Autobiographies

[Cera]

I would really like to know more about the people who post here. I was wondering if we each could write a bit about the people we are today (meaning it doesn't need to be a life story) including things like occupations, diving experience, where we live, what we like to do.. etc. Anything to help people get to know you better. I know this is such a typical thing to do.. but it would really be cool... :occasion5: Include photos if you can.... I will start.

[Cera]

My name is Sarah (aka Cera). My husband Ty and I live in Longview, WA. We just moved to Washington about a year ago because Ty took a job as an engineer for WSDOT. We both went to school at OIT and we met in and advanced scuba class… (awww). We have been married for just over two years and we have an 11-month-old Weimey named Salty (in honor of all the salty dogs in the world). He is a really sweet dog, although he is quite large (feel free to pet him if you meet us).
While in Klamath Falls I Managed Jefferson State Dive Locker, as a favor to my friend, the owner, Dr. Daniel Benson, who is also a NAUI Course Director. I really miss being involved with a shop! That is part of the reason I love being on this forum, I really miss talking with other people about diving. I love diving, but sometimes have a hard time identifying with divers because of some of the ego’s involved.
Anyway, back on track, I try to dive as much as possible, but still live 90 minutes away from Puget Sound! BOO! Most of my diving (up here) has been in Hood Canal, but I have also dove a little in the sound. I started doing UW photography to keep diving interesting and I really enjoy it.
My husband has been diving for over 12 years, since he was 13, and worked for 5 years at the Undersea Gardens in Newport, OR. He enjoys spearfishing, although we haven’t been in almost two years. We haven’t been diving in many ‘warm-water’ spots because we are saving up for a compressor…but the time will come for us.
We try not to take ourselves too seriously, we just like to dive and have fun. I really have enjoyed meeting everyone here and can’t wait to ‘get to know’ you guys better, both in your autobio’s and in person.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/ ... rev056.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
(I don’t have many photo’s of all three of us, since I take most of the pic’s for our family, but this is at ST Helens March 05.)

[Dmitchell]

Ok, I'm in,

Dave here, I've been diving in Alaska since 1988 I was 17 when I took my OW course. - So that's 18 years (I'm 35). I learned to dive after my dad came home an announced that he had signed up the whole family. My dad loved it so much that in spring of 89 they bought the LDS.

I've been involved in the shop every since. On 1/2/90, I was working in the store when this young woman came in and inquired about taking an Openwater course. Not only did I sell her a course, somehow about 2 years later, I convinced her to Marry me!

Moving forward, 1998 rolls along and my dad offers Carleen (my wife) the opportunity to run the store and have our 2 y/o there with her. She jumps at the opportunity and takes over the day to day operations of the store. In July, 2000, we assumed ownership of the store. To this Day, Carleen is the "Boss" and she runs the store, does all the repairs, course scheduling and whatever else needs to done, I have a day job with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and I teach in the evenings amongst a ton of other duties.

I started teaching Scuba in 2000 and have been going steady every since. Both of my boys are growing up in the dive shop and my now 10 y/o will get certified on our next trip to someplace warm.

My diving consists primarily of teaching and commercial work but, once in awhile, I get out for some fun. I primarily enjoy diving wrecks and since our backyard wrecks are fantastic, I always have something to do.

Over the past few years, I've started doing some tech diving and my next thing will be a rebreather. I just got back from Seattle and Naniamo last week where I was taking my Adv. Nitrox and Deco Procedures Instructor courses from Mel Clark. While in Naniamo, I had the opportunity to dive with 11 rebreather divers. I'm so totally sold. All I need now is the time to get back to Seattle and take that rebreather course.

[Aquanautchuck]

This is Charles AKA: Aquanautchuck. Diving is something I had always wanted to do but never got around to doing. Finally I just signed up for class about 8 years ago and went crazy since. I have something like 13 certs with DM being my highest. I was a working DM for 2 years. I do about 50 dives a year, most on my favorite toy "ScubaKat". Living 3+ hours from good water I have about 400 logged dives. I try to go to warm water once a year for Fun, Sun, Rum and diving. I have been in the Insurance business for going on 30 years. If I am not diving I am skiing, rafting, or just outdoors.

