Articles tagged with: Diving

Starfish almost a PADI Divemaster

Date: September 1, 2014 Author: Dive-And-Sea-Tenerife

This week was for Starfish, we spent most of the week finishing every skill and dive Starfish had to do to become a PADI Divemaster. We finished the stamina, did the deep assesment, completed the book and exams, and got her to lead and brief some dives.
This was also Paul and Casper’s last week diving with us, it has been a lot of fun diving with them, listening to all the story’s and experience’s they have had.
Unfortunately the weather took a bad turn near the end of the week because of the aftermath of a hurricane across the Atlantic.
Although rough, it was a fantastic experience diving in different conditions than the usual and gave us all an insight into a different type of diving.
Im lookin forward to next week when Paul arrives and Starfish finally get’s her 60 dives. It is going to be a good couple of weeks.

Finally a PADI Divemaster :-)

Date: August 11, 2014 Author: Dive-And-Sea-Tenerife

I’ve been waiting for this moment since the start of my internship, I’m finally a DIVEMASTER! The feeling I had when we finished off the last assessment was so incredible! A lot of hard work has finally paid off. The path to Instructor suddenly doesn’t feel that long!

We started off the week doing Starfish’s Rescue Diver. I had so much fun being the tired, panicked and unresponsive diver. Starfish really got the feeling of being in a serious situation when I grabbed her mask and tried to climb her as a panicked diver. The same day I finished off my Search and Recovery and Rescue Assessment. It feels very good every time I tick off something from the “will I soon be a Divemaster”-list.

Tuesday we headed off to Alcalà, which is one of my favorite dive sites here in Tenerife. We always see turtles here. Not only one or two, but three! They are so friendly and curious. We had 3 certified divers with us Lynn, Paul and Nick so we all enjoyed our recreational dives looking at beautiful rock formations, fish and turtles!

The next day we were ready to drive off to Abades. Starfish and I were going to map Abades to draw an understandable map with bearings, depths and kick cycles. We were really happy about the result and in the end of our dive we saw a HUGE octopus out in the open chilling at the reef. I was ecstatic!

Thursday we started the day in the pool with DSD’s. Two kids, and their dad from France. This was the first time I heard Randall bringing his entire dive lingo out in French! Even if I didn’t get a single word he was saying I enjoyed both the confines and the Open Water Experience. As Randall and myself were going with the DSD’s and the mom, which is certified, Flounder went off with Lynn and Paul for the last dive here with us in Tenerife this time. When we came back I did my Divemaster exam… and damdamdaaa… I passed!

Friday, THE day! First we went straight down to the pool to tick off the last skills I needed to do in the pool. While I was swimming my 400m, Flounder and Starfish practiced skills! The next step was to bundle up the kit, go down to the Marina (other side, open water) we decided to go a little crazy and do my Deep Assessment in a very wavy condition. Randall, Flounder and I had a proper workout swimming out and descended next to the Marina Wall. It was a lot of surge, so we swam hard for 10 minutes before we hit the 18m depth mark. Did one necessary skill and headed back, then with the current. Felt very good when our legs were all like jelly. So I finished off my Divemaster almost rolling up on the beach in the waves!

The last day of the week we had two DSD’s Ting and Rory from England. We had a nice pool session before we headed off to Alcalà to see my favourite turtles once again!

Next week is my last, eight week. And my very good friend Malin is going to join us to do her PADI Open Water course. It’s going to be an awesome week!

Divemaster Internship in Tenerife? 100% yes

Date: July 20, 2014 Author: Dive-And-Sea-Tenerife

My eighth and final week in Tenerife has been full of bittersweet feelings.
On one hand I cannot wait to head back home, but on the other hand I am going to miss the people, places, and especially the diving!
We had the chance to deep dive Tabaiba for the last time. We had planned to dive at night at Tabaiba to complete one of our favorite customers, Lewis, PADI advanced open water course. Unfortunately the current at the dive sight was too strong so we had to cancel the night dive.

Outside of the dive shop, we had time this weekend to soak up the sun at one of our favorite beaches in El Medano. When we arrived at the beach, the water was completely filled with kite surfers and large waves. It was so much fun trying to body surf in the waves while avoiding being run over by all the surfers. After the beach session we walked to Flashpoint where we devoured the best cheeseburgers we have found on the island.

It is a sad feeling having to pack up all my dive equipment. I know when I get home I will have a few more months of diving, but the water there does not compare to the water we have been spoiled to dive in for the past two months.

The time has flown by, every dive and every person I have met here will leave a lasting memory. I would recommend this internship to any water lover who wishes to enjoy eight weeks of fun, sun, and excellent diving!

