Retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer Seth Wade likely will have to get around using a wheelchair for the rest of his life– a daunting prospect at the age of 26. After losing use of his legs in a 2014 …
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![](mailto:?subject=Vet to Vet: Dive, Dive, Dive!&body=Retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer Seth Wade likely will have to get around using a wheelchair for the rest of his life-- a daunting prospect at the age of 26. After losing use of his legs in a 2014 auto accident that damaged his spinal cord while on deployment in Europe, Wade is adjusting to civilian life in his hometown of Tampa. But instead of being depressed about what he can't do as a paraplegic, Wade has decided to focus on what he CAN do-- snow and water skiing, sailing, and, just recently, scuba diving.
"Being in the water gives you a sense of freedom," Wade said between pool training sessions in Clearwater recently. "I love it. I can't wait to get to the good stuff."
Wade was trained by Scott Crawford, a U.S. Air Force retiree and owner/instructor at Rock Bottom Divers near Tarpon Springs. Crawford has been donating his time to teach and certify military vets-- both disabled and able-bodied-- as scuba divers for the past three years. He works with several non-profit veterans' groups to help defray costs for the dive boat, equipment and instructional materials.
"It's called 'adaptive diving'," Crawford said of how he trains his students. "It's based on what the candidate can do -- not what he can't do."
Crawford was introduced to Wade by Nelson Corbin, executive director of the North Carolina-based Wounded Veteran Retreat Program. Corbin, a U.S. Army Rangers veteran, began organizing outdoor outings for wounded vets about three years ago after his son, who served in Special Forces, lost both legs in Afghanistan.
Corbin helped out with Wade's dive training sessions in the pool and an inland spring. But neither he nor Crawford cut the young man any slack. Wade lowered himself from his wheelchair to pool side and in and out of the water. He had to perform the same skills as any other open-water dive candidate-- removing and clearing the mask underwater; executing out-of-air drills and emergency ascents; donning his buoyancy control device and many others-- all while swimming with webbed gloves and no fins. He took to the skills easily-- probably because he grew up fishing and snorkeling in Tampa Bay.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/P1010485.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4206" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/P1010485-1024x768.jpg" alt="P1010485" width="1024" height="768" /></a>
"Good work, man!" Crawford congratulated Wade.
The student earned both an open-water and Nitrox scuba certification through the SSI agency. Nitrox is a breathing gas containing less nitrogen than regular compressed air-- important for Wade because it means less nitrogen accumulating in the scar tissue on his spine. Too much nitrogen in the blood and tissues can lead to decompression sickness, or the 'bends' -- a painful and serious medical condition.
"It's nice having two vets [in training sessions]," Wade said. "Doing it with non-vets from a local dive shop would be not as comfortable."
The new scuba diver reflected back on the dark days of his post-accident recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, D.C. where he was treated by several psychologists, some of whom he "fired". But one who he called 'Lieutenant Dan' stood out as particularly helpful.
"Somehow, he was hooked up with Guy Harvey," Wade recalled.
'Lieutenant Dan' got Wade a limited-edition print of a tarpon signed by Harvey, along with a tee shirt. Today, that tarpon hangs over Wade's bed at home in Tampa.
"I never did get to thank Guy Harvey," Wade mused. "If you see him, tell him I said thanks."
<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/dive-packages/"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4200 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ad.jpg" alt="ad" width="737" height="301" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/vet-to-vet-dive-dive-dive/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Outpost Initiates "Trash to Treasure" Art Program&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11707509_946851132049337_3373697342381427908_n.jpg"><img class=" size-medium wp-image-2821 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11707509_946851132049337_3373697342381427908_n.jpg?w=300" alt="11707509_946851132049337_3373697342381427908_n" width="300" height="239" /></a>While a fleet of anglers chased mahi and wahoo in Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts' Bonfire Tournament on West End, Grand Bahama Island in June, artist Bobby Little stayed behind, keeping very busy at a table in the shade of Old Bahama Bay Resort as part of the “Trash To Treasure” initiative of the Bonfire Series.