Charles

[Sounder]

Mrs. & Mr. Sounder (Erica & Doug) - Erica grew up in Issaquah on Lake Sammamish and is truly a Washington Native. She graduated from UW and Wake Forest for law school. She is currently a federal attorney working for your beloved tax dollars and is the principle of a private law firm currently working in real estate law but will be expaning quite soon! Erica picked up diving so she could keep an eye on me (Mr. Sounder) since I "caught the diving bug." She has become quite interested in scuba photography, REEF certifications, and she loves her drysuit!

I (Doug) grew up in Tucson, AZ spending every weekend and summer possible in San Carlos, Mexico at my friend's parent's house there. This is where I fell in love with diving - my friend's father being a DM/Instructor "taught" me but I was never certified. Out of high school I became a 911 dispatcher, started at UofA (Go Cats!), and graduated from the police academy a couple days after my 21st birthday. Law enforcement, tactical/swat medicine, and mixed martial arts have always been my passions. I moved to WA with the intention of joining Seattle PD (after falling in love with the city) but was recruited by a private law enforcement training agency and by the Harborview ER. I completed my degrees at UW (Go Dawgs!). While finishing at UW, I duped Erica into dating and eventually marring me (poor girl), and joined a real estate marketing company. I met Erica at a mutual friend's 3-day camp-out party in eastern WA... she should have stayed home that weekend! I wear the pants in our relationship :naka: ... that she picks out for me. Currently, I head business relations/development for my company; I simply love my job and my company. In my spare time I continue to teach for the police/executive protection training agency, am a paramedic for a local ski patrol (let it snow!), and am trying to get as much diving in as possible!!! Have tanks will travel!!!

Erica and I were certified before our wedding so we could dive on our honeymoon in Maui (which by the way is simply amazing). Erica's family has a condo there so we have enjoyed making it an easy vacation spot! It's true what they say - if you can dive cold water, you can dive anywhere!!! We've got a small place on Lopez Island which we're looking forward to using for dive trips this winter (NWDC camp out?!)... we've been reading about the San Juan's diving but have never been underwater there!!! We live on Pine Lake in Sammamish (I-90, exit 18 then up the hill) and typically fill tanks at 5thD in Issaquah, our LDS.

We are quite new to diving and are loving every minute of it. Erica swore off cold-water diving until she had a drysuit after OW, and now she is enjoying the Puget Sound again (thanks Bob!). We're extremely lucky to have people like Bob Bailey (Grateful Diver, whom Erica simply adores) and Rob Holman as wonderful friends and mentors, and we know how valuable a great group of people (NWDC) is to our diving growth and enjoyment. We're really excited for Hood Canal!!! Less than a month away!!!

[Pinkpadigal]

Where to start...

My name is Amy and I started diving because of a bet I made with a co-worker. She was a diver and I told her Puget Sound was "dark and cold and no way I was diving there..." Well, she dared me and so I had to do it. My ex-husband and I got certified in Sept 2000. I loved it, he was scared and hated it. Soon after, me and the ex broke up and the first thing I did was buy dive gear. Diving and shopping are wonderful therapy.

I became an instructor in September 2002. That is when I bought my first "pink" drysuit (aka, PinkPADIgal) I taught thru UWS for a few months, then at Lighthouse Tacoma until Feb of this year. I also spent a few months in Florida teaching as well. I just love our water too much that I couldn't stay away. Besides Washington, I have dove all over Florida, Mexico, USVI, BVI, California, British Columbia and Hawaii. I have dove salt water, lakes and at Altitude. My deepest dive was 149 in Cozumel, and 135 at Snake Island Wall in BC. I lost track after about 400 dives, but I am guessing I have done about 1000. I love to stay between 40-80 feet and just look at stuff. I dive very, very slow and it relaxes me.

I married my husband Tom and we had our son Robbie in 2004. We bought a home in Puyallup and Tom's day job is a high school science teacher. I also have a beautiful 16 year old step daughter named Katie. We have 2 dogs, and a cat too. Quite a household.

I opened A-2-Z Scuba in April because I wanted to offer more to the local divers. So far, we seem to be doing ok. We are growing and I love what I do.

[girldiver]

I'm Cindy Ross. 30 something - divorced with a 17 yr. old daughter about to leave the nest and a cat that I hope she takes as she leaves.

