ABOUT US
WHO WE ARE
Ocean Divers is a PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centre and a Scubapro Platinum Dealer.
We train our divers through the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) which is the largest recreational scuba teaching organisation in the world. The Five Star rating is the highest recognition for training, service and professionalism available. PADI is recognised in over 80 countries and teach in excess of 75% of the world’s scuba divers.
At Ocean Divers we offer a complete range of rental and sales of equipment, dive training from snorkeling through to Instructor level SCUBA courses including specialties, travel both interstate and overseas, and local boat and shore dives.
WHAT WE OFFER
We specialise in SCUBAPRO, HALCYON & SANTI products.
Our store offer a great range of snorkeling, free diving and spearfishing equipment, as well as everything you need to scuba dive at every level, recreational to technical diving.
We also offer equipment hire, air fills, Nitrox fills with banked 32%, and on-site repairs and servicing including tank testing, as we are approved by Quality Assurance Services Australia.
We also provide courses through the Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) & Global Underwater Explorers (GUE).
At Ocean Divers we pride ourselves on the service we offer, whether it be to you as a student, a club member or an off the street customer. So please, contact us with any queries or questions you may have and we will endeavour to answer them for you.
Melbourne PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centre
PADI® (Professional Association of Diving Instructors®) is the world’s largest ocean exploration and diver organization. PADI® is recognised in over 80 countries and teaches in excess of 75% of the world’s scuba divers. Ocean Divers & C Dragon is a PADI Five-Star Instructor Development Centre located in Melbourne, Australia. The Five Star rating is the highest recognition for training, service and professionalism available.
As a PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centre, Ocean Divers & C Dragon meet all PADI Five Star Dive Centre standards, plus offers PADI instructor-level training. Ocean Divers & C Dragon have PADI Course Director on staff and are committed to offering PADI Instructor Development Courses and continuing education opportunities to dive professionals.
Ocean Divers & C Dragon has a house of dive professionals ready to deliver dive courses. Ocean Divers & C Dragon is using the PADI System of diver education to provide scuba diving courses from beginner to dive professional level. If your goal is to become a professional scuba diver, make your way to Ocean Divers & C Dragon, PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centre located in Melbourne, Australia to start your journey.
Dive Courses and Training
Ocean Divers & C Dragon offers a wide range of dive courses and training. We offer Discover Scuba Diving for you to experience what it feels like to dive underwater world in Melbourne. We offer PADI Open Water Course and PADI Advanced Open Water Course to get you to start your diving journey. Ocean Divers & C Dragon also offer PADI courses to let you explore specific dive interests such as Enriched Air Diver, Deep Diver, Wreck Specialty and more. If you are looking to become a professional-level diver, Ocean Diver is offering a professional-level PADI course that let you live the scuba diving lifestyle by becoming a divemaster or scuba instructor.
If you have always wanted to try cave diving, experience unparalleled adventures and see the world beneath the ground, this is where it starts. Ocean Divers & C Dragon also provide courses through the Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) & Global Underwater Explorers (GUE). Ocean Divers & C Dragon will get you the certificate to dive in water‐filled caves and sinkholes.
Local, Interstate and Oversea Dive Trips
At Ocean Divers & C Dragon, we offer Melbourne local fun dives including local boat and shore dives trip. The Port Phillip Bay region in Melbourne hosts some truly amazing wrecks and caverns. Ocean Divers & C Dragon offer local dive trips for you to see the beautiful marine life including cuttlefish, giant sea stars, rays, seahorses and even seals. The local marine life is simply amazing along the shores and coastline of Port Phillip in Melbourne. Professional divers in Ocean Divers & C Dragon are well knowledgeable about all the local dive sites in Melbourne. If you would like to explore more than 100 different species of nudibranchs under Blairgowrie Pier or see the seahorses at Rye Pier and weedy sea dragons at Portsea Pier, you should definitely join Ocean Divers & C Dragon for our local fun dives. Ocean Divers & C Dragon also offers scheduled boat dive trips to visit some world-class diving including over 50 shipwrecks including four British World War Submarines, and the ex-HMAS Canberra, a purpose sunk 136m long guided-missile destroyer. You can also join Ocean Divers & C Dragon to visit the greatest wall diving in the world, Lonsdale Wall and Port Phillip Heads. Furthermore, Ocean Divers & C Dragon also arrange dive travel both interstate and overseas.
