Bonaire Dive and Adventure

André Nahr
Born on Curaçao, André went to Amsterdam after finishing high school, to study geology. At least that's what his parents thought, but André had different priorities and started organizing dive trips for his fellow students. He has worked in the dive industry ever since. He started his own dive shop at Sand Dollar and made it the biggest on the island. In 1999, the waves of Lenny washed it all in the "big sink", but André started it over again. Like a Phoenix, Bonaire Dive and Adventure rose from the ashes and André and his staff work on bringing it back to its former size.

Joan Obispo
The first person you will be likely to see when you enter our dive shop will be Bonaire born Joan. Joan and Erika help with the check in procedures and together with Enid, they are the heart of the dive shop. Joan may work behind the desk all day, but her daily workouts in the gym keep her in shape. She has been with us since the restart of the dive shop and will be an important source of information for you.

Jerry Ligon
Originally a mountain goat and biology teacher from Colorado, our in-house naturalist, Jerry Ligon, has been on Bonaire for more than 14 years. He knows all the birds and fish on Bonaire and shares his knowledge as enthusiastically as when he first started here. Jerry has designed a weekly programme called "Dive with The Naturalist" which alerts the diver to what is going on among the fish and creatures on the reef. Monthy articles written by Jerry can be found on the Naturalist webpage

Dianna Rybak
Pretty early in life, people have to make choices. Thinking that you cannot have it all, Canadian Dianna had to choose between music and biology. For the first 20 years of her working life she chose music: she worked in the music industry and played in an all girls band writing her own music. But a couple of years ago she found out that sometimes you can have it all in your life if you really put your mind to it. Now Dianna is a dive instructor and after working in Aruba for one year she came to Bonaire Dive & Adventure to learn from Jerry Ligon how to become a naturalist specializing in marine biology. Later she is planning on picking up the music again.

German Arango
His first love is nature. German wanted to know how ecosystems work, their function and the interaction of different species. That is why he decided to study Ecology back home in Colombia. He focused his attention to Marine Biology, doing coral reef monitoring around San Andres Island, fell in love with diving and finished university in 2002. German is a dive instructor too and at Bonaire Dive and Adventure he joined the naturalist staff to combine his two loves.

Suzy Swygert
U.S. Suzy became one of the coryphées of the island with her photography. Her friendship with André dates from way back - that's why she is guiding dive trips for him when it's busy. She specializes in attracting dolphins to the dive boat.

James Thode
James is our Mister Handyman. This assistant-instructor / boat captain / mechanic / carpenter lived on Bonaire all his life and can answer all of your questions about the island. As a youngster he won many prizes in running, cycling, triathlon etc. Nowadays, he still wins prizes with his classical sailing boat.

Wietze Koopman
In a previous life, Wietze was a tax lawyer working for the Dutch tax office until he found out that an outdoor life was much more fun. After traveling the world for a couple of years, he decided to work as a dive master in the Dominican Republic. The beautiful corals of Bonaire brought him here

Niels Wennekes
Looking for a repair? Ask for Scuba Doctor Niels. After working in Holland in a dive shop as a repair/maintenance person he and his girlfriend decided to move to Bonaire for the warm weather and relaxed atmosphere. His diving passion is technical diving according to DIR principle. He is certified service mechanic for APEKS, SUUNTO, POSEIDON, etc.

Cyber Mary
We know that she is a female, but nobody ever managed to see this virtual secretary that answers your e-mails. Every time we try to get a glimpse - she disappears into cyberspace. Rumors are that she may just be a very smart computer program.

