Recommended Dive Sites in France ?

We off to the south of France for a vacation and I'd like to get a few
dives in along the way.

I've been researching the issue for almost a week now and the French
don't seem to be very big on internet sites explaining their dives,
location, rates, etc.

In fact, I'm about ready to forget the whole idea (!)

Can somoene recommend a reliable outfit to dive with in the Marseilles
to Monaco area ?

Thanks.

--

Mark

Mark <No-one@nobody.com> writes:

> We off to the south of France for a vacation and I'd like to get a few
> dives in along the way.
>
> I've been researching the issue for almost a week now and the French
> don't seem to be very big on internet sites explaining their dives,
> location, rates, etc.
>
> In fact, I'm about ready to forget the whole idea (!)
>
> Can somoene recommend a reliable outfit to dive with in the Marseilles
> to Monaco area ?

That's at least a couple hundreds miles of shoreline, mate.
Now where exactly will you be and what kind of diving do you like ?

"Mark" <No-one@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b8ab5fa7906a62f98969c@news.telusplanet.n et...
>
> We off to the south of France for a vacation and I'd like to get a few
> dives in along the way.
>
> I've been researching the issue for almost a week now and the French
> don't seem to be very big on internet sites explaining their dives,
> location, rates, etc.
>
> In fact, I'm about ready to forget the whole idea (!)
>
> Can somoene recommend a reliable outfit to dive with in the Marseilles
> to Monaco area ?
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
>
> Mark


Here is a little information from when I was there 11 years ago, in early
August, so I do not know how much still applies.

From my experience the French dive deep and deeper so make sure your
experience level is appropriate.

Diving in France is / was called plungeing. You plunge into the water. I
think the French spelling was more like Plonge, but, don't quote me on that.
I am giving you this information so that you have a better chance of finding
the operators in the phone book.

I dove with Poseidon out of Nice. We embarked out of the harbor at Nice,
but, our diving was off the coast of Cannes. There were a couple of reasons
that I dove with them, one being, at the time the other operator had not
heard of NAUI yet and so did not recognize my c-card.

The water temps were 75 at the surface and 62 at depth with the air
temperature being in the low 90s.

The diving was kind of like California diving with no kelp. There is no
coral. There seemed to be quite a few octopus and large schools of small
fish.

The rental gear was acceptable except it did not have a depth gauge. I
know, I know, I don't do that anymore, actually that was the only time. If
I did it again I would take my own computer. I was paired up with an older
French lady that kept me out of trouble. Also the rental gear was nothing
close to high performance which translates to I had to suck hard when we
were at depth. They were using yoke fittings at 300 bar although some did
dive with DIN.

It was a two tank dive that basically took all day. After the first dive
they pulled out the food, octopus salad, and liquor ( yeah the hard stuff )
fortunately they did not drink much, although I am of the opinion that any
is too much while diving, especially at those depths ( around 125ft ).

On the way back to the dock it got cloudy and we went through a cold hard
rain. Overall I would say it was an O.K. trip.

The number at the time when dialed from the states was

011 33 9355 0995.

The stamp in my log book is beautiful although it is almost smudged beyond
recognition now. It says something like CATHAY SALESSES.

Good luck if you go.

Douglas Kaip

In article <st657hlv9p.fsf@aonix.fr>, snuved@xinoa.fr postulated...
> Mark <No-one@nobody.com> writes:
>
> > We off to the south of France for a vacation and I'd like to get a few
> > dives in along the way.
> >
> > I've been researching the issue for almost a week now and the French
> > don't seem to be very big on internet sites explaining their dives,
> > location, rates, etc.
> >
> > In fact, I'm about ready to forget the whole idea (!)
> >
> > Can somoene recommend a reliable outfit to dive with in the Marseilles
> > to Monaco area ?
>
> That's at least a couple hundreds miles of shoreline, mate.
> Now where exactly will you be and what kind of diving do you like ?
>

I'll be arriving in Nice and travelling on the coast all the way to
Genoa -a couple of hundred kilometers of coastline !

