La Isla Bonia
1 August 2002
CRAIG COOMBS and TRACEY LEASK had their first dive in British waters in 1996 and have never looked back. Soon afterwards, they decided to leave behind their careers in IT and start a new life as dive resort owners, with the only proviso that their resort would have to be in warmer waters.
Five years later, that dream came true. They had both qualified as PADI Instructors, were working as dive resort managers in Koh Samui, Thailand and were ready to branch out on their own. When seeking the best location for their own dive resort, they searched the world looking for the right country in which to base it before settling on Belize in Central America. Belize is a major eco-tourism attraction with the second largest barrier reef in the world, three coral atolls and the famous Blue Hole, first explored by Jacques Cousteau in 1970. It also has pristine rain forests, majestic Mayan temples, and is the home of one of the rarest of the big cats, the jaguar.
The Belize Academy of Diving was formed in 2001 and is based at the Avalon Reef Club, a prestigious resort on Ambergris Caye - Madonna's La Isla Bonita. Starting from scratch, in less than six months, the dive centre was built, equipped with all new Scubapro kit, a compressor was installed and a new 38ft custom-built dive boat was delivered to join the 25ft boat that was already taking divers and snorkelers out.
As a PADI International Resort, the Belize Academy of Diving offers the full range of PADI courses from Discover Scuba to Assistant Instructor. Their motto is 'promoting reef awareness through education', but don't worry if you're not interested in studying on your holiday, they provide daily diving and snorkeling trips to the local reef and full day outings to the offshore atolls.
Craig and Tracey would be delighted to welcome fellow Brits to Belize and are offering divers from the UK 10% off their diving in 2002, if they quote this article when booking.
To find out more, visit the website www.belize-academy-of-diving.com.
The above article appeared in the August 2002 issue of Sport Diver, the official magazine of the PADI Diving Society in the UK.