Bob Thays

I had been interested in scuba diving since I was a teenager and saw a group of people diving in Devils' Lake; however, I did not know anyone who was a diver and I never persuaded my interest. It wasn't until my oldest daughter went off to college, that I met someone who actually was a diver so I shared with him that I always wanted to try Scuba. It so happened that a good friend of his was a scuba instructor and thus my career in diving was launched. I dove in many of the inland lakes in Wisconsin never considering salt water diving until a neighbor invited me to join a group going to Cozumel. To make a long story short, after my first ocean dive in Cozumel, I was hooked. After that, one week of vacation time each year was devoted to diving. I was in Cozumel late one year when it rained day and night for five days. After the second day of rain, my wife and I decided to take the Advanced Open Water Course to give us something to do, that actually started me on the road to becoming an Instructor. I have now dove in Bonaire, Roatan, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize, Tampa, and the Florida Keys and have been spoiled by warm clear water.

# Years Diving: 20 (first certified in 1986)
Highest Certification Level: PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
Instructor Since: 1999

Instructor Specialties:
_____ Altitude
_____ Boat
_____ Deep
_____ Drysuit
__X__ Enriched Air Nitrox
_____ Ice
_____ Drift
_____ Wreck
_____ Night
_____ U/W Navigation
_____ U/W Photographer
_____ U/W Digital Photographer
_____ U/W Videographer
_____ U/W Naturalist
_____ Search & Recovery
_____ Cavern
_____ DPV
_____ Multi-level
__X__ Emergency First Response
_____ Underwater Digital Photography
_____ Equipment Specialist
__X__ Others: Project AWARE, Peak Performance Buoyancy
_____ DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Injuries

Favorite types of diving: Any diving in warm salt water!
Favorite diving location: Bonaire
Full-time Employer: Psychotherapist/Spiritual Director
E-mail address: Spritualventure@aol.com