Marine Conservation and Research Expeditions

With Angela Smith and Shark Team One

Angela Smith, founder of the endangered species conservation and citizen science expedition organization Shark Team One will speak about working with large marine animals and the conservation of endangered species worldwide.

Her program will highlight how photographers, nonprofit organizations, conservationists, students and divers can bring awareness to dwindling shark populations and the issues that face our oceans today.

Angela will talk about The Endangered Whale Shark Conservation Program, Shark Team One’s longest running project and what it’s like to work with these gentle giants. Angela’s presentation will also take you to a remote island off the coast of Western Mexico for a photographic essay about endangered great white sharks and to the Bahamas and Dominica where we will see behind the scenes on Shark Team One film productions. Shark Team One’s endangered species work also extends to marine mammal research expeditions, so we’ll discuss and view endangered sperm whale families of the Caribbean.

Angela is also the NGO Vice-Chair for the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) where she is working to help develop federal and state management strategies to help save coral reefs along the Southeast Florida reef tract and has led Shark Team One to be a member of the Sylvia Earle Alliance spearheading the creation of the Coastal Southeast Florida Hope Spot in conjunction with Mission Blue and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Angela is a researcher supported by the S.E.E. Initiative (Science, Exploration, Education) with National Geographic and partners, is a Microsoft AI for Earth grantee, a member of Ocean Artists Society and a writer for National Geographic Open Explorer. Her wildlife documentary films have won accolades at venues such as Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Blue Ocean Film Festival, Jackson Wild and Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.

Visit Angela’s website at: www.sharkteamone.org

STAY HOME, STAY SAFE
JOIN US FOR A ZOOM MEETING

We will not have a meeting at the Courtyard hotel for the month of May. Instead, you can expect to receive an invitation to a Zoom meeting, which will be scheduled for Thursday, May 7, at 7:00 PM. The invitation will include a link for you to click when it is time to join the meeting. Please click the link five or ten minutes before the start of the meeting. You will be directed to a waiting room and asked to provide your name. Provide the name we have in the membership directory because only members or their registered guests will be allowed into the meeting. Members can register a guest by sending the guest's name in an email to president@usadiveclub.org by noon on May 7. We will not have an outside speaker for this meeting. Nils will discuss the status of our planned overseas dive trips and we can find out how our friends have been getting along in lockdown. Please join us.

Stay at Home

In order to help keep members safe from the COVID-19 virus, all April Club events have been canceled. As I write this on March 26, 2020, all non-essential businesses, including dive charters and dive stores have been shut down by government decree. It is possible that these conditions may extend into May, or even longer. We will let you know if this affects future Club events.

The Solomon Islands

By Daniela Tombion

First, the night's guest speaker, Daniela Tombion, will tell us about the Solomon Islands, its people, its culture, and the diving - especially the Diving from Bilikiki where she was a captain for four years. This should be of interest even if you are not considering signing up for the Solomon Islands trip. Later in the evening, Nils Jacobsen will give us the practical details of the planned trip to the Solomon Islands and the Bilikiki liveaboard.

Daniela was born in Caracas Venezuela. From the early days, she developed a passion for the underwater world from being able to snorkel from a young age in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. This same passion made her travel to Egypt to keep exploring and developing her scuba diving skills. That's when she made the decision to dedicate the next years of her life to teach, explore and serve as many divers as possible. She became a Dive Instructor in the Red Sea area. Daniela and her husband signed up as dive crew for Emperor Divers – a well renowned fleet in the Red Sea. Daniela recognized liveaboards as the best way to see most of the marine life and dive as much as possible. The couple became part of the Emperor Divers Fleet and guided 800 divers or more per year for the next four years. Covering most part of the Egyptian Red Sea including the fantastic wrecks, colorful reefs, and the adventures of the Brothers Islands.

From the Red Sea, the couple took a jump to the South Pacific and she and her husband became the Onboard Managers of the great Bilikiki Cruises located in the Solomon Islands. They ran that operation for four years in one of the most beautiful places they have been.  “The waters, marine life and the people of the Solomon Islands is one of those experiences that will stay in our hearts forever. It is one of those kinds of things you can't explain with words; it takes an experience to be able to express the quality of the dives and operation.”

