Passionate about diving since his childhood, Alban Michon started diving in 1988 and became professional in 1999. He has been the director of the ice diving school of Tignes (France) since 2000 and has developed the school to become a reference in this particular world of ice and cold. In 2005, he extended his instructor activities to instigate underground diving in the French river Lot. In February 2009 he left France for Finland (on the edge of the Arctic) to dive under the compression crests of the Baltic Sea. Alban will supervise our expeditions to Lake Baïkal in 2010.
Dive guide and instructor with 5000 dives.

Growing up by the sea, Andrew, Australian, has been in love with anything related to the Sea since his early childhood. A PADI Master Instructor and British MCA Captain, Andrew has worked all over the world as an Instructor, guide, captain and expedition leader for over 20 years. Based in Byron Bay Australia, he travels for Abyss semi permanently in roles relating to guiding, vessels, trade shows and logistics. Andrew speaks fluent french and aussie, and joined theTeam Abyss in 2004. Outside of diving Andrew loves surfing and anything to do with his classic sailing yacht.
Professional Instructor, Guide and Captain with over 4000 dives.

Originally from the Island of Cebu, Bruce is one of the longest serving members of the team. He began his career with us as one of our mariners and has trained over the years to become a fantastic guide. With his expert eye and his deep knowledge of the safaris in the Philippines, he is a pleasure to dive with and an exceptional guide.

Professionally qualified guide with over 4000 dives.

Christophe Gripon, French, began diving with team Abyss as a client before joining as a "part time" guide. A passionate diver since 1994, he became a PADI instructor in 2004, MF1 in 2006, BEES 1 in 2007 and is the secretary of the CSL Thonon dive club since 2000. In addition to diving, he participates in rock climbing, tennis, swimming, skiing, jet boating and travels regularly to discover new diving destinations. Dynamic and attentive he will be the ABYSS representative in 2010 on our trips to Palau.

With 14 years experience in the Philippines, Christophe, French/Swiss, is the founder and Managing Director of Abyss. Motivated to expand his vision of dive safaris around the world, he is now based in ABYSS head office in Geneva, Switzerland. He continues to work as a guide and is responsible for developing new destinations around the globe. Outside of Team Abyss his interests include snowboarding, music, cinema and nature in general.
Director General, Professional Instructor and Guide with over 4000 dives.

Having been diving since 1982, Daniel, Suisse, became a professional dive instructor in 2004 and has devoted all his energies to this field. Having certified over 300 people in Switzerland and around the globe since 2004, Daniel is a PADI, NAUI, CMAS and DSAT Instructor. Speaking 5 languages, he also instructs underwater photography which is his great passion. Joining Team Abyss in 2007, Daniel did work as a guide in the Maldives and will guide you under the Baïkal ice in 2009.
Professional Instructor and Guide with over 5000 dives.

As a native of Sharm El Sheikh, Ehab, Egyptian, founded the dive centre Aquaterra in 1988. A PADI MSDT, he is considered one of the best guides from Sharm and is renowned for his great knowledge and even greater sense of humour. Passionate about the marine world, he took part in several expeditions with the Cousteau team. One of his great memories is participating in the filming of the 2003/2004 film "Return to the silent world". Outside of diving he loves the desert and is passionate about nature in general.
Professional Instructor and Guide with over 8000 dives.

Diving since 1992, Cedric, French, moved to Switzerland initially to follow his passion for mathematics. In Lausanne he met Eloise, Swiss, while working jointly in a medical laboratory. Both madly passionate about diving they worked together towards their dive qualifications until in 2003 Cedric became an Instructor and Eloise a Divemaster. Joining team Abyss in 2004 they are now doing what we would classify as "living the dream" Cedric and Eloise move with the seasons and guide in the Maldives, Philippines and Bali. Outside of diving they are both very passionate about the mountains, the outdoors, and still maintain their interest in science.
Professional Instructors and Guides with more than 2000 dives each.

Originally from the Island of Mindanao, Eric Laurel supervises a large number of our safaris in the Philippines. He is the reason of their success due to his great knowledge in the field and his comfort and ease under water. Nowadays he lives in Switzerland to take care of his family and occasionally joins our expeditions as a guide.
Professional dive guide, + 4000 dives

Both former French school teachers, Gisele and Hubert decided to change their lives and commit full time to the diving world in 2002. They travel around the world from season to season working as guides and instructors in Thailand, The Philippines, Maldives and Indonesia. They are highly respected for their professionalism and great sense of humour. Having been with Team Abyss since 2002, they guide in the Maldives, Papua Barat, Egypt and the Philippines. Outside of diving they are passionate about being in the mountains in their native France.
Professional guides with over 2500 dives each.

Having been involved in diving in Switzerland for more than 15 years, Laurent, Swiss, has for a long time juggled his world as a train driver, dive instructor and agent for dive trips. An occasional guide with Team Abyss since 1999, in 2007 he took the step and moved to the Philippines full time. Laurent is in charge of our operations there and fundamentally oversees all our mariners and guides. Outside of diving, he loves cinema, music, great food and the mountains.
Director in the Philippines, Professional Instructor and Guide with over 5000 dives.

