By Bonnie Toth,Norma Connolly

Copyright caymancompass

In an evening of glamour and celebration on 20 Sept., the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame added, for the first time, an all-female cohort of inductees at its annual awards ceremony.

The 2025 international inductees are Hidy Yu of Bling Bling Ocean Foundation in Hong Kong, who received a ‘trailblazer’ award; Rosemary ‘Roz’ Lunn of the UK; Michelle Cove of Resort Lifestyle Ltd. in the Bahamas; Anne Hasson of Aggressor Adventures in the US; and the late Simone Melchior-Cousteau of France, and the Women Divers Hall of Fame, represented by Bonnie Toth and Mary Connelly, who were honoured as ‘early pioneers’.

The gala event also celebrated five local honourees, spanning all three islands in Cayman. They included Jason Belport of Reef Divers on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman; Michael Schouten and Peter Hillenbrand of Southern Cross on Little Cayman; photographer and conservationist Courtney Platt on Grand Cayman; and Ragime Powery of Divetech on Grand Cayman, who was recognised as an ’emerging honouree’.

Steve Broadbelt, chairman of the hall of fame board, described the new “superhero” inductees and local honourees as the people one would call on for a critical mission at sea, like removing a massive floating abandoned net, or ‘ghost net’.

He told the audience, “We’re proud to celebrate this groundbreaking moment in the history of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, marking the first year that all of our inductees are women. These extraordinary individuals, from pioneering founders to visionary trailblazers in the newly established category, each has played a powerful role in shaping and advancing the industry.

“Their leadership, innovation and resilience have not only helped build a more inclusive and even playing field in scuba diving, but also shattered the glass ceilings that once seemed impenetrable.”

First British female inductee

Lunn, a journalist and dive safety advocate, is the first British woman to be inducted into the hall of fame. She was also the first female diver to join the UK Ministry of Defence as part of its Defence Diving Standards Team, where she works with serving and former military divers and personnel on safety protocols.

Lunn told the Compass she was “somewhat gobsmacked” by being honoured by the hall of fame.

“I left school at 16, and I got a job in London as a receptionist, with a handful of qualifications, and to be here, inducted like this, I feel as though I’ve graduated in diving. It’s a massive, huge honour,” she said.

Lunn acknowledged that diving, especially in the technical side and within the Ministry of Defence, is “still very much a man’s world”, but added, “There’s been a massive change in the amount of women working in recreational diving”, with there being about a 50/50 split now.

“To be perfectly honest, I don’t really notice it. I’m a diver. We’re all divers, and we just get on with diving,” she said.

Yu, an actress, model and marine conservation activist, who travelled from Hong Kong with her daughter for the ceremony, founded the Bling Bling Ocean Foundation. The foundation focuses on promoting ocean conservation, and tackles, among other things, the removal of ghost nets and other debris from the sea.

She told the Compass the numbers of women in the dive industry was growing, which was reflecting in this year’s all-female inductee cohort.

She named her foundation ‘Bling Bling’, she said, after noticing while out on the water one day that when the sun’s reflection on the waves made it look like the ocean was wearing a ‘bling bling dress’.

When accepting her award, she noted that her foundation, on its most recent mission, had removed a one-tonne ghost net from the water in Hong Kong, an exercise that took her team more than three hours for a single net. In the past five years, she said, they had removed more than 10 tonnes of nets and debris from the coastal waters of Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.

Ghosts nets have also caused issues in Cayman, with a recent incident involving the death of two sharks found trapped in an abandoned net off East End.

Honouring Bob Soto’s legacy

Several of the inductees spoke of the Cayman Islands’ historical significance in diving and the legacy of the late Bob Soto, who established one of the world’s first dive operations, here in Cayman in 1957, and who is revered as a pioneer in the world of scuba diving.

Another milestone occurred at Saturday’s ceremony when Suzy Soto, Bob’s widow, handed over the reins of the Bob Soto Scholarship Programme to one of last year’s local honourees, Joanna Mikutowicz. The programme sponsors and mentors young Caymanians to enable them to enter the dive industry.

Mikutowicz, who owns Divetech, told the audience she had been certified at Bob Soto’s Diving when she was 14 years old.

“It’s come full circle,” she said. “Fourteen-year-old Jo sitting in Bob Soto’s classroom, who never would have imagined I would be standing here today taking over his scholarship programme. It’s a huge honour.”

The programme has had about a dozen graduates, two of whom currently work at Divetech.

The role of young people and the next generation, who will become the future guardians of the ocean, was highlighted by a display of posters created by schoolchildren as part of a competition run by the hall of fame. The posters featured images of the marine environment and divers, snorkellers and others.

Skylar Webb, 8, of Triple C School, won the junior division with her ‘Unknown World’ poster, while Delora Johnson, 16, from Cayman Island Further Education Centre, won the senior division, with her ‘Women in Diving and Water Sports’ poster. Runners-up in the competition included Trey Miller Ebanks, 10, of Prospect Primary, Ariana Parker, 10, of Triple C, Elexa Cottrell, 16, of Hope Academy, and Jada-Lee Smith, 15, of John Gray High School.

Since its inception in 2000, the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame has honoured more than 130 individuals and organisations who have made contributions to diving.