About

 

Welcome To Blue Ocean Diving

Maidstone’s only PADI 5* Instructor Development Dive Centre offering all scuba lessons from beginner to Master Instructor.

Blue Ocean Diving is a scuba diving school, dive centre, dive shop and dive equipment service centre. It is one of only four UK Premier Dealers for Santi – the only one in the South East, the home of Halcyon and Hollis and a full Technical Diving and CCR Training Centre.

Blue Ocean Diving is your one stop for all things scuba.

Providing all your diving and snorkelling needs six days a week from Tuesday to Sunday, with late night opening until 8pm on Tuesdays & Thursdays for your convenience – and for anybody wanting a DISCOVER SCUBA – TRY DIVE for the first time.

Our professional and friendly staff will be pleased to help you find the right equipment, training or dive trips to meet your needs.

 

About Blue Ocean Diving and Scubaholics Dive Club:

Blue Ocean Diving was founded in January 2003 by PADI Course Director, Ryby Stonehouse.

Based in Maidstone, Kent, it has since established itself as the UK’s premier scuba dive centre providing quality training for students at every level of diving, from beginner to Technical Master Instructor.

BOD’s consistently high standards of teaching has earned it the prestigious achievement as a PADI 5-star Instructor Development Centre with an exceptional and greatly respected reputation all over the world.

Blue Ocean Diving regularly runs trips both in the UK and abroad for new and experienced divers, with Ryby Stonehouse organising and overseeing all trips, both domestic and worldwide, personally.

It is also the home of the Scubaholics Dive Club which, with more than 7,500 members, is the largest scuba diving club in the South East.

Visit www.blueoceandiving.co.uk for more information on our scuba diving courses, instructor training or dive trips and holidays. You can also contact us via email at scuba@blueoceandiving.co.uk or by phone on 01622 212 022 or by visiting us at:

Blue Ocean Diving

West Park Road

Maidstone

Kent

ME15 7AF

www.blueoceandiving.co.uk

 

About Ryby Stonehouse (PADI Course Director):

Ryby Stonehouse’s diving experience began in 1984 with his first dive. Ten years later he qualified as a Divemaster before becoming a qualified Diving Instructor in 1997.

In 2001 Ryby earned his place through a competitive application process examining his experience and training goals, in order to achieve recreational scuba diving’s highest and most respected rating of PADI Course Director. Within five years he was one of the first PADI Course Directors to be awarded the prestigious platinum rating.

In the following years, Ryby Stonehouse continued to add to his scuba diving experience and achievements, qualifying as a Tec Instructor Trainer in 2004.

He then qualified as a Rebreather Instructor, becoming the first PADI Instructor to instruct students on the Hollis Prism2 Rebreather.

Ryby’s list of firsts continued, as he became established as the very first UK Instructor Trainer in the new PADI Sidemount Course in 2008, introducing it to the UK.

Ryby has had experience of running successful dive tours since 1997.

He has taught students, and organised and guided trips worldwide including the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, African, and South East Asia and the Pacific.

Since 1997, he has completed well over 10,000 dives, certified more than 1800 individual students, and issued over 2000 instructor-level certificates.

Oh, and he also makes a mean spaghetti bolognese!

Ryby Stonehouse is available for interviews, articles, guest posts or comments.

Please contact Tania at press@blueoceandiving.co.uk with any enquiries or requests for further information.

 

Why Choose Blue Ocean?

When choosing where to dive and who with there are many choices. Not all PADI programs are the same – and neither are all PADI facilities.

There are a great many Dive “Resorts” and Independent Dive “Schools” run by instructors around the region; quite often offering cheap(er) services…

 

So why should you choose a Full Service Professional Dive Centre?

  • We are consistently placed by PADI in the TOP 5 UK Dive Centres
  • We are a Full Service Dive Centre
  • We are full time PADI Professionals with the highest and most diverse diving qualifications in the UK
  • We are committed to providing the best Quality, Service & Value
  • We are professional trainers with dedicated facilities
  • We are dedicated to having FUN whilst maintaining the highest training standards and procedures
  • We are focused on your needs as a customer
  • We are 100% safety conscious
  • We are authorised stockists/dealers for major leading dive equipment brands with the necessary warranty & service guarantees
  • We are open when you are off work

 

Join Our Ever-Expanding Dive Club

With the largest and fastest growing Dive Club in the region we have a very busy diving and social events calendar for the 3400+ card holding club members.

Come and join in the fun! 

Membership is FREE!

Click here to join.

 

If you have any press, advertising or collaboration requests, please contact press@blueoceandiving.co.uk or click here.