Dolphin Dive Center

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Dolphin Dive Center

At Dolphin Dive Center, we're passionate about diving and sharing the scuba diving experience with you.

Since 1999, Dolphin Dive Center has been sharing the adventure of scuba diving with the Athens, Georgia community — training divers, leading trips, and inspiring a lifelong love for the ocean and its marine inhabitants. Owner/Master Instructor Tim Bridgham opened DDC in 1999, and since then our main focus has been meeting our customer's scuba needs. We are fully committed to providing you with an

unforgettable and enjoyable experience. We offer diver training, equipment sales/rental/service, tanning, and group travel around the world. DDC is affiliated with Scuba Schools International (SSI), the most comprehensive program in Scuba today. Their interactive curriculum, hands on training, and dive training standards assure you of a scuba certification that is recognized around the world. www.divessi.com

"What do you do for fun?"

"I love to dive... I'd dive everyday if I could." Open Water Classes - 1st Weekend of every month
Vortex Springs Certification Trips - 3rd weekend of every month

08/27/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

#27 — It Started With Lobsters

Growing up in South Florida, some of my earliest—and fondest—memories revolve around the ocean.

When I was nine or ten, my family started vacationing in Marathon in the Florida Keys. Within a few years, I think I'd freedived for lobster around just about every piling of the Seven Mile Bridge.

Then one year, on the drive home from vacation, my dad announced:

“Tim, we're going to get scuba certified so we can stay down there longer and get more lobsters.”

I remember asking him, “Dad, isn't scuba diving dangerous?”

His response?

“I'll worry about the danger. You just worry about the lobsters.”

So, in 1973, at 12 years old, I became a certified scuba diver.

And Dad was right.

We got a lot more lobsters.

But something else happened, too.

My love for the ocean grew with every dive.

And as my interest in diving grew, so did the opportunities. I kept learning, kept diving, and eventually became an instructor.

Then, in 1999, Charbon's Dive Center in Athens came up for sale.

I bought it.

I renamed it Dolphin Dive Center. And everything that happened next? Well...We've spent the last 26 stories telling you about it.

So for Story #27, there's really only one thing left for me to say.

Thank you.

Thank you to every student who trusted us to teach you.

Thank you to every customer who walked through our doors.

Thank you to everyone who packed a dive bag and traveled somewhere in the world with us—who chose DDC to be part of your vacation, your adventure, and eventually, your memories.

I don't think anyone could have predicted that a 12-year-old kid who just wanted to stay underwater longer and catch more lobsters would find a sport that would eventually take him around the world and allow him to see things most people only ever see on television.

I certainly couldn't have.

But what a ride it's been.

To everyone who has been part of Dolphin Dive Center's story...

Thank you for 27 years of memories.

— Tim 💙🤿

08/26/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#26 — The People Behind DDC

There's simply no way a small business stays in business for 27 years without a whole lot of people helping carry it along the way.

We could never name everyone who has contributed something to DDC, but there are a few people who deserve an honorable mention.

Sarah, our very first manager, set the tone for professionalism from the beginning.
Sabrina followed with a great eye for retail.

Joe Webber and JC gave us years of reliable service work.

Jay Kloepfer helped launch DDC into social media and was instrumental in creating the Dive Club.

Scott Noakes helped turn a thousand emails and a big idea into the UGA Scientific Diving program we know today.

Jan Hoffman taught Tim organization—and the life-changing importance of putting things into “baskets.” 😂

Rebekha started our YouTube channel and helped us grow the UGA program.

And thank goodness for Jeremy, because every business needs someone to blame things on. 😂

Brent (Tim's buddy and ours) will always be deeply missed. She and David Baldwin made approximately 9,000 trips to Vortex Spring alongside Tim.

Today, we're incredibly grateful for Van, our longest-standing manager, whose steady hand keeps DDC organized, stable, and moving forward.

And, in Tim's words: “Obviously, my wife Nicole, for her unwavering support.” 💙

Finally, there's the present-day DDC crew—now 13 strong and growing—carrying the story forward.

