Diving Deep

A vacation to the Caribbean in 2006 introduced Robert (Bob) Hamilton to scuba diving.

Within two years he had become a dive instructor (along the way he had to master several skill levels, including open water diver, advanced open water diver, rescue diver, dive master and finally, dive instructor). And for the past eight years, Hamilton has been a scuba instructor in the Department of Health and Wellness Studies at Binghamton University.

“That seems to be the kind of person I am,” he says. “Something in my blood makes me want to teach people the things I like to do.”

In addition to teaching scuba, Hamilton is an emergency medical technician, ski instructor and firefighting instructor.

Hamilton combines two methods in teaching classes at Binghamton: the first half of the class he focuses on the theory associated with diving and the second half he has students in the pool putting those theories into practice. His curriculum for the class comes from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, the world’s largest recreational-diving membership and diver-training organization.

Most students have the same issue when they begin the course, according to Hamilton. “The initial idea of breathing underwater is so foreign to people,” he says. “Breaking that fear down is probably the hardest thing we have to challenge.”

Hamilton’s dives have taken him all around the world, including Truk Lagoon in the central Pacific, the sight of a massive battle during World War II; the Great Barrier Reef; and the Silfra Fissure in Iceland, where one can swim between two tectonic plates.

“In this trench, I was able to put my hands up and touch one wall — it was North America; the other wall was Europe,” he says. “It’s the only place in the world you can do that.”

Hamilton’s favorite diving location — Bonaire, an island 35 miles east of Aruba. He describes it as an island tailored for divers.

“Bonaire’s whole economy is based on diving or the manufacture of sea salt. So, they really cater to the divers,” he says. “It is one of the few places I’ve been in the world where you can get in a car and drive anywhere up and down the shoreline and they have premarked dive sites.”

As for the future of the diving program at the University, Hamilton says Health and Wellness Studies offers both open and advanced open water diving, but they would consider expanding the program to include rescue diving if there was enough interest.

“I just love sharing the sport; when somebody gets me talking about scuba, it’s hard to shut me up,” Hamilton says. “Very few people get to see the underwater world and it’s quite spectacular. By teaching, I can share those experiences.”