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At Sea Saba, we've assembled a talented and professional staff
in order to ensure your dive vacation runs smoothly from beginning to end. Our
all-instructor crew can
teach you to dive, help you become a better
diver or just enjoy sharing our passion with you. We've
included these brief profiles here as updates for our many repeat customers and
so that new
customers know a bit about us before arriving. Our
team's credentials are top notch--but be assured, the role of being a
great dive guide remains a priority. Below our full time staff, you
will also find some regular
visiting
instructors who assist us during peak periods and a cast of
supporting players. Sea Saba is a
PADI
5-Star Resort as well as a PADI National Geographic Dive
Center. Our
Training
and Courses page provides more insight to our diving philosophy as
well as providing loads of information on learning to dive or
improving your diving skills.
The Sea Saba Crew:
John & Lynn,
Steve,
Ellie,
Marcus,
Mel,
Scott,
Steven,
Amy and David
Visiting Instructors:
EJ,
Dick & Paula
Your Drivers:
Garvis
&
Peddy
Supporting Player: Chip
Mascot: Seneca
 John Magor and Lynn Costenaro
met in the mid-80's and have made Saba
their home since 1989. Nearly 30 years ago when spending a winter on St.
Kitts, John looked at Saba on the horizon. He'd heard many a
tale of Saba's dramatic diving but it wasn't until many years and many
dives later that he first stepped foot on Saba. John's thirst for adventure
began as a teenager--leaving his
London family flat to backpacking trips around West Pakistan, Europe and Northern Africa.
With a portable career as a hair stylist he headed to Ottawa, Canada,
where he learned to dive and spent long weekends exploring the Great Lakes, St.
Lawrence Seaway, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Warm water trips
to Belize, Tobago and the Red Sea resurrected his
itch to travel. He boarded a schooner and after stops in the Azores and Spain
he settled down for a
three-year stint in the Red Sea. Next stop was the famed MV Tropicbird in the British Virgin
Islands where he met Lynn, who was on a dive trip with friends. A
few months later in early 1987, Lynn abandoned
her corporate NYC job and a daily commute from Greenwich for a
more nomadic lifestyle with John in Sharm El Shiek, Egypt. They donned
drysuits for the next stop in Quadra Island, British Columbia but as winter
set in they decided Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands sounded
more appealing. Lynn was born and raised in the Midwest of the US.
She became an instructor in 1989 just prior to
their departure for Saba which was considered one of the last frontiers of
the Caribbean at that time. John and Lynn have been managing Sea Saba as
minority partners since 1992 and eventually "bought out" Sea Saba's founders, Joan and Lou
Bourque in 1997. If it were up to John, he’d be underwater shooting
photos all day but more often than not you’ll find him
behind the scenes keeping the boats,
vehicles, compressors and other operational necessities in order. Lynn is normally in the Windwardside
office helping to make your trip special from the point of first contact until after you
arrive home. Lynn is also a founder (along with Johanna of Juliana's)
of the annual Sea & Learn on Saba program. For more insight about John and Lynn and how their
passion for nature effects Sea Saba, check out
Emerald Planet Images,
Sea & Learn on Saba and spend some time on
the
Saba Images and Beyond
page of this site.
 Steve
Giles is neither new to Saba nor to Sea Saba. After a
many-year sabbatical, we are pleased to have Steve's unmatched energy
and uncanny humor re-sparking the Sea Saba Team. Born and raised
in London, Steve was an immigration officer at Heathrow Airport at the
time he learned to dive. Yearning for more than England offered,
Steve headed to Florida to pursue cave diving techniques where he met
the friend who eventually led him to Saba. With more than 2,000
dives logged just in Saba's waters, you will find comfort diving with
this true veteran. Steve's enthusiasm and demonstrative briefings
kick off each morning with a smile whether he's captain or crew.
His attention to detail coupled with his experience are just two reasons
why Steve is Sea Saba's Safety Coordinator--keeping our team practiced
and up-to-date with monthly drills and scenarios as well as ensuring Sea
Saba's equipment is at top levels. We did say energy, right?
Steve's also the guy you might see whisking past you foot or on bicycle
on Saba's road or along a trail...he not only rigorously trains for The Hell's Gate Challenge, Saba's triathlon he also
coordinates and orchestrates this annual event.
 Eleanor "Ellie" Duncanson-Hunter
is
Sea Saba's golden-locked star. Her sparkling smile and corkscrew
blonde curls are a trademark only one upped by her rather obvious
English accent. It took a holiday to Menorca (where
the water was slightly warmer than the British Isles!) for her to first try diving. For years she was a "holiday diver" with every vacation
booked just so she could dive. With Egypt being so easily accessible from the
UK, the Red Sea was her playground. In her LBD (Life Before Diving)
Ellie was Miss Organization. Her bubbly personality and efficiency
made her an ideal events coordinator for a large pharmaceutical company.