So many people have come through our doors as employees, instructors, divemasters, friends, and extended DDC family. Each brought something different.

Each left something behind.

Twenty-seven years may belong to Dolphin Dive Center, but it took a whole lot of people to build them.

💙 Now we want to hear from you: Do you have a favorite memory or story about a DDC staff member, past or present? Share it with us below!

08/25/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#25 — The Trip With Two Fridays 🇫🇯

In 2016, DDC went to Fiji.

And apparently, getting there required a little time travel. 😂

We left Atlanta on a Friday and had a long layover in Los Angeles—just enough time to explore the city, watch the sunset over Santa Monica Beach, grab dinner, and head back to the airport.

Then we flew across the Pacific...and arrived in Fiji on Friday morning.

Yep. Two Fridays! 🤯

Our destination was beautiful Taveuni Island, home to the 180th meridian and the historic International Date Line. Naturally, we had to visit the marker and take the obligatory photos standing with one foot in “today” and the other in “yesterday.”
Because how often do you get THAT photo op? 😂

We stayed at the gorgeous Paradise Taveuni Resort, where the hospitality was every bit as memorable as the diving.

And the diving was AMAZING. 🤿

But, as we've discovered on so many DDC trips, some of the best travel memories happen out of the water, too.

One evening, our hosts treated us to a traditional celebration with Fijian food, music and dancing, along with a kava ceremony—a wonderful opportunity to experience and learn about the culture of the islands welcoming us.

Beautiful reefs. Beautiful people. A beautiful corner of the world.

And one very strange relationship with Friday. 😂

Because when we crossed the date line going home?

No Friday at all.

We'd already used our extra one on the way there. 🇫🇯💙🤿

08/24/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#24 — From 8 UGA Students to 75 🤿🐾

Years ago, Tim noticed something that didn't make sense.

Other SEC universities offered scuba diving to their students.

UGA didn't.

So DDC started lobbying to change that.

And by “lobbying,” we mean sending more than 1,000 emails over three years. 😂

Persistence eventually met opportunity when Dr. Scott Noakes—a UGA professor and DDC instructor—suggested approaching the university through Marine Sciences.
And in spring 2013, the very first MARS 4740 Scientific Diving class began with around eight students.

We had no idea what that little class would become.

The program has grown semester after semester. This fall, we're working with 75 students—and this year, UGA announced that students can now pursue Scientific Diving as a minor.

That's something we're incredibly proud to have played a small part in building.

Every semester, DDC instructors get to introduce another group of young scientists to the underwater world. We spend weeks together in the classroom and pool, getting to know them, watching their confidence grow, and finally heading to Vortex Spring for checkout weekend.

And that's when something especially wonderful happens.

Classmates become dive buddies. Friendships form. Everyone cheers for everyone else.

There aren't many college courses where you finish the semester having literally learned to trust the person beside you with your life.

That creates a special kind of camaraderie. 💙

But perhaps our favorite part is knowing where these students may go next.

Marine scientists. Researchers. Scientific divers. Educators. Stewards of our oceans.

Thirteen years ago, there were eight.

Today, there are 75 a year.

And we can't wait to see where they take it from here. 🌊🤿

08/23/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#23 — DDC Goes to Cuba 🇨🇺

Of all the places DDC has traveled over the years, Cuba gave us an adventure unlike any other.

Because U.S. travel to Cuba isn't permitted purely for tourism, our itinerary included several days of educational and cultural activities in Havana before we ever put on a wetsuit.

And what an education it was.

For three days, our Cuban guide walked us through Old Havana and shared remarkably candid stories about everyday life. We visited neighborhoods and markets, learned how Cuba's rationing system affected daily shopping, ate wonderful food, and had conversations that gave us a glimpse into Cuban life no classroom ever could.

We came away grateful for the people who shared their city, experiences, and perspectives with us.

And then...we went DIVING. 🤿

We boarded a private bus and traveled across Cuba to the southern coast, where our liveaboard was waiting.

