Scuba diving blog

For the 2022 season we’re looking for two or three motivated individuals to do long term Dive Master courses with us.  This will enable you to gain real experience and develop a solid foundation for a future career in the dive industry.  You will integrate within our small team for a period of two months between late May and mid September.  There is a small fee to cover teaching materials and your PADI membership application.  You will need to budget for living expenses during your time with us.

Our core values are centred on teamwork, mutual respect, customer service, quality of teaching and passion for the marine environment.  Our client base is very diverse culturally and internationally but a reasonable level of spoken French would be a distinct plus.

Our Course Director Alex will be on hand on a permanent basis to provide advice and guidance in your development, in conjunction with the Instructor team.  For exceptional individuals there is the possibility to extend your time and/or return for second season and in return gain your PADI Instructor rating.

Ideally you will already be qualified as a Rescue Diver but we will also consider applications from the right candidates with Open Water or Advanced Open Water certifications.  To apply please send a CV with references and covering letter to info@diamonddiving.net

We’re delighted to announce two partnerships for 2021, running PADI Instructor Development Courses and other pro level training with long established well reputed 100% PADI dive centres.

In Paris we’re working with Pret A Plonger, with three IDC’s scheduled over a Friday through Saturday long weekend format.  For more information and to make an enquiry please click here.   

And down here in the sunny South we’ve teamed up with Cap Ferrat Diving and are planning two IDC’s, one in May and one in November/December.  For dates and reservation information please click here. 

 

 

In recent days and weeks we’ve all been asking ourselves an awful lot of questions about how we can return to some semblance of normality and start to enjoy the things we love!  I fully understand that we all have many concerns, worries and doubts and please rest assured that myself and Noémie share these fully.  We will be updating with more news via Facebook when our reopening date gets confirmed but felt important to reassure you, our clients, regarding the measures that will be put in place to protect you when you feel comfortable enough to come diving with us again:

• Frequent disinfecting of all high contact areas in the dive centre including counters, door handles, card machine, taps, window ledges, classroom tables and other flat surfaces.

 

• Availability of hydro-alcoholic gel for the use of clients, in dive centre reception, classroom, toilet, and on each boat.

 

• Thorough disinfecting of all regulators, snorkels, masks, BCD inflators and wetsuits according to approved industry practices after each use.

 

• Cleaning and disinfecting of all hand contact areas on the boats after each dive trip (minimum twice a day)

 

• A maximum of four clients inside the dive centre at all times with a request to all to be considerate towards others regarding social distancing. Exceptionally the compressor room door with be the exit, when the compressor is not in use.

 

• A maximum number of clients on each boat to be limited to six (or less if regulations dictate).

 

• Ongoing reinforcement and briefings to the team to ensure all of this is respected as far as possible at all times. We will of course be respect social distancing (without compromising diving safety) in all tuition and guiding and the general supervision of this activity we love.

 

• We will be asking many of you to pay by card but at distance via a new functionality that Sum Up and our accounts software has provided (invoice with payment link).

 

• We will be asking all divers to supply electronic scans and copies of paperwork via e-mail in advance of diving to reduce unnecessary hand to hand contact.

 

• If you have had the disease a dive medical from a specialist diving doctor will obviously be necessary, in addition to our usual requirement of an annual medical and one for all training courses.  

 

• There is the distinct possibility, depending on the evolution of organisation at Nice Hospital that we limit max depths and insist even more so than usual on no decompression diving.

 

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us!

2018 SEASON DATES AND NEWS

For the forthcoming season both boats will have new Yamaha 150 4 stroke clean energy engines (no more noisy smoky two strokes) which will enable us, weather allowing, to take experienced and autonomous divers to slightly more challenging sites more often.  On the programme more often this coming season will be sites such as (but not limited to) :

Bilitis, Seiche St Pierre, Seiche St Pierre Avancée, Le Masque, Le Robuste 2, Sec A Pierre, Les Deux Chariots, Cap Gros and Pequerolles.

