Tag: Diver

Canadian diver, 28, dies while spearfishing off Key West, deputies say

A Canadian diver died Tuesday while spearfishing near a reef off Key West, according to Florida Keys deputies. Pieter Lodewikus Botha, 28, of Alberta was freediving with a group near Western Dry Rocks off Key West around 4 p.m. when he was found unresponsive on the sea floor, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday […]

Local diver passes away after Friday rescue

The Seattle scuba diving community is mourning the loss of 43-year-old Jonathan Saenz. On Friday, rescue crews flocked to Lake Washington after reports of a diver in distress. But it wasn’t the first responders that found him, it was a nearby boat, jumping into action. “If you’re on the water, you know, you should be […]

A Florida diver at the Skyway disaster reflects on Baltimore bridge collapse

For many Floridians, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore felt eerily familiar. Over four decades ago, the southbound span of the first Sunshine Skyway bridge was struck by the 19,734-ton freighter Summit Venture. Robert Raiola, a former Florida Department of Transportation bridge inspector, still remembers that day vividly. He and his […]

5 things to know about war hero and master diver Carl Brashear

Knowing when, and where, Carl Brashear grew up might make you pause when you learn he became the first Black master diver in the U.S. Navy. But Brashear never let adversity stand in his way. Born in the 1930s in rural Kentucky, Brashear’s parents were sharecroppers in the area around Larue and Hardin counties in […]

Diver Gets a Close Look at Boat Sunk to Create Haven for Marine Life

A 239-foot (72-meter) boat was sunk off the coast of northwest Florida to create a habitat for marine life. Video by Robert Renfrow shows the vessel going down, with dive footage showing the wreck. “The vessel … joins hundreds of other artificial reefs already deployed off the shores of northwest Florida and will serve as […]