From there, we headed roughly 70 miles offshore to Jardines de la Reina—Gardens of the Queen—for a week of spectacular diving.

We explored one of the Caribbean's most celebrated protected marine areas, shared the water with silky sharks...
..and SNORKELED WITH CROCODILES. 😳🐊

Yes. On purpose. 😂

It was one of those DDC trips that reminded us why travel and diving belong together so beautifully.

Sometimes the greatest adventure isn't simply seeing a new part of the underwater world.

It's seeing a little more of the world itself. 💙🌎🤿

08/22/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#22 — From Diver to Instructor

Sometimes you walk through the door of a dive shop because you want to learn how to breathe underwater. You have no idea where that first step might eventually take you.

Allen first walked into DDC not knowing a soul. Today, he's one of our instructors—and somewhere between those two moments came countless dives, underwater photography, advanced training, teaching, and some especially meaningful adventures with his sons.

We'll let Allen tell you the rest. 💙

"My journey began as a desire to be "down there" with the beautiful marine life I saw while snorkeling in Grand Cayman in my college years. It took quite some years before it became a reality. One day I popped into DDC, not knowing a soul.

Quickly I realized that Tim knew what he was doing and I felt very comfortable. It became my favorite hobby. I loved it so much that a camera became part of my dive gear. I wanted my family and friends to see what they were missing.

After learning about the Stress & Rescue course I knew that was the next step. It was more than just wanting to be a safe diver, I wanted to be able to provide help for those I was diving with and my kids when they began diving.

From there it was on to Divemaster and from there to Dive Instructor. Never really had a desire to teach others but after helping with the UGA dive classes, I knew I wanted to help others share this incredible underwater world that God created.

People ask, What's your favorite diving? Any dives I do with my sons.

The journey has been a blast and I can't wait for the next adventure.

LETS GO!!"

And THAT is how a scuba story grows. 💙

We’re so glad you walked through our door, Allen—and even happier that you became part of the DDC family.

Here’s to whatever adventure comes next. LET’S GO!! 🤿🙌

08/21/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#21 — Activity Breeds Activity

Yesterday we told you about the DDC Dive Club. But meeting once a month was only part of the fun.

We liked to DO things. 😂

Over the years, the Dive Club hosted and helped organize all kinds of events designed to keep our dive community learning, exploring, connecting—and, most importantly, DIVING.

There was our Mission Blue Event, focused on the role divers can play as stewards of our oceans.

Dive Into the Season was an entire afternoon dedicated to kicking off the 2014 spring and summer dive season, with workshops on dive gear, equipment servicing, computers, dive logging, continuing education and more.

At our Scuba Extravaganza, we wrapped up the year's dive season by celebrating everyone's adventures—including an underwater photo contest featuring images our own divers had captured throughout the year. And, just in time for the holidays, we unveiled our annual Holiday Gear Sale. 🎁🤿

We held Teach a Friend to Dive events so our divers could introduce someone they loved to scuba.

And then there were some of the events you've already met in this series: bringing John Chatterton to Athens, introducing kids from the Boys & Girls Club to scuba, lake clean-up dives...and plenty more.

Some were educational.

Some were about service.

Some were simply an excuse to get a bunch of divers together and have FUN.

But they all came from the same philosophy we've talked about throughout this series:

Activity breeds activity.

When divers are learning, gathering, swapping stories and planning their next adventure, something happens.

They get excited.

And excited divers go diving. 💙

Looking through all these old photos has reminded us just how much FUN we had creating this stuff together.

And after yesterday's post, we're thinking maybe the DDC Dive Club wasn't such an old idea after all... 👀🤿

08/20/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#20 — Remember the DDC Dive Club?

For five or six years, there was one night every month when the dive shop stayed open a little later than usual.

The DDC Dive Club was meeting.

There was always food—usually including the obligatory platter of Chick-fil-A nuggets 😂—and plenty of time to catch up, tell dive stories, meet other divers, and start dreaming about where we might go next.

But we also wanted those evenings to give divers opportunities to keep learning.

