Clay McCardell

5 years after receiving his open-water certification in 1982, and 2 years after graduating from college with a degree in geology, Clay was camped in the Montana mountains analyzing the economic potential of old lead-zinc-silver mine tailings.  He drove to Great Falls to call home one evening and learned that the captain of the liveaboard dive vessel which his family’s small real estate company had purchased as an investment and leased to an operator a few months previously had called – the crew hadn’t been paid, rental dive gear hadn’t shown up, and the captain had covered the past month’s fuel and provisioning costs.

3 days later, Clay arrived in St. Maarten, and by Christmas 1987 had repossessed and renamed the boat Caribbean Explorer.  Geology took a back seat to an immersion course in the liveaboard diving business, which has been his unexpected career ever since.

These days, the Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Diving Fleet offers itineraries to exotic locations worldwide, but Clay’s favorite destination is still where it all started – the beautiful islands of Saba, St. Kitts and St. Maarten.  He lives in rural Wyoming with his wife and an accompanying cast of horses and dogs, works from home and spends his free time either sailing, flying or exploring the nearby mountains.

Years with Explorer Ventures: Since 1987
Living place: Bessemer Bend, Wyoming, USA.
Business/Experience/Education backgrounds: BA in Geological/Geophysical Sciences – 33 years in management, operations and marketing in the dive travel industry.
Years Diving (or a bit of his passion for the ocean): “I first dove in Cozumel at the age of 12, and was immediately hooked. I got certified a few years later and have been diving ever since.  I rediscovered my passion for sailing 8 or 9 years ago, and have enjoyed exploring both below AND above the surface ever since.”
Favorite place to travel/dive: “I most enjoy the variety and familiarity of the diving in Saba/St. Kitts, in part because of all of the memories there – but every destination is special in its own way!”
Favorite pastime/hobby: “I spend my free time flying, sailing, and exploring the mountains of Wyoming either horseback or with a 4 wheeler.”
Something unique or little known about him: “I’m actually Australian by birth – but the rest of my immediate family was born in Michigan.”
Favorite quote: “A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed, it feels an impulsion – this is the place to go now.  But the sky knows the reason and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.” – Richard Bach