Online and Local Dive Shop
Ocean Divers & C Dragon is one of the most popular PADI dive shops in Melbourne. Shop online or visit our Melbourne dive shop for scuba diving, free diving, spearfishing, and snorkelling gear including regulators, wetsuits, dive computers, BCDs, fins, masks and more. We have everything you need to scuba dive at every level, from recreational to technical diving.
Ocean Divers & C Dragon specialise in SCUBAPRO, HALCYON, SANTI, FOURTH ELEMENT, SHEARWATER, TECLINE and CRESSI products. Ocean Divers & C Dragon is proud to be one of the SCUBAPRO Platinum Dealers in Melbourne. Ocean Divers & C Dragon carry the entire line of SCUBAPRO products. As a Platinum Dealer, Ocean Divers & C Dragon are truly a “diving professional”, and have thorough SCUBAPRO product knowledge along with well-trained staff and service professionals. SCUBAPRO is the world’s most iconic brand of dive equipment and remains the industry’s gold standard for innovation, performance, reliability and durability.
Ocean Divers & C Dragon Melbourne dive shop also offers a complete range of rental equipment and dive services. This includes air fills, Nitrox fills with banked 32%, and on-site repairs and servicing including tank testing, as we are approved by Quality Assurance Services Australia. Ocean Divers & C Dragon offers full dive equipment servicing and repairs which includes servicing for regulators, cylinder testing, O2 Cleaning, dry suit repairs and more.
At Ocean Divers & C Dragon, we pride ourselves on the service we offer, whether it be to you as a student, a club member or an off-the-street customer. So please, contact us with any queries or questions you may have, and we will endeavour to answer them for you.
OUR TEAM
Songtao Huang
PADI IDC Staff Instructor, EFR Instructor
Songtao was a dentist in China and had a trip to Thailand where he developed an interest in diving. After he became an Instructor in Kho Tao, Songtao traveled to Southeast Asia and taught there. He came to Melbourne and joined Ocean Divers as a full-time PADI Instructor. In 2018, Songtao purchased Ocean Divers as the new owner.
Songtao is an environmental enthusiast and marine lover who is keen to explore more national dive destinations within Australia, and to share some of the international destinations he has experienced to our customers.
Speaks Mandarin & English
Jane Bowman
PADI Course Director, EFR Instructor Trainer, CDAA Advanced Cave Instructor
A trip to the Maldives in 1984 commenced a love for SCUBA diving that is still as strong today as then and started what was to become not just a hobby but a career. PADI training has enabled Jane to become one of the few female Course Directors in Australia. She is also an Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer, CDAA Instructor and a Marine Safety Coxswain.
Jane was inducted in the International Women Divers Hall of Fame in the USA in 2010. She was the second Australian (after Valerie Taylor) to be selected for this award based on her extensive training, teaching and technical diving experience especially for female divers. She was awarded OzTek’s Industry Recognition Award in 2017.
Warrick McDonald
Starting as a spear-fisher, Warrick became ‘hooked’ on SCUBA diving in 1961. It became a lifelong passion that turned into his career in 1965 and continues to provide him with a lifestyle that many envy. He first started teaching in 1972, joined PADI, and over the years went through many courses and taught thousands of students. Warrick became a Course Director in 1989, which enabled him to teach through to Instructor level. He recently retired at that level but continues to mentor our crew at Ocean Divers.
Warrick’s involvement in the Dive Industry has enabled him to hold many positions, other than as a trainer, including President Of Dive Australia for 5 years, President of the Victorian Dive Association for 6 years, a current member of Standards Australia sub-committee on Entry Level Recreational SCUBA Diving, Business Director and National Director (10 years service) of the Cave Divers Association of Australia. At Ocean Divers he oversees the day to day operations & heads up our service department.
Liz Harper
PADI IDC Staff Instructor, EFR Instructor
Liz learned to dive in Melbourne and continued diving & working as a PADI Instructor in the warm waters of the Whitsundays before returning to Melbourne in 2009.
