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Tireless Devotion
to the Sea
Wayne Hasson, Leading divers to the sea for 36 years
In the scope of his life, PADI Diving Society member Wayne Hasson
has probably spent more time underwater than above. Along the way,
he has had a significant impact on the way we see and explore our world.
An avid diver since 1967, Wayne began his love affair with the sea
during an eight-year stint in the Marines, where he certified scores
of his fellow warriors and their family members. After departing the
Marine Corps in 1978, he immediately began to furrow a deep trough
in the dive world. Among his myriad accomplishments, Hasson founded
Aggressor Fleet in 1984 and captained the first Cayman Aggressor. His
approach to the luxury live-aboard concept has literally changed the
way we explore the world. Today there are 12 Aggressor-franchised live-aboards.
While in the Cayman Islands, Wayne helped install the first 112 permanent
moorings and took the concept and idea to Belize, Turks and Caicos,
the Bay Islands, Kona and Truk. Wayne also invented SASY (Supplied
Air Snorkeling for Youth). And his award-winning photography has been
featured in publications worldwide.
Wayne has been a major voice and influence in the world of diving
for 36 years, accumulating more than 10,000 dives along the way, and
he still spends several hundred hours a year underwater. I’ve
been on dive trips with Wayne that were filled with his neighbors,
divers from his local shop, movie stars, brief acquaintances and kids
that he’d once certified. When not diving, he’s one of
the world’s greatest advocates and most vigorous promoters of
scuba diving as the ultimate activity and lifestyle. Anyone who will
stop for five minutes within his purview will become an acolyte, so
passionate is his desire to share the wonders of the ocean to the world.
Most recently, Wayne has put together a program of marine science,
diving and awareness, called Oceans for Youth, to inspire the next
generation of divers. He’ll even spread the gospel of the dive
life to his gas station attendant.
Wayne has lived the dive life from the moment he became certified
and
continues to influence the way we dive today. — Ty Sawyer
“The Dive Life,” September 2004, Sport Diver Magazine
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