Dive and Sea Tenerife Newsletter May 2012

Date: June 8, 2014 Author: Dive-And-Sea-Tenerife

Diving Newsletter for May 2012

Hello EveryoneI hope that you have all had an enjoyable month.

Here at Dive and Sea we have welcomed back the lovely hot summer weather of Tenerife and the water temperature is heating up nicely!!

We have been busy meeting our new Divemaster intern and new divers to our centre, and as always a pleasure to welcoming back familiar faces.

I hope that you are all keeping updated with Facebook as well as website news.

Project AWARE Dive Against Debris

We had the most wonderful dive against debris not only could George, Melissa and Chris pat themselves on the back for the two large bags of debris collected at Pequeno Valle but on their ascent they were surrounded by a pod of 4 Dolphins, it was an amazing experience and I am sure the Dolphins were thanking us for tidying their sea up! I think the dolphin looks like it is smiling at us!!

After this wonderful experience we were off to continue our good work at Starfish bay culling more Urchins..

The next Dive Against Debris and Urchin Culling dive will be at the end of June, any one interested in participating please contact melissa@diveandseatenerife.com

Summer Special Offer

Discover Scuba Diving

Including 1 open water dive is now discounted from 90 Euros to 70 Euros
Including 2 open water dives is now discounted from 110 Euros to 90 Euros

Is the first introduction into Scuba Diving, anyone from age 10 upwards can join in this experience. With this you can dive with a PADI professional to a maximum of 12 meters for 1 year. It can also be added towards the PADI Scuba Diver or PADI Open Water qualification

The Discover Scuba Diving experience normally lasts for one morning. First of all you watch the Discover Scuba Diving DVD, then we get straight on to the pool session where you will learn some of the basic scuba diving skills and become comfortable with your scuba diving equipment. Then its off to the ocean to come and meet the fish! There is so much to see in Tenerife

Divemaster Update

It was all go last month, following the successful completion of their divemaster course Zippy and bungle started on the Assistant instructor course, they were joined by Jackie from Teide Divers. All of the candidates performed brilliantly and it was huge sign of relief when they passed all their presentations and exams.
Well done to all three of you. Below proudly showing off their new Assistant Instructor T shirts!!!

We said a sad farewell to George and Chris a hard act for new intern Aaron to follow but I am sure he will excel during their internship.

We welcomed Aaron from California who has managed to gain himself a whole variety of nicknames starting with Canadian Dave and I think we have finally settled after much debate on Juan! Juan has joined us as an Open Water diver and whilst he is here for his 8 week induction he will be completing his Master Scuba Diver Certification, with Navigation, Boat, Fish ID, Deep and Search and Recovery Specialties as well as his Divemaster Internship.

Aaron worked hard all month, and is just getting to the last items on his divemaster internship he managed to improve his stamina and got great scores on all of them, despite the stress and studying for his Divemaster exams he did really well.

Watch this space or log onto their blog for more regular information.

We are looking forward to welcoming the summer interns arriving in to start mid June, Will, Geoff, Jamie, Alex, Matt and Foster more info about them next month.

Diving Knife – Equipment information and review

Of all the equipment you carry with you as a diver, your knife looks like the simplest one. But you’ll soon discover that it has many purposes.

Perhaps the most important purpose of a diving knife is that it gives you the ability to cut yourself or your buddy free, if you’d get entangled under water. Therefore it is recommended that you always have your diving knife with you whilst you are diving.

Another purpose for your diving knife is specific to the local area of Tenerife. You can use your knife to help the environment, by killing Black Long-spined Sea Urchins. Unfortunately, Black Long-spined Sea Urchins are now abundant in the Canary Islands, and take over much of the habitat of other species. The diving community requests every diver to help maintain control the number of Black Long-spined Sea Urchins in the waters surrounding the Canary Islands, so that the habitat will be given back to the native species.

One great value dive knife is the Aqualung Zak, 45 Euros. The blade is made from stainless specifically designed for the marine environment, with a blade length of 10 cm perfect for Urchin culls.

Dive Site Review ~ Poco Naufragio – Kim Timmers

Poco Naufragio is a beautiful dive site in the south of Tenerife. ‘Poco Naufragio’ means ‘small shipwreck’. It’s not just the name, and the wreck that would make you curious about diving at this dive site. It’s THE place to see one of the most intriguing creatures of the ocean: Stingrays. The Stingrays can get up to four meters wide, even without their tail. Poco Naufragio is only a few minutes from the marina.

