A Stock Island handyman known for his love of the Miami Dolphins football team, fishing and the sea drowned Thursday while scuba diving with a lifelong friend.

Edward Brown of Miriam Street was found at the bottom of Boca Chica Channel shortly after 11 a.m. He was pronounced dead at Lower Keys Medical Center. He was 44.

"He was my best friend," said Francis Wright Jr. of La Brisa Lane on Cudjoe Key.

Both men were finishing up an early day of diving and looking for bait to use later for fishing, Wright said. Wright was at the rear of his boat, where he secured some of his dive gear. As he was preparing to climb aboard the boat, he slipped and knocked his head and began swallowing water, Wright said.

Brown was in the water at the front of the boat, coming toward Wright when Wright slipped, he said.

Shortly thereafter he saw Brown making his way to him as the current pulled Wright toward the Boca Chica Channel.

A nearby kayak paddled to Wright, secured him to a piling under the bridge and went to secure Brown, Wright said.

"But Ed went under," Wright said. "I lost my best friend."

The boat was anchored about 200 yards from the bridge, on the bay side, Wright said.

Rescue crews with the Key West Fire Department, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office responded and pulled Wright from the piling. Brown was recovered from the bottom of the channel and immediate efforts to revive him at the scene were not successful.

Brown apparently did not drop his dive belt and it appeared he was trying to save Wright, instead of staying by the boat, when Brown went under, Wright said.

"I had taken in a couple gulps of saltwater and the next time I saw Ed he was making his way toward me," Wright said. "I kept yelling at the guy on the kayak to go get my buddy, go get my buddy."

What gear Brown had on was not clear Thursday. Wright said he secured his regulator and dive tank to the rear of the boat before he fell trying to climb aboard. He couldn't tell what gear Brown still had on, if any, the last time he saw him, Wright said.

"He lived life to the fullest," said Carla Pelote, Brown's sister. "We were very close. He loved to fish, especially right there behind the house."

Family and friends who gathered at Brown's house Thursday said he was a part-time construction worker who cut neighbors' grass and did odd jobs to make ends meet.

"He loved his sports," said his niece. "He was a hardworking man who loved to fish."

There is no record of Brown receiving either a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) or National Association of Underwater Instructors scuba certification, according to an online records search using his name and date of birth. It is not illegal to dive without certification, but dive businesses will not fill divers' tanks without the certification.

As part of gaining a scuba certification, divers are tested and trained on such experiences as dropping a weight belt and surfacing when a problem arises and when struggling to surface. PADI training courses also outline how to deal with swift currents and advise always having someone stay in the boat while diving.

alinhardt@keysnews.com

Citizen Staffer Timothy O'Hara contributed to this report.