Special
Preview Part 2
THE Diving Event of the Year!™
SCUBA Show 1999
Are
divers social creatures? You bet! Proof will be at the annual SCUBA
Show aboard the Queen Mary, June 25-27. Every year over 10,000 attend
this annual expo to learn, become inspired, and of course party! In
this final installment of a two-part article will look at the show's
unique Continuous Underwater Film Festival, Saturday Night Casino
Party Benefit, Door Prizes and more.
CONTINUOUS U/W FILM FESTIVAL
Second only in popularity to the huge exhibit hall, the SCUBA Show's unique Continuous Underwater Film Festival will dazzle diving fans with breathtaking images and fascinating stories from oceans around the globe. With the continuous format, all day Saturday and Sunday, participants are able to set their own schedules, viewing just the films that interest them most. Many of the films are to be premiered at the SCUBA Show, with spectacular underwater footage never before seen in any film festival or on television. The setting for the film festival is deep within the ship in the Queen Mary's old engine room. State-of-the-art video projection with a large screen is used for maximum impact to the viewers. Twenty separate films will be screened during the course of the weekend, most of them twice.
Featured underwater cinematographer is the team of Bill Macdonald and Susan Ritman. Bill Macdonald has worked on a large number of documentary film projects including as a part of Calypso crew with Jacques Cousteau. In recent years, Bill Burrud Productions has employed Macdonald as producer of several acclaimed underwater shows. His work has been seen on the Discovery Channel and other popular venues. Filming ventures have taken him around the globe underwater.
The Macdonald/Ritman team has submitted four videos for this year's film festival. More Secrets of California Diving will be premiered at the show. It is a sequel to their popular film from the 1997 film festival. Content of this new film is a closely guarded secret, but Bill has hinted to remarkable footage of giant black sea bass and where to find them. Additional films from the Macdonald/Ritman team include KungKungan Bay, highlighting the ultimate in macro and critter diving in Indonesia and Dive Asia Pacific: Thailand. Not to be missed is the short rock-video Lost At Sea, Please Help Me! with footage shot by Bill Macdonald and Len Tillim.
Sunken ships, both accidental and on purpose, seemed to be emphasized in particular in this year. Stories and footage include wrecks from Australia to Cayman; Civil War to wrecks of the future. The San Diego Oceans Foundation will share a video on the 366' Canadian destroyer Yukon, to be sunk off San Diego this November.
Marine animals are also a special emphasis. You will be dazzled by images of turtles, huge schools of fish, sharks, giant black sea bass, and giant manta rays. One video in particular, Isla Del Cocos by Rusty Colby, has one long continuous shot with over a dozen mantas! Sealed with a Kiss by Cassell Productions is a fun look at diving with sea lions.
SAT. NIGHT CASINO PARTY BENEFIT
Volunteers of the Catalina Conservancy Divers continue to work long hard hours to protect, preserve, and restore the fragile marine ecosystem of Catalina Island. They have planted abalone and performed underwater cleanups. Education of the public and scientific underwater surveys and studies are ongoing and a priority for the future. They are recognized worldwide for their accomplishments, yet work has only just begun. Catalina Island, as pristine as it is, lives in the shadow of 15 million people. The Casino Party benefits this important organization.
The Casino Party is the social highlight of the SCUBA Show weekend. Participants "gamble" into the night, playing blackjack, roulette, and craps. "Cashing-out" at the end of the evening, the high-rolling divers will receive tickets for a prize drawing that includes thousands of dollars in dive gear, travel and other prizes. Prior to, and during the gaming, a silent auction is staged. Guests can bid on items of dive gear, travel, books, art and more, all donated. Shop to your heart's content! All proceeds go to benefit the non-profit Catalina Conservancy Divers.
The Casino Party will take place in Queen Mary's opulent Britannia Salon on the upper stern decks. The salon was recently restored to its pristine art-deco grandeur. An advantage of this room is access to a private stern deck. That night, at 9 p.m., the Queen Mary will stage a spectacular fireworks display.
CALIFORNIA
SCUBA SERVICE AWARD
Highlight of the evening is the awarding of the California Scuba Service Award (CSSA). This award was created by Saint Brendan Corp. (home of California Diving News and the SCUBA Show) to recognize those who have made positive, long-term contributions to scuba diving in California. This year's recipient is Bonnie Cardone. Bonnie began diving California in 1973. Falling in love with the underwater world, she began editing for Skin Diver Magazine (SDM) in 1976. In 1981 she rose to the position of Executive Editor and although assignments led her to exotic destinations around the globe, her love for California's kelp forests remained dominant. She became active in the Santa Monica Blue Fins and California Wreck Divers, holding officer positions with both clubs. Her love for California diving came through by exposing wonders of the kelp forest to the world through multiple articles and photographs in SDM. In 1989, Bonnie co-authored with Pat Smith Shipwrecks of Southern California. Early this year, Bonnie left SDM to pursue other career paths in diving, including writing novels and free-lance work. Bonnie has educated and inspired California divers for over two decades with her writing, photography, and leadership in the diving community.