She loved the travel and the meeting/looking after people aspects of the
job, but Ellie's lucky day came when the company restructured with the
news that her entire team were to be laid off. She took the cash
and ran away to South East Asia where she followed her dream becoming a
dive master first and then an instructor. The examiner at Ellie's
instructor course was quick to point out that her shiny new instructor
card was her passport to the world so off she went to the Caribbean in
search of a new adventure. Saba's sister island,
Curacao, was her first stop. Her zest for environmental protection
brought her to email Sea Saba and ask for the next open instructor position.
Our once "green and keen" new arrival has graduated to Sea Saba's Head
Instructor position utilizing those organizational skills to be sure our
team is up-to-date on the latest PADI standards and materials. Ellie's calming
personality converts even the most nervous newbie to enjoy "her world"
underwater. Be warned, her enthusiasm is rumored to be contagious.
 Marcus Lyng
brings a bit of science to Sea Saba.
Saba was attractive to Marcus for its topside nature as well as its
underwater beauty. Marc studied Geology at Northern Illinois
University and specialized in Paleo-Marine (once swimming but now buried
dead in rocks) ecology which inspired him to learn to scuba dive,
assuming he would eventually need to combine the skills. He also
did additional course work in Volcanology, Plate Tectonics, and Marine
Science. His first job after university brought him to the Florida
Keys to work as a Marine Science Instructor at an education center on
Big Pine Key. Returning to Chicago after completing work in the Keys he
became involved with the Shedd Aquarium volunteer program which only
rekindled his thirst for the marine environment. With the choice
of working for the oil industry or pursuing the dream of being in the
ocean each day, Marc landed first in the popular dive destinations of
Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands where he
was trained to captain dive boats.
Marcus is as comfortable at the helms
of either Giant Stride or Sea Dragon but his true forte is
being our official fish geek. As
an advocate for marine conservation and conducting diver related
education programs, he embraced the REEF program. If you can stump
Marcus on ID'ing a fish, Lynn will buy you a drink--a safe bet as he is
a REEF Level 5 Surveyor and, therefore, qualified to administer and
conduct the REEF / Project Aware Fish ID course to any one seeking a
basic fish ID knowledge to the most advanced geek wannabe. New in
Summer 2010, catch a ride up with Wayne to Shearwater Resort and
join Marcus for "Fish Facts".
 Melanie Marks is the one to
compliment on the great selection of clothing in our shop. In addition
to buying our retail and keeping it looking great, her organizational
skills (German efficiency!) are put to good use. Mel was born near Cologne, the famous
Carnival town in Germany. Being raised with a Dutch mother and a German
father she is now trilingual. She continues to refine her English, although a bit
accented, which we blame on her Saban boyfriend. Mel graduated
with a degree in Economics but worked in sales and marketing for Toshiba
and a local energy company in Germany. Not so fond of European weather,
she always planned to live abroad...when she saw an ad for a German
speaking office worker, she came to Saba and a year later to Sea Saba. We're picking up some
key entertaining office words from Mel...like "the neat machine", Dutch
for stapler. Mel loves Saba's nature
and regularly enjoys Saba's trails and dive sites. We also refer
to Mel as Saba's Goat Whisperer for her adoration and affection toward
Saba's controversial mammal.
 Scott
Burcham can be described as Sea Saba's quiet and serious
guy...or at least when you first meet him. Born in North Carolina,
this true southern gentleman maintains a slight southern drawl and an
easy going attitude. Cool, laid back and logical make Scott a
mellow dive leader but also the perfect candidate to assist John with
maintenance projects. Methodical and unflappable are requirements
if you are responsible for things like the maintenance of landing gear,
flight controls and crash recovery components on E-3 AWACS planes.
He reached Staff Sergeant in his 8-year career with the U.S. Air Force
before his next phase in life that started with a backpacking trip from
Belize to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. He learned to dive the first
week of the trip and continued diving throughout Central America.
He eventually returned to Utila (Honduras, Central America) where he did
his instructor's course and worked for 2 more years. Next stop was
the Red Sea in Tabah, Egypt, just 12 miles south of the Israeli border.
Hundreds of dives later, you can look forward to exploring Saba's reefs
with Scott who is Level 3 REEF Identification and a PADI Master Scuba
Diver Trainer.
