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Rick Smith was one of my instructors at Miami-Dade back it the early 70's, he was a good guy. I made my first trip up to cave country with him and a bunch of friends, one memorable thanksgiving weekend. Good bye Rick
Rick Smith, dive shop owner and boat captain, dies at 66
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If you scuba dived in Miami-Dade County, then Captain Rick Smith probably had a lot to do with your enjoyment of the sport.
The personable Yul Brynner-lookalike may have trained you, or escorted you on one of the numerous dive boats he operated, or helped with the construction of an artificial reef you now explore.
Mr. Smith, 66, died of natural causes Sept. 29 at his Plantation home.
"He was a lot to a lot of people in the diving community," Miami Beach diver Kent Bonde said.
"The king of diving," added Mr. Smith's daughter, Jeannie Smith-Rosenberg.
Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Smith moved to Miami with his family in 1948. He graduated from Miami Edison Senior High and attended Miami-Dade College for two years.
After six years with the Florida Army National Guard, Mr. Smith began his long scuba diving career in 1969, earning an alphabet of expert certifications from various diving agencies and training thousands of students at Miami-Dade. In 1977 he opened his own dive shop, Pisces Divers in North Miami and launched a second Pisces location in Miami Beach in 1985. Besides scuba instruction and retail sales, Mr. Smith ran local and Bahamas dive trips with his fleet of boats.
Along with his diving career, Mr. Smith also competed in offshore powerboat races for two years in the 1980s aboard his muscle boat, Renegade.
Mr. Smith was instrumental in development of Miami-Dade County's fledgling artificial reef program in the 1980s, according to Ben Mostkoff, who launched the program.
"He would assist with the sinkings and loan his boat for survey work," Mostkoff said. "He pounded rebar and donated his time and energy to make the Wreck Trek diving trail."
After selling Pisces Divers, Mr. Smith remained active in the scuba diving community, running charter boats for other shops.
In the 1990s, he went back to school to earn certifications as an emergency medical technician and hyperbaric chamber operator. He worked for several years as flight paramedic and emergency training coordinator for Miami Children's Hospital in the pediatric "Life Flight'' program. He also opened Aqua-Medic, a company that taught first aid and CPR.
A celebration of Mr. Smith's life will be 11 a.m. Oct. 24 at the American Legion, 6445 NE Seventh Ave., Miami. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the American Heart Association or the National Kidney Foundation.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Smith is survived by his wife, Carlene Smith of Plantation; and sons Rick Jr. of Gainesville and David Smith of Miami; two stepsons and five grandchildren.
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