Other dates worth noting are as follows:

 

SPECIALTY COURSES

9/10 June                            UNDERWATER NAVIGATION

16/17 June                          OCEAN REEF FULL FACE MASK AND COMMUNICATIONS

 

TEC CCR 40 REBREATHER COURSE AND REBREATHER TRY DIVES

We are continuing to work in partnership with Jean-François André of HippoConsulting who is the only PADI Rebreather Instructor Trainer in France at the moment.  We have provisional dates of the weekends of 25/26 August and 22/3 September and 29/30 September to run the TEC CCR 40 Rebreather course.  For more information see http://www.diamonddiving.net/diving-courses/rebreather/

ISLAND OR CAP D’ANTIBES DIVE DAYS

As usual these will involve a double tank dive with a Lebanese picnic lunch supplied by us and included in the supplement of €20.  Either two dives around the islands with a picnic on St Honorat or two dives further around the Cap with lunch on the boat.

June 17th, July 1^{st ,} August 5^th

VAR DIVE DAYS

The tried, tested and very much enjoyed formula of first dive on Les Peniches d’Antheor and the second on Les Pyramides.  Two excellent dive sites.  Lunch at a restaurant at The Port of Boulouris where we get tanks filled by our friends at EuroPlongée.  Fuel supplement of €20, plus budget for lunch.

June 24^{th ,} September 16^{th ,} August 26^th

 

WOMEN’S DIVE DAY                    21^st JULY

GIRL DIVE POWER!  Further to our successful participation in this event last year we’ll be doing it again!  We’ve always been a particularly girl friendly dive centre and we’re quite rightly proud of that.  So ladies get a €15 discount per dive plus a complementary aperitif and gift from us and PADI.  Please reserve in advance!

 

NIGHT DIVES

Further to the popularity of the end of season night dive programme last year we’re initially proposing four dates, there will be more if demand dictates!  There is also the possibility to sign up for the PADI Night Diver Specialty meaning you make three of the four of these dives.

September 6^th and 20^th   October 4^th and 18^th

 

END OF SEASON SOCIAL AND DIVE AGAINST DEBRIS      21^st OCTOBER

An opportunity to come and protect the marine environment through a free clean up dive followed by a set menu at Gigi’s to mark the end of another season.  Good fun guaranteed for all!

 

 

 

We have a number of places for individuals seeking to develop a career in the dive industry for the forthcoming season between June and September.  You will be implicated in a programme taking you up to Dive Master during a long term course, in a small team including a Master Instructor and Course Director.  The minimum period of time needed for this intensive training is two months.  Ideal minimum prerequisites are 25 logged dives and Advanced Open Water.  Please contact Alex on +33(0)615305223 or info@diamonddiving.net for more information.

JANUARY 2018 NEWS, SALON DE LA PLONGEE, REBREATHER PARTNERSHIP, 2018 DIVE TRIP

Fresh back from the 2018 Paris dive-show, here is the latest news for the beginning of 2018.

We’re happy to extend our partnership with Jean-Francois André of HippoConsulting (PADI Rebreather Instructor Trainer (Submatix)) who will be running a PADI Tec CCR 40 course with us over the following weekends in April.  7/8, 14/15, 21/22.  There will also be the opportunity to do either a half day or full day Rebreather Try Dive.  To be repeated in September according to demand.

Further to the success of our Cap Vert trip last November we will soon release details of a Red Sea Liveaboard, specific dates to be confirmed, but scheduled for November 2018.

We have a full calendar of Instructor Development Courses running this year and will also be supplementing this with two Intensive 10 day DiveMaster courses.  These will run from 14^th to 23^rd April and 6^th to 15^th October inclusive.

Following the installation of a new Yamaha 150CV outboard on Nounou, our BWA RIB in September 2017, Blue Diamond will fully refreshed for 2018 with new tubes and a new engine.  We’re looking forwards to seeing you all soon.

SATURDAY MAY 13TH

ALL DAY : AQUALUNG FUSION DRYSUIT AND OCEAN REEF FULL FACE MASK TRY DAY

FROM 6PM : EVENING SOCIAL EVENT FREE AND OPEN TO ALL WITH PRESENTATION FROM PADI REGIONAL MANAGER

On the 13^th May we’re running an Open Day plus Evening Social with the opportunity to try two high end aspirational pieces of equipment.  This is on a first come, first served basis.  Boat spaces will be charged €25 as opposed to normal dive rates to cover costs for the day.  Please register your interest as early as possible to avoid disappointment, specifying which product, and morning, afternoon or both.

Firstly we’ll be offering our clients the opportunity to try the Aqualung Fusion Dry-Suit range and secondly one of the full face masks from the Ocean Reef product range, together with the Ocean Reef full face Aria snorkels.