When I was 18, I got in a pool to blow bubbles on a friends reg...and I never forgot it. At 19, I was told by a commercial diving instructor that "Only girls who look like football players can dive. The little girls like you...they don't dive. They date divers." So, alas, I went the next 10+ years never descending beneath the surface.

When I was faced with the question, "What do I want to do when I grow up" (ok, I'm a late bloomer...it didn't happen until 32) I decided I wanted to teach people to dive.

I've never understood the word "can't"…so when it was snowing during my Open Water course, I pushed through. I continued my education through instructor level, constantly pushing myself beyond what I thought I was capable of.

Unbenownst to me at the time, my Open Water class was actually a catalyst. After enduring the freezing cold temperatures, I wanted a shirt. A simple t-shirt. You know, a "been there, done that…have the shirt to prove it" piece. I searched the internet. I searched local dive stores. The only casual wear I could find came with skeletons and sharks and I was told that "women could order a man's size small for a good fit".

At the time, I was working as a product specialist in the outdoor industry, where female specific gear and clothing dominated. My experience there would later transition easily to a retail manager of a scuba center. While there, I began instructing both individuals and classes, as well as leading dive trips abroad. As a professional in the industry, the glaring need for women specific clothing, gear and instruction could no longer be ignored. In 2005, I developed the initial GirlDiver site and strategy, which continues to build.

So, now, as I work on developing GirlDiver, my newest challenges are from above water. Web design, marketing, writing...new challenges but new rewards. And the chance to meet AMAZING people who also enjoy the underwater realm as much as I.

[Pringster]

Ok, I guess I'd better fess up as I'm probably the old man of this group and haven't contributed much to the board. How about zip!
I'm Brian...AKA: Pringster. My wife and I are from Buckley, WA. On our 25th wedding anniverary, which was 6 years ago, I took Carol (my better half) on a vacation to Maui. I decided to take in a scuba excursion at the Molokini Crater site. I had such a blast, I decided to continue this tradition on our other vacations. About a 2 years ago, I decided, why not get certified...hell I'm certifiable anyway!!! The big question was, geez... Cold Water diving...will I like it...Duh! I got that one answered.
I've done my damndest to get Carol to dive on our vacations, but it just isn't in her. However, she'll snorkel with the best of em.
So I sneak out when I can which isn't often enough. I've been certified for a little over a year now and have completed my AOW earlier this summer. My only regret is I didn't pick this up 20 - 30 years ago. ](*,)

__________________

Brian

[John Rawlings]

So....Pringster thinks he's "old". I wonder if Grateful Diver or I can beat him in the "age department"?

I was born in Seattle a long, LONG time ago (ahem) and have been diving for....hmmmm, let's see now.....over 31 years. My wife and I live in "Unincorporated Snohomish County" in Washington State just outside of Mill Creek. We've been there since before Mill Creek existed and there was only a crossroads and cow pastures. My beard is almost as white as the snow and when wearing one of my many Hawaiian shirts I am frequently given a hard time about being Santa Clause on vacation!

I am the proud grandpa of Madaline (now 17 months) and John (now 15 months). My son (also a diver) lives near Yakima with his family, (with another grandchild "in the oven", due next June!). My daughter (not a diver....RATS!) and her little girl live with us ever since her frickin' ex took off, (the @#%&*%!!!!!). Madaline refers to me as "Boppa"....an endearment that I really like. Plans are already afoot for the grandkids to get certified as soon as they are old enough!

I was first certified as a PADI Open Water Diver by the Sea King Dive Shop (long since defunct!) in Gig Harbor, Washington, while I was serving at Fort Lewis, just being released after a few months in Madigan Army Hospital, (I'm a disabled veteran and those of you that have met me will observe a noticeable limp - it makes my Frog kick a wee bit bizarre! HA!). Since then I have embraced diving with an absolute passion - both at the recreational and technical levels. I've lost count of all of the certifications I snatched up over the years, but there's a PILE of them. I kept a log book at the very beginning of my dive career and then stopped doing so for over a decade. I started logging dives again as a means of recording information that would help me get into great spots in faraway places that require you to prove your experience level. With all of the missing ones estimated, I figure that I have "somewhere" between 2500 and 3000 dives.

