George Pearsall was certified in 1990.   He's become a NAUI Instructor in 1993, and a PADI instructor in 1997. George is also a certified cave diver,  His favorite places to dive are Akumal Mexico for cave diving, the St Lawrence River, and Lake Ontario.  George has been with Elite Divers since 1998. 

Mike has been diving since 1968 and currently has in excess of 3500-4000 dives.   He became certified in1973, and has been actively diving ever since.  Mike is a SDI TDI Instructor, and an SDI TDI Nitrox Instructor.

I started my scuba adventure in 2001 with Elite Divers.  To be honest it was my girlfriend’s idea at the time and I was not too thrilled about taking lessons.  I already had some pretty expensive interests including motorcycles, jet skis, & guitars.  I had no idea that New Jersey was home to some of the best wreck diving.  Everyone says you get hooked the first breath you take underwater.  For me it took a few dives and reading about some of the history of the wrecks off NJ.  After a great summer of camping, meeting new friends and diving at Dutch, the motorcycle had a layer of dust and I had a fleet of new dive gear.  It was then that I realized that I was a diver! 

Since then I went a little nuts and turned into a fish.   The majority of my diving is done here in NJ looking for artifacts and having a great time exploring the ocean with friends.  I’m certified to TDI Trimix but the majority of my diving is in the recreational range.  I’m factory trained to work on scuba gear for 3 manufacturers and also have been known to tinker with homemade rebreathers.  I’m also a PADI and EFR instructor with the goal of sharing the love of Mother Nature and Scuba to everyone I can! You can always find me either at the shop or on facebook.

Where does a dentist go to escape the stress of everyday work? Of course, it’s the undersea world. This has been Craig’s home ever since first watching TV shows such as Jacques Cousteau and Sea hunt on television during the 60’s.  He then began taking over his parent’s house with aquarium tanks in just about every room! Actually Craig started his college career as a marine biology postgrad major and then decided that his love of the ocean could become his life’s avocation when his parents told him there was more money to be made working under saliva than undersea!

Craig got certified at Elite as a PADI open water diver back in 1992. Since then, the dive bug really hit and the rest is history.  His passion would continue as he continually traveled down to the Keys, whenever he could, in order to climb up the PADI continuing education ladder and become a PADI instructor in 2002. He became a visiting instructor at Kelly’s on the Bay and Aqua-Nut Divers in Key Largo until it became a Florida “condominium”. Since 2003, Craig volunteered at the Adventure Aquarium (NJ State Aquarium) where he would present dive shows in the shark tank.(His wife dreaded him taking a “giant stride” into a tank of circling  dorsal fins.) Now retired from dental practice, Craig spends most of his time teaching at Elite. He is also board chair of a major philanthropic organization. Most of his diving has taken him to numerous Caribbean islands and the Red Sea, where he loves to combine underwater photography and videography. His smile, laughter and easygoing personality always make his coursework a delight. Craig’s art of combining personal guidance in the classroom and pool, and real life dive experiences has provided a continual undersea journey for his students and himself.

Dean having been brought up on the Jersey Coast originally, spent every summer with his family on Long Beach Island. Daily he would be found combing the beaches (jetties), out aboard the family or a friend’s boat, or often on headboats in search of the evenings table fare. As the call of the sea was no match for him, he soon endeavored to become a commercial fisherman. Out in search of Swordfish and Tuna, he would spend on average anywhere from 7 to 15 days at sea from ports in southern Florida. Adventures include steaming to Jamaica for a three-month holdover, frequent trips to the Bahamas, and Canyon trips to beyond 1,000 Fathoms from Montauk NY. In the late 80’s, he would settle back on the Jersey Coast, turning his sights on the Raritan Bay and North Atlantic where he began working as a mate on charter vessels specializing in Striped Bass, Highly Migratory Species and Shark Fishing. Throughout this 15-year period he would obtain the USCG OUPV & Master Licenses, continuing to run charters of the same on his own. Additionally Dean would become certified as an Emergency Medical Technician and American Heart Association BLS Instructor. Currently he is volunteering for his local First Aid Squad where he holds the position of 1st Lieutenant/Crew Chief and is the Navigational Systems Flotilla Staff Officer for the USCG Auxiliary.

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