If you ever have the opportunity meet Hal Lomax in person, you're in for a treat. Hal is a fascinating human with a rich life story around the sea and commercial diving, and one of the nicest and most humble people you'll ever meet.
Hal's connetion with Best Pub Co is that he's the author of Commercial Diver Training Manual, 7th Edition and
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hal came from a family of commercial fishermen and had a love for the sea since he was a small boy. He decided on his career at age 5, when his great-uncle, a long-time diver, set a MKV copper helmet over his head. By the age of 10, he was on the fishing boats on weekends with his uncles and grandfather; before the age of 16, he was working deep sea on the salvage tugs. In the mid 70s, he started working as a diver, training on the job under ex-military divers as there were no schools yet established in Canada.
He went on to work for many different outfits over the years: on inland hydro dams and power plants, coastal construction and demolition projects, and offshore salvage, construction, and oil field work. He ran his own diving business for a couple of decades and operated his own school at the same time, where he wrote all of the course material and texts.
In 2006, Hal went back to work offshore as a freelance supervisor. He is a founding member of the Divers Association International and currently sits on the Board of Directors as Board Member for Canada.
Since he hung up his helmet at the end of 2007, Hal works in various locations around the world as a diving superintendent and supervisor and spends his free time with his wife and three parrots in New Brunswick, Canada, or at their winter home in Florida.