Category: Dive in to an ‘Ocean State’ of Mind
Can we flush our negligence, or has Narragansett Bay really just gone to $#!T?
Bristol. East Providence. Aquapalooza. Three sewage-related closures in one season remind us that Narragansett Bay can absorb a great deal—but our negligence just won’t go down the drain. I spend a good amount of my working days on—and primarily beneath—Narragansett Bay. Down there, the world is reduced to a few honest things: water, muddy blackness,…
Read MoreThe Sakonnet and the Sturgeon
On June 9th, 2026 I sat through the painful 4 hour hearing for the Coastal Resource Management Council’s (CRMC) assent of SouthCoast Wind’s application to run high voltage export cables up through the Sakonnet River. I very infrequently, if ever, attend these types of public hearings – not for lack of interest, rather that I’m…
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Portable Inflatable Habitats | some context from 2024
In June–July 1964, Ed Link – businessman, inventor, philanthropist – conducted his second Man-in-the-Sea experiment in the Berry Islands (a chain in the Bahamas) with Robert Sténuit and Jon Lindbergh, one of the sons of Charles Lindbergh. Sténuit and Lindbergh stayed in Link’s SPID habitat (Submersible, Portable, Inflatable Dwelling) for 49 hours underwater at a depth of 432 feet (132 m), breathing…
Read MoreOut of Sight, Out of Mind
They say “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, and that may well be the case for pickers galore, or even for we subaquatic pickers – wreck hunters, salvors, and history nerds. But it’s not all fun and games… In some cases, underwater wreckage is actually a watery grave, and must be treated with the…
Read Morea lesson on the cycle of life and death, to, from, and within the sea
If this image bothers you, well – it shouldn’t. This is the reality of life and death on and beneath the sea. Since the start of May, I’ve averaged about 25 hours per week underwater. That is not my busiest stretch, but certainly a far cry from being a sedentary land-lubber. To do that kind…
Read MoreBottom feeding, with Mercenaria mercenaria
When the going gets tough, the tough go digging clams – quahogs for we Rhode Islanders that is. The journey of life never ceases to amaze me, and when viewed through that lens, as a journey, it’s amazing what can be taken in stride. Diving as a trade has blessed me with that outlook, and…
Read MoreDon’t Sweat the Cold | X-Core Thermal Protection Review
I like to think I’ve aged well with diving. There have been some grueling periods where I know I wreaked havoc on myself physically and physiologically during arduous working dives, but in hindsight, I was always smart enough to take the little things into consideration that I had a hunch would help me prolong my…
Read MoreThe Gift of Giving, ’cause its a Cause
I struggle with the Christmas holiday, and have struggled for a significant portion of my adult life, and probably spend a solid month of every holiday season deep in thought about the how and why this is. I wouldn’t say its holiday depression per se, but rather a forced very careful, personal, and intimate reflection…
Read MoreLurking in the Shadows of September 11
Today will forever be one of those days where every American will reminisce a bit and contemplate where and how we are moving forward. In my case, today the dive supervisor reminded me that this was the 4th anniversary of Lyle passing away. Lyle Smith was the owner of Coastal Diving in Middletown, RI –…
Read MoreBoring worms aren’t that boring
Ahh, the glamour and high life promised to we commercial divers – international travel, becoming part of fabled sea stories, mega-buck paychecks – boils down an inconvenient truth; boring worms aren’t (or at least shouldn’t) be that boring. For every one of those fabled sea stories that turns into a reality, there are at least…
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