Protect our Cape Ann Waters In Memoria Michael Grochmal

In Memory of Michael A. Grochmal

My name is Chris Grochmal. I am a PADI Master Instructor and EFR Instructor Trainer. I have been diving since 2010 and teaching for the past seven years. Although I began my diving career later in life than I would have liked—due to childhood ear issues—I have been surrounded by scuba diving since growing up in the 1980s.

This fundraiser is in memory of my late father, Michael A. Grochmal, an avid New England cold‑water diver. His passion was diving for lobster and deep‑sea fishing. As a child, I remember snorkeling above him at his favorite spot in Cape Ann, Massachusetts, towing his float and flag when his friends could no longer dive. I spent countless hours at our local dive shop in Holyoke, Underwater Supply, with John Pop, Benny, and their crew, back when dive gear was heavy and everything was based on Navy dive tables. I must have read the Encyclopedia of Diving hundreds of times as a kid—yet at that time, I didn’t want to dive myself.

In 2010, I finally decided to pursue diving as a way to share something meaningful with my father. I earned my PADI Open Water Diver certification while managing a childhood perforated eardrum that never fully healed. For the next ten years, we dove together. I learned so much from him—his old‑school techniques, his wisdom, and his love for the ocean. Diving became our father‑and‑son bond, always as equals.

By 2015, I had caught the itch to go further. My first deep dives were on the Spiegel Grove, and by 2017 I had advanced to Dive Master and then Open Water Instructor. In that community, I rediscovered the camaraderie my father and his friends had back in the 1980s. He taught me lessons and techniques that most divers never experience unless they pursue technical diving.

In 2020, the roles reversed—the teacher became the student. I traveled the world, diving in places he never had the chance to, going beyond boundaries of recreational diving. Our last dive together was also in 2020. It was a shallow dive that became a turning point: his health no longer allowed him to do what he loved. For the first time, I feared for his safety underwater. That was my firsthand experience with immersion pulmonary edema (IPE).

Although he could no longer dive, we continued our traditions—sharing fish lunches and dinners at JT Farnham’s for four years. While I was in the water, he would use his metal detector nearby, still wishing to find that “big bug.” His passion for the ocean never faded, right up until he passed on June 26, 2024.

Today, as a Master Instructor, I embody his spirit. I teach others the thrill of diving and the importance of protecting our waterways and oceans for future generations.

This is our story so far. Please consider making a donation in loving memory of my father. Every contribution goes directly to the PADI AWARE Foundation’s conservation efforts and is a 501(c)(3) tax‑deductible donation.