We explored kilometers of coral reefs, looking for the best dive sites and familiarizing ourselves with the area’s marine life. From a Diving perspective, there was also very little was known about the area. In those years, there were no books to read, or magazine articles on how to run a diving club, or a diving school in such a remote place. Another big advantage was the accommodations adjacent to the diving club which created a perfect diving holiday package.ġ972 Neviot Holiday Village on the shore of the Red Seaġ972 Mediterranean Diving Center base at Neviot the shallow reefs were perfect for snorkelling, scuba diving training and diving for beginners. Diving conditions in the new location was perfect. After the holiday we immediately organized groups of divers to do the open water dives from the pristine beaches of the oasis where the greatest danger was to be run over by a roaming camel. In March 1972, we managed to fill the resort village with divers and maintain a historic Passover Seder right where it all began. It was the dawn of diving tourism, not only in Israel but throughout the world. We also had plans to promote local and international diving tourism to Sinai. This new base on the Red Sea would be the perfect solution for the final stages of the diving course. We were already training hundreds of diving annually but had a serious problem with the mandatory deep dives necessary for diver certification due to the inconsistent diving conditions of Israel’s Mediterranean coast. It was the perfect venue to add to our diving centers and schools along Israel’s Mediterranean shore at Herzliya, Jaffa and Caesarea. The accommodations were simple, clean and comfortable and our diving center was a small hut at the water’s edge of a beautiful beach. The settlement was established by a group of young Israelis in their twenties. At the time, conditions at the Neviot village were very basic. Located in a beautiful and tranquil setting perfect for our diving activity. In 1972 I loaded equipment from our Mediterranean Diving Center and headed south to the Red Sea to open the diving club in Neviot, a collective settlement with plans for agriculture and a tourist village. Together with my partners at the time, Natan Vardi and Yitzhak Kastenbaum, we were eager to have a base in the Red Sea and this was an offer that could not refused. Israeli government officials had approached me about opening a "branch" of our operation in the recently opened "Neviot" village at the Nuweiba oasis. But without a formal peace treaty on the horizon, the Israeli government decided to establish several civilian settlements along the Red Sea coast, south of Eilat. My age and inexperience did not spare me the Chutzpa of opening The Mediterranean Diving Center at Sidna Ali Beach, Herzliya, one of the first diving schools in Israel, a mere 6 months after getting my basic SCUBA certification in my native California.Īround the time I started operations, the Yom Kippur War and subsequent fighting along the Suez Canal and Sinai between Israel and Egypt was winding down and a Cease Fire was in place. In 1970 I was a 23-year-old new immigrant from America. Mediterranean Diving Center, Sidna Ali Beach, Herzliya BSAC Technical courses are delivered via clubs, regional teams or at BSAC Technical Centres.1972-1982 from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea Divers interested in technical training could if they wish contact BSAC Technical Instructors directly.Īctive BSAC Technical Instructors are listed in the tables below.
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