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Marina Banfi

@instructoramarina

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Ocean Warrior 🌊⚔️
Photographer 📷 Storyteller 🔮
Mom @ashthegoldendood 🐶
🧜🏼‍♀️🌊🪸🎥✨

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Turtle Tuesday Thanks! 🐢
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Early morning, quads with a team of turtle protectors go around Miami Beach looking for hatched eggs. Soon after we got to the beach yesterday, Jey was getting egg shells out of a nest. She explained how those little guys left for the ocean, and her team documents when they get disoriented. They do these tours in the day to help them, and at night to check lights in properties and make recommendations.

We were lucky to witness when she found a little guy that hatched but wasn’t out yet. He was released, and we watched him swim into the Ocean. What a way to start the day! 🥰

White bright lights are always a bad idea: can’t see the stars, and birds and turtles get confused. If you want to help nature you can do so by advocating for amber and red lights in your coastal condos and hotels when you travel. It’s more romantic and elegant anyways ✨

Thanks for your work @thedivingborderline 🙏🏻
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#turtletuesday #nature #miami #turtlerelease #fliptheswitch by @instructoramarina

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2 months ago

IMUA 🤍
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Renders. What I find when looking up what Front street looks like today. Then all the steps come back in my head. The favorite places. The art walks. Dr Seuss. The bars. I close my eyes and see myself walking through images of rock legends and reliving history, then walk up and enjoy a drink with a view at Fleetwoods. I can hear our friend playing guitar in the bar while sharing dive stories. Seems like another life ago. It kind of is. On this date 3 years ago everything changed.

My heart is with Lahaina. Those who left, and those still there. Imua. Move forward. Saw projects that involve local inclusion in a town that was purely based in tourism. Inspired to see some creating from the ashes.

Looking back, remembering the moments the island gave me. Above and below 💙✨

#mauinokaoi #maui #moveforward #lionsgate #memories taken in Maui, Hawaii by @instructoramarina

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2 months ago

Maui Memories 💙
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Lions Gate. That was the day of the fires, 3 years ago.
The day I left Lahaina, to never come back. There was nothing to go back to where my home stood.

It is beautiful to witness creations coming from those ashes, like nature growing after destruction. I have shared before how much I loved the bathing suits from an entrepreneur in my area. This is one of the old designs I had and lost. She lost everything in her shop.

Her new designs are blooming 🌺
Check our her work @manakaiswimwear

#mauinokaoi #hawaii #beachdays #islandlife #swimwear taken in Maui, Hawaii by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

Blending In ✨
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I used to call myself a chameleon. Then I met a cuttlefish. The first time I watched one disappear into sand was one of the most magical moments of my life. They don’t simply change color—they read the world around them, matching texture, pattern, and light until they almost become the ocean itself. It feels less like camouflage and more like… belonging.

Blending into different realities. Letting a place shape you instead of arriving determined to reshape it. Maybe our cities could learn from that?

Architects like Javier Senosiain have spent decades designing buildings that seem to emerge from the landscape rather than replace it. Around the world, projects like Bosco Verticale or homes tucked into forests and hillsides ask a different question: what if we designed with nature instead of over it?

As our cities continue to grow, I hope we choose to blend in more often. To build around the trees instead of cutting them down. To work with water instead of fighting it. To leave room for the life that was already there long before us.

Do you want to live in a city that conquers nature, or one that belongs to it. What do you value more?

#BlendIn #OceanPerspective #NatureInspired #CitiesWithNature #miami by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

Trusting the process, asking for change 🤍
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Remember last year when we celebrated the 100th birthday of Hollywood photographing the Mayor underwater with the CEO of the artificial reef project gifted to the city? That moment made me so happy.

That day we celebrated a gift to the community. We all came out to see the new reef and swim with the Mayor. We never thought that the promise for the Ocean was not going to be matched with one for Safety. Kellie was there that day. She also joined us to watch the Neon Reef premier where water activists in Miami Beach requested for boat boundaries to be moved out from the shore. We were all surprised to see that same week Hollywood started debating a change to its shoreline vessel exclusion zone, moving the boat restriction line inward to 218 yards from 300. Kellie was among some of us who wanted to ask the Mayor to reconsider this. She never could, because she was hit by a boat in that same city.

