The beach the bay and the rejuvenation project.

The one thing that Sosua reminds me of, is the small beach town I grew up in Southern New Jersey. The type of town where everyone knows , or knows of each other. The sense of community can be very strong and this enables motivated people to achieve things larger than themselves. It also gives people the chance to participate in projects that make a difference. For me as a business owner and my business consuming most of my time i need to find ways to be a positive member of the community. Sponsoring a dome was a no brainer.

One of the main reason I invested in Sosua is because of the beach and ocean. As a child still in school I made money for years clamming the back bays. This enabled me to buy anything I wanted from school clothes to my first car. I grew up understanding how important a clean and healthy eco system is to the way of life and local economy of a community. Nothing bothers me more than seeing trash covering the beaches, rivers and landscape. So when I saw a friend of mine Bill Passmore ( www.billpassmore.com ) ask for sponsor to support for the The Sosua Bay Rejuvenation Project he was involved in I was aboard. Actually I am very proud to say I sponsored the first coral dome being constructed to be submerged in Sosua bay. The purpose of the domes is to grow young coral and give fish more habitat. The domes are made out of welded rebar in the shape of a dome. Then concrete is added and then sand on top to give a base for the young coral to grow. After 3 years the domes should be ready to transplant the coral or leave the domes in place.

Another thing the Sosua Bay Rejuvenation Project does , that has an instant impact is the reef clean up. Volunteers from the different drive shops work together by pulling recourses and man power to dive the reef and pick up trash. This alone has such a positive result. The other thing that the project does is education. Bill and others go to schools to teach the students about the counties valuable resource , the ocean! Most importantly they impart the best behavior and attitude to preserve they special gift the country. I have seen first hand young people picking up trash on the beach and understanding what I learned as a child the health of the ocean is a necessity in a tourist economy . Its not just the children that don’t realize the marine life living in Sosua Bay, its the adults. Bill is a professional underwater photographer. His photos have been on display in the major muesams in Santigo and Santo Domingo and Sosua. This has allowed many people to gain a new appreciation for the ocean.This exposure has even brought tv shows to film the Rejuvenation Project.

Here are some of the photos of Sosua Bay.

This project is a true community effort, from the businesses like Casa De Compai to individuals who sponsored domes and donated their time diving to clean the reefs. Also dive shops has been deeply involved, they are Northern Coast Diving and their webpage is www.northerncoastdiving.com. I am also happy to say the owner Mike is a close friend of mine and some of the instructors as well. The other is Merlin Dive Center and their website is www.divecenter-merlin.com. I have had two guest tell me they have had great experiences diving with Merlin Dive Center. These are two business that I know about that help out, if I have missed any other businesses please inform so I can add them as well.