I began underwater photography in 1977 with a Nikonos II with a flash-bulb lighting set-up, moved up to a Nikonos III, then finally a Nikonos V. After a couple of decades of shooting film I moved over to digital and now shoot using a Nikon D-70S with an Aquatica housing and dual Ikelite DS-125 strobes. I still use my old Nikonos, though, on occasion....that 15mm lens is hard to beat! The lenses that I shoot with are Nikkor (Nikon) - the ones that I use the most are the 12-24 wide angle zoom for wide angle work and the 60mm for macro, although I also use the 10.5 Fisheye and the 105mm for REALLY tiny stuff on occasion.

I've been working for Curt and Linda Bowen at Advanced Diver Magazine for almost 6 years now as a staff writer and photographer, generally writing about the Pacific Northwest, but also anywhere else around the world that I find myself at. I just found out at DEMA this year that I am now the SENIOR staff writer at ADM. Curt joked that the position came with a 25% raise.....hmmmm.....lessee......25% of Zero is STILL ZERO! We think that ADM is flat out the best dive magazine on the planet! While the emphasis of the magazine is technical diving, the subjects that we cover always include dives, locations, equipment and techniques that are germaine to Advanced Open Water divers and up. Frankly, I haven't met a diver yet that after looking at a copy of ADM didn't say "WOW"! I am happy to say that there are several subscribers amongst the NWDC membership and so far I have heard NO complaints!

Occasionally, I also write and photograph for our local Northwest Dive News, the publishers, Rick and Kathy Stratton, being personal friends of mine. You may have seen some of my articles in NWDN - in the past year or so they have published my articles on Barkley Sound, Wolf-eels, Puget Sound King Crabs, Giant Pacific Octopuses, the wreck of the Vanlene up in Barkley Sound, and KISS rebreathers. I just recently sent Rick 6 different new articles and photos, mostly about wrecks and critters, so please watch for them to appear one at a time over the next few months.

In terms of technical dive training, on open-circuit my training has been through both IANTD and TDI, with my Advanced Trimix training through TDI. In January 2006 I purchased a KISS Classic Closed Circuit Rebreather and I completed my initial training in the unit in February through TDI and "Silent Scuba" in Everett, (The owners of Silent Scuba, Mel Clark and Curt MacNamee, are members of NWDC as well!). I hope to rack up some time on the unit in the coming months in anticipation of taking the Trimix training for the KISS.

I took a mean DCS Type II hit back in June when diving in San Salvador (on open-circuit, NOT my rebreather) and haven't been able to dive for a few months. My legs still behave kinda funny sometimes and hot/cold temperatures do weird things to my feet, but in early December I intend to get back into the water and push on! Wish me luck!

John

[Grateful Diver]

Hi ... my name is Bob and I'm a scuba addict. I also have my friend John beat by about 5 years in the age department ..

I got into scuba diving in kind've a weird way ... I used to enjoy stopping by the local YMCA after work for pick-up basketball, but there came a time in life where I just kept hurting myself trying to keep up with all the youngsters out there trying to beat up on the old dude. One day I came limping home and my (then) wife, Cheng, laid down the law ... find something safer to do for fun. So the following week as we were leaving the YMCA I saw a sign advertising scuba lessons, pointed to it and said "Hey look, class starts on my birthday. Want to buy me scuba lessons for a birthday present?" And so that's how I happened to start my first scuba lesson on my 49th birthday.

My first day in class I absolutely fell in love. I kept asking myself why I waited so long ... and was determined that I had to make up for lost time. Sometime during the class I mentioned to my instructor that my goal was to log 1,000 dives in my first five years. He laughed and said "good luck, that's an awful lot of diving". Well, it took me a about 3-1/2 years to log my first 1,000 dives, and I'm currently at about 1,600 logged dives.

I was OW certified in March of 2001. Cheng quickly realized that if she wanted to see me on the week-ends, she was going to have to get certified too ... and did so three months later. And although we have been divorced for nearly three years now, she is still my favorite dive buddy and a good friend.

I became a DM in 2003, and a NAUI instructor in 2004. I'm very proud to say that I've had the privilege of helping several people participating in this board learn to dive, or learn to become better divers.