She has traveled to Fiji, Brunei, Thailand, New Zealand, Vanuatu, The Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Italy, Crotia, the Philippines and FNQ. She is currently developing her technical diving skills having recently completed PADI Tec 45. She is a CDAA Advanced Cave diver and looks forward to further adventures in Mt Gambier….
Liz is Ocean Divers Training Manager and teaches full time. In her spare time she enjoys travel, snowboarding, yoga, dancing, underwater photography & going diving!
Mike Reed
PADI Instructor, DSAT Tec Instructor, EFR Instructor
Mike started diving in New Zealand in the early 70’s – back when everyone dived in wetsuits and things like buoyancy compensators were a novelty. He has pursued the technical side of diving and is particularly keen on the deeper wrecks. He holds instructor ratings with PADI & DSAT, as well as being an EFR Instructor and a CDAA Cave diver.
In his professional life, Mike is a partner with Oliver Wight and is working with a number of leading companies in Australia and New Zealand assisting them in achieving Business Excellence. He has specialist expertise in strategy management, product and portfolio management and integrated business management. A keen musician, Mike has played in a number of bands over the years and will occasionally pack a guitar along with the diving gear for a trip to Mt Gambier or other dive destinations.
Terri Allen
PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer, DSAT Tec Instructor, EFR Instructor, CDAA Advanced Cave Instructor
Terri is a part-time instructor at Ocean Divers and is still a keen Melbourne diver after learning to dive while at uni 26 years ago. She did her instructor training with Ocean Divers in 2003 and holds a number of specialty ratings including Wreck, Photography, Deep and Drysuit. Terri has a Bachelor of Science in Physiology & Zoology, and a PhD in Diabetic Complications. Most weekends Terri is happy mixing it with the boys diving the deep wrecks in the Ship’s Graveyard when she is not busy teaching. Terri does many of our interstate and overseas trips including PNG, Solomons, Vanuatu, Red Sea, Merimbula, Tasmania, Mount Gambier, Ningaloo Reef, Florida, New Zealand, Truk Lagoon, Bikini Atoll, the Galapagos and Mexico. Her ideal dive would be to find a new species of nudibranch while penetrating inside a rusty old WWII wreck!
Skye Chen
Customer Service Manager
Skye has worked in the dive shop here for 2 years. She is one of the most experienced Dive Guides in Melbourne and she knows all the best spots around our dive sites. When she’s not underwater, you’ll find her in the shop taking bookings and helping customers. She is always more than happy to give you the best advice to get the most out of your diving.
Skye is currently training to be a PADI Divemaster and is a qualified CDAA Cave diver.
Speaks Mandarin & English
Hansong Zu
PADI Master Scuba Diver Instructor, EFR Instructor
Hansong used to be a pharmacist in Beijing for 7 years then decided to change his life because of the enthusiasm of diving. During he became a SCUBA instructor in Thailand, he also found the new goal of his life: to protect the marine environment. After 2 years studied in the University of Western Australia, he achieved a Master degree in Environmental Science marine and coastal management specialization and now Hansong works in Ocean Divers as full-time staff. He not only teaches SCUBA diving both in Chinese and English but also shares his passion for awareness of marine environmental protection. He is a CDAA Basic Cave diver and looks forward new adventures.
Speaks Mandarin & English
Simone Lee
PADI Instructor, EFR Instructor
Simone started diving in 2007 in preparation for an overseas trip and had no idea this would be the beginning of a long-time passion.
She is a part-time Instructor at Ocean Divers but spends as much time diving locally and overseas when not teaching. Simone is a keen cave diver and technical diver holding CDAA Advanced Cave and Trimix qualifications so she’ll be out on a boat most weekends exploring the wrecks of the Ship’s graveyard or caves at Mount Gambier.
Simone has continued her dive adventures overseas in Mexico, Nullabor, Thailand, Raja Ampat, Bunaken, Komodo, Philippines and Vanuatu and can’t wait to do more! She also enjoys diving all around Australia from the caves in Western and South Australia, cuttlefish watching in Whyalla, a myriad of locations along the east coast from North Solitary Islands to Merimbula, and all around Victoria from Lake Catani on Mt Buffalo to the wonderful shore dives of Port Philip Bay.
