04-Nov-2006

Since becoming an active status cave instructor again, I have been constantly looking for a cave program which met both my needs as an instructor and my students' needs in the safest and most comprehensive manner. I've finally found that program- NAUI Tec's Cave program. I have completed an evaluation for Cave 1 Instructor, and am no longer teaching the NACD Intro to Cave program. The NAUI program is far superior, and is based on modern cave diving equipment and theory; and we have some fantastic training materials for you.

If you have any questions about the NAUI program, please drop me an email or give me a call, I'll be happy to chat with you about it!

20-Jun-2006 - WOW! Where has the time gone??

I was looking at the website last night and realized that I haven't posted any updates in almost two years! ZOICS!! So. you may be wondering. what have I been up to?

2005 was a busy year, personally and professionally. In addition to surviving another hurricane season in Florida ;) I participated in the recovery of a WW2 vintage B-25 "Mitchell" bomber from Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina. The ten day project was a wild ride, and an exceptional chance to work with some fantastic people, including world renowned aircraft salvor Gary Larkins (you can learn more about Gary at http://www.airpirates.com). The salvage of the aircraft was filmed by a crew from the History Channel, and was recently profiled on the program "Mega Movers". The plane is currently under conservation at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, AL. The front third of her went on display in February 2006. Take a look at some of the pics of the salvage process in the gallery!

Last year also brought about a change in my diving "style". My compadres at AUE and I decided to make the jump to closed circuit rebreathers, and consequently my teaching has been curtailed a bit in order to spend more time on the RB. I am diving an Innerspace Systems Corp. Megalodon CCR, and really enjoying it. I'll try to get some pics of "meggie" up in the gallery in the next couple of days.

Never fear, I haven't given up on teaching- I've just slowed down a bit- so if you are interested in some training, give me a call or shoot me an email! Thanks for taking the time to catch up with me!

23-Oct-2004 - Truk Lagoon photos are done!

In August I returned to Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is the first time I have been back since I lived on Guam 10 years ago. The pictures are finally officially up on the site, so check them out!

10-Oct-2004 - NACD return continues!

Due to the rash of hurricanes this season the September NACD Intro to Cave IEC had to be postponed. We were finally able to schedule a time when the weather and flooding eased enough to get the evaluation completed. I am now an active status NACD Introduction to Cave Instructor!

15-Sep-2004 - Hurricane Ivan hits Pensacola

I thank you all who expressed concern in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. My family and I weathered the storm without major incident, and only a small amount of property damage. The Pensacola area is quite devastated and it will be a while before life returns to normal. I will be making arrangements with those who had scheduled classes in the near future to reschedule after life returns to normal.

12-May-2004 - I've been Published!

In early spring I headed down to Fort Myers to dive the Bayronto with the Association of Underwater Explorers. Mike Barnette wanted to get some photos for an upcoming article in the new Magazine Wreck Diving Magazine. However he was under the weather at the time and sent me down with his camera setup.

So the news? Check out Issue #2 of Wreck Diving Magazine, for an article on the Bayronto and photos by yours truely!

20-Apr-2004 - Introducing Chickdiver.com!

The site! (Well, it's still in progress)

15-Mar-2004 - My return to NACD

5 years ago, there was a bit of a falling out between myself and NACD. Thanks to Jay Wells' efforts, the NACD finally allowed me to rejoin this year, and I have started back on the road to teaching Full Cave. I just completed interning a cavern class with the TD, and he has reinstated me as an active status cavern instructor. So now I should be able to get into the intro IEC in September!