About Divers Cove

Divers Cove is owned and operated by Robert Flores who established Divers Cove in 1997. Robert is a PADI Master Instructor and NAUI COURSE DIRECTOR with well over 4000 dives and over 3000 certifications issued. Divers Cove got its start as a small operation and has consistently grown of the last 10+ years in size, performance and staff.  The idea of treating people like family seemed odd to many of our established divers, but soon they became aware that they were family. Being treated with respect, honesty and having a good relationship with the owner and staff should seem obvious. We always keep in mind that we are here because you are here

Divers Cove is Platinum Training Faciclity

Divers Cove has distinguished it self as a leader in the industry, surpassing the goals and training  requirements of all local dive operations. Our commitment to excellence means Divers Cove has trained the majority of divers in the Foothills of Folsom, El Dorado Hills, and outlying areas of the Sacramento Valley. We offer affordable world wide scuba travel and 28 specialties to train you in. We are confident we can find and meet your training needs, whatever they may be.

Q: Robert, why scuba?

A: My Father Served the US Army and was assigned to Ft. Benning Georgia in the 1970’s, Around 1972 he took up Scuba Diving and introduced me to scuba diving. In 1973 my father, Rudy Flores Sr. earned his Instructors license. I was hooked from that point forward! I’d constantly read books about diving and enjoyed accompanying him during his trips to Pensacola and Destin Florida.  Scuba diving became a regular family outing in and around Destin Fl. and is still to this day a family staple in our daily lives.

In 1993, after having been diving without any certification with some friends, I informed my father that I intended on getting scuba certified He indicated he was going to do a refresher class and join me. Alas, this never came to be as he passed away before we got to go diving together.

I was crushed, and felt out of place without him being my dive buddy. So I started hanging out at the local dive shop and began taking more classes. After a while I had taken just about every class they offered and decided to become an instructor.

In 1996 after earning my instructors license, I began teaching out of my garage in El Dorado Hills. I quickly out grew my garage and built a very strong student following. So I began to find a place to build a dive shop of my own. With a background in law enforcement and military, I was confident that this endeavor would be successful. While working at my “Regular Job” as a peace officer, I came up with the name of Divers Cove and opened my shop in February of 1997. As a result of the continued growth of Divers Cove, we have moved our shop three times to keep up with the growth.

Over the years, I have constantly educated myself in the dive industry not only as a shop owner and staying current with the equipment and retail side of scuba, but also as an Instructor to Course Director and Master Instructor in both PADI and NAUI. There are a lot of Dive Instructors out there, however there are very few who are Master Instructors and Course Directors.

As a result, Divers Cove has become a second home to local divers that seek adventure and travel to exotic locations as well as sharing a sense community, comradely and long lasting friendships. I am proud to welcome you and your family to Divers Cove and look forward to providing all of the adventure, training and service you seek. Come and have a cup of coffee and meet all the local pirates over 40 that live and dive together.  We all share a common theme: We love to dive! We love to talk about diving, and we love being able to share the thrill of diving with one another.  We value great, long lasting friendships. We take pride in our training, our equipment, and sharing our experiences and knowledge with others.

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Course Director NAUI /Master Instructor PADI / Owner

•             Established and developed a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Instructor Development Center.

•             Instituted marketing plan

•             Developed client base of over 5000 divers in the Sacramento area

•             Conducted training for State law enforcement officers for Public Safety Diver and underwater crime scene preservation.

•             Developed Salvage business and have lifted vessels over 13,000 lbs

•             Established and Developed the local dive rescue team Scuba Team Accident Response (STAR)

•             Personally certified over 500 persons in various levels of dive training

•             Provided dive operations for movie production companies in California


Certifications, Training and Credentials:

