Harvey Boyd passed away

[aw]

Thanks for posting Kelly. I had a voice mail from Rick yesterday morning telling me about the news, but didn't ever get around to listening to it till about 2 hours ago. That's when I found out. I was going to contact you about posting something if you hadn't already.

I was in Jacksonville for work a month ago. I had plans to visit with Harvey and Jennifer while I was there. That week, I got an e-mail from him saying he wasn't feeling well again. I totally understood. Now, I wish it had worked out where we could have spent that time together.

The way I met him was I used to order his cave diving videos. I was probably one of the few who had just about every single one he ever published. And one or two he didn't. I had ordered so many that we eventually dove together. The first time I dove with him was the time Kelly guided me and Harvey at Hart Spring back in Feb of 2005.

I recall a video dive Harvey and I did in Peacock III to Hendley's Castle in May 2006. He had never been down to the bottom of Hendley's before, so we got some mix at Rennaker's and videod the dive. I was excited because I got to be the lead diver in the video. Finally, I was in the limelight. hahaha. He never published it, but I got a copy of it.

I remember when I had told him about my advanced trimix class and hitting my lifetime max depth of 287 ft in Diepolder III. Later, he took his trimix class. I remember him calling me and bragging he hit 289 ft (I believe it was) in the same hole.

In May 2007, we spent a week cave diving together. Had lots of fun. Then, the last time I got to see Harvey was just before he got sick. In August 2007, We did two dives. The first dive was downstream Emerald Sink. Then that afternoon, I took him for his first dive ever in "Harvey's Sink" in Crawfordville. Seems quite ironic now. I'm not sure, but that may have been the last dive he did. Harvey had a lot of cave experience and I really looked up to him.

My dive database shows that I had done 19 dives with him totalling 18.5 hours of bottom time and 3.5 hours of deco. I know this is of no interest to anyone else, but this is just my way of remembering a friend that I'll miss.

Here is a link to a page in the website I used to maintain. http://awooten.1afm.com/mysite/Projects.html The top story still reports the video dive he and I did in PIII. At the bottom of that page is a pic of Kelly and Harvey (right) in Cow the day we relined it for the CDS in April 2006.

We talked from time to time via phone over the last few years. I always tried to encourage him to keep up the fight. That he'd be an inspiration to all of us when life gets tough. He seemed to always have a good attitude and never gave up. I think that's inspiration enough for all of us to take something from.

[Kelly Jessop]

Thanks for posting Kelly. I had a voice mail from Rick yesterday morning telling me about the news, but didn't ever get around to listening to it till about 2 hours ago. That's when I found out. I was going to contact you about posting something if you hadn't already.

I was in Jacksonville for work a month ago. I had plans to visit with Harvey and Jennifer while I was there. That week, I got an e-mail from him saying he wasn't feeling well again. I totally understood. Now, I wish it had worked out where we could have spent that time together.

The way I met him was I used to order his cave diving videos. I was probably one of the few who had just about every single one he ever published. And one or two he didn't. I had ordered so many that we eventually dove together. The first time I dove with him was the time Kelly guided me and Harvey at Hart Spring back in Feb of 2005.

I recall a video dive Harvey and I did in Peacock III to Hendley's Castle in May 2006. He had never been down to the bottom of Hendley's before, so we got some mix at Rennaker's and videod the dive. I was excited because I got to be the lead diver in the video. Finally, I was in the limelight. hahaha. He never published it, but I got a copy of it.

I remember when I had told him about my advanced trimix class and hitting my lifetime max depth of 287 ft in Diepolder III. Later, he took his trimix class. I remember him calling me and bragging he hit 289 ft (I believe it was) in the same hole.

In May 2007, we spent a week cave diving together. Had lots of fun. Then, the last time I got to see Harvey was just before he got sick. In August 2007, We did two dives. The first dive was downstream Emerald Sink. Then that afternoon, I took him for his first dive ever in "Harvey's Sink" in Crawfordville. Seems quite ironic now. I'm not sure, but that may have been the last dive he did. Harvey had a lot of cave experience and I really looked up to him.

My dive database shows that I had done 19 dives with him totalling 18.5 hours of bottom time and 3.5 hours of deco. I know this is of no interest to anyone else, but this is just my way of remembering a friend that I'll miss.

Here is a link to a page in the website I used to maintain. http://awooten.1afm.com/mysite/Projects.html The top story still reports the video dive he and I did in PIII. At the bottom of that page is a pic of Kelly and Harvey (right) in Cow the day we relined it for the CDS in April 2006.

We talked from time to time via phone over the last few years. I always tried to encourage him to keep up the fight. That he'd be an inspiration to all of us when life gets tough. He seemed to always have a good attitude and never gave up. I think that's inspiration enough for all of us to take something from.

Great story Allen.

I had tried to contact Harvey recently that the article on the gator encounter we had at Hart appeared in "Florida Tauchspots",and he'd enjoy knowing that,but it appears that he was too sick to talk.

When he was real sick or just bored while in the hospital,I pulled out my log book and we talked over log book pages about dives long since forgotten.

Harvey helped with the relining of Lafayette Blue to get it ready to be opened as a dive site for the state park. I remember finding 4 sets of lines in all sorts of conditions. When I was following line that disappeared into a silt mound,and couldn't be pulled out,I reversed my course a short distance only to run into the bare end of the line. How did this happen,this is the line I came in on? Harvey was right next to me laughing,holding the correct line because somehow these multiple lines crossed in the silt.

Harvey you'll be missed a lot,we had lots of fun.

[CynthiaP]

Harvey, a man of very few words, very tall and gentle in his ways.
Very Compassionate and Thoughtful of others. Only around him
a few times, but had a lot a respect for him and his joy of making
videos of cave systems.

"Sorry for your Loss" to the Boyd Family.

God Bless,
David & Cynthia Penney
Live Oak, Florida

[jlong]

I am Harvey's daughter's boyfriend. When he died, she was left with nothing to remember him by except her memories. I am trying to put together videos of Harvey as a gift for her. If anyone has video or pictures you took of him over the years, it would be greatly appreciated if you would let me know and perhaps send them to me. I have purchased several of the Cavex2 Productions videos already. Thank you so much!

[daehag]

Praying for him, his family and friends. I learned a lot from his video work. Couldn't forget.

[Kelly Jessop]

Praying for him, his family and friends. I learned a lot from his video work. Couldn't forget.

Thanks a lot. He has been laid to rest in one of his favorite places.