2024 Highlight Reel
2024 was a busy year below the waves. It kicked off in Florida, where I embarked on the slightly unnerving but thoroughly fascinating process of learning to dive a closed-circuit rebreather (CCR). If you’re unfamiliar, unlike traditional SCUBA, it recycles you exhausted gas, allowing for eerily silent, six-hour dives. They’re complex, expensive machines with two manuals, redundant computers, heads up displays and require a full week of training to learn. The trade-off? Up to six hours of silent, bubble-free diving, which is wonderful for sneaking up on fish like the notoriously bubble-phobic Walleye.
Summer found me back in Wascott, Wisconsin, once again engaged in the rewarding, if slightly surreal, profession of hunting invasive snails in the crystal-clear waters of Whitefish Lake. It’s an oddly satisfying summer side gig—good for the environment, good for the wallet, and, best of all, good for spending time underwater with my daughter. Plus, the lake is stunning, and I remain hopeful that grant money will keep our valiant battle against snails afloat for another season.
As winter rolled in, I resumed my weekly Tuesday dives at the Great Lakes Aquarium, where my official duty is feeding the sturgeon and eels of the Isle Royale Exhibit, but my actual job description includes blowing bubble rings and playing an underwater version of “rock, paper, scissors” with children on the other side of the glass. It’s a volunteer gig, but honestly, the joy of seeing a kid’s face light up when when their paper covers my rock is payment enough.
All in all, 2024 was a year to be grateful for—filled with adventure, family, and an impressive amount of time spent underwater. Here’s to whatever comes next.
