The ever changing world of fashion is also evident in Dusseldorf as Diver Design took the opportunity to launch a new range of their impressive titanium jewellery range!

Diver Design have taken their incredible looking products to a new level with the introduction of their Swarovski range, which feature crystals from the world famous brand!

Not content with one new addition to the range on offer, Diver Design have also launched a range of rings that features a 3 in 1, inter-lockable system.

Make sure you check out the collection on Kuredu, Komandoo and Vakarufalhi… providing you can get Rosa away from the necklaces…

Even though we take safety extremely seriously on all of our islands, sometimes diving related accidents do happen.

Prodivers is pleased to announce that from the start of February, divers will now be able to take out a short term policy to help insure them against any unexpected issues that might arise as a result of a diving accident.

The short term policy is offered by International Diving Assurance, a subsidiary of DAN Europe.

Divers and students at either Kuredu, Komandoo or Vakarufalhi will be able to insure themselves for a single day’s diving, 7 days, or 14 days directly upon registration.

Make sure you put the forthcoming dive shows in your diaries! You’ll find us at shows across Europe, so we’re kindly inviting you to pop by for a chat about diving around Kuredu, Komandoo and Vakarufalhi, news from your favourite PD dive center or inquiries about great discounts that groups of divers are entitled to.

Include us on your route around the following shows:

13th – 16th of January 2012 at Salon de la Plongée in Paris (Stand E19),
21st – 29th of January 2012 at BOOT in Düsseldorf (co-exhibiting with PADI in Hall 03/F28) and
16th – 19th of February 2012 at EUDI in Milan.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Are you still convinced Santa Claus doesn’t exist? To all the gorgeous Donnavventura girls: thank you, thank you, thank you! To our colleagues on Kuredu and Komandoo: beat that!

Imagine a squadron of eagle rays streaming past,  a couple of majestic mantas lingering around for half an hour and you diving with a scooter amongst them.  Oh,  and a whaleshark.

As evidenced by the photo,  one can have amazing encounters around Vakarufalhi.  This one took place at Digura Corner and there seems to be something about scooters that attracts big fish,  as our divers have been having similar experiences quite frequently.  Whalesharks remain surprisingly calm and don’t seem to be bothered by the excited divers at all.

What is even more awesome is that Marco,  one of the divers,  filmed the enviable encounter.  Not the worst idea for a souvenir from the Maldives!

You think you’ve seen it all. And then you come across masters of camouflage that amaze you with their colours, patterns and un-fish-like behaviour.

Anyone being fortunate enough to spot a frogfish will surely stop and ponder its spectacular and bizarre appearance. They are bottom dwellers, using their tiny fins to clumsily move around, and if the need arises to swim, they suck in water through their massive mouth and eject it from their gill holes behind their head, jet-propelling themselves across the bottom. Attracted to the tasty looking lure on their head, the prey is rapidly swallowed whole as the frogfish literally stretches its mouth to the same size as its body. How creepy is that?

Ornate ghostpipefish, with their incredible ability to mimic their surroundings, are a rear find too. They are normally found living around crinoids, featherstars, gorgonian fans and branching black coral bushes. Here they live very well camouflaged by their complex colour patterns and body shape, especially their skin flaps. Another sighting divers practically drool over!

Disguised, yet not impossible to spot. Antonio was lucky to find both at Ali Thila. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for more photo opportunities like this!

The diverse topography of our dive sites here in the Maldives is reflected in their different names – many of the sites here are described either as a Giri, a Thila or a Kandu and we have decided to celebrate these in our new T-shirt collection.

A “Giri” ist the local (Dhivehi) word for a shallow underwater island, a “Thila” is a deeper island and a “Kandu” is a channel between two islands. The fronts of our new shirts depict ecamples of each of these different sites including an animal you might be lucky enough to find inhabiting it, and on the back is a translation in Dhivehi and a list of our dive sites of that particular type.

We have pink, black and turquoise for the girls and black, denim and charcoal for the boys… all beautifully made exclusively for us by Forth Element!

On the last day of July we decided to visit the southern outreef of the Ari atoll because we heard that whale sharks were spotted in the area. We started the two tank dive cruising the outreef with underwater scooters when fortune favored us with not just one but two whale sharks. We slowly approached the whale sharks not sure how he would react to the scooters, but to our surprise they were very calm and just swam slowly along the outreef. Because of our added propulsion we managed to stay with these gentle giants for half an hour and the experience was mind blowing.

On the way back after the dive we passed Dugura lagoon and spotted lots of mantas in the area. We decided to do our second dive there and had another unforgettable dive with the mantas.

What better way to go diving and we had a fantastic days diving with many memorable experiences. We hope that the whale sharks and mantas stay in the area so we can share this experience with more of our divers.

Prodivers has trusted Mares products in their dive centres for many years not only to sell to the divers but also using Mares diving equipment as rental equipment and therefore being the ideal location for Mares to host their event.

The goal of the distributor meeting is for Mares to introduce their latest products and innovations, discuss commercial goals and budgets and introduce their various strategies like marketing for the next season to all the participants.

All the new products and innovations will be introduced on www.mares.com in the upcoming weeks and then one will be able to find all the information on these products on their webpage.

But the meeting also had a fun side with all the participants exploring the dive sites around Vakarufalhi extensively. They even managed to spot a whale shark on one of their dives which was a first for many. They also had team building events with fun activities on the beach and in the water. This again highlighting the Mares slogan “Just add water”

Vakarufalhi Prodivers has a multi national team which has been expanded to be able to accommodate many of the language groups coming to the island. The resort has now moved away from an all Italian island to a multinational island promoting their resort in all major European countries. This proved to be perfect to accommodate the Mares meeting participants, which came from all around the globe.

The new t-shirt collection has arrived and is now available at all of our centers!

The new Fourth Element T-shirts are available in 2 different designs and multiple colors, all of them especially designed for Kuredu, Komandoo and Vakarufalhi!

Fourth Element are a well known supplier of scuba diving equipment and clothing, and we are pleased to announce their involvement in the design and supply of this range!

One of the designs features a specific underwater highlight of each of the island, while the second style offers a pretty funky map of the Maldives running down the back.

Kuredu features the majestic Manta Ray. For those who have already been diving or snorkeling with us may have already experienced unforgettable encounters at Fushivaru Thila and at Dhanifaru.  Kuredu’s involvement in the Maldivian Manta Ray Research Project has also led to the development of a speciality course, currently for snorkelers, to help further people’s understanding of these creatures.

A turtle was selected as the official Komandoo logo, and this was taken as the design for the tshirt. Turtles are a key part of Komandoo, following on from the hatching of some babies when the resort first opened.  A firm favorite of Komandoo divers is Kuredu Caves featuring a  unique community of green turtles.

The whale shark was chosen for Vakarufalhi due to the islands close location to the whale shark hot spot of the Maldives.  One of the most famous reefs in the Maldives, Maamigili Beru, is located on an outer reef just a short boat trip away in south Ari Atoll.  The largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark, often visits this reef, bringing its huge infectious smile with it.

The new collection also includes a rash vest which is also available in different colors.