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Meet your Scuba
Diving Instructors

MEET THE TEAM

Mike McKinnon

OWNER/GENERAL MANAGER

Mike is one of only seven active SSI Instructor Certifiers in Australia. This is the highest professional level you can achieve through the SSI system. Having dived in over 12 different countries and certified well over 800 people from Open Water level through to Instructors, Mike has a wealth of knowledge that puts him at the top of his profession.

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2003

QUALIFICATIONS: SSI Instructor Certifier, Coxswain (Skipper), XR Instructor
SSI EXPERIENCE POINTS: 5720 (PLATINUM Pro 5000 Instructor)
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 2000+
DIVING SINCE: 1997
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: Da Phat, Great Detached (GBR)
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: San Francisco Maru – Truk Lagoon
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: Every time you venture underwater, you never know what you might see! 70% of the world is water – why not explore it. My favourite quote is: ‘From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free’. Jacques Yves Cousteau.

Mike

Shara Smith

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2019

QUALIFICATIONS: Master Diver
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 330
DIVING SINCE: 2016
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: Captains Blood Wall of Terror (Far North QLD)
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Uepi Point, Solomon Islands
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: I love the complete bliss and weightless experience of the deep blue. It’s like nothing else.

Shara

Chris Maxwell

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2019

QUALIFICATIONS: Advanced Open Water Instructor
SSI EXPERIENCE POINTS: 1800 (PLATINUM Instructor)
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 1500+
DIVING SINCE: 2010
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: ex-HMAS Brisbane
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Great Astrolabe Reef, Fiji
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: I dive because marine life has always fascinated me. I love encounters with sharks and manta rays. I also enjoy instructing new divers and introducing them to scuba life.

Chris

Tim Denyer

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2021

QUALIFICATIONS: Open Water Instructor
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 430+
DIVING SINCE: 2020
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: Cathedrals – Far North Queensland
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Cathedrals – Far North Queensland
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: I love the wildlife! You can always find something new.

Tim

Kevin Lowndes

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2010

QUALIFICATIONS: Master Class 5/ Assistant Instructor
SSI EXPERIENCE POINTS: 105
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 502
DIVING SINCE: 1987
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: Bisheno, Tasmania
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Blue Hole, Greece
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: Just the enjoyment of being underwater, you never know what you may find.

Kevin

Leila Barnsley

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2020

QUALIFICATIONS: Advanced Open Water Instructor & Ecology Instructor
SSI EXPERIENCE POINTS: 800 (GOLD Instructor)
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 1300+
DIVING SINCE: 2014
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: Fairfax Islands (GBR)
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Gordon’s Rock (Galápagos Islands)
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: You never know what you are going to find underwater. It is a completely different world under the surface. There is always something new on every dive and there are so many amazing opportunities to learn more knowledge and skills.

Leila

Scott Thorburn

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2019

QUALIFICATIONS: Dive Master
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 300+
DIVING SINCE: 2004
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: Mudjimba Island, Mooloolaba (Old woman island)
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Bali
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: It’s the one place I can go to relax and calm my mind.

Scott

Charlie Davidson

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2020

QUALIFICATIONS: Advanced Open Water Instructor
SSI EXPERIENCE POINTS: 666 (Gold Instructor)
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 700+
DIVING SINCE: 2009
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: ex-HMAS Brisbane, Mooloolaba
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: SS President Coolidge, Vanuatu
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: SHARKS! as well as I love checking out all the amazing creatures big and small beneath the surface. You never know what cool photo you’ll snap.

Charlie

David Ryan - Scubaworld Sunshine Coast

David Ryan

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2023

QUALIFICATIONS: Dive Master
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 120
DIVING SINCE: 2022
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: Opsrey Reef – Fairy Grotto or North Horn, honestly any dive at Osprey reef is spectacular. Massive walls, lots of swim throughs and nooks and crannies galore to explore. Just loved it!
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: I havent dived over seas yet, but remote Papua New Guinea really piques my interest. Id like to explore where most people don’t get to.
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: Observing nature underwater, close up, is not something I can do very often. Watching the dynamics, inter-relationships and personality expressions of the different types organisms, personally I find just fascinating. Being apart of someone’s elses enjoyable experience of this and potentially helping them to have a better one, helps me want to get out and be a dive guide.

David

Savanah Mahony

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2022

QUALIFICATIONS: Open Water Diver
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 12
DIVING SINCE: 2022
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: ex-HMAS Brisbane, Mooloolaba
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Yet to dive overseas! Fiji is first on my list
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: I love diving because it brings everyone together and creates a little community of amazing people. I always meet new people and hear so many cool stories and adventures from other divers. There’s also so many ways to dive and improve diving, so many courses to do and so many fun dive sites to see. There is also so much cool marine life to see.

Savanah

Bella

NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 17
DIVING SINCE: 2017
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN AUSTRALIA: My favourite dive so far had to be with the Great White Sharks at Neptune Island in Port Lincoln, SA. Although, I am quite bias being a mad shark fanatic.
FAVOURITE DIVE SITE IN THE WORLD: Being relatively new to diving, I have only dived locally, however I would love to dive alongside the tiger sharks in Fiji.
I SCUBA DIVE BECAUSE: You never know what to expect when you jump in! Every dive is so different, with some calming and others that leaving you speechless. Diving makes me happy, and I LOVE it.

Bella

Simba McKinnon

YEAR I JOINED SCUBA WORLD: 2020

QUALIFICATIONS: Customer Service Expert
NUMBER OF COMPLETED DIVES: 1 failed jump into the swimming pool scared me for life
I WORK AT SCUBA WORLD BECAUSE: I love greeting people at the door and receiving a pat.  Not to mention the crumbs that magically fall from the kitchen when the staff are preparing food for the dive charter!

Simba

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