TAMPA, Fla. - For Wayne Fernandez, few places offer the tranquility and solace that the open water does.

"It's my therapy," he said while reflecting on a lifetime spent navigating the seas.

The backstory:

Fernandez, a retired Navy captain , has been drawn to the water since he owned his first boat at the age of 14. His career took him from diesel submarines out of Key West, like the USS Grenadier SS-525, to commanding the USS Skate, the third nuclear submarine in the world and the first to surface at the North Pole.

Fernandez's service during Vietnam and other conflicts exposed him to the harsh realities of the ocean, where peace was often elusive.

"There were some stressful times on the submarine, like being under the ice and other things that I can't talk about," he recalled.

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