Bronson Hartley was first worldwide to conduct shallow water helmet diving boat tours.

On his first boat tour, he took five school teachers, one at a time, (as he only had two helmets), and charged them five dollars each.  There is no Sea Trek in Bermuda. Every Sea Walker or Sea Trek is a franchised copy of what originated here in Bermuda. Only the method of diving was copied and not the mindset. This was not the mind set of ‘take only photos and leave only bubbles. His free thinking mindset was to make friends with marine creatures. By feeding them, you could eventually touch them and then even get photos while holding them. Most of the species of fish we have today in our program had already been tamed and trained by my father before I was born. Now instead of Helen the angelfish, we have Diana the angelfish. Instead of Theodore the hogfish, we have Charles the hogfish. Get it…..Charles and Diana. The junior league started independently in the early 80’s back when that royal wedding took place. Our blue stripped grunt is still named George in honor of the original one.

Bronson Hartley who made his own helmet and pumps., was a protoge of Dr. William Beebe and a contemporary of Jacques Cousteau.

He operated his helmet diving business in Flatts Village at the Coral Island Hotel every summer,  and in Nassau, Bahamas every winter till 1996.  By taking thousands of ordinary visitors and locals on his undersea walks, to meet and feed the fish, he participated significantly in the development of Bermuda’s tourism.His ability to tame and train fish and other creatures in their natural environment has been acclaimed in many publications over the years.Husband, father, environmentalist, captain, inventor, war hero, photographer, fish whisperer, and diver… Bronson Hartley was truly an asset to Bermuda.Many of his adventures from his arrival in Bermuda in 1930, at age ten, till his departure from the planet in 2006 are detailed below.

Enough reading…I want personal attention!