• IANTD Instructor Trainer: Nitrox Diver thru Advanced Nitrox Diver, Dry Suit Diver, EANX Gas Blender, Trimix Gas Blender
• IANTD Instructor: Sidemount Diver
• PADI Instructor: Open Water thru Assistant Instructor
• PADI Specialty Instructor: Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver, Equipment Specialist, Dry Suit Diver, Boat Diver, Emergency Oxygen Provider, Digital U/W Photography

• Full EANx Cave Diver (NACD, NSSCDS & IANTD)

Favorite Dive Location:

The Exuma Islands, Bahamas

The Exumas are, without a doubt, one of my favorite places I’ve ever had the opportunity to dive. I’ve been fortunate enough to dive in many incredible locations around the world, but when it comes to marine life, nothing compares to the Exumas.

I spent a week aboard a 70-foot liveaboard dive boat, diving nearly nonstop from dawn to night. We experienced everything from drift dives and shallow reefs to deep dives, dawn dives, dusk dives, and incredible night dives.

The marine life was unforgettable. I saw sea turtles, lobsters, eels, schools of eagle rays, bull sharks, hammerheads, and so much more. Every dive brought something new, and there was never a moment when I wasn’t excited to see what was around the next corner.

If I had to choose one destination that every diver should experience at least once, the Exumas would be at the top of my list.

Most Memorable Dive:

Salt Cay – Turks & Caicos Swimming with Humpback Whales.

My week on Salt Cay was truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. With only about 82 residents, one small hotel, no restaurants, and donkeys, goats, chickens, and roosters roaming the island, Salt Cay felt like a world of its own. Even getting there was an adventure—we flew into Providenciales, then took small planes to Grand Turk and Salt Cay. Before we could land, they even had to herd cattle off the runway!

We were there to experience the humpback whales. From shore, we could see them spouting across the horizon, and underwater, their haunting songs surrounded us during our dives.

Then came the encounter I will never forget.

Returning from a dive, we found ourselves in the water with three humpback whales—a mother, father, and their calf. We carefully slipped into the water as the mother proudly swam circles around her baby while the father stayed deeper below. The calf was larger than a full-size van, and the mother was several times its size. Seeing them up close was absolutely unbelievable.

They stayed with us at the surface for 30–45 minutes before the father decided it was time to leave. As they swam away, all three rose toward the surface and lifted their enormous pectoral fins—almost as if they were waving goodbye.

We encountered the whales three more times during our stay, but that first encounter with the family will always be my most memorable dive.