Leif SCUBA diving in Cerro Gordo, Puerto Rico with his Dad - August 1990

When we moved to Puerto Rico in July 1990, Peter W. and Leif discovered SCUBA diving. There was an excellent instructor on Fort Buchanan, where we lived, Harry Hauck, a former Navy frogman. The two of them took the class and began diving with him at sites around Puerto Rico, and off the coast at smaller islands like Culebra.

Harry had several missions, one of which was to clean up the underwater areas of the beaches in Puerto Rico, which were cluttered with trash like disposable diapers, soft drink cans, bottles, and more. The Fort Buchanan divers could go on cleanup dives free, and Peter W. and Leif participated in several of them. The green shirt is one that the divers got to "advertise" their mission. I don't have a photo of Leif in the shirt, but he and Peter were proud to wear them.

These photos were taken at Cerro Gordo, Puerto Rico at the completion of their NAUI SCUBA course when they did their first cleanup dive on August 19, 1990. Leif was 15 years old.

The Fort Buchanan divers and Harry got quite a bit of media attention, including newspaper articles, for their cleanup dives.

Leif was proud of his dual SCUBA certification. He got his PADI certification while on a teen sail in the British Virgin Islands the following summer.

I don't think Leif ever did any more SCUBA diving after we left Puerto Rico in the summer of 1992. He would have liked to, but the opportunities in Kansas and New York were limited and he didn't have the money for such an expensive hobby when he had acquired others that were easier to pursue in those geographical areas.