Scuba Diving/Expert Profile

Expertise

I am a Master Scuba Instructor with over 6000 dives. I can answer questions on general diving techniques, diving education and diver training. I can offer suggestions on the use and selection of proper dive equipment, general maintenance of dive equipment as well as diving equipment repair. I can also offer suggestions on air conservation techniques and buoyancy control. As a dive shop owner for 17 years, I can offer suggestions on starting/running a dive business.

Experience in the area

I have been diving for 52 years, teaching diving for 47 years and owned a diving business for 17 years. I am a certified regulator repair technician for several different brands and a certified scuba cylinder inspector.

Organizations

I am currently a member of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Divers Alert Network (DAN), International Resort and Retailer Association and the Better Business Bureau

Publications

Undercurrent magazine and Divers Chapbook

Education/Credentials

I am a Master Scuba Diver Trainer with 15 distinct specialty instructor ratings, Rescue Diver Instructor, Medic-First Aid Instructor and I have degrees in Chemical Engineering, Biology and Radiologic Technology.

What do you like about this subject?

Diving is my way of relaxing. I especially like the huge improvements in diving equipment over the past 50 years. Early dive gear was definitely not "user friendly" but we didn't know it at the time!!

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

I learned to dive during the very early days of scuba diving (early 1950's). Certifying agencies didn't exist and I learned to dive through a local dive club in south Florida. I met the late Jacques Cousteau while diving in the Florida Keys.

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

Over my 50 years of diving, I have watched the coral reefs and fish populations decline. I believe the reasons are primarily pollution runoff from land and destructive commercial fishing practices. I do not believe that global climate change is making a significant impact.