Fifty Years of Adventure
Dive BVI began as a small, 100 sq-ft shop born from the vision of treasure hunter Bert Kilbride and the drive of ex-Marine Joe Giacinto in 1975. Now led by Casey and Jeff McNutt, the company has grown into a cornerstone of BVI tourism, offering dive education, day trips, charters and conservation-focused services across the islands.
Dive BVI’s story is woven into the modern history of diving in the British Virgin Islands. The idea first came from legendary treasure hunter Bert Kilbride — often called the last pirate of the Caribbean — and was formalised in 1975 when Joe Giacinto, a 30-year-old Vietnam veteran and former IBM salesman, registered Dive BVI as a limited company.
What began with a 24-ft centre-console boat, 16 rusty tanks and no local compressor soon became a durable local enterprise. Joe learned to dive at Camp Pendleton in 1968, turned instructor within a few years and opened Dive BVI’s tiny shop at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour. In 1976 he installed the first Bauer compressor at the harbour, ending the unsustainable routine of ferrying tanks to Marina Cay for fills.
The business expanded to Leverick Bay in 1990 and returned to Marina Cay in 1995, steadily building a reputation for training, safety and local knowledge. A new generation arrived in 2003 when Casey and Jeff McNutt from East Texas answered Joe’s call to keep operations running. They turned loss-making locations into profitable ones, became General Managers in 2005 and, after a change of ownership, assumed partnership roles.
The company moved its Marina Cay operation to Scrub Island in 2010, and the McNutts have since guided Dive BVI into its modern era while honouring Joe, who passed away at the end of 2024. Today Dive BVI is one of only two SCUBAPRO platinum dealers in the Caribbean, selling and servicing equipment and providing air and Nitrox fills, rentals and dive education.
Day trips depart from Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour at 9:00am and Scrub Island at 9:30am several days a week, with packages including the Virgin Gorda Explorer, Island Hopper Cruise, Underwater Safari and Jost van Dyke Discovery. Private charters run aboard Sea Bandit, a 32-ft Worldcat, and two custom 36-ft Newton dive boats, Sea Dragon and Sea Monkey.
For BVI residents Dive BVI represents more than a tourism operator — it is a long-standing employer, a training centre for local divers, and an active promoter of marine conservation. Through five decades it has weathered storms, supported thousands of visitors and residents, and remains a leader in safety, environmental awareness and professional dive education across the territory.
Primary source: VI Property&Yacht