I am working on a new Cave Diving book titled: Cave Diving, Back in the Day
Here is my current INTRODUCTION to the book. If anyone diving in the 60s to the 80s would like to contribute their stories to the book, please let me know. I want to preserve as much of our early history as possible.
INTRODUCTION:
Long before cave diving became a recognized discipline with standardized training, specialized gear, and established guidelines, there was a small band of explorers who pushed themselves into Florida's underwater labyrinths armed with little more than curiosity, courage, and whatever equipment they could modify in a garage. In the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s, cave diving was not a sport; it was an experiment. A challenge. A dare whispered by the earth itself. And the men and women who answered that call laid the foundation for everything the modern community now takes for granted.
This book is a collection of their stories.
These are the tales shared around picnic tables at dive sites, at old dive shops that no longer exist, and around campfires after long days in the water. Stories told and retold, sometimes embellished, sometimes painful, always honest. They come from the original cave divers: those who mapped virgin passages, invented gear because none existed, and learned hard lessons through trial and error, and sometimes tragedy.
Inside these pages, you will find accounts of sneak dives into closed or unknown systems, close calls and near-misses that became cautionary legends, encounters with law enforcement and landowners, and the recollections of friends lost along the way. You'll also read about innovations born from necessity: homemade reels, early buoyancy concepts, the first attempts at gas planning, and the pioneers whose ideas shaped the techniques divers around the world rely on today.
This book is not meant to glorify the recklessness of the past, nor to sanitize it. Cave diving in those early decades was raw, experimental, and often dangerous. These divers operated in a world with almost no guidelines and very few mentors. Their mistakes became the rules we follow now. Their breakthroughs became the foundation of an entire culture of exploration.
By gathering these stories, photographs, and memories, Cave Diving, Back in the Day aims to preserve a piece of history that is already slipping beyond reach. Many of the pioneers are aging, some are gone, and countless details live only in their recollections. If we do not write them down now, they will disappear forever.
This is their record. Their history. Their voice.
Whether you are a seasoned cave diver, a new explorer, or someone fascinated by the intersection of adventure and ingenuity, these pages offer a window into a time when the underwater caves of Florida were wild, mysterious, and mostly unknown, and when every dive carried the thrill of discovery.
Welcome to the early days.
Welcome to the stories that shaped the sport.
Welcome to Cave Diving, Back in the Day.
