Sweet Bottom Dive Center
at Cane Bay &
THE Carambola BEACH Resort
Sweet Bottom Dive Center Staff & Instructors
Our staff of professional scuba instructors and divemasters are here to make your dives as easy as putting on a tank and breathing. We offer a true concierge diving experience by taking care of your equipment assembly, disassembly, and after dive cleaning. Our staff isn't just eye candy, they also can offer more than a combined 100 different classes!
Mark Linse
PADI Course Director
Director of Training
Business Owner
During my 37 years of diving, I have had the opportunity to travel and dive in many different locals and dive environments…whether I was diving on the beautiful coral reefs of St Croix, the massive wrecks off of Lake Michigan, Key Largo or Fort Lauderdale, swimming with the dolphins in Curacao, playing tag with the baby peacock flounders in Bonaire, dodging the 12' bull sharks in Fiji or swimming inside a school of barracudas in Malaysia, my dive adventures are always fun and exciting.
During my 30+ year career as a Chicago Paramedic and EMS Educator, I have had the opportunity to hone my instructional and presentation skills. What a perfect fit to take that experience and combine it with something I truly enjoy sharing with others…scuba diving!
As a dive educator, I can hold your hand during your very first breath underwater, or I can train you in unique underwater skills, such as; advanced navigation, search and recovery, sidemount diving, full face mask and dry suit diving, just to name a few. I can mentor you into leadership roles, as you learn the information and skills necessary to become a PADI Divemaster. Or, I can help you change your life forever; as I lead you down the path of becoming a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, Specialty Instructor, IDC Staff Instructor or I can even mentor you, as you prepare to become a PADI Course Director.
My passion lies with people. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experiences with people, but more importantly, I love learning about you…your passions, your experiences and your dreams. Scuba Diving has a HUGE social component to it. Anyone, can teach you how to tie a bowline underwater…let me get to know you and see if I can't help you realize your dreams.
Mark & Laura Teaching Taylor Kinny From NBC's
Chicago Fire TV Series
Favorite Dive Site - Davis Bay Wall
Favorite Restaurant - Too many to list
Favorite View - My Office View.. the OCEAN
Favorite Drink - Leatherback Oktoberfest or Beach Life (Blonde)
Laura Linse
PADI Master Instructor
Business Owner
Diving has become my escape from noise, technology and everyday issues; Looking around the beautiful underwater world is my heaven on Earth. Bright fluorescent purples and oranges of sponges and sea fans, bountiful fish, marine life to observe, sharks to swim with, all make my "front yard" a place to explore. Let me show you our piece of heaven on Davis Bay. I have been diving nearly 30 years spanning the shores of Chicago, Florida, St. Thomas, Jamaica, Curacao, Bonarie, Roatan, and Mexico all the way to Malaysia and Fiji. I fell in love with the diving here in St. Croix. Where else could I see sharks and seahorses in one dive (my two favorites)?! Mark and I came to St. Croix in March 2015 to fulfill a dream of owning a dive center in the Caribbean, leaving behind the cold winters of Chicago and a 30 year career in nursing. I feel blessed to be able to show new divers our world beneath the sea through the discovery diving experience, guiding dives for certified divers, and teaching Open Water students the joy of feeling weightless. As a Master Instructor, I have helped many divers experience this wonderful sport! Let me show you the wonders of St. Croix diving!
Favorite Dive Site - The Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - The Landing
Favorite View - The View of the Other Islands
Favorite Drink - Leatherback Beach Life (Blonde)
Laura Snapping Away Some Beautiful Photos
Christopher "Chris" Cook
PADI Master Instructor
General Manager
Chris hails from Vacaville, California (Solano County). Chris has been a dive professional for the past 20+ years. He first became a NAUI Instructor in 2001 and then crossed over as a PADI Instructor in 2007. Chris has certified well over 1,000 students in various facets of diving and he teaches over 20 PADI Specialty Courses.
Chris has led a very interesting and productive life. He has a daughter named Sam, a granddaughter named Maddie and a new grandson named Kai. He is an entrepreneur and has owned several small businesses. Chris was a full time dive center manager, volunteered for a dive rescue team and hyperbaric chamber.
Chris is well traveled. His favorite dive site is Somosomo in Fiji and the Frederiksted Pier on St. Croix.
