FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Eric Olsen has been SCUBA diving all over the world.
But he has an envelope of old pictures, capturing memories aboard one particular boat.
“My first trip on the Conception was August of 1981,” he remembers.
The Conception was a popular boat for Olsen to take his diving students when he served as an instructor for SCUBA School International working out of Fort Collins.
He and several other former instructors worked through Midwest Diver Supply back then, and their students would finish diver certification classes in the waters off the coast of Southern California.
“The Channel Islands are spectacular to dive in,” he remembered. “It’s colder water, but the kelp forests and type of marine life you see out there is just spectacular.”
This week, Olsen and several other divers learned of a deadly fire on the boat that holds so many happy memories.
Officials believe 34 people died on board. The victims were below deck in the sleeping quarters when the fire started early Monday morning.
News spread quickly through the diving community.
“It’s almost like a family of divers, and we all just feel really sick about this,” Olsen said. “It’s completely devastating. The Conception was known for an excellent safety record and we all certainly felt comfortable there. And to have such a terrible tragedy, and it was really a tragedy because of the boat, not necessarily the diving tragedy, just makes this really tough.”
“It’s heartbreaking,” added fellow former SCUBA instructor, Bob Leingruber. “I just hope it doesn’t discourage people from taking up the sport.”
Leingruber and Olsen, along with two more former instructors, Ina Szwec and Bob Clark, shared their memories of the Conception at High Plains SCUBA Center in Fort Collins Wednesday.
Szwec guessed she led three dive trips aboard the Conception, often teaching local college students who earned their SCUBA certification for a college credit course.
Clark founded the SSI instructional program and said he first developed a business relationship with a previous owner of The Conception decades ago.
Pictures helped the group remember various places on board – like the galley where everyone ate together and shared stories of the day. They also have some memories of the bunk areas below deck, now the site of so much loss.
“Time will tell as they investigate and find out what some of the causes of this tragedy were,” Olsen said.
For the now, the former instructors treasure their memories aboard the Conception and still emphasize old lesson points.
“You can never be too safe,” Olsen said. “Safety practices are essential, and of course everyone who is a diver knows you have to be a smart diver to be safe diver. And you just can’t be safe enough.”
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