In memory of Bjorn Täckmann

PHUKET: Bjorn Täckmann, an important member of the dive community in Phuket and Thailand, passed away on January 6 in a hospital in Surat Thani.

He had been diagnosed with cancer last year.

Mr Täckmann started diving in 1983 and moved from Denmark to Thailand in 1993 as a PADI Dive Instructor. Since then he has ushered thousands into the underwater world. But it was 1996 that he achieved the highest level of PADI diving certification – course director. He is still the only Course Director in the world to receive the prestigious PADI Instructor Development award four times.

Bennon Brandon, Manager for Dive Asia, who had worked with Mr Täckmann for many years recalled how passionate he was about teaching people to dive.

“He helped a lot of people enter this industry over many, many years. He touched many people’s lives and made them better, and we miss him a hell of a lot,” Mr Brandon said.

“You could never stop learning from him. He was like a fountain of knowledge. You knew that you were in the presence of someone that was truly great at what he did,” Simon Creed, an instructor at Dive Asia and former student of Mr Täckmann, said.

Bjorn Täckmann will be remembered and his presence in Phuket missed.

He is survived by his wife and son.