The Fusion Dry Suit range are excellent quality, innovative suits whose stand-out features are lightness, comfort, compactness and flexibility.  For more information about the product range please see: http://www.aqualung.com/fr/gear/drywear

The advantages of diving with Full Face Masks are significant and include improved vision, comfort, safety, warmth and flexibility.  For more detail about all of these advantages please see : http://diving.oceanreefgroup.com/products/why-dive-an-idm/

The total capacity for the day is twelve people trying the Ocean Reef Full Face Masks and eight people trying the Aqualung Fusion DrySuit.  It is possible to do one in the morning and one in the afternoon but not both at the same time.

At the end of the day at around 6.00pm there will be a presentation from Martial Warnier de Wailly, the Regional Manager for PADI in France.  We’re very lucky to have Martial attending and he will be talking about the advantages of the PADI app for tablets and smartphones, Ocean Reef Full Face Mask Specialty and a little bit about the opportunities to become a professional in the PADI system, followed by drinks and an aperitif.  Everyone is welcome for the evening event which will be another opportunity to socialize and get to know new dive buddies.  Feel free to invite keen prospective divers!

Happy New Year and our very best wishes for a great 2017 to all of you!

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We are pleased to confirm our Instructor Development Course Schedule for 2017 (all at our base in Golfe Juan except where stated):

18th January to 8th February in Oman (includes MSDT and Exam in Muscat)

18th March to 2nd April

20th May to 4th June

28th October to 12th November

25th November to 10th December

Within this schedule we will be conducting Emergency First Response Instructor Courses and Specialty Instructor Training.  Please call or e-mail for a chat and advice on your goals for becoming a PADI Instructor!

All of the courses can be taught in both French and English, or a combination of the two.

And now for something a little bit different:  late August, September and October dive schedule!

 

And now for something a little bit different!  Due to various requests, and our desire to provide as many motivating and exciting reasons to dive as possible we have put in place the following schedule for September and October (imho the best time of the year to dive on the Cote d’Azur):

 

Night dives:                                       Thursday 8^th, 15^th and 22^nd September

(€10 supplement over normal per dive price)(RDV 7.30pm)

Ownership of your own lamp is compulsory, we are running a special off on the excellent Alu Solo Black (a very cool matt black “light sabre” to illuminate your underwater adventures), please ask for further information

 

Deep dives (morning only):        Sunday 28^th August, 4/11/25 September and 2 October

(Standard per dive rate)

Reserved for clients with Advanced and Deep Specialty.  Weather allowing we will target sites that we dive less frequently such as Dromadaire to Enfer, Sec A Pierre, Masque, Deux Chariots, Seiche St Pierre Avancee.  Deep Specialty can be organised for those that do not yet have it over these dates.  Another good reason to invest in a lamp!

 

Island Dive Days:                             Saturday 27^th August and Saturday 24^th September

(€20 supplement over normal price for two dives plus lunch)

Two dives around Les Iles de Lerins with lunch on St Honorat in between.  We will be organising a group rate to eat a set menu at La Tonnelle restaurant if both days have at least six clients who reserve.

 

Var Dive Days:                                   Saturday 10^th September and Saturday 1^st October

(€35 supplement over normal price for two dives plus lunch)

One dive on Les Peniches d’Antheor and one dive on Les Pyramides off L’Ile d’Or.  Stop for lunch at Port de Boulouris in a local restaurant.

 

All of these dates are subject to the usual conditions regarding weather and we reserve the right to amend dates if necessary for your safety, comfort and enjoyment.  All reservations by first come first served confirmation.  Any cancellations or changes within 72 hours of the date will forfeit one of two dives from their dive pack or a 50% deposit payable up front.

Diamond Diving wins another PADI Award!

We are very happy to have received an Award from PADI EMEA at the recent Paris Diveshow for our exceptional implication in the diving industry.

A great reward for our work over the past seven years since our first Award as best French newcomer in 2009.  A big thanks to our clients and to the PADI EMEA French team!

Our next Emergency First Response Course is organised for the weekend of the 27th and 28th of February, so if you need or want to learn some extremely useful primary and secondary care skills just e-mail or call.

We will be cleaning up the local dive environment next time on April 17th so let us know if you would like to join in.  A free dive in return for your conservation efforts!

And finally we are organising another “Discover Rebreathers” day on April 30th with our long term partner, Jean-Francois Andre.  We always have excellent feedback on these events.  Maximum eight places and the price is 85 Euros per person.