One
of our first goals was to bring up our PADI SCUBA certifications to Dive Master level. Although we both believed we could
pick up some extra cruising cash with our programming skills, the idea of chaining ourselves to computers in the middle of
paradise didn’t really appeal to either one of us. While on a recent diving vacation in the Riviera Maya, I met a
dive master from Holland who provided me with the concept of working at the dive resorts that inevitably exist wherever sailing
is popular. Marco was living aboard a 36’ custom built sloop, cruising and diving the world over. I had been on many
dive trips over the years and always envied the ‘jobs’ of the dive masters. I was stunned that I had not put two
and two together before. It sounded like a much more satisfying way to make a living for both Don and I.
We immediately
set our plans to complete our certification. This objective allowed us to justify a week long dive trip to Bonaire where we
could get about 25 dive experiences within one trip. It also confirmed our strategy for future money making opportunities
when we learned that one of our dive master’s there was a live-aboard.
