About Us
Owner - Derek Dunlop
I have always been fascinated with the underwater world. I volunteered at the North Carolina Aquarium when I was a kid and was always snorkeling, usually trying to catch snakes and turtles, or collect golf balls at the local golf course to earn some pocket money.
When I graduated high school I did my open water training in a cold quarry in Tennessee. Not long after doing that course, I booked a last minute livaboard trip on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. I continued to dive recreationally throughout university and ended up diving all around the world after graduating whilst working a variety of jobs. I completed my divemaster training in Cozumel.
Not long after my training in Cozumel, I got a job in Florida. I initially pictured coral reefs and white sandy beaches like most people do when they think of Florida. However, what I found out was that the main dive scene was focused around the freshwater springs and the caves attached to them. My divemaster training didn't really qualify me for much in the overhead environment.
I soon took a cavern course and immediately was hooked. Over the next several years I was diving as much as I could and as many caves as I could. Being based in Gainesville allows me to reach the majority of Florida caves within a hour or two drive. I have now been a "cave diver" for seven years and its been an incredible journey as a diver. Now I mainly dive a rebreather, and a typical dive is several hours long. Not to say I don't dive the ocean anymore, I try to do so at any opportunity I get.
How Gainesville Scuba started....
The first thing someone realizes when getting into diving, especially any sort of technical diving, is that there just seems to be a insurmountable mountain of equipment needed. One tank, turns into two tanks, and next thing you know there are a dozen of them around in various sizes with different breathing mixtures. You have backmount gear, sidemount gear, jacket style BC's, backplates and wings, the list
goes on and on.
As my diving progressed, I would sell the odd item here and there on various scuba forums. Those extra bucks would help me buy that new piece of gear I was needing, or to fix my rebreather, etc. After doing this a few times, I would get local divers approach me and ask me to help them sell their gear.
I have traditionally sold most of the gear I have on various scuba forums or Facebook, but it was getting to be too much and inconvenient for people to see everything I do have for sale. So I thought it would be best to offer everything on my own website where it is hopefully easier for you to find what you need and hopefully save you some money versus what traditional retail costs.
If you need something or not sure what you might need, feel free to reach out to me. I enjoy talking about diving almost as much as actually diving.