Through conversations and shared expeditions with fellow members of The Explorers Club, my passion for the sea deepened into a broader mission; one rooted in exploration, understanding, and stewardship of the world’s marine environments. Introduced to the wonders of the deep by seasoned scuba divers and marine biologists, my plans are to expand my realm beyond the surface, plunging into coral reefs and shipwrecks, learning firsthand the fragile complexity of underwater ecosystems. Whether in remote atolls or sailing across vast ocean stretches, I am seeking to gain not only technical skills but a heightened sense of responsibility for the life beneath the waves. These experiences will transform me from a seeker of adventure to a devoted advocate for ocean conservation, driven by the belief that protection must go hand in hand with true exploration. Each journey will become not just a voyage of discovery, but a pledge to preserve the beauty and balance of the open seas for future generations. With the belief that one can only understand the sea by immersing oneself in, on, or under, the water, I set my sights on adventures founded by my past brief encounters with the sea. In my book, “A Transformation Takes Place’’ I chronicled the journey that lead me to where I stand today. Where my heart and soul lie, chasing horizons to where the sea meets the sky.
But time is not in my favor. To start at over 81 years of living is a precarious task. There are strength, endurance, and health issues that come with age. As a believer that one can do more than they think possible, I plunged into correcting what could be corrected. Tackling lifestyle changes meant exercising disciplines that would have complacent individuals questioning my sanity. I gain strength from doubters. I laugh at their pessimism. I am only limited by what my body tells me. Distasteful as it is, failure is not something to kill yourself over. You only really fail at what you don’t try to do!
Developing a plan that takes into account many variables (time, money, obligations, and abilities) is no easy task. There is always a need to compromise. Ideal plans must be tempered based on the variables.
Knowing this I set out to define a new path, a path that would lead to finding what I was looking for. Trying several things, I quickly learned what does work, what could work, and just as importantly, what doesn’t work. With the premise that one needs to immerse oneself in the sea and not merely stand on the shoreline thinking about it, I tried sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and studying oceanography. I read, watched videos, attended webinars and sat through presentations given by seasoned explorers, visited a Marine Science Institute, and had one on one discussions with marine biologists and oceanographers. I traveled to the closest shores that were accessible by a short drive. While Port Aransas, Indianola, and Port O’Conner gave me access to the Gulf and the Texas shoreline, I was still nowhere near what I sought. These activities did answer questions in my head about what is and isn’t possible. It also showed me where my interests were.
The clear winners were exploring places that held multiple opportunities for exploration. Going to the Florida Keys was first and foremost in my thinking. There I could scuba dive and snorkel. I could explore the reefs that justified Key Largo as the “dive capitol” of the world. From there, next would come the British Virgin Islands followed by French Polynesia. If living on an island is not feasible, going there is a great alternative.
Going to the sea was my chosen way of my understanding of the possibilities. Water covers about 71% of the earth’s surface and 97% of that are attributed to oceans. Additionally, Understanding complex ocean systems takes time at sea. Oceans have a profound impact of us from influencing weather patterns, to supporting fisheries and coast economies, affecting shipping, trade and maritime infrastructures for communications, mineral finds and military. Finally, it shapes long-term forecasting and resource management. As a member of The Explorers Club, the people I interact with, and some I call friends, are engaged in oceanographic pursuits. Hearing about their world, I became jealous and longed to experience what they experience. So, the question remains, if I am to be a steward of the ocean, where do I fit in? I’m not a scientist but I do have an appreciation of the efforts of those that are. I chose to follow three entities that are shaping a deeper understanding of the sea and thus are helping to preserve it. I identified organizations that I closely follow. One in particular, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), is the world’s leading independent non-profit dedicated to ocean science, technology, education, and communication. I subscribed to their quarterly publication and have donated some money in support. The second is Greenwater Marine Sciences Offshore (GMSO), headed up by G. Mark Miller (a friend and fellow Explorer Club member). GMSO has a globally-dispersed fleet of research vessels. One of the most significant developments taking shape in 2026 is GMSO’s collaboration with Victor Vescovo (another Explorers Club Texas Chapter member), centered on the design and future operation of next-generation deep ocean mapping vessels. The concept is ambitious: a hyper-efficient, 75-foot (23 m) platform equipped with full-ocean-depth multibeam sonar, capable of mapping nearly 2% of the global seafloor per year with a minimal crew and extended endurance. The third one is DEEP, a company whose mission is to advance how we can access, explore and inhabit underwater environments. I participated in webinars. One was led by PADI, the organization I am using to obtain my Open Water Certification through, and they held a panel with scientists from DEEP. The discussions centered around their underwater habitat called Vanguard. The discussions highlighted the engineering and technology DEEP had perfected. Vanguard would be deployed off the Florida Keys and allow researchers and scientists to live and work underwater for extended periods of time.
What became obvious was that my participation in the research and conservation of the sea would be relegated to studying it, supporting it financially, and following the scientists of these and other government and private industry that do this work. At 81, there isn’t much I could actively do in this regard. That in turn begged the question of what active participation beyond the travel plans could I realistically do? The answer led me back to the 3 S’s. These are sailing, snorkeling, and scuba diving.
Of the three, snorkeling is the most likely to be the one I do most. It’s easy, inexpensive, and fits nicely with my exploration locations. I have some limited experience with sailing but the commitment to the activity is more than I am willing and able to entertain. Which brings me to Scuba Diving.
I learned of an exploration from a presentation by a fellow Explorers Club member. The Menorca Shipwreck Project (MSP Project) would take me into unknown worlds. I had been accepted to participate in this Explorers Club (Flag N⁰ 69) expedition project in September. Where I to participate in the project, I would expand my knowledge of Indigenous Cultures far beyond North America while at the same time studying and getting PADI certified as an underwater archeologist. The objective of this expedition was to continue the exploration and documentation of a shipwreck at the mouth of Cala en Busquets, a harbor in the town of Ciutadella, Menorca, Spain. The wreck is thought to be that of La Purisima Concepcion de Nuestra Señora, a merchant bound for Genoa that sank in the winter of 1702. Scuba diving, a long-time bucket list item, at least for me is a puzzlement. I started the process of getting certified but had to stop shy of doing the required dives. Now facing cancer treatments, I can’t plan on completing the course leading to certification, nor could I ever contemplate diving with the MSP team. The puzzle is to figure out if or how I could manage diving with a health issue that leads to fatigue and lack of endurance.
This narrative is about the three stages of planning to chase the sunsets. Stage one spoke to exploring the oceans from the locations I seek. Hand in hand comes from increasing my knowledge about the sea by reading, watching, and following the work of the scientists that are spearheading the efforts to understand and protect the oceans. The third part of this plan is doing more than visiting the locales – snorkeling and or scuba diving would afford me a more personal view of the underwater venues I visit.
My mind and my body tell me I can’t attempt to finish my certification much less dive. It is then that I think back to 1991 and to one of the greatest baseball pitchers of all time, Nolan Ryan. On fan appreciation night, he was scheduled to pitch but didn’t expect to finish the game. He had told his pitching coach and manager before the start: “My back hurts, my heel hurts, I’ve been pounding Advil all day. I don’t feel good. I feel old today. Watch me closely.” Nolan was 44 and in baseball years, that is very old! He pitched anyway and threw a record setting 7th No Hitter, a feat no one has ever come close to matching. Sometimes the greatest performances come when you have every reason to fail—and choose greatness anyway. I wonder, do I have it in me?
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