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http://www.hurricanedivers.com/1aboutus(1).htm Our Dive Center & Staff The Dive Center We are a PADI Gold Palm Instructor Development Center, located in Bahias de Huatulco on the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca, in the South of Mexico. Safety, Personal Customer Service, Environmental Care, Professionalism, Quality and Fun are the keywords here in Hurricane Divers. We opened Hurricane Divers in September 1999 in Junior Plaza in Chahué. It soon became obvious that there was indeed a market for a professional dive center in Huatulco, with a wide range of services for divers and snorkelers as well as equipment sales and repair. In the first year we became a PADI Resort Center and the first DAN Partner in Dive Safety in Mexico! At the end of 2001 we moved to the beach of Santa Cruz and became the only PADI Gold Palm Resort in the state of Oaxaca. In August 2002 we became one of only a handfull of PADI Gold Palm Instructor Development Centers in Mexico. We have a PADI Course Director and an IDC-Staff Instructor permanently on staff and we teach in English, Spanish, German and Dutch. If you would like to see what PADI Gold Palm IDC Center stands for and what standards and requisites we need to comply with, go to the chapter "Gold Palm". Our divers seem to value our dedication to dive safety and the environment, our personalized service and our "made to measure" excursions and packages, because more and more people come back to dive with us again and/or continue their diver education with us. Don´t take my word for it, check our current Newsletter as well as the previous editions and have a look at the comments that our guests have left in our Guest Comment Book.
Location
We are located on the beach of Santa Cruz, between the open air theater and the chapel. In the photo we´re in the circle and the chapel is next to it, on the right (you can click on the photo to enlarge it). As you can see, we´re only about 50 meters from the marina, where we have our dive boat. NEW: In November 2007 we opened a branch in Tangolunda. The location is "Plaza Punta Tangolunda", next to the spa. We are only a few minutes walking from the big hotels like the Barcelo, Gala, Camino Real, Crown Pacific and the Quinta Real. For maps of our locations, go to our page with maps. Our Services We offer a wide variety of services and products, review the list of examples below to get an idea. For information about the specific services or products go to the appropriate pages, using the buttons on the top of this page. If there is something you don´t find in this list please ask, we may be able to help! Introductions into Scuba Diving Introductions into Snorkeling Guided Dive and Snorkel Tours All Day Diving and Snorkeling Excursions Skin Diving Courses Scuba Diving Courses Advanced, Rescue and Specialty Courses Medic First Aid Courses Oxygen Provider Courses Environmental Programs Equipment Specialty Courses Professional Level Courses (Divemaster, Instructor) Dive and Snorkel Packages Packages with Accommodation Packages with Rafting and other Activities Compressed Air Sales (Tank Fills) Educational Material Sales New and Used Equipment Sales Equipment Repair and Maintenance Equipment Rental U/W Camera Rental
Our Name
Where does the name "Hurricane Divers" come from? On the left you see a satellite photo of Hurricane "Pauline" approaching Huatulco on 07 October 1997, the day before it arrived here. Around that time we, my wife Pauline and I, were thinking of settling down in Huatulco and starting our own dive center and I was visiting Huatulco. This coincedence with the names is the main reason why we came up with our name "Hurricane Divers". One strange thing happened on the day we officially opened, 30 September 1999. We took out our very first group of divers and during the break between dives we felt something strange, like the boat was "vibrating". Nothing happened so we did our second dive, but returning to the dive center people told us that a pretty strong earthquake hit the Huatulco area exactly at the time we felt the vibrating in the boat! Some divers suggested that we change our name to "Earthquake Divers", but we decided to stick to "Hurricane Divers". The Team Our staff is an international team of highly trained and dedicated professionals, with a huge amount of combined experience working in the diving industry. We have a permanent staff of six, complemented by Charlie as a free-lancer, and several seasonal staff members during the high season. Apart from diver safety and the protection of the environment, your satisfaction is the most important issue on our mind. We enjoy giving a personalized service, catering for your personal needs and requirements. Below is a brief introduction of our team.
