Navy veteran Terry Kennedy, 83, never expected to become a movie star – but his unlikely relationship with a giant manta ray led him to star in documentary The Last Dive recently premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Once burdened by a troubled past – tours of Vietnam and a brief interlude with the Hell’s Angels – in 1981 he decided to put San Francisco behind him, and live on his sail boat in Baja Mexico.

Here his life would be transformed by his  20-year friendship with a giant manta ray named Willy. Today Terry tells SENIOR PLANET about his extraordinary underwater life:

Q: How did your love of the ocean first begin?

TERRY: When I began watching Jacques Cousteau and Sea Hunt on television. I didn’t miss a single episode. I got hooked on those shows so bad that I borrowed a mask and snorkel and started going around the tide pools in Carmel.

Q: Director Cody Sheehy doesn’t sugarcoat your wild youth in The Last Dive?

TERRY: Yes. I would get into trouble all the time shooting street lights out with a BB gun and stuff like that. I was in juvenile hall almost every weekend.

Q: How did the ocean change your direction?

TERRY: Well, for my 12th birthday my parents bought me a tank with a regulator and hose and everything. I still didn’t quite get out of trouble – because as soon as I had the tank and realized I had no knowledge – I went to the Mount View library, and stole the US Navy diving manual. It took me three months to read it, cover to cover, and thought I knew everything. And so when my parents dropped me off at Monastery Beach in Carmel, they didn’t see how I slid the tank out of the back seat before they drove off. But I was too small to get it on, so I had to lay it down, and get into it, starting on my hands and knees before I got yo the surf, and then suddenly I heard people going: Were’s that kid’s parents? Quick grab that kid! And there’s like 20 people running down the beach toward me. Well, it scared me, so I got in the water, before they could get to me, and I was gone!

Q: I bet you were in real trouble after that?

TERRY: Well, I went to the north edge of Monastery Beach where I noticed there was a canyon. So I dropped down into the canyon to 200 feet. I knew this because I had loaned a dive depth gauge. But then a huge 8ft fish came right up to me, and it scared me. So I terminated the dive, and I started up. I did my stops, made it into shore, and as I approached, I saw a helicopter on the beach, a couple of ambulances, a fire truck and a Coast Guard boat was just pulling in . . . oh boy, I will not go on explaining what happened when my parents came busting through the crowd.

Q: How did your love of the ocean continue following your Navy career?

TERRY: After I got out of the Navy, I worked as an auto mechanic and then in electronics, just saving money, because I was determined to go cruising. I finally quit and I sold my motorcycle and I went out the Golden Gate Bridge on my boat, made a left hand turn and didn’t look back.

Q: You became a local legend in Baja Mexico – mainly diving in the Sea of Cortez and around the islands of San Benedicto. Tell us about discovering the giant manta rays?

TERRY:  Back then – before the pressure of the fishing industry – it wasn’t a big deal seeing giant mantas. The thing I find interesting is that they find us interesting. If you’re approached, it’s only on their terms.

Q: How did Willy – who at 22-ft, was the biggest manta ray in the area – became special to you?

TERRY: Well Willy would let me actually ride on him so that was special – actually being on one and realizing that they’re allowing it. There’s a friend of mine that wanted to ride a Giant Manta one time, and Dave tried everything he could to get on one, particularly Willy. But Willy would not allow it. All the times we were diving there, Willy never once allowed Dave to ride. Dave would get on and Willy would do one down, sweep with his wings and take off like a rocket. It’s like a tidal wave hit you and knocks you right off. There’s no way you could hold on. He never did get a ride.

Q: But Willy always let you ride him?

TERRY:  Yes, he would slap his wings against the hull of my sailboat to signal he was ready for our next dive – he wouldn’t take no for an answer. And manta rays are highly intelligent. One time he took me to a big net and showed it to me – then I got the Mexican Navy involved, and we pulled up 1750 meters of net in two days. Willy was there watching the whole time. Helping the ocean like that is my way of paying it back.

Q: Watching The Last Dive you seem fearless underwater.

TERRY: Oddly enough, I have more fear on land than I do underwater. Diving, for me, is like the cheapest space walk you’ll ever take. Just pack your air on your back and drop into a world that defies description. It’s awesome.

Q: But still, you’ve had some scary underwater encounters?

TERRY: Yes, I remember doing a night dive once. I’d dropped 150 feet when, all of a sudden, something flashed by me, and I stopped my descent. I looked around with my dive light, and saw that I was surrounded by nine or ten giant Humboldt squid who were circling me – each of them about 8ft long. Then they started grabbing me. I had a tentacle on my wrist and another on my mask, pulling on that. I quickly realized that they were going to park me out if I didn’t come up with something real quick, and so I threw the dive light, and luckily they took off after that light – and I went the opposite direction. I probably cleared the water by my ankles. I got out of there just in time.

Q: I had no idea that squid attacked humans?

TERRY: Yes, they do. There’s been a couple of fishermen pulled out of their panga fishing boat when they were fishing for giant Humboldt squids. They made  the mistake of reaching down, grabbing one of the squid and trying to bring them on board the boat. And then two more squid came up and grabbed both of them and pulled them over the side. They’ve never been seen since. Those squid have no fear of you. They have no fear of anything. It’s just whether they want to eat it or not. That’s what scared me. I’ve been around a lot of sharks, but never with a level of fear like on that night.

Q: Speaking of sharks…any close encounters?

TERRY: Yeah, one time, I had a great Hammerhead shark confront me, and I didn’t have any choice but to terminate him. He was about 18 feet long and he was not going away. He had us backed up against the rocks.

Q: Sadly, many of the Mantas have been killed as a byproduct of fishing, and you’ve not seen Willy in a few years. Is he still out there do you think?

TERRY: Well, he’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen around the island. And I know most all of them and I’ve given a lot of them names like Tippie and Chevy. But obviously, this is Willy’s home so why he would leave the island when the waters are abundant and there’s plenty of food for him to eat? So I think he stays around and we just didn’t see him because he was at the other end of the island. I like to think he’s still out there.

Q: Any other hobbies?

TERRY: No. My wife Dawn and I dive a lot and I also enjoy turning people on to to what turns me on; thats my payback is at the end of the dive – just a big smile on their faces, we’re even!

Q: This heartwarming documentary is called The Last Dive – but you don’t believe it is your last dive?

TERRY: No. I will dive to my last breath. I’ve even told Dawn: Look, if I feel like I’m going to be terminal, I want you to strap a couple of extra tanks on my back and let me go.

Q: What is your secret to aging with attitude?

TERRY: I’ve had a lot of friends tell me: Oh, Terry, come on, grow up – and I refuse to do that. Get old and senile? I can’t do that. People look at an old guy my age, and I can dive 230 feet on air? Whoa! They can’t believe I do that. But I do it because I love diving, and I monitor myself, trust me, I watch out for Terry, making sure I don’t stay too long, too deep. But I’ve had a good time in my diving career.

NB: The Last Dive is playing at select cinemas

Photo credit: Joyce Clinton

Gill Pringle began her career as a rock columnist for popular British newspapers, traveling the world with Madonna, U2 and Michael Jackson. Moving to Los Angeles 27 years ago, she interviews film and TV personalities for prestigious UK outlets, The Independent, The i-paper and The Sunday Times – and, of course, Senior Planet. A member of Critics Choice Association, BAFTA and AWFJ, she wrote the screenplay for 2016 Netflix family film, The 3 Tails Movie: A Mermaid Adventure. An award-winning writer, in 2021 she was honored by the Los Angeles Press Club with 1st prize at the NAEJ Awards.