| Aziz Idris |
LOCAL Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) members had the opportunity to meet with newly appointed PADI Regional Manager Neil Davidson, who was in the Sultanate recently as part of a visit to the region.
In his first visit to Brunei, Davidson met with 15 PADI members – comprising local Divemasters and Open Water Scuba instructors – to get the latest news on PADI.
The visit allowed members to get up-to-date information on local trends, marketing efforts, PADI’s digital optimisation and the launch of PADI Travel.
Davidson also updated on standard changes, reviews of the latest in risk management and disseminated information of exciting Project AWARE campaigns later this year.
Davidson is a PADI Master Instructor with over six years of diving industry experience within Southeast Asia. His most recent experience was with Operations Management at a PADI 5 Star Career Development Centre, where he was responsible for management, social media and marketing, as well as the day-to-day logistics. During his visit, he dived with Poni Divers at two of Brunei’s wrecks, the American Wreck and the Dolphin Wreck, getting a taste of Brunei’s rich and diverse underwater world.
The American Wreck, formerly the USS Salute 470, was built in 1943 as a minesweeper.
The 75-metre long ship saw lots of action in World War II, but sank after hitting a Japanese mine in 1945 during pre-invasion sweeps of Brunei Bay. It now lies broken in half on a sand bottom at 30-metre deep, still with rounds of ammunition. This was of particular interest to Davidson who previously served in the British Army.
The Dolphin Wreck is a sunken barge about 3.5 nautical miles off Meragang Beach. The easily accessible top deck is a playground for puffer fish, groupers and the lone octopus.
PADI is the world’s leading scuba diver training organisation. With more than 6,500 PADI Dive Centres and Resorts, and more than 135,000 individual PADI professionals who have issued more than 25 million certifications around the world, you’ll find PADI diver courses and scuba diving services nearly everywhere.