Roberto
From Holland, began his professional diving career almost 20 years ago, in the Dominican Republic. He is a PADI Course Director, EFR Instructor Trainer and DAN Instructor Trainer and he is the owner (together with his wife, Pauline) and manager of Hurricane Divers since 1999. That job means he doesn't get to dive very often, he is mainly busy with the administration of the business, answering emails and keeping the website up to date. Pauline From England, is an enthusiastic recreational diver who did her first course on the Maldives and is a PADI Rescue Diver and holds several Specialty Certifications. She has worked many years in the tourist industry for Thomson, a UK based Tour Operator, first as a Representative and later as a Wedding Coordinator and a Supervisor. She helps out with the administrative side of the business and she cooks our famous Picnic Lunch for our Al-Day Excursions! She is married to Roberto.
Natanael
Born in Mexico City, is a PADI IDC-Staff Instructor, EFR Instructor and DAN Instructor as well as a FMAS/CMAS Instructor, with almost 25 years of experience in teaching diving. He has worked in diving in various places in Mexico and came to Huatulco in 1996. He knows all the nice sites here in Huatulco and loves to go out and show them to you. He is working on his Master Instructor and eventually wants to become a PADI Course Director. He is also has a degree in Biology (not Marine Biology though :-) Ernesto From Mexico City, is not a diver. He attends people in the dive center and does all kinds of odd jobs, like filling tanks, cleaning equipment, etc. He is pretty good with his hands, so he is also our handy-man, taking care of all the repairs and other DYI jobs around the dive center. He is interested in astronomy and mythology and loves to read books about those subjects. He keeps an eye on the dive shop for us overnight. Ken From Edmonton, Canada, is PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (he did his IDC with us in 2005) and MSDT. In the summer he is an electrician, in Canada, but in the winter he likes diving in Huatulco better. He is a very enthusiastic diver and Instructor and loves to make underwater videos.
Javier
From Oaxaca, Mexico, is our (very experienced) boat driver. He used to work as a boat driver for Charlie, when he had his dive operation in the Hotel Barcelo. He loves to be out on the ocean, and he also takes care of the regular maintenance of our "Dignity". He is married and has two young boys. Antonio Or Toño, is from Puebla, Mexico, and is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor. He did the Divemaster Internship as well as the PADI Instructor Course with us in 2007. He studied engineering in Puebla, but came to Huatulco in 2006 for the "quality of life" and to become a diving professional. His sisters, who both dive, live in Huatulco as well, one of them is the Chef in the restaurant "Onix".
Diana From Puerto Escondido, Mexico, is normally the person that will attend to the people coming into our dive shop in Tangolunda. She studied "International Relations" at the local university, where her husband still studies. She has a son and is working on her Open Water Diver certification. Brian Is from Ottawa, Canada, and is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor. He is retired from the Canadian army. In the summer, back home, he works for a rafting company and helps out at a local dive shop. In the winter he helps us out. He did his Divemaster Internship with us back in 2004. Pat
From Canada, does not live in Huatulco or actually work for Hurricane Divers. She is a "snowbird" and comes to Huatulco every year in the wintertime for a few months. She is a PADI Advanced Diver and a former life-guard and just loves to come out snorkeling and diving with us. She will often assist as a snorkel guide, especially on our All-Day Excursions. This coming winter she will do the PADI Rescue Diver Course with us. Charlie Or Carlos, from Mexico, is a PADI IDC-Staff Instructor, EFR Instructor and DAN Instructor. Many divers know him from his dive operation in the Hotel Barcelo which he gave up recently and works with us on a free-lance basis. He has been diving in Huatulco since 1989, is a very experienced Instructor and obviously knows the area very well. He helped us out a lot when we started our dive center here in Huatulco. He is an avid photographer, on land as well as underwater. "We have traveled extensively and have been diving all over the world. We came to Huatulco to visit and decided to make this place our home due to the natural beauty, charm and tranquility. We would like to share this beauty with you, especially that of the fascinating Pacific underwater world, which is a unique experience. We hope to make your holiday in Huatulco an unforgettable adventure!" The Hurricane Divers Team
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