Our Crew
Meet your instructors
Guests mention them by name in review after review - here's who you'll be diving with. And here's something almost no dive shop can say: four of us - Nat, Dan, Kelly and Ash - are SDI/TDI Instructor Trainers and Course Directors, the highest teaching ratings in the agency. The people teaching your course are the people who train and certify other instructors. And the technical depth runs through the whole roster - most of the crew are tec divers themselves.
Nat Robb
From Charleston, SC. SDI/TDI Instructor Trainer and Course Director, CCR and cave diver, and the reason half our tec guests keep coming back. So focused on safety, he also runs the hyperbaric chamber.
Chris "Nico" Nicholson
Yorkshire-born, warmed up in Capernwray's not-so-tropical waters, seasoned in Cape Town, Vancouver and Wellington. Now chasing tec and CCR instructor ratings.
Dan Schofield
SDI/TDI Instructor Trainer and Course Director. Marine conservation background in Thailand, dive ops across Southeast Asia, AIDA freediver - and the island's most enthusiastic nudibranch spotter.
Ash Hastings
SDI/TDI Instructor Trainer and Course Director. Australian, four years as lead instructor on a 112-foot sailing vessel, with Fiji, Thailand, Mexico and NZ in the logbook. Into deco diving, caves and hyperbaric medicine.
Kelly Carpenter
SDI/TDI Instructor Trainer and Course Director. Former mechanical engineer from Baltimore who taught math and robotics in Thailand. Teaches PADI and SDI/TDI at every level, technical courses included.
Pierre Lesieur
Cayman born and raised - 10+ years as instructor, boat captain and fishing guide, with dives on two of the Cayman Islands' three offshore banks.
Cassandra McDowell
Raised on Cayman Brac by two dive-instructor parents. Divemaster and marine educator with deep roots in coastal conservation.
Raphael "Rapha" da Costa
Our Brazilian instructor and PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer - all energy, all smiles, equally at home welcoming you aboard El Puma or showing you his favorite corners of the reef.
Sam Whiting
Studied marine biology in Wales, then took the classroom underwater - teaching as a dive instructor in the Maldives and Indonesia before bringing that experience to Grand Cayman.
Hannah Ehlers
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor seasoned on Roatán's reefs, teaching everything from bubble makers to Divemaster candidates. Conservation-minded - AWARE, Dive Against Debris and coral reef specialties - and a Peak Performance Buoyancy coach.
Rupert & Gomez - Directors of First Impressions
The dynamic duo. They greet every guest at the shop, occasionally take the helm, and accept belly rubs as tips.
Come meet us at the shop
857 NW Point Road, West Bay - open daily 8am to 5pm. The pups are waiting.
Get In Touch