Passionate about the Cook Islands, the environment and ensuring divers' safety, they run a tight (but fun) ship.
It's the perfect combination to put novice and regular divers at ease - quality gear, clear briefings and a "safety first" focus.
A damp squib of a day proved perfect for the refresher skills course I'd enrolled in; the lagoon water was a balmy 23C and no one missed out on sun time. A bit of rain? Who cares - we're all wet anyway.
Jette and Jess - our sassy German instructors - had us kitted out and assembling our equipment in no time.
Apparently, I had not paid close enough attention to the Padi manual photos and tried to connect my BCD to the tank the wrong way round; a mistake that was diplomatically pointed out and quietly corrected. Doh.
Aside from that potentially disastrous equipment assembly failure, the skills did come back.
A walk across the road to the crystalline waters of the Aroa Marine Reserve for skills practice had to be abandoned due to an incoming tide. Instead, we adjourned to a local resort pool which, while not so scenic, was perfect to practice mask clearing, regulator sharing and recovery, and buoyancy control.
Instilling confidence with every instruction, Jette had us all feeling as though mere weeks, rather than years, had passed since our last dive experiences.
Refresher course complete and raring to get into the big blue, we drove to the Avatiu Harbour (near downtown Avarua) where we met Sascha and climbed aboard one of The Dive Centre's three rigid inflatable boats (RIBs). We passed two rust-bucket fishing vessels and a barge loaded with big yellow machinery destined for upgrading the airport runway on the island of Atiu. Trader Jacks, the iconic restaurant and Avarua landmark, was still in view when we dropped anchor, less than 10 minutes after leaving harbour.
Sascha gave a site briefing and provided instructions on our descent method, depth and time limits. A final check of my gear; one hand on my regulator, the other on my mask; a backward roll entry off the side of the boat and then down.
With visibility at over 30m, the difficulty lay in deciding where to look first - short or long range? Up close and personal with the coral formations, emperor, parrot and puffer fish? Or a little further away where a white-tipped reef shark was cruising in a particularly laid-back manner below a school of trevally? Shark first, then back to the coral formations where the tropical fish masses congregate.
Always on the look-out for turtles and humpback whales that migrate through Cook Islands' waters in winter, my vigilance was not rewarded this time around.
But the wonderful thing about diving is that there is always something to captivate, to amaze, to thrill; it's not just about the big ticket items. Often, it's something small or rare or simply the first you have seen that is your prize.
On this particular day, I had a first - a Spanish Dancer nudibranch. Secreted inside a small coral cave, it wasn't easy to spot without a helpful hand signal from Sascha.
As the Spanish Dancer swayed away from the intrusion, the edges of its mantle unfurling in a foam of red frills, I was reminded of the first rule of scuba diving which is to breathe continuously; to never, never hold your breath. When the environment around you is so breathtaking, that's a hard rule to remember.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Air New Zealand flies direct to Rarotonga from Auckland six times a week.
Details: The Dive Centre's refresher dive skills course cost $85.
Further information: See FeelRaro.co.nz.
The writer completed the refresher dive skills course courtesy of The Dive Centre.
