“Blue Friday 5.0” Gains Global Recognition Through Marin Scuba Club, The Reef-World Foundation, and Sun Divers Roatan
Photo credit: Audrey Imfeld | @SeaVibesPhotography
BRISTOL, United Kingdom – “Blue Friday”, a grassroots initiative that was launched by Marin Scuba Club of Northern California in 2021 on “Black Friday”, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with global recognition through an alliance with The Reef World Foundation (Green Fins’ international coordinator) and Sun Divers Roatan.
The day following Thanksgiving is traditionally called “Black Friday” when millions of shoppers seek holiday gift bargains in over 120 countries worldwide. But a Marin Scuba Club member, Kenneth Carter of Mill Valley, CA, has been urging his dive buddies to partake in a healthier alternative with Blue Friday, and its slogan, “Don’t Shop. Dive.”
Blue Friday’s Inspiration
He said, “I was inspired by REI closing its stores the day after Thanksgiving. That’s why the members of Marin Scuba Club and Dive Club of Silicon Valley have been giving back to the Earth by skipping plastic consumerism and going diving at Point Lobos Natural Reserve in Carmel-by-the-Sea, in Northern California.
“It started as an excuse to take my son, who had just gotten his Open Water certification, diving in California waters throughout the year,” added Ken. “I woke up one morning and booked all of the reservations at Point Lobos in 2021. Because we had such a great time with excellent visibility and virtually no other divers the first year, we decided to launch a second trip the next year, and have done so annually ever since.”
Join Blue Friday 5.0 on 28 November
Blue Friday will again be celebrated on the day after Thanksgiving, with more divers and more organisations participating than ever before, including dozens of countries spanning four continents.
Marin Scuba Club of Northern California has formed an alliance with Sun Divers Roatan and The Reef World Foundation to broaden participation even further. Green Fins is a global initiative that has reached over 1,500 marine tourism operators that protects coral reefs through sustainable tourism. The initiative is internationally managed by The Reef World Foundation, a coral reef conservation charity working to keep reefs healthy and thriving by promoting the wise use of natural resources, particularly coral reefs, for the benefit of local communities, visitors and future generations.
“Blue Friday perfectly embodies the true value of the Green Fins community. It transforms awareness into powerful, collective action,” says Dev Albao, Programmes Manager of The Reef-World Foundation. “This event emerged from the collaborative environment of Green Fins Hub’s Community Forum, with Sun Divers Roatan sharing its own involvement and championing members to join the cause. Our vital online platform where dive operators actively share and learn environmental best practices. It proves that when our global network pools its expertise, we can move beyond consumption and lead the dive industry towards tangible positive impact on the reefs and connected ecosystems worldwide.”
Down Under in Australia, Terry and Cathie Cummins of Dive Queensland will be in the Coral Seas, and DivePlanit Dive Travel will urge clients to join, as will Dive Pacific in New Zealand. NECO Marine and the Black Pearl in Palau will host some drift divers, and Kerwin Louis of Marin Scuba Club will charter a boat with Jack’s Diving Locker on the Big Island, Hawai’i.
In Northern California, two local dive clubs will go shore diving at Point Lobos, while Jami Leslie Feldman of #UnderwaterPaparazzi plans to dive in San Diego, and Jeffrey Bozanic will get wet in either Southern California or Florida. Meanwhile, High Plains Scuba Center in Colorado will sponsor a coldwater lake dive, and divers from the 216-member Chicago Undersea Explorers Society will be using Roosevelt High School’s facilities for a Blue Friday celebration.
Sun Divers Roatan will host its third Annual Blue Friday Dive Against Debris at its PADI Adopt The Blue dive site, followed by a community beach and bay clean-up with the Roatan Marine Park. Amigos del Mar will participate in Mahahual, Mexico, while author Carlos Lander will dive at Chichiriviche de la Costa in Venezuela, and Sameer Chettri will join in the warm waters of the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, CORAL.org is now on board, NAUI Worldwide will reach out to its instructors and dive centres.
Organise Your Own Blue Friday Event
Organise your own Blue Friday celebrations. It’s this easy:
For divers: Get wet the day after Thanksgiving, or anytime that week, then post your photos, videos, and descriptions of where you went and what you saw on your social media.
For dive shops, liveaboard boats, and resorts: Kick off your holiday sales a week earlier or all week long, from Monday through Sunday, to free up divers who want to “Dive… Then Shop!” Or lead a Blue Friday group dive event, even if it’s in your training pool or a nearby body of water. Use the Blue Friday 5.0 toolkit to promote your event. All Blue Friday activities will be recapped in a follow-up blog.
Wherever you are, warm or cold water, great viz or not, start planning your Blue Friday 5.0 dive now for the last weekend of November. Ask your dive group, shop, club, and buddies to join you, but if you can’t get wet, take an environmental diving e-course or at least visit and support your local shop during its holiday sale.
With your expanding global participation, Blue Friday can continue to expand annually as an evergreen holiday event.