Well, there have been major changes. For family reasons that are beyond the scope of this blog, my time with Ron at Dive Dojo has been cut short. Circumstance required a relocation and Dumaguete was the choice. Since May 2025 I have been acclimatising to this new environment and focusing on assimilating my family into schools and general life here. This is not a short term challenge. So diving has taken a bit of a back step.

In fact I have completed just one fun dive with Mia and Ayumi since arriving, whilst also continuing some training in nearby Moalboal. I am now a Visual Inspection Procedure and Valve Service trained technician. A skill I have taken to ensure the safety of my own equipment but also available to others.

In October 2025 I started my associations with the Dauin Divers crowd and was fortunate enough to be introduced to Gary at Aqua Adventura Divers, in particular due to my connections with James Omac at RAID. Sometimes things feel like a good fit and I am please to start my association with Gary. In fact my very first job will be to crossover Mia from Padi to RAID so that we may work more efficiently towards our common goals.

Being a Dive Instructor is not a wealthy occupation and sadly the cost of staying with several agencies is now beyond my means. A tough choice but as I enjoy the system of teaching under RAID, this is the choice I have made.

Readers to my blog will realise that change is always on the horizon but I am reaching a point now where I want to settle into one area and apply my loyalty to one business whilst promoting travel to Dumaguete from all those I have met before.

Wow! It’s almost Xmas. Well actually that started here on the 1st September but I won’t allow our decorations until 1st December. Ha HA.

So, those who follow me will see that I’ve played around with my website a bit. Have a look and let me know what you think?

So what’s new? Well it’s certainly getting busier at last with new students and new dive journeys beginning. I had the pleasure of introducing my new friend Isaac and his crew Tommy and Katherine to the delights of Puerto Galera. Isaac and I have more than diving in common. I’m Scuba Jay and he is Scuba G! In fact Isaac has produced some bespoke tropical water wetsuits designs, lady’s only for now but some more male orientated designs are in the pipeline. Here’s Mia wearing one such design…

For my part, I have branched out to providing Fitness Coaching in the gym. Both 1-2-1 and classes to focus those like minded beach athletes out here. I am also working on my skills to train as a Freediving Instructor so watch this space for updates in the new year.

Covid is no more. All welcome to travel. Of course we can never say never but the world has finally moved on it seems. In fact I hear that soon you won’t even need a mask on the plane.

I’ll be in the UK in November, Based in Dorset. So what better time than to meet up and discuss your next adventure….to the Philippines!

Salamat Po.

Summer arrives in the Philippines and the winds shift to the west. It was tough over the past 6 months….it got as cold as 24c at one point. Brrrrrrr. 😁

So the time to smile is back. Covid becomes more and more unfashionable and we finally see each other’s faces again…..except when shopping of course. As rules are further relaxed, alert levels dropped and international travel opens up, what better time to escape the European depression?

So what’s news with us? Well Mia (my wife) and I have joined forces with LLV ( Lalagunavillas) on the Sabang front to work towards their expansion plan in becoming a fully fledged IDC Padi 5 star resort. If you like a bit of luxury then take a look at their offerings…. www.lalagunavillas.com

I’m pleased to see my good friend and neighbour Chuck’s Capt’n Gregg’s Resort has finally been signed off after a 6 month rebuild following extensive fire damage. We wish them much success with the return of travellers. Always a great option for the seasoned dive enthusiast. www.captngreggs.com

Spent a few days with my good friend Julienne and her team at Reef Haven dive resort Muelle recently. Busy with Scuba Diver and EFR/Rescue Diver courses. It’s a lovely place for those wanting to stay outside of Sabang 😉. More info at www.reefhaven.ph

Life away from diving continues with our 9 year old Neice Ayumi and our 2 year old twins Kylo and Logan. With my 50th approaching in June some might say time to slow down. Me…I love my job!

Take care and come see us soon!

Well we are finally coming out of the dark and back into the light. Those of you vaccinated will soon be arriving without any form of Quarantine (just a test 72 hours before departure). So now is the time to plan your winter Sun, Sea and Diving!

It’s been a challenging year for all of us in the dive business and changes are often made for financial reasons. As such I am now working as a freelance and whilst I still have links to Yourdivepro.com, I am effectively working as a free agent. That means I can do things differently when it comes to your diving courses and fun diving…

So how does it work? Padi has placed most of its training material online now. Go have a look at Padi.com and enrol on your chosen online course. All you need to do is show my PADI number (430881) in the resort or instructor field and I can access and monitor your progress. We can meet up online to help you overcome any knowledge development needs. All this before you ever come to see me!!