·         1993 July Open Water Certification
·         1994 June Advanced Open Water Certification
·         1994 Aug  Rescue Certification
·         1994 Apr Equipment Specialty
·         1994 July Altitude Specialty
·         1995 Aug Dan 02 Specialty
·         1995 Aug Wreck Diver Specialty
·         1995 Sept Divemaster Certification
·         1995 Dec  Search and Recovery
·         1995 Dec Master Scuba Diver Cert
·         1996 Apr IDC Course Completion
·         1996 Apr Instructors Certification
·         1996 Nov Diver Construction on Folsom Bridge CC Meyers
·         1997 Feb Open Divers Cove
·         1997 Apr Divers Cove admitted to PADI Retail store 17753
·         1997 June ANDI Certification
·         1997 Oct U/W Videographer Instructor certification
·         1997 Oct Search and Recovery Instructor certification
·         1997 Oct Wreck Diver Instructor certification
·         1997 Oct Deep Diver Instructor certification
·         1998 Feb New Medic First Aid  certification
·         1998 Mar Underwater Investigators Course Completed Dive International
·         1998 Mar Membership for NAPD (National Asso. Police Divers)
·         1998 Mar Public Safety Diver ( Self Authored accepted by NAUI + PADI)
·         1998 Mar Folsom Volunteer team established, STAR ( Scuba Team Accident Response)
·         1998 Mar TUSA Equipment Tech certification
·         1998 Oct Equipment Specialist Instructor certification
·         1998 Oct Master Scuba Diver Instructor Certification
·         1998 Sept Medic First Instructor Certification
·         1998 Sept Letter of appreciation (Ref Lee Mansuetti Instructor)
·         1998 Sept Letter of appreciation ( Ref Jon Malsam)
·         1998 Sept Instructor Development Staff Instructor
·         1998 Nov Dacor Equipment Technician Course Competed
·         1998 Nov Night Diver Instructor Certified
·         1998 Nov Boat Diver Instructor Certified
·         1998 Nov Drysuit Instructor Certified
·         1999 Feb Letter of appreciation ( Ref Benjamin Ajax)
·         1999 Mar PADI Member update Attended
·         1999 Apr PADI Continuing education Counselor
·         1999 Aug  Letter of appreciation (Ref Trina Spears)
·         1999 Aug Letter of appreciation ( Ref David Christy)
·         1999 Sept Certificate of Recognition project AWARE
·         2000 Jan IDCS update Completion
·         2000 Jan Sea & Sea Technician Certified
·         2000 Zeagle Tech Course Completion
·         2000 Feb letter of appreciation (Ref Explorer Youth Group)
·         2000 Feb Divers Cove awarded PADI Five Star Rating
·         2000 Mar Master Instructor Rating awarded
·         2000 Mar U/W Photo Specialist
·         2000 Mar Nitrox / Enriched Air Instructor Certified
·         2000 Mar Drift Diver Instructor Certified
·         2000 Jul First Ever river clean up of Lake Natoma over 100 divers attended
·         2000 Aug Certificate of Recognition of Excellence
·         2000 Dec Letter of Commendation (Ref Mark Davy instructor)
·         2000 Sept Member Forum update
·         2000 Dec VIP tank inspector certified
·         2000 Dec five year membership awarded by PADI
·         2001 Jan DAN 02 Divers Alert Network Instructor
·         2001 Mar Ocean Conservancy Award for outstanding service
·         2001 Mar over 100 certifications issued in one year (certificate of achievement from PADI)
·         2001 Mar member forum professional update awarded
·         2001 Apr Assist Folsom State parks and Rec in body recovery (ref Robert Fritz)
·         2001 May letter of appreciation ( Ref Todd Slusher)
·         2001 Aug Letter of appreciation ( Ref Theodor S. Parada)
·         2002 Aug Emergency vehicle recovery Folsom lake
·         2002 Sept Letter of appreciation PADI (Ref Malinda French PADI Instructor)
·         2002 Sept 13 ton , 45 ft vessel refloated / Recovered, called out by State Police
·         2002 Oct Spare Air service technician training certificate
·         2003 Feb DAN Divers Alert Network  Pro Member awarded
·         2003 Apr Emergency First Responder with AED Instructor certified
·         2003 May Certified Mrs. Miklo’s Mayor of Folsom’s Wife
·         2003 Jun River clean up near new bridge in Folsom over 200 divers Attend
·         2003 Jul  Ocean Conservancy Award for outstanding service
·         2004 May Letter of appreciation (Ref Tamara Nazanda)
·         2004 May Letter of appreciation (Ref Robin L Murphy)
·         2004 Jun Discovery Channel Mythbusters TV show in Monterey
·         2004 Jun Letter of appreciation from Beyond Film Productions ( Mythbusters)
·         2005 certificate of Recognition over 100 certifications issued
·         2005 10th year recognition with PADI
·         2005 Oct  Letter of appreciation (Ref Dennis J. Longly)
·         2006 Jan Certified as Instructor NAUI
·         2006 Jan Certified as Instructor Trainer NAUI
·         2006 Jan DAN Training Update
·         2006 Apr Course Director rating awarded
·         2007 Jan Divers Cove earns Platinum certification
·         2007 May NAUI First Aid / CPR Instructor
·         2007 Sept Letter of appreciation ( NAUI Ref Joe Krebsbach)
·         2007 Nov Letter of appreciation ( Ref SFPD James Acevedo)