To be honest, we think we’re doing a cracking good job at bringing you closer to the beauty of diving. And since the Sport Diver Awards are back, this is your opportunity to nominate your favourite overseas dive centre and be in with the chance of winning great prizes!

We’ve been sharing the stunning underwater world that has made the Maldives one of the top scuba diving destinations with you for over 20 years.

Whether it’s giving diving a go, trying something new (A ride on a scooter? Bubble-free rebreather diving?), going pro on our IDC courses or simply having a whole lot of fun, we’re doing our best to provide you with the kick you’re looking for.

The Best Overseas Dive Centre Award is meant to reward truly exceptional dive centers (hint!) and help them stand out from the crowd, thrive and continue to offer great service to the diving community.

Nominate your favourite by sending the following to 80058 (UK-based mobiles only. Voting lines close at midnight on 20 March):

SD VOTE [OS] [PRODIVERS MALDIVES] [YOU@YOUREMAIL.COM]

Read more about Sport Diver Awards 2012, detailed terms and conditions and the awesome goodies, worth a total of over £11,000, that are up for grabs here.

Last month we, hopefully, entertained you a bit with our reports on Mike and his escapades. This month we have chosen to take a more feminine approach to the instructor of the month, and we would like to introduce you to the delightful, cheerful and hearty – Alex.

She’s been a PADI dive instructor for quite a few years now, learning her trade in the murky British waters. She joined Prodivers in June, along with a slightly less delightful boyfriend Simon (Mike says: It’s funny because it’s true!). Since then she has become a key member of the team.

Having recently returned from a short holiday in Sri Lanka – where as far as we can tell she spent 2 weeks trying to avoid leeches, and having to put up with Simon – who moans, a lot, she is ready to resume work and get back in the lovely warm waters of the Lhaviyani. So far she has been leading our boat dives and offering our guests some fantastic dives, especially out east where the crystal clear water is offering some great dives at the moment.

When not diving, Alex likes to split her time between windsurfing, although a complete novice she is quick to pick up most water sports, and can often be seen riding circles around a damp looking Simon who sadly doesn’t have the same natural talent, their extensive DVD collection and getting her groove on most Friday nights.

Over the next few weeks we will try to keep you up to day on all of Alex’s activities.

N.B. Simon has just volunteered to take over Instructor Diaries if the authors don’t change their senses of humour.

A change of pace as been seen with Mike this last week, as he has moved on from teaching beginner divers and found himself at the head of a boat full of experience.

Last week Mike took on the very different challenges of leading a Finish dive group. When a dive club or group comes to Prodivers they will usually be allocated one instructor to lead them through our wonderful waters and show them what we have to offer. The Aqua World group, consisting of 11 experienced divers had the pleasure of Mike at their helm, who, conditions and will allowing, guided them on 3 dives a day every day for the next week, in both our own Lhaviyani Atoll and the adjacent Noon Atoll. Whilst leading a group is a great way to get to know your guests and spend a lot of time with them (and perhaps more importantly for them to get to know us) there can also be a lot of pressure on the instructors to deliver the dives we know we can experience in these magnificent waters.

However Mike got of to a great start with a multitude of turtles on our house reef followed by a squadron of 15 Mobula Manta Rays at Caves (the first sightings of such a group in about 3 months) and then 9 Eagle Rays cruising the currents of Kanuhura Corner, along with another plethora of turtles. On their last day he took them on a full day to the south, in search of our Manta Rays and great visibility on the East side where the sea currents continue to bring in cooler, clearer waters.

What is more, Mike’s heroic efforts again proved not to be a sole myth, as he and his group saved a life of a turtle that was caught in a fishing net. The successful rescuing attempt was even filmed – check it out on our Facebook site!

For those of you worried that with these new changes in Mike’s routine he might start to change as a person – don’t worry; he still looses at cards, so the world hasn’t completely turned upside down. All in all, it’s been a great month for Mr. January, even more so because his best mate Kenneth was here on holiday which diverted Mike’s attention from us a little bit and gave his friend the opportunity to catch some new hilarious jokes which he probably hasn’t forgotten yet anyway.

We haven’t revealed to Mike yet that the flattering title ‘Instructor of the Month’ has been given to someone else now, so please keep sending your fan mail to michael@prodivers.com.

