News
Dive industry mourns Oceanic Founder and Industry Icon Bob Hollis
A life full of adventure came to a peaceful close on January 4, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah with family surrounding Bob’s side. Born on April 25, 1937, in Orland, California to Robert and Elinor Hollis, Bob leaves behind a legacy as a pioneer, entrepreneur, businessman, and most importantly, a loving father and grandfather.
Bob accomplished more in 85 years than most and lived his life to the fullest. He was a risk taker who truly did what he loved and inspired others to do the same. If there wasn’t a way, he created one.
Bob will be remembered by many as a groundbreaking influence in both the sport of scuba diving and underwater photography. Bob’s love of the ocean began in 1955 after reading an article about underwater exploration in Popular Mechanics. Following his first scuba experience, Bob became obsessed with the water, becoming one of the earliest underwater photographers on the West Coast and establishing the Underwater Photographic Society of Northern California in 1966. Additionally, Bob was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Underwater Parks and Reserves (California State Parks Department), where he assisted in exploring the coastline and identifying future areas for preservation, including Point Lobos, La Jolla and the Salt Point State Park.
A true entrepreneur, when Bob realized that the scuba diving and photography equipment available at that time did not meet his needs, he set about developing his own. All of this was done while Bob continued to attend school for business and engineering and worked at Standard Oil to support his young family. In 1966, Bob opened the Anchor Shack dive shop in Hayward, California, and began developing underwater camera housing, strobes and hand lights, which served as the jumping off point for his company Oceanic. By 1976, the Oceanic product line had completely developed, ultimately turning Bob and the Oceanic brand into leaders in the scuba diving community. Over the course of his lifetime, Bob founded many companies including American Underwater Products, Pelagic Pressure Systems, ROMI Enterprises and the renowned scuba diving brands, Oceanic, Hollis, and Aeris. Bob wanted everyone to experience scuba diving and gave thousands around the world the opportunity to do so.
Using his experience, Bob helped create an underwater saturation system in 1978 for the Andrea Doria shipwreck. The system was attached to the wreck at a depth of 240’ for up to seven days, allowing divers to explore the wreck for several days without having to swim to the surface. Bob logged more dives than anyone on the wreck and in 1981 served as the underwater photographer for the nationally aired film called, “Andrea Doria: The Final Chapter”, detailing the team’s goal of recovering the bank safe from the famed sunken Italian ocean liner.
In addition to developing photography and scuba diving equipment, Bob was also responsible for leading some of the first dive trips to Cozumel, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Belize, Yucatan Peninsula and the Galapagos. He also led tours to the remote destination of Papua New Guinea, where he later built a family home and destination dive resort for other underwater enthusiasts.
Over his storied career, Bob received many awards and achievements including the NOGI Award, the DEMA Reaching Out Award, and was an inductee of the Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.
Throughout all his professional success, Bob’s greatest achievement was his family, including his children Debbie (Jon), Mike (Molly), Nick (Brittany) and Zach (Danica), grandchildren Heather, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Caitlin, Robert, Seth, Preston, Olivia and Sloane, and great-grandchildren Benjamin, Natalie, Henry, Eleanor, Samuel, Ian and Colin. Bob shared his passion of the ocean and traveling the world with them, including abalone diving trips on the California coast, family live-aboard dive trips, motorcycle adventures, and creating memories for many lifetimes. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.
The family will be holding private services in Orland, California and asks for those interested in honoring Bob to share your story and photos via social media. If you would like to also share those with the family, they can be sent to bobhollisfamily@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, please donate to an ocean conservation charity in Bob’s memory.
Source: www.divenewswire.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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