I received this email Eric Bowman, the owner of the Peace today:

To our Valued Customers and Dear Friends:

It is with great sadness, much thought and after many months of conversations with my wife Angie, close friends and family that I am announcing that we are retiring and no longer operating the Peace Dive Boat effective June 1st of this year. The main reason for this decision is that in the last year I have been struggling with some health issues that I can no longer ignore, if I want to continue to live a normal, healthy and happy life. For me having my own business is a 365/24/7 consuming commitment that I can no longer do effectively while concentrating on my health. This decision was not made easily and I will be personally reaching out to all of our charter groups personally, in the upcoming weeks. I do ask that you reach out to your customers directly. We will also make a post to our Facebook page and update our website with this information by the end of the week. All of our trips that are booked through May 31, 2020 will still operate as usual unless there are any unforeseen circumstances such as Coast Guard changes.

I did not make this decision lightly and I weighed whether or not to continuing to operate during this difficult and emotional time for California Diving. I love diving California, it is for me one of the best places to dive in the world. I know that if I do not find someone that wants to purchase and continue to operate the Peace as a dive boat that it will drastically effect the accessibility to local diving. I truly hope that I find someone that will continue the legacy of the Peace Dive Boat and that it will remain one of the premier dive operations in Southern California. For now we are open to considering any and all offers of the Peace and/or the business. Rest assured that If any of you have charter deposits with us we will be refunding them to you directly or we can take it off of the balance due on your final charter, if it falls before June 1st. I realize that rescheduling charters with other companies is a huge burden and for that I apologize. I strongly encourage everyone to do their best to continue to support the Southern California charter boat fleet as we truly are lucky to have the Channel Islands in our own backyard.

The charter dive boat industry has been a part of my life since I was 16 when I received my first opportunity to work as a deckhand on the Sea Venture and continued to work through school on the Liberty. After graduating college my life and work on the Peace have been completely intertwined. I first joined the boat’s crew 25 years ago and took over the business in 1998. The Peace is where I met my wife Angie, have many made life- long friends , travelled the world and witnessed amazing things out on the water that most people can only dream about. I also realize that the Peace is a lot more to many people than just a dive boat that it has been a major part of many people’s lives for a long time. I can only hope that we added amazing memories and wonderful experiences to your California diving.

I cannot express how much your support has meant to me through the years. It has truly been a honor and a privilege to have shared the best of California diving and met to have all of you.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Sincerely,
Eric & Angie

• Re: Peace is closing at the end of May seahunt 16:35:50 02/26/20 (2)
  • end of an era Roger 18:53:10 02/28/20 (1)
    • Amen Jim 10:19:29 02/29/20 (0)
• Re: Peace is closing at the end of May seahunt 16:31:50 02/26/20 (0)