Baltic waters may not be the clearest and warmest of all seas, but they contain plenty of wrecks and other uncovered secrets. These waters are home for Sami Paakkarinen, one of the topmost European dive instructors. Sami took his first steps as a diver in 1995 when he participated CMAS P1 course at southern coast of Finland. It only took one dive to know that participating in underwater adventures was the path to follow. A few years ago Sami was ready for the major leap. He had trained as a diver and an instructor long enough to become a full-time professional. "This was the best decision of my life", Sami summarizes his current career choice.
Sami is an eager explorer, both in caves and at sea. He has been to numerous Baltic wrecks as the first diver, uncovering many stories of especially WWII wrecks. With his camera, he has documented this long series of discoveries, making his expedition presentations popular.
As a cave diver, his passion is to push the limits. Many deep and extremely long dives has given him the experience required for mapping the most demanding caves all around the world.
Sami is a well-known CCR instructor, his battered JJ being a familiar sight. He is working in close cooperation with many equipment manufacturers and training organizations. Sami is a frequent visitor at not just many dive shows but also governmental and military professional diver meetings around the world.
Sami is well-known about his achievements in Plura cave, both exploring one of the deepest traverses in the world and organizing a much publicized rescue mission during spring of 2014, recovering the bodies of two friends lost in the cave.
Sami has been a part of many expeditions. These challenges have moulded his philosophy in many ways, though not changing his adventurous and joyous nature. His friends know that there is always a practical joke or two waiting if you are not paying attention.
For more information, e-mail Sami at sami.paakkarinen@gmail.com
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