Staff

Dive BVI Management Team

Jeff McNutt - A proud Texan, Jeff moved to Virgin Gorda in early 2003 after a BVI sailing trip in late 2002.  Jeff started diving back in Texas in 1996 and became an Scuba Instructor in 2000.  He’s recently been awarded the prestigious SSI Instructor Trainer rating (meaning he can now train new Instructors!)  He started out as manager of our former Marina Cay location for two years before moving into the General Manager position.  Jeff enjoys teaching divers about Nitrox and how we make it here in the BVI.  Always on the water, he loves saltwater sport fishing and cruising for new dive sites on our DPVs.  Jeff also maintains the website, enjoys Texas country music and watching the Dallas Cowboys. Recently named the Area Office (Eastern Caribbean) Coordinator for SSI, Jeff looks forward to bringing the SSI standard to the BVI and the rest of the Caribbean.

 Casey McNutt - Arriving with Jeff, Casey has made herself at home here.  In charge of Retail Operations/Human Resources, she is responsible for ordering all of the latest dive gear and resort wear for our four locations.  While shopping for new styles is fun, she still enjoys getting out and leading dives at some of her favorite sites which include Ginger Steps and the Chikuzen.  Casey has been lucky enough to dive with a hammerhead and a tiger shark in the last few years.  In her spare time, Casey exercises regularly, climbs Gorda Peak, and is an active member of the VG Ladies Book Club.

Yacht Harbour Team Members

  Rudy Woodley - Originally from St Vincent, Rudy (”Doc”) is the only West Indian PADI Divemaster working in the BVI.  He’s been with Dive BVI for as long as we can remember and is an excellent captain.  You’ll often see Rudy at the helm of Sea Lion, our big power catamaran, heading out for our famous Anegada Day Trip.  Rudy would love to show you the marine world he grew up in when you visit!  You’ll also see him out on the cricket and soccer fields of Virgin Gorda and Tortola.

Vivian Toro - Vivian was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She completed a BA in Social Sciences, with minors in Psychology and Sociology. By the time she turned 30, she was tired of staring at computer screens and measuring people’s homes, and got out of the real estate industry (good timing too!), turning her hobby into a career. Vivian did her IDC at ProDive in Fort Lauderdale on 2003 and was hired, fresh from graduation, to work for them. She quickly moved from being a divemaster on the boat to the training department. Promptly became a PADI Master Instructor, and worked doing upper level training until 2007. That’s when she bought a sailboat, sold everything she had and sailed away…all the way to the Bahamas. She worked for Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas until 2009 as a senior instructor, a shark feeder (got cools scars to prove it!), and as a safety diver for underwater productions. Certified about 12 years ago, she had the opportunity to dive Florida’s east coast, including the Florida Keys and Fort Lauderdale, in addition to Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. Vivian is 5′1″, but don’t let her small size fool you, many of her friends describe her as a stick of dynamite; you won’t be able to fall asleep around her. On her time off, you’ll find her reading a good book, cooking a new recipe, or watching a movie with her boyfriend. Vivian’s energy and attention to guests needs, will make your diving day unforgettably fun.

Marc Taggart – Marc grew up on a little island in the middle of the Irish sea called Isle of Man. (Just to clear any misconceptions about the name, yes, there are women there) He went to university for retail management and computers and was working as a manager for Marks & Spencer department stores when the adventure bug creeped in after watching “Thunderball” one evening. Tired of wearing suits and helping women with bra fittings, he decided it was time for a career change. He did his IDC at ProDive in Fort Lauderdale on the summer of 2006 and went to Nassau to work at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas until 2009. Aside from learning the traditional work of a dive instructor, Marc had the opportunity to become one of the senior shark feeder’s trainers, and did shark wrangling for underwater productions for the BBC, Discovery Channel and others. Places that he had the opportunity to go diving have been Spain (where he did his Discover Scuba dive), Florida Keys, Isle of Man (cold, but you get to swim with sea lions), Bahamas, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. One of his goals this year is getting training to be able to use his Inspiration CCR. On his time off, you can find Marc playing XBox 360, watching movies, and trying to learn some Spanish (by osmosis) from his girlfriend Vivian. Marc’s attention to detail and British sense of humor, will make your diving day very entertaining. If you remember, ask him about sun tanning tips.