Besides local diving, my dive travels have taken me to Belize, Roatan, Bonaire (three times), Bali, Monterey (CA), and several locations in British Columbia. I'm hoping in 2007 to make first-time trips to Port Hardy, the Cayman Islands, and southern California ... and in 2008 to return to Indonesia for an extended (three week) trip to Bali, Sulawesi and Komodo.

I participate in this board because ... well ... because I can't stop thinking or talking about diving ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[GillyWeed]

Ok well here I go..

I am newly certified. I got certified in March by our own Six Gill. I had always been interrested in diving but never seemed to find time to do it.. I went to Australia in October 2003 and was on the Great Barrier reef and NOT certified. That really sucked. I did an introductory dive in the aquarium in MooLooLaba on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. This was a shark tank dive. Well I got to blow bubbles for about 20 minutes with a bunch of reef and nurse sharks (and one baby tiger) and I was addicted.

Problem was that Scuba lessons cost money (imagine that Scuba costing money HA). And after coming back from Australia, that was in short supply. So when I asked Santa that year for Scuba lessons he apparently didn't think I was a good girl.. I asked for Scuba lessons for 2 more years... I can't believe now that I waited so long. And finally last Christmas the big guy came through.. I had lessons that started in January.. I was thinking.. January.. Do people really dive out in the Puget Sound in January? But then....

But then, I went out skateboarding in the middle of December and broke my elbow.. Now I know you are probably wondering what a 35 year old, somewhat out of shape, woman is doing skateboarding in the middle of December... I don't really have an answer to that.. It doesn't sound very smart now but at the time... Anyway so I had to put my OW class off for a few months while my elbow healed.

March finally came around I got certified and have been taking more classes ever since. I try to get in the water for AT LEAST 2 dives a week. Any less than that and I feel that I will shrivel up and die. I dive wet because I still can't afford the dry suit. I know I wont be able to go back to wet so I need to get my money's worth out of my wet suit anyway...

I am now AOW certified through SSI. I am working on my Stress & Rescue and have taken the Nitrox and Wreck classes as well. I have takend the O2 and AO2 with Valerie. I am kind of hoping to take a break from the class room for a little while and just enjoy diving with cool people like all of you here on NWDC... I now have 81 dives as of last night. And I don't think I will stop logging for a while.. It just makes me too happy. I am finally diving after years and years of wanting to...

When I am not diving I am working as a Home Designer. My partner doesn't dive (and probably never will) but that's ok. She gives me plenty of dive time so I cannot complain.

Diver's are IMHO some of the coolest people on the planet. They know what it means to look out for other human beings and I concider myself lucky to be a member of this wonderful community. Thanks!

Holly

[Pringster]

So....Pringster thinks he's "old". I wonder if Grateful Diver or I can beat him in the "age department"?
With all of the missing ones estimated, I figure that I have somewhere between 2500 and 3000 dives.


Well John, I'm happy to relinquish the "Age" title to you or the Grateful Diver. I feel like a Young Punk after seeing the number of dives you, Grateful Diver and probably most of members of this board have under their belts.
I hope to have the honor of diving with some you in the near future....and that's meant from the heart!

The Pringster

[John Rawlings]

Hi ... my name is Bob and I'm a scuba addict. I also have my friend John beat by about 5 years in the age department ..
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

So Bob, I've been told that I'm an "Old Fart".....does being older than me make you an "Old Coot"?

- John

[Cera]

Now, now... you can all share the title of "OLD" (I can't even believe you are arguing about it) but in my world they are called Salty Dogs!!! Hail salty dogs!!!

[John Rawlings]

Ooooooh......"Salty Dogs"......I like the sound of THAT!

