What's in a Name?

At The Dive Pirates Foundation, we derive our name, our history, and pirate code from the combination of diving adventure and the romance of the Caribbean. Especially the panache of pirates. Traditionally, pirate crews would take care of injured crew members by making them peg legs, hooks, eye patches, etc.

Disabled crew members were not banished from the ship, but were given new tasks that they could perform and be useful to the rest of the crew. Additionally, they were also given a predetermined cut of the booty in exchange for their contribution.

Dive Pirates continues that spirit by bringing the Adaptive Scuba Divers along with the rest of the crew and cutting them in on the priceless booty of scuba diving in the Caribbean.

Our History

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…

Diving Code

  • Always follow the rules of safe scuba, even if you are a swashbuckling tech diver
  • If you find cool fish or beasties underwater, share with everybody but don’t brag when you get back to the boat or you will have to walk the plank
  • Stay off of the reef, you scurvy dog and don’t take no booty from the bottom of the sea
  • Tip your dive master, they need dive booty too
  • Play with the fish but don’t scare or touch them so that they hang around for the next ship of fools
  • Share your love of scuba with as many people as possible, even if they have a peg leg, glass eye or a hook (Because you know it is the coolest sport in the world)

Pirate Code

  • Booty must be shared with everybody on the boat, even if they are disabled
  • If someone is disabled, then we find a suitable Pirate Job for them on the ship and keep them in our crew
  • Always tell the truth to your dive buddy
  • Dive pirates do not commit felonies or serious misdemeanors just to get a T-shirt or a Scuba Do Rag, these toe rags are immediately disqualified
  • Be creative in your buccaneer missions, we need a good laugh
  • All practical jokes must be in the spirit of fun–we don’t make fun or ridicule or cause harm

These make up our steadfast pirate code.

Adaptive Diver Code

  • We don’t need no stinking wheel chair underwater!
  • Anything worth having is worth working for!
  • Don’t give up!

And this sums up our history and pirate code