Lance Hiesinger – Originally from Alberta, Canada, Lance has spent the last 4 years traveling around the globe looking for the next great dive adventure.  Having experienced countless unique dive environments ranging from 6*C to 31*C, hurricane tossed waters to 200 ft visibility, Lance has a plethora of diving stories and you will often hear him telling them on the dive boat.  Lance’s greatest passion is extreme deep and wreck diving – no force on Earth can hold him back from a deep wreck dive!  With his years behind him as a financial advisor, it is safe to say that he has happily traded the business suit for a wetsuit and has never looked back.  Outside of diving, you’ll find Lance planning his next adventures: whether that be which video game to play, moutain to snowboard on, or country to visit.  He looks forward to being part of your next adventure here at Dive BVI.

 Laura Hiesinger – Due to a lifelong passion for animals, conservation and the environment, Laura opted to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology and Marine Biology at the University of Manchester, not too far away from her hometown of Liverpool, England.  During her time at university, she managed to gain hands-on experience in research projects around the world; from documenting intertidal species in the cold waters of Scotland, social patterns of savannah animals in southern Africa to wildlife rescue in Thailand.  After graduation, Laura spent a year assisting children with special education needs and got a real thrill from teaching, however, before committing to that path she took some time to travel in Asia where she fell in love with diving.  Needless to say, she jumped at the chance to combine her two passions of teaching and the environment and 4 years, 30 countries, a Canadian husband (Lance), she’s still loving every second!  In her spare time, she’s a keen photographer and is obviously addicted to travel, meeting new people, taking on new challenges and experiencing new cultures!

Kony Grill - has been a ski instructor and a kids entertainer for several seasons between Austria and Greece. She finaly found her real passion in Crete : diving and Underwater photography/videography, always encouraged by her boyfriend, who she arrived with in the BVI after years of traveling Europe, South East Asia and the Cayman Islands.  She lives where the wind blows and has not decided where to drop her luggage yet.  Since she got into diving in 2005, Kony is always looking for the shot or the footage nobody would have done.  You will have the great pleasure to experience Kony’s outgoing personality while travelling on our dive and excursion boats, she will always try to share her happiness with you, to make your journey something special…

  Ruby Daniel (”Finey”) - Called Finey because, as a baby, everyone in her St. Kitts’ neighborhood said she looked so fine.  Finey has been with Dive BVI for over eleven years!  As our friendly retail clerk, Finey is so helpful with our divers and shoppers that they often find more than they were looking for! She is the source of all island information so stop by and let her fill you in.

Leverick Bay Team Members

Samantha Hansen - Sam grew up in a military family.  She moved every few years, eventually spending her highschool years in Hawaii and then Virginia.  She attended the University of Virginia where she met her husband Andrew.  Sam got certified as an Open Water diver on her honeymoon, and fell in love with diving.  She sold *most* of her designer shoes, and traded them for the dive life.  She completed her instructor training on Utila, Honduras, where she then worked as an instructor/divemaster.  Then she worked as an instructor on St Thomas for a year before coming to Virgin Gorda.

 Andrew Hansen -  Andrew hails from Dallas, TX and is the other half of Sam.  He loves Cowboys football almost as much as diving.  Prior to Dive BVI, Andrew has worked as a Dive Instructor in the US Virgin Islands and Utila, Honduras.  In his “previous” life, Andrew was a 7th grade teacher, but he has found that he much prefers teaching dive theory and skills than seventh grade math.  He enjoys underwater photography, hiking, camping, swimming, sports and of course, diving!