Dive staff June 2007

	André Nahr Born on Curaçao, André went to Amsterdam after finishing high school, to study geology. At least that's what his parents thought, but André had different priorities and started organizing dive trips for his fellow students. He has worked in the dive industry ever since. He started his own dive shop at Sand Dollar and made it the biggest on the island. In 1999, the waves of Lenny washed it all in the "big sink", but André started it over again. Like a Phoenix, Bonaire Dive and Adventure rose from the ashes and André and his staff work on bringing it back to its former size.
Joan Obispo The first person you will be likely to see when you enter our dive shop will be Bonaire born Joan. Joan and Erika help with the check in procedures and together with Enid, they are the heart of the dive shop. Joan may work behind the desk all day, but her daily workouts in the gym keep her in shape. She has been with us since the restart of the dive shop and will be an important source of information for you.
	Erika Saragoza "Can I help you something?" When you hear this friendly question you will be speaking to Erika, one of the front office staff. You can see she really likes her work. Always ready to help, this sunny woman loves to make little jokes with the guests. You will not easily forget her! Back home she is a real Bonairian family woman, who takes care of her ailing mother, her invalid brother and her two dogs.
Enid Semeleer She's been away for a while, but we are very happy to have Enid back. The "mother" of our dive shop usually works in the back-office. When Joan and Erika are not there, Enid takes charge of their duties as well. In the evenings she helps her husband in his bakery. Enid is one of our authentic Bonairians.
	Jerry Ligon Originally a mountain goat and biology teacher from Colorado, our in-house naturalist, Jerry Ligon, has been on Bonaire for more than 14 years. He knows all the birds and fish on Bonaire and shares his knowledge as enthusiastically as when he first started here. Jerry has designed a weekly programme called "Dive with The Naturalist" which alerts the diver to what is going on among the fish and creatures on the reef. Monthy articles written by Jerry can be found on the Naturalist webpage
Dianna Rybak Pretty early in life, people have to make choices. Thinking that you cannot have it all, Canadian Dianna had to choose between music and biology. For the first 20 years of her working life she chose music: she worked in the music industry and played in an all girls band writing her own music. But a couple of years ago she found out that sometimes you can have it all in your life if you really put your mind to it. Now Dianna is a dive instructor and after working in Aruba for one year she came to Bonaire Dive & Adventure to learn from Jerry Ligon how to become a naturalist specializing in marine biology. Later she is planning on picking up the music again.
.	Waldo Wolff Three years ago, Waldo came to Bonaire to get away from the Dutch winter. The plan was to do nothing for half a year, and go back to Holland were he had been working as a sports instructor. Waldo likes changes, and the plan to do nothing did not work out. He found out he could teach aerobics on the island, and stayed. He started working in the activity center of neighboring Buddy Dive and then decided to come to Bonaire Dive & Adventure to widen his scope. He got his Padi Dive Master certification and completed his diving education with the instructor course
German Arango His first love is nature. German wanted to know how ecosystems work, their function and the interaction of different species. That is why he decided to study Ecology back home in Colombia. He focused his attention to Marine Biology, doing coral reef monitoring around San Andres Island, fell in love with diving and finished university in 2002. German is a dive instructor too and at Bonaire Dive and Adventure he joined the naturalist staff to combine his two loves.
.	Catherine Gilmore She was born and raised in Holland where she studied Hotel Business. In Cape Town, South Africa where she lived for 7 years, she and her husband run a safari company before they went to the French Riviera. In 2004 she decided to come to Bonaire and got her dive instructor training. Building a house here interrupted her new career, but now the house is finished she picked it up again at Bonaire Dive & Adventure and is Andre's assisitant manager.
Suzy Swygert U.S. Suzy became one of the coryphées of the island with her photography. Her friendship with André dates from way back - that's why she is guiding dive trips for him when it's busy. She specializes in attracting dolphins to the dive boat.
	James Thode James is our Mister Handyman. This assistant-instructor / boat captain / mechanic / carpenter lived on Bonaire all his life and can answer all of your questions about the island. As a youngster he won many prizes in running, cycling, triathlon etc. Nowadays, he still wins prizes with his classical sailing boat.
Wietze Koopman In a previous life, Wietze was a tax lawyer working for the Dutch tax office until he found out that an outdoor life was much more fun. After traveling the world for a couple of years, he decided to work as a dive master in the Dominican Republic. The beautiful corals of Bonaire brought him here
Niels Wennekes Looking for a repair? Ask for Scuba Doctor Niels. After working in Holland in a dive shop as a repair/maintenance person he and his girlfriend decided to move to Bonaire for the warm weather and relaxed atmosphere. His diving passion is technical diving according to DIR principle. He is certified service mechanic for APEKS, SUUNTO, POSEIDON, etc.
	Leon van der Heyden Our youngest and best looking instructor. He could not wait to start diving and he got certified at the young age of twelve. One day when working behind his desk in Holland he decided life was boring and wanted to see more of the world. As a result he and his girlfriend moved to the beautiful shores of Bonaire and they have not regretted it since.
Marco Pel Even his love for rugby and leaving his team in Holland could not withhold Marco to move to Bonaire. He was looking for new challenges. He first looked in his field of expertise which is in area of the environment but soon discovered that BDA needed a divemaster so now his hobby is his work. Apart from the diving Marco enjoys the contact with the customers!
	Gabriel Arcangel Known by the nick name of Gabilan which is Osprey in Papiamentu, because of his excellent eyesight and ability to see the creatures on the reef. Born and raised on the island of Bonaire and a divemaster since 1984. His favorite place is under the sea and you will find him most of the time on the diving boat. He knows the reefs and divesites by heart and he loves to share the beauty of it.
Sammy Vingerhoets Born in Amsterdam, Sammy is very happy to have been brought up in the warm winds of Bonaire. Sammy joined Bonaire Dive and Adventure as a summer job but liked it so much that he decided to stay for an extended period after which he wants to join the coast guard. In his free time he enjoys to surf, riding his motorbike and girls.
	Hanny Kalk Hanny fell in love with the island on her first visit to Bonaire and decided to stay here permanently, since she had already found out she preferred a diving career over her former job as a desk top publisher. Early 2004, she became a divemaster, but she still continues with her part-time job as a webdesigner. Her underwater specialty is seaturtles.
Gijs Hoogerkamp After many years in the Internetbusiness in Holland, Gijs came to Bonaire for a life in a more relaxed manner, thus exchanging the hectic IT-world for the calmth and rest of Bonaire and its surrounding waters. He loves underwaterphotography and learning more about what the ocean has to offer. After diving in Portugal, Mexico, Egypt and the Caribbean he decided to become a divemaster.
	Henk Sanders When he lived in Holland, Henk was a thrill seeker. In 1975 he became the Dutch champion in 500 cc motorcycle racing. After leaving Holland "cave man" Henk slowed down and spent his first two and a half years on the island hiking and looking for caves. He found over 200 of them and now takes you to the most beautiful ones. He is a government certified tour guide and a dive instructor.
Cyber Mary We know that she is a female, but nobody ever managed to see this virtual secretary that answers your e-mails. Every time we try to get a glimpse - she disappears into cyberspace. Rumors are that she may just be a very smart computer program.	Cyber Mary??
Dive staff June 2007