Logan Kneeland – PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Logan was born in Chanute, Kansas where he spent summers swimming, diving, lifeguarding and water skiing. His passion for the water led him to try scuba diving in the mid 1980’s when he obtained his open water certification and completed his PADI Advanced Course.
His first career was in the electronic security industry in Northeast Oklahoma. Hired as an installer, over the next 35 years he became the owner. By growing that company with good customer services, it became attractive for acquisition and sold in 2018. This allowed Logan to pursue his Instructor Development Course and Master Scuba Diver Training Programs at Utila Dive Centre.
His specialties are Deep Diver, Wreck Diver, Equipment Specialist, Enriched Air Nitrox and Gas Blender.
When not diving or snorkeling, Logan looks forward to volunteering, joining civic organizations, and exploring all Kauai has to offer.
Dominic Priest – PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Dominic grew up in the suburbs of Sacramento, CA. Never too far from beautiful hikes, rivers, lakes and waterfalls he would often be out exploring and camping during the summers and snowboarding in the winters. Wasn’t until 2012 did he find the love for scuba diving. After getting certified and doing a few dive trips down in Mexico he fell in love with the sea.
In 2017 Dominic went to Koa Tao, Thailand to finish the DM and IDC course, where he stayed and gained experience in teaching and leading dives until he found a new opportunity to expand his dive knowledge and going to teach in Cambodia in 2018. There he found great interest in helping with environmental awareness and research. He eventually found himself working for a NGO, doing surveys collecting data about sea horses, sea grass, reef health and fish population. Wanting to expand his knowledge further he found his way to Kauai, Hawaii.
Dominic loves teaching beginners and finding the small stuff in the ocean. Besides diving, you can find him hiking on the many trails around Kauai or BBQing at the beach!
Logan Barnard – PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Logan was born and raised Mississippi where he grew up on a farm. He graduated from Mississippi College with degrees in BioChemistry and Marketing. Upon completing his degrees he realized he would much rather work in the water everyday that working in an office. This dream influenced his pursuit of a career as a PADI dive instructor which came a reality in early 2022.
After moving to Kauai, he fell in love with the island, its people, the ocean, and its inhabitants. When not taking people diving, Logan loves (the thought of) being good at surfing, enjoying the hiking trails on the island, and free diving with friends.
Drew Burch – PADI – Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Born and raised in Danville, Illinois, Drew was always seeking adventure. He joined the Marines right out of high school and eventually landed in the Arizona desert. After 14 years of desert life, he jumped across the mountains to Southern California where he lived for 8 years.
Drew’s work history is full of secret nerdy electronic stuff, fiber optics and traffic signals. Fortunately, nerdy electronic stuff that we can’t talk about allowed him time to travel the world. Drew has been to 31 countries and fell in love with scuba diving along the way.
Drew has been checking off epic diving destinations since 2017. His list includes: Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Canary Islands, Spain, Dubai, Egypt and now Hawaii!
Outside of diving he loves photography, vanlife, building things, motorcycles, outdoor adventure and still gets nerdy with electronics from time to time.
Kevin Abernathy – PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer / Director of Sales & Marketing
Bio and Picture coming soon
Josh Helmin – Owner
Bio and Picture coming soon
Will Kelley – PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer / Director of Operations
Bio and Picture coming soon
Jill Pellegrini – PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
When Jill took a Discover Scuba Diving course in Puerto Rico, it sparked a lifelong passion and altered the course of her life. She eventually walked away from the corporate world and moved to Bali, Indonesia, where she did all of her professional scuba training. She is a MSDT and has taught scuba on three continents. Jill moved to Kauai in 2017 and found her forever home, the most beautiful place on Earth with a wonderful dive community.
Jill is certified to teach various PADI specialty courses including Diver propulsion vehicle, Peak performance buoyancy, Nitrox, Wreck, Fish ID, Project AWARE, Night, Drift, Deep, and Shark awareness.
“Scuba diving is like flying on another planet and I love showing that world to people, especially kids.
Katie Beadling – PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Katie got certified as open water diver in Belize on Christmas day of 2013. She grew up in Michigan, went to school in Illinois, and since then has been venturing further and further from the Midwest.
After working in conservation for three years in the mountains and deserts of the Southwest, she developed a desire to travel abroad where she rediscovered the ocean, which has been her favorite playground ever since.
In 2017, Katie found herself in Thailand where she worked as a divemaster for a year before becoming an instructor. She now enjoys sharing her passion for diving with others and exploring the beautiful island of Kauai on the side.
Claire Madden – PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Claire spent her younger years land-locked. Her love for the ocean sparked when she was seven years old, snorkeling off the coast of Maui. Fast forward eight years, and Claire received her first scuba certification.
She studied business and environmental studies at the University of South Carolina. After a few years of soul searching, she realized the ocean was calling. Within weeks she was headed down to Roatán, Honduras, where she completed her Divemaster. Throughout her internship, she was involved in the Bay Islands Reef Restoration Program which consisted of coral nursery maintenance, monitoring and out-planting. She eventually completed her Instructor Development Course in Key Largo, Florida.
Claire feels strongly about protecting the beauties of the sea. She believes an important part of marine conservation is connecting more people to the ocean, on a personal level. When she isn’t in the water, Claire enjoys hiking, live music, and camping with friends.
Devin Fink – PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Devin was born in New York and raised in Utah and Colorado. He has always had a love for the outdoors and adventure and grew up playing just about every sport he possibly could. It was inevitable he would eventually discover the world of scuba diving, which he fell in love with right away. He began his scuba diving career in 2012, and has been diving in many areas across the world including Mexico, the Caribbean, and Indonesia.
In 2021, Devin decided to drop everything and pursue his career in scuba diving. He moved out to Bali, Indonesia and completed his divemaster and instructor courses and completed his Master Scuba Diver Trainer certification. He also took his passion for photography underwater and built up an award winning portfolio in underwater photography. Now he’s very excited to share his knowledge and experience with others in Kauai.His instructor specialties include Nitrox, Deep Diver, Wreck Diver, Underwater Photographer, Sidemount and a handful of others.Outside of scuba diving, he enjoys hikes, going to the beach and spending time with friends and family.
Benji Barnes – PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Benji was born and raised in Luzern Switzerland and Centennial Colorado, where he spent most of his days skiing, hiking and playing sports. He graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in biology/Ecology.
He started traveling from an early age where he first fell in love with scuba diving in the Bahamas in 2012. From there he continued exploring other dive destinations such as Turks and Caicos, Spain, and Mexico before he obtained his DM, tec 50 and instructor certifications at a marine conservation nonprofit in the Philippines. He collected surveys and monitored local protected areas for coral reef health In order to help establish current and new marine protected areas.
He has a passion for scuba diving, learning about the diversity of our underwater world and sharing his experiences with others! This passion has lead him to Kauai, Hawaii where he hopes to continue to grow and learn more about our oceans.
Outside of scuba diving he wishes to learn how to surf and continue his love for hiking, free diving and spending time with friends and family!
