David Hayler Montague,
PADI Course Director

How I started diving

I started diving in 2002 and a PADI Instructor in 2007. As I already had a full-time job, I became a part-time Instructor teaching at evenings and weekends. I loved teaching SCUBA so much so that I gave up my corporate career in 2010 and embarked on a career teaching people to SCUBA dive.

I opened Bubbles Dive Centre in Gozo, Malta in 2011 which became a PADI 5 Star Career Development Centre in 2016 and an Eco Centre in 2023 and built it into one of the best dive centres in the World winning numerous awards for both the standard of training and marine conservation efforts I championed.

Where I am now

In 2024 I sold the dive centre to my staff so I could concentrate on professional level training and private individual teaching. I currently work with 2 dive centres to teach PADI Instructor Development Courses. Bubbles Dive Centre, Malta and Excel Scuba in Tenerife. Both dive centres share my philosophy about marine protection and delivering the highest standards possible of SCUBA Training.

Platinum Course Director

I became a PADI Course Director in 2015 and have attained the highly coveted award of PADI Platinum Course Director of which there are only 50 in the World. As a Platinum Course Director, I have successfully trained more Instructors than other level PADI Course Directors and with that brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and dedication.

I also offer

Apart from PADI IDCs I also train all Instructor levels up to and including Master Instructor, technical diving and private diving for clients looking for that bespoke diving experience or exclusive training.

Conservation

From the moment I opened Bubbles Dive Centre in 2011 until I sold it in at the beginning of 2024, I did so with an intention to provide not only the highest levels of dive training but also to inform the diving community about the importance of marine conservation. This was summed up with our customer promise of ‘We Care…’

I made sure my dive centre was incredibly proactive in looking after our underwater environment with countless dives against debris, beach talks with children, on land and snorkel clean ups and every Instructor pre dive briefing would include a section on how to dive a site with the least possible negative impact.

My wife and I were also the licensed turtle handlers for Gozo and it was our responsibility to rescue turtles in distress both at sea and on land and send them on their way to the Turtle Rehabilitation centre in Malta. On many occasions that would mean aborting a planned dive with customers or even diverting our dive boat to assist.

In 2023, Bubbles Dive Centre was one of the early dive centres to achieve PADI Eco Centre status.

IDC and Marine Conservation

Alongside teaching you your IDC I will also teach you low impact diving – how to dive responsibly and sustainably, how to remove debris from the ocean and when you should not remove debris, how to approach marine life (passive interaction) and what you should never do when you encounter certain types of sea creatures. You will also learn how to incorporate low impact diving in your dive briefings and how to pass on these skills to your future customers.