
www.calgaryfirefighters.org
I'm not a hat person. Not that I don't like hats – some people do a fantastic job of wearing a hat. And of course there seems to be some kind of a cult regarding hats in Britain that gets some pretty good media coverage. But, not being a hat wearer, I was surprised by how many hats I have and that I actually have favourites. Interestingly enough, all my hats have to do with Scuba Diving! Wouldn't have thought that scuba diving would support such a collection – but it has. The first hat I acquired was the CFD hat – on a trip to Halifax in 2003 I was on the deck of our dive boat which didn't have a canopy – very soon I realized I needed something to protect my fair head and acquired my hubby's hat (he had two). That hat became my go-to whenever I put my dive gear together and still is my most often packed piece of equipment.

www.padi.com
My second favourite is my PADI Course Director hat. I don't wear it often (would hate to loose it!) but whenever I see it I am reminded of the hard work, but fun times and fine friends made during my PADI Course Director Training Course in Santo Domingo. Our team won second place in our presentation to James Morgan - Vice President of PADI Training. My hat was my reward – Awesome!

www.thescap.com
My third favourite – some might say isn't really a hat but you'd have to appreciate that in diving – it's a hat! I love that it keeps my hair out of my eyes when diving and also from being wound around my mask strap but mostly cause it looks BAD! And, when I'm teaching kids in the pool they always want it!

www.seafear.com
My next hat is actually a purchase I made just because I really liked it! Not bad for a 'not a hat person'. While hanging out with my buddies Mitch Craft and Bryan Eslava at Down Under Dive Shop in Alabama (www.downunderdiveshop.com) I was scoping out all their cool gear and accessories and spotted this hat – I actually wear it just because. It's the first not-utilitarian hat I have ever owned!

www.TerrapinWetsuits.com
A new favourite is again an underwater hat. I had a nasty fall in the summer of 2012 and as a result I needed some head protection when diving so that my mask strap didn't annoy my newly acquired scar tissue. So, wanting to at least have a little fun with the calamity, I researched dive hoods and found the 'crash test dummy' which seemed somewhat apropos. Great fun while diving in Australia!

And speaking of Australia, my last hat was purchased 'down under' from a little shop attached to a post office in Cairns. Again, I needed something to protect my fair head and the CFD hat sat right on top of my aforementioned scar tissue – so this was the perfect answer and it cost all of $2.95 Aus. Pretty good I'd say!
Do you have a favourite hat and story? Share!
Do you have a favourite hat and story? Share!