NABS History

Before NABS was officially established, the founders of NABS met every week for over six months to plan the organization, goals, and mission of the club. The first goal was to bring inactive, active, and potential divers together into clubs to give them cohesion, strength, and visibility. Members of the Underwater Adventure Seekers (UAS), NABS charter club, and other organizers were relying on over thirty years of successful existence. They concurred that if NABS was to be a success, divers must form clubs that are affiliated with the national organization.

It was the articles in Ebony, Ebony Man, Underseas Journal and Underwater USA that alerted other black divers to the presence of UAS and Dr. Jones. After receiving over a hundred letters and phone calls, Dr. Jones decided that the time was right to organize black divers nationally. Through his efforts and those of Ric Powell, in Miami, the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) became a reality.

The organization’s groundwork, carried out by members of UAS, culminated in a conference in Washington, D.C. over a three-day Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. In attendance were individuals and divers from Florida, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Financial support from DEMA and representation from PADI helped make the event a recognizable force of African-American divers. The talent, skills, and exchange of information at the event represented hundreds of years of experience.

In less than five years NABS had defied all the odds to form over fifty clubs. This is unprecedented in the industry. In addition to forming clubs in many major urban areas, NABS set as a primary goal the networking of individual divers and clubs. NABS divers are traveling all over the country diving with affiliated clubs. Summits have sprung up around the country. Clubs are joining to sponsor dive trips, cruises, and outings. Other clubs are offering basic and advanced training for everyone. The Bon Temps Dive Club of New Orleans is offering a Rig Diving Specialty Course and UAS is offering Equipment Specialists and Reef Research courses. The opportunity to interact with other clubs is one of the real values of the NABS Annual Dive Summit

It was realized from the beginning that most clubs could not sponsor long distance trips when they first organized. It was a fact that most NABS members would not be able to dive with other NABS members unless the organization provided the opportunity. Thus was born the NABS Annual Dive Summit that brings members of local clubs together in one place to learn, fellowship, dive, and celebrate. In the past, NABS has had summits in Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, Nassau, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Curaçao.