Making a Difference
Celebrating Life After Injury or Diagnosis Through Adaptive Scuba Diving
Dive Pirates Foundation provides adaptive scuba training, equipment, dedicated buddies, and lifelong community for people with physical disabilities.
Become an Adaptive Diver
Discover adaptive scuba training and what it means to become a Dive Pirate.
See How Dive Pirates Works
Learn how training, buddies, chapters, equipment, and community support Pirates
Support the Mission
Help provide training, gear, and opportunities for the next generation of Dive Pirates.
we're making a difference
Get Involved!
ABOUT DIVE PIRATES
More Than
Learning to Dive
Dive Pirates helps people with physical disabilities become divers and keep diving through adaptive training, dedicated buddies, personal dive gear, accessible adventures, and a community that lasts.
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Adaptive Divers Trained & Equipped
Volunteer Opportunities
Find Your Place in the Crew
You don’t have to be an adaptive diver to become part of Dive Pirates. There are many ways to bring your experience, skills, and enthusiasm aboard.
Become a Volunteer Dive Buddy
Train to support adaptive divers both above and below the water.
Become a Dive Pirates Chapter
Bring adaptive scuba opportunities to your local diving community.
Join the Crew
Become a Dive Pirates member and help sustain the mission year-round.
TRIPS & EVENTS
Where the Crew Is Heading Next
Dive with us, celebrate with us, or meet the Pirates at an upcoming event.
LIFE AFTER THE FIRST DIVE
The Journey Doesn’t End With Certification
Becoming a Dive Pirate is only the beginning. Meet the adaptive divers who continue diving, travelling, challenging themselves, and helping the next generation of Pirates find their way underwater.
MAKE AN IMPACT
Choose How You Make a Difference
Join
Join the Crew
Become a member and provide ongoing support for the Dive Pirates mission.
Become
Support a Chapter
Help a local chapter provide adaptive training in its community.
STORIES FROM THE CREW
What Happens After That First Dive?
The Dive Pirates journey doesn’t end with certification or a single trip. Meet the adaptive divers, buddies, instructors, and families discovering what comes next.
“100 percent the best time of my life….I thought this was impossible; the Dive Pirates made it possible. I never imagined scuba diving as a quadriplegic; it was a little awkward at first, but I am in love with diving now."
Charles Davis
“It’s life-changing. I started to weep a couple times. Looking at the joy and the pleasure, we were equals. It did not matter whether we were missing an arm, a leg, we were equals.”
Brian Dupree
QUestion Answer
Questions Before You Dive In?
The Dive Pirates Foundation empowers people of all ages and abilities to experience the healing freedom of the water.
Dive Pirates works with medically qualified people with physical disabilities who want to experience scuba diving. Common participants include people with amputations, spinal cord injuries, mobility limitations, hearing loss, or vision impairment. While the program is open to qualified applicants, particular emphasis is placed on injured military, law enforcement, and first responder veterans.
No. Many Dive Pirates recipients begin with no previous scuba experience. Training is adapted to the individual while maintaining the knowledge, skills, and safety standards required for scuba certification.
Yes. Adaptive divers and buddies must complete the required Diver Medical paperwork and obtain a physician’s clearance before beginning training. Medical approval must be current and without diving restrictions that would prevent participation.
Dive Pirates helps eligible recipients with adaptive scuba training, appropriate dive equipment, buddy training, and opportunities to participate in Dive Pirates travel and community activities. Recipients also become part of a network designed to help them continue diving beyond their initial training.
There are plenty of ways to join the crew. You can donate, become a member, support a Pirate in training, support a local chapter, volunteer, become an adaptive dive buddy, sponsor an event or program, partner with the Foundation, or join us on a trip.
Choose the path that fits you best. Prospective adaptive divers can begin with the application process, divers can explore buddy and volunteer opportunities, dive professionals can learn about chapters and adaptive training, and supporters can explore the many ways to give.
Become an Adaptive Diver →
Get Involved →
Find a Chapter →
Ways to Give →
Join Us & be a part of something meaningful.
BECOME A DIVE CHAPTER, AN ADAPTIVE INSTRUCTOR, AN ADAPTIVE DIVE BUDDY, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR JOIN US AT EVENTS
“With PTSD, it never stops; it runs and runs and runs, and when you get underwater, it slows down; all you hear is the bubbles, my breathing, and focusing on everything around me... It’s amazing!”
US Army Captain Marlene Krpata Past recipient