Upcoming Events:
- May 4th: Sundrock Marine Preserve!
- May 17th: Computer Nitrox!
- May 18th: Redondo!!
- May 25th: Equipment Specialist!
- May 26th: Underwater Navigation!
Go Diving with Us!
Meet our Staff!
Whether you need to find the right diving gear, perfect diving vacation, good local dive sites or sign up for scuba diving lessons, we're here for you. Every member of our staff is a certified and active diver. We know the ins and outs of diving in cold water and, because we travel the world to find perfect dive sites for you, our clients, we know quite a bit about tropical diving, too. We can answer your questions about local and international dive sites. We can help match a dive site or diving vacation to your skills and needs. And we can sign you up for the perfect lesson to improve your skills. We are passionate about diving. Let us share our passion with you!
Craig Willemsen
SDI & TDI Instructor Trainer,
Tech Instructor &
Store Owner
Craig started diving in 1972 and for over 50 years has shown us that scuba diving is his passion. He has dove all around the world and keeps looking for new places to share with his clients. He continues to expand his own skill set, becoming one of the first instructors in the Pacific Northwest to teach rebreathers; he is now certified on 10 different units as both an Instructor and Instructor Trainer.
Craig holds the highest Instructor rating with TDI , SDI and SSI. In 2006, he was awarded the SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Diver and Instructor Award. Craig holds many Instructor certifications with SDI, SSI, TDI, IANTD and ANDI, has worked for several training agencies. He has over 8500 dives, over 2,500 of which are rebreather dives. You can catch him most weekends underwater, somewhere in the world.
Thom Robbins
SDI Instructor Trainer
Thom started diving in 1987 and continues to learn even today. Diving was a natural extension to his love of the water and the creatures that you find. While he enjoys warm water, the cold water of the Pacific Northwest holds his passion. As an avid photographer, the clear cold waters we enjoy here are the home of some of the most beautiful creatures. One of Thom’s passions is helping people to learn how to safely pursue their own love of the water. In 2022, Thom earned the top rating from SDI, and is now an Instructor Trainer.
Thom also has been busily writing marine ID books, and lately underwater fiction novels. You can see his latest here.
If not teaching or writing, , you can usually find him looking for that perfect shot at one of the many dive sites in the area.
Chris Twomey
Instructor
Chris started diving in 1994, and has dove in in many places over the years including Florida, Hawaii, The Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica, and of course, Puget Sound! Chris is an avid photographer both above and below the waters' surface, and also enjoys boating, golfing and working out. Chris became rebreather certified in 2020 and continued into leadership rolls, becoming a divemaster in 2021, and recently an SDI instructor.
Miho Kawamura
Instructor
Miho became a certified diver in the summer of 2013, and an Instructor in 2023. She loves to travel and also tries to combine diving if there’re any diving opportunities. She enjoys weekend dives in the Puget Sound, and Hood Canal with her camera. Other favorite dive locations are Raja Ampat, Maldives, Okinawa, Mexico, Caribbean, God’s Pocket (Canada), Jamaica, and her tub.
Andrew Hassard
Instructor
Andrew began diving in 2009 and became an instructor in 2014. He has also become an avid underwater photographer, traveling the globe in search of the perfect critter photos - Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Fiji, Bonaire, Hawaii, and British Columbia have been frequent destinations.
Sean Smith
Divemaster
Sean originally got PADI open water certified in 2018 in Illinois. Shortly afterwards, he moved out to the Pacific Northwest. He found Silent World and proceeded in 2020 to get SDI (re)certified, and completed his SDI Divemaster training in 2024. Sean has dove at locations in many different countries and climes and continues to pursue new opportunities for underwater adventure.
Ronn Mercer
Divemaster
Ronn became OW certified as a college student in 1988, but didn’t begin diving regularly until after moving to Washington in 1997. He enjoys diving and UW photography in the PNW, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Ronn earned his SDI Divemaster certification in 2024. When not scuba diving, you’re still likely to find him outside – either hiking in the woods, skiing down a mountain, or cycling in the countryside.
Mona Willemsen
Travel Manager
Mona started diving in the early 1990's, and has traveled extensively all over the world. She enjoys seeing new places, good friends and laughing ( a lot!). Mona does the bulk of our International travel planning, and if you can't find her at Silent World, she's probably on a plane to some distant dive location!
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Maddux Tillman
Instructor
Maddux first started diving in 2012 in South Carolina. She completed her Advanced and Rescue cert's in Hawaii, then continued on with Divemaster training in Indonesia, and completed Instructor training in Florida. She came to Silent World after working several years in Florida, and really loves the PNW. Her favorite kind of diving is exploring new places and seeing all the cool weird fishies!
Jake Bishop
Instructor
Jake got his first certification in 2020, in preparation for commercial dive school. Well, Craig talked him out of that career pursuit, and next thing you know, Jake is our In-store expert on just about everything we do, as well as an SDI Instructor! Jake likes diving on his Prism2 rebreather and exploring new dive locations when he isn't at Silent World "making it happen".
Corey Regen
Instructor
Corey started diving in Sept 2014.and become certified as an Instructor in 2021 Corey has extensive experience diving in the Puget Sound along with taking several dive trips to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands. He loves to share his experience and enthusiasm with new and veteran divers alike.
Jonathan Clark
Instructor
Jonathan got his diving certification as a college graduation present in 2019 and now under water is his happy place! Jonathan enjoys teaching and helping new divers discover the same love of diving that he has. Look under water most any week and you'll find Jonathan diving somewhere in the Salish Sea.
Chris Wells
Instructor
Long time diver Chris Wells earned his first diving certification in 1983 in New York. Growing up on the East Coast, Chris' earliest diving adventures involved exploring many of the shipwerecks off New York and New Jersey. Chris later moved to the Pacific Northwest, earning his first Instructor rating with NASDS in 1995, and taught here at Silent World. Chris has extensive experience exploring shipwrecks around the world and had dove Truk ( Chuuk) and Bikini Atoll, as well as many of the more famous wrecks in the Pacific Northwest.
These days, Chris is actively teaching all levels of scuba classes, from Open Water through Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures.
Most weekends, you will find Chris on a beach either fresh out of the water or getting ready to go under it!!
Janine Johanson
Divemaster
Janine is Washington native, and started diving while studying Marine Biology in college. She obtained her Dive Master cert in 2022. Her favorite place to dive is anywhere there are octopuses or nudibranchs, however, she still needs to see a whale shark and a hammerhead!! She enjoys taking pictures underwater but is still learning.
Scot Ritchey
Divemaster
Scot first started diving in high school, and after a long hiatus, he picked it up again with Silent World, eventually obtaining his SDI Divemaster certification in 2024. In addition to Washington state and British Columbia, he has been diving in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Guadeloupe. His favorite local dive sites include Sund Rock and Keystone Jetty (pictured!).
Casey Banaskey
Divemaster
Jonathan Clark
Instructor
Casey started diving with us several years ago, and recently completed his SDI Divemaster training, and Prism2 Rebreather certification! He is our "Go-to" guy when on the beach, as he has pretty much everything you need, whether its a pop-up shelter, propane heater, or spare pair of gloves (cuz you forgot yours!). Casey is always psyched to go diving!.