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Divescapes 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Your assistance is requested. Please fill out
the following Divescapes 2006 evaluation forms and submit to the AUC.
If you have any questions please email
info@albertaunderwatercouncil.com.
Divescapes Participant Evaluation and Feedback - PDF
OUR SINCERE APOLOGIES TO BONICA PRECISION LTD for the incorrect spelling of their product donation plus wrong website address