2003
Dive Pirates was originally a social club of divers who shared diving stories and pictures and played practical jokes. All of which were started by Barbara Thompson and Sophie Wimberley of Houston, TX and Nettie Evans of Linton, IN. In 2003, the three started fundraising efforts with their first dive pirate chapters: New Mexico Scuba Center and Scuba Houston.
2004-2005
In 2004, the Foundation began to focus on injured military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. This led to a formal fundraiser gala at the Houston Downtown Aquarium early in 2005. The success of the event and its generous donors allowed the foundation to take four disabled divers and their buddies to Cayman Brac Beach Resort in Cayman Brac.
The trip was an overwhelming success. Nettie’s husband Bob, along with Tracey and Martine Hamilton of Dallas,TX and Ginnie and Chris Pulliam of San Antonio, TX joined the trip. Together, they formed a Board of Directors for the non-profit that also included Lou Brown of Christoval, TX, Byrdie Thompson of Tulsa, OK, Nancy Walker of San Antonio, TX and Dave Kuhary of Cleveland, OH. They committed to forming a non-profit organization, training more instructors, teaching as many injured veterans as possible. They then began expanding nationwide.
2006
In 2006, Cayman Brac Beach Resort joined us as a partner. They committed to exclusively providing diving services to the Dive Pirates Foundation. This commitment included conversion of 3 rooms to American with Disabilities Act standards and training several of the dive staff as adaptive diving instructors. Not only does this give the Dive Pirates a Caribbean home, but is a great referral resource. Past adaptive divers have committed by repeating dive trips as paying customers. The return of past recipients is the ultimate vision of the Dive Pirates Foundation. It lays the groundwork of our continuing history and pirate code.
And the rest as they say is history…