News
Diving with…Kerrie & Bethan, ProDiveUK
In this ongoing series, we speak to the people who run dive centres, resorts and liveaboards from around the world about their businesses and the diving they have to offer…
What is your name?
Kerrie Eade & Bethan Comley
What is the name of your business?
ProDiveUK
What is your role within the business?
Kerrie is a Platinum Course Director and Bethan is an Elite Master Instructor.
How long has the business operated for?
ProDiveUK was founded in May 2017 and fully launched at the 2017 Dive show in Birmingham.
How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?
We have over 20 years of diving experience between us reaching the heady height of PADI Course Director and Master Instructor.
What is your favourite type of diving?
Any diving is enjoyable and we are fortunate that we get to see a wide range of dive sites across the world from the glorious wrecks and life in the Red Sea, to the fantastic reefs of the Caribbean, and the well maintained lakes and quarries of the UK.
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?
We provide high value, positive Pro training laced with an abundance of additional content, and a lot of fun and laughter along the way!
What is your favourite dive in your location and why?
Our favourite dive would have to be the Tabarka in Scapa Flow as this is where the name of our company, Otter Enterprises, came from! We’re not going to give this away though, you’ll have to get in touch to ask more about this!
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
The best bit about our “job” is seeing the confidence of all our candidates grow during their training, and hearing their tales of teaching and passing on their passion to others once they have certified as PADI Instructors.
What is your favourite underwater creature?
One of our favourite dives was at Lundy Island diving with the seals. It was a truly humbling and awe-inspiring experience.
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
With the impending launch of the new IDC syllabus we’re really excited to be at the forefront of the new syllabus, especially as a lot of the new workshops are things that we have been including within our training since we began. We must be doing something right!
Is your centre involved in any environmental work?
We actively promote Project AWARE and train all of our candidates as Dive Against Debris Instructors as we really believe that this is a powerful specialty that can enable divers at all levels to start making a positive difference towards the health of the seas and oceans.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkeling industry overall? What changes would you make?
We are really excited about the upcoming changes to the pro level programmes from PADI and also the focus of the entire industry towards cutting waste with initiatives such as Mission 2020.
Where can our visitors find out more about your business?
You can look us up online at www.prodiveuk.com or give us a call on 07854 554809 or 07585 020303
Great news for RAID divers around the world: Gozo Diving & Gozo Technical Diving have joined the RAID network and now offer RAID courses, and RAID-quality support in one of the classic Mediterranean dive destinations.
Malta is a well-known and highly rated diving destination. The water is warm (around 28 degrees), the visibility is epic (20-40 metres), and many sites have weak to moderate current. So, there are great dive sites for every level of experience, and these include fantastic and historic wreck dives.
Located on the Island of Gozo, RAID’s new dive centre, offer the complete range of recreational, technical and Instructor courses. The facilities include two classrooms, access to an onsite pool and a full CCR room. So, visiting divers and instructors can enjoy nitrox, trimix, as well as oxygen-compatible air fills, rentals of sidemount cylinders, twinsets, and stage cylinders, DPV rental and of course high-end teaching, coaching and experienced guiding.
Gozo Diving and Gozo Technical Diving has more than 30 years of experience in training, exploration and diving professionalism. Now fully aligned to offer the the complete spectrum of RAID courses, which means both experienced divers as well as those who want to start exploring the underwater world can come and enjoy the dive site attractions of Malta and Gozo knowing they’ll get the fun and full-service experience our agency and network of RAID dive centres are famous for.
To find out more, email: info@gozotechnicaldiving.com or visit their website at: www.gozotechnicaldiving.com
Photos: RAID Blog
International Dive Show DIVING talks 2022 takes place from 6-9 October in Troia, Portugal. Here’s four great reasons why you should attend…
1. The ‘Talks’ and the Speakers
What do you get when you have in the same room Dr Alessandro Marroni, Dr Óscar Camacho and Dr Simon Mitchell? Undoubtedly an incredible amount of knowledge in diving physiology and hyperbaric medicine. If you are a diver, you know the value of such a debate.
What do you expect to see in a Bill Stone presentation?
Wouldn’t you like to discuss with Thomas Stachura, Leigh Bishop or Armando Ribeiro their findings underwater in the expeditions that led to the discovery and identification of new shipwrecks?
2. The Exhibition: brands and trials
It’s about talking with ‘who knows’ and testing that piece of equipment even underwater if you want!
Friday, October 7, is BRANDS DAY. Try dive the Mares SCR Horizon, test your preferred scooter, and more. Bring shorts or a swimming suit. This is happening in the swimming pool. Join us on October 7. Diving Talks is also Brands Day!
3. DIVING talks is a family/ partner friend event
You don’t need to leave your family or partner behind.
If you want to attend, transform this trip into a partner or family trip to Portugal. There are many things they can do while you enjoy the Talks.
It is not that you need to have something planned. The peninsula is such a fantastic site to enjoy; there’s the beach if you want to relax by the sea, there are trails you can check out, or you can relax by the pool.
4. YOU CAN ACTUALLY DIVE!
If you have free time and want to explore Portugal underwater, DIVING talks can be the pretext for a ‘stay and dive’ side-program.
Diving talks partnered with Portugal Dive, a boutique dive concierge that organizes dive trips to Portugal; the mainland and in the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.
Diving recreational or technical, you can expect the European Atlantic’s most transparent waters full of life, schools of fish, the big pelagic, and even monk seals: all that and wrecks, inland caves, you name it.
Opt to arrive one-week earlier or leave one-week later, and chose the stay and dive program for your type of diving and preferences.
For more information, contact Arlindo Serrão via e-mail: arlindo.serrao@portugaldive.com or check out the following links:
- Website www.divingtalks.com
- Facebook www.facebook.com/divingtalks
- Instagram www.instagram.com/diving.talks
- Twitter www.twitter.com/divingtalks
Gozo Diving and Gozo Technical Diving join RAID
DIVING talks 2022: 4 great reasons why you should attend!
Jeff chats to… Ana Filipa Sobral, Founder of The Manta Catalog Project in the Azores (Watch Video)
DIVING talks 2022: the discussion we all want to hear
Wining and Diving – The Azores
Cool Drysuit Dives
The underwater wonders of the UK’s seas, a story in photographs
Scuba Diving and Marine Life: Monkfish or Anglerfish (Watch Video)
Jeff chats to… Arlindo Serrao, Founder of PortugalDive.com about diving in Portugal, The Azores and Madeira (Watch Video)
Diving in Switzerland #6 – The Tadpoles are growing!
Diving in Switzerland #5 – Rediscovering a forgotten dive site