 Steven
Babin is Sea Saba's teddy bear. His great humor and
easy going nature make for a great day on the boat and a favorite among our guests and the local
community. He grew up in the Boston area where he was never far
from the sea...sailing and working on boats. His large, Irish
family ran a mechanical contracting business which he worked at
after school and during the summer months. After high school, Steven attended
Emerson College in Boston to pursue a degree in Acting.
Recognizing his natural comfort with the stage and an audience, he was
encouraged to transfer to a more professional school: American
Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He next backpacked through
13 countries in Europe in 6 months in order to study people, accents and
mannerisms. He returned to New York; broke; so he defaulted back
to the easy and obvious, mechanical contracting but this time as an
independent. After taking a part in a play way off Broadway, he decided to instead focus on the
business which soon blossomed in to 20+ employees and more work than he
could handle. Although he always
wanted to learn to dive, it was not until he was in his 30's and in the
lovely tropical waters of a Pittsburgh quarry that he actually took that
first plunge. After helping friends at a shop in the Florida Keys
for several months, he
realized "this is what I really want to do--but not here". Having
vacationed on Saba a few years prior, he got in touch with Sea Saba.
Hands on learning from his father and brothers make his additional handy
man skills from plumbing to basic mechanics yet another asset he brings
to our team. Steven is now ranked as a PADI Staff Instructor.
Whether at the helm of Sea Dragon or just going diving, you will always
find Steven with a grin. And for real entertainment, be sure to
save room on your dance card on Friday nights at Sabaoke!
 Amy Bennett and David Pereira are the newest elements to the Sea
Saba team. They arrived on Saba via Dominican
Republic, where they had been working for the past year. This keen
young couple met
in Honduras while they were both mentoring as divemasters and eventually
did their instructor course together. Amy hails from Nova Scotia,
Canada, where it was just too cold to try diving. Her musically inclined family inspired her to play guitar,
piano and a traditional Irish drum called a Bodran, still popular at
kitchen parties in Nova Scota due to the strong Celtic history. A natural educator, Amy holds a
bachelor's degree in music and worked as a teacher of guitar and piano
at a conservatory in Halifax. Her teaching profession allowed her
extensive travel time with trips to Thailand, Egypt and Central
America...all great dive spots where she continued her diving education
each year. By the 4th year, she had graduated to divemaster status
just in time to meet David. David brings some Mediterranean flair to our team.
He received his bachelor's degree in biology in Portugal and then
pursued his masters degree in Bio Anthropology, specifically the study of human
remains. His masters work
took him globetrotting from Spain to South America and Central America
finishing with an Aztec site in Mexico. Having
worked in conservation as a biologist, he became fascinated with
learning the ecology of reef systems and the rest is history. As an avid rock climber, David will be looking forward to grabbing his
chalk bag and exploring some of the rock of Saba on his days off while
you can look forward to hearing Amy at Open Mic Nights @ Swinging Doors.
Both Amy and David are PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainers and truly enjoy
introducing diving and continuing education programs to their students.
 Elmer "EJ" Rice is Sea Saba's Mr.
Everything. After spending two weeks vacation on Saba in the summer of
2007, we realized EJ is not only an experienced
dive instructor but a 'jack of all trades'. Mr. Everything first
worked as a computer programmer in the 80's. It soon became
apparent that his high energy and love for the outdoors was not
compatible with his office job. For the next 15 years, EJ worked around the Caribbean at dive centers, liveaboards
and for quite some time on cruise ships. He also worked on the Caribbean
Explorer, the liveaboard dive boat that frequents Saba--making him
quite an easy train for dive sites.
For the past 5 years, EJ has refocused yet another talent...he has
purchased and restored a number of older homes in the northeast,
allowing him to be his own boss and take winters off. When EJ mentioned to Lynn that he was
considering wintering in Saba as a volunteer, we jumped at the chance to
have him work instead part time for us. Look
forward to a great dive with this experienced and caring dive
guide/instructor. Oh, he also plays 5 musical instruments--a modern
Renaissance man for sure!
 Dick and Paula Litzel
can only be categorized as a role models for all of us here at Sea Saba.
Putting life into perspective, Dick sold his business more than a decade
ago and hasn't regretted it once. For 18 years, Dick and Paula spend the winter months on Saba, escaping the harsh
winter of upstate New York. Starting off as Sea Saba customers, they
gradually increased their
vacation time to Saba with each visit. Each trip back to Saba brought a new badge of diving
accomplishment and 10 years ago both became full-fledged PADI instructors. Dick's natural hard work
ethic and many Saba experiences make him a great asset we regularly tap into during our
peak season. Retired? Yes. Couch potatoes? Absolutely not--since in addition to their
active diving careers, they are nationally ranked triathletes. Sea Saba is
proud to say we have a world-ranked athlete on our staff--Dick finished in
the top 10
in the world in his age category numerous times since 2000. Obviously age improves
Dick's speed and endurance. Dick finished #1 in his age class at the 2003, 2005, 2006
and 2007 Lake
Placid Ironman as well as several other Ironman competitions during summer
months.