When planning her memorial, some witnessed first hand why our friend was killed. A boat went speeding through a group of dive flags. Each one of them is a human being that can be ran over. In the Ocean, there are no lanes and cross paths. We rely on dive flags. And many choose to ignore them, or are too intoxicated to see them. (▶️)

We were grateful to have Police present for her memorial. I trust the city will reconsider their position and prioritize the safety of swimmers. Grateful to those who are asking to establish a mandatory statewide vessel exclusion and slow-speed zone extending 400 yards from the mean high-water line.

To learn more about this initiative: ‘Florida Safe Waters Coalition’ group on FB - floridasafewatercoalition.org

Watch for flags. Get a captain if you’re drinking. Every dive flag is a human being 🙏🏻
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#BoatSafety #HollywoodFlorida #NeonReef #GuardiansOfTheReef #400YardRule taken in Hollywood Beach by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

Seaweed: Clouds ☁️
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How often do we complain about seaweed drifting by, never stopping to wonder who calls it home? Floating seaweed is so much more than a tangle of leaves. It becomes a tiny island in the open sea—a place where shrimp like this one, juvenile fish, crabs, and countless other little creatures find shelter, food, and protection. For many of them, it is the difference between surviving another day or becoming someone else’s meal.

One of the ocean’s greatest lessons: the most extraordinary stories are rarely the loudest. They’re tucked into the smallest corners, waiting for someone patient enough to pause, look closer, and marvel at them. Appreciate having water sisters in Miami who pause to look for the little details. Thanks Rad for pointing this one out 🤙🏻

Looking closely at seaweed for some time and playing with the reflection in the water can become quite like looking at clouds. I saw a shape in this one, what do you sea? ✨

#cloudshapes #seaweedstories #oceanmagic #underwaterphotography #miamibeach taken in Miami Beach, Florida by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

Light and renewal ☀️
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The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year for those living in the North. When the Sun reaches its highest point. A powerful moment of abundance, light and connection to nature. Through many civilisations, there have been monuments aligned with this Sunrise to help track time and organize harvest cycles. And also, bonfires and gatherings for the special date.

Forty years ago, Larry Harvey and a group of friends gathered in San Francisco and burned a wooden figure. That was the start of Burning Man, so sharing our Summer Solstice cleanup with this community on their anniversary was just perfect. While civilizations change, the human desire to celebrate light, creativity, and connection remains remarkably constant. 🔥☀️✨

The Summer brought renewal. Thank YOU to every founding Care Buddy who joined our first cleanups. We will be sharing plans privately with our community for the next Autumn Equinox cleanup event in September. Would love to have you there to discover together what comes next ✨

Drop a 🤍 if you want IN 🙃
Creating a list of peeps to keep in the loop 🐚
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#next40burningman #southfloridaburners #southfloridaburningmancommunity #moop #leavenotrace taken in Miami, Florida by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

‘So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending!’ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit 🐉
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That quote in your skin reminds me of your power. And as a dragon’s life ends, this shire wishes to have calm.

The calm of knowing it won’t happen again 🤍
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#boatersafety #lucyslaw #ahuihou #kelliewilliams #paddleout taken in The Shire by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

Dolphinitley not alone 🤍✨
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As the week comes to an end, my heart is full. Something in my chest had been missing for a month. There is nothing harder than loosing a child. Meeting Kellie’s parents returned what I was missing today.

Lucy’s Law came into effect this month. She was killed in 2022 by a boat, and driving under the influence and killing someone with your speed and lack of awareness now has serious consequences. Still, our friend got hit and killed by a boat. How about prevention?

My soul spent the month angry. Something we keep requesting is safety while in the water. For manatee, rays, both animals and us. At least we have DIVE FLAGS. She had one. And she was also passionate about requesting this. Many of us are. We might have lost her, but in that grief, we found UNITY.

This week had fruitful calls. A female filmmaking community, mentor feedback, a fiscal sponsor, and the possibility of joining the force of two communities for a common cause. A cause the dolphin in this image cares a lot about. The quality of our water. I keep thinking of all those people I have met who share my values and want the same things. So, after many tears lost for friends and places… I share some of joy. All we need are more steps in the right direction. What step would you take?

