Over a Decade Ago: (L to R) Dennis S., Jim S., Scott M., and Doug P.

If to be a Squirrel you need a sense of adventure, confidence in your abilities and a slight bit of craziness, then this motley crew that I was lucky enough to be associated with filled the bill. Like most photographs the story behind it is more interesting than the photo itself, both in terms of what happened that day as well as what was going on in what is now diving history. On this day we just returned from a dive on the James Longstreet, in Cape Cod bay. Weather wise; it was a miserable day with a near gale blowing out of the north-east, intermittent rain, and below normal early May temperatures. When we asked for directions for the nearest launch ramp at the local bait shop, the owner blurted; "you're not going out today"? It actually sounded like an order more than a question!

But out we went and we enjoyed a beautiful and memorable dive, even with the snotty seas. To me, that act of going out on that kind of day exemplified what these guys that I dived with were all about; the "let's give it a try" attitude. Don't get me wrong, it was not a "damn the torpedoes" kind of mind set. We merely knew our capabilities and wanted to try new things and do dives that most of the other divers we knew were not tempted to do.

It was the early nineties when we got together. After club meetings we would hold court at a local pub and talk about what the true pioneers and now legends like Sheck Exley, Gary Gentile, and Jim Bowden were up to. Of course we had our own Brian Skerry who's career we enviously followed. These guys where diving deeper and going places that no one had even dared to dream about! We hatched plans for our own adventures to the limits that our financial constraints and family situations would allow. From night dives on the wrecks of the Pinthis and Poling, to day trips north to dive the Empire Knight where Scott and I witnessed the biggest full "moon" that anyone would want to see on a dive boat. Each outing was an adventure! We headed to New York and New Jersey to dive the wrecks of Long Island and out to sea 70 miles to visit a pile of junk known as the Texas Tower. We slept in Vans, Jeep CJ's, in the bunks of fishing boats and in the coffin like racks on the dive boat Wahoo. Sometimes we didn't sleep at all and sat up with a sick friend on the lee rail of a storm tossed dive boat for a nine hour trip home.

We never got involved with things like the Wakulla Springs Project or dove the Doria (yet), but we did create images to load the photo albums of our memories, and we made friends. The truly important things like family and career constraints on time have fractured us a bit, but thankfully we stay in touch. And, I guess if there is a tidbit of wisdom to take away from this long-winded photo caption it is this: Go on your adventures now, while you can. It's too easy to roll over and stay in bed when it's blowing outside . . . ya just gotta give it a try!

Be Safe,
Dennis

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