Diving History

I

n the Philippines, the birth of sport diving is generally said to have taken
place in Anilao, which is still a popular dive destination to this day. The
pioneering Aquatropical Divers opened in 1966 and scuba tourism was
born. That makes sport diving here one of the earliest founded anywhere
on the globe. Since then, the sport has blossomed, expanding to areas like
Puerto Galera and now pretty much all across the country. Divers used
small traditional outriggers back then to get to the dive sites and many
beach dive areas were found.
The Philippines was also at the forefront of the technical diving
revolution in the mid 1990s. Puerto Galera, well placed logistically from a
gas and equipment point of view and with deep water just off shore, was
the starting point.
Other dive centers
followed soon after.
Wreck diving
meccas such as
Coron Bay and
Subic Bay opened
up to tek. John
Bennett took the
world scuba depth
record in 2001 off
Puerto Galera. That
put the Philippines
on the radar of technical divers internationally.
Now, the Philippines still offers outriggers, but these are custom-made for
diving. They are quite large and comfortable with plenty of room to relax,
to walk around, to put dive and camera gear and to get dressed. These
boats have modern safety features as well as toilets, small kitchens and
covered cabins. And modern dive boats are being introduced.
While growing in spurts over the decades, the industry in the last ten
years has seen phenomenal growth. Modern facilities and beautiful resorts
combined with excellent multi-lingual training beckon divers from all over
the world. Many local guides are highly certified, excellent marine life
spotters and extremely qualified divemasters and instructors.

Finishing a dive