Anglo~Danish Maritime Archaeological Team

The Team

John Downing,   A Short Biography

John is a retired business owner residing in Southern California with Pat his wife and best friend of over 28 years and their two cats, Mischief and Sonrisa. He first came to ADMAT in May 2008 to experience maritime archaeology and earn his Underwater Survey Diver and Search and Recovery Diver certifications. Since then he has spent eight weeks working at the ADMAT Center in Monte Cristi, gained Proton Magnetometer certification, and over 100 hours excavating The Tile Wreck. John can now be considered totally hooked on underwater archaeology!

John studied and worked in advanced electronics from 1970-1976 as a surface to air missile technician in the U.S. Navy. He served for four years on the U.S.S. John Paul Jones spending over 20 months in South-East Asia and earning National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign, Good Conduct, and Combat Action awards.

Upon leaving the Navy he spent ten years as a field service manager working in the fast food industry overseeing the development, installation, and maintenance of early business computer and data communications systems. During this time John and Pat’s recreational pursuit was the sport of competition skydiving. Having logged over 2,100 and 1,400 skydives respectively, accomplishing numerous world records and medaling in the U.S. National Championships three times.

Leaving the corporate world John founded his own company, Downing Sound and Communications, which provided audio electronic systems for businesses. In 1999 he began flying sailplanes (gliders) leaving his skydiving behind but not his parachute! Flying his sailplanes cross-country has become a passion for him and he has accumulated several state and one U.S. national record in that endeavor. He successfully sold his company in 2002 and retired from business management.

Pat and John started scuba diving as part of their 20^th anniversary vacation in Fiji and continued with advanced open water certifications in Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. John currently holds a PADI Rescue Diver certification.

John is an avocational archaeologist and has pursed this interest for most of his adult life. He and Pat have spent many years researching and exploring for both historic and prehistoric sites in the East Mojave Desert of California. Having attended several work groups and field trips there to identify and record petroglyphs, pictographs, and intaglios. Besides his maritime archaeological interest he is a volunteer for field work in land based archaeology. He is a working member of Passport in Time, the U.S. Forest Service volunteer program where he has participated in the identification and recording of prehistoric occupation sites in the San Diego Mountains. He and Pat are also long time contributors and past Chairman’s Council members to the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center located in Cortez, Colorado in the four corners region of the American Southwest. They have attended field schools with Crow Canyon in Archaeastronomy and at the Goodman Point excavations.

 In addition to diving, soaring and archaeology John enjoys hobbies and interests in amateur astronomy, astrophotography, kayaking, camping, underwater photography, fishing, geology, and anything and everything involved in traveling.