News

06/22/2012, Theresa Brown Cortez 1-877-EYE-DIVE (393-3493)

New adaptive divers join Pirates for 8th Annual Foundation trip to Cayman Brac

Pirates leave Saturday with 18 adaptive divers for life-changing trip

On June 23, persons with quadriplegia, paraplegia, amputees and other mobile disabilities will depart from points across the nation to converge on Cayman Brac to embark on a life-changing trip; enjoying one of the most mobile recreational sports for disabled and able-bodied people alike...scuba diving.

Eighty divers in all are headed to Brac Reef Beach Resort, eight of which just learned adaptive scuba diving through the Dive Pirates Foundation, a non-profit organization based in the Houston area with chapters across the United States giving back to injured military and others with disabilities in an effort to celebrate life after injury.

"For the past seven years we've heard from our recipients the joy in getting out of a wheelchair and swimming underwater over shipwrecks and coral reefs off the shores of Cayman Brac," said Sophie Wimberley, co-founder of the Dive Pirates. "We also have ten of our past recipients joining us on this year's trip, which is a testament to our success that we've introduced them to a sport that they can enjoy for years to come."

This year's recipients received their training materials from Scuba Schools International (SSI), which also provided additional training materials for advanced diver and master diver certification as well as NITROX. Texan Scuba, a PADI-affiliated dive store in Huntsville, TX also provided materials for one recipient, Jared LaDuke.

The Dive Pirates Foundation congratulates this year's foundation recipients, who have completed their training and assisted in fundraising along with their chapter dive stores to make this year's trip possible:

Sgt. Matt Richardson	US Army	Woods & Water Outdoor Sports Center, Brandon, FL
Specialist Roger Nelson	US Army	Mammoth Lake Scuba, Lake Jackson, TX
Specialist Dillon Cannon	US Army	W.W. Diving Co., Humble, TX
Max Faistenhammer	police officer	Capital City Scuba, Lansing, MI
Johnny Fisher		W.W. Diving Co., Humble, TX
Corporal Christopher Hull	US Army	New Mexico Scuba Center, Albuquerque, NM
Specialist Jared LaDuke	US Army	Texan Scuba, Huntsville, TX
Aaron Sifuentes		Crazy Scuba, Dallas, TX

The Dive Pirates Foundation gives special thanks to its sponsors; SSI, Brac Reef Beach Resort, Reef Divers II, renowned artist Rogest, Scuba DoRag, Pelican Case and JAWS Products for their dedication to adaptive scuba.

To coordinate photo opportunities before travel date contact Theresa Cortez at 877-393-3483.

To Contact Dive Pirates during their trip, contact Theresa@divepirates.org or call the Brac Reef Beach Resort at 800-594-0843. Skype interviews will be available.

Follow the week's adventures on Facebook or our website's blog.

The Dive Pirates Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing scuba diving to persons with disabilities and joining them with the mainstream of divers. Its vision is to create a community of adaptive divers that will dive and travel in the mainstream world of scuba diving through education and overcoming obstacles. For more information about the foundation go to www.divepirates.org.