Hartley's Undersea Adventures: Pet the Friendly Fish

By Greg Hartley

Bronson Hartley, my father, was a curious child, fascinated by the world that thrives in the ocean surrounding Bermuda. In 1930, when he was just 10 years old, he built his first diving helmet — an accomplishment that ultimately would lead to the development of a uniquely Bermudian activity: helmet diving.

My father's determination led him to become a protégé of maritime expert William Bebee. He continued to learn and explore, and in 1947 he founded Hartley's Deep Sea Diving. Soon my father had made a number of undersea friends: Helen the Angelfish, Theodore the Hogfish, Harry the Grouper and Homer the Octopus, to name just a favoured few.

He was the first to make a full-length undersea movie on Kodak film (Mainstreet Undersea), which documented all sorts of creatures, including octopuses in their natural state and pearly jawfish, which begin their lives resting in their fathers' protective mouths.

Bronson Hartley was a successful inventor and a wonderful father and husband. He introduced thousands of visitors — even those who could not swim — to Bermuda's thriving marine environment.

Though my father no longer walks the ocean bed, I follow in his footsteps by introducing Bermuda visitors to a menagerie of aquatic creatures. In addition to Diana the Angelfish (the pretty one) and Charles the Hogfish (with the big nose), we meet Barack the Black Grouper, E.T. the Puffer and Leroy the Grey Snapper. These creatures actually let us touch and hold them, even posing with us for pictures.

Hartley's Under Sea Adventures has retained its quality over the years because it is an owner-operated, family-run business. We offer value by concentrating on the visitor's experience of touching, learning and interacting with marine creatures.

The stress of the modern rat race creates a yearning in each of us to get back to nature. Hartley's satisfies that desire. It is my mission, as it was my father's, to share the beauty of nature with others and to help them discover the magnificent world that teems with life beneath the sea. (234-3535, www.hartleybermuda.com)

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