PADI Scuba Diving Courses & Guided Leisure Dives on the Costa Blanca

Geoff Ridden - PADI MSDT (Master Scuba Diver Trainer)

From an early age the exploits of Jacques Cousteau fascinated me and I couldn‘t wait for the opportunity to take my first breaths underwater. I was fortunate enough to be able to do this on a family holiday to Malta when I was around 14 years old, and that was me hooked for life!

Over the following years diving really was just something that I did on holidays - I hadn‘t considered it to be something that I would do in the UK. It‘s cold, dark and there‘s nothing to see - Isn‘t it? How wrong could I have been.

I was introduced to UK diving in 2002 by Divecrew, based in Bracknell, with whom I trained from PADI Open Water Diver right through to PADI MSDT (Master Scuba Diver Trainer) all of which was done in UK waters. This is where my passion for wreck diving grew. The UK has some of the most stunning and historic wreck sites in the world and the South coast has more than its fair share, hence most weekends our motley crew could be found somewhere out in the channel up to our shoulders in rust.

During the winter months, when the weather gods were against us, we would hit the inland sites to train or be trained, sometimes in temperatures close to freezing. This is where the philosophy Dive! Dive! Dive! was born. Dive anywhere - Sea or quarry, Dive anytime of year - Summer or Winter, Dive for work or play! Just as long as you are diving.

It hasn‘t all been cold water though, my diving has taken me to Malta, The Canary Islands, and Egypt where warm, clear blue waters filled with marine life have certainly taken the edge off my lust for rust. Now the beautiful Mediterranean Sea around the Costa Blanca in Spain is also proving to be a fascinating place to dive and teach, with marine reserves, wrecks, reefs and stunning underwater scenery.