Staff

Yuval "UV" Tamari - Base Leader & PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT) Instructor

After leaving his birthplace, the Holy City of Jerusalem, “UV” made his way to Southern California where he spent 25 years living the ho-hum, humdrum life of a successful International Marketing Executive in the field of Specialty Silicon Micro-electronics.

 While snorkeling during a family vacation in the Central American nation of Belize, Yuval found himself playing with the bubbles of the divers 60 feet below him. They seemed to be having a great time swimming with the fish, instead of above them like he was. Immediately upon returning home, UV enrolled in a PADI OPEN WATER Course, and became a certified diver. Never a fan of cold, especially the cold southern California Pacific, Yuval went on a short break to dive in the warm, crystal clear, Blue Magic Waters  of the Caribbean Sea that surround that lush, tropical Paradise that is Cozumel.

Upon his return to California, and to the horror of his wife, his employer, his friends and most other sane people, Yuval quit his high-paying, executive position and went diving. He hasn’t stopped since.

Yuval traveled the Caribbean, eventually reaching the Bay Islands of Honduras, where he underwent extensive training and became certified as a PADI Open Water Instructor. A short time later, “UV” reached the professional level of PADI MSDT. Yuval continued to travel and dive around the world, and eventually returned to one of his favorite dive locations: Cozumel.

UV invites you to come diving with him and his team for an unforgettable underwater adventure!

Rumors that Yuval’s grandfather imported and refined an old European brewing method to Japan (what has since become known in Japan and the rest of the world as “the Tamari method” of Soy Sauce fermentation) persist, although concrete evidence to that effect has remained classified and has not yet been made public. The Japanese government continues the mystery by insisting on a “no comment” policy.

Enrique "Pumbaa" Ascencio - PADI Certified Divemaster

 Enrique "Pumbaa" joined Blue Magic Scuba in January, 2009. Pumbaa was born on the mainland in Campeche. Most of his family is still on the mainland, but he has threer brothers that all live on the island. Pumbaa and his wife Maria have two children, Dennis 18 and Christopher 9, and one grandchild. Pumbaa has been living "in and around" the ocean for over twenty-five years, and he has been leading dives as a dive master on Cozumel for over fifteen years. He loves being near the ocean, on the ocean, in the ocean, and diving is his love. In addition to being an accomplished divemaster, Pumbaa has also worked as a chef. He enjoys cooking for family and friends and we can personally attest to his kitchen prowess !

Alvara "Acha" Perazo Pech - Captain

Alvaro "Acha" joined Blue Magic in January, 2010 as our Capatain. Acha was born in a tiny town outside of Merida, the capital city of the Yucatan. always loving the ocean, Acha learned his trade when he decided to become the captain of commercial fishing boats on the mainland. He worked as a captain for eight years in Port Telchac. He came to Cozumel about fifteen years ago, which is when he started to learn about Cozumel's reefs and now has an extremely good knowledge of everything related to Cozumel's diving community. Achas has three children, ranging in ages from 10 to 13, two boys and a girl, all born on the island. Acha's sister also lives on Cozumel, but the rest of his family is stil on the mainland. Acha's dream was always to work on the ocean. He enjoys baseball, basketball and cooking for his family.

Jorge Aguayo - Sales Representative

Jorge was born on the island of Cozumel and has made his living in the hotel and dive business for over 25 years. He loves the island and meeting new people who come to visit and dive the reefs. Jorge is the sales representative for Blue Magic Scuba. He interfaces with hotels, travel agencies and cruise lines. Jorge loves the dive business because it turns out that diving is his favorite thing to do when he is not working (although he always seems to be working) !

Francisco "Poty" Wilson Zapata - COO, Assistant Operations Manager, Wing Commander

Francisco "Poty" is one of the original employees of Blue Magic. He is an island native (his Dad is from Cuba) and has a large family - four brothers and two sisters, most of whom still live on Cozumel. Poty and his wife Aurea have one child, a boy, Axel, who is 3 years old. If you want to know anything about how to get things done on Cozumel, Poty is the one to ask! He is instrumental in getting the boats out with the right equipment and supplies at the right time, on time, every time !

Joyce Mustin

Joyce is a native Californian who grew up in San Francisco. Joyce started her career in the corporate banking industry, working for Wells Fargo Bank in California and Chicago. She left banking several years ago and started her own executive recruiting business which she grew successfully for ten years before selling her interests.

She was looking for another business to invest in and along the way became addicted to scuba diving. Joyce was initially certified in the cold waters off the Sonoma Coast of California but found true love when her sister introduced her to diving on Cozumel. Joyce didn't hesitate when she was given the opportunity to become a co-owner of Blue Magic Scuba. Joyce spends most of her time in Cozumel now and has grown to adore the island and it's people. Joyce is “Mom” to two children (hardly kids - as they are now 25 and 27 years old).

Mark Gaterud

Mark is also a co-owner of Blue Magic Scuba and lives in Santa Rosa, California. Born in New Jersey, Mark has spent all of his working life in the medical device industry. Mark swore he suffered from seasonal affective disorder and left the cold, grey winters of the Northeast to move to an island off the west coast of Florida called Anna Maria. Mark started his own consulting company there and was also involved in a venture backed restart of a company in Sydney, Australia. He then moved to Phoenix, Arizona, but craving water, Mark joined another medical device company in Santa Rosa ten years ago.

Mark was certified along with Joyce in the waters off the Sonoma Coast but realized that there is much more to life after diving in the British Virgin Islands. Always attracted to the Caribbean, he was quick to support the decision to purchase a dive operation in Cozumel. Mark is not quite as lucky as Joyce however, as he continues to work and reside in California.