Robert Tupper: Answering the Siren Call of Scuba Diving
As associate director of alumni relations and annual programs, many people know Robert “Bob” Tupper from his efforts to bring together members of the Einstein community from across the world. However, there is much more to Bob “below the surface”: outside of work, he is an avid scuba diver and long-time instructor.
![Bob gives the universal “OK” sign to indicate all is fine.]()
Bob gives the universal “OK” sign to indicate all is fine.
The concept of floating through other worlds has always fascinated Bob, from a keen boyhood interest in space to a later curiosity with ocean exploration. Twenty-five years ago, around his birthday, he happened to pass by a scuba diving store that advertised a beginner’s course. On an impulse, he decided to “take the plunge,” as he put it.
He fell in love with scuba diving immediately and has devoted a significant amount of his free time to underwater adventures ever since. He even met his wife his on a scuba trip and, as much as possible, the couple takes their two sons diving at locations around the world, exploring the waters from Mozambique to the Cayman Islands.
Among his favorite locales is the South Pacific. “The coral is the healthiest of any I’ve seen anywhere,” he explained. He has also enjoyed exploring other parts of that far-reaching region of our planet, in particular off the coasts of Indonesia, the Red Sea, Palau in Micronesia, and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
One of his favorite locations is closer to home, however, in the Caribbean’s Cayman Islands. “I was there earlier this year and was dismayed to see how climate change and increasing pressures on the oceans have caused dramatic changes in the ecosystems,” he recalled. While he ascribes to “anytime in the water is a good time,” and there is always good diving, the visible effects on Cayman’s reefs and walls presented Bob with a stark reminder that our actions affect our planet home.
Taking the “Deep Dive” to Instructor
Soon after becoming certified to scuba dive, Bob completed a training program to become an instructor. “Someone suggested I would be good at it, so I decided to give it a try,” he said with a laugh, adding. “It also proves flattery can be a good motivator.”
![Diving is often a family activity enjoyed by all members of the Tupper clan. Here Bob’s wife and younger son check out an underwater wreck.]()
Diving is often a family activity enjoyed by all members of the Tupper clan. Here Bob’s wife and younger son check out an underwater wreck.
He has been a local instructor at Scuba New York, in Yonkers, for more than 15 years and has taught everybody from children in boy and girl scout troops to entire families, including grandparents in their 70s. “You’re never too old to learn to scuba dive,” he noted with a wag of his finger.
Delving into a Diversity of Diving
Diving in the Northeast is quite a unique experience, explained Bob. Unlike many of the other locations he has enjoyed, the water closest to home is often very cold and “visibility can be quite bad on some days.”
On good days, however, the premier type of diving Bob enjoys locally is wreck diving. While serious wreck diving is a separate certification – which he also has – there are some shallower wrecks that even beginners can explore.
“At a training quarry in Pennsylvania that we use, there’s a sunken school bus, a helicopter, and a firetruck for beginners to investigate.”
When asked about his favorite aspects of diving, Bob said, “There are two things that I especially love about scuba diving. The first is the feeling that you’re visiting a different world where you’re just a guest, but you get to watch amazing interactions between unusual creatures.” His smile is broad as he shares this insight.
“The other is how, with enough experience, scuba diving becomes very peaceful and zen-like, like you’re just suspended in the water and weightless. It’s kind of like I imagined it would be in my childhood fantasies.”
In that regard, out of all the types of scuba diving Bob has done, he loves night diving the most. “An entirely different set of organisms appear: the hard brain-like coral looks like it’s covered in velvet, octopuses and lobsters come out, and basket stars open their arms, sometimes three feet across,” he said, eyes sparkling at the memory of these sightings.
He added, “Even though everything takes on a bluish hue in the daytime, in the beam of your dive light, colors appear unbelievably vibrant at night. It can also be a little spooky.”
Rising to Any Underwater Occasion
![Take care where you foray, in case you meet a moray, eel, that is, as Bob did here.]()
Take care where you foray, in case you meet a moray, eel, that is, as Bob did here.
Luckily, Bob doesn’t scare easily in the water. While his students are sometimes nervous while learning to use the breathing apparatus, he feels fortunate that he has never felt uncomfortable underwater—even while swimming amid a circling school of barracuda.
Not even an experience with sharks at the bottom of the ocean could rattle Bob’s cage, though he remembers wondering, as he swam with others in the group through the swarming reef sharks, “Do they know they’re supposed to let us get to the cage first?”
While Bob has led many diving trips, one that has eluded him thus far is the opportunity to share his passion for scuba diving with Einstein students. “The pool in the Falk Center isn’t deep enough for a beginner’s course, and it might be tough to coordinate getting a group out to the one I use in Westchester,” he said.
Even so, as diving as taught him, it can help to go with the flow. So, he still hopes that someday he’ll be able to share his extensive diving experience with members of the Einstein community.
Posted on: Thursday, December 01, 2022