Meet the VI SNUBA Team

Greetings! I moved to the Virgin Islands in summer of 1988 with the dream of making my living by diving in an ocean made up of clear blue light. I started a SNUBA® franchise on St. John in 1988 and then branched out and expanded our franchise operation to St. Thomas in 1998. VI SNUBA® Excursions is now the oldest SNUBA® operation in the world.

 

After thirty one years and tens of thousands of people participating in SNUBA® with us, I am constantly re-energized with the joy I experience by introducing people to the incredible variety of sea life and the bliss of weightlessness while SNUBA® diving. The adage “time flies when you are having fun” definitely applies here. The years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In addition to enjoying the varied sea life, I relish the challenge of helping beginners overcome their fears and hesitations in their first SNUBA® adventure. People (to me) are always new and unique and without fail, keep me on my toes!

I invite you to SNUBA with my family in our island paradise.

Hi, I am Tammy. I moved to the Virgin Islands with Frank in 1988 to open up a SNUBA operation. At that time, we anticipated staying for only two to three years and over 30 years later we are still here!

We started our SNUBA operation on the south side of St. John while trying to obtain special use permits to operate in the United States, Virgin Islands National Park. In 1990 we obtained these permits and started operating Snuba out of Trunk Bay, one of the world’s top 10 most beautiful beaches. Operating out of one of the most popular beaches on St. John has its ups and downs. Many locals say Trunk Bay is much too crowded and they would not go there; but being a “local” that works at Trunk Bay, I know that the beach is usually only crowded (not really crowded compared to stateside beaches) for the short time that the cruise tours are there. Besides, it is one of the largest and most beautiful beaches on the island. Usually, only the locals that work on this beach know this secret, so don’t tell the others!

Teaching SNUBA has left me with a valuable life experience. I have become overall a more patient person while teaching (notice I said while teaching!). I enjoy seeing people that are totally scared succeed and experience a wonderful time. Taking people out on their first undersea adventure while breathing underwater, seeing them experience the beauty of the underwater world, and seeing the joy on their faces as they come out of the water makes my job exciting and fun. I always recommend to those that are certified divers and who are concerned that SNUBA will be a lackluster adventure (due to their dive expertise), experiencing their spouse’s, friend’s or family member’s first dive experience is an amazing reward in and of itself.

We hope you enjoy your visit to our islands and will try SNUBA while you are here.

Hi, I am Kaitlyn. I was born in the Virgin Islands in 1998. I started out riding on the SNUBA® raft when I was three years old; I am now 20 and I have been SNUBA diving since I was eight. My dad took me on my first real scuba dive on my 13th birthday. It was awesome! I am now a certified rescue diver and working on my SNUBA guide certification.

My favorite thing about going to work with my parents is free diving down to see the fish and corals up close and teaching people about our marine environment. I am looking forward to helping my parents with dives during my college breaks.

I am now going to college in Florida majoring in Communications. I hope to market environmental sustainability.