Both coming from the world of marketing and management. Loic, Swiss, and Cynthia, French, both decided to throw away the business suits and dive into the world of scuba. As a passionate dive traveller, Loic discovered the Maldives, Indonesia and the Red Sea before heading to Thailand to complete his dive instructor qualifications. It was at this time Loic met Cynthia, who had been diving since 1995, and they chose to make diving their careers. Cynthia became a Divemaster in the Maldives and completed her Instructor course in Switzerland. Both are avid lake divers and also love ice diving.
With several specialities in the pocket (Nitrox and Digital photography), Loic and Cynthia returned to the Maldives and worked as Instructors at different dive centres. It is with great enthusiasm that they joined Team Abyss in 2009 to welcome divers aboard the Soleil.
When they are not diving, Loic is an avid photographer, and Cynthia puts on the ballerina shoes, an art she has been practicing for over 20 years.

After growing up in Geneva Switzerland to German parents, Nicole, Swiss, migrated to Australia in 2003 so she wouldn't need to wear shoes anymore ! Diving since 1999, she recently joined Team Abyss doing logistics and booking for our english speaking clientele. Fluent in french, german and english and having travelled and dived extensively, she works tirelessly behind the scenes. Outside of diving she lives with Andrew and their son in Byron Bay Australia, enjoys the beach, tennis and sailing.
Responsible for internatinal bookings and logistics, PADI Advanced with over 200 dives.

After 8 years working in airline transport and dive tour operator bookings in Paris, Patrick, French, joined Team Abyss in January 2008. He then moved to Villeneuve in Switzerland where he is the Director of our agency. A diver since 1992, and a Polynesian at heart, he worked as a guide in Saint Marteen for 3 years and spent much time exploring the Caribbean. Other than diving he loves rock-climbing, painting, and is one of these crazy people that run marathons.
Villeneuve agency manager and Professional dive guide with over 500 dives.

First as a professional musician, then pioneering bungee jumping in Europe, before to create a mountain guiding company in Nepal, Phil spent most of his life between continents, lakes, oceans and mountains. A professional diver since 1993, he is today a PADI Course Director and consultant, but dedicates most of his time to travels and photography, leading to numerous publications in various diving magazines. An experienced photographer, he has the ability to capture the intensity of nature both above and below water. Phil acts as tourleader on our Digital Photography Workshops, taking place in 2009 and 2010 in Egypt, Maldives, Galapagos, Bali and the Philippines.

One of the true pillars of Team Abyss since his return to Geneva in 1999, Philippe, Swiss, travelled the world for 5 years before deciding to live permanently in the Philippines for a period of 12 years. Philippe opened dive shops in the regions of Boracay and Busuanga and explored much of the archipelago during this time. Fanatical about his love of travel and diving, he enjoys nothing more than organising the somewhat complicated logistics of Team Abyss. Based in Geneva all year round, he also travels occasionally and works as a guide at different sites.
Head Office Agency Manager, Professional Instructor and Guide with over 3500 dives.

Having dived now for over 20 years, Sean, Swiss, one fine day decided to leave his sales career behind and follow the diving dream under the tropical sky. Instructor with both PADI and CMAS, Sean is renowned for his insatiable generosity to those who share his passion. With his wife Kiyoko, Japanese, they are the happy owners of the Soleil in the Maldives. Sean joined Team Abyss in 2002 and has contributed to the quality of the Maldives Cruises. Having now moved ashore in the Maldives with a growing family, they manage the charter business in the Maldives while continuing to guide some of our travels, worldwide.
Professional Instructor and Guide, owner of the Soleil, with over 11000 dives.

After 12 years booking diving trips for an agency in Nantes, Stephane, French, joined Abyss in January 2006, he brought all his experience and passion to head office in Geneva, where he spends of his time on line and on the phone. He has dived in over 20 dive destinations from the Red Sea to Polynesia, Palau to the Caymans. He is able to sit and talk to you about the logistics of over 80 destinations. Outside of diving his interests include music, nature, cooking and film.
Responsible for communication, the internet site and voyage creation, he is also an advanced open water diver with over 200 dives.

As a Doctor of Universal Science, Stephanie Godier, French, could be called the true "space cadet". With a Doctorate in Astro Physics, she is more than qualified to pass on her knowledge, from the basic to Univesity level, and is involved in many different educational projects all based on around the world of The Universe.

When not looking at the stars, Stephanie has her head underwater. She has a Level 3 dive qualification and has travelled and dived in many locations around the globe. In other words, she is almost as passionate about diving as she is about the stars. Stephanie will be joining our Maldives Cruise in January 2010 for the solar eclipse. There will be different themes onboard relating to this fantastic phenomena. It will be an absolute pleasure too have her join us.

After 3 years spent in Paris working in the area of communications, Thomas Demedmaeker, Belgian, decided to leave it all behind in 2003 and flew off to South America. He discovered scuba diving and began accumulating all the different qualifications in Columbia, Mexico, Honduras, The Reunion, Portugal, The Dominican Republic and Thailand, where he completed his Instructor course with a speciality in Nitrox. In 2005, Thomas headed to The Maldives and never came back. He accepted to join Team Abyss in 2009 to work as our guide aboard The Manta Cruise. He is also a keen kite surfer and plays the guitar in his time off.
Professional Instructor and guide with +2000 dives in The Maldives.

Having been a lover of the ocean and travel for a long time, Vincent, French, discovered diving in 1998 in his home town of Toulouse in France. After finishing his qualifications he worked in the Mediterranean before going further afield to Spain, Egypt and then Polynesia. He joined Team Abyss in January 2008 and has since put his passion and knowledge at the service of Abyss clients. He now guides at different destinations around the globe for Team Abyss. Outside of diving he is passionate about nature and photography.
Professional Instructor and Guide with over 1000 dives.