More than 80 divers braved some surging waves on Saturday to take part in the annual Women’s Dive Day at Divetech in West Bay, to raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
As well as diving off the Cobalt Coast reef, some participants also took a dunk in an ice bath, manned by celebrity volunteer Armie Hammer.
Those who could only manage to stay in the freezing cold bath tub for under two minutes gave a $10 donation, and those who were hardy enough to last over two minutes donated $5 – all of which went to the fundraising effort.
Jo Mikutowicz, owner of Divetech, which has been hosting Women’s Dive Day every July for seven years, told the Compass, “We had over 80 divers who turned up, along with a whole bunch of snorkellers and just people here to support, who hung out in the pool and contributed to the Breast Cancer Foundation.”
She added, “We had about 20 people participate in the ice bath. Armie Hammer came to support as well, he was manning the ice bath for most of the day, and he went in for a dive.”
Mikutowicz thanked the local dive community and the several businesses that helped make the day possible, with the donation of additional dive tanks and many prizes.
During their dives, the divers took part in a scavenger hunt for bright pink rocks that were strewn around the reef. Each rock had a number that corresponded with a prize.
“Everyone we asked gave us multiple prizes. That was really nice. So, everybody got a prize when they found a rock, but we had prizes for those that didn’t find a rock also. And we had loads of prizes for the raffle,” Mikutowicz said.
Karen Perkins and Petronella Kotze were among the divers taking.
Perkins told the Compass, “We’re here to support Jo and support Women’s Dive Day. We’ve been coming to this for many years. She’s raised so much for the Breast Cancer Foundation.”
Kotze added, “It’s unbelievable the effort and also all the people who support it, like Ocean Frontiers and other dive operators who supply tanks and weights and whatever else.”
As well as Ocean Frontiers, Red Sail Sports and Indepth Watersports also supplied equipment, and Tom Shropshire of Off the Wall Divers donated $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Foundation.
Divetech was still tallying the total raised over the weekend, but Mikutowicz said as the charity marks its 15th anniversary this year, her goal to raise $15,000 for the Breast Cancer Foundation throughout the whole year.
“This is obviously our big event, but we’ve been doing little things throughout the year, like donating some proceeds from T-shirt sales or keychain sales. The goal is that by the end of the year, we’ll be up to $15,000,” she said.
As well as local donations, $2,500 of the total came from off-island customers “either here diving with us at the moment or they called in on the day and donated money”, she added.
Throughout the entire year, anyone who dives on the 15th of the month at either of Divetech’s shop – at Cobalt Coast and Lighthouse Point – the entire tank rental amount goes to the charity.
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