DOOR PRIZES
All paid attendees are eligible for the door prize drawings, one held at the end of each day. Friday's prizes include a complete and compact alternate-air system from Aquavit that includes a 13-cubic foot cylinder, first-stage regulator, mount, strap, high pressure hose and disconnect. Also to be given away will be four gift certificates for dive trips aboard the Atlantis or Pacific Dream dive-charter boats out of Huntington Beach, CA and serving Catalina and the Southern Channel Islands.
To be given away Saturday is a 7-night trip aboard the luxury live-aboard dive vessel Star Dancer in Papua New Guinea, courtesy of Peter Hughes Diving, Inc., "First and Foremost in Luxury Liveaboard Adventure."
Grand Prize for the dive show, to be drawn Sunday afternoon, is a 7-night trip aboard the all-new live aboard dive yacht Cayman Aggressor IV, courtesy of Aggressor Fleet: "The Ultimate In Live-Aboards®." Paid attendees from all three days are eligible for the grand prize drawing and need not be present to win.
RICHARD
BLADE- THE DIVING D.J.
Richard Blade, KROQ D.J. and avid diver, will again return to the dive show Sunday. World Famous KROQ is the #1 alternative rock radio station in the country, and Richard is one of the more popular D.J.s. He will be giving away music, stickers, shirts, and other KROQ paraphernalia.
DIRECTIONS, PARKING, ROOMS, ETC.
Reaching the Queen Mary is simple: Take the 710 Long Beach Freeway south and follow the signs. The large Queen Mary parking lot has been expanded but early arrival is strongly encouraged. And please carpool!
A special treat is to spend a night aboard the old ship in one of the preserved first-class state rooms. Special rates are available for SCUBA Show attendees, but you must reserve early and mention the show when you book. For hotel reservations, call (562) 435-3511. To learn more about the Queen Mary, visit their web site at www.queenmary.com.
Schedule for Saturday, June 26,1999
10:35 am The Age of the Aggressor by Aggressor Fleet and Stan Waterman
11:00 am A Day of Diving San Clemente Island by Bob Gladden
11:20 am Lost at Sea, Please Help Me! by Bill Macdonald and Len Tillim
11:25 am Dive Asia Pacific: Thailand by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
11:45 am Papua New Guinea by Chuck Nicklin and Caleb Furgatch
11:50 am S.S. Yongala by Ray ann McNeill
12:40 pm N.O.S.C. Tower Wreck by Bob Gladden
12:45 pm Destroyer at Peace by Roger Roth
12:50 pm Project Yukon - - Making Warships into New Dive Sites by San Diego Oceans Foundation
1:05 pm USS Monitor Survey Expedition 1997 by Swift Current Productions
1:30 pm More Secrets of California Waters by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
1:55 pm The Age of the Aggressor by Aggressor Fleet and Stan Waterman
2:20 pm A Day of Diving San Clemente Island by Bob Gladden
2:40 pm Lost at Sea, Please Help Me! by Bill Macdonald and Len Tillim
2:45 pm Dive Asia Pacific: Thailand by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
3:05 pm Papua New Guinea by Chuck Nicklin and Caleb Furgatch
3:10 pm S.S. Yongala by Ray Ann McNeill
3:30 pm N.O.S.C. Tower Wreck by Bob Gladden
3:35 pm Destroyer at Peace by Roger Roth
3:40 pm Project Yukon - - Making Warships into New Dive Sites by San Diego Oceans Foundation
4:05 pm USS Monitor Survey Expedition 1997 by Swift Current Productions
4:30 pm More Secrets of California Waters by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
4:55 pm Underwater Safety Signing by Sea Signs
Schedule for Sunday, June 27,1999
10:30 am A Night On Board a Russian Destroyer by Roger Roth
10:35 am Wreck of the El Rey by Bob Gladden
10:40 am Project Yukon - - Making Warships into New Dive Sites by San Diego Oceans Foundations
10:50 am Sealed with a Kiss by Cassell Productions
10:55 am Sharks in the Blue by Cassell Productions
11:15 am Isla Del Cocos by Rusty Colby
11:35 am Bilikiki Diving Solomon Islands
11:50 am Kungkungan Bay by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
12:45 pm More Secrets of California Waters by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
1:10 pm Belize by Joe Pomento
1:35 pm A Night On Board a Russian Destroyer by Roger Roth
1:40 pm Wreck of the El Rey by Bob Gladden
1:45 pm Project Yukon - - Making Warships into New Dive Sites by San Diego Oceans Foundation
2:00 pm Sealed with a Kiss by Cassell Productions
2:05 pm Sharks in the Blue by Cassell Productions
2:25 pm Isla Del Cocos by Rusty Colby
2:45 pm Bilikiki Diving Solomon Islands
3:05 pm Kungkungan Bay by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
3:30 pm More Secrets of California Waters by Bill Macdonald/Susan Ritman
3:55 pm Belize by Joe Pomento
For complete details, including advanced registration information click here.