Bahamas Out Island Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Bell
prseitz@bellsouth.net
954-970-3394

Captains Bruce Robbins and Toye Stevens Rejoin Neal Watson to Manage Dive Operations

BIMINI, THE BAHAMAS - NOVEMBER 17, 2010 - Dive Bimini, a top-of-class diving operation co-developed by celebrated artist, marine scientist and conservationist Guy Harvey, along with diving pioneer, Neal Watson, officially launches December 1st with the arrival of its new dive boat and operations team.

Dive Bimini will feature a virtual treasure trove of dive sites and theme dives reached aboard Bimini Blue, the largest dive boat in the Bahamas - a glass bottom, double-decker certified for 100 passengers. Dive Bimini will also offer a wide variety of services and top-flight equipment including PADI and SCUBA certification, rentals and air fills and a Bauer compressor.

The dive operation will be managed by Captains Bruce Robbins and Toye Stevens. The couple has extensive experience operating land-based and live aboard dive operations throughout the Bahamas. Married since the mid-80's, this seasoned dive couple is returning to Bimini where they started their dive career alongside Neal Watson.  Captain Bruce will run the boat, with his wife, Captain Toye, having responsibility for diver services, operation of the Outfitter Shop and other watersport activities at the Big Game Club.

Located at the legendary Bimini Big Game Club in historic Alice Town, Dive Bimini is part of Guy Harvey's Outpost Resorts program that combines family-theme fishing, diving and adventure sport activities with marine and wildlife conservation, science and education. The Bimini Big Game Club is the first of several Guy Harvey Outposts planned throughout the region, of which diving will be a primary component.

"Bimini has no shortage of great dive sites: Reefs, Wrecks, Walls, Drift Dives and our famous Atlantis Road and Shark Dive Experience- you name it," said Watson, known fondly as The Dive God within the scuba diving community. Last month, Bimini's famed Atlantis Road was voted the top dive experience in the world by AOL users. "I personally prefer the wall dives and Bimini shark encounters," noted Watson, while acknowledging the many varied experiences include swimming with wild spotted dolphin, which is a rarity in the scuba diving world.

"Suffice it to say, the number of amazing dive sites, the abundance of large animals, and Neal's personal familiarity with Bimini, will all make for memorable diving that will bring you back time and time again," said Dr. Harvey, who has spent much of his life diving. "In my travels on dive expeditions, it's safety first, followed by experience and fun. With Neal, Bruce and Toye we have the complete package."

The legendary Bimini Big Game Club officially re-opened this summer as a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina following completion of a $3,500,000 renovation that included all guest rooms, the new Bimini Big Game Bar & Grill, and the Outfitter Shop, a retail experience featuring sportswear, fishing supplies and gifts.

For reservations and more information on Dive Bimini and the Big Game Club, please call 800-867-4764 or go to www.BigGameClubBimini.com.

About Neal Watson

A Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident and local business owner for over twenty years, Watson has been involved in owning and operating hotels, establishing a chain of dive operations, working in the treasure salvage business, stunt coordinator for the movie and TV industry, owned and operated an airline charter company and established a chain of Neal Watson's Undersea Adventure franchise dive operations in the Bahamas and Caribbean.

In 1985 Watson moved to Fort Lauderdale from Bimini and established Neal Watson's Undersea Adventures as a Florida Corporation.  Shortly thereafter he started USA Travel Network, Inc., which is an ARC accredited tour company specializing in diving and adventure sports travel.

Watson currently serves on the Board of Directors of DEMA (Dive Equipment & Marketing Association), which is the World Trade Association for the diving industry; President of the Bahamas Diving Association and Chair of the Bahamas Dive Marketing Committee, which is responsible for recommending budget expenditures for the Bahamas Ministry Tourism for the Bahamas Government Dive Market Promotions.

Personal achievements include breaking the World's Scuba Depth Record, diving 437 feet on compressed air as well as breaking the World's Underwater Distance Record by swimming 66 miles underwater, non-stop without surfacing.

About Captains Bruce Robbins and Toye Stevens

Married since 1986, Captains Bruce and Toye bring 30 years of diving experience to Dive Bimini, coming to Alice Town after spending most of the past twenty years in Key West, where they commanded a 120' live-aboard dive operation specializing in the Dry Tortugas, and most recently, a fleet of tournament sportfishing boats for a dedicated off-shore angler. In addition to their diving and fishing experience, during this time the couple enjoyed owing and operating a Key West based outfitter offering back country eco-tours though out the lower Florida Keys.

Both seasoned Bahamas divers, this dynamic dive couple started their careers as dive instructors right here in Bimini, working alongside Neal Watson, and later running Neal Watson Undersea Adventure dive operations in Andros and Chubb Cay. In between these two career stops, Captains Bruce and Toye owned and operated a 60' live-aboard charter sailboat, exploring all the top Bahamas dive destinations by specializing in all-inclusive Bahamian scuba dive trips.

The couple are both USCG Master 100 ton captains and fully licensed PADI Instructors.

About Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina

Founded as a dinner club in 1936 in Alice Town, the island's cultural hub, by Nassau entrepreneur and bon-vivant, Neville Stuart, the Big Game Club has over the last 74 years hosted world-class fishermen, major tournaments, international celebrities and tens of thousands guests looking to bask in the unique "Islands in the Stream" mantra made famous by author Ernest Hemingway who fished and lived in Bimini in the mid 1930s.

Today, the Big Game Club's Outpost concept is designed to take the resort beyond that of a "fishing lodge"(though admittedly a majority of visitors will be there for the world class fishing) to create an eco-destination attracting both fishing and diving enthusiasts while focusing on adventure travel, sustainable tourism and marine conservation.

The Big Game Club, which is located on the main navigation channel in Bimini Bay, currently features a 51-room resort and a 75-slip marina capable of accommodating boats up to 145 linear feet. By Spring 2011, a full service fuel dock will be operational.

There are Phase II plans that will include a Guy Harvey Theater, guest lecture series and interactive sessions with Dr. Harvey and the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NOVA Southeastern Oceanographic Center and day trips to the Bimini Biological Field Station's world-famous shark lab.

Location - Alice Town (North Bimini's Southern Tip)
Marina Facilities - 75 Slips
Regular Rooms - 35
Penthouse Suites - 4
Cottage Rooms - 12
Restaurants - Bimini Big Game Bar & Grill
Pools - Freshwater
Other Activities - Outpost Outfitter Shop