Andrea Drentsios is one of the most spirited yet easygoing women you’re
likely to meet. It seems appropriate that she works at Happy Fish
Divers, as that’s precisely what she is – a happy fish.
Jackie
Roberts has an impressive and varied resume for her young years.
How did a nice kid from California end up working as a Dive Instructor in the Cayman Islands?
Working as a dive instructor isn’t for everyone. You have to be willing to get up early in the morning, lift heavy tanks, and be outdoors rain or shine.
With all the amazing dive sites around Grand Cayman one might be
inclined to forget the Sister Islands, but they have sites as diverse
and interesting as we have on the main island. Bloody Bay Wall off
Little Cayman is world-famous, and if you visit Cayman Brac you can’t
miss a chance to dive the Captain Keith Tibbetts wreck.
The Cayman Islands are considered a prime diving destination, and those
of us who live here would agree. But how many of us have only explored
Grand Cayman’s bountiful waters?
It doesn’t take long to realise that Kirstin Eklund is an ambitious young lady. Originally from Canada she did not happen upon the Cayman Islands by chance; although finding romance overseas certainly played its part.
Sometimes your destiny is made obvious thanks to certain undeniable
influences. Chris Lanza should have known from an early age that he was
destined for a future in Scuba diving. After all, he was born in Cape
Coral, Florida - nuff said!
Roger Bown, born and raised in London, has been involved in the financial world ever since he left high school, yet unlike many other white collar professionals, he has also found himself in a job that could not be further removed from the cold offices of Europe.
Renee Knight went from an office job in Canada to being a Scuba Diving
Course Director in the Cayman Islands. How many of us can say the same?
Renee will be the first to tell you, sometimes plans don’t work out as
you originally expected. In her case, she couldn’t be happier.
Alan Laidler knew where he wanted to be from an early age – under the
sea. The only problem was that he didn’t particularly wish to go
exploring off the coast of Newcastle, his home town, which is not
exactly known for its extensive coral life.
Gaylene Gomez has gone from the Prairie Province of Saskatchewan, Canada
to the Cayman Islands via many different countries. Like many other
dive instructors before her, she did not start her career with a job
under the waves – she began as a massage therapist. You never know where
your path will take you; hers took her to Ocean Frontiers in East End.
Greg was born in London and grew up just north in Watford, sharing a
hometown with the singer George Michael. He attended University of
Hertfordshire and pursued an HND in Computer Science.
John Gage is an interesting character – a man who has taken his
experiences in the armed forces and parlayed them not just into a career
in the dive industry
Every month, What’s Hot devotes a page to Divemaster of the Month,
giving well deserved acknowledgement to the underwater guides who keep
our visitors safe and happy. I’d like to broaden that recognition to
Divemaster of the Decade, or maybe I should say 2 ½ decades. Meet Gay
Morse.
All three of the Cayman Islands are known for their amazing dive sites,
and Little Cayman is absolutely no exception. Bloody Bay Wall is world
famous, and year after year visitors fly to this small pristine island
to witness the myriad of marine life surrounding it.
Katie Alpers completely changed her career path at an age when many of
us are resigned to our working fates. A creative and energetic chick
from the UK, Katie discovered that she would rather be outdoors in the
Caribbean sun every day than in an office sitting behind a computer.
Gary’s Top Two
April 8, 2010 The pin is in 50ft of water. Head over the wall and enter the namesake
of the dive site which will pop you out at about 100ft. Head west along
the wall and spiral your way through Swiss cheese limestone buttresses
and archways.
When you buy a new mask, rub Soft Scrub around inside it for at least 15-20 mins (until your finger basically hurts), leave it in overnight, and wash it out the next morning. Nothing ruins a dive like a constantly foggy mask.
Usually when people say that they are living the dream, it is a
statement laced with sarcasm. Yet in the case of Gary Frost he genuinely
means every word of it. A British lad who fell in love with diving the
minute he stuck his head under the water off the coast of Spain, he has
never wanted to do anything else but be part of the scuba industry. Now,
after years of working for others, he and his fiancée Liz Oliver have
finally accomplished their goal and have created their own company,
fittingly named Living the Dream Divers.
Malen De Beer is a merman trapped in a landlubber’s body. A South
African lad who grew up on the coast of East London near Port
Elizabeth, he always had a passion for the ocean, surfing the waves
from an early age.
Dive instructor Sean Crothers might have become the next Scorsese, but life had something else in store for him. Sean was born in Ottawa but his family moved to Long Island, New York when he was five years old
The thrill of seeing divers discover the wonders of Scuba for the first time is what makes being a divemaster worth it for James Dudley of Red Sail Sports. He knows that feeling more than most, as he focuses on teaching the disabled.
Lighthouse Point - mini wall. Lighthouse Point - deep wall
Nancy Easterbrook and her company Divetech have been fixtures in the local dive community for many years. What began as a small business in 1995 has branched out into multiple locations whilst still keeping the personalised service for which it has always been revered.