The first thing you notice about
Charlotte Roslev is her lilting accent, indicating that she isn’t from these
here parts. In fact she hails from Denmark, yet like so many others she has
found her way to the Cayman Islands via an interesting path.
Charlotte grew up across the pond, and
it wasn’t long before she realised her passion for the water. She was always a
sporty child but swimming was her favourite, so it’s not surprising that one of
her first jobs was performing the duties of a lifeguard. At the age of 23 she
joined a friend of hers (who was half-Egyptian) on a trip to visit relatives in
Egypt. The friend already had an Open Water scuba diving certification, and so
Charlotte figured she’d better catch up. She took her first course in Denmark,
so she was all ready to dive on her vacation.
Two months later when she returned home,
her dive instructor had opened a dive club and asked her to join. She promptly
signed up and over time attained her Divemaster qualifications. Charlotte now
had options when it came to employment. In the summer when it was nice and warm
she would work as a Divemaster in Denmark, which offered shore and wreck
diving. When winter set in she hung up her fins and went back to being a
lifeguard at the heated pools. It was the best of both worlds! After a couple
of years she was itching to return to Egypt, so she got a position there at a
dive company and over she went. By sheer luck a Danish course director was in
the area, so she jumped at the opportunity to be taught by one of her own
countrymen. Not long afterwards she was officially a Dive Instructor!
Charlotte decided to stay on for a while
and remained in Hurghada for three years. She then spent some time back and
forth between there and Denmark, finally followed by a season working in
Thailand – a lovely spot but very different from what she was used to. It was
there that she met her boyfriend who had lived in the Cayman Islands before and
wanted to move back here. Hey, why not? There were certainly worse places for a
Dive Instructor to go! Charlotte moved to Grand Cayman in late 2010, and got
offered a job at Sunset Divers not long afterwards.
It’s only been a few months, but so far
so good. She loves Sunset Divers and her work colleagues - the camaraderie is a
big part of what makes the job for her. She enjoys all aspects of being a Dive
Instructor. As she says, so long as the customers come out of the water with
big smiles on their faces, that’s all she needs to see to make her day
complete. Charlotte is multi-lingual, fluent in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and
English, but we all speak the same language under the waves. Stop by and book a
dive with Charlotte today and you’ll find yourself smiling for her before you
know it! WH
Charlotte’s top dives
Eagle Ray Rock – Boat Dive
I love the topography of this site on
the southern tip of the west wall, and its surrounding white sandy bottom. With
a maximum depth of about 50-60ft, this is excellent for all levels of
certification. As you are slowly descending into the clear blue water, you are
treated to a beautiful view beneath. A sand chute leads you to the wall with
lots of coral and a crevice to swim through where you can keep an eye open for
Spotted Eagle Rays. When you are making your way back to the boat don’t forget
your safety stop.
Doc Poulson wreck
This is a lovely little wreck in shallow
water, and the light at this site is great on a sunny day. There is tons of
marine life and beautiful corals to see, so take your time as you move around
so you don’t miss anything. Although it is a small wreck there is a lot of
detail in it. Make sure you bring along your camera! Lots of white sandy bottom
to appreciate which provides a home for many garden eels and before you return
to the boat, take a moment to enjoy the beautiful sight of the sun shining down
on the sand as you swim about.