Then, you can take that completed learning to anywhere you want within 12 months, I hope you come to see me, and we then complete the practical training. If not I refer your course to your chosen Instructor. Choose me and I will give you fixed prices as follows…

Dive Gear Rental (500-1000php per day). Your incentive to fill your days and reduce the cost. Open Water (speedy) Course 2-3 days.

Air tank rental and fills (150php per tank). You would need 9 tanks for an Open Water course! 5 for an Advance Course.

Swimming Pool Hire (400-1000php per day). Only if you need it as we can walk right into the ocean.

Boat Space (from 400php per dive). Generally the more people on the boat the cheaper the boat. Good to do at least two dives from the boat but walk-in courses are easy in Sabang.

Incidentals such as transport and parking as necessary (150php a day). If you need a lift.

What about my Fee? Well that’s up to you. Lets say around 1000php per day minimum. That’s about 10 beers here!

So it’s as much as you want to spend.

Capt’n Gregg’s (Phoenix Fund)

If you don’t already know my good friend Chuck suffered an electrical fire that consumed the resort and it is now in the process of a slow rebuild. The Phoenix will rise from the flames and I am keen to bring your business to the resort to help bring this iconic diving resort (since 1983) back to full health. See their website for more info. http://www.captngreggs.com

What about Mia and me? Well if you follow my you tube channel you will have seen my underwater proposal at Verde (where have you been?) 🙂 We will shortly be getting married and Mia continues to work hard as the only qualified Padi Mermaid Instructor in Mindoro at this time.

Okay, time for you to start booking your next adventure…what are you waiting for?….The next covid will be along shortly so let’s not ruin what’s left of our lives worrying hey?

Take care my friends.

So what happened in the last 3 months?

Finally as the end of June approaches we have seen a relaxation of the travel restrictions and some divers in the water! Some old friends returned and a new friend joined us for an intensive 12 dive pack over 4 days (including a trip to Verde). We got to visit some of our favourite dive sites and although no Thresher seen this time round we had some awesome dives on most of our wrecks including the Alma Jane…..

Mia continued with her Mermaid training and together with Karen got me through to Advanced Mermaid. I figured why not? There are likely to be many guys out there who want to do the course but maybe feel a bit embarrassed to join. Well I have to tell you it’s a great introduction into freediving and the tail allows the artistic side to come out. It’s actually a lot of fun. So on a full moon I became Tenebris Noctis (alter-ego). It’s a great to be part of this new and exciting Padi training and it’s clear to see that the Padi directors are also seeing the market potential for this holiday extra. We look forward to running our first Mermaid Academy later in the year and are proud to be the pioneers in this field. Anyway…I guess you are still trying to get the idea of me in a mermaid tail out of your heads? Well sorry but here it is…

Okay so one other major milestone to announce. On 22nd June 2021 I asked Mia to marry me and she said yes! Or at least I think she did. You be the judge.

So life continues to challenge us all with the covid pandemic but whilst countries such as my own are reaching the end of the tunnel we are still only seeing a small percentage of vaccinations here in the Philippines. This is also beginning to change through the covax initiative so fingers crossed we may open up to vaccinated international tourists by the end of the year. We look forward to the return of our many friends and families in Puerto Galera but it has been nice having the place all to ourselves for a while. Let’s hope our rush to generate income doesn’t spoil our natural resource here.

See you soon.

Wow….things are really beginning to change in the Philippines. We are slowly opening up and look forward to our customers being able to return and dive with us. So that gives me some space to talk about, Chinese New Year, Mermaids, YourDivePro and sun sun sun!

Chinese New Year brings in the year of the Ox, or as I like to describe it…a domesticated form of large horned mammal that once moved in herds….or put it another way….some of our tourists who are here looking for love! So lets hope this is a good sign of things to come.

So picture the moment…I’m sat at home with nothing planned when I receive a call…can you come in we have 6 DSD students! By the time I got to the dive shop this number was 10…plus a snorkel experience and only one person spoke English. So with great thanks to Anthony we were able to deliver the training and a boat dive experience and we look forward to some of these adventurers returning to complete Open Water courses soon.

