WeDive scuba diving centre recently celebrated winning three prestigious awards from SSI (Scuba Schools International). Their accolades were for the most professional certifications, the most scuba student certifications, and the most overall certifications. Tomorrow spoke to the owner, SSI instructor trainer Nuno Oliveira, to find out the secret of their success.
Nuno has worked full-time in diving since 2002. After completing his professional certification in Portugal, he moved to Mexico to enrol in an instructor course and stayed there for ten years. He became a manager and trainer, also working in Cape Verde and Jamaica, before returning to Lagos to set up WeDive.
While he admits that the Algarve does not have the tropical waters of his last places of work, it does have the perfect conditions for training. He tells me that while tropical conditions are beautiful, if you train there, you can get into trouble in waters with less visibility. He rates the Algarve as being one of the best locations to learn to deep dive, offering good diving conditions on over 300 days per year. The water temperature is between 14º–22ºC and the waters are generally still and safe for diving.
Nuno is not saying that Algarve diving is without its charms. The Atlantic Ocean is influenced by Mediterranean characteristics, which offer wonderful underwater vistas and sea life. The Porto de Mós Wall is a rocky elevation and the perfect environment to look for conger eel and morays due to the porosity of the rock at a depth of 17 metres. You can also visit the wrecks of ships, like Propellers Paradise, where many marine species have found shelter, such as shoals of breams and wrasses, crabs, octopuses, prawns and European lobsters.
In addition, the Algarve has Europe’s largest artificial reef off Alvor, where four Portuguese Navy warships were sunk to create a unique diving environment. Here, divers can experience the amazing thrills of the Ocean Revival Underwater Park, which forms an artificial reef unlike any other in the world. Entry holes and corridors were opened in the ships before they were sunk to allow divers to enter and view the many fish that have made it their home.
So, if you fancy diving into the world of scuba, look no further than WeDive.