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Legends of Diving Articles |
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Robert (Bob) Farrelly
Educator and Wildlife Art Owner
I first came to know SCUBA diving through Dave Woodward in
Spokane, Washington. When still in high school I learned of a
diving school called WOCO " there I took lessons and fell in
love with the underwater
experience thanks to Dave and Cousteau's film and book "The
Silent World?. Even though our open water dives took place in
lakes with 10 foot visibility and at times under the ice - I
loved it.
While working in Atlanta in 1965 I received a note from Dave
with a picture of the Woodward family together on a small cay
(Peterson's Cay) just off the shore of a place called Grand
Bahamas Island " the note invited me to visit them at a place
called Freeport where Dave was helping set up a dream diving
operation called UNEXSO. I visited and did my first diving on a
sub-tropical reef with visibility of over 100
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Robert Farrelly |
feet " needless to say I was blown away by the experience having
done only freshwater lake diving.
Soon after my first visit to UNEXSO I returned to Freeport and
participated in one of the Club's first NAUI Instructor courses (NAUI
#1033) and then back to Atlanta, the Pacific Northwest to teach and
to Edinburgh, Scotland to work on my Masters Degree. While in cold
Edinburgh I received a letter from Dave asking if I would be
interested in joining UNEXSO as a staff member since they were
losing Jack McKinney to Skin Diver Magazine " needless to say it
didn?t take long in 10 degree weather to say yes.
I joined UNEXSO in 1967 and over the years did duties as an
instructor/guide/marketing director/general manager " I left the
island in 1973 and spent about two years marketing the Club from
Pompano Beach, FL. During the Club years I was privileged to help
develop some innovative education courses, met some amazing people,
worked with an exceptional group of staff members, was part of the
Tektite II habitat photographic expedition, dove over the ledge in
the submersible Ben Franklin and enjoyed some of the best diving in
the world. After leaving the employment of UNEXSO I spent about two
years in Akron, Ohio driving eighteen wheelers, moved to Tacoma,
Washington in 1976 and worked as an administrator for a small
college.
The next 30 plus years were devoted to education, creating and
selling two companies involved with the design, manufacturing and
selling of products for the marine industry, owning and producing
the largest wildlife art exposition on the West Coast and owning an
art gallery. |
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12701 South Dixie Bowling Green OH, 43402
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