Meet The Team

Alison Dennis, Our Founder

Alison has been diving and teaching scuba in Cozumel since 1992 after moving to Cozumel from California. She took her PADI instructors’ course from Karen and Ralph Erickson, the President and Founder of PADI! She worked for Dive Palancar when first in Cozumel, becoming a NAUI instructor and a PADI Master Instructor and trained hundreds of divers and dive professionals. In 2000, Alison struck out on her own and started Scuba with Alison and began a legacy of providing a great dive experience for customers. Alison based her philosophy on a few key points: 1. Every diver receives personalized service. It should feel like diving with friends. 2. Every trip will be custom tailored to the divers on the boat. 3. The dive groups should be small. 4. Your dive time should be limited only by air supply or computer no decompression limits….and not based on a preset schedule. 5. Long surface intervals for safety. 6. Keep the schedules flexible and leisurely to better serve clients. 7. Safety is the key. Every trip should be fun, but safety is most important. After more than 30 years, Alison has stepped back a bit into semi-retirement. She still takes the occasional dive trip out, but she is trying to enjoy a bit more free time, especially with her new chihuahua Margarita who wants a ton of her attention. She still makes sure that everything lives up to her expectations and the great service she has provided for years. Alison can be reached at alison@scubawithalison.com

Carlos May, Our Captain and Dive Master

Carlos is our fabulous boat captain. We swear he can smell the diver’s bubble and know right where they are. He will get out to the best dive site and back like a flash. Full of warmth and humor, you can be sure he will have you laughing. His experience as a Captain makes him one of the most respected in Cozumel. He keeps the Maximus running in tip top shape. Carlos has been certified diver master for some years and often fills that role when needed. Carlos says, “I love working on the sea and I love providing our clients with the best scuba trips. The reefs in Cozumel are so beautiful and different. I enjoy showing divers the treasures of Cozumel and spending time on the Maximus with them. Please come and spend some time with us!” More than 35 years ago, he began working on the sea as a captain of small boats. After that he spent time on a private yacht call the Three Dwarves, owned by our local tank filling station. He went on to work for a few other dive ops in Cozumel before joining Scuba with Alison in 2000. If it has a motor, he can either drive it or fix it! Carlos and his wife of more than 30 years have a home in Cozumel where they raised two sons, Christian Omar and David Orlando. Carlos also has a beautiful daughter Karla Valentina and a granddaughter Emily. Family is an important part of Carlos’ live. Soccer is almost as important… If there is anything you need on the boat, let Carlos know!

Israel Novelo,

Israel has been with the company for more than 10 years and is so important to keeping it running. We call him the chauffeur and you may not notice him working in his quiet way, but he gets the tanks and set up the gear on the boat. He keeps the gear clean and ready to go. He also takes care of all the logistical needs of the operation and helps with much of the paperwork to keep the boat afloat. If it needs done, we look to Israel to do it. Israel says, “It’s a pleasure to be able to serve customers and have them feel satisfied and happy with our services. I like my job and enjoy the work. It’s a pleasure to work at Scuba with Alison. Thank you for spending time with us!” Israel, originally from Campeche, MX, has been a resident of Cozumel for a long time. He and his wife of 30 years, Diana Karina Andueza Sandoval own a home in Colonia Flamigos. They have two children, Shuudy Novelo Andueza and Karina Novelo Andueza and a few grandchildren! In his free time, he likes playing music with his electric bass and of course watching soccer. He previously worked in accounting and as an assistant for another dive op before coming to us. If you see Israel in the marina, be sure to thank him. We are very thankful to have him on the team!

Susanita, Reservations

Susanita will help you lock in your diving trip. You got questions? She has answers or will get them for you. Susan says, “I love diving in Cozumel. When we first came, I was a new diver and a bit of the nervous Nellie. Here at Scuba with Alison, we get that and want to help you feel comfortable! Let us know what we can do!” A former Spanish teacher, she would now rather spend her time crawling along the bottom of the sea and taking pictures of whatever tiny sea life she can find.

Richard "El Jefe"

Director of Social Media and Performer of Odd Jobs. El Jefe as we call him maintains our social media, helps with guest reservations, and solves whatever problems he can for us. Retired after 30+ years in US law enforcement where he got the nickname “El Jefe” or Chief, he would now prefer to spend some time under water or holding a margarita. However, he still has his problem-solving skills and works every day (a little) to improve our social media presence and otherwise find ways to improve and streamline our operations. He can also tell you a few great places to eat from cheap to expensive and who has a great margarita!

The "Fleet"

The large, fast, comfortable dive boat Maximus

We are very proud of our Maximus and think it’s probably one of the best dive boats in Cozumel. Generally, you will find two kinds of dive boats in Cozumel.

Smaller boats, with not much room to move around, require rollback entry. These boats take one small group. They generally have limited shade and protection from the elements. They tend to be faster but can give a rougher ride when seas are up.

Larger boats are more comfortable with room to move around. However, they tend to be slower and most of them take multiple groups. Do you want to go diving with 20 other people? Also, when they break into smaller groups, it means the boat must look after multiple groups in different parts of the reef.

The Maximus is a converted Bertram style fishing boat with big, powerful outboards. With the Maximus we have all three of the best things to have:

First it is large. We have room to move around. We have a cabin and covered area to get out of the weather if needed. We have lots of sun protection. Or you can sun yourself on the surface interval on the bow. We have room to store your dry gear out of the weather and away from wet divers. You can even change clothes in the cabin if you are in a rush for lunch. We believe in being comfortable. We have two spots for a giant stride entry.
Second it is FAST. Did you come on vacation to spend a lot of time riding on the boat? No! We want to get to the dive sites FAST and let you spend your time underwater. The Maximus is sporting new 200HP Yamaha outboards. We pass everyone on the way south to dive; we don’t get passed. However, because we are a large boat, we provide a smoother ride than the small boats.
We only take one small group. We never have more than 8 divers on the Maximus. You get all of our attention, and our Captain is always right with you. We don’t believe in the big ‘cattle boat’ model where you and your 30 new friends get scattered all over the reef. Does it cost us more to run a big fast boat with a small group? Sure, but we think it’s worth it to give our clients the best experience diving in Cozumel!