About Us

Jim Abernethy has been in the diving business in Palm Beach County as a charter boat operator and scuba instructor since 1981. He has an amazing enthusiasm for diving and spreads that enthusiasm to everyone around him. In 1994, Jim purchased his first dive boat and started Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures, Inc. (JASA), One year later he added a second boat and for the next four years he continued to run local dive charters in Palm Beach while also leading dive trips to land based and live-aboard destinations throughout the Caribbean.

In 1999 JASA expanded by adding a third day boat and a 12-passenger live-aboard boat. A dream come true for Jim as he would now be able to spend an equal amount of time in their two favorite dive locations, Palm Beach and the Bahamas.

Our friendly, professional and knowledgeable staff is what sets us apart. With a staff of over twenty dedicated individuals, we look forward to sharing the best of Palm Beach and the Bahamas with you. Whether you're an "old salt", an occasional diver, or brand new to the sport, we're sure you'll enjoy our diving adventures with our trained captains, instructors and dive masters who are there to insure you have a great time.

Jim is proud of the way JASA has grown and look forward to continuing to provide the very best in diving adventures, in a safe, professional, and fun environment.

JASA is committed to the environment and works closely with organizations that have the same goals and objectives. That is to protect our oceans by educating divers and non-divers on how precious and sensitive they and their inhabitants are. Whether it is turtles, sharks, or the general heath of our waters, we believe that all need our help to survive so they can be shared with the next generation of divers.

Our Staff

Jim Abernethy — Owner

Jim Abernethy, award-winning underwater photographer, filmmaker, and author, is a pioneer in shark encounters, without a cage. Starting at a young age, scuba diving served as an inspiration for his life's mission as a conservationist and has enabled him to interact with some of the most notorious sharks. For decades, he has been running photography/video expeditions to engage with the world's largest predatory sharks-Abernethy pioneered shark encounters without a cage (day and night) with tiger sharks, great hammerheads, oceanic white tips, bull, and lemon sharks. It should be noted that Jim is best known as an extremely passionate crusader for their protection.

His award-winning marine life images are often featured in top photography magazines such as Wetpixel and Nature's Best Photography. Jim lives at sea, in the Bahamas, running shark expeditions and wild dolphin encounters year round on his boat, "Shear Water." His dive business, Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures Inc., is based in West Palm Beach, FL.

Abernethy has hosted many of the world's top nature filmmakers and magazines such as IMAX, National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Animal Planet, and the Discovery Channel. He owns the "Marine Life Art Gallery" in West Palm Beach, FL, where his captivating images and educational books are available. When he's not below sea level, Jim is often seen piloting his flying inflatable boat (ultra-light), "Oversear," in order to capture nature at sea with his lens from an aerial perspective.

While Abernethy is well known as a photographer and passionate conservationist, it's his unique ability to bring divers up close to some of the world's largest predatory sharks, turning them into strong passionate ambassadors to save them, which sets him apart from all others. His relentless pursuit of his life's mission is to save the planet's ocean creatures, starting with sharks, through his photography, books, films, and presentations.

Christina ‘Cris’ Williams

Office Manager / PADI Dive Master / Nitrox Blending Technician

Cris started working with us in June of 2007, but had been diving with us long before that when she worked at a local dive shop. She graduated from FAU with a BS in Marine Ecology. She has done internships in Key Largo with the Marine Lab and was part of the FOS research dive team. With her IFAS Master Naturalist certification she is definitely the one to talk to about all the local wildlife both above and below the ocean. You can normally find Cris running the office or as a dive guide on our Palm Beach dive boat. Her bubbly personality is sure to make your experience at JASA very enjoyable. We are very fortunate to have her in our family.

Lazaro Ruda

Once a faithful customer, Laz joined the JASA team. He quit his day job as a web designer to pursue his love of diving. He is now officially a certified dive bum. Laz is extremely talented in underwater photography as well as "Mr. Fix It" when it comes to computers. You will find Laz running around between working on our web-site, guiding on Deep Obsession, or as a crew member on the Shear Water. His love for the ocean is evident by the smile you find on his face whether he is on, in, nearby or writing about the water! We are so lucky to have him a part of our team.

Allison Knox

Allison started diving in June 2003 in New Jersey's Seaville Quarry. She braved the cold, dark waters of the quarry in order to participate in an internship program in the Florida Keys. After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Marine Sciences from Richard Stockton College, she moved to Florida and became a PADI Staff Instructor. In February 2007, Allison joined our JASA family. Her drive to teach others about our beautiful underwater world is what makes Allison such an important member of our team. Through knowledge and enthusiasm, she hopes to help others come to appreciate and protect the natural world.

