Members of Saginaw Underwater Explorers float in a silent world

Bruce A. Beckert remembers where he was when astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took their first steps on the moon in 1969.

"We were diving at a shipwreck on Isle Royale, and we stopped to watch it on a television at the lodge up there," said Beckert, 79, of Saginaw. "Then we just continued our dive.

"It's like another world itself diving up there; after the clear water and shipwrecks around Isle Royale, you almost don't want to go anywhere else."

And though he admits he hasn't "gotten wet" in 20 years, he's one of many who will help the Saginaw Underwater Explorers celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. A charter member, Beckert started taking lessons in the pool at the old YMCA at Michigan and Ames when the club formed in 1959 and in the years since, he's held just about every office in the longest-running diving club in Michigan.

"That was the year I was born," chuckled its current president, Mike K. Fabish, 50, of Thomas Township. But between talking with older members such as Beckert and John R. Garner, and his own underwater experiences, he's championed the club for the past 11 years...[MLive.com]

Master diver Aisek honored: Inducted into International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame

The late master diver Kimiuo Aisek, founder of the Blue Lagoon Dive Shop in Chuuk, was inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Jan. 26 on Grand Cayman Island.
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Aisek helped make Truk Lagoon in Chuuk State one of the most popular wreck dives in the world. He died in 2001 of a heart attack.

Accepting the award on his behalf in Grand Cayman were two generations of Aiseks: Kimiuo's son, Gradvin, and grandson, Iadvin.

In 1998, Kimiuo Aisek had purchased the Truk Continental Hotel from Continental Airlines, and converted it to the Truk Blue Lagoon Resort.

On Nov. 13, 2008, Blue Lagoon Dive Shop celebrated its 35th anniversary. It is run entirely by the Aisek family of Kuchua village, Tonoas Island (formerly Dublon).

Born on Sept. 13, 1927, Kimiuo Aisek was reared during the Japanese era in Truk. Working for the Japanese Navy as a stevedore, he became familiar with the cargo ships used by the Imperial Navy's Fourth Fleet based in Truk...[Guampdn.com]

Scuba diver notches 2000th dive in frigid Prince William Sound

There is a small but close-knit community of Scuba divers in Alaska. A very small percentage of them actually dive in the cold waters here though. Most dive only on warm-water vacations. Lisa Vandergriff of Anchorage is one of the exceptions.

On Jan. 31, she completed her 2,000th dive. Of those 2,000 dives 1,654 have been in the frigid waters of Alaska. 1,559 have been in Smitty’s Cove in Whittier, where she also made her first dive in March 1995. She has averaged over 140 dives per year since certifying. Smitty’s Cove was where she chose to make that momentous 2,000th dive. Her husband and eight of their close friends joined her in the water, while several others observed from shore. Water temperature was a crisp 36 degrees. The air temperature was 16 degrees. Fortunately, there was no wind. At 35 feet, visibility was great. We gathered on the boat ramp and made our dive plan. Then we dropped under water and toured the northeastern portion of the cove.

On the tour we saw two large wolf eels guarding an egg ball, white dorids and opalescent nudibranchs, lingcod, copper rockfish, kelp greenling and a sea cucumber. The highlight of the dive was a frolicsome sea otter that swam down and wove it’s way between the divers. It is very rare that a sea otter will get close enough for a diver to see it...[TurnagainTimes]