Find out more about all our adaptive divers by viewing the photo and video galleries.
On the first trip to the divers paradise island of Bonaire, to the wonderfully hospitable Dive Flamingo Beach Resort, one new recipient Jason Kelley and several returning alumni pirates enjoyed some fabulous diving adventures.
Overseas travel was still an issue so the pirates took safe harbor again in Key Largo, Florida, and secured passage with Rainbow Reef Dive Operators, for another successful trip.
Due to the storm that was COVID-19, the pirates took safe harbor in Key Largo, Florida, and secured passage with Rainbow Reef Dive Operators. Pirates drove, flew, Uber’d, it took many an effort to reach this destination and find our first respite of vittles and grog at Sharkey’s, led by Hellen (Shark Bait Brit who re-conned our efforts and sorted us for Sunday’s diving.)
Two trips during 2018 giving us double the fun!
With trips to Cayman Brac, Cozumel and Hawaii.
Double the dose, 2016 featured two back to back trips to Cayman Brac.
In 2015 Dive Pirates launched its next adventure, 2.0, an effort to find more diving locations accessible to its recipients. Venturing out to Utila, Honduras, Kona, Hawaii, Cozumel, Mexico and Cayman Brac, the foundation sponsored 14 recipients and their dive buddies.
10 YEARS IN THE MAKING! Our 10th-anniversary trip, we pirates took 11 recipients to our pirate lair, The Brac Reef Beach Resort, to spend an incredible week diving with Reef Divers II. Six of our recipients were injured veterans, four of which injured in combat. Others on the trip suffered accidents or disease-causing limited mobility, including rheumatoid arthritis and MS. Seven other past recipients, also joined the trip to enjoy the week of comradery, flag stealing, and breath-taking serenity of the Reef both above and below.
This was a very moving trip, with 8 recipients, many of whom had challenging recoveries after difficult deployments. Their stories and drive to celebrate life after injury truly inspired the 80-plus trip-goers on another beautiful trip to Cayman Brac.
This trip was off the hook from the beginning, selling out in 3 days. We had a waiting list that was growing by the minute, past recipients and members just had to be part of the annual pirate fun.
Our 8th trip, with 8 great recipients and another 10 returning, was a heart-warming experience for all… captured well by professional photographer and Dive Pirate Curtis DeGidio.
The 7th Annual trip celebrated life after injury for 10 adaptive recipients, and another ten returning recipients on the largest trip yet. The trip included many firsts…the first blind diver, the first Miss Dive Pirates Competition, the Deep Dive Challenge, the first underwater photo with all boat signs.
But some things don’t change, they just get better: the diving, the fun, the camaraderie, the smiles when first experiencing the Caribbean, the underwater critters. We thank our adaptives who trust us to put the gear on their backs to enjoy another dimension of God’s creation. Hear about it from our new recipients, the stars of this video.
Dive Pirates say “It’s good to be Brac” and headed to the Caymans for our annual event with 82 travelers, 9 new classified students, and 6 returning adaptive divers from previous trips. Brac Reef Beach Resort hosted our motley crew, and Reef Divers II operated 5 boats for the week of diving.
This year the group learned underwater photography with David Haas, Rogest designed our unique shirt for the week, and every volunteer received a gold “piece of eight” for their service and commitment to the organization. Our success is possible through the generous donations of time, talent and treasure with a special thank you to SSI, the Tibbetts family and all the staff of Brac Reef Beach Resort and Reef Divers II
Neither a massive hurricane named Paloma that hit Cayman Brac in November 2008 nor the global recession would keep the Dive Pirates from enjoying the beautiful island and turquoise sea as the first tourists since the storm. Brac Reef Beach Resort hosted 63 travelers, with 58 divers, 12 new students, and 2 returning adaptive divers to go diving with Reef Divers II.
This year’s trip, coined “Out Brac – Pirates Down Under” had a uniquely designed shirt by Rogest and was made possible by the generous donations at our annual Pirates’ Ball, ABB Grant, SSI, as well as contributions from new chapters across the country. The Tibbetts family continued their commitment to fully supporting the foundation through the organization and final logistics of the trip.
Dive Pirates was once again warmly welcomed to Brac Reef Beach Resort, Cayman Brac with 46 divers, 6 new students, 3 returning adaptive divers along with 5 non-divers for a total of 51 travelers to go diving with Reef Divers II. There were many fun activities planned on this trip as well as the closing awards banquet honoring all of our new diving graduates.
Dive Pirates has already planned next year’s trip for June 20-27, 2009, and has booked the entire resort, which holds 80 persons, along with 5 dive boats to support the divers.
Dive Pirates took 27 divers including 3 new students, 3 returning adaptive divers plus 9 non-diver supporters to the Brac Reef Beach Resort, and dove with Reef Divers II. During the trip, 6 of the staff of Reef Divers were trained as adaptive instructors in order to make Reef Divers II an SSI Universal Referral Site for adaptive divers.
Brac Reef Beach Resort, based on the enthusiasm and success of the trip, has committed to upgrading 3 rooms to full US ADA standards.
Dive Pirates was asked to join the Cody Unser 2nd Great Scuba Adventure, which was sponsored by the Christopher Reeve Association.
Eight adaptive divers from throughout the US were joined by their buddies, instructors, and a strong group of other divers and supporters for a 5-day trip that included wreck diving and shark feeding.
The trip had 61 travelers, 46 divers, 8 adaptive divers, and used 3 dive boats. The trip was successful because of lots of hard work by the staff of Stuart Cove and the participants on the trip.
4 recipients were taken for a week to this terrific dive destination along with 10 other mainstream divers and supporters. After witnessing the success of our adaptive divers and our program, Brac Reef and Reef Divers asked to be the exclusive dive resort for Dive Pirates.
The accommodations and boats are ideally suited for amputees and wheelchairs. Dive Pirates agreed, and Brac Reef began specific marketing campaigns to publicize our cooperation
