We apologize for the long delay in getting this story to the Website.  There was reluctance in the turning over of the photographic evidence needed to truly portray the story correctly.  It is however a story that deserves to be told. 

I'm sure everyone knows who Sponge Bob Square Pants is.  You know the little guy that lives in a pineapple under the sea.  You might not know that he has been diving  with Pat, & Joe and  I since 2001 on most out of country Scuba trips and many local trips.  Yes he has a valid passport, but he is exempt from needing PADI certification, he is a sponge after all. He was on the Club’s trip to Castle Comfort Lodge in Dominica, July 2008. His vacation was a true adventure. The group was divided onto 2 separate boats. Sponge Bob was of course on our boat. The other boat begged us to allow him to dive with them. After much negotiation we came up with a legally binding contract allowing Eric Rohde to accept guardianship of Sponge Bob for a day.

We were first aware of a possible default of contract and mistreatment of Sponge Bob when he returned to the dock riding in the “Chamber.” We also heard many rumors from various sources about the dangerous and disrespectful treatment Sponge Bob was forced to endure during his day on the opposing boat.

They refused to return him to us stating that he was resting and recovering from his time in the chamber. We looked everywhere for him and narrowed down his possible whereabouts. We decided to take matters into our own hands and rescue him.

At lunch the following day, Joe left him at the bar in the, as it turned out, not so safe hands of the bartender. When we returned from lunch we received a ransom note. It demanded a case of Kabuli (the local beer) and was singed by Stinger, the Captain on the opposing boat.

We paid the ransom and the exchange took place that evening.

We thought everything would be back to normal and we, and Sponge Bob could enjoy our final day of diving in Dominica. Since not everyone chose to dive the last day we were all placed on Stingers boat. Pat was Sponge Bob’s dive buddy. Early in the dive they became separated. Pat frantically searched everywhere but Sponge Bob was no where to be found. She returned to the boat devastated and in tears. Stinger immediately noticed her anguish and asked what was wrong. After negotiating for another case of Kabuli, he immediately grabbed a tank, tucked it under his arm, donned a mask and dove under water in search of Sponge Bob. Just when we were all giving up hope of ever seeing Sponge Bob again we saw the surfacing bubbles, the bright yellow glow of Sponge Bob and his wide smile as he broke the surface in Stinger’s hands.

Have no fear Sponge Bob will continue his underwater adventures and will be diving with us next June in Saba.