Jim Harris

Jim started diving in the 60's before BCDs. He took a long surface interval and became a PADI professional in 1994 and has been teaching all levels of SCUBA training up to and including Assistant Instructor, as well as several DAN courses. Jim comes to us from Danbury, Connecticut (originally from Hewlett, Long Island) where he was employed full time as a Facilities Engineer and electrician in a computer industry supply company in Brookfield, CT. He was the senior instructor in Pan Aqua Diving's Connecticut store since 1996 (that's because he was the oldest one there). Through his tenure at Pan Aqua Diving, Jim was able to travel around several islands in the Caribbean and also to Fiji, his favorite dive site. Jim still loves to bring the underwater world to new divers and also to train divers in specialties. However, he is not doing any more ice diving classes! "Diving is one of my true passions and it was difficult to pursue my dream in the northern climate. The only option I saw was to go for it and leave it all behind and move to paradise. I am so fortunate to be able to chase my dream and to share it with others." When Jim's not working on the boat you can find him playing ice hockey (in Florida!) somewhere.

Janine Dunick

Janine began diving the reefs of Palm Beach back in 1987. She began working with Jim Abernethy when he was with Seapro and at Three Little Devils dive charters. After a long absence from diving, during which time she had four wonderful children, she has returned to the JASA family once again. Janine was the inspiration for the name of one of our beautiful reefs here in Palm Beach — Janine's Ravine. When she is not busy working in the office she is out fun diving on our boat or out snorkeling with her kids.

Zach Nolan

Zach is a native Floridian who has been in and around water since his first set of skis at the age of 6. Taking advantage of local conditions as a teen, he was often found surfing the same coast that he dives today. Zach has been diving since 1983 and a PADI Pro since 2002. He joined the JASA team in 2004. His love of the ocean along with his sense of adventure and "eternal optimism" show up on the boat on a regular basis.

Jamin Martinelli

Jamin started diving in the warm waters of Roatan, Honduras in 2004. Jamin only likes diving in warm waters, and has lived in Hawaii and now Florida & the Bahamas. Jamin joined JASA in 2009 and spends most of her time on the MV Shearwater in the engine room. When she is not in the engine room youll find her enjoying dives at Tiger Beach with Jamin Shark (tiger shark named after her). Jamin hopes to one day see a great white shark up close and shell even travel to cold waters to see them! Because of her love for sharks, she created a bikini company which features shark prints. Check out her bikinis at her web site.

Mike Black

Mike starting diving in 1992 in the waters of Mexico and found his way to JASA in 2009. Mike joined the MV Shearwater crew as captain and cook, not to mention a film producer! Yes Mike is famous for his bloopers videos aboard the Shearwater which always make the guest laugh. Mikes first dive with Emma, the 14 ft tiger shark, was very memorable for him, the sweat filled his mask and the dive lasted 3 minutes! Now as the founder of Bates 2000, Mike will be up close to the sharks taking video of their amazing teeth!

Matt Heath

Matt was certified in Key West, FL in 2006, but didnt do much diving because he lived in Illinois. So in 2009 he decided to move to Florida and become a PADI Instructor so that he could work with divers and sharks. Matt went on a Tiger Beach trip with JASA and knew right away that he would love to work up close with LARGE sharks and joined the JASA team in 2010. Matt is known to the crew as the Matador because he is in charge of protecting the crates from Emma the Tiger Shark.

Brian Chouiniere

Brian came to us in July 2010 from Ft. Myers, FL and has been a terrific addition to the JASA family. Certified in Portsmouth, NH in 1983, Brian started working in the diving industry in 1986 as a store employe/class assistant for Underwater Connection of Abilene, TX while serving in the military. Upon his retirement in 1995 Brian worked again as a store employee but also got his instructor certification with Capitaland Scuba Center of Latham, NY. Brian then moved to Ft. Myers, FL. in January 2003 and enjoyed diving primarily in the Gulf of Mexico with friends and the occasional trips to the West Palm Beach area, Ft. Lauderdale and the Keys.

Brian served as the dive directory and club president of the Caloosa Dive Club of Southwest, FL. Brian's many travel destinations include Maui, Cozumel, Bonaire, The Republic of the Philippines and every state in the continental U.S. Brian's primary duties these days including running daily trips on the Deep Obsession, dive guiding, maintenance on both boats in our fleet, maintenance on office equipment and servicing dive equipment. When he has any free time he enjoys boating on his 23' boat, Surfacetime, kayaking, biking and photography of critters at local nature preserves with his fiance, Janine Ferguson. You can tell his love of the entire diving experience from his wonderful personality and exciting attitude.

Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay began diving with her dad at the age of 12 in 2001. As a recent graduate of Wesleyan University (CT), Lindsay moved to sunny Florida for the summer to complete her Divemaster training with JASA. On her first dive in Palm Beach she swam with a whale shark and has been hooked ever since, joining the JASA team at the end of the summer of 2011. Lindsay is currently working toward becoming a doctor and when not on the boat she can be found studying organic chemistry and physics, on her bike, or swimming.

Jay Castellano

Jay began his professional diving career in 2011 with JASA. In Jay«s first week here, he swam with both a whale shark and a manta ray. Then and there, the decision was clear and he escaped to our paradise from the dry, heartless desert of the 9-to-5 workday in Las Vegas. Currently working as the chef on the MV Shear Water, he is known for his shark tagging zebra pants, stuffed mushrooms and delicious bouillabaisse.