Dive N Trips' Staff

Gene Battaglia, Dive N Trips Owner:

Can you believe that it has been two years already, since we’ve opened the doors to the store? I want to wish each and everyone of you a big “Thank You!” for making us a huge success! It has been so much easier to conduct training, sales and all the fun stuff we do, out of a location other than my house! As the owner of Dive N Trips, I am looking forward to getting you involved with us and our wonderful sport. We will keep you diving, learning and traveling the world, exploring awesome dive sites in the Underwater World!

As far as who I am, here are just a few highlights:

• Bachelors of Arts degree in Recreation Administration from Cal State Sacramento
• Certificate in Training and Human Development from UC Berkeley
• Retired Police Officer from East Bay Regional Park District
• Scuba Instructor since 1988
• PADI Course Director (Instructor Trainer) since 1994
• Certified over 2,000+ students
• Former Chief of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department Dive Team
• Public Safety Diving Instructor Trainer
• PSD Trainer for several municipalities including:

San Francisco Police Department

Alameda County Sheriff’s Department EOD Dive Team

San Francisco Fire Department

• Designed, developed and implemented a dive instruction program at Cal State University, Monterey Bay
• Past Senior Instructor for the US Army Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey
• Owned and Operated Institute of Diving Technology out of our house since 1994
• Developed strategic partnerships with other PADI Instructor Development Centers throughout the State of California
• Offer Instructor training programs through these IDC Centers
• Technical Diving Instructor and Instructor Trainer

Dorothy Battaglia, Dive N Trips Owner:

Well, it has been two years since we opened!  Can you believe it!  Time does fly when you are having fun.  It has been great meeting new people, making friends and be part of the process whereby we get to introduce people to the underwater world.  Not only oceans, but lakes and rivers!  To coin an old phrase – It is totally awesome dude!

We now have a Dive Club, Venture Crew (Boy Scouts), Seal Team Club, annual activities and diving events like the recently completed Coastal Clean up Day.  We have kids of all ages learning about our environment and what amazes me – is that they already know and understand so much.  It is really exciting to see the growth and potential of these young people.  They are truly the leaders of not only theirs but our future.

This is a personal invitation to join me on our many adventures!  We need to keep on Imagining the Possibilities!

John Day: PADI IDC Staff Instructor

I have been a PADI professional since 2004 and originally from Texas. My 2 favorite food groups are McDonalds and Taco Bell. I reside in the Placerville area, so my favorite dive spot is Sly Park. My favorite type of diving is Night Diving. My best diving was done when I lived and worked as a diver in Guam. I would spend my weekends working on a private diving boat going to places in Micronesia.

Every time I think about diving recreationally I think back to my days as a commercial diver and am happy not to be working and diving in the Ca. Delta - that paid the bills but was not my favorite diving. I became a PADI pro after years of diving. I enjoy all aspects of teaching. I was a trainer in the computer industry and now I get to combine my two favorite past times - Teaching and Diving. I really enjoy going out and diving with students. It is great when people continue on and I get to dive with them. Best job in the world. I look forward to meeting and diving with all of you.

Dale Stone, PADI Master Instructor

I have been diving since 1994 and a PADI professional since 1995.  I have logged almost 1000 dives with the overwhelming majority in the Monterey Bay Sanctuary.

My favorite diving is night diving.  It is so cool to see the day creatures hide and go to sleep and the night creatures come out and feed.  Come and help me find my favorite night creature, an octopus. They can be hard to spot because they change colors and blend in with their surroundings.  I might even put one on your mask.

I also love to teach Open Water classes and see my students develop and overcome the challenges they face.  I can’t wait to see the excitement on their faces when they surface from their first open water dive.  Come and join me in the next class!  I also love to share the importance of being good stewards of the environment especially the oceans.  I have certified students from the ages of 10 years thru 82 years young.

I love to stay warm and dry in my dry suit.  I would love to teach this specialty to you.  I am a big whimp when it comes to cold water.  A dry suit makes even the coldest water enjoyable.

As a Master Instructor I can teach Open Water thru Assistant Instructor and can teach many specialties.  I assist Gene with teaching new Open Water Instructors and prepare them for the Instructor Exam.

I also am a Public Safety Diver for the Alameda County Sheriffs Office and assist in the training of new recruits for this challenging and often dangerous environment.

Hope to see you in class real soon!

Greg Varvell, PADI IDC Staff Instructor:

Greg started diving in 1992 and became an PADI Instructor in 1994. He says”it was a good excuse to go diving every weekend!”

In those 16 years he has taught for two dive shops in the East Bay and held classes in Hawaii, Mexico and Bonaire. Greg can teach most of PADI’s specialties classes. Greg has managed one dive shop and was part owner of another in the Bay Area for several years.

Greg loves to dive in the Caribbean and has lead several dive trips to many Caribbean dive locations. Greg also loves to dive the Channel Island in southern California and for the past 5 years has chartered the Conception for a yearly 3 day Live aboard trip.

One of Greg’s passions is Equipment repair. Greg is certified to repair most brands of SCUBA equipment and enjoys teaching the PADI Equipment Specialist class whenever possible.

Greg’s favorite in water dives are Search and Recovery. “Not only is it a fun class to teach, I always seem to find thing other dives lose”. 

“Teaching Open Water to new student is by far my favorite class. Introducing people to the wonders the oceans holds, and ensuring that new students learn to dive safely and responsibly is extremely rewarding for me. I just love to teach SCUBA.”

Craig and Jody Ward, Atlantis World Travel

We are excited to be partnering with Dive-N-Trips and Gene & Dorothy Battaglia, recognized names in the Bay Area scuba community,” Jody said. “Their sponsorship of the Tri-Valley Dive Club has created great opportunities for local divers that were previously not available.

Craig and Jody love sharing their passion for visiting new places, meeting new people and experiencing the varied cultures and natural wonders of our amazing world. Specializing in scuba dive travel - dive travel for divers, by divers - they provide the trips for you to explore and experience our amazing and varied underwater world. As divers, they have been below the surface all over the world with some of their favorites being Philippines , Roatan, Curacao, Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel and Grand Cayman . They also offer cruises and eco-travel, as well as tours and cultural exploration.

As dive buddies they make a great team, too. Jody enjoys underwater photography and depends on Craig to be her “spotter” and navigator. She credits most of her shots to his ability to find that hidden creature that everyone else missed and swam right by. Go to http://GoAtlantis.smugmug.com/share/NVhRnDSJFaaXI to see some of her photos.

You can meet Craig and Jody at our dive club meetings on the second Thursday of the month and when they are hanging around our store. Contact them anytime with travel questions at Jody.Ward@GoAtlantisTravel.com or 925-899-5946.