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Bonaire Welcomed “Wounded Warriors” For Third Consecutive Year
October 18, 2008 by Fractional Property Ownership, Timeshare & Luxury Travel Magazine · Leave a Comment
- Group Staying and Diving at Captain Don’s Habitat -
On Sunday, September 28, Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) along with Captain Don’s Habitat, the Home of Diving Freedom, welcomed an exceptional group of people to the island of Bonaire. These remarkable and courageous people are U.S. Soldiers and Marines severely injured in Iraq and Afghanistan will be on a once-in-a-lifetime scuba diving trip during which they will become certified scuba divers.
Their journey to become certified scuba divers began at the Adaptive Water Sports Festival in Breezy Point, New York. Part of the Disabled Sports USA Wounded Warrior Project, this Festival provided the opportunity for injured service men and women to experience adaptive sports like bicycling, water skiing, kayaking and for the third year-in-a-row scuba diving. With the help of DEMA’s Be A Diver Pool and specially trained volunteers from Disabled Sports USA and PADI, injured service people, many with single and multiple amputations were introduced to adaptive scuba diving in the comfort of the Be A Diver Pool. Bonaire is a sponsor of DEMA’s Be A Diver Pool.
After trying scuba diving for the first time, six of the “Warriors” decided to pursue their dive certification in their hometowns with the hope of completing their open water dives in a beautiful, warm water destination. From September 28 through October 4, Bonaire is hosting this group of “Wounded Warriors” in order for them to complete their open water dive certification.
Also joining the six service men and women on their trip to Bonaire is be DEMA’s Big Wave Dave; Orlando Gill from Disabled Sports USA and Stewart Snyder from Handicap Scuba Association. The group is once again being hosted by Captain Don’s Habitat.
“We are pleased to welcome back the Wounded Warriors for the third year in a row to our Island, which provides the ideal atmosphere for disabled divers with easily accessible reefs, shore diving, calm waters and disability experienced dive centers,” said Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croes, Director of the Tourism Corporation Bonaire.
Jack Chalk, Manager of Captain Don’s Habitat added “we look forward to hosting this extraordinary group again and feel honored to be able to give back to these people who gave so much.”
In addition to Captain Don’s Habitat providing accommodations and diving, the following organizations have made generous donations to support the Wounded Warrior’s trip to Bonaire: Re/Max Paradise Homes, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Bencho Car Rental, Buenos Aires Café, Papaya Moon Cantina, Bonaire Talk, Patagonia Argentinean Restaurant, Bikers Bonaire Motorcycle Club, Rum Runners, Bonaire Tours, Jewel of Bonaire, Paradise Coffee, Budget Car Rental , Bonaire Rent-to-Fun and Tourism Corporation Bonaire. Capturing all of the moments of the Wounded Warriors on film is resident photographer Susan Davis.
The Wounded Warriors Disabled Sports Project enables injured service members to experience everything life has to offer through sports and recreation and achieve success in sports thereby providing the foundation for an active and positive life. The Wounded Warriors Disabled Sports Project is a partnership between Disabled Sports USA, its chapters and the Wounded Warrior Project (both are 501 C3 not for profit groups).
To find out more about the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org or call 212-629-8881.
For more information on Captain Don’s Habitat visit www.HabitatBonaire.com.
To view daily photos of the “Warriors” diving during their stay in Bonaire visit: http://www.bonaireinsider.com/index.php/gallery_bonaire/category/C56/, http://www.bonaireinsider.com/index.php/gallery_bonaire/category/C58/
Located eighty-six miles east of Aruba, the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire offers year-round sunshine, low annual rainfall, pristine coral formations and the most thriving fish population in the Caribbean. Ideal for adventurers, explorers and sun-worshippers alike, Bonaire offers myriad eco-adventure activities including world renowned scuba diving and snorkeling, windsurfing, kiteboarding, landsailing, mountain biking, sea and mangrove kayaking, horseback riding, nature tours, hiking, bird watching, sailing and deep sea and bone fishing. And with a selection of accommodations ranging from full-service oceanfront resorts and condominiums to guesthouses and small inns, Bonaire has something for every lifestyle and budget.
Bonaire is the recipient of the prestigious Islands Magazine/Caribbean Tourism Organization 2008 Sustainable Tourism Award and continues to be recognized as one of the top destinations worldwide for its sustainable tourism as reported by National Geographic Traveler magazine (March 2004) and Islands magazine (December 2007), and as one of the top diving destinations in the Atlantic/Caribbean for six years in a row in the Scuba Diving magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards (2003-2008); and was designated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as having the healthiest reefs in the Caribbean (January 2008).
For more information on Bonaire contact the Tourism Corporation Bonaire in the U.S. at 1-800-BONAIRE or visit Bonaire’s official website at www.tourismbonaire.com.
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