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Owners / InstructorsInstructors
IDI Main Campus 1400 Pier Side Street, Bldg 190 Monday through Friday IDI Corporate Offices 206B East 5th N. Street Monday through Friday Phone & Fax Toll Free: 888-SAT-DIVE Phone: 843-821-0001
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Instructors & OwnersThere are a number of owners and instructors at IDI....
Sergio Smith Sergio Smith is the CEO of the International Diving Institute (founded as East Coast Dive Connection in 1996). Smith has been diving over 35 years and has been the East Coast Regional Director for NASE Worldwide since 2000. Smith is also an Instructor Trainer with NASE Italy. Smith has lived all over the world and is fluent in English, Italian, French and Haitian. He has been a diving instructor in numerous places including the Gulf of Aquaba, Jordan, Souda Bay in Crete, Greece, and all over the Mediterranean. Smith has also worked an archaeological diver with the University of Sassari in Sardinia, Italy. Smith served with the Navy Special Warfare Group and was assigned to EOD Mobile Unit 12 in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was responsible for all air/mixed gas systems. The Navy certified him as a Master Repair Technician and Instructor in 1983. He opened East Coast Dive Connection in 1996 before retiring from the Navy after 20 years. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
Dr. E. Lee Spence Dr. E. Lee Spence is an internationally known expert on shipwrecks and sunken treasures. Spence found his first shipwrecks in 1960. The late Peter Throckmorton (who is frequently described as the "father of marine archaeology") once compared Spence to Heinrich Schlieman. Schlieman is considered the founder of historic archaeology. Spence graduated Cum Laude from the University of South Carolina in 1976, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an academic concentration in marine archaeology. Spence's past work has been funded by such institutions as the Savannah Ships of the Sea Museum, the College of Charleston, the South Carolina Committee for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1991 and '92, Spence served as Chief of Underwater Archaeology for Providencia, a 40,000 square-mile archipelago in the Western Caribbean. He has worked on the wrecks of Spanish galleons, pirate ships, Great Lakes freighters, modern luxury liners, Civil War blockade-runners and submarines. He has authored more than two dozen books, and has served as editor for a number of nationally distributed magazines. Spence was the discoverer of the Civil War submarine Hunley, and in 1995, at the official request of the State of South Carolina Hunley Commission, he donated all of his rights to the wreck to the State. The Hunley has been described as the most important underwater archaeological discovery of the 20th century. Although he has discovered numerous historically significant shipwrecks, including the Confederate cruiser Georgiana, and has salvaged millions of valuable artifacts, Spence considers his identification of George Trenholm, who was the owner of the Georgiana, as the "Real Rhett Butler" to have been his most important literary discovery. Spence is also an award-winning cartographer and has published a number of maps and charts dealing with shipwrecks and treasure. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
InstructorsIDI's Instructors are: David Sharpe, John Stoddard, John Chalfin, Johnny Cercopely, Carl Whitaker, Russel (Rusty) Whiting, Jr. Note: For Instructors Smith and Spence, please see above information on owners. David Sharpe has been diving for over 13 years. He began diving in 1993 when he became scuba certified. He continued to pursue a career in diving by obtaining his certification in Technical Nitrox in 1996. Then he became an SSI Assistant Instructor and NSS Full Cave Diver in 1997. In 2003, Mr. Sharp became a NASE Instructor and graduated as class valedictorian from commercial diving school. Mr. Sharpe’s commercial diving experience includes service with Superior Offshore, Triton and Madcon Diving companies where he was instrumental in the Gulf Hurricane Recovery effort. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
Captain Hoolahan has worked worldwide as a commercial diver for 26 years, covering both the inland and offshore markets. He obtained his commercial diving certification from the Professional Diving School of New York in 1982. Captain Hoolahan also holds his 1600-ton Master License that was issued by the United States Coast Guard. He was a diver with Oceaneering International in addition to being one of their dive support vessel captains. Through the dock-builders/divers union, he has worked on bridges, dams, power plants and salvage operations with numerous companies. Amongst his ocean crossing voyages, Captain Hoolahan has towed cargo through the Panama Canal with tugboats and carried out classified work for the government. Additionally, he is a published author and a screenwriter. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
John Stoddart Mr. Stoddart is retired from the U.S. Navy with 16 years of military and civilian diving experience. He was a qualified Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician, Hull Maintenance Technician, Unit Operations Officer and Instructor. In 1990, Mr. Stoddart completed SCUBA diver training at the Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He then qualified as a U.S. Navy Diving Supervisor in both SCUBA and the MK16 Gas Underwater Breathing Apparatus in 1994. His U.S. Navy responsibilities included academic/practical instruction in a variety of EOD and diving related evolutions to include the training of international armed forces in the area of Port Security/Harbor Defense diving operations. Mr. Stoddart’s tours of duty included 8 years at an Underwater Mine Countermeasures Unit, 3 years in ordnance publications and render-safe procedure development and 3 years with an Ordnance Clearance Unit (both surface and underwater). Mr. Stoddart is a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician Basic (EMT-B), although not currently performing duties as an EMT; he is active as an American Heart Association CPR and First Aid Instructor. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
John Chalfin (contract instructor) John Chalfin is President and CEO of Hartland Diving LLC which does work in power plants and industrial sites. He also holds a membership in The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and he is a board registered Hyperbaric Medical Technician and Clinical Hyperbaric Technician. Chalfin became an Emergency Medical Techncian (EMT) and a public Safety Dive (PSD) Instructor in 2000. He received his DMT Instructor certification in 2003. Chalfin served in the U.S. Navy and is a Vietnam veteran. Chalfin holds a bachelors degree in General Studies with a concentration in Industrial Management from the University of Indiana. He also has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Terra Technical College. He comes to IDI once each year to teach his course. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
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Johnny Cercopely (contract instructor) Johnny Cercopely has more than twenty-four years in industrial safety and security for the private industry. He holds a Hazardous Material Technician Certification from Georgia Technical College and owns Nine Eleven Emergency Response Training Solutions, which offers training in: Confined Space, Entry and Rescue; First Aid & CPR; Hazardous Material, Operations Response; and Basic Fire Fighting. Cercopely is a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Captain for Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels - (OUPV- 6 Pack). He earned an Emergency Medical Technician certification for the State of South Carolina in 1980. He was certified as a Rescue Diver and a Master Diver with PADI in 1993. He is a NASE Instructor. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
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Carl Whitaker (contract instructor) Carl Whitaker has been diving for over twenty-five years and has been a certified NASE Master Instructor since 2000. Whitaker has more than twenty years of experience in diesel and hydraulic engines and has instructor certifications for mobile Cranes, Forklifts, and Rigging from the Crane Institute of America. Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
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C. Russel (Rusty) Whiting, Jr. (contract instructor) Certifications, Memberships, Accreditations:
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