Ijust read the following great article in the Bonaire Reporter and I thought I would share it with all you fans of the Woodwind! I think the article does a really nice job of showing the kind of person and the type of service that Renee provides. Enjoy!

RENEE LEACH OF THE WOODWIND

This woman has gotten rave reviews from her guests aboard the sailing catamaran, Woodwind. One guest explains it, "Taking a trip with Renee is a complete experience. Not only do we have a relaxing sail, but during the snorkeling she points out a multitude of fish and coral life. She knows where everything lives because she's there so much There's not a time I go out with her that I don't learn something." Renee has been offering sailing and underwater adventures to her guests in Bonaire since 1991 when she and her late husband, Stefan, arrived to take over the Woodwind, which had been sailing for the Divi Flamingo Hotel since 1988. But Renee and Stefan added even more: a never-ending enthusiasm and love for the sea and her knowledge as a biologist. It's transmitted to every guest aboard. "I'm very interested in anything that moves and breathes," says Renee, and she wants to share it. Renee had a career as a biologist and Stefan was a pharmacist. They met in a diving club in their native country of South Africa. Together, over a period of 10 years, they built their own wooden boat, the Renee, and in 1985 left South Africa to sail across the Atlantic, "with no particular destination in mind," says Renee with a smile.. But after two years of cruising, with the devaluation of their currency, the South African Kroner, it was time to stop somewhere to work. They ended up in St. Martin and crewed on a 48 foot trimaran charter boat. The concept of guided snorkeling came to them after seeing how tourists were just dropped in the water without any beforehand briefing of what they were going to see underwater or the importance of protecting the marine environment. "St. Martin became too congested," Renee explained. "It was just money, money, money. We were offered a job in Aruba working for a charter company with a glass bottom boat and a 50 foot catamaran which we ran for awhile. Aruba was good, but not as nice as Bonaire, so when we were offered the job of running the Woodwind here, we took it." "Why do I love this job? Because being in the water is the best therapy there is and I love people. I've made a lot of good friends who have sailed and snorkeled with us, and as a matter of fact, 50% of my clients are repeat guests. I teach total snorkeling. They don't even have to know how to swim. With a life vest they can enjoy the underwater sights. When I hold their hand, the panic is gone. I believe in the personal touch, and I'm in the water with them the whole time. One of the nicest feelings is when we get young children or older people who've never snorkeled before. I introduce them to a whole new world, and because it's in Bonaire (with our beautiful reefs) they get spoiled. And once they've been here they nearly always come back." As part of her 'personal touch,' Renee gives an orientation before every snorkel. "I include what they're going to see, a description of the fishes and coral, and my 'turtle lecture,' all about nesting time, being with the juveniles who live here." A few years ago Stefan became ill and then passed away a year later. Through it all Renee continued offering sailing and snorkeling adventures, masking her sadness, always with unflagging enthusiasm for showing her guests the wonders of the sea. Being in the water for her really was the best therapy. Her current crew are Barney, who lives aboard his own boat, and Janice, who snorkels and videos the guests. Someone wrote recently: "Tell Renee, Barney and Janice that they've changed our lives forever, and we recommend them to every person we know." Another guest says, "It was one of the highlights of our trip. Renee explained how coral feed and the importance of not touching them or disturbing the activity of the turtles. We did a gorgeous drift snorkel." Renee is an integral part of the turtle club. For years she's been ferrying the turtle researchers to Klein Bonaire once a week. And she's identified nearly all the turtles around Klein. She proudly explains, "There's 'Friendly,' 'Fuzzy,' and the Greens, I call 'Pretty,' 'Brilliant' and 'Little One.'" She's an active volunteer with the "Hello Tourist" program on the island, which introduces sixth grade kids to tourism activities. This year she took out 75 kids on three separate trips on the Woodwind. Lucky kids. Renee has been running her charters non-stop out of the Divi Flamingo Hotel, even when the hotel was going through hard times and occupancy was nearly non-existent. She carried on even during the lengthy reconstruction period, buoyed by her loyal following of charter guests. In the sea she's 'adopted' five blind trunk fish at one of the reefs on Klein and hand feeds them. On land she looks after 12 cats at the hotel, and she's paid out of her own pocket to have them all sterilized. Many of the guests know what she's doing and donate money for cat food. Renee just can't help herself. According to her, "I feed everything that moves!" Lucky for them and lucky for the guests on her boat that Renee is here on the island and will be for a long time to come. As she says, "I've found my paradise here in Bonaire."� L.D.

