About us - Dive St. Maarten

Willem

Did you know Sint Maarten – Saint Martin has some unique diving sites to explore. If you like to visit the underwater-world check out Dive Sint Maarten in Philipsburg.

Owner Willem Dekker is a retired Dutch Marine that has lived in the Caribbean for over 40 years. As a marine he was stationed in the Caribbean but soon decided he never wanted to leave. After his carreer as a Marine he owned and operated the radio station Dolfijn FM in Curacao for many years, before moving to SXM 19 years ago.

Willem has a passion for horses and so started at Lucky Stables and the bay side riding club (now Seaside Nature Park). He also operated as a Boat captain for parasailing and Octopus diving in Philipsburg before deciding to take over the dive company

Under a new name “Dive Sint Maarten”, Willem and his team took the challenge upon themselves to become one of islands finest Dive centers. Operating from Philipsburg they take people on Diving excursions at many of the great dive sites in SXM. They are also certified for diving or refreshment courses to teach you everything from A to Z to go in the water safe and secure. More recently, Dive Sint Maarten developed a separate team that assisted in salvage diving and wreck cleaning in the lagoon for the NRPB.

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Natalie

Now 25, Natalie started diving at 16, in a cold dark lake in Virginia. She got certified as a marine biologist.

In 2019 she earned her Bachelor’s degree from William and Mary, Virginia. and after graduation drove 16 hours to Florida where she received PADI instructor certification.

Her passion in Marine Biology and has spent quite some time doing research for a dolphin communication project in Florida and in Bimini, The Bahamas.

In 2020 she was about to move to Hawaii to start her career as a dive instructor, but due to covid-19, had to stay behind in Virginia Beach. She then became a dive instructor at the very same store she received her Open water certification when she was 16. She dove in the dark lake for about a year and a half until she found the opportunity to move to the Caribbean where she became a Dive instructor here at Dive Sint Maarten.

In her free time, she enjoys long walks on the beach, hiking, writing, and reading but her biggest passion is diving and under water sea life.