Offering year-round access to a premier SCUBA dive site in Cozumel
COZUMEL, MEXICO and TUSTIN, CA, October 16, 2008 - The Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel and DiveNav are announcing collaboration with two premier dive operators in Cozumel to develop a virtual dive site of the shipwreck Felipe Xicotencatl (C53).
"Since it was sunk in 2000, the Felipe Xicotencatl (C53) has slowly but surely, become Cozumel's main artificial reef" said Antonio Madrazo, Sales Manager of Scuba Du, "today she is full of many species of marine life and coral polyps continue to cover the inside and outside of this man-made dive site" he added. "We are honored to participate with DiveNav and the National Marine Park of Cozumel in the birth of this new and exciting project that allows future visitors to explore the C-53 from their computers at home or work, so when they come to Cozumel and dive it, they will be better prepared" he concluded.
The 184 ft (56.2 m) Felipe Xicotencatl is the former USS Scuffle (AM-298), an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was transferred to Mexico in October 1962. The ship was donated by the Secretary of the Navy of Mexico to be sunk and serve as an artificial reef. She now rests at a depth of 80 ft (24.3 m).
"We are looking forward to completing this project", said Ricardo Gomez Lozano, Director of the for Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel, "and plan to use the virtual dive of the Felipe Xicotencatl to further promote Cozumel to SCUBA divers worldwide while they are planning their next dive trip", he continued.
Timothy Massimino, General Manager of Scuba Club Cozumel comments, "Most our customers would rather be diving here in Cozumel, but the virtual dive of the C53 will allow them partake in a Cozumel dive right from their computer desktop, any time of day, any day of the week.""We are pleased to collaborate with the Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel and with local dive operators.", said Alberto Mantovani, President and CEO of DiveNav, "We are calling upon Cozumel's diving community to contribute their expertise to this project so we can make the Felipe Xicotencatl C-53 accessible for a wider audience to experience and enjoy", he added.
DiveNav is planning to demonstrate virtual diving on the Felipe Xicotencatl (C53) at the DEMA Show, booth number 4951.
*************************** About Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel Cozumel is considered one of the most important diving destinations in the world, its coral reefs are part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Covering a surface of 29,620 acres, and because of its biological and economical significance, the Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel was appointed as a national park on july 19th 1996, it contains the reefs and beaches of the southern half on the island. The park's objective is to preserve such important resource through scientific monitoring, surveillance, community and environmental education programs. About DiveNav DiveNav Inc., headquartered in Tustin, Calif., is an innovative company developing leading-edge services and products that will enable the user friendly exploration of our oceans by the recreational and educational communities. DiveNav 's patent pending vDive technology is the engine powering its eDiving® online service. For more information regarding DiveNav or its eDiving® service, please email us at info@divenav.com or visit our websites at www.divenav.com or www.ediving.us. -###- Contacts Sergio Tapia Medina Alberto Mantovani Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel DiveNav, Inc. stapia@conanp.gob.mx am@divenav.com www.conanp.gob.mx www.ediving.us Antonio Madrazo Timothy Massimino Scuba Du Scuba Club Cozumel scubadu@usa.net scubacozumel@ecozumel.net www.scubadu.com www.scubaclubcozumel.com (310) 684-5556 Bonnie Pelnar Under Watercolours bpelnar@underwatercolours.com www.underwatercolors.com -###-
