Hello!

My name is Katie and I have been diving for a little over one year. Since I've been certified I have been diving, diving, diving. My husband and I went to Negril for our honeymoon, which was just so-so. The water was warm, but the reefs were barren. It seems the fisherman don't understand what a preserved reef means. We did 10+ dives on our trip and almost every time were able to see fisherman nets hooked on coral and tons of fish trapped. It was quite sad.

On a happy note, my husband and I made a nice trip out to the Channel Islands off Ventura this past May. It was amazing! The sea lions, garibaldi, sheeps head and sea anemones were flourishing. This is the first dive i've done and thought geez, i really need a drysuit.

Basically, my husband and I can't get enough of diving. We are regulars at Willow Springs (our local quarry). It'd be nice if we had the Great Barrier Reef or Bonaire close-by, but we take what we can get here in PA. After a recent trip to the Jersey beach for a shore dive, i don't mind the quarry all that much. Crashing waves and killer rip tides don't make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Having said that, i have always had the penchant for artifacts. The ocean off NJ offers some amazing wreck diving, which of course comes with some crazy currents, rip tides, etc. I'll just have to buck up and do it.

2007 Trips:

Cape Fear River, North Carolina - Artifact diving
Cooper River, South Carolina - Megalodon, sabre tooth tiger teeth and other cool stuff
West Palm Beach, Florida - Reef diving
Stuart Coves, Bahamas - Shark diving
Key West, Florida - Reef diving
Bar Harbour, Maine - Lobster fishing