Captain's Chronicles February 2026

Reflections and Directions

We have been busy barracudas here at Scuba Marco! If you’re the type of person that thrives on challenges, I would suggest trying to transform a chiropractor‘s office into a dive shop. That’s where we’re at right now. We closed on Dr. Gutierrez‘s office in the Chamber of Commerce (Speak Easy) Plaza last month. If it weren’t for some very carpentry talented and generous people helping us out, I would likely have been Baker acted by now. The transformation is in progress and it is as daunting as it is exciting. We hope to be in the new place by the end of March but we still have a lot of work to do, so please wait until we’re open before you stop by.

It’s going to be beautiful. At least I hope so… I keep telling myself it will be. Of course it will be very sad to leave the little old house under the big old tree here in old Marco. We have been saying goodbye for six years now and in a way I feel like a fresh start will be a revitalizing mission. I hope you can make it by the old shop Friday evening to soak in what’s left of the laid-back, chill feel here. We have been blessed to have so many awesome people fill our time here with joy, laughter and unforgettable memories. I have been told the huge Guana Costa tree will be spared from any development, but that’s likely the only structure on this block that will remain the same. Let’s do some reflecting on what has been an awesome run. No crying though!

My brain has been going multiple directions most of my life. Now those multiple directions have multiple directions. We are working hard on taking Scuba Marco 2.0 in a beautiful direction. The new dive shop will not have a ginormous old tree in front of it. It will not be in an old house that’s 100 years old. Those things are not the source of a good vibe… Just accents on it. We are focused on bringing our chill laid-back vibe to the plaza. It will still be a no hurries no worries, no bubbles just troubles facility!

Not everything is changing. The complex has a dock behind it and we will be launching local trips from right outside our back door. A little longer idle speed ride, but a much shorter walk to the boat. The new dock is also adjacent to a bar/restaurant to refill all the energy you’ve burned on the dives and refresh with libations. We will be more accessible for most of you. There will also be parking within 20 feet of our back door to make tank drop offs and pick ups as easy as possible.

The local diving, like in the past several years, has been mostly throttled back by cold fronts. Joshua snuck out to dive last week with Paul and Scott.  Visibility was pretty good and they saw the normal cool critters that reside here. There’s a killer new dive site right off of Marco. It’s very large and extremely interesting. We plan on running there on the Psychquatic as much as possible when the cold fronts give us a reprieve and the water warms and clears up. We want to keep it a secret for as long as possible… Please don’t tell any fisherman about it!

Let’s share some reflections and talk about new directions this Friday!

Until then… Live Love Dive. —Jeff