Call it semi-retirement, if you will. The future will still see us operating Rainbowed Sea Tours, but with a reduced number of trips. So all our loyal friends and guests need not panic! Back away from that window ledge now! And for god's sake, put down the gun!

We find we have amassed a huge library of photographs over these years, yet we're hardly home long enough to do anything with them. Often months go by before we even get to look at our photos, let alone organize them in any fashion. (I'm frequently asked by guests how we file our slides. I tell them, the "hemorrhoid system"...piles!)!)

We have lots of projects planned for our photos. Birgitte's children's books, our next big coffee table book, an underwater photography instructional series on video tape, expanded marketing of our signed photographic prints, a new T-shirt line, etc. etc. But all of these enterprises take time and nurturing, and to bring them to fruition simply requires significantly more time at home than we are presently able to spend.

Speaking of home, we worked hard over the years for our very special mountain Shangri-La. We love our breathtaking views, our wildlife, our skiing, and our horses. It's time now to set aside a larger part of our lives to experience and enjoy all that we worked for. So what will these changes mean to you, the avid diver and photographer desperate for quality dive travel?

Well, for 1998, nothing. It will be business as usual this coming year -- our 10th Anniversary Year -- with our limited participation tours and the renowned 6 Day Chris Newbert Underwater Photography Seminar offered free to all guests. If you've ever wanted to attend this seminar, 1998 is the year to do it -- the last year to do it! We can't promise you'll experience the same success as, say, friend, guest and seminar graduate Carl Brownd. Carl's now done several trips with us, but started his underwater photography at, er... a somewhat "modest" 1evel. Well, Carl just won a free, all expenses paid trip for two to Palau in a national contest, with a Grand Prize winning photo he took on one of our Solomon Islands tours. (Congratulations Carl!)  From the Hall of Shame to the Hall of Fame!

Yet our seminar offers valuable insights and techniques for even the most accomplished professional. Unless you've been living in a cave, you've no doubt seen the superb work of Douglas Seifert gracing the pages of leading publications worldwide. Douglas has quickly established himself as one V the world's foremost pros. After his first trip with us, Doug had this to say:

``You and your damn seminar, man... my pictures have definitely changed. They have gone from publishable to... ART! Thank you thank you thank you."

So for the year 1998, expect the same seminar that will be the basis of our video instructional series, offered free on all trips, delivered with all the usual enthusiasm and dedication to photographic excellence. We will visit a trio of our very favorite destinations in 1998, starting with critter paradise Mime Bay, Papua New Guinea in February, followed by the action capital of the undersea world, Galapagos in April and May, and capping our final full-time year in the always stunning Solomon Islands. Details of all three programs follow. What about after 1998? Will life still be worth living?

With the freeing up of our schedule, we plan on running one or two trips a year to entirely new locations. Traditionally, our destinations and operators have been carefully researched, and are selected for both the world-class excellence of the diving, plus the reliability and comfort of the boats. As everyone who has been on our tours will confirm, we support our guests with extensive pre-tour information on the boats and the locales. To a certain extent, this commitment has limited our ability add new destinations to our schedule. That will change in our second decade. We may select a specialty destination because of certain exceptional diving and underwater photography opportunities, but knowing the boat might not be quite up to par for instance. Guests selecting one of our specialty tours will understand that these trips will offer more adventure and less predictability than our standard destinations.

I suspect the frequency of our newsletter will likely decrease. Indeed, the observant reader may have already noticed a subtle change of phrase in the masthead. The previous "occasionally quarterly journal of Rainbowed Sea Tours" has been re-titled, "the formerly quarterly journal of Rainbowed Sea Tours". The newsletter content may shift somewhat as well, with features like photo tips and such being added. So you won't have to run eagerly to the mailbox quite as often for the latest issue, and you'll want to save each issue a bit longer, knowing it won't be replaced as often. Of course, your parakeet will have to go longer between bird cage bottom lining changes as well.