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South of France Practicalities: Accommodation, Diving Operators, Qualifications...

Qualifications

For deep wreck diving (40m and plus) you will have to have a qualification of at least CMAS 3 star equivalent. If you haven't been diving recently to these sorts of depths you might be required to be accompanied by an instructor. France is firmly a CMAS country, and as such PADI is less well recognized, but don't fear as these are commercial dive operators, and as long as your log book is decent you haven't too much to worry about.

Medical

A dive qualification is not enough any more. France has become much more like Spain with a requirement for a medical certificate of fitness to dive less than one year old. When first diving with a dive boat you will be asked to present this. With out this you will most likely not be permitted to dive. An alternative may be a log showing a good amount of recent diving activity, but do not count on this if you don't want to be disappointed.

Language

Most of the clubs on the coast have some abilities in English, or there will always be someone on the boat who can help you out with translations.

Air

For wreck dives you can easily hire a 15 litre bottle with dual valves with transformable DIN and normal exits. The normal set up for diving in France is twin regulators on a single bi valve bottle, so that you have an independent air source. This set up is a legal requirement for dive instructors in France.

Decompression

The French will think nothing of 15 minutes in water deco, which given that you have warm water, and little to no currents and calm conditions isn't that difficult. With the Eperlan dive operators a safety bottle is provided, and lines for deco at 3 and 6 meters.

Accommodation

Accommodation is easy to find, however be careful in the high seasons of second half of July and August. There are numerous camp sites and abundant flats and houses for rent. If your French is good enough you can try an excellent publication which is on line to search for direct owners who rent property - http://www.pap.fr/

Dive Operators

I have found the best people to dive with from Cavaliere Sur Mer are the Eperlan team. Claude and Jules, are the skippers who run this boat. They have a great sense of humor, are easy going, but expert at what they do. They know the wrecks intimately, and will ensure you have a great dive.
Eperlan Dive Prices: Unaccompanied dive: 150 FF
Hire of 15 lt.tank: 30FF
There is a supplement when going to dive on the Islands due to the distance
You can also buy a 10 dive package, and pay only for 9 dives the 10th being free.

Where to find the Eperlan

The Eperlan is based in the port of Cavalaire Sur Mer, on the side of the port which is nearest to the towns main streets. You can turn up in the morning to join the dive if it is out of high season, or book in advance (high season is second half of July and August). The boat normally leaves at 8.30am, but best to be a bit early especially on the first day. Telephone: +33 (0)4 94 05 41 82.

by Joe Ryan.

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