INTERNATIONAL LEGENDS OF DIVING 2009

AT UNEXSO On GRAND BAHAMA Island

Humbling.  Educational.  Inspiring.  And some damn good diving with incredible people.

Honestly, where else on Earth are you going to be able to meet (and dive with) this many pioneers of the activity you love most in life?  Yeah, the diving was good (as you’d expect at UNEXSO), but we we there mingle with the Legends, and we would have followed them into a swamp if that’s where the convention was to be held.  Thankfully, sunny Grand Bahama Island was our home for the week, as we listened to the Legends speak to classes of school kids, show memorabilia, talk about the good old days, receive their achievement awards, and, of course, dive! 

Dottie, who is approaching 30 years old, I believe, showed us that age is a state of mind, like anything else in life, and anyone can accomplish anything they put their minds to.  Nick, pioneer and historian, had a grand story for every conversation.  John, Ollie, Dr. Clements, Neal, Robert, Dave, Dick, & Charles all taught us what its like to dive on the frontier and create history and a viable industry out of dive tourism.  Cristina and Ben, with their finesse & skill, brought every one of us closer to their sharks with passion , knowledge, and caring unrivaled in the dive industry.  We learned that Dr. Jones, who is an underwater archaeologist & educator, is also a 7th dan TaeKwon Do expert!  Alec brought part of his collection of Sea Hunt memorabilia and entertained kids and adults for hours with tales of the deep.  Robert, champion freediver, explained how with the navy, he subjected his body to extremes that were then though to kill a man - but he was no ordinary man!  DAN’s Dan lended his speaking eloquence as emcee and solidified DAN’s support for the event.  And then there was Jeff and Keith, the movers & shakers of the event, who made it all happen, and could make anything happen.  And there were more Legends who I barely had time to meet, as well as divers from all over, who made the pilgrimage to come diving at this once-in-a-lifetime event (until next year!).

I’ve been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things.  But I can honestly say that this was the single coolest week of diving in memory.  I am proud to be the official photographer for the International Legends of Diving events, and sincerely hope everyone likes the images, even if you couldn’t make it down this year.  I created HUNDREDS MORE IMAGES that I wish I had room to show.  Here, I’ve selected some of my favorites, and this is the most I’ve ever shown in a single gallery.