Favorite Dive Site - The Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - The Landing
Favorite View - The View of the Ocean
Favorite Drink - Monster Energy with Poweraide After hours -Leatherback Beach Life (Blonde)
Zachery "Zach" Mullan
PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Zach is from Hutchinson, Minnesota, about 60 miles west of Minneapolis. He started diving in 2013 and was hooked from his first breath underwater, in the pool. Since then, Zach has been fortunate enough to dive in some incredible places. From the freezing cold lakes of Minnesota to the warm and beautiful waters of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and San Diego. Zach received his professional diver training in Indonesia, where he was worked for about 2 years. On St. Croix, Zach's favorite dive site is NorthStar, but he is hoping to do more exploratory dives in the coming months
Favorite Dive Site - NorthStar
Favorite Restaurant - LaReine Chicken Shack & El Leon
Favorite View - Right outside his house over looking the hills of the rainforest
Favorite Drink - Cruzan Dark Rum with or with out a variety of mixers
Russell "Russ" Niemeyer
PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Born and raised in Columbia, Missouri in 1956. ( St. Louis Cardinals fan for life!! ) After school moved to Hobbs, New Mexico where I worked for 35 years. (mostly oil field related) Married and raised a family. My wife Pam and I love diving and the Caribbean. After retirement we said what is the craziest thing we could do? MOVE TO AN ISLAND!!! So, as of March, 2016 here we are. Became a dive instructor and the rest is history.
Favorite Dive Site - Salt River West
Favorite Restaurant - Joe's Bar and Grill
Favorite View - Morning Coffee on our deck overlooking Cane Bay
Favorite Drink - Ice cold tea
Aimee Daigle
PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Bio coming soon.
Zachary "Zach - OG" Morin
PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer & Technical Diver
Zach started his diving career at a young age, working for his family's dive shop in Roatan, Honduras. Initially he was responsible for filling tanks, repairing equipment and leading snorkel tours. It has turned into so much more than that over the last 11 years. With over 3,000 dives, Zach is currently a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer. He is dually certified as an SSI Instructor. Zach enjoys technical diving and is an avid Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) diver. With dive experience throughout Florida, and various Caribbean locations, Zach really enjoys St. Croix. St. Croix is a unique island, because of the wide range of dives that are offered from the shore or boat. From beautiful shallow dives for the beginner to professional and very deep wall dives for the avid diver. It's all here.
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall
Favorite Restaurant - The Landing
Favorite View - The beautiful ocean view
Favorite Drink - Cruzan Rum & Coke
Scott Buchan
PADI IDC Staff Instructor
As Scott neared the end of his 35 year professional career in IT, he made plans to spend his "retirement" on a sailboat in the Caribbean. Having discovered the joy of diving in his 50's, he decided to make diving his second career and set out to become a Scuba Instructor, before retiring. In March of 2017, Scott and his wife Leslie moved on to "Nauti Escapades, their sailboat home. A month later, they sailed to St. Croix where he became an Instructor for Sweet Bottom Dive Center. Except for a sailing to Grenada during hurricane season in 2018, St. Croix has been their home. When Scott is not diving the beautiful waters of St. Croix, you can find him sailing around the island or captaining their tiki boat from their business Tropical Tiki Tours in Christiansted Harbor.
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at Cane Bay & the Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - Savant
Favorite View - The beautiful view of St. Thomas from his back porch
Favorite Drink - Bourbon
Kyle Johnson
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Kyle was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois. In his early 20's he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and then to Broomfield, Colorado in 2005. Kyle became a full time resident of St. Croix in 2017. Kyle is well versed in his diving experiences, having dove in Bali, Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel, Bonaire, Belize, Grenada, Puerto Rico, Curacao and of course, St. Croix.
You will find Kyle leading dives or teaching classes on the weekend, because during the week he is a professional tile setter, carpenter and woodworker.
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at North Star
Favorite Restaurant - Maria's Cantina in Gallow's Bay
Favorite View - Any view of the pier from the hills east of Frederiksted
Favorite Drink - Leatherback Beach Liife (Blonde)
Frankie "Sarge" Ortiz
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, Specialty Instructor & Technical Diver
Frankie was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico. However, he has lived on St. Croix for the past 37 years. Frankie is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish fluently. He is married to his soulmate, Melissa and they have 5 island rescue dogs. When he is not diving, Frankie is busy serving the community of the Virgin Islands as a 25 year veteran police officer. His diving adventures began in 2006, after arriving from overseas. Frankie is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and a Technical Dive, where most of his diving adventures have been on St. Croix and Key Largo, Florida. His favorite dive site is the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility (locally known as the Frederiksted Pier). The Frederiksted Pier is located on the leeward side of the island and is full of fantastic sea creatures. Now, if you are a "deep diving junkie" and you're looking for your next technical diving deep adventure, than the Cane Bay Wall is the place to be.
