The Man Behind the Mask

So he started diving to get away from his girlfriend and he likes to Gamble!

Lets find out more about Iain Irving, Instructor/Co Owner Island Watersports Lanzarote.

Why did you start Scuba Diving?

Well, Marie and I went to Thailand in 2001 and the airline lost Marie’s case.  After 3 days of bad tempered girlfriend I needed to find something to do or one of us would not have left the Island!  I enrolled in a PADI Open Water Course and got hooked.

 

In your spare time what do you like to do?

Spare time? I like watching Rugby now as I am too old to play anymore and motor cycling.  I would like to buy an enduro  bike to tour Lanzarote but Marie wants a new bathroom first.

What drove you to become a Scuba Diving Instructor?

I always wanted to live abroad and totally agree with the old adage ‘choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life’. OK it is not that simple and it didn’t happen over night.  I really enjoyed my diving while Marie had  some fantastic holidays  along the way.

 

Do you have a favourite type of dive?

If I had to choose I would say Night Dives, it really is so different at night. I love encounters with the larger animals like Rays and we see them feeding at night which is just amazing. I enjoy all my dives, but seeing Angel Sharks and Rays on a daily basis is just a privilege.

Apart from Lanzarote, what is your favourite scuba diving destination?

That is such a difficult question, it really is, I have dived in some excellent locations all around the world. It’s not just about the diving , it’s also about the other divers you meet,  the friends you make and the memories.We have made so many great friends here in Lanzarote.

For the total experience I would say Barbados while diving with Ram on The Scotch and Soda in Carlisle Bay. Ram was the Instructor who got Marie to dive, now that guy had patience. We met some lovely people there and the horse racing at Bridgetown was a real bonus, I remember we won 1500 dollars on one trip.

 

 What is the Best thing about being an Instructor?

Whether it is a non diver discovering scuba for the first time, or a certified diver learning new skills, it is just a great job. I get as much enjoyment out of our students success as they do.

  

Why did you decide to move to Lanzarote?

We felt at home straight away, we visited with our dive club from the UK in February 2014 and by November 2014 we had moved here. That pretty much sums it up. Lanzarote is unlike any other Canary Island thanks to the influences of Cesar Manrique. Friendly people, relaxed safe environment and obviously fantastic diving for all levels.

Any Regrets?

Probably the obvious answer here is that I didn’t do it earlier.

 

Museo Atlantico

  

 

ISLAND WATERSPORTS ARE DELIGHTED TO  BE AWARDED  BEST DIVE CENTRE AND BEST ECO GUIDE FOR THE MUSEO ATLÁNTICO FOR THE SECOND TIME RUNNING.

 

 

 

Located in Playa Blanca in the south of the Island, just 30 minutes from our dive centre is Museo Atlantico,  Europe’s only underwater museum.

We organise a variety of trips to the museum daily.

Morning or afternoon dives available. We provide return transport from our dive centre. Our instructors are with you for the whole excursion.

Our popular  2 dive trips offer  either  Las Coloradas + Museo Atlantico or Playa Flamingo + Museo Atlantico.

 

All our instructors will talk you through the story of artist  Jason deCaires  Taylors creation before hand.

This is a fantastic dive with an abundance of marine life suitable for all level of certified divers.  A true photographers paradise.

We recommend you book with us in advance as this is proving to be a  very popular trip with our divers.

 

 

 

Non-diving partners are welcome to join us on the trip to Playa Blanca as the boat trip leaves from the harbour where there is a selection of shops, bars and cafes to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Museo Atlantico Awards

 

Island Watersports are delighted to be awarded Best Operating Company and Best Eco Dive Guide in the Museo Atlantico Winter 2017-2018 awards.

Grateful thanks to all our divers for completing the survey and providing feedback.

The Museo Atlantico dive is becoming one of our most popular dives and it is not difficult to see why.

Since the first installation in 2016 the sealife around the statues has grown to provide an  amazing display of marine life.

We dive the museum every week of the year so if you haven’t visited yet give us a call. Set in an area of 50 x 50meters at around 12 meters depth this is an ideal dive site suitable for all level of divers.

Did you know that you can also dive the Museo Atlantico even if you have never dived before?

Ask us about our Museo Atlantico Experience for non divers, after two training dives you can enjoy a guided dive to the Museo Atlantico, Europes first underwater museum.

Now that is what makes a holiday special!

Europes First Underwater Museum

Museo Atlantico – Europes first underwater museum, created by artist Jason deCaires Taylor.

 

Since the first installations back in 2016, the Museo Atlantico has proved to be a very popular dive site and a ‘must do’  for many of our scuba diving visitors. At a depth of 14 meters this dive is suitable for all certified divers and now non divers have the opportunity to dive here too.

