Tony Wells has gone from being the child of a damaged family members, to one who has overcome lots of challenges until he could succeed at turning into the only Black American Professional Deep Sea Diver to get the job done in the demanding Offshore Oilfields in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. Alongside the way, he not only turned a great deep sea driver, but he acquired about humanity. “Black Person Underneath the Deep Blue Sea” is his autobiography, and he is right here today to convey to us far more about his amazing journey.
Tyler: Welcome, Tony. I am happy you could sign up for me right now. I comprehend the terrific transform in your lifetime began when your loved ones moved to Hawaii when you were being fourteen. Would you convey to us a minimal little bit about what your everyday living was like prior to that transfer?
Tony: Prior to relocating to Hawaii I was pleased with the peaceful state-boy way of life where by we put in most of our time fishing and searching immediately after faculty and on holidays. For me there was no improved way for a kid rising up in the course of that time.
Tyler: What about the transfer to Hawaii adjusted the way of your upcoming daily life?
Tony: Properly, in Hawaii you are on an island surrounded by the deep blue ocean so I observed it only organic to be attracted to it by means of scuba diving and surfing. Since I’ve always been the adventurous variety I discovered it easy to remodel from exploring on land to checking out underwater. This all came purely natural to me.
Tyler: Did you just take to scuba diving by natural means?
Tony: Scuba diving was my indicates to check out and breath underwater so I took to that like a fish!
Tyler: What about it did you find so pleasant?
Tony: It was like a further earth for me. A silent planet that experienced unimaginable limits and excitement and 1 which I enormously necessary to examine.
Tyler: Loads of persons go scuba diving. Why did you decide to change it into a deep sea diving profession?
Tony: Actually, when I was scuba diving in Hawaii I by no means imagined that I’d sometime develop into a industrial deep sea diver doing the job in the demanding offshore oilfields abroad. Scuba diving is a totally various environment from professional diving. When you might be out scuba diving you happen to be just out there experiencing yourself and possessing a good time, but when you’re performing as a commercial diver, it’s not in the least little bit pleasurable anymore because you might be truly performing and most of the time you happen to be below worry and pressure from above (the ‘topside’ personnel) to go down there and get a distinct position finished. You don’t have any time for pleasure at all.
Tyler: What created you decide to become a deep sea diver? Did you at any time desire of becoming anything else?
Tony: When I was young we lived in Indianapolis, Indiana and the Indy 500 race track was about a 50 % mile from my residence so we could listen to when the cars and trucks were being working towards there. After my uncles brought me there to see the exercise and races I realized my destiny in life was to turn out to be a skilled race vehicle driver. Numerous several years afterwards when my mother remarried to a armed forces guy we moved to Hawaii, and I built friends with some fellas who raced on the oval dirt tracks there and assisted them work on their vehicles so I still prepared on becoming a race car or truck driver someday. Nevertheless, soon after I graduated from significant university my family moved from Hawaii to California and I begun heading to school section-time and functioning a complete time position. Just after a couple several years of doing this, I understood that I was bored and preferred to journey and do something much more exciting for my work so I made a decision to enroll in the professional business diving study course at Business Diving Heart in Wilmington, CA.
Tyler: Deep sea diving has had its unsafe facet for you at periods. Will you tell us a tiny bit about these hazards and why in spite of the potential risks, you still identified it worthwhile?
Tony: Properly, it really is just like any other occupation, I guess. It does have its risks but as soon as you happen to be doing the job underwater you just really don’t have time to consider about all the stuff that could potentially go erroneous. The moment you start out wondering about all of that is the time you shouldn’t be a commercial diver any more.
Tyler: I comprehend you were being a diver for many oil firms?
Tony: Of course, most of us have been ‘freelance’ so that means that we would do the job for whatsoever diving corporation experienced a work or, if there had been many simultaneous employment, then we would get the job done for whichever business was paying the highest.
Tyler: What just was the reason of your do the job, and how did you deal with the strain of the demanding oil businesses?
Tony: We did all the factors that men and women do when doing the job on topside work opportunities. The only variation was that we had been doing them underwater. Primarily, we did oilfield help kind work, so that associated operating on oil rigs, pipe laying barges, crane barges, derrick barges and off of substantial boats, etc. Anxiety from the demanding oil companies was just one more section of our work. For the guys who were not up to spec or who just could not get it then they possibly would have been run off (fired) or they would just up and quit that occupation.
Tyler: You have also been on treasure diving hunts. Will you convey to us about individuals?
Tony: My most notable treasure hunt was when we were being hunting for the 500-yr-aged Portuguese ship named, “Flor do Mar,” off the coast of North Sumatra. That was genuinely thrilling and lasted for just about two a long time. A different time I was employed to find sunken smuggler’s gold off the coastline of Pakistan by the Pakistan Govt and that was fairly attention-grabbing also.
Tyler: How did you transition from operating for oil businesses into treasure searching?
Tony: My roommate in Singapore knew some guys who ended up putting jointly a workforce to hunt for a 500-year-aged Portuguese ship that sank off the coast of North Sumatra (Indonesia) so he invited me to sign up for them. By that time I was additional than happy to do a little something diverse and exciting apart from the usual oilfield sort operate I experienced been undertaking for the past various years now.
