Malapascua Island's

Scuba Diving Internships in the Philippines

About us

Thresher Shark Divers            Malapascua            Philippines            Dive Sites

Thresher Shark Divers

Thresher Shark Divers is based on Bounty Beach, Malapascua Island, just off the north tip of Cebu in the Philippines. We are located right in the middle of a picture perfect white sandy beach near to all the main facilities.

We are the first and only PADI 5 Star Dive IDC Center on Malapascua, so you know that we adhere to the high standards of PADI.

We have three banka style boats: Amy (max capacity 20), Esther (max capacity 15) and Rosie (max capacity 8). Our flat bottomed boats Big Jim and Little Jim help us out with small classes.

Staff Profiles

Instructors

Andrea & Trevor Holmes

Thresher Shark Divers was started by Andrea and Trevor in 2004. Since then TSD has grown to be one of the most well known and well respected dive shops in the Philippines, noted for their professionalism, dedication to safety, but most of all for their fun approach to diving.

Andrea and Trevor have a wide range of experience. They previously worked as instructors in Thailand and the Caribbean and prior to Thresher Shark Divers, they owned a dive school in San Francisco, California. The kelp beds and sea lions of Monterey Bay were fabulous, but the tropics beckoned them, and they moved to their new paradise Malapascua Island. Between them they have certified countless divers, and have done thousands of dives in Malapascua alone.

Andrea and Trevor still spend most of their time at the dive shop. Your first contact with TSD will probably be Andrea who will answer all of your questions and will help you arrange everything. Trevor is in charge of our technical facility and teaches courses up to Trimix level.

Mike Ferguson

Mike is our PADI Course Director and Master Instructor.  He has a wide range of experience teaching in both the cold waters of the UK and in tropical locations. Before he came to the Philippines he owned his own PADI 5 Star Dive Center in Turkey and acted as Head Instructor. He has a wealth of experience and you can learn untold amounts from him. Mike can teach 22 PADI specialty courses. He will be very involved with your courses, all the way up to Instructor level and he is in charge of our IDC program.

Joseph Dean

Dino, as he is more commonly known, is our Operations Manager and and will be very involved with your program, particularly the organization and administration. He is a PADI IDC Staff Instructor and has been in the diving industry for around 10 years. If you need help with anything during your stay, he will be your first port of call.

Rich Reardon

Rich is also a very experienced instructor with nearly 10 years in the industry. He is a PADI Master Instructor, on his way to becoming Course Director. He has worked in many areas of the world and all over Asia.

John Taylor

John Taylor is one of our PADI Course Directors. Originally from the UK, he will be on staff to do Instructor Development Courses (IDCs). He has successfully run IDCs in England, the United States, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. He worked for many years with a successful PADI CDC (Career Development Center) in Thailand and has endless experience in training instructors. He will make sure you pass your IE and become an instructor. As well as a PADI Course Director he is also an Instructor Trainer for EFR, many PADI Specialty courses, DSAT TecRec and Trimix, Rebreather and DAN.

Local Staff

You will get to know our Filipino dive guides, boat staff and shop staff very well. You could not hope to meet a friendlier bunch of people and they are a delight to work with. You will work side by side with them during your internship and as well as having a good time, you will learn a lot from them. Some of our interns become very close to our staff and their families.

Dive guides

Our dive guides are Botchoy, Tata, Je-an, Riza and Gibb (not shown). They have done thousands of dives in Malapascua and know each dive site like the back of their hand. You will dive with them a lot, so follow them and watch and learn. They are particularly good at finding all the hidden critters with perfect camouflage for which Malapascua is so famous.

Boat staff

Our boat staff are simply wonderful. Most people who dive with us say they are the best boat crew they have ever come across. They are friendly, helpful and always smiling.

Shop staff

Jeramie and Liza are our office assistants. Jun-Jun and Andy work in the compressor room and are our general odd-job men. Jun-Jun wins the prize for the biggest smile in the shop.

Bar & Restaurant Staff

The girls at the Pub Upstairs look after all your cocktails requirements, giggle a lot, and are always available for a game of backgammon, liar's dice, Connect 4, or to challenge you to a Rubik's Cube Face Off.

The waiters and waitresses of Oscar's Restaurant are fast and efficient (and also giggle a lot, including Johnny).

Everyone's favorite

Last but definitely not least, are our most popular members of staff, Sally and her rowdy brother Oliver...

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