Rupert Raven -  Rupert is originally from England.  Back in 2005, he decided that after 18 years as an administrator, he needed a complete break and sold his goods to travel the world.  While on his travels, he fell in love with diving and the amazing experiences you can have.  Back at home, he realized that he didn’t want to spend his days in an office anymore and took his Instructor course in Florida in 2007.  From there, he went to the Bahamas where he worked with Marc and Vivian as an Instructor and Shark Feeder.  Rupert’s other passions are sports and storm chasing.  Yes!  That does mean chasing tornadoes.  He’s experienced 7 tornadoes up close so far and yearns to see more.  During his spare time, you’ll find Rupert underwater with his camera looking for something magical to photograph.

Maja Yde - bio coming soon

Soren Kofoed - has been working over 10 years in the dive industry, starting out in Thailand and after 3 years moved to Cyprus where he was ground crew on a Bungy jump site.  He spent a little over 3 years in Barbados, worked in Shanghai-China at a big Aquarium taking people on shark dives and last worked in Greece before joining Dive BVI.  He loves soccer/football and thinks Man United is the best team in the world.  He likes to explore dive sites a little further than our normal routes and that’s how he found the stingray cleaning station on Ledges.

Theresa Bascombe - Hailing from Grenada, Theresa has lived on Virgin Gorda for ages.  She has been a store clerk for Dive BVI for over twelve years.  Theresa continued her family here and is raising two brilliant children, Akin and Tahira, along with her husband, Glen.   

Scrub Island Team Members

Ernst Van der Poll -  Hails from the Lower South Coast of South Africa.  Ernst grew up surfing and working as a lifeguard on the local beaches where he also learned to scuba dive on Aliwal Shoal.  He worked as a Beach Manager and Inshore Rescue Boat Specialist in Southern Natal before moving to Dubai in 1999. In Dubai, he worked as an Aquatic Risk Management Consultant for the Jumeirah group, training up over 400 lifeguards and being part of the team that opened the first ISO certified Waterpark in the World. During this time, Ernst continued his Scuba Diving education to eventually become an Instructor Trainer and Operations Manager at the Pavilion Dive Centre in Dubai. Ernst worked in Dubai for 13 years where he founded a Marine education program called Tawasul, whose main focus is to engage young people and the community in Marine Education. Tawasul’s projects also included supporting the development of educational centres in rural areas of Borneo and taking teams of volunteers to Sabah from Dubai. He also established the first Disabled Diver Facility in the region working with Disabled Divers International using diving as a form of therapy to help the disabled community and amputees to experience being able to move unassisted through the water without the need for crutches or wheel chairs.  Ernst relocated his home base to Costa Rica with his lovely wife and the 2 of them are currently living the Caribbean dream in the BVI enjoying the sunshine, blue water and beautiful beaches.

Kory Gozjack – Originally from North Carolina, I have been infatuated with the ocean for as long as I can remember.  I’m pretty sure I wanted to grow up and be a fish.  I went to school and received a bachelors degree in Parks and Recreation Management from Western Carolina University.  I have been working in the dive industry for the past 7 years.  I started teaching scuba diving to kids in the Florida Keys back in 2005.  From there I spent two and a half years working on liveaboards in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands where I became an avid underwater photographer.  More recently I have been working out on Catalina Island teaching marine science and playing in the kelp as much as possible.  My hobbies include underwater photography, sharks, being outdoors, live music, movies, and pretty much anything that deals with being in or under the water.

 Thomas Choblet - Originally from France, Thomas has been travelling since he was a baby, living in the Middle East and Argentina during the early years of his life. The travelling bug never left and what he has got left of France is his taste for good wine and frog legs.  Thomas became a Dive Master in Crete in 2004 where he met his better half Kony, and never stopped travelling with her since. He became a Dive Instructor in the Cayman Islands in 2006 and is happy to be back in the Caribbean, especially the BVI.