I've only got a half-dozen dives in the log and havn't been any deeper
than 70 feet.

I'm keen on wreck diving (no penetration) and general marine life -large
schools of fish are particularly appealing.

I'm PADI certified so I'll need someone who will recognize that
certification (I've heard that at least in the past, many french
operators insist upon the frenc national certification body).


--

Mark

Mark <No-one@nobody.com> wrote:

>I'm PADI certified so I'll need someone who will recognize that
>certification (I've heard that at least in the past, many french
>operators insist upon the frenc national certification body).

Marc,

currently french operators agree that a Padi OW = N1 (level 1 diver).
Meaning you will need to dive under the supervision of an isntructor
to a maximum depth of 20 meters (with a 5 meters margin).

You will need a medical certificate. Some operators may try to 'sell'
you a temporary card.

With your certification level you should be accepted nearly
everywhere. It's more difficult for divers that are a bit more
advanced (like 400 dives and AOW) to find a club/operator that will
allow them to dive as they are used to...

Good luck.

Steven

Mark <No-one@nobody.com> writes:

> I'll be arriving in Nice and travelling on the coast all the way to
> Genoa -a couple of hundred kilometers of coastline !
>
> I've only got a half-dozen dives in the log and havn't been any deeper
> than 70 feet.
>
> I'm keen on wreck diving (no penetration) and general marine life -large
> schools of fish are particularly appealing.
>
> I'm PADI certified so I'll need someone who will recognize that
> certification (I've heard that at least in the past, many french
> operators insist upon the frenc national certification body).

OK. Wrecks tend to be deep in the Med, generally starting at 130ft and
going down from there ... Most require deco.

Don't expect huge schools everywhere, as marine life has been depleted
during the last 50 years. The grouper population is slowly improving, though,
huge specimens may be seen. Big schools of small barracuda also exist. One
of the defining characteristics of the Med - my $.02 - is excellent vis. and
that striking deep blue color.

Not all dive operators will take PADI but many will. Just in the Nice area,
a google search revealed the following:


Le Poséidon
Quai Lunel - Port de Nice - 06300 Nice
Tél : 0492 004 386 - Fax : 0492 004 386
Email: tlo@poseidon-nice.com
Site Web : www.poseidon-nice.com

NICE DIVING
26, boulevard Stalingrad - 06300 Nice
Tél.: 04.93.89.42.44 - Fax: 04.93.89.12.69
Email : esmarine@aol.com
Site Web : http://nicediving.com/

WATER WORLD
Port de Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
06300 - Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
Mobile : 06 11 33 42 53
Fax : 04 92 26 14 46
Email : email@www.waterworld-dive.fr
Site Web : www.waterworld-dive.fr

Those guys may, in turn, point you to other operators as you move along the
coast.

In article <stu0v0kb0o.fsf@aonix.fr>, snuved@xinoa.fr postulated...
> Mark <No-one@nobody.com> writes:
>
> > I'll be arriving in Nice and travelling on the coast all the way to
> > Genoa -a couple of hundred kilometers of coastline !
> >
> > I've only got a half-dozen dives in the log and havn't been any deeper
> > than 70 feet.
> >
> > I'm keen on wreck diving (no penetration) and general marine life -large
> > schools of fish are particularly appealing.
> >
> > I'm PADI certified so I'll need someone who will recognize that
> > certification (I've heard that at least in the past, many french
> > operators insist upon the frenc national certification body).
>
> OK. Wrecks tend to be deep in the Med, generally starting at 130ft and
> going down from there ... Most require deco.
>
> Don't expect huge schools everywhere, as marine life has been depleted
> during the last 50 years. The grouper population is slowly improving, though,
> huge specimens may be seen. Big schools of small barracuda also exist. One
> of the defining characteristics of the Med - my $.02 - is excellent vis. and
> that striking deep blue color.
>
> Not all dive operators will take PADI but many will. Just in the Nice area,
> a google search revealed the following:
>
>
> Le Poséidon
> Quai Lunel - Port de Nice - 06300 Nice
> Tél : 0492 004 386 - Fax : 0492 004 386
> Email: tlo@poseidon-nice.com
> Site Web : www.poseidon-nice.com
>
> NICE DIVING
> 26, boulevard Stalingrad - 06300 Nice
> Tél.: 04.93.89.42.44 - Fax: 04.93.89.12.69
> Email : esmarine@aol.com
> Site Web : http://nicediving.com/
>
> WATER WORLD
> Port de Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
> 06300 - Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
> Mobile : 06 11 33 42 53
> Fax : 04 92 26 14 46
> Email : email@www.waterworld-dive.fr
> Site Web : www.waterworld-dive.fr
>