Gear Safety & How does the scuba biz really work?
By Geoffrey May

Geoffrey May has been scuba diving since the age of 11 years old when he was certified by Norine Rouse in West Palm Beach in 1982. An experienced cave and technical diver, Geoffrey is a dynamic, top-performing, ethical and disciplined professional. He is a Gainesville, Florida native that graduated from the University of Florida. His work and adventure has led him to over 40 countries on 6 continents. Geoffrey has created tremendous success in the global watersports industry over the past 20 years designing, sourcing and selling products. From 2011 until 2019 he spearheaded and managed an industry leading online retail fulfillment center based in Pompano Beach. This high volume activity allowed him to acquire an extensive network of manufacturers in Asia, Europe and the USA and establish himself as a premier international buyer. Combining his decades of knowledge with his multi-national team, Geoffrey founded May Lion Group (a specialty product procurement and consulting company) in January 2020. (mayliongroup.com)

His presentation will give us a brief review of annual gear safety and service as the dive season kicks in gear soon. But he will also give a "Behind the scenes" look into the world of scuba gear and manufacturers. Come ready to ask the questions you always wanted to know about the scuba business but could never get the answer.

• Why is one regulator 3 times the cost of the other?
• Why does my BC not sell replacement parts?
• What does lifetime warranty REALLY mean?
• Do I need the expensive dive computer to be safe?

Geoffrey Tells it like it is and holds no punches.

Upcoming Overseas Dive Trips
by Nils Jacobsen

Please come to the meeting to get details about the trips being advertised for signups in 2020. You will be able to signup at this meeting.

• Little Cayman Beach Resort, June 27 - July 4, 2020
  
• Belize Aggressor, August 15 - 22, 2020
  

At the time of this writing, there is still a single male spot available for Fiji on the Nai'a liveaboard, March 14 - 21, 2020.

Keep these future trips in your mind and your calendar for planning purposes. Nils expects the Solomons trip to be opened for signups in March of 2020. He expects the Cayman Aggressor trip to be opened for signups in August of 2020.

• Solomons: Bilikiki liveaboard, May 22 - June 1
• Cayman Aggressor, July 10 - 17
• Raja Ampat/Triton Bay: Damai liveaboard, approx. March 13 - 24, 2023 (exact date to be determined later)
  

My Most Memorable Dives Around the World

By Bill Watts

Long time USA Dive Club member Bill Watts will be presenting a program talking about his most memorable dives around the world. Bill has been diving for 60 years. He came to Pompano Beach Florida in 1959 at age 12 and purchased his first set of dive equipment by age 13. Bill estimates he has made over 3000 dives around the world. From the shores of Florida to places like Cocos Island off Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador or the Lembeh Straights of Indonesia, Bill has seen it all. He will be talking about some of his most memorable dives and why they were so memorable. Should be an action packed fun adventure with photos and memories.

Our speaker is Susana Ramirez, Founder of Save The Sharks

Susana Ramirez (Navajas) grew up around the water, and always had a deep passion for the ocean and its' inhabitants. While doing her undergraduate studies, Susana helped graduate students with shark research in the everglades. It was during that time that she fell in love with sharks, and she vowed to do all that she could to help the animals out. She has since volunteered for many non-profit organizations and has gained valuable knowledge about grassroots campaigning. In 2014, she officially ran Save The Sharks full time, and has had a great deal of success. Susana has been a part of CITES implementations, she has led local and international rallies, school presentations, she has written for magazines and much more. Her hope is that Save The Sharks can inspire anyone to do something; because together, we can make a difference. [http://www.savethesharksorg.com/]

Importance of Coral-Algal Symbiosis to the Reef Community

By Rivah Winter, PhD

Dr. Rivah Winter runs the Inventors in Residence Coral Reef Restoration Research Laboratory at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, FL, where she is also a Curator of Marine Science. In partnership with Dr. Andrew Baker at the University of Miami, she works to improve the heat resistance of threatened corals used for reef restoration. She earned her PhD from UM in 2017 and her B.S. from UCSD in 2010, where she studied Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. Rivah fell in love with the sea when she first visited an aquarium at seven years old, and she is excited to be able to work with the stellar team at Frost Science to advance the Museum's conservation program.

Bylaws and Pictures

A two-part program

1. Bylaws Changes - We have Bylaws changes to discuss and, hopefully, approve by a vote of the members present. The reasons for making the changes are outlined briefly in the President's Waves. Members can help speed up discussions by reading the proposed changes here.
   
2. Pictures - Nils Jacobsen is putting together a presentation of photos from past trips. He is working on the presentation while I write this, so I am not sure what the final result will be. It will probably include his pictures from our recent Little Cayman trip. It may include pictures from Fiji, especially if we can get another Fiji trip scheduled for 2020. If we are lucky and he can find the time, we may get to see pictures from Cuba. And he has pictures from his African safari that may also make it into the presentation.