John Rhodes is a certified P.A.D.I. (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Master Dive Instructor at Blue Water Divers & Watersports located at Elbow Beach.

In 1984 he became one of Bermuda's few Dive Masters and has been doing what he loves most, teaching, for the past four years.

The gregarious Mr. Rhodes said: " Teaching, for me, is the most enchanting aspect of underwater diving. I love it when I see peoples' faces light up with excitement.'' When Mr. Rhodes was asked about his favourite dive sights in Bermuda he mentioned three: L'Herminie, Cristobal Colon, and Pollockshields.

" L'Herminie , built in 1828, was a 60 gun French frigate and lies about four miles west of Ireland Island.

" Cristobal Colon is interesting to divers because she was a cruise ship. She wrecked in the 1930's.

"We promote the Pollockshields , a 323 foot steamer built in 1890, in Hamburg, Germany. She wrecked on a reef directly off of the Elbow Beach in 1914.

"Strong swimmers sometimes swim out and snorkle around her. We take people out using our underwater scooters or dive boats. The scooters known as, underwater diver propulsion vehicles , are the first to come to Bermuda.

"Sometimes the currents are strong and the surge gets powerful at Elbow Beach. It is a safe dive, with a professional, of only 25 to 40 feet.

One of the most important things Mr. Rhodes has learned since becoming a professional diver is knowing his limitations and being able to ascertain the limitations of others in and around the seas.

"People entrust their lives to me and I take that very seriously.

"I will go diving in a hurricane if I have to! I have that physical ability and training. However, I never, ever discount safety.'' As for finding treasure, Mr. Rhodes believes divers should leave it alone for others to view, especially objects such as cannons and balls.

"Sometimes when you touch something or bring it up, the air just causes it to disintegrate. We should all preserve this paradise's environment. These shipwrecks are like underwater museums.

"If you touch some of the living things on a reef you may kill one of the organisms in that one moment which took fifty years to evolve,'' he said.

Mr. Rhodes enthusiastically explained that when you go to a place where no one has dived it is very exciting! "I found something the other week that I think no other diver has ever seen,'' he said.

Mr. Rhodes aspires to do archaeological diving in the future.

Master Dive Instructor, John Rhodes, explores a reef with a underwater scooter.