Last night I managed to find a place on the PADI site that listed all
the PADI operators in France. With som emore digging, I found that some
had websites. I spent hours going over them and learned quite a bit.

So now it would appear that there is *plenty* of diving action, but due
to this crazy (in my opinion) medical requirement many french operators
seem to require, I may not be able to take advantage of it !

It can easily take 2 months to get a doctor's appointment around here
and I leave in less than 3 weeks !

--

Mark

Mark wrote:

> So now it would appear that there is *plenty* of diving action, but due
> to this crazy (in my opinion) medical requirement many french operators
> seem to require, I may not be able to take advantage of it !
>
> It can easily take 2 months to get a doctor's appointment around here
> and I leave in less than 3 weeks !
>

Simply go to one of those "walk-in clinics" They are usually no appt.,
work after regular doctors' hours, and are used to doing quick physicals
for employment and school sports. I am sure they can hook you up with a
physical exam and a letter stating you are in good health (if you are).
Allow a couple days leeway for any lab work to get back to the clinic.

"greatviz" <greatviz@netscapeNOTSPAM.net> wrote in message
news:2DRUc.39447$4s6.20062@tornado.tampabay.rr.com ...

> Simply go to one of those "walk-in clinics" They are usually no appt.,
> work after regular doctors' hours, and are used to doing quick physicals
> for employment and school sports. I am sure they can hook you up with a
> physical exam and a letter stating you are in good health (if you are).
> Allow a couple days leeway for any lab work to get back to the clinic.

There's an "official" medical exam report that any dive shop should be able
to provide. At least I know SSI has one and I'm assuming PADI and the rest
have them too. Like you said, it's akin to a sports physical and required
(at least by SSI) before receiving any "professional" certifications. My
doc's office declared it outside of the scope of the normal physical so I
had to pay an additional $10.

But that doesn't guarantee it will be accepted by the French dive op. The
best bet is to coordinate an exam with the dive op if they can recommend a
local doc that can do the exam the day before the OP dives. Or simply
boycott diving in France like I do.

Mark wrote:
>
> So now it would appear that there is *plenty* of diving action, but due
> to this crazy (in my opinion) medical requirement many french operators
> seem to require, I may not be able to take advantage of it !
>
> It can easily take 2 months to get a doctor's appointment around here
> and I leave in less than 3 weeks !
>

Australis is also strict about medical certificates (Federal law). As a
result, most dive shops in OZ can send you to a dive physician who can
get you in and out pretty quickly.

For my OW class the doctor came to the dive facility, brought two
technicians, and did exams for fifteen people in an hour or so. That's
not as superficial as it sounds -- the technicians checked height and
weight, as well as vital capacity and eardrum mobility. The doctor
checked pulse and blood pressure, listened to the heart and lungs, did a
balance test, and discussed any specific issues (in my case mild high
blood pressure). From a diving perspective it was more thorough than my
annual physical.

--

Pete Becker
Dinkumware, Ltd. (http://www.dinkumware.com)