Snorkling with Renee and the Woodwind is one of the special treats of staying at Divi...It is always one of our favorite pastimes, and we make a point of doing at least one trip with her every time we are there.
In that regard, I was a little concerned to see a posting on a Divi-sanctioned website listing the daily activites at the Divi Flamingo, which now include snorkling trips from a motoryatch in addition to the services provided by Renee and the Woodwind. I wonder if there really is going to be enough business to support both, and I would not like to see Renee hurt by inappropriate competition.I think that Stefan and Renee made a big commitment to Divi, sticking with it even when there were barely enough guest there to fill a dive boat, much less an extracurricular activity like a sail and snorkle trip. I am sure it was beneficial for the Divi to be able to offer this service with Renee's help, and I think it is a bit shabby of them to forget that now that times are getting much better.
For my part, I plan to send a message to Fran Fink, the Executive Director of Member and Guest Services for Divi operations, letting her know what an asset Renee has been for Divi. I think that all of you who are past clients and fans of Renee should do the same.Fran may hate me for this, but her e-mail is Fran@diviresorts.com.
Or, if you are planning a trip to the Divi Flamingo soon, take the message right to Stevo, the general manager. I know he is doing a great job there, and I have to think he would appreciate knowing how strongly we feel about Renee staying there.

Robert, I am a huge fan of Renee's as everyone on this board knows. I only snorkel and do not dive and I consider Renee a huge asset to Bonaire. We sailed with Renee everyday during our last stay in Bonaire and she is the main reason that we keep going back to the Divi. Renee's charming and sincere personality coupled with her education in marine biology makes for a warm and educational tour that can't in my mind be surpassed! There are other nice hotels on the island that we thought of trying but the Divi is a nice resort that is well run by Stevo and Renee sails out of there, so we keep returning. As much as I like the Divi, if I had to make a choice, I would follow Renee. I really hope that it doesn't come down to that choice because the Divi and the Woodwind have been a perfect match for so many years but I very much agree that there is not enough business to support both a motoryatch and the Woodwind. I too will be letting the Divi know how I feel and I hope the Divi remembers how Renee was with them through thick and thin! I can remember an istance before the remodeling of the Divi that Renee sailed with only 4 people on board and I am sure it cost her more than what she made to pay her captain, but she was comitted and I also hope the Divi will realizes her commitment to them and their customers!
I know most of the people on this board are divers and do not share the same strong feelings that I have for the Woodwind, but if you have ever had the pleasure of a sail with Renee please drop a line to the Divi as Robert suggests--Thanks

Robert,
Have you heard anything more about the motoryatch snorkel trips? Are they operating out of the Divi for certain? thanks Darlene

I have just sent an email memo off to Fran Fink with a copy to Stevo at the Divi. This truly concerns me. I do hope that it has not been finalized. This will NOT be a "win/win" situation for anyone involed. I am hoping Renee and the Woodwind remain at the Divi as long as their relationship is healty.

Let's get the campaign rolling right now, folks, OK? Thanks. Carole

(remember, it worked with Cultimara and the "plastic bag fiasco" a while back! The power of the pen and word is immeasurable )

Hi Carole:

Thank you for the opportunity to clarify the situation here at Divi Flamingo, and with the 'Woodwind' Please allow me to begin with the fact that we look forward to a long relationship with Renee, and value highly the relationship that we have had over these many years. We do also understand that many of our guests are interested in exploring a great variety of experiences while on Bonaire, and have already been doing so by leaving the resort. With that in mind, and at the request of many of our guests, we are pleased to announce the opening of Flamingo Adventures and Watersports on the property next week. This is just one of our improvements; and an integral part of our renovation program. It is designed to enhance and create variety to our watersports & adventure program; and is also designed to have Renee and the 'Woodwind' as not only an integral part of the program, but also as the exclusive provider of sailing excursions.

The adventure center has 2 locations on our property:

1. The old Dive 1 shop at the South end of the property. This will be the actual 'Adventure Center' and will handle a variety of tours, excursions, mountain bike rentals, etc. In addition to promoting 'Woodwind' trips, we will also offer snorkeling and adventure tours aboard a motor yacht. The Sea Breeze has been operating these types of trips for sometime on Bonaire. It has been an alternative for many people that prefer not to be on a sail boat, but will now also be based here as part of the program. We will have a Biologist and Ecologist on staff to guide mangrove, land & sea tours via kayak, mountain bike, motoryacht, or van; in addition to the Woodwind tours. All of these will be exploring different parts of our ecology and enviornment, and there will be little or no overlap.

