Meet the ScubaQuest Team

The ‘Scottish Ranger’, the old man of the team who keeps us all sane and the business on the right track. A well-travelled electrical engineer who has been able to bring many years of experience from a career in the steel industry to his ScubaQuest role as a Divemaster (Rec and Tech).

Jack Maclachlan is life-long learner who is always willing to share his knowledge with our students and pass on words of encouragement when needed. When not diving you will most likely find him somewhere up Cadair Idris or in the Beacons.

‘Cully’ to the team and his dive buddies, Mark Culwick takes care of our diving operations as well as being the kit man. A rough and tough former serving soldier with a compassionate and soft centre who liked to play with tanks.

Now our lead Technical Instructor and Course Director, with a knowledge of diving which surpasses what you will find in the manuals, and a profile in the water that just makes you want to learn from him. When not diving in the National Diving & Activity Centre (NDAC), Mark will be found exploring military wrecks in all corners of the world.

Every team needs a woman’s touch. As well as being one of our dive instructors, Julia Kennedy takes care of administration, the course bookings and in her spare time is always there with tea, coffee and biscuits!

As a health care specialist and lecturer at Cardiff University, Julia is able to bring a great deal of added value to our basic life support and HSE First Aid at Work courses with her extensive knowledge and caring approach to the subject.

When Ctr-Alt-Del does not solve the problem, call Gareth Rogers, our fully paid up member of The IT Crowd and a specialist consultant in Data Centre Management and Operations. Hooked on diving 18 years ago, following an encounter with manta rays whilst on holiday in the Maldives, Gareth is now a qualified SDI and PADI Divemaster.

Calm and assured, always with a smile on his face, he clearly enjoys helping our students learning and experiencing scuba diving, albeit in colder climes! A dedicated family man it is only a matter of time before he introduces his three children to our underwater world.

Paul is an astronomy professor at Cardiff University, with a passion for using real world contexts to teach science. Whether it be coaching martial arts or rugby, teaching is definitely in his blood and to demonstrate his versatility he is now pursuing his scuba diving instructor qualifications.

With a track record in designing innovative and engaging educational programmes from pre-school to postgraduate levels, Paul is always looking to find exciting new ways to help our students “learn better”. The team is sure his ivory tower academic background will provide balance and contrast and safeguard the business from disappearing into any black holes.

Whilst at Swansea University Bren joined the dive club and has been in the water ever since. 

Now a competent technical diver and dive master he is a great help to ScubaQuest, with his stated personal goal to help provide safe and fun filled courses while refining and improving his own skills. It will not be long before he dips his toe into the world of rebreather diving. 

Bren is also a diver for the UK charity that recovers and repurposes abandoned, lost fishing gear from wrecks. Surprisingly, his favourite dive location is not NDAC, but the Scapa Flow wrecks Koln and Markgraf.

Relatively new to the world of scuba diving; Kyle, a 21 year RAF veteran was introduced to the sport via a Help 4 Heroes rehabilitation course provided by ScubaQuest. Guess what? He was instantly hooked. 

Not ready to stand still, Kyle has quickly progressed through the appropriate diving qualifications to now being one of the ScubaQuest safety divers with continuing to dive master already in his sights. 

When not under the watchful ScubaQuest eye, Kyle is prone to impulse buying dive kit from various online auction sites, only later to be advised by Cully that he had wasted his money…again!

To describe Rob PJ, known as JAFO by his Blue Thunder friends, as a veteran would not be an injustice having served in the Army Air-Corps for 12 years flying helicopters. No doubt with one eye on the future it is also while there he completed a diploma at Oxford Brooks University in social work. 

Rob is currently completing his dive master training and has already built a reputation for being friendly, approachable and eager to please at every opportunity. 

Rob passionately believes there really is no such thing as a daft question and regularly practices this skill with aplomb.

If ScubaQuest were a football team, Ray would be the first name on the team sheet – Mr Dependable. 

Originally from that once great steel town Middlesbrough, the clue is in his accent, his long journey to settling in Wales eventually led to Ray becoming a scuba instructor. Exactly when Ray completed his IE is a closely guarded secret, though one look at his original yellow buddy commando offers some clues. 

Ray enjoys getting away to dive in the Caribbean or Maldives, sipping a pina-colada after a satisfying dip with a few sharks. We think it brings back memories of his time up north!

Scuba diving was such a natural fit for Terry in his early years along with motorcycling and flying. They all fitted with his flair for technology and his sense of adventure. 

A sprint to Rescue Diver and a full pack of speciality cards eventually came to a halt as Terry focused on his career. Then, like any great Hollywood title – ‘Tracy met Terry’ or ‘You’re Nicked Mate’ a new adventure ensued. 

An Open Water Course as a Christmas present in 2017 for his future wife felt like a great idea. Little did he know that things would never be the same again!

Even Tracy would describe herself as a late starter into scuba diving though like so many it has soon become her passion. In three short years Tracy has clocked over 200 dives, attained Master Scuba Diver and is working toward becoming a ScubaQuest Divemaster. 

Tracy is keen and enthusiastic and always willing to help others. Being underwater helps her escape the rigours of her day job as a Police Officer, commenting, “being underwater is my happy place to enjoy the peace and quiet.” I think Terry might argue it is the other way around, if he can the chance to speak.

ScubaQuest would find in difficult, if not impossible to operate without the support of a group of divers who form Team ScubaQuest.

This group of volunteer staff share the passion and desire for self- improvement such that they are willing to turn out in the best and worst the British weather can offer. With good humour and hard work, both in and out of the water, they help to make the student training experience safe and enjoyable.

And last but not least – Meet the ScubaQuest Dive Centre!

OK, it may be the least human of us all (just…!), but the centre represents the heart of the ScubaQuest business at NDAC.

Here you will have access to the Reception area, our two multi-media classrooms and a large kit room area where you can set up your dive gear out of the wind and rain.

You’ll really learn to appreciate the benefits of choosing ScubaQuest when you see the other trainee divers shivering and damp in the car park!