When you following the line down, you’ll find that it is attached to a block of concrete, that is placed on a shelf. The shelf houses many different species of aquatic life, and is semi-circular shaped. Some of the species you’ll find on the shelf are Moray Eels, Arrow Crabs, Scorpion fish, Lizard fish and an occasional Stingray.

You could dive while staying on the shelf throughout the dive, and not go below 18 meters. If your certification level allows you to go deeper, than you can descent further, next to the shelf, and visit the wreck itself. The wreck is found on a sand bottom, and is about 4 meters long. The Stingrays that live in the area, are usually seen near the wreck, but they do occasionally visit the shelf as well. Stingrays are commonly sighted at Poco Naufragio, but it’s never a guarantee to see them, as they are wild animals. This only adds to the excitement of this dive site, because you never know what to expect.

Divemaster Internship

We are now running our 8 week internship from the 1st of every calendar month, the next start date available is 1st July 2012.

We provide all the training for FREE, however there are costs involved with regards PADI materials, diving insurance, accommodation & equipment.

During your time with us you will learn to be a dive guide and teaching assistant. You will also learn how to interact with clients and students as well as various aspects of sales, customer services, equipment maintenance and obviously diving lots!

All diving is FREE for the whole duration you are with us we guarantee you that you will do a minimum of 60 Dives, some of our interns manage over 100 dives!

As the longest running, and only 5 Star PADI Dive centre in the area, (1 of only 4 in Tenerife) and number 1 in the PADI Rankings for the Golf Del Sur / Amarilla Golf regions of Tenerife 2009 / 2010 / 2011, we ensure you will have a great time and give you loads of assistance during your course.

Our PADI Dive Centre has trained more Divemasters than any other centre in the area and the majority have gone on to use the qualification for employment in some form or for continuing their education.

Some are now working DM’s others continued on to be PADI Instructors and one is even working as a Dolphin Trainer!

We have additional discounts on accommodation for multiple bookings i.e.. couples / friends /Clubs / Groups

Not PADI certified, don’t worry, as there are crossovers for all levels of BSAC, SSAC, CMAS, FEDAS, SSI, NAUI, SAA, SCOT SAC etc, so just let us know what agency and what level you are and we will tell you the next PADI level required.

If you wish to apply for the internship please send your CV and a photograph with your preferred dates and also letting us know where you found out about us.

We are also able to offer the following PADI courses / internships to better enhance your work opportunities and diving experiences;

PADI Master Scuba Diver
PADI Assistant Instructor
PADI Instructor
Pre-Instructor Development Course

If you have any questions take the opportunity to check out our web page.

Or our new Divemaster Intern Blog

Dive and Sea Tenerife Newsletter April 2012

Author: Dive-And-Sea-Tenerife

Scuba Diving in Tenerife ~ April Newsletter

Hello again,

Another month has flown by, we have had a terrific month here at Dive and Sea Tenerife, we enjoyed a busy Easter.

Divemaster Internship Updates

All of our Interns have had another busy month here at dive and Sea Tenerife, firstly Kim (Alice) newly certified Divemaster finally went back to Holland!She still did not want to leave despite an additional 5 weeks here. Alice was heartily disappointed that she was unable to complete her Assistant instructor on this Internship as she has not been a certified diver for 6 months. Kim plans to return at the end of the year to complete her PADI Assistant Instructor course, so we look forward to welcoming her back.

Congratulations to Alice for getting herself a fabulous divemaster Job in Gran canaria we all wish her well.

Congratulations, also, to Chris who has worked really hard this month, and completed his Divemaster certification. Chris has become a true professional in the last 6 weeks, and next onto his PADI Assistant Instructor Course. Watch this space.

And Congratulations to George who has also passed his Divemaster certification not only in record time but also gave us a lot of laughs along the way.

George is also studying hard for the PADI Assistant Instructor course.

We all wish them well and they will be joined by Jackie from Teide Divers as well.

We are looking forward to welcoming Aaron and Carl at the beginning of May.

Aaron joins us all the way from California… jet lagged is how he will spend his first few days I think!

Carl has joined us on his year out from university studying Marine Biology to complete his Divemaster Course and also the PADI Assistant Instructor Course.

Dive Site Review ~ The Pipeline Las Eras – Chris Archer

This Shore dive site is a recent discovery and a very interesting dive. You enter from the shore and then swim out to the right hand side, before descending into 6 metres of water. Close to this point is a pipe that tracks from shore out into deep waters, which is encased in pre-cast concrete blocks. As with everything that has been in the ocean for some time, the blocks have become homes for plenty of aquatic life, with the gaps in the blocks providing excellent hiding places for species such as Scorpion Fish, Octopus, Rays and Canarian Lobsters.