One of several artists to be featured in the Guy Harvey Outpost "Trash to Treasure" program, Little used a wet saw and grinder to demonstrate for local artisans and resort guests how to turn waste conch shells into fashion jewelry.
Over a few hours, the piles of discarded shells were crafted into beautiful designs of angelfish, sea turtles, mermaids, pelicans and dolphins.
Guests purchased the finished products for $10 to $20 apiece, with a portion of the proceeds going to local vendors. Spending about $1,300 for tools and supplies, Little says, a Bahamian artisan could set up at a resort and make back his or her investment in about two days.
"One full-size conch shell is worth $300 to $500 when it's cut into jewelry," Little said. "You could create an industry on every island. Anyone who wants to work can work. Now you have a product made in the Bahamas you can sell in the Bahamas or you could export."
The Bonfire Beach Bash & Tournament at Old Bahama Bay featured Little-- a 53-year-old Hollywood, Fla. native who has lived on Rum Cay near San Salvador for decades and who doesn't limit his artistic vision to mounds of conch shells. On his frequent beach strolls, he collects washed-up plastic and turns it into trinkets; fashions rings out of whelk shells; converts dead coral into candle holders and lamps; and is best known for his dramatic 'burning' wahoo and marlin sculptures made of scrap metal. A 16-foot wahoo filled with flaming palm fronds and smoldering charcoal dramatically lit up the post-tournament Beach Bash. Both the wahoo and marlin are expected to be turned into artificial reefs that create habitat for marine creatures and attract divers.
Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts proposes to launch a series of beach clean-ups combined with fishing and art festivals in the Bahamas and South Florida where artists would collect trash, turn it into something beautiful, and compete for prizes for the best creations. Proceeds would be put toward ocean conservation.
"It will benefit the artists, the islands-- anywhere there's trash," Little said. "And there's such a large demographic that follows Guy Harvey's name."
Story by Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Staff Writer https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-outpost-initiates-trash-to-treasure-art-program-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Organizers Not Giving Up on Rapa Nui Dive Site&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/11242681_10152750655661710_105051262564212438_o.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2857 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/11242681_10152750655661710_105051262564212438_o.jpg?w=300" alt="11242681_10152750655661710_105051262564212438_o" width="300" height="169" /></a>The upside down wreckage of the Rapa Nui Reef 67 feet deep off the Deerfield Beach Pier looks like the dark basement of a house crushed by an earthquake. But maybe not for long.
Plans are reportedly in the works to cut openings for divers to access the hull of the 150-foot-long barge that crushed 14 Easter Island-like statues affixed to it during the problem-plagued June sinking. Broward County recently deployed 500 tons of limestone boulders dubbed 'Mount Deerfield' just north of the site. And philanthropist Margaret Blume of Boca Raton and artist Dennis MacDonald of Pompano Beach are considering placing more statues, called moai, in a sculpture garden in the sand around the barge.
Right now, Rapa Nui-- the Polynesian name for Easter Island--isn't much of a dive. Swimming beneath the barge is dangerous because it's only being held up off the bottom by the brittle remains of the statues and their concrete base. One strong storm, and the rusty hulk will plop into the sand.
But this project was not a complete failure. The goal of creating new marine habitat is already happening. Algae coats the overturned hull, attracting bait fish and the grunts and gray snapper that eat them. A reliable observer reported two Goliath grouper swimming around the wreckage. And when I dived it with Jeff Torode, operator of South Florida Diving Headquarters, a feisty triggerfish-- backed by a posse of its buddies-- attacked his GoPro as he shot video.
With the planned enhancements, Rapa Nui could become as enjoyable for divers to visit as it is now for fish. Visitors could easily explore the underwater artwork and Mount Deerfield in a single drift dive. And there are other scenic reefs --both coral and manmade-- in the immediate vicinity that warrant making a day of it.
"I would like to improve it as a dive site," Blume, who put up $500,000 for the June deployment, said. "I really hope we will do something wonderful even on a small scale. You can't give up too easily." https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/organizers-not-giving-up-on-rapa-nui-dive-site/){kind=link}
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