

It took us two weeks to convince PJ she’s a keeper. Now they are best friends.

Hobbies include: Drinking milk, befriending customers in return for food, Stalking PJ around the shop, fighting with Boomer (Steve Vincent’s puppy), playing with ropes, and cleaning herself.

We will get her diving soon; we’re just looking for the right wet suit!

If you have the regulator and wet suit we’re looking for please mail to:

Notmy Effing Cat

Under the deck

Cindy’s Place

Roatan, Honduras C.A.

In other shop news, Mark Walch has joined us from Austria to start his PADI Divemaster training. He was last here in June 2011 when he completed his PADI Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Emergency First Response, Rescue, and Nitrox certifications.  He hopes to find a Sea walnut (a type of comb jelly) in the upcoming weeks.

Chef Marco, underwater croissant maker

Zach Durden has joined us from Florida to complete his PADI Open Water to Instructor certifications (zero to hero!).  He dove for the first time on Saturday and loved it.

Diego (left) with Zack ("scarface") on second confined dive

Our boat Potlicker will be at the dry dock next week for some love, attention, and a new coat of paint. Don’t panic, we will still be diving off our other boat Wish U Were Here.  The water is still warm (29°C/ 84°F) so come join us for some more awesome diving!

by Kaela Watkins

Coconut Tree Front Porch Social Club

Need somewhere to park your husband while you finish up your PADI Open Water course or go and catch some rays on one of Roatan's beautiful beaches?  No worries, we've got you covered here at Coconut Tree Divers, with our all-new front porch social club.  Leave him there and he'll be entertained with hours of people-watching, motorbikes, NASCAR and football.

Joey, Tree, Tim and PJ - free seating.

Recent Sightings

Pipehorse @ Moonlight

Lettuce Sea Slug @ Hole In The Wall

Line Sole @ Moonlight

Half Moon Bay Weather Report

More sweat, calm seas, excellent diving.

Where's my manners?

As with any activity that involves other people there's always an element of etiquette in diving, whether it's on the boat or underwater, that is one of the things that sets apart the experienced diver from the novice.  Some of these things are not exactly written in stone (and by "stone" I mean the PADI Open Water manual!), but rather things you learn from experience by expanding your scuba diving experience.

Here are 5 top tips that will enhance your diving experience here at Coconut Tree Divers!  Can YOU come up with any more?  Leave us a comment!

Island time and the boat schedule

We may be on a Caribbean island where the pace definitely isn't as hectic as elsewhere, but there's one thing that operates like clockwork: our boat schedule.  It's designed for you guys to get the most out of your dives, but it only really works if we leave on time!  Give yourself plenty of time to grab your free coffee, get your equipment set up without feeling rushed - it only makes for a better, more relaxed dive.

Where's my fins??

We keep our groups small, so you're not gonna be crowded underwater, but you are sharing the boat with other divers.  Try to keep your equipment spread to a minimum, that way you also know where all your stuff is.  You wouldn't want to miss jumping in with your snorkel gear when we have dolphins swimming with our boat just because you can't find your mask!

Soap in the bucket

For those of you that like snapping shots during your dive, we have a fresh water bucket for you to store your camera between dives.  The most important thing with the bucket is to make sure that the water stays fresh - we don't want any chemicals or anti-fog agents in the bucket.  The reason is that those chemicals can compromise the o-rings in the camera housings.  If you are going to rinse your mask on the boat, we provide a scoop so you can scoop the water out away from the bucket.

Brief me!

We try to tailor our dives so that divers with similar experience levels are matched up to hit the best dive sites for your level as a diver (more information on our daily dive schedule can be found here).  If you are a more experienced diver, we don't believe in "babysitting" you, but if you are a little unsure of your self we will make sure that you are more closely supervised.  The main thing is that all that kind of information is always given in our thorough pre-dive briefings - make sure you pay attention  It's all about your safety (safety first!) and your enjoyment.  We want you to get what you want out of your dives!

THIS is a Marine Park

After all, you're here to dive, so we want you to enjoy it.  Follow the dive plan, get to know your dive buddy (we will always supply you with one, no worries about travelling alone!), and follow the marine park protocols.  Take only pictures, leave only bubbles, touch only with your eyes!  If we're looking at the more macro aspects of the reef (ie something really really small and really really cool!) be nice, and point it out to the person coming up behind you, we want all of you to see it!

And finally....

ENJOY YOUR DIVE!!!

Half Moon Bay Weather Report

Hot, but thankfully with some breeze.

Recent Sightings

A collection of flamingo tongues @ Blue Channel