Boston Sea Rovers 51st Clinic 2005
Boston Sea Rovers 2005 51st Clinic and Film Festival
After the tremendous fortune of being invited to give a seminar on underwater digital photography last year, I returned this year to give two 3-hour workshops at the 51st Boston Sea Rovers Clinic, held as usual at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. Unlike the wonderful weather we had last year, this year's clinic was held buried in snow -- just before the arrival of a massive New England winter storm.
On the evening of Friday, March 4th, the speakers, sponsors and Sea Rover members assembled at the Gamble Mansion for a party. The Sea Rovers Clinic is known for attracting household names in the industry, and this year's event was no different. I spent most of the evening chatting with Norbert Wu, Brian Skerry, Bret Gilliam, Todd Essick, Mike DeGruy, and Mauricio Handler.
I've really enjoyed getting to know Norb Wu over the past few months. He'll say things like, "I don't know if you want to hear my opinion about XXX..." and will then proceed to tell you something so blunt that will catch you off guard if you aren't used to it. At the party, Norb introduced me to Dr. Tom Goreau, who was at the Sea Rovers Clinic to give a talk about large-scale coral reef restoration; during the introduction, it seemed to me that Norb could barely suppress audible giggles because Tom lost two fingers to a barracuda in August of last year. While pointing out someone who recently lost fingers to a barracuda probably isn't appropriate in all situations, it was somehow... appropriately humorous during this specific introduction. Later on (after the nice introduction), I spoke with Tom in much greater detail about his work, and about future projects he is planning.
Later that evening, Sea Rovers president Dave Morton took the stand to introduce a tribute video in honor of the late Frank Scalli, a Sea Rover and dive industry pioneer. There is now an annual summer internship in Scalli's name for graduating high school seniors interested in underwater-related careers.
The annual evening film festival put on by the Sea Rovers was very impressive -- even more so because all proceeds from both the film festival and the clinic are donated to charities.
The film festival was hosted by Bret Gilliam, and included the following presenters:
Stan Waterman: Guadalupe great white sharks
Norbert Wu: Excerpts from his documentary film on Antarctica
Ernest Brooks II: Slides from his new book, Silver Seas
Mike DeGruy: High-Definition footage of deep sea vents taken from his trip aboard the Mir submarine
Al Giddings: Footage of manta rays and blue whales
Norbert Wu: Excerpts from his documentary film on Antarctica
Ernest Brooks II: Slides from his new book, Silver Seas
Mike DeGruy: High-Definition footage of deep sea vents taken from his trip aboard the Mir submarine
Al Giddings: Footage of manta rays and blue whales
All of the footage shown was incredible, and it had the effect (for more than none person I know) of making me feel like a little guppie swimming among whales. It also crossed my mind that we may not even be in the same ocean! :)
Bret spent much of his time up at the podium telling funny stories about Mainers (a right granted to him by his residence there). Before Norbert Wu got up on stage, Bret shared a story about Norb's last time at a Sea Rovers clinic; a bunch of Sea Rovers were said to have imbibed a "Wu" of beer in order to fit him into their car (which had previously been filled to capacity with the stuff). When Norb took the stage after the story, he said that this year, Sea Rovers would have a harder time because his "Wu weight has increased significantly." He then issued a challenge to the men in the room. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the film festival's after-party nor its associated late-night hotel room debauchery (to witness the results of Norb's challenge) because I had so much work to do for the workshops I was there to give.
Speaking of workshops, I had excellent attendance at both the Saturday and Sunday afternoon workshops. Standing up and talking for six hours isn't very difficult, but the associated slides and preparation took up so much time that I wasn't able to properly enjoy this year's seminars and show room floor. Despite my busy schedule, I did manage to go see my good friend Steve Drogin's seminar of slides he took during our trip to Rajah Ampat last December. As a bonus, Steve also showed photographs of his new 3-man submarine, which is certified go descend to 1500'!
The annual Sea Rovers Clinic is unique among underwater festivals; I can't wait to go back next year. :) For more information about the Boston Sea Rovers, visit their website at: http://www.searovers.org/
Special thanks to Ethan Gordon, who took many of the photographs below.