#dolphins #tearsofjoy #love #unity #lucyslaw taken in Miami, Florida by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

Magic happens when you believe 🪄
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A moment of magic a day,
All it takes to change the game.

Be grateful for sunrises,
and for freedom today.

Believe in your dreams,
Take small steps along the way.

Drone footage: @rjespejo
Your support means everything amigo 🤍✨
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#magic #dreams #miami #nature #love taken in Miami, Florida by @instructoramarina

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3 months ago

Wanna Shark dive in Florida? Clock is Ticking 🦈 ⏰
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A fast-tracked bill moving through Congress, H.R. 3831 – the Florida ‘Safe Seas’ Act – could permanently change shark diving in Florida.

The bill would ban the use of bait to attract sharks for diving, photography, ecotourism, and many educational activities in federal waters off Florida. An industry that helps you get closer to nature miles offshore in a very regulated way is eliminated. Yet this Bill still allows baiting sharks to be attracted for fishing. Sharks are an apex predator that Oceans NEED to keep its balance. If you consume their meat you are ingesting unhealthy mercury as they’re on the top of the food chain. But feeding sharks to kill them will still be allowed. For what, a selfie? Or Mangetout without considering its toxicity?

Earlier this year, I went on a dive with Gung-Ho Divers from West Palm Beach. From the moment I arrived, Nic made us all feel we were in the right hands for this experience. I appreciated the clear rules and guiding of a veteran that knows how important it is to stay together as a pack and create the perfect conditions to enjoy the show with safety first. We had 4 beautiful juvenile Tiger sharks joining us, and while I sat behind with the group we witnessed how Nic and Jessi fed and handled them. At one point, I went too close and could hear Nic screaming at me to back off. I remember reading that one negative review in Google after the dive that mentioned screaming underwater, and thinking: of course I want someone that will alert me when I am not exactly where I am supposed to be. This is what makes them a great safety team. I would love to visit them again for years to come, and with this threat to the industry you should visit them soon too. I just called the office of Daniel Webster, the Bill sponsor, and asked his office to ask him to go shark diving. As policy should be backed with science, experience and facts rather than fears. If the bill becomes law, it could end Florida shark-diving.

Let’s make this Bill… Get lost Forever!
How to help? StopHR3831.org - Visit & sing petition - 🙏🏻

#StopHR3831 #SharkDiving #FloridaSharks #OceanConser taken in Jupiter, Florida by @instructoramarina

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4 months ago

A Captain that abandons his boat is a… ? ⚓️
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Last year this abandoned boat washed into our condo’s seawall. This is just one of the many vessels abandoned in Florida waterways every year. Miami-Dade removes around 40-80 per year, 74 from city waters last year costing 1M in taxpayer dollars. Reading this made me think of the disaster in Honolua Bay, where a luxury yatch grounded damaging coral reef. After public pressure, Hawaii’s Board of Land and Natural resources increased the owners penalty for environmental damage to 1.8M because of the ecological importance of the area.

Grateful for my neighbors who have been vigilant about an abandoned boat that has been sitting in a fragile area of the bay for years. On Sunday, it started sinking. It now sits in the Bay, polluting one of the first Aquatic Preserves in the country. The community has been sounding the alarm about this vessel for years, and there is a known owner that has been notified in multiple occasions. Will he receive a penalty that corresponds with the ecological impact besides the cost of removal?

Every abandoned vessel removed from Biscayne Bay is money that cannot be spent on reef restoration, water quality improvements, seagrass recovery, diver safety, or protecting the ecosystems that make our bay so special. The good news? Florida recently strengthened vessel accountability laws, and intentionally abandoning a vessel in Florida waters can result in serious criminal penalties, including felony charges. The state also offers the Florida Vessel Turn-In Program, which allows eligible owners to surrender unwanted vessels before they become environmental hazards. I got rid of my Maui cruiser through a similar program for cars in the island. I noticed people abandoning those were not aware the programs even existed or feared a difficult process. With boats, there is usually a big lack of accountability when it comes to ownership and liability. Will soon find out what happens in this case.

Should Florida require boat owners to carry liability insurance or post an environmental bond? 🌊

#biscaynebay #FloridaBoating #ProtectOurWaters #DerelictVessels #cleanupmiami taken in Miami, Florida by @instructoramarina

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4 months ago