Dive Pirates open the door to adaptive scuba diving to people with different abilities. It all started with three women sitting around the table. After a great day of diving, they started talking about their new certifications as adaptive scuba instructors. Who can we teach? Who would have interest? As news of the middle east…
Brendan Downes Brendan Downes has always been active. Early on, he learned his Spina Bifida did not define him nor his desire to be active. When he started using a wheelchair in 4th grade, he joined wheelchair basketball. He went on to play for University of Arizona. He tried scuba at camp and realized it was…
Danny Fik Danny Fik was born with spina bifida with tethered cord syndrome. He had to undergo multiple surgeries to free his spinal column to allow growth. The last surgery was not successful, and he began to use a wheelchair for mobility fulltime at age 13. Little did the world know, he would use that…
US Army Major Lisa Jaster headlines 15TH Annual Dive Pirates Ball WHAT: 15th Annual Dive Pirates Ball to include an online silent auction, live auctioneer, 2018 recipient, Retired USMC Major Waheed “WU” Khan WHO: Supporters of the Dive Pirates Foundation, past and present recipients, many dressed in pirate flair. Maj. Waheed “WU”…
Retired Major Waheed “Wu” Khan, USMC Retired Major Waheed was born in England and served in the US Marine Corps for 24 years with multiple commands and deployments, including the first Gulf War, Somalia, Kosovo, Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His American counterparts took his initials W.U. Khan from the back of his uniform and created…
Adaptive Diving: Training Agencies Come Together to Discuss Growing Community of Adaptive Divers Dive centers, operators, resorts, really the whole dive industry is now challenged to meet the needs and desires of a growing adaptive diving community, welcoming them to a very adaptable sport while also addressing standards and safety. In a ground-breaking seminar sponsored…
Pirates Down Under – Dive Pirates welcome four new chapters as it expands to Australia A collaboration between RAID International, RAID US, the Dive Pirates Foundation, and Sargood on Collaroy. This collaboration expanded adaptive diving in Australia to four dive facilities and six instructors. Additonally, four people with disabilities now certified and enjoying the ocean around…
Skills for Life Reaches out to Pirates to Offer Scuba Experience By Dive Piratesaccess_timeOctober 29, 2018 Two years into her career, as an occupational therapist, Shawn Johnson attended a Skills for Life meeting. It changed her life, and she has been changing others ever since. A prosthetics manufacturer sponsored the meeting, which hosted a doctor…
Retired Specialist (US Army) Jeff Ward A week after high school, Jeff Ward signed up for the Army. Overall, he spent two years with the Army and another six with the National Guard. Although the military offered many career paths, Jeff chose to follow his culinary passion. After serving in the Army mess hall, he…
Bob and Eulene Wagner were high school sweethearts, following each other to the University of Northern Colorado and through their 30-year teaching careers; Eulene taught elementary and Bob was a high school band director. Now enjoying retirement, they share something else, both have multiple sclerosis (MS). Eulene, diagnosed in 1996, continues to work through pain and…