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Profile by John Tolmie
I
t all began in 1972 on the shore of Lake Candlewood in western Connecticut. There stood a young man preparing his diving equipment for a plunge into the cool lake water. He and his schoolmates from the swim team had learned SCUBA diving and young Jay Kane had acquired whatever gear he could find. Though recreational SCUBA diving had been around since the 1950’s the equipment was largely scarce. Jay and his friends cut their teeth as young divers exploring the lakes in the region. However, on this day Jay was out to make some money. He recalls, “The coolest memory of my early days was my first salvage operation. Two gentlemen had been fishing when they flipped their 18 foot canoe and lost all their fishing gear. They paid me $50 to retrieve it.” After high school he wanted to be trained as a U.S. Navy diver but was turned down because he had trouble clearing pressure from his ears.
However, being a patriot he decided to join the Army. Jay was tight lipped about his combat service not expounding on what transpired during his time. Like many true warriors Jay
wouldn’t glorify his tour of duty. He simply stated, “I served in Panama when things weren’t going so well down there.” After being honorably discharged Jay became a corrections officer at the Bridgeport Jail. Not enjoying the
Photos above and facing page courtesy Custom House, New London
culture of the corrections industry he started moonlighting as a diver while working for local water companies. He also spent his off days in Cape Cod commercial diving and fishing. Jay recounts, “The corrections job lasted 3 years, 11 months and 21 days. Not that I was counting!” He continued, “Since I had joined the Army right out of high school, I decided that I would quit the corrections job and go to college to earn my bachelors in political science at the University of Connecticut.” After graduating in 1982, Jay started teaching recreational Scuba diving at UConn’s various campuses. This evolved into a charter business guiding divers out to Block Island to explore its many shipwrecks. After over decade of instructing divers, Jay decided to form Shoreline Diving and opened a dive shop. Jay enjoyed a prosperous time but as the recreational diving industry started to change, he had to make a decision.
