Why (and Where)  I Like to Dive!

Until January of 2006, I was the owner of ASK Scuba & Snorkeling Center, a SDI/TDI 5 star and PADI dive center in Dublin Ohio.  After 32 years in retail, I received an offer to sell that business.  I now have time to devote to diving for "fun" and that is what I have been doing.  

I have also been writing and in September of 2007, I sold my first novel.  The Stela Passageway is a mystery that involves a group of cave divers who discover a document in a passageway in the Yucatan.  If the contents of the document are made public, it will change the way the world thinks of the Spanish Catholic Church and the Mayan civilization.  The book is now available through Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com  and the publisher's web site - PublishAmerica.com.

My second book, The Jaguar's Paw,  featuring the same characters and diving in Belize and Honduras was published April 15, 2009.  The Jaguar’s Paw  involves the discovery of stolen artifacts and their recovery.  Both of my novels involve a great deal of diving, but are factually accurate and reflect the sport I love in a positive light. 

I like to write fiction, based on historical facts.  Both of the above books are like that and my third novel - tentatively titled The Puzzle Box is also based on a historical fact.  Because of my involvement with my new bakery, progress on this book is slow, but I hope to have it out by next December.

For the recent article in the Suburban News of Columbus about me and my first two books follow this link Columbus Local News.

In 2006 I dove in Belize, Cayman Brac, Gilboa Quarry, Portage Quarry, Mt Storm, West Virginia; Circleville Twin Quarries, Lakeview Park, Tahiti, Aqua Cat in the Bahamas and Ginnie Springs Florida.   My 2007 dive travels included: Grand Cayman and the Philippines and have been diving regularly at Gilboa, Portage, Circleville Twin Quarries and Lakeview Park in Lancaster.

In addition to being a PADI Master Instructor and an SDI/TDI Instructor Trainer, I am a Medic First Aid Master Trainer and a DAN Instructor Trainer.  My non-compete clause with the people who bought my store ended on January 5, 2009.  Since then I have taught Discover Scuba Classes and am planning a trip to Bonaire in July of 2010.  I have also been retained by a dive store in the area as a consultant.

Additionally, I have been teaching Medic First Aid classes and instructor classes.

You might think that because I have dove all over the world in some pretty exotic locations (the Red Sea, the Maldives, Australia, Fiji, Truk Lagoon, Dominica, Cozumel, Honduras, Belize, Panama, etc) that local diving would bore me to tears.  Not true.  I like diving the quarries and the Great Lakes.  I like the peace and solitude that comes with diving anywhere.  But in fresh water quarries I can spend hours watching blue gills build and defend their nests.  I like to search for fresh water jellyfish in the quarries in the fall and to sneak up on nearly dormant fish during the winter on an ice dive.  And now since the zebra mussels have done such a good job of cleaning up the lakes I find exploring the wrecks there is less of a challenge than it was the first time I dove lake Erie and found myself stuck head first in the mud.

In the spring of 1995 as  I was sitting at an outdoor bar in Grand Cayman, I watched some divers learning how to use Rebreathers.  Curiosity got the best of me and the next thing I knew I found myself talking them in into giving me a Rebreather Demo dive.  I did not realize it at the time I started that conversation that I was talking to Rob Palmer – the tech diver who was one of the pioneers in introducing Rebreathers to the Bahamas and the US.  Immediately after that demo dive, I decided I needed to get Rebreather certified.  

Trouble was I was not yet certified for nitrox.  Getting certified for nitrox was not too complicated because I had an instructor on my staff who had the qualifications to teach that.  The Rebreather was a bit more complicated.  However, in one action packed weekend at Dutch Springs in Pennsylvania I became not only a SCC Rebreather Diver but also a TDI Nitrox and rebreather instructor for Drager Dolphins and DragerRays.  My instructor was Cliff Simeneau.

Several years later I also became an instructor trainer for another SCC Rebreather – the Frog.   And truthfully, I enjoy diving my Frog more than Dragers – but that is another story.

Years ago – long before commercial housings were widely available I began experimenting with homemade housings for both still and movie cameras (yes movie cameras).  My ex husband and I used various Plexiglas containers – some that we had custom ordered from a local company to house a variety of cameras.  We even produced a movie about cave diving that won first place at the Ohio Council of Skin and Scuba Diving Inc.’s annual competition.  Now my photography has gotten a bit more sophisticated.  And with the added benefit of not having a dive store to run I have had time to experiment with digital photography and video.  And I have the time to edit my videos the way I never could before. 

Dives logged   - 5662 and counting

Year I started diving – 1963

Year certified – 1968

Certifications:

Favorite dive sites besides the above anywhere there is water: 

My First Scuba Training Class