Richard (DSV Ambassador) is ready for his next dive!

A Reunion Event 10 Years in the Making.

Project Restore Hope 2025 brought Veterans, First Responders, and family members to the Turquoise Bay resort in Roatan, Honduras. This was our first land-based reunion event allowing non-divers to enjoy time with the DSV family. While the overall retreat was a success, it was not without challenges…

Getting There…

Travel for most was uneventful … one, maybe two flights from homes across the country to the small island of Roatan. Then there were the trip leaders and their kids. An intense weather system blanketed Phoenix dumping 1.64 inches of rain at Sky Harbor Airport. This was the highest single-day rainfall total for Phoenix in seven years, according to the National Weather Service, and resulted in hundreds cancelled flights…. to include DSV staff’s flight. After a return home, another night in their own beds, many ‘sad faces’ from staff and participants, they loaded up the following night and took the longest route possible (without venturing to another continent) down to Roatan. With a red-eye flight to Washington DC, then a flight to Miami, their third flight landed on island …. a day late, over 2500 extra miles traveled, exhausted, but happy to be with friends and family.

DSV Alumni swam with a Whale Shark in Roatan

Time on Island…

With the group complete, everyone enjoyed a week of diving, connecting with old friends and making new ones. The dive sites explored were healthy and vibrant, marine life was abundant and many firsts were experienced. In the water, participants encountered friendly nurse sharks that behaved like a family dog desperate for attention, various sizes and colors of sea horses, scorpion fish, rays, octopus, squid, turtles, and so much more. The highlight of the week - whale sharks! While some of the participants have dove with these gentle giants at the Georgia Aquarium, this was a first in the wild for everyone.

Above the water, the interactions were just as special. Our non-divers enjoyed a variety of activities during the week as well. A morning of kayaking through the mangroves led to lunch on a private island. Subsequent days were filled with botanical tours, some time together at the beach and pool, and an afternoon in an over-water cabana. The island provided all attendees with options to fill their days with new adventures. On the last day, a few staff and participants went ziplining through the Roatan hills. In the afternoon, an island tour was arranged that started with animal interactions including McCaws, Sloths, and Capuchin Monkeys. A tour of a chocolate factory, rum factory, and some shopping allowed everyone to pick up souvenirs. Meals were shared throughout the week allowing everyone to share their experiences and most nights capped off with games and reminiscing about past adventures.

In the End…

At the end of the week, the traditional celebration of new accomplishments in diving was shared by making ‘cakes’ for several of our divers. The group had one new Open Water Diver, three Advanced Divers, five Nitrox Divers, and one Dive Master. Project Restore Hope accomplished so much in one week. Of the 24 attendees, 17 were divers. 263 total dives were made during the week with a combined depth of 16,999 feet and 13,045 minutes spent underwater (that's 217 hours or just over 9 days)! More importantly, our week together facilitated new connections and strengthened existing ones. It allowed the DSV family to grow and continue to focus on the ‘One Degree of Course Correction’.