Snorkeling at the Garonne underwater trail

Both spent their childhood in the Paris region.

Xavier Lamoureux, born in the capital, decided at age 20 to join the French Navy in Toulon. "To become a diver". "My family had a bungalow in Corsica, and I discovered my passion there: I spent all my vacations freediving, underwater hunting, fishing...". He was a submariner for 5 years. "But when I wanted to change direction to become a diver, it wasn't possible. Xavier left the army and for 10 years held the course: "I did not give up: I passed my diving diplomas and I worked 7 years at the Diving Club of Pradet".

The diving club Aquabulles, he created in 1999 in Pradet with his partner, Beatrice, whom he met shortly after his arrival in Toulon.

She grew up in Fontenay-sous-Bois, " then with my CAP, I worked as a secretary". But at the age of 20, she also decided to move to Toulon where her brother lives. "I wanted to be in the water. I was a very good swimmer, the south was the possibility to swim all year long". Beatrice found a job, then began studying to become a specialized educator "it's an orientation that I've wanted for a long time". She started diving at the age of 20 and met Xavier who had the same passion for water. She says she wanted to link her passion and her work "which also became a passion because I had chosen it. I wanted to show the sea to the disoriented children and teenagers I was taking care of. They live here, but do not know it. So putting on a mask opens up new horizons for them, it gives them back their confidence in adults!"

Xavier and Beatrice are interested in the underwater trail of the Garonne Bay..It was exploited but not marked out. Together with the municipality of Le Pradet, they made it a free site open to the public, and financed the equipment.

Six ecological buoys, recyclable and connected to screw anchors by one end, "which protects the seagrass and avoids the rattling of chains. "Each buoy has an information panel describing the substrate where it is located (sand, rock, posidonia...) and a handrail to hang on. Either people can do it alone and for free, or we can guide them on this palm hike from June to October and then it's not free.

Aquabulles also welcomes every Wednesday of the school year the children of Pradet and the surrounding communes in diving school.

Soliciting the Esprit Parc National label is a logical next step for them:

Profitability has never been our driving force. Our approach is first and foremost environmental and has always been so: to make people discover the environment, to raise awareness. We have always organized shoreline clean-up operations, and during activities, we collect waste at sea with the help of National Park net bags.

A committed club that nurtures a new project: immerse a work of art to propose another way to discover the environment. To be continued!