100days-a-year
Contributor
I started diving and snorkeling very young and as a result of being a military brat and the joining the USN got to travel and dive in a lot of places worldwide until 1987 when I got out of the Navy and settled down to living in Florida and pursuing a lot of other hobbies as well.
In 1998 my wife decided she'd get certified and we'd spend more time together diving..oh boy.
We'd been going to the Keys every summer to fish and for me to dive and I dove locally a little.We had a boat and so did a lot of friends so opportunity abounded.
New Years Eve 1999 into 1/1/2000 we were 3 of 7 people who dove Looe Key and surfaced to a calm mirror like ocean reflecting the ongoing fireworks from Key west.Marathon and Little Palm Island.The next 7 years we spent all of August in the Keys diving almost every day buying fills a hundred at a time and having friends visit from all over a week or so at a time.We would dive locally and trailer the boat to St. Augustine,Sebastian or Ponce on occasion often diving Sat and Sun.
As we acquired knowledge of the areas we started getting off the beaten path finding coordinates to wrecks and areas rarely dove if even known.I became acquainted with local charters and commercial dive boats and would part time with them when
I could or if my business was slow.During 2004 to present I got the opportunity to dive with the professional guys from Canaveral to North Carolina.
I really did not know how lucky I had been until we started wreck tallies at night with other divers while on vacation and my wife who dove about 1/3 of my totals would always be among the ones who'd seen the most while every time I was at the top and folks would ask how we could afford it on our admitted middle class jobs.We read here and talked to other who'd forsaken the next big purchase to live simpler and spend more time with friends and family than working.
My tally was from north to south and only hitting few per area had Cassimir,Normania,Houston,18fathom wreck,Governor,Peconic,Addie Daniels,Gulf America,Casablanca,Bear,Halsey,Bibb,Queen of Nassau,Wilkes Barre and countless other natural and artificial including dozens if not more planes, helicopters,steel and wooden wrecks.Trading and buying coordinates then searching for them became a pastime,not so much looking for anything valuable but to see something new.
The species list includes everything from right whales,mola,manta,great white,tiger shark,jewfish,warsaws,tons of nudibranchs,tropicals,invertebrates to the common like porkfish and grunts.So much so we find stuff not in Ned DeLoaches awesome guides and have to use google or fishbase to identify them.
Currently we take care of my MIL who is 96 has dementia and breast cancer so joint trips are out unless very short.I still get out a lot and part time commercially averaging about 400 dives a year from the Keys to North Carolina with occasion forays into the Gulf.When my MIL is gone my DW would like to get tri-mix certified so she can join me on some of the deeper dives and we are considering starting a liveaboard company as our retirement job.We have ample knowledge of the area and love diving with new folks and showing other divers just what we love about being underwater.
We feel truly truly blessed to have spent the time we have together and with friends diving in what we feel is a corner of God's paradise here on Earth.We have been very lucky to have the opportunity to dive with so many cool folks(including SBers).
In 1998 my wife decided she'd get certified and we'd spend more time together diving..oh boy.
We'd been going to the Keys every summer to fish and for me to dive and I dove locally a little.We had a boat and so did a lot of friends so opportunity abounded.
New Years Eve 1999 into 1/1/2000 we were 3 of 7 people who dove Looe Key and surfaced to a calm mirror like ocean reflecting the ongoing fireworks from Key west.Marathon and Little Palm Island.The next 7 years we spent all of August in the Keys diving almost every day buying fills a hundred at a time and having friends visit from all over a week or so at a time.We would dive locally and trailer the boat to St. Augustine,Sebastian or Ponce on occasion often diving Sat and Sun.
As we acquired knowledge of the areas we started getting off the beaten path finding coordinates to wrecks and areas rarely dove if even known.I became acquainted with local charters and commercial dive boats and would part time with them when
I could or if my business was slow.During 2004 to present I got the opportunity to dive with the professional guys from Canaveral to North Carolina.
I really did not know how lucky I had been until we started wreck tallies at night with other divers while on vacation and my wife who dove about 1/3 of my totals would always be among the ones who'd seen the most while every time I was at the top and folks would ask how we could afford it on our admitted middle class jobs.We read here and talked to other who'd forsaken the next big purchase to live simpler and spend more time with friends and family than working.
My tally was from north to south and only hitting few per area had Cassimir,Normania,Houston,18fathom wreck,Governor,Peconic,Addie Daniels,Gulf America,Casablanca,Bear,Halsey,Bibb,Queen of Nassau,Wilkes Barre and countless other natural and artificial including dozens if not more planes, helicopters,steel and wooden wrecks.Trading and buying coordinates then searching for them became a pastime,not so much looking for anything valuable but to see something new.
The species list includes everything from right whales,mola,manta,great white,tiger shark,jewfish,warsaws,tons of nudibranchs,tropicals,invertebrates to the common like porkfish and grunts.So much so we find stuff not in Ned DeLoaches awesome guides and have to use google or fishbase to identify them.
Currently we take care of my MIL who is 96 has dementia and breast cancer so joint trips are out unless very short.I still get out a lot and part time commercially averaging about 400 dives a year from the Keys to North Carolina with occasion forays into the Gulf.When my MIL is gone my DW would like to get tri-mix certified so she can join me on some of the deeper dives and we are considering starting a liveaboard company as our retirement job.We have ample knowledge of the area and love diving with new folks and showing other divers just what we love about being underwater.
We feel truly truly blessed to have spent the time we have together and with friends diving in what we feel is a corner of God's paradise here on Earth.We have been very lucky to have the opportunity to dive with so many cool folks(including SBers).
