We are a cottage industry servicing Commercial harvesters, Public Safety divers, Professional instructor level training, and Technical dive training. We do not have normal hours but answer every call through a 24-hour answering service. Leave a message of your needs and we can meet you or travel to your location. We might be on-site, but we recommend you call before traveling to our location.
We Carry most equipment needed for commercial harvesting. We offer professional training classes for Technical, Public Safety, and Instructor level courses.
We continue to offer services to assist our clients: Repairs, cylinder inspections, gear service, and specialized products.
Don Kinney is the owner and lead instructor for Hoodsport ‘N Dive and Cylinder Training Services (CTS). Don began recreational diving in 1985 in Colorado and took his first warm water vacation in Akumal Mexico. He moved from Advanced Nitrox to Trimix and took any class he could find to gain knowledge in this area. After completing his Advanced Trimix classes he decided to take the leap into the recreational / technical professional levels. He started off as a recreational dive instructor and over time became a Trimix instructor trainer.
In 2001, while working in Hoodsport, Washington on the Hood Canal, Don started teaching commercial harvest divers in open water diving and then teamed up with Ron Ault and began a full-service instruction program of Surface Supplied Air diving (SSA). The training program expanded and went from the Hood Canal area to the broader area of western Washington. Hoodsport’N Dive has the privilege of training members of many Northwest tribes including Skokomish, Tulalip, Swinomish, Lummi, Puyallup, Port Gamble, Jamestown, and Squaxin (to name but a few of our many native American tribes). Most recently Don has expanded the SSA training to not only include commercial harvesters but to other individuals and teams using surface supplied equipment.
Ron Ault started filling tanks in propane and espresso stand in Potlatch and then moved to the old shop located north of Hoodsport. He later moved to the present dive shop in 2008. He brings with him years of experience underwater, first diving mud holes in central Texas as a kid. He grew up and moved on to salvage diving in the navy and joined the prestigious Navy Experimental Diving Unit in its early days. He was the first person to dive below 1000 feet in the open ocean. What’s it look like down there? “Much like the concrete floor of the dive shop,” he says, “but with a real soft bottom.”
After leaving the Navy, Ron took some underwater jobs in construction and salvage and did an exciting stint in the sewers of New York City. He came to Washington state in 1975 and started a long career in commercial harvesting of geoducks, urchins, and sea cucumbers. He figures he’s walked the entire bottom of the state’s inland waters down to about 70 feet and much of the open coast as well.
Ron hasn’t slowed down on telling sea tales and he’s usually ready to tell you one anytime the shop’s not too busy.
Darnell Foskett (Commercial Accounts):
It is my responsibility to find students to train to become commercial harvesters and to arrange REFRESH classes to ensure safe practices for Surface Supplied Air diving. I arrange Mobile Sales to bring our products to the harvesters to keep them safe and equipped for the job.
I am a Scuba diver, but actually prefer coming alongside students to make their experience as comfortable as possible. Thus, I am present at SSA classes serving as surface support. When not in a class, I set up services for vessel owners as well as keep in contact with our valued commercial clients to provide equipment.
Gabriela Houston – Accounts executive. Makes sure bills are paid and invoices processed in a timely manner.
Phillip Berg was a happy child until the tragic untimely deaths of his father and mother Thomas and Martha on a night out to the theater… Oh wait that was Batman!
Phil is a Paramedic in the local community. Phil learned to dive in 2013 when he was a member of the American Ambulance Rescue team in Fresno California. Phil spent many years responding to 911 calls for rescue and training new members. In 2009 Phil moved back to Washington to be closer to family and continued to dive for fun. Phil joined the team at Hoodsport ‘N Dive in the summer of 2015 and has progressed to the level of Divemaster. He assists Instructors with teaching classes as well as leading guided dives and helping divers with skill enhancement.