But we want to hear about the Mermaids….did you see one???? Well more than one as it turns out. With the introduction by Padi of the Mermaid Diving structure we jumped at the chance to be part of this new sport. In fact we jumped so fast we are at this time taking our newly qualified Mermaids from the Pool to the Open Water to complete their Advance Mermaid certifications. The first 5 in the whole of the Philippines!! With the help of our resident Course Director (the first to be accredited to teach this course…and as she does this, also effectively write the Instructor Development Course for the Mermaids). Thank you Sabine Henkel. There is a Mermaid section on my Website if you want to know more. Mia features prominently.

With that I move on to YourDivePro. The brainchild of my new boss Jason Madden (Jay Jay) our concept is to provide a standardised approach to diving setup and instructors/Divemasters to the smaller resorts who are not in a position to open their own dive shop (numbers too low). Instead they agree a contract with us and we cover their needs from the odd visit to assist with DSD’s to a fully furnished, fully stocked, fully supported dive shop. Take a look at yourdivepro.com where you will find my alternative home when not on Scuba-Jay.com.

So finally it leaves me to say that the sun is back in full force after all the storms and cooler temperatures over the winter period. Its hot hot HOT so what are you waiting for…Covid is no longer an excuse…just a topic over a beer or two or more…

See you soon.

ScubaJay

Happy New Year to you all. I join you all in hoping that 2021 see’s some return to normality and more importantly opens up the way to more diving!

Exciting news here. I am pleased to announced my new venture joining the Dive Crew at Badladz Beach & Dive Resort (Badladz.com) working for Jay-Jay (Yes that’s going to be confusing) and his son Paul. I’m grateful for the opportunity they have given me to join the new dive operation situated at the Badladz Beach Resort.

With easy access to a generous pool, and calm shore diving (March to October) this makes it ideally situated for new divers (and their non-diving families). But that’s not all… for qualified divers we have access direct from either the shore or 5 minutes away for Muelle, to our own boat giving access to all the Puerto Galera Dive Sites. In fact being closer to the Dolphin Bay area than almost all other operators we can ensure we are a regular at sites such as Boulders, Japanese Wreck and other muck and wall diving.

This is an exciting new partnership for me and of course I would love for you to take advantage of great deals on rooms at the resort. Contact me direct with all your needs from private transfers to a sneak preview of your chosen rooms!

Check out my dive price page for updated pricing….wait I hear you say….that means price rises..? Well for most of the entry level training it’s a price fall!

So come on and start planning your next adventure now.

Well, since I last blogged there has been much activity good, bad and ugly!

The typhoon season hit us here with full force and it would appear caught many unaware. Puerto Galera saw some severe damage with trees down everywhere, the roof of a local complex landed in the main street cutting it off. Of course the power was shut off in advance and we spent a week and a half waiting for all lines to be repaired and reconnection. Luckily we have a generator and are prepared but even so you cannot run these things permanently so it was very warm at times. We added two battery fans to our night time air flow and this helped. In hindsight I wish I had started a generator supply business because they were in much demand.

Just before the storm we dived the Alma Jane and you can see a video of this on my video page. It was one of the best dives I have experienced on the wreck with no current, clear waters and much activity. I haven’t been back since but am told there is more damage to the wreck since the typhoon Quinta.

Having recovered from Quinta, which also saw a ferry wash up on the beach, we braced for other storm systems but in the event they blew through without much damage.

Then there was the flood. A storm system of rain clouds hung over us, almost localised just to Puerto Galera. I had been out walking the dogs on the Windmill Hill when it gained strength. The road back down was a river and the unmade track that leads to our residences was washed over by the force of water coming down the mountain. I later discovered that the road had given way further up the windmill hill and the water diverted straight down our valley rather than the drain system. I had only commented a week before to Mia that there was a large crack there following an earthquake the day previous. So more power outage and water supplies interupted.

We finally hit a period of stability to then wake up to news that the wet market (that’s basically all meat, fruit veg etc) had caught fire overnight and burnt through. Luckily no injuries but it exposed the lack of fire protection here in PG especially since we are right next to the sea! Faulty electrics are blamed but there is no way of knowing. Ugly.

Still diving continues for the locals and its a pleasure to be in the water with whole dive sites to ourselves. My Autumn roundup video will have you salivating and no doubt planning your next trip post vaccine. The cost of the PCT tests are falling all of the time so no excuse not to come for Christmas if you are Philippines based.

As we enter December, and the Christmas Season (albeit the lights and trees have been up for some time already), thoughts turn to events around the world and the need for Covid19 to become a managed infliction rather than a deadly disease. News of successful vaccines is heart warming.

Okay, enough for now. Take care and stay safe wherever you are.

Scuba-Jay.