Grenada’s Native Spirit Scuba: Wreck Diving, Sharks, & Coral Gardening
Release Date: 07/12/2016
NAVY Master Diver Mindset: with Master Chief Rick Bettua USN
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
Retired Master Chief Petty Officer and U.S. Navy Master Diver Rick Bettua joins Joe Cocozza on Pod Diver TV for a powerful, story-driven interview about what it takes to become a Navy Diver and the mindset that keeps you alive when everything goes sideways. Rick shares how a Super Bowl halftime “Navy Divers” ad sparked his dream, how he literally got himself to dive school, and why Navy diving is as much leadership and mental toughness as it is underwater skill. We cover Navy Diver training, mission realities (ships husbandry, submarines, salvage, security operations), and the hard...
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Saturation Diving: Life at 600 feet down. Good pay but the toilets can kill you.
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
Using the toilet can kill you… at least if you’re living for weeks inside a saturation chamber. In this Pod Diver TV episode, Joe Cocozza sits down in Lisbon, Portugal with former Portuguese Marine and commercial saturation diver João Rainho to unpack what life is really like as a sat diver. João walks us through his path from spearfishing Marine to IMCA-certified commercial diver, North Sea contractor and finally saturation diver working worldwide. He explains how sat systems work, why divers spend 28+ days pressurized instead of bounce diving, and how an entire vessel—from cooks to...
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Boost Your Scuba Video: Pro Lighting Tips from Keldan + Ultralight (DEMA Show)
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
Join me on the show floor at DEMA for two rapid-fire interviews on underwater lighting for videography. We talk beam quality, color accuracy, CRI/TLCI, wide vs. spot beams, diffusion, battery management, burn times, mounting, and how to build a travel-friendly rig that still looks cinematic. First up is Keldan on color science, filters, and matching ambient light; then Ultralight walks through arms, clamps, and buoyancy to position lights precisely (and keep your rig neutral). If you shoot wrecks, reefs, or macro, this is a compact masterclass in getting better results underwater. Gear &...
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Bahamas Scuba Therapy for PTSD at Dean’s Blue Hole
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
In this special episode, host Joe Cocozza sits down with veteran cave explorer and former Navy diver Brian Kakuk to talk about a remarkable PTSD program based at Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas. The nonprofit, founded by Brian’s friend Kevin James, is called PTSD – Progress Through Scuba Diving, and it uses guided scuba dives as a powerful tool to help veterans and other trauma survivors work through PTSD. Brian explains how a week of simple, supported dives in the calm, deep waters of Dean’s Blue Hole — combined with daily check-ins and recorded interviews — has...
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SS United States: DEMA Presentation by Alex Fogg
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
Episode 234 of PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO, host Joe Cocozza takes you to the show floor at DEMA in Orlando for a live presentation by Alex Fogg, Chief of the Okaloosa County Natural Resources team. Alex walks us through how Destin–Fort Walton Beach, Florida has turned decommissioned vessels into a world-class artificial reef program—and why their newest project, sinking the legendary SS United States, is about to create the largest artificial reef in the world. You’ll hear the full story arc of the SS United States: from record-breaking transatlantic ocean liner, to asbestos-ridden...
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The Battle of Midway: PBY Aviator Interviews
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
The Battle of Midway: PBY Aviator Interviews Interviews were conducted with LtCmdr Lee McLeary USNR and LtCmdr Bill Cullen USNR, who served as pilot-navigators onboard PBYs Flying Boats during the Battle of Midway. These interviews took place in 1999 on Midway Island, during a reunion of Battle of Midway veterans. Ensign Lee McLeary, who was 21 at the time, shared the harrowing experience of his PBY being shot down, resulting in the loss of five crew members. After the crash, Lee and four other crew members survived for 2.5 days in a life raft before being rescued by the PBY navigated by...
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Battle of Midway: Cmdr Dick Best USN
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
BATTLE OF MIDWAY: June 4, 1942. The Battle of Midway was the seminal naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It was a battle between US Navy and Japanese Aircraft Carriers for control on the Midway Atoll 1100 miles west of Hawaii. In June of 1999, I was on the island for a reunion of battle veterans. I got to interview Cmdr Dick Best. Cmdr Best was a Dive Bomber pilot who sank two of the Japanese Aircraft Carriers.
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The RMS Republic: Shipwreck of GOLD
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
The RMS Republic: The Billion dollar Shipwreck of GOLD The Backstory: The RMS Republic was a White Star Line steam-powered ocean liner built in 1903. In early morning of 23 January 1909, while sailing from New York City to Gibraltar, the Republic was in a collision with SS Florida in 1909 in which she sank in 270 feet of water aprox 70 miles off of Martha's Vineyard. At the time there where multiple reports that she was carrying gold and mixed coin worth $250,000 (in 1909 dollars) to be used as payroll for the US Navy's Great White Fleet. In addition to the US Navy coin-monies shipment,...
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Gas, Depth & Breath: Kirk Krack Explains Technical Freediving
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
From Truk to Pandora: Kirk Krack on Tech Freediving & Avatar A sit down with Performance Freediving International founder Kirk Krack to unpack the emerging discipline of technical freediving. Kirk explains how PFI’s partnership with TDI/SDI fits into the broader “all things diving” ecosystem, then dives deep into what truly separates a snorkeler, recreational freediver, spearfisher, competitive freediver, and a technical freediver. We get into the hard physics and physiology: using nitrox and high-O₂ mixes on the surface to reduce decompression stress, accelerate surface...
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9-11 Memorial Episode
PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO
Sep 11th 20th Anniversary Episode. Joe and Arielle talk about their recollections from the events of that day. We would like all listeners to share their stories as well. Leave comments, send us an email or an audio file.
info_outlineNative Spirit Scuba, it is the first diving operation owned and operated by native Grenadian citizens.
On the beach at Native Spirit Scuba (Radisson Grenada Beach Resort) with owner Adrian and coral-gardener Paulina after two stellar dives. First up: the HEMA—a 50-meter cargo wreck resting around 100 ft/30 m—stacked with life: eagle rays, nurse and reef sharks, turtles and schooling fish. Then we drift Shark Reef on the Atlantic side, a site Adrian scouted back in the ’90s that lights up when the current runs—juvenile sharks, rays, lobsters and more.
Paulina explains Grenada’s coral-nursery program—growing staghorn in underwater nurseries, cleaning structures, monitoring growth, and transplanting colonies back onto threatened Grand Anse reefs. We also talk Native Spirit’s smooth beach launch (ankles only!), pro crew, and why wreck + reef days here are perfect for recreational divers who want big-animal encounters without technical complexity.
For more info
Telephone.: (473) 439-7013
Mobile: (473) 420 -1080 , 415-1080
Email: info@nativespiritscuba.com
http://www.nativespiritscuba.com/index.htm