[WylerBear]

Well, I found my passion late in life. I was 46 years old when I started my OW class and had turned 47 by the time I was certified. I had always had scuba diving on my personal "life list" but had never gotten around to it until then. That was January of 2002. I'm now a PADI AI and have 440 dives, all but 40 of them in cold water. I live in Portland so have to drive about 6 hours round trip to get in some dives but try to do so at least 3 times a month. I often leave Portland before 6am, do the drive, do a couple of dives, drive home, then go to work. And I feel it's worth it every time. I had the great good fortune to meet up with Janna Nichols early in my diving career and fell very naturally into the fish-geekness and became a Level 5 REEF Fish ID expert. I do surveys and take photos on almost all my dives.
For work, I'm the Head Stage Carpenter at the big concert hall (the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall) in Portland. From September until mid-June I work 60 or more hours a week (and still manage to get 8-10 dives in each month). In summers I have a pretty light schedule so try to dive, dive, dive as much as I can.
My wife (married in Oregon in 2004, then again in BC in 2006 when Oregon nullified us) is not a diver. Has absolutely no interest in it but is very, very supportive. She is a concert pianist and teacher and owns her own studio-the Carol Rich Piano Studio. We have 2 great dogs, a sickly, old cat, and 2 turtles.
For fun, we travel, mostly by car, and go to a lot of Wildlife Refuges to bird watch.
We also like to bike ride although my knees aren't what they should be so I don't do that as much as I used to-have to save my knees for diving.
We ride motorcycles-hers is actually a little 150 cc motor scooter, mine is a Suzuki 1400 Intruder.
Most days I spend my time trying to figure out when my next dive will be and who can I get to be my buddy.

[Tom Nic]

Ooooooh......"Salty Dogs"......I like the sound of THAT!

Another T-Shirt Slogan!

[Joshua Smith]

Heh. Hi, everyone. My name's Josh. I'm a 40 year old carpenter, and I've fallen head over heels in love with diving. I always loved underwater stuff- Jacques Cousteau, "The Abyss", stuff like that- I can't believe I didn't start diving until March of this year, but I'm trying hard to make up for lost time- I have close to 100 dives logged in 8 months, and I just can't get enough! I grew up in Albuquerque, and moved out here in 94- diving didn't seem like a reasonable thing to do when I lived out there- people would drive 3 hours one way to dive a "blue hole" in Santa Rosa, but I just never saw the appeal. Anyway, I'm very happily married to an amazing woman- we just celebrated our 5th anniversary. And she's very supportive of my diving obsession- I'm a lucky guy. I have a terrific job, building high-end custom houses (Mostly remodels and additions) And I'll be starting my own business one of these years- I'm mostly afraid it would cut into my diving time!

I'm almost done with my Rescue cert- we had to postpone the open water dives last weekend due to extremely low visibility. I adore deep dives, and will be starting to learn tech diving this next year- I can't wait!
I'm also planning on doing the DM thing- I spent the last 6 months or so swearing I would never do that, but I've been hanging out with Tattoo Bob and Diverdown a lot, and just helping shlepp weights and get the students into their gear, and discovered that I actually like it! Mainly, though,I want to do it for selfish reasons-I think it will help me to become a better diver; and I hear DM's can get some good prices on gear!

It's good to see so many people say they can't believe they waited so long to start diving, because that's my story as well. But it's all good- we just need to get as many dives in as we can, now that we've found our "thing!"

[.]

Ooooooh......"Salty Dogs"......I like the sound of THAT!

That reminds me, I've been meaning to get my OFDA cert:

[Tom Nic]

Nice... sign me up...

[Tangfish]

What a great idea Cera. I suppose I will speak up for the 'young punk' contingent. I only have about a month and a half left to say such things though as I reach the big 3-0 in early January.

I experienced my first dive at the Great Barrier Reef off of Cairns Australia in July of '01. I did a Discover Scuba dive at Green Island and knew right away that it was something I'd want to do more. The next year only brought snorkeling, but in late 2002 I did my OW certification in the Gulf of Thailand with an old friend of mine who was a MSDT at the time with over 3000 logged dives. I only did a pair of dives in the next year and then did my AOW in the same place about a year later. For some reason, from that point on I was absolutely addicted.

I also had the good fortune of being a contributor to a travel magazine at the time. I was on a 'round the world excursion, about midway, and eventually became their primary scuba correspondent. In all, I traveled to around 50 countries on 6 continents in the space of about 5-6 years. Most of my travels were to remote places. I did camel treks through the desert, jungle treks on horseback, climbed the Inca Trail, spent time in the Amazon and many other jungles and did a ton of diving in the end.

