Meet the team - Jacques
Hi, I’m Jacques and I’m an Instructor and Skipper at Bouley Bay Dive Centre.
My first taste of underwater life was when I was about 12 on holiday and the hotel that I was staying at had a try diving experience in the pool. Like any 12-year-old boy, I was desperate to try it and give it ago, the look of all the gear, the idea of breathing underwater, the possibilities it could lead to! I was hooked from my first breath!
Once I got home we looked at the possibilities of diving further and what was available locally, being on an island surrounded by water and with the many bays and beaches it seemed the obvious place to learn and discover what was hidden beneath our Jersey waters. We found the dive centre and that was it, my journey to being a qualified diver began. Starting with my Padi Open Water course and straight on to the advanced course, I was addicted. The following summer I did my Rescue Diver course which is a great qualification to do and is one of my favourites to teach. As a rescue diver you learn to think about the others you are diving with and not just yourself. From then on every summer holiday was filled up with helping at the dive centre assisting the instructors on various dives and courses.
As soon as I turned 18 I was signed up to do my Dive Master qualification and enter the world of professional diving with my instructor course following in quick succession. Taught by Toyah and developed into the instructor that I am today. One thing that sets Bouley Bay apart from the rest is that we have grown up diving together and are all on the same page promoting consistency across the team, but that’s not to say we are single-minded in our way of doing things. We have all been fortunate enough to travel the world, diving in many places and learning from many other professionals, reporting back with new ideas and teachings on our return so we can deliver the best possible service to our customers.
Diving has taken me all over the world on some amazing trips to some pretty awesome places and I have met some brilliant people along the way all sharing the same passion for our oceans. From the waters of Malta to reef diving in Dubai and to shark diving in Australia to name a few. One issue with diving is that the bucket list is ever-expanding, as soon as you tick one thing off something else is added. Hopefully soon Coronavirus will be a thing of the past and we can all go travelling again. However, there is truly no place like home! Jersey has so much to offer and there is something for everyone, there is much more to see in our local waters than you would expect. We have some exceptional wrecks, history frozen in time and preserved underwater. Reefs teeming with life if you know where to look, with varying fish, corals, flora and fauna and thanks to our unique geographical position with some of the largest tidal ranges in the world we get some fantastic drift dives, floating along like you’re on a lazy river barely needing to kick.
Unfortunately in recent years, I have had to “Grow Up” and get a “Proper Job” so I can’t dive as much as I would like to, but there is nothing more I enjoy than swapping my work suit for my wet suit and joining in down the bay on evenings and weekends. Being underwater is a total escape from reality and the daily worries of life just float away. Blow bubbles no troubles! Hope to see you all soon and welcome you to the Bouley Bay family!
