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A NAUI CD in the Black Sea
NAUI In the Balkans
By Frederick Claro CD#18819.
In the modern world, it is more and more difficult to be part of the pioneers family and when sometimes, the opportunity is knocking at the door…It is difficult to recognize it. Without being fully aware of it, we had an unique experience coming to us through the small window of our computer screen.
Contact was made in March 2000 via the internet for us at Consult Dive International to run and develop a NAUI professional career program in Varna, Bulgaria on the coast of the Black Sea. Mostly unknown to the public, Bulgaria is a beautiful country of central Europe, sheltering eight million people, between Romania and Turkey. Formerly part of the Eastern block, the country achieved stunning progress in the early 90’s to become today one of the leading economy in the region. Traditionally a nation of great sailors and horse riders, Bulgaria is known for its incredible folklore and mixed background perfectly representing the cultural wealth of the Balkan region. Under the control of the Turks for five hundred years, liberated by the Russians, Bulgarians have mastered the art of adaptation without losing their culture, kindness and happiness in life.
The project was to train the leaders of a leading commercial diving company as NAUI Divemasters and Instructors. We scheduled a five weeks program in Varna, which brought the five selected candidates through First Aid and Oxygen, rescue diver, master diver, divemaster and instructor courses. Thanks to their previous diving training in the Bulgarian navy and their acute knowledge of the dive sites and sea conditions, the training went perfectly and all five candidates graduated as NAUI Divemasters. The training brought us 140 km North of Varna, on the Romanian border to dive the shipwrecks, which are common in the area giving its name to the Black Sea centuries ago as being a place with “no luck”. The trip was the highlight of their training as it was decided that their organizational skills, logistic decisions, evaluation of the conditions, dive supervision and control will determine their ability in running a dive tour in the region. This dive safari just two miles away from the Romanian border, allowed us to dive shallow wrecks by shore and semi-rigid inflatable boat and it is while diving a mid nineteenth century sunken frigate that our stunned team discovered its stern bronze canon together with its pivoting frame. Plan has been made to retrieve it at a later time for a donation to the Bulgarian navy museum in Varna.
The
qualifying safari ran with success and we stopped on the way back to Varna
on the cliff coast, where an antique Roman city has been submerged and is
now under water. Unfortunately, the wind and conditions didn’t allow us
to dive there at the time. After a day of well deserved rest, four
candidates went through the NAUI ITC and
although some remedial was necessary, all passed and became the first ever
NAUI instructors in Bulgaria.
Our contracted mission in Varna was also to help this dynamic and
motivated team to settle the first NAUI facility in this major European
resort place. During the process, two diving centers have been created: Varna
Diving Center a NAUI Gold Pro Affiliate and Albena
Diving Center, a NAUI Scuba Center, subsidiary of the Gold
Center in an other busy resort place 18 km North of Varna.
Also, thanks to the initiative of Mr Ivan Ivanov and Mr
Yanev (father of one ITC candidate), leaders of
the group and former superior officers in the Bulgarian navy, contacts has
been established with the Admiral commander of the fleet in Varna, leading
to the future training of Bulgarian navy divers with the NAUI educational
system. Our next program will be run in September 2000 and we hope
training a group of navy diving instructor as NAUI instructors after
they complete a leadership program with Varna Diving Center.
We would like at Consult Dive International to thank the complete team of “Hydroremont” commercial diving company and its directors Mr Ivan Genov Ivanov, who became the first NAUI Instructor in Bulgaria and Mr Georgi Ghiorgiev (NAUI Divemaster and future ITC candidate) for their professionalism and motivation in putting this program together with us. Many thanks also to one of the master piece of the program without who nothing would have been possible: Miss Rossitza Georgieva, our translator, who spend days and nights in translating lectures and NAUI materials from English to Bulgarian.
We are confident that NAUI found a new “pioneered” place in central Europe and we know that our approach of “Dive Safety Through Education” has been well understood among our new Bulgarian friends and peers. It will not be long for NAUI to spread across the country as three other dive centers are planned in Bourgas, 10 km south of Varna and “Golden Sand” in an other resort and in the capital Sofia, where the always eager new Bulgarian generation is ready for new exhilarating diving experiences.
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