The South of France is a blank spot on the map of many UK divers . But now we have a BSAC Centre welcoming Brits to the Côte d ’ Azur ...
TRAVELSPECIAL
Beyond the bouillabaisse
The South of France is a blank spot on the map of many UK divers . But now we have a BSAC Centre welcoming Brits to the Côte d ’ Azur ...
A forest of black coral in the depths
Though this magazine has run reports on self-supported club trips to our neighbour nation , the South of France has been under-represented in these pages over the years . How can this be ? After all , the Côte d ’ Azur is literally the birthplace of diving , and while the wildlife has undeniably been affected by fishing and coral collecting over the years , it still stands up well next to any sub-tropical destination . Perhaps all we ’ ve been waiting for is a BSAC friendly dive centre to welcome us in the way that , for instance , Safari Diving in Lanzarote has done over the years .
Step forward CAP Plongée Dive Centre , located in the la Coudoulière port of Six-Fours-Les-Plages on the picturesque French Mediterranean coast , between Marseille and Nice . Equipped with three dive boats , the centre caters for recreational and technical diving groups , as well as offering a complete range of diving equipment for rental – everything from a pair of fins to a closed circuit rebreather or even DPVs .
The centre is based in a magical corner of France which also happened to be the proving ground of Cousteau ’ s original Aqua-Lung . It ’ s also where the centre ’ s owner , Antoine Mittau , started diving 27 years ago . Formerly an intensive care nurse , Antoine participated in the ‘ Under the Pole ’ French Polynesia diving expedition as a trimix rebreather diver and as the expedition ’ s nurse .
So what ’ s the BSAC connection ? Meet Malcolm Kaub , a bilingual Australian engineer and BSAC instructor who has lived and worked in France for 36 years . Some of
Divers prepare to board the 9m aluminium dive boat , Mouette you may have met him at the BSAC stand at Go Diving – he ’ s on a mission to attract more BSAC divers to his parish . “ The truth is we haven ’ t seen many British divers so far ,” he says . “ It ’ s surprising as so many Brits enjoy holidaying in the Côte d ’ Azur .”
Currently , most of the centre ’ s divers are from throughout France , including the locals . There are some Europeans particularly from Germany , Belgium and
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