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at Cane Bay & the Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - Savant
Favorite View - The beautiful view of St. Thomas from his back porch
Favorite Drink - Bourbon
Lawrence "Larry" (the Mayor of St. Croix) Katz
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Larry was born in Brooklyn, New York, but relocated to North Carolina during his time in the military. Larry has been diving for (10+) years. His adventures have taken him to the eastern United States, the Florida Keys, Mexico, Bonaire, Cabo Verde, and of course beautiful St. Croix. You will find Larry leading dives and teaching classes on the weekends. During the week, Larry works for FEMA.
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at North Star & the Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - Kimba's Roots n Kulchah in Christiansted
Favorite View - The beautiful view from the Lighthouse
Favorite Drink - Whatever is in his glass while enjoying the company of good people
Pamela "Pam" Niemeyer
PADI Divemaster
Retail Associate
Pam is from New Mexico, where she was an emergency dispatcher and is still an registered nurse. Pam moved to St. Croix in 2016. Pam has over (750) dives and has dove in beautiful locations, such as Cozumel, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, and of course St. Croix.
Favorite Dive Site - Twin Palms aka Pam's Delight
Favorite Restaurant - The Landing
Favorite View - The top of Mt. Eagle, although the Landing offers a beautiful view without the hike.
Favorite Drink - Win's Bush Tea
McKenna "Kenna" Leutmer
PADI Divemaster
Kenna is from Glenwood, Minnesota. She has been on St. Croix since early 2023. Kenna came to St. Croix to become a Divemaster and Scuba Instructor and to see if the sea life was for her. She is happy to say that she has chosen the sea life. She has dove in Minnesota, Cozumel and of course, beautiful St. Croix. When Kenna is not diving or working in the dive center, she enjoys building puzzles...really big puzzles (like 8,000+ piece puzzles), watching anime, and reading books. Her favorite genres are dystopian, fantasy and tragedy.
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at North Star
Favorite Restaurant - Bombay Club
Favorite View - The beautiful view looking back from the Cane Bay training buoy
Favorite Drink - Kenna prefers Ice Cream
Bryan Boultinghouse
PADI Open Water Diver
Repair Technician
Bio Coming Soon
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at Cane Bay & the Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - Savant
Favorite View - The beautiful view of St. Thomas from his back porch
Favorite Drink - Bourbon
Kenneth "Ken" Yee
PADI Rescue Diver
Sales Associate
Bio Coming Soon
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at Cane Bay & the Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - Savant
Favorite View - The beautiful view of St. Thomas from his back porch
Favorite Drink - Bourbon
Dawne Streberg
PADI Rescue Diver ???
Sales Associate
Bio Coming Soon
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at Cane Bay & the Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - Savant
Favorite View - The beautiful view of St. Thomas from his back porch
Favorite Drink - Bourbon
Place Holder
PADI Rescue Diver ???
Sales Associate
Bio Coming Soon
Favorite Dive Site - The St. Croix Wall at Cane Bay & the Frederiksted Pier
Favorite Restaurant - Savant
Favorite View - The beautiful view of St. Thomas from his back porch
Favorite Drink - Bourbon
Tim Linse
TDI & PADI Technical Instructor, Trimix, Tec Sidemount
Tim has been involved in the dive industry since 2010 and has managed dive center, worked in the repair department, and even taught a "few" classes in between it all. Currently living in the Chicago area, Tim is the Manager and Technical Diving Instructor for Dive Rite In Scuba.
Tim is our traveling technical instructor. Tim makes a few trips a year to St. Croix to teach courses and bring groups down from Chicago. His passion has always been deep diving and making every customer's need met and exceeded. If you are looking at going deep, Tim is your guy!
Favorite Dive Site - Any Wall Dive
Favorite Restaurant - No Bones
Favorite View -The Lighthouse View
Favorite Drink - Moscow Mule