Each month, we'd invite a guest speaker to educate, enlighten, or inspire us. We heard from the Georgia Aquarium about opportunities for divers to work and volunteer there, learned about the incredible work of the Athens-based Reef Ball Foundation, and welcomed experts to talk about everything from equipment maintenance and dry suit diving to Caribbean fish identification.

Then the presentation would end...

and nobody would leave. 😂

People lingered. Stories were swapped. New divers met experienced divers. Friendships formed. Future dive buddies found each other. Plans were made.

Eventually, Tim would have to kick us all out so we could actually close the shop.

And the Dive Club didn't just meet—we did things.

We organized lake clean-up dives, special events, and opportunities that gave people another reason to get underwater.

Because we've always believed: Activity breeds activity.

Get divers together. Keep them learning. Give them something fun to look forward to.
And they'll keep diving.

The DDC Dive Club eventually ran its course, but looking through these old photos has us wondering...

Maybe it's time for a comeback? 👀

What do you think?

💙 Would you join a revived DDC Dive Club? Tell us in the comments. And what would you want us to do together?

08/19/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years
Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#19 - Stories That Cannot Be Told to Completion

Tim here. In my 27 years in business, we’ve had some stories that cannot be told to their completion. For example, one of the very first DDC dive trips back in 1999, was a group of 11 men headed to Boca Raton, FL. Upon arrival, the weather and seas were spicy.

Which ended up with all 11 divers throwing up. Mostly on me.

It was a short trip. One dive and done 🤮

Or there was the story of “Bikini Bob,” where while in Cozumel, our group crossed paths underwater with another group of divers. And Bob ended up following a colorful bikini all the way to a different dive boat.

We came up short one diver — Bob — who was calmly eating cookies on the other dive boat when we finally located him.

There once was an incident involving the Coast Guard, and a helicopter, and me being identified as a “nurse” and therefore I flew with the customer in the chopper from the Bahamas back to Miami. P.S. Although it was scary, all ended well.

And then there was this student, that when they removed and replaced their mask, they blew through their mouth and not their nose, so that no water actually escaped. They opened their eyes and gave me the “okay” sign. I asked them to repeat the skill, and the same thing happened, but this time there was a fish swimming in her mask. Just kidding about the fish. So I slowly brought them to the surface, pulled the mask off her face, and all the water drained out.

Her comment to me was, “OH. Yeah, that IS better.”

Although there is more to each one of these stories, we are grateful that 27 years later we can look back and laugh, because in those 27 years and literally thousands of dives during hundreds of trips, there has never been a serious incident 🙏 and that includes T.J. diving with us.

If you know, you know.

08/18/2026

💙 27 Stories for 27 Years

Throughout August, we're celebrating 27 years of Dolphin Dive Center by sharing the people, places, and moments that have shaped our community.

#18 — The Next Generation

Twenty-something years ago, Tim took two young men to Vortex Spring and helped them become scuba divers.

This weekend, they came back. And this time, they brought their sons. 💙

Two fathers Tim certified through DDC in the early 2000s stood beside us at Vortex as their own sons completed the very same milestone.

One family made it even sweeter: Mom and wife joined the adventure, too, making scuba something their whole family can now share.

There are moments when 27 years in business feels like a number. And then there are weekends like this one, when you look around and realize you're teaching the children of people you once taught...and suddenly, you can see those 27 years.

Tim has always said there are dive shops that are so professional, they aren't much fun to train with—and others that are so much fun, they forget to be professional. DDC has always tried to strike the perfect balance between the two.

We take your training seriously. We want you to become a safe, capable, confident diver.

But we also want to laugh with you. Tell stories. Make memories. And help you fall in love with this sport enough that, maybe twenty years later, you'll bring someone you love back to experience it, too.

We can't think of a greater compliment than having a former student trust us with the next generation.

This weekend, we got that compliment twice. 🥹

Two fathers. Two sons. Two generations of DDC divers.

And a whole lot more adventures still to come. 💙🤿

Address

2440 W. Broad Street
Athens, GA
30606

Website

http://www.dolphindiveathens.com/

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