2. We have restored the deck on the North side of the Calabas Pier, and the adventure center will also operate from there. We will offer rentals of kayaks, sunfish, and beach floats from it's desk, in addition to having information about our other offerings...including Woodwind tours. Beach towels will be available here in addition to our Front Desk station, and the personnel will monitor beach chair use to insure availability of our guests. We will also coordinate some other on property activities such as volleyball games on our new court behind the Calabas restaurant, additional slide shows, nature walks, etc. There will be no impact on the beach, but will enhance our efforts at maintaining the chairs and general beach cleanliness.

All of this is designed to enhance Divi Flamingo as a destination, and to ensure that we exceed the expectations of our guests. As we fully develop these programs, we look forward to attracting more guests who do not come here exclusively for a scuba diving vacation, which is sure to enhance Renee & the 'Woodwind's business.

It truly is a win/win/win situation (I include Bonaire itself as we look forward to spreading any impact that may exist from tourism, which now is concentrated on our reefs).

I hope that you will understand that our intentions are only to strengthen our position as a full service destination, while maintaining and strengthening our relationship with the 'Woodwind'. Please be assured that we value her presence, and look forward to a long relationship.

Regards,
Stevo Schwartz
General Manager
Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino
Divi Dive Bonaire

Stevo:
Let me start by saying that I am glad to hear of all the improvements that you appear to be bringing to the Divi Flamingo. I can really understand the desire to bring a lot more activites on site, in order to try to please the varied tastes and expectations of the guests. The changes we saw on our last trip were impressive, and we really are looking forward to our next visit...anxious to see and enjoy for ourselves.
That said, I welcome your comments about the Woodwind and Renee, and your desire to maintain a long relationship with that important component of the Divi Flamingo experience. Many of us would think that the Divi was somehow missing an important part of its being if there was no Woodwind. I hope that enhancing the overall Divi experience for the guests does indeed generate the volume of business that you expect, which would of course benefit everyone.
Good luck. See you in January.

Stevo, thanks for the update and the detailed information as well as the reassurance that the relationship between Renee/Woodwind will remain intact. This is definitely good news.

I also want to commend you once again for all of your dedicated, wonderful,hard work you have done at/with the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort. You had a humongous (?) task before you and you have certainly conquered that, and then some.

Our main concern, other than Renee', is the "state of mind" at the Divi in the future...meaning that her peacefulness and serenity are now the most precious feature (in our minds) and we are concerned that some of that will disappear or be corrupted with some of the programs you have listed. I only hope that I am overreacting (which has been known to happen),but we, as owners at Divi Village in Aruba as well as Bonaire, slowly witnessed our quiet, peacefulness and serenity "disappear" at the Aruba resort and would hate to think it could occur at the Divi Flamingo in Bonaire, as well. We no longer entertain the thought of using the unit in Aruba...we tack it on to our week in Bonaire.

Again, we truly do commend you for your hard work, blood, sweat and tears at the Divi Flamingo and hope to enjoy all of the new programs (in peacefulness, quiet and serenity) when we return Thanksgiving Week for another vacation....this time on the Hotel side! Looking forward to seeing you again in November. Thanks. Carole Baker and Joe Ward

Hi Carole,

I will be in Bonaire for Thanksgiving week also. Hopefully we will be staying again at the Divi. I am trying to exchange my timeshare for a unit there. I was there in June and I agree, Stevo has done a remarkable job. I too enjoy the peacefulness, quiet and serenity at the Divi. We'll have to have a rum punch.

Hope to see you there, Kay! Sent you an email a moment ago, too. Hope it remains "quiet" at the Divi after the new activities begin at the resort.....just hope and pray!! See you in a couple of months. Ayo Carole

When I was in Bonaire I sailed with the Woodwind regularly and had an awesome time as usual. Renee asked me to post a message for her to publicly thank every one for the tremendus response to the Bonaire Reporter Article. She said that there was over 500 letters written to the Divi to express what an asset that the Woodwind was to the Divi and how much they enjoy sailing with her. Renee was overwhelmed with joy to know that so many people from all over the world treasure her sails and snorkels!! She has great respect and love for all creatures and it shows in her work!
She thanks everyone from the bottom of her heart for supporting her and she looks forward to sailing with each and everyone of you for many years to come!

Darlene and Renee, thank you to you both. Heal quickly and get back out there in the waters with Renee and her crew soon! This Board has more influence on the happenings of Bonaire than one could imagine....it is a wonderful thing as long as we keep in on a "positive" note and attitude and I think we have done that in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

Looking forward to seeing Renee again in November. Carole