The Heartbeat of ScubaLov — Our Story Beneath the Surface
When Jurgen Van Duffel first dug his feet into the white sands of Havelock Island in 2006, he knew deep inside that he was home. What began as a short one season stint at Dive India as a Master Scuba Diver Trainer, went on to sow the seeds for an exciting new beginning. Our story began here, quietly but with purpose.
In 2011 Jurgen started ScubaLov with confined pool sessions in Mumbai and domestic diving trips to Netrani and Havelock. Within two years ScubaLov had finally taken root with a full-fledged dive shop within the Sea Shell Resort on Havelock. In comparison to seasoned dive centers on the Island, ScubaLov was still the new kid on the block but arrived packed with unbridled energy. Our story quickly gathered momentum as the dive shop plunged into action with a team of 6 instructors and divemasters, which over the next three years grew to a versatile gang of 12—some of whom moonlight as scuba equipment technicians, marine researchers and underground martial artists.
Over just three seasons, ScubaLov had carved a niche for itself in the diving space of the Andaman. It grew exponentially, transgressing from a Doongi to our first speedboat and everybody’s sweetheart, the Whale Song in 2014. In 2017 we added the elegant Blue Whale to our fleet—which is the fastest boat on the Island—and set up a full-fledged dive shop on the neighboring Neil Island. In 2022, our goliath of dive boats, Humpback, reached the Havelock shores. Our story is one of constant evolution, fueled by passion and community.
The dive shop thrives on the firm belief that no course or dive is ever the same. We try our best to connect with people, hoping to pass on our pure, unadulterated love for diving unto them, while keeping their individualities in mind. Diving is like drawing the curtain and taking a peek into another world. It holds the power to give people a new perspective to their life even on land. Our story continues with every diver we meet. All we want is to be effective guides for people who decide to venture into this complex but captivating world.
