Local residents Glenn Wright and Jill Kuehnert created a unique business model that caters to a personalized scuba experience. They were awarded Tripadvisor Travelers Choice for 2021. Keys Weekly recently sat down with co-owner Kuehnert to discuss all things lucky. Here’s what she had to say.
It’s just so remarkable that we turned out to be good business partners. I recently told Glenn, “You do what you say you’re gonna do, you pay attention to what I need to do, you make space and show up.” We are a really good match.
My husband Glenn and I have been married for over 10 years and met at a party in Singapore, where we both lived and worked. We both had jobs with U.S.-based companies, and Glenn is originally from South Africa. After 10 years in Singapore, we moved back to the U.S. after Glenn’s employment ended.
I initially started a conversation with him about golf, as he was in the golf industry. But when he basically said he didn’t want to talk about golf, we started talking about his true passion — diving. I was interested in learning how to dive, so it was perfect.
Glenn dove on the weekends when he could, and hence I started to dive as well, and now we are both certified dive masters. We would take long weekend trips around Asia. After his job ended, we took six months to travel and see where we wanted to live; we chose the Keys. The weather in Singapore is consistently 80-90 degrees year-round because it’s on the equator. However, they have even more mosquitoes than they do here.
Glenn started working with another dive boat in Islamorada and noticed an opportunity in offering private charters. Other dive boats have more divers, so they spend more time waiting for other people and often feel rushed. With that business niche in mind, we purchased a 29-foot World Cat, which has the perfect comfortable setup for a private dive charter.
We take no more than four divers and two guests, six passengers total. And offer only one charter a day, so we can be flexible and offer the best time of day to go. So, it’s important to us to make sure everyone has the best experience possible. Not only do we offer snacks such as pretzels and chips on the boat, but also gummy worms, Glenn’s favorite. We also include underwater photos for your memories.
Glenn and I came up with the name Lucky Fish Scuba because in America, we may say something like, “We are lucky ducks that we get to sit outside and have this view.” In South Africa, they say, “we are lucky fish.” Also, since we don’t do any fishing or spear diving, we say the fish are lucky too because we are looking at them and not catching them. It was perfect!
Lucky Fish Scuba was started in July of 2018, and about a year-and-a-half in, COVID-19 hit. The shutdown allowed us to take some time and look at our business; see what we could improve upon. Then in July of 2020, we were featured in a popular blog, “Girls That Scuba” after I reached out to connect.
I am fascinated by the marketing of small businesses and communication. Since we have added some incredible crew members to help Glenn with the dives, I can focus on the business piece behind the scenes. I am also the marketing chair and secretary for the Upper Keys BPW.
Lucky Scuba Fish is also excited to offer sunset cruises, snorkeling, and have an exclusive agreement with Marinelab. They give us one of their marine biologists to guide eco tours in the mangroves. The Marinelab guys have authorization to temporarily collect little creatures— seahorses, starfish, urchins, slugs and squirts. Our guests love this unique charter. We also offer very cool night dives. The other week, Glenn had a night dive and said he had never seen so many sea turtles — 20-plus turtles swimming around in the dark. It’s a completely different experience and something you will never forget.
Believe it or not, we still like to go diving on vacation. We hope to go back to Singapore as there are some spots in Asia on our list. I’ll say, though, we disagree on the concept of diving in the rain. Glenn’s always like, “You’re gonna get wet anyway, it doesn’t matter if it’s raining; who cares!” And I’m like, “Yes, it’s true you’re gonna get wet anyway, but you want to dry off eventually.”
All in all, I guess you could say we are lucky fish!
You can connect with Lucky Fish Scuba via their website www.luckyfishscuba.com and follow on FB and IG @luckyfishscuba.