These latest pictures from our trip this week show how the flora and fauna are making the museum home.

 

Our guide Iain Irving was delighted to see a spiny sea star making it’s home on the girls head at the hybrid section, wrapping itself around the bun on the back of her head.

There is always plenty to see on this dive , Barracuda, Angel Sharks, Trigger Fish, Bastard Grunt and the Spiny Sea Star were the entertainers  yesterday.

 

Now you can dive the Museo Atlantico even if you are not a certified diver, just complete 2 training dives with us and then you will be able to dive the museum.

Interested ? contact us for more details.

2017 – Diving Year Review

2017 was a year of new beginings for Island Watersports Dive Centre  as George and Iain formed a new partnership and, along with John,  moved to a new location in the Old Town Harbour of Puerto Del Carmen, Lanzarote.

 

Still with all the great facilities that our divers expect - hot showers, toilets and changing rooms to make our diving experience as relaxed and enjoyable as possible.

Below is a look back at some of the many highlights and hopefully some special memories for our divers too.

 

 

Work is finished on the new dive centre in February and our first visitors arrive, welcome to the Voigtlander family, Sally and Diane who took the snorkelling challenge  and Nick who kicked off the year by becoming a Master Scuba Diver.

March saw our first clean up dive of the year , thanks to all our volunteers, Charles,Peter, Ailsa, John and Iain.

 

We where invited  by Rooftop Entertainment to watch the  6D Cinema Underwater experience at the Biosfera shopping centre, Puerto Del Carmen.

We went dressed to impress! It was a great evening and we have been back since but not in dive gear

Our trips to the Museo Atlantico proved to be incredibly popular with our divers and that is still true today, as Europe's only underwater museum it is a must see when diving in Lanzarote.

We were joined by so many diving friends in May and it was drinks all round when we surprised Christoph and Thomas with a little party as they celebrated their 10 year anniversary and 200th dive while they were on holiday.

The outside seating area of dive centre is proving to be a great place for a chill out after the dives, thanks Marco and Trui for the great pictures.

We were delighted to hit 1000 likes on Facebook this month thanks to all our divers, family and friends.

 

Worlds Ocean Day in June was celebrated by another Ocean Clean Up Dive and again we were joined by our wonderful diving volunteers.

Just a quick note - we do clean up dives every 3 months or so , all certified divers are welcome to come along and join us , we provide the tanks and weights for free.

 

 

More great news for June, we were awarded with another Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence.

The whole team at Island Watersports were absolutley delighted with this award as it is a result of all our divers reviews and feedback.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write these reviews, it really makes a huge difference to our business.

 

July was an eventful month - we were joined by Caroline, Heidi, Ailsa, Corinne and Marie for PADI Womens Dive Day. Caroline and Heidi had never dived before and completed their first  scuba diving 'Try Dive'experience. They were just amazing and  great fun was had by all.

Ollie celebrate his 18th Birthday which meant he could complete his PADI Dive Master course, something he had always wanted to do since he first started diving with us. Thanks for the great party guys. Bring on next year Hattie and  Alice!

We met Nadine and her family who were keen Geocachers and they completed our Geocache, GC 6C00N, training dive package.

 

It was dive courses all the way through August and nice to see so many regular diving friends continuing their diving journey with us.

Max , Lena, Basti and Christina all completing PADI  Deep and Advanced courses, Ross doing his PADI Rescue Course and Brian practising skills for his BSAC Dive Leader qualification.

 

 
The Old Town Puerto Del Carmen celebrated the Feria Del Mar in September and Island Watersports were invited to join in with a stand at the show. Georg and Marie were there for 4 days and met many new divers and visitors to Lanzarote.

Our very own Pokemon guru Christoph finally left us after diving for 5 weeks, so celebrations began and ended at the Tapas evening where too many local tapas and wines were sampled. Living the dream!

 

On to October and again it really was a month for courses with Steve and Colin crashing in their PADI Advanced courses and the Nitrox specialities all over a long weekend, nice skills boys. Also a very determined Claire travelled down from Costa Teguise everyday to complete her PADI Open Water Course.

Our 'Try Dive' experience was again very popular this month along with night dives as the days grew shorter.

 

 

Finishing touches were completed to our new web page in November, many thanks to Stevie for all his hard work over the last few months.

The addition of a flights and accommodation page has proved very popular with our diving friends and we are happy to be able to recommend to our divers an ABTA bonded travel agency in Camel Travel .

 

 

 

  December saw  John  retire after 7 years with Island Watersports.  We wish him and Ailsa a very happy retirement as they ride off into the sunset. The kettle is always on John xxx.

Christmas hats at the ready for our Christmas Day dive, many thanks for the bubbles Ally, Cheers !