SCUBA4BILL
Registered
Barracuda2:I dove with Capt. Mike Bloss 5 different times aboard one of the very first Live-a-boards in the Caribbean; the Tropic Bird out of Tortola BVI. This was back in the 80's. The boat was a converted German mine sweeper. Does anyone know what ever happened to the Tropic Bird, or Mike Bloss? He was a real free spirit and I heard that he went to the Mediterrnean. Any info on this would be appreciated, and if you dove off the Tropic Bird, I would really like to hear from you.
Barracuda2
I suspect this message is from my dive buddy "Joe D". It's been a long time since we talked. I still remember the good times we had on the Tropic Bird with you, Vinnie, Bill, Gwen, Margo (and, of course, Capt. Mike). The last I heard, Capt. Mike was the Engineer on a boat out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. (I stay in touch with Capt. Dan Morrison and I think he stays in touch with Mike.) The last I heard of the MV Tropic Bird, she was settling in the mud (dockside) somewhere in Puerto Rico. I was booked for 2 weeks on it when she was supposedly operating out of Tortola with the new owner-a crook! I never did get the trip I paid for but, fortunately, I did recover my $$s via Trip Insurance. I was in contact with the Postal Authorities re false advertising via the mail and also with the Ventura, CA DA's office. I was invited to appear at a bankruptcy hearing (in CA) involving the new owner (the swindler) of the "Bird". Needless to say, I didn't go--can't recover money out of a "crook". I also wrote a "blasting" letter to the Editor of the Skin Diver magazine which had published a "glowing" article about the NEW Tropic Bird (at the time of publishing, the Bird was being held in a ship yard in Venzuela for non payment of repair bills. Well, enough for now, Joe. Drop me a line (SCUBA4BILL@AOL.COM -- BILL HITCHENS, Myrtle Beach, SC).