Tyler: I have an understanding of that you were at the time illegally detained by a overseas govt. Will you notify us a minimal little bit about that celebration?
Tony: Well, that was mainly a circumstance of us getting in the wrong location at the mistaken time furthermore some corruption and greed built up for a combination that no one particular would have required to be caught up in at the time. That was off of a modest island in Indonesia wherever just about anything goes if the conditions come about to be all towards you as was in our case.
Tyler: What type of function were you performing at the time, and why did the Indonesian government turn into upset?
Tony: I had some fantastic research on an English shipwreck that had sunk off of a smaller island in1789 that had dropped 10 chests of gold and silver coins so myself and a great buddy of mine preferred to go and have a standard glimpse at the location to see if the job was feasible or not. Sadly, a number of times earlier there experienced been some other guys in that general area who were employing explosives to salvage a metal shipwreck so when the Indonesian police saw us in that space, they assumed we were the kinds who had been doing the metal wreck salvaging. Therefore, they took us in and detained us for questioning but even when they realized it was not us, they began observing greenback indicators as a prerequisite of us obtaining unveiled.
Tyler: Tony, how do you watch your life? Your tales sound like the adventures of flicks? Did you at any time desire for a quiet life as an alternative?
Tony: I see my professional diving everyday living as really an journey and when I seem again on it all now, I can actually say that I am happy to have lived it. I am also happy to have survived as a result of some of the lots of near calls which I professional on many occasions. Now that I’m more mature I like the tranquil everyday living but again in those people times I appreciated the exhilaration, explorations and adventures I went by. Of course, as a issue of reality, I do believe my ebook would make a hell of a good movie also! Haha.
Tyler: Tony, what made you make a decision to compose “Black Male Underneath the Deep Blue Sea”?
Tony: Quite a few many years back I understood that it really is so uncomplicated to neglect factors I experienced finished the former 7 days, or even earlier day often, so for the earlier twenty or much more many years I’ve been maintaining a journal due to the fact I like to bear in mind anything which is happened to me in my existence. It is really not that I was all together arranging to write my life’s tale but when I did get started remembering and re-looking at about those wild and exciting adventures I’d absent via I determined that maybe I should create my memoirs. I realized that if anyone enjoys pleasure, adventures and humor that they ought to really like looking at my ebook.
Tyler: Why did you opt for to spotlight your self as a black gentleman in the title?
Tony: I am a Black American so when it came to picking the title for my e-book it was genuinely quick for me. I wanted it to be self-explanatory (Black Gentleman) and also to seem remarkable sufficient to capture the reader’s focus (Less than the Deep Blue Sea). I am hoping I have obtained that.
Tyler: Your e-book also talks about the issues you have learned about life and people. What would you say is the “message” of “Black Gentleman Less than the Deep Blue Sea”?
Tony: In essence, what I’ve expert all through all my traveling is that most of the folks of different races all about the entire world just want to be nutritious, satisfied and have enjoy in their life. My concept is that no make any difference what race or gender you are, don’t enable ignorance or jealous men and women set you down or notify you what you ‘can’ and ‘can’t’ do in lifestyle. Anything is probable so if you want to do one thing just go out and do your very best and do it. If my reserve can encourage just one man or woman in this environment I would truly feel rather pleased and satisfied that I did compose it.
Tyler: Tony, do you have any programs to generate more books?
Tony: “Black Man Less than the Deep Blue Sea” is essentially my second printed e-book. My initially e book is titled, “Shipwrecks & Sunken Treasure In Southeast Asia” and it came as a final result of the analysis I obtained in the course of our lookup for the 500-12 months-old Portuguese ship, “Flor do Mar.” Right after that I wrote an ebook titled, “Cannon Journal-Compilation of info on bronze Asian & European Type Cannons (1500-1800’s).” If you’re a bronze cannon enthusiast then you would definitely like this guide. In any case, the answer to your question is a definite Yes.
Tyler: Because you are no lengthier a deep sea diver, how do you fill your time now?
Tony: At this time I’m performing total time for a firm in Saint Petersburg, Florida, that tends to make the world’s only genuine-time 3D underwater sonar. That keeps me very fast paced. I’m also providing my motorbike equipment shifter cushion on the web and am arranging on extra internet marketing to be capable with any luck , to increase income so I can do that complete time just one of these days.
Tyler: Thank you for joining me nowadays, Tony. Ahead of we go, will you inform our readers your web site handle and what form of supplemental details they could locate there about your book?
Tony: My pleasure, Tyler. My website site is and I have much more information about my background, some photos of my relatives, and also some suggestions to up and coming writers and inventors there. I am a element-time inventor so you will find a url to my motorcycle gear shifter cushion invention, Shiftcush. There’s also a backlink to my bronze cannons web site. Get pleasure from!
Tyler: Thank you, Tony. I desire you several a lot more adventures.
Now, Tyler R. Tichelaar, Associate Editor of Reader Sights, is thrilled to be joined by Tony Wells who is right here to chat about his new e book “Black Guy Under the Deep Blue Sea: Memoirs of a Black Industrial Diver in Southeast Asia,” PublishAmerica (2007), ISBN 9781424174225.