One With the Water
Carol, shown here scuba diving with Scott Fore, felt alive when exploring the hidden depths of the sea.
Being in and around the ocean was a second home for Carol Jenkins Barnett. The beauty of the maritime fauna and flora was what she yearned to witness when she dove.
She dove frequently and in many different locations with distinct fishery swimming past her and whoever accompanied her.
Christiana Virgilio, who’s been diving for 40 years, met Barnett on a yacht they both dove from called Big Eagle in 2001. By the time Virgilio met her, Barnett had been \\ diving for many years.
From there, Barnett and Virgilio would travel the world, swimming in many waters with different teams and boats along the way. They launched off multiple shorelines in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
“She was an amazing person,” Virgilio said. “Many people learned how to scuba dive because of her. She was very comfortable in the water. Whether there was a strong current or rough seas, she was calm. She really appreciated life under the water. ”
Virgilio mentioned that Barnett was most fond of diving in the Caribbean Sea around the shores of its numerous islands. She noted an example where they went to the Bahamas and dove at a region called Danger Reef, which was teeming with sea life. It was quite the spectacle with large grouper and sharks swimming amidst an array of crystalline colors.
Sea turtles were the creatures she looked forward to the most when she dove, and many of her fondest memories included passing by bales of them.
After every dive, Barnett and Virgilio reviewed the underwater photos captured and often watched the sunset with many colors dancing in the sky and ocean floor.
Carol’s son Nick is one of the countless people who she passed her love of diving onto.
“She was connected to the water, admiring its inhabitants and its qualities.”
“As years went by, our pictures got better and better with practice, and the equipment we had,” Virgilio said. “When we first started off, the pictures would always be blue and not that colorful. Then we started getting better and better, getting some great underwater pictures.”
She was connected to the water, admiring its inhabitants and its qualities. Outside of scuba diving, Barnett was also an avid swimmer, and family members said rarely did a day go by where Carol did not swim either in her home pool or another body of water.
Her daughter-in-law Ashley G. Barnett commented on Barnett’s passion for scuba diving and her adoration for the water.
“She was a mermaid in a past life I 100 percent believe. She loved the water. When she first went to college she wanted to be a marine biologist,” Barnett said. “She went to school and then quickly learned she did not like chemistry, but her passion for marine life never changed. That’s why she [was] really involved in a lot of aquariums. She lived in the water.”
April 2020 was the last time Virgilio saw Barnett. Virgilio said they would primarily talk about diving when together, but Barnett would also talk about the philanthropy work she did for children and always encouraged people to consider how they too could make an impact in the lives of others.