My Passion for Scuba

I first started diving back in 1995, when my friend and scuba instructor Curt Harpold offered discounted lessons to everyone in the Sun office who was going to Hawaii for SunRise Club, our annual sales awards party. Having been curious about scuba for a long time, I took the bait, and I've been gettin' wet ever since.

Scuba John
  • If you want information on scuba classes, equipment, dive trips, or anything else diving-related in the Washington, DC area, visit Splash Dive Center in Alexandria, VA.
  • Professional Association of Diving Instructors Thinking about getting scuba certified yourself? Visit PADI's web page to get the lastest from the world's leading diving organization. You'll find stuff on courses, trips, and information on all kinds of other scuba-related activities.
  • Divers Alert Network The Diver's Alert Network (DAN) may save your life one day. They provide evacuation and decompression assistance far and above what your health insurance typically provides and is a must for anyone considering diving on a regular basis.
  • The U.S. Navy has a problem: what to do with 400 mothballed ships rusting away in storage shipyards. On April 6, 2001, the Secretary of the Navy released a study by the Rand Corporation recommending that the sinking of these ships to form artificial reefs was the best of all solutions (fellow Republicans: it was also the cheapest, making up for the initial cost in a few years). This option not only would establish habitats for a wide variety of marine animals, but provide jobs for many American taxpayers, including sportsmen and naturalists.

Scuba Flag Cooper River, South Carolina

What could divert me away from the clear saltwater diving I routinely do in the world's most beautiful tropical locations? Shark tooth fossils, of course! Take a look at what I found in the dark, murky riverbeds of South Carolina.

Scuba Flag The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

We always do a really big trip every three years. In 2005, that was the beautiful Galápagos Islands, 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. We spent eleven days on the MV Deep Blue courtesy of tour guides Galápagos Adventures and experienced the unique land life of the southern islands as well as the big pelagic animals (that means sharks!) in the north at Wolf and Darwin Islands.

John on the Great Barrier Reef Scuba Flag Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, Australia

Here are some photos and a video from a hopefully not once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea off the eastern coast of Australia. Some friends and I spent two weeks Down Under in the summer of 2002.

Scuba Flag Grand Cayman, BWI

A bunch of Sun diving buddies and I were down on Grand Cayman's east end in September 2000 for a bachelor's week of underwater sightseeing in the British West Indies. Here are the underwater pics and a video of us at the famous Stingray City.

Scuba Flag Kavieng, Papua New Guinea

In September 1999 we went to one of the last great unspoiled diving paradises in the world. We headed out for ten days' diving on Mike Ball's Paradise Sport, the newest and most luxurious of the famous Mike Ball fleet.

John on Shark Feeding Dive Scuba Flag Nassau, Bahamas

Our trip to Nassau, Bahamas at Stuart Cove's Dive South Ocean in August 1998, including pictures and a video of our shark feeding dives.

Scuba Flag Cozumel, Mexico

Pictures from my annual trips to Cozumel, including some incredible underwater shots and a video.

Scuba Flag Monterey, California

Some shots of some of the unique Pacific underwater wildlife in Monterey while cruising on the Cypress Sea.

Scuba Flag Key West, Florida

Every few years, my scuba buddies and I head down for a long weekend of diving in Looe Key, just north of Key West.


It's amazing how much scuba you can pick up in a short amount of time if you'd just knuckle down and get fanatic about it! Here's a quick summary of milestones in my scuba experience:

September 1995 Open Water Scuba Diver certification completed in Virginia
February 1997 Advanced Open Water certification completed in Cozumel, Mexico
February 1998 Boat Diver specialty work completed in Monterey and Cozumel
April 1998 Emergency First Response training completed in Virginia
May 1998 Dry Suit specialty completed in Monterey, California
May 1998 Enriched Air/Nitrox specialty completed in Virginia
June 1999 Rescue Diver certification completed in Virginia
September 1999 Underwater Photographer specialty completed in Papua New Guinea
September 1999 Dive number 100 enjoyed at Ral Island, Papua New Guinea
September 2000 Underwater Navigator specialty completed in Grand Cayman, BWI
September 2000 Master Scuba Diver rating achieved
February 2004 Dive number 250 enjoyed on the wreck of the Felipe Xicoténantl, Cozumel, Mexico