Press Release
WORLD’S FIRST UNDERWATER “ReefCam” LAUNCHED ON-LINE
BONAIRE, N.A. -- August 24, 2000 -- Caribbean WebCams, LLC (Norfolk, VA) announced today that it has successfully installed the world’s first permanent underwater Reef WebCam (or ReefCamTM) in the life-filled oceans off the southern Caribbean island of Bonaire. Live images from the ReefCam, along with several live images from above-water WebCams and current Bonaire weather, can be viewed at http://www.BonaireWebCams.com. A "WebCam", short for "Web Camera", is a term applied to any camera whose video images can be viewed via a Web page on the Internet.
The ReefCam was first installed at the Small Wall dive site in Bonaire’s waters during March of this year. The last five months have been spent in testing and development, and have resulted in the official launch of the Bonaire WebCams site today. During the test period, the ReefCam captured images of turtles, eagle rays, squid, a myriad of fish, and divers who frequent local waters. In fact, word has spread among local dive masters, who are now bringing divers to pose in front of the ReefCam so that their friends and family can see them via the Internet, underwater.
"Until now, no other company has managed to successfully install a permanent reef WebCam because of the many technical hurdles involved in installing and maintaining of such a device. After months of hard work, however, we’ve come up with a solution that works," said Caribbean WebCams Chief Technical Officer Dan Senie.
"We selected Bonaire as the world’s first site for an underwater ReefCam installation because we admire and appreciate the efforts of the Bonaire Marine National Park to preserve Bonaire’s reefs and marine environment, and felt that this effort needed to be shared with the rest of the world through the wonder of the Internet.", added Jake Richter, co-founder of Caribbean WebCams.
At present, images from the ReefCam and the other Bonaire WebCams are updated every two minutes on the Web site. As Bonaire’s Internet capacity improves, updates of images on the Web site will occur more quickly as well.
To complement the WebCam and ReefCam images, Caribbean WebCams has installed a remote weather station and a proprietary underwater temperature sensor so that visitors to www.BonaireWebCams.com can get a reading of the current warmth of Bonaire’s waters, as well as the current above-water temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction.
Early testers of the Bonaire WebCams and ReefCam have praised the live images as providing them with an escape from their daily routine. The only negative effect registered by these testers has been an increased yearning for a vacation to Bonaire and the Caribbean.
Bonaire, which is part of the Netherlands Antilles, is located in the southern Caribbean, 50 miles north of Venezuela, 80 miles east of Aruba, and 30 miles east of Curaçao. More information can be found at the Bonaire Marine Park Web site at http://www.bmp.org and the official Bonaire Web site at http://www.InfoBonaire.com.
Caribbean WebCams, LLC, founded earlier this year, specializes in all aspects of commercial WebCam set-up and installation for resorts and travel destinations. Company headquarters are located in Norfolk, Virginia in the U.S.A. Caribbean WebCams information can be found at http://www.CaribbeanWebCams.com and the company may be contacted at info@CaribbeanWebCams.com or by phone at +1-703-783-8370 or by FAX at +1-703-783-8371. The company’s Bonaire WebCams site can be found at http://www.BonaireWebCams.com.
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"ReefCam" is a trademark of Caribbean WebCams, LLC.
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