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Bryan started as a deckhand on day charters in Eilat Israel in1996, working his way up to first NAUI Instructor, then crossing over to PADI.  In 2000 he crossed the pond and spent the next 11 years working as an instructor in the Caribbean.  Visiting 32 islands he completed his SDI Instructor Trainer course in Maine,  while also working up to PADI IDC Staff Instructor.  
 
After managing Nassau Scuba Center in the Bahamas, he stepped out on his own with Sea Wolf Diving School in Montserrat and later in Antigua.  He also started Extreme Marine Scuba in Antigua.  In 2011 Bryan left Antigua to live in Canada, working as a dive specialist travel agent, launching www.scubadestinationdeals.com.  The Caribbean drew him back in 2014 to help launch Divecarib.
 
Having trained over 1000 students, and done over 10k dives, he is still an active status Instructor Trainer and also brings his travel agent skills to Dive Carib to better assist customers with flights and accommodations.

Bryan Cunningham

Dive Shop Manager/Owner

“To call him a character would be an understatement, but beneath the eccentric exterior lurked a diver with levels of discipline and skill I have rarely seen on my travels.

Leigh Cunningham is a tekkie fanatical to the point of fundamentalism. He likes to break depth records, race motorbikes through the Sinai Mountains and generally living on the edge”.

(www.Divernet,com, Chris Boardman)

 

Leigh was born in Britain, 31st August 1968, he started his diving career in Israel in 1993 with CMAS 1 + 2 star and PADI dive master course, after 2 years working in Israel, he spent a year in Central America exploring deep dive sites in the Caribbean then moved to Egypt, Dahab, where he soon became a recreational instructor.

His proximity to the “Blue Hole” in Dahab, where he worked, sparked his interest in diving deeper. He was aware of the “Blue Hole’s” reputation for claiming divers’ lives, and as such, embarked on training and education to give the site the respect it deserves.


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Leigh Cunningham

Lead Instructor/Owner

Leigh says, “It’s a bit like the steeplejack – he will only fall off once. When you do this every day, you have to be prepared every day.” 

 

With five dives below 200 metres, 20 dives between 150-200 metres and more than 500 dives below 100 metres to his credit, Leigh is no stranger to deep diving. To date Leigh has been diving for 20 years and held two Red Sea’s depth records with dives to 220m and 240m in 2002. (Link: http://www.nunogomes.co.za/rec.htm  (list of the records). These two records were the part of the “In Deep” project initiated by Leigh Cunningham, which required a rigorous training plan including both mental and physical preparation. In 2005 Leigh Cunningham with Mark Andrews carried out the world's deepest wreck dive,  after descending 205m to the wreck of the Yolanda, off Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.

 

It has been 15 years since he began his journey through the technical diving education required to facilitate this kind of diving. To date, Leigh is a CMAS 3 star Instructor, TDI OC and CCR Cave diving Instructor, SDI Instructor Trainer, TDI Instructor Trainer, PSA, OC and CCR Instructor Trainer, IANTD advanced Trimix Instructor and DSAT Tec Trimix Instructor

Originally custom built on The Isle of Wight at a huge expense to carry a small jeep onto private islands from a Mega Yacht, we got our hands on this gem for a dive boat.  Adding a gulwing dive ladder and tanks racks to it transformed it into your ideal diving platform.  It has a dive platform at the stern for easy access, as well as a front lowering ramp for comfortable boarding and loading.  Although rigid hull, it also has inflatable sides.  The boat is powered by a 115 HP Yanmar diesel, into a Hamilton jet drive.  So plenty of power and speed if required, very economical and NO PROPELLERS.  Its design allows maximum deck space for a small vessel.  Very comfortable for small groups of divers.  We carry a cooler for refreshments and have a fresh water rinse tub for cameras etc.  It even has an onboard shower.  The electronics include marine radio, Garmin GPS with chartplotter and 1000ft underwater depth finder, electronic engine monitoring gauges.  This is really a beatiful dive boat with teak decks and fully shaded.

The Dive Boat

All our equipment is new and well maintained.  We have now spared any expense.  Our Bouyancy Compensators are weight intergrated Sherwood Avids, with two tank bands, 4 dumps and very durable.  Regulators are the rugged Sherwood Bruts and the SR 2 for higher end deep diving regs.  We have shorty wetsuits, strap fins and an assortment of different dive masks.  We offer Sherwood Amphos dive computers and have a GroPro with colour filters to rent.  You will be very safe and comfortable diving in our gear.

The Dive Equipment

Our dive shop has been custom  built for us in the grounds of  The National Sailing Academy.  The shop itself sits above the private docks with a great view over Falmouth Harbour.  On property we have classrooms, outside pavillion, restrooms, changing rooms, budget accomadation and private dockage.  And of course a great BBQ pit right in front of the shop.

 

Located on Dockside Road in English Harbour, we are a short walk or boat ride from local restuarants, shops, bars and beaches.  A short walk down the road will bring you to Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua's most popular tourist attraction.

The Dive Shop

Meet The DiveCarib Team

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