Votes that you casted during the BOOT 2012 show helped us pick a winner! It’s been tight, but among Top 5 that we suggested (Caves, Anemone Thila, Express, Orimas Thila, Shipyard), the flattering title ‘Best rated dive site’ goes to – Kuredu Express!

Our Facebook friends casted a total of 155 votes, amongst which Express got the highest ratings! We totally agree with your choice and we’re looking forward to taking you there again and again! It’s one of those places where adventure awaits. Sharks, big schools of jack fish and snappers, napoleon wrasses, moray eels, turtles and rays can be admired as you drift along the reef. To make a long story short: mindblowing!

We’re heading for a ride on Kuredu Express again tomorrow, on the last day of the BOOT 2012 show.

Among all those of you who have helped us with  ‘Rate the Dive Site’ on Facebook, the lucky winner who gets a free dive is our 5 time repeater guest Carsten Kapst. He has already logged  156 dives on Kuredu, and 10 on Kuredu Express!  Congratulations!

XP by Carsten Kapst

A Special PD@BOOT 2012 DVD with all the movies filmed by our videographer this week goes to Bernhard Bradac. Since he pays us a visit quite regularly, he’s more than welcome to claim his prize personally on Kuredu. If he still hasn’t made up his mind when he’s coming back, we’ll send the DVD via post.

Thanks for your help & we wish you many action-packed dives at XP!

Seems like being a cover girl (sorry man) has made Ray into quite a celebrity here at the Boot Show!

Today, while several of the Prodivers family were nursing their heads after last night’s annual reunion (Rosa, Staffan and Darren obviously exlcuded), Ray was busy helping Gerald Norwak (freelance photographer) present some helpful hints and tips as to how to capture cracking photos of big fish!

The presentation was held in the ‘Pixel Hall’, which is dedicated to underwater photography and video.

Gerald is featured regularly in both ‘Tauchen’ and ‘Unterwasser’ diving magazines, and was recently blown away by his rebreather dives with us on Orimas Thila!

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…

There are plenty of fish in the sea. Some of them are overlooked, some admired briefly, some make you want to play peekaboo with them for hours. And then – there are manta rays.

The joy of diving or snorkelling with mantas is incredible and we’re extremely happy every time we can share our excitement with guests by taking them to sites where manta rays frequently go to feed or have their bodies spotlessly cleaned, be it Fushivaru Thila or Dhanifaru or other sites where plankton blooms. Their feeding habits resemble a coral reef ballet, one of those awe-inspiring sights that everyone wishes for. You must have heard about the manta ray madness in the Maldives – don’t miss it out!

As of day, we’ve identified roundabout 230 individuals in the Lhaviyani Atoll. If you would like to find out more about the one that you saw, post a photo of its belly to our Facebook wall and with a little bit of help from Jon Hancock, the PD Manta expert, we’ll tell you more about it!

We’ll look into first 5 submitted photos and try to find a match. If it’s not in our database yet – congratulations, you’ve found a Manta that hasn’t been seen before and you’ll get to name it!

Where humans fail – nature creates! What worries the sailor, cheers the heart of divers and snorkelers!

Shipwrecks build artificial reefs and in time algae, corals and sponges attach to the hard surface, which provide food and shelter for plenty of fish.

The lure of exploring the wreck on the house reef and at The Shipyard is intoxicating!

Great moments from today’s dive were captured by the camera! Enjoy the movie and don’t forget to rate our Top Sites on Facebook!

PD Productions proudly present… Orimas Thila!

While Staffan, Ray, Darren and Rosa are freezing away in Germany, we are taking the opportunity to hit the dive sites and try and showcase them as much as possible through our videographer Dave.

With movies from Kuredu Caves and Anemone Thila already online, prepare yourself for the next!

We originally wanted to keep this dive site for the end of the week, but the weather at the moment is absolutely fantastic and it would be rude not too take advantage of it!

Mike and Dave headed out to Orimas Thila, and the action packed dive can be seen below:

Don’t forget to take part in rating our dive sites.  If youre lucky enough to be on Kuredu at the moment, you have the chance of winning a free dive to whichever site receives the most ratings. If you’re at home rating via Facebook, you can win a special Boot Show DVD pack, which will include all the movies features this week.

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.