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Bud's Diving Experience
I'd to share some of my experiences in playing in what I consider
God’s most amazing creation on this beautiful blue planet.
I'm in love with the
Ocean – it’s in my blood and a deep part of me
feels very connected to it. Growing up in San Diego, living near the
ocean, watching
Sea Hunt
and Jacques Cousteau,
I was always imagining what it must be like to live the "Life Aquatic".
Whenever I had the chance, I loved to spend time with my Grandparents
on their boat. They would take my brother and me to
Catalina
Island
every summer where I would spend a lot of my time snorkeling in the
harbor, looking at the marine life, loving the water. Once I
was old enough, I got certified by NASDS at the
Diving Locker
in San Diego. I didn't get to dive too much in High School because it
was an expensive hobby if you are renting all your gear each time and I
didn't have any dive buddies to borrow gear from. I loved
being by the Ocean and even got a job one summer at Sea World so I
could take a look at all the behind the scenes stuff! I vowed to figure
out how to get more diving into my life.
I joined the US Air
Force and volunteered for
Special
Ops (Combat Control - CCT) where my specialty eventually
became Scuba Diving. I was in my element! I went through Navy
2nd Class Diver training, Combat Swimmer, did some Hard Hat diving, did
a training chamber ride, and trained with Navy Seals and Marine Force
Recon. Oh yeah, we also trekked through the woods, climbed mountains,
parachuted, did cross-country skiing, did recon work, controlled Air
Traffic, learned how to survive anywhere, shot all kinds of weapons,
wore berets, etc, etc, and all that was great for a young adventurous
lad like me, but I was all about the Diving!!! Anytime anyone asked, I
was ready to dive. While stationed at Norton Air Base we primarily dove
Southern California but we did travel on occasion to Hawaii for
training.
I was later stationed in the Philippines and in addition to diving
regularly with the Team during the week, I dove every possible chance I
created; all around Luzon and the North China Sea – weekends,
vacations, whatever! It was amazing, pristine, beautiful, and
warm! Wonderful memories! My timing was excellent
and I was able to get my
PADI Instructor rating (in my spare time) during the very
first Instructor Development Course (IDC) ever taught in the Philippines. I
did it mostly to expand my knowledge of diving and to maybe make a
little money to pay for a rather expensive habit! It also helped my standing on
the CCT, as they made me Dive Leader as a result of my efforts. After a year and a
half the military shipped me off to Colorado where I occasionally dove
icy cold high altitude lakes. What a contrast, and so little
life! MAN did I miss warm marine waters!
After I left The USAF I moved to Lake Arrowhead with my family and dove
in the Lake on and off, but was really itching to get back in the ocean
other than an occasional weekend. I started up a Dive Club on Norton
Air Base and every other month we made a trek down to Ensenada where we
camped and dove
“La
Bufadora” (The Blowhole). It was really
fun and quite a popular trip. Exploring, Hunting, Camping, Cooking
fish, and a lot of Tequila! I’ve had the chance to
explore a bit of the Sea of Cortez as well as the Pacific side of Baja
and would love to dive it some more. Ole`!
Gotta Dive, Gotta Get Wet, What To Do! Searching for diving jobs was
not easy back then – no Internet! But I lucked out
and found a terrific job as a Research Marine Biologist for
So
Cal Edison (down in King's Harbor, Redondo Beach, CA) and
dove the entire Southern California coast from Mexico to Point
Conception doing a detailed tri-depth marine biomass inventory. It was
part of an environmental study so Edison could determine where to place
future Electric Power Plants. We dove 3-5 dives a day, 3-5 times a week
for about 18 months. I learned a lot about California and its amazingly
rich biodiversity. So many stories – so much
beauty. It created a permanent etching in my mind about how
important it is to care for Mother Ocean and all her inhabitants.
The siren call of the equator sang to me again, so I left the states
for a job teaching diving in the US Virgin Islands for the
St. Thomas Diving
Club. What a Hoot and what a Lifestyle! I really enjoyed
taking tourists out on what often was their very first experience
underwater. I delighted in their huge grins and dancing eyes
when they stood in 85 degree water feeding fish by hand. Hopefully they
got a glimpse and an appreciation of what I treasure. Truly
warm waters, beautiful corals, wonderful marine life, and amazing
wrecks. The first-timers were fun, but I really enjoyed
taking advanced divers out on the many reef, wreck, and wall dives that
surround St. Thomas and the nearby islands. I finally left
the USVI after the realization that I had tried but was unable to make
a long-term “living” with Scuba income; spending
every cent I made. Sigh. I gave it a great try and had a blast doing it!
I came back to the states and “dove” into computers
for the $$$ and taught diving on the side for pleasure, and still do to
this day. I’ve had the opportunity to mix business
with pleasure a bit by diving when I go on business travel, if at all
possible. As a result I’ve dove the Keys, swam a bit with
Manatees, and really want to explore some of the caves in Northern
Florida. I’ve traveled to England and France, but alas did
not have the extra time to do any diving. I hope to get over to Europe
soon and dive over there.
All told, I now have well over 4,400 dives and honestly lost track.
I help out with the
Dive
Club of Silicon Valley, taking folks out on boat and beach
dives in Monterey, and occasionally teaching classes that the Clubbies
are interested in. It’s a fun group, very active, with people
who just love diving. My kind of folks! At one time I was President of the
Dive Club and taught at
Diver Dan's, where the
Dive Club meets. Diver Dan's is a terrific Dive store, great
staff, with a huge selection of gear and rental equipment.
Now that I live in Reno, I have begun to become more active with the local dive
community, and have joined the Washoe County Sheriff's Technical Search and
Recovery unit, the Hasty Team SAR.
I also intend to do some Altitude Dive training in
Lake Tahoe this
summer.
My primary focus is
teaching specialty classes, including UW Hunting and Collecting, but
with an environmentally sensitive approach. I really urge
all divers to master neutral buoyancy and become very aware of the
impact we are making every time we visit Mother Ocean. If you
are a "consumptive diver", like me, then only take what you are going
to eat, and make sure it is old enough to have properly had a number of
reproductive cycles before it lands on your plate. That way
there will be more than enough for everyone. Remember that
the F&G rules are minimums. I always take bigger Abs,
bigger fish, never take crabs or bugs with eggs, never shoot or take
unless I positively ID it and size it first, eat what I take, and
never, ever compete in tournaments.
I
love California diving; it is remarkable and unique. Monterey
can be spectacular, but you have to be aware of the weather and surge,
just like anywhere else in the world. Monterey is actually is rated as
the number 2 dive destination in North America! The marine
life is truly spectacular due to the unique underwater
topography. That's one of the reasons why the
Monterey Bay
Aquarium is so successful! Come on down with me sometime and
I'll show you why:
Diving Rocks!
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Let's Go Diving! |
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Aquatic Spirit * 775-544-7894 *
info@aquaticspirit.com
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