As the baby in his age group in 2010, Dick is looking forward to
qualifying and hopefully finishing in the top 3 in the world this year. Too bad the hills of Saba are not the ideal training ground for Dick and
Paula or we'd love to have them down here for the other 8 months of the year....
 James
'Garvis' Hassell will be among the first to greet you when you arrive at
Saba's Jauncho Yrasquin airport. Whether you've booked your trip for a day or a month, let us
know your arrival time and Ambassador Hassell will be there to
"steer" you in the right direction. Garvis' stands out above the
crowd at 6'4" but more often than not he'll spot you first with his
uncanny knack of identifying expected visitors. His white van will be close
by and at the ready for your dive gear and luggage. Garvis' roots date back to
Saba's earliest European settlers. You can arrange an island tour with him
where you'll meet his aunt who'll introduce you to Saban lace, visit his
family farmland and receive a quick history lesson about Saba's Fort Bay
harbor that he helped build. When your trip is finished, Garvis will
reliably pick you up at your hotel or cottage an hour before your departure flight
for the short 15 minute trip down the mountain.
 James "Peddy" Johnson,
is now referred to as "Steady Peddy" by Sea Saba and our clients. Like Garvis,
Peddy is a descendant of Saba's first European colonists. Peddy is a 7th
generation Saban; his family having traveled to Saba from Ireland in the
17th century. Both sides of Peddy's family settled in the village of
Mary's Point. ln the 1920's Saba's government became increasingly concerned
that the increased erosion at Mary's Point might
render the area to become unstable. Averting a potential disaster in
this area, the government assisted more than 100
villagers to physically take their homes apart and move them
piece-by-piece to other more stable areas on the island. Peddy was
born at his
grandmother's house in Hell's Gate, one of the homes from this era. Like
many Sabans, Peddy's father worked at the Aruba Oil Refinery until the
1940's when it ceased operation. Peddy is retired as a foreman from
Saba's Public Works Department as well as Saba Airport Security. He
now proudly drives his new silver van to the delight of our guests.
Known for his calm manner and politeness, don't be shy to ask Peddy some
Saba stories--he has plenty!
 William
"Chip" D'Angelo is a face seen only a few weeks per
year on Saba. His focus is instead is twenty-five years of experience managing
specialty service, engineering and contracting businesses. Chip
learned to dive as part of an Environmental Science program at Montclair
State College in 1975. His first project as an environmental
consultant took him to Puerto Rico for nearly two years during which time
he dove the region from Vieques to the British Virgin Islands. Over
the years he diversified his business interests from founding a marine search
and survey company which introduced the first commercial Benthos ROV to
owning a dive shop in New Jersey. Chip enjoyed a number of Caribbean
dive trips from the Bahamas to Mexico during which time he even became a
PADI divemaster. On a trip to St. Maarten in
the late '80's, Chip met
Wilson McQueen, the
first to scuba dive Saba's waters. Chip and Wilson became friends
and eventually Chip became an investment partner in Wilson's ferryboat business
which took 'daytrippers' from St. Maarten to Saba. Chip's 10-year
history with Saba is now scaled down to his investment interests with Sea
Saba and coming down to enjoy the island.
 Seneca
is Sea Saba's mascot...with her very own webpage:
Watch
Seneca Grow... She and her siblings were born in and eventually
rescued from a drainpipe in a small town in Illinois. If you look at
her puppy photos you can almost believe the animal shelter (as we did)
that her mother was a yellow lab...She's certainly 100% mutt with a mind
of her own. Seneca has adapted well to her new Caribbean lifestyle with
fun-filled days of hiking, swimming lessons,,,and often times just 'coolin' out'
on the floor begging for even more attention and adoration. Her extra long snout seems to make her extra skilled
at finding puppy treats in your pocket (who says dogs can't count?), be
prepared! Ask for a paw and she'll trade you a treat for a
kiss...She sports her diving collar and matching leash and is available to
assist you in sizing for your friend at home.
  Kodiak
will also be remembered by Saba's long time clients.
He was born and raised on Saba, a pure-bred Coconut Retriever and quite
popular islander. Never crazy about swimming or the
water, he was regularly found in the back of the work truck or
handing tools to John while supervising the maintenance tasks. Kodiak
died on Christmas
Day 2001 but his memories live on. He was part of the Sea Saba team, John's shadow and a Saba
icon. Mr. K loved thinking he was the driver but many a visitor
chuckled to see him ride the tailgate.
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