Our crew

Six people. One job: a dive you'll want to repeat.

Every worry people bring to Sal has someone on our team who owns it. Meet them, then tell us which one you'd like beside you.

Plan my dive WhatsApp the team

Who you'll dive with.

Small enough that you'll know everyone's name by your second dive.

Ricardo Fortes

Founder and dive centre managerEnglish, Portuguese

Ask Ricardo about: hidden extras on the bill

Ricardo spent years watching visitors agree to one price and leave having paid another: equipment fees, boat supplements, photos nobody mentioned. When he opened Bubble Blue he made one rule. The price on this website is the price you pay, with everything in it. He still answers most WhatsApp messages himself, usually before his coffee goes cold. His promise: no surprises on the bill, no pressure to upgrade, and an honest answer if another day would suit you better.

Ana Lima

PADI Instructor, first-time diversEnglish, Portuguese

Ask Ana about: fear of panicking underwater

Ana teaches more nervous beginners than anyone on the team, and she likes it that way. She was afraid of deep water herself until an instructor in Santa Maria held her hand all the way down to the sand. Now she does the same for you: calm water first, slow breathing, one skill at a time, and never a metre deeper than you want to go. Her promise: you won't leave the shallows until you feel ready, and you can signal to stop at any moment, with no embarrassment and no lost money.

Joel Tavares

PADI Instructor, Open Water and AdvancedEnglish, Portuguese

Ask Joel about: losing holiday days to a classroom

Joel knows your holiday is short. His students finish the theory at home with PADI eLearning and arrive ready to get wet. He builds each course around the forecast, so your ocean dives land on the calmest mornings of the week, and he will happily repeat mask clearing ten times until it feels easy. His promise: no wasted afternoons indoors, a schedule that fits your trip, and a referral to finish at home if anything holds you back.

Sofia Brandão

Divemaster, guide for certified diversEnglish, Portuguese

Ask Sofia about: being herded around a crowded reef

Sofia guides certified divers and has one pet hate: being rushed around a reef behind twenty pairs of fins. Her groups never pass six. Her briefings tell you what you'll see and where, and her dives move slowly enough to find the octopus in the crack and the turtle under the ledge. She checks your air and comfort often, without hovering. Her promise: a dive planned for the people in her group, not the boat schedule. If you want to stay with a turtle, you stay.

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Nilton Évora

Boat captainPortuguese, English

Ask Nilton about: fast, rough boat rides and seasickness

Nilton has read the sea around Sal since he was a boy on his father's fishing boat. He drives our boat as if he were carrying eggs: steady speed, the smoothest line through the swell, and a hand ready for anyone climbing aboard. Every evening he checks the wind and swell for the next morning, and when the sea is wrong, he says so. His promise: no racing between sites, no bumpy rides to impress anyone, and no trip out when the sea would spoil your dive.

Mia Andrade

Guest experienceEnglish, Portuguese

Ask Mia about: logistics in a place you don't know

Mia looks after everything that happens before you get wet. She keeps one WhatsApp thread for your whole booking, sends the pickup time the evening before, and checks medical forms early so nothing delays you on the day. Pickups leave your hotel in Santa Maria on time, and she replies in English or Portuguese. Her promise: you will always know where to be, when, and what to bring. If plans change, one message to Mia sorts it out.

Five rules the whole crew keeps.

Never more than 6 guests per guide

You're never a number on a boat.

We cancel when the sea says so

Free reschedule, or a full refund if your week runs out.

Serviced, sanitised equipment

Regulators serviced on schedule, masks and suits cleaned after every dive.

Oxygen and first aid on every trip

Emergency oxygen and an emergency plan for every site we visit.

Leave only bubbles

No touching, no feeding, no chasing wildlife. Reef-safe sunscreen, please.

Never more than 6 guests per guideFree reschedule when the sea says noPADI instructorsHotel pickup in Santa MariaAll gear includedNothing to pay to ask

Your descent starts with one message.

Tell us your dates and how you feel about the water. We'll match you to the right instructor, the right site and the calmest morning of your week.

Prefer to talk? WhatsApp +238 981 3729 or call us.