Dive Stories From Back In The Day?

[RickI]

Universities can make a great setting for instructor courses, talk about some intense immersion. You used to work with Neil Watson? I remember filling his takes regularly when he orbited through Ft. Lauderale and between exits from Bimini. Always had his marine corp hat on. What did you do for him?

Those were some strange times during the boatlift. Good story! I can recall a good friend walking the beach tagging turtles and digging up endangered nests when a bunch of boat people from Haiti beached. Strange times in SE Florida.

I took my YMCA Basic as my phys ed class at Temple University with the infamous Dr. Peter Lynch. I learned so much in my basic class, a 3 credit University class, that 1-1/2 years later, my NAUI ITC was a breeze.

I think Bryan and Mary bought the shop from Chuck without buying the other shop first, but I didn't know them then. I met them when their shop was across from Searstown. Early in my dive instructor career I worked half-time for the Brookses and half-time for Neal Watson who had office space in UnderSeas Sports. Neal was and still is one hell of a nice guy.

A favorite story of mine occurred while doing an early evening beach dive in the winter after the Mariel Boat Lift. Two friends and I were diving off one of the streets North of Sheridan St. in Hollywood...I think it was Cody Street. I know it was winter because we were all wearing our black rubber wetsuits (remember them?), which is an essential part of the story.

As we returned to shore after the dive, we saw two officers of the law waiting for us on the beach...laughing their butts off. Apparently someone in the nearby apartments or condos reported "Cubans swimming onto the beach" and called the police on us.

 

[cudachaser]

Years ago when we trying to normalize relations with Cuba...I got a chance to go on the "Subsea" strobe expedition. Norene was also on this expedition. Well one evening the Cubans were really proud of this supper they had prepared. Norene looks at meat asks "What is this??"

Response "Tortuga"...She almost vomited at the table!

 

[DebbyDiver]

I made reservations for Neal when all he had was Bimini UnderSea Adventures, and then when he took on Andros. WAY back when. I remember him telling me how they did tank VIPs in Bimini, heh.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Here's a trivia test. Who remembers when Capt. Bob Klein had the dive shop at the Holiday Inn MM100 Key Largo and the 50' Cary, Plus Ultra, that he ran Cay Sal trips on?

 

[RickI]

Too funny, Subseas were great weren't they? Still have a 150 and no 510 V battery to go with however. I bet Norine had a cow, I recall her position on spearfishing and guns, her shop walls were littered with them after some mangling. We were on the same debate team at a Ft. Lauderdale dive show in 1978 about spearfishing. Don't think we won any converts that time. Had turtle only once in Cozumel in 1973 with John Fletemyer, a local turtle conservationists at the time. Looked and tasted like green cube steak, next. Better for the turtles anyway.


Just put up another story about a nasty run in with a portuguese man o war with a boatload of German divers and a subsequently disabled captain, me, on Barracuda Reef off Dania Beach. Funny, just a nice shot of morphine and everything became all better?

Continued at:

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?p=43135#post43135

Years ago when we trying to normalize relations with Cuba...I got a chance to go on the "Subsea" strobe expedition. Norene was also on this expedition. Well one evening the Cubans were really proud of this supper they had prepared. Norene looks at meat asks "What is this??"

Response "Tortuga"...She almost vomited at the table!

 

[Orlando Eric]

Well stretching the thread to 1981 -- Divers unlimited on 441 and Hollywood blvd. We had a swim test the first pool day. Fail and come back next class. Retieve a 5# wieght from the diving well at Mcarthur pool. Check dives were 8' seas.

I dove Hollywood beach from the Dania Pier to Jackson street and rode the bus to fill my tanks because I was too young to drive.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Remember when DU had those huge treasure hunts from Hwd beach?

 

[RickI]

No reason why after all this time it sounds familiar but Capt. Bob Klein does. Went out of Holiday Isle in 1972 to Cay Sal on a steel hulled motor yacht for a weekend trip. The story about appears at: Dive Stories From Back In The Day - FKA Kiteboarding Forums , post #8.

Is this the same guy do you think? It was a great first trip out of Florida.

Here's a trivia test. Who remembers when Capt. Bob Klein had the dive shop at the Holiday Inn MM100 Key Largo and the 50' Cary, Plus Ultra, that he ran Cay Sal trips on?

 

[DebbyDiver]

It could be him, he was one of those crusty old guys from back in the day. I briefly worked for him.

I dove Cay Sal Banks on the Nekton Pilot this August and it was SO AWESOME!!!! I'd have to look through a few thousand pics to find it...but I think I pretty much took the same shot as your last one in post #8.

 

[RickI]

Glad they pushed swimming skills. How is it in certification today? In the real early days of the sport, some in sales said swimming skills were unnecessary. We aren't orbiting back to that viewpoint I hope?

Speaking of unconventional transport, saw a guy riding down Dania Beach Blvd. a while back wearing a tank and carrying a float/flag and fins. Watchout for wipeouts, cracked valves can really mess up your day.

Well stretching the thread to 1981 -- Divers unlimited on 441 and Hollywood blvd. We had a swim test the first pool day. Fail and come back next class. Retieve a 5# wieght from the diving well at Mcarthur pool. Check dives were 8' seas.

I dove Hollywood beach from the Dania Pier to Jackson street and rode the bus to fill my tanks because I was too young to drive.