I eventually had the pleasure of diving:

GBR - Australia
Gulf and Andaman Sea - Thailand
Maui, Oahu and Big Island - Hawaii
Cozumel & Cenotes (Riviera Maya) - Mexico
Ambergis and Caye Caulker - Belize
Maria La Gorda - Cuba
Nassau - Bahamas
Cebu, Negros, Apo and Bohol Islands - Philippines
Sipadan Island - Malaysia
Bunaken and Lembeh Strait - Indonesia
Playa Del Coco - Costa Rica
and of course... beautiful Puget Sound and British Columbia

I've done approximately half of my (approaching) 300 dives in cold water and the rest in bathtub-warm tropical water. I became a Divemaster last spring and have really had the attitude of spreading out my certifications with plenty of experience in-between training. In the beginning, I also aspired to only get one cert from each instructor in different locations, realizing that there are nuances you learn from each region and instructor that you might otherwise miss by concentrating your training. That's proven harder to do since I'm essentially stuck here in Seattle for the time being while my travel wings are clipped.

Which brings me to the reason I won't be traveling anytime soon. I currently operate an early stage internet company called Newsvine, which essentially marries together the best elements from traditional media with that of small (or new) media, to turn the news into a discussion, rather than a lecture. Founding a venture-backed company has been quite a learning experience, but it is also the sixth company I have either founded or operated from the top. Prior to the news business, I was a real estate developer (and still am very active in that business), and before that I worked in international trade/sourcing and manufacturing, primarily of a couple products for which I hold patents to. In addition to the overseas business, I was also writing for the magazine and doing a lot of skiing, which was my primary addiction prior to learning to dive. I am a lvl 3 heliski guide (avalanche safety/search and rescue type stuff), trained by the Northwest Avalanche Institute. But since I discovered diving I have found little time in the snow. Before all of that, I also had a portion of my life professionally performing and producing electronic music (also overseas for the most part), a part about myself I seldom mention. Before that I did wound care in the Burn ICU and Pediatric Trauma unit at Harborview Medical Center. I have a BS in Biochemistry from Seattle University with a minor in Psychology.

The science/biology background and having started out as a tropical diver is probably what makes me more interested in marine life than wrecks or technical diving. I gave diving doubles a shot over the past year (had 2 pairs of them) and decided against going further in the end because a) my back was being thrown out by carrying them around and b) gas is seldom my limiting factor in a dive (rather, it's my buddy's gas or deco). So, I think the next undertaking will be to go from open circuit to rebreathers, once I have enough time to take that on. I will always at heart be a simple diver though, who wants the least amount of equipment to do the longest dives in clear, tropical water - though I have grown to love the diving here over time.

[Pinkpadigal]

Calvin...you get no sympathy from me. You have a very nice dive resume.

[sparky]

hey this thrread is a Grate idea. I guess I should let soem of the newer members know who I am.

James Cutchall ( Say my last name is just like its spelled )

I am from Salem Ohio, about 50 miles south of Cleveland,

I moved to Oregon in 1996 after my deivorce and just fell in love with the North West so here I stay

I got my P.A.D.I O.W cert in 2001 and I have been hooked from that day on , I am one of the lucky divers to have had Bob ( Gratefull Diver )
as a mentor Bob and a nother friend of his MR Lew took me right out of my Open Water Cert to expose me to the best diving in the world
here in the North West.

I have not moved on with my trainning in Scube for a couple reasons
but the most important one is I am doing more then just diving for fun these days
I am now in the proses of getting my P.S.D. 1 For thouse of you that may not know stands for Public Safety Diver 1

I have joind out local U.R.T. ( Under Water Recovery Team )
But that is a nother thread on this board.

My wife Molie does not dive but she is verry suportive of my diving.

I have loged some thing like 150 dives so far,
all but 4 of my dives have been here in the North West
I have made 4 dives in Key largo FL , it was nice but to tel you the truth
if I could only dive around here the rest of my life I could live with that.


If you were to ask me which was my favortie dive I would have t say the one I am going to do with you .

I have made some grate frineds while diving .To that I can only say

There is nothing more I would like to do then to thank each of you by name and tell you just how much your friendship has ment to me.

but even if there was room to do so, I dont think I could find the right words.
All I can think of is
THANK YOU



Sparky

[Burntchef]

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[.]

Nice... sign me up...

Here's how:

http://www.eskimo.com/~dickb/ofda.html