Capt. Saam's Scuba School - Instructor Staff

Capt Saam

Hi, I'm Capt Saam. I took my first breath on SCUBA as a teenager and not long after I earned my YMCA Scuba Diver certification. While at the University of Miami I spent a lot of time in the water in the Keys. I had become a 'Dive Junky'! After I returned from school I continued my Scuba education with Advanced Diver, Master Scuba Diver, and Rescue Diver. I continued to become a Divemaster followed by Assistant Instructor. Next I earned my NAUI Scuba Instructor rating. I continued up to Instructor Trainer and Course Director. I am also a PADI Instructor, an American Red Cross Instructor, American Heart Assoc. Instructor, an FAA Advanced Aviation Instructor, and an ASIA Snowboard Instructor. I have a 6 year Electrical Engineering degree. I hold a US Coast Guard 100 Ton Master Captain's license.

I founded Capt. Saam's Scuba School in 1995 after working as a staff instructor locally and in Hawaii. Initially the school was just education, travel, and charters. In 2003 I opened a full service retail dive shop in Stamford.

While I do a great deal of tropical dive travel I really enjoy diving locally in Long Island Sound. Our local wrecks and night diving for lobsters are what keeps me totally into the sport.

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Commander Tim

Hi, I'm Commander Tim. I began diving as a midshipman through a YMCA course at the Naval Academy in 1977. I took a PADI refresher in 1985 while stationed in Monterey CA, then spent the next 3 years as a volunteer diver for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I'm now an expert on cleaning algae from Plexiglas while underwater. During the summer of 2003, I signed up with Capt. Saam to work my way up to become a NAUI Instructor and a YSCUBA Instructor. The following summer, I now hold a NAUI Instructor Trainer rating.

Dr. Tim Dowding received his Ph.D. in Instructional Media & Technology from the University of Connecticut, with a minor in Cognitive Psychology, as well as an MS in Geophysics and an MA in Adult Education. He also has a BS in Oceanography from the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds the rank of Commander in the Naval Reserves (Retired). He has over 24 years of naval service, the last 18 of which were Restricted Line, Special Duty (Oceanography). Some of the duty stations at which he served include: Staff Oceanographer for Joint Forces Command, Norfolk VA; Office of Naval Research, Arlington VA, Naval War College, Newport RI; Research Meteorologist at the Office of Naval Research, Monterey CA; and as Commanding Officer of a reserve weather unit at the Naval Air Stations in S. Weymouth MA and Brunswick ME.

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Hi, I’m Brian. I started diving at 13. While in college, at West Point, I was a member of the SCUBA club. After college I took a brief hiatus from diving due to several military deployments. When returned, I got back into diving immediately. In 2013 I became a Divemaster with Capt Saam followed by NAUI Instructor in 2014. Until recently years, I had been strictly a cold water diver, diving from Maine to LI Sound and even fresh water lakes. Now I dive in exotic locations when I have the vacation time. I like to dive wrecks and see large creatures on trips including sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, and hope to dive with whale sharks. I instruct scuba for purely the love of the sport and to see the exhilaration of first time divers.

Hi, I’m Josh. I first starting diving with Capt Saam when I was 14 at a continuing education class at my local high school. I quickly fell in love with it and began to work my way up the ranks of the NAUI course levels. I also took on a job working at Capt Saam's Scuba School in my off time until I graduated. After high school I joined the Marine Corps and did 5 years of service over seas. I continued diving whenever I could find time. Afterwards I attended the University of Connecticut and continued my diving education with Saam at the same time. I became a Divemaster and enjoyed working with other divers so much that I decided to become a dive Instructor. After school I decided to take my diving profession further and am also a certified commercial diver and work in the north east doing underwater construction.

Alex Hi, I am Alex. I first started diving back in 1988, mainly diving in the tropics. Because of love of diving, and desire to become more proficient in the New England waters, I continued my education with Advanced Diver, Master Diver and then with Rescue Diver so I could work as a training assistant. After refining my skills, my true love of sharing my knowledge with other divers lead me to become a Dive Master in 2014 and now an Instructor.