Oceans of Opportunity

Category: Dive in to an ‘Ocean State’ of Mind

Spaceship Earth | a review

I just recently returned from personally visiting the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 facility out in the middle of the desert. As a kid, I remember news headlines highlighting the 2 year social experiment that placed a team of ‘Biospherians’ inside the isolated ecosystem – it was really quite interesting to see where the project…

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Portable Inflatable Habitats | some context from 2021

In June–July 1964, Ed Link – businessman, inventor, philanthropist – conducted his second Man-in-the-Sea experiment in the Berry Islands (a chain in the Bahamas) with Robert Sténuit and Jon Lindbergh, one of the sons of Charles Lindbergh. Sténuit and Lindbergh stayed in Link’s SPID habitat (Submersible, Portable, Inflatable Dwelling) for 49 hours underwater at a depth of 432 feet (132 m), breathing…

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Dive #5000 | reflections & ten unsolicited tips

This morning I looked down at my weight harness for an extra few seconds as I contemplated throwing it over my shoulders yet again…as hard as we work to make things easier, some parts of the process are here to stay. I went ahead with it, for the 5000th time – today I completed my…

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#filltheboot for Muscular Dystrophy

Today was our local fire department’s ‘Fill the Boot’ day to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy research, awareness, and community support. As I dropped in my handful of cruddy change from the cup holder in my truck I couldn’t help but reflect back on our work with Matt Johnston and his Diving a Dream project…

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind

They say “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, and that may well be the case for pickers galore, or even for we subaquatic pickers – wreck hunters, salvors, and history nerds. But it’s not all fun and games… In some cases, underwater wreckage is actually a watery grave, and must be treated with the…

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Gold Digging and Clam Diggers

My lack of blogging in recent months has been due to anything but lack of interest or creativity. To the contrary, there is so very much to share with the world from the journey through this past stretch… Despite the tremendously volatile industry I’ve managed to practice within – that being diving of the working…

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a lesson on the cycle of life and death, to, from, and within the sea

If this image bothers you, well – it shouldn’t. This is the reality of life and death on and beneath the sea. Since the start of May, I’ve averaged about 25 hours per week underwater. That is not my busiest stretch, but certainly a far cry from being a sedentary land-lubber. To do that kind…

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Bottom feeding, with Mercenaria mercenaria

When the going gets tough, the tough go digging clams – quahogs for we Rhode Islanders that is. The journey of life never ceases to amaze me, and when viewed through that lens, as a journey, it’s amazing what can be taken in stride. Diving as a trade has blessed me with that outlook, and…

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Don’t Sweat the Cold | X-Core Thermal Protection Review

I like to think I’ve aged well with diving. There have been some grueling periods where I know I wreaked havoc on myself physically and physiologically during arduous working dives, but in hindsight, I was always smart enough to take the little things into consideration that I had a hunch would help me prolong my…

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The Gift of Giving, ’cause its a Cause

I struggle with the Christmas holiday, and have struggled for a significant portion of my adult life, and probably spend a solid month of every holiday season deep in thought about the how and why this is. I wouldn’t say its holiday depression per se, but rather a forced very careful, personal, and intimate reflection…

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