Following along the pipe into 14 metres of water gives you ample opportunity to peek into the gaps in and around the blocks, finding beautiful underwater beings such as Nudibranch, Starfish and Sea Hares.

With a clear path along the pipe and shallower depths, this site is perfect for divers of all experience levels. Underwater photographers will have great colourful opportunities and all divers who appreciate great dive sites are sure to enjoy it.

Equipment Information ~ Neoprene Dive Socks – Kim Timmers

Feeling a little cold on your dive, but don’t want the added expense of purchasing a new thicker wetsuit?

There are a number of inexpensive options that you can consider, neoprene socks, gloves, rash vest or ice vest.

Here I am going to discuss neoprene socks……….

Dive socks are made of neoprene and you wear them inside your boots, they are really stretchy and easy to put on and take off. As I am sure you all know you lose most of the heat from your extremities, so making sure your feet are nice and warm during the dive will help you stay warmer for longer.

Dive socks come in a range of sizes and thicknesses so always make sure that you try the socks on under your boots before purchase to ensure a comfortable fit, its all very well having nice warm feet, but not at the expense of making your boots tight and uncomfortable. Another added bonus of dive socks is that they prevent your boots or fins rubbing your feet preventing blisters or bruising.

Dive sock prices differ depending on thickness and make but can cost from as little as 12 Euros.

Continuing your Scuba Diving Education – George Rudge

As a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver you might be thinking where can I go from here to continue my recreational training!

There are several options that you can explore. You can of course progress onto the PADI Rescue Diver training or you can choose from a list of specialities and concentrate on a particular area of diving.

Did you know that your Advanced Diving dives can be counted towards completing a speciality Diving course?

For example, if on your PADI Advanced Diver Course you opted to do Peak Performance Buoyancy, Drift Diver and Boat Diver all you need to do is complete one more dive in these areas to turn them into a Speciality.

If you have already completed one Adventure dive this discounts the price of the speciality by 40 Euros. So you could have a speciality for as little as 107 Euros.

Here at Dive and Sea Tenerife we can offer you a range of different specialties, one of the most frequently taken Specialities is the Peak Performance Buoyancy speciality.

This gives you dedicated dive time to practise obtaining perfect buoyancy as well as additional knowledge to aid your buoyancy control.

The course can be completed in as little as one day or two dives and for only €147.

Divemaster Internship

We are now running our 6 or 8 week internship from the 1st of every calendar month, the next start date available is 1st July 2012.

The minimum time required for a non certified diver or Open Water diver with less than 20 dives is 8 weeks.

We provide all the training for FREE, however there are costs involved with regards PADI materials, diving insurance, accommodation & equipment.

All diving is FREE for the whole duration you are with us, some of our interns manage over 100 dives!

Our PADI Dive centre has trained more Divemasters than any other centre in the area and the majority have gone on to use the qualification for employment in some form or for continuing their education.

Some are now working DM’s others continued on to be PADI Instructors and one is even working as a Dolphin Trainer!

We have additional discounts on accommodation for multiple bookings i.e.. couples / friends /Clubs / Groups.

If you wish to apply for the internship please send your CV and a photograph with your preferred dates and also letting us know where you found out about us.

We are also able to offer the following PADI courses / internships to better enhance your work opportunities and diving experiences;

PADI Master Scuba Diver

PADI Assistant Instructor

PADI Instructor

Pre-Instructor Development Course

If you have any questions take the opportunity to check out our web page.https://www.diveandseatenerife.com/Diving_Internships.htmor Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dive-And-Sea-Tenerife/122027224542597

Amazing first week in Tenerife

Date: June 2, 2014 Author: Dive-And-Sea-Tenerife

Upon arriving at my new home for the next 8 weeks (Dive and Sea Tenerife), my buddy Nate and I were greeted at the shop by Buzz and were given our new names.
Now known as Steve, and Nate as Alan, we were given a tour of the beautiful diving facilities, shown our new ride, and taken to our big apartment.

Things kicked off the next day when we took our first dive trip to El Puertito where the sun was shining, the water was clear, and I met my first Sea turtle!
I was amazed at how comfortable these massive sea turtles were with the divers in the water, they came right up close to investigate because they have very poor vision.

Things were even more amazing the next day when we were given the opportunity to dive our first deep water ship wreck! At Tabaiba, I dove deeper than I’ve ever gone – 30 metres!
We were lucky enough to have great visibility and I recorded the dive with my first Go Pro video. I can honestly say that things have turned out better than I could have ever asked for so far on this trip.

I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the underwater to take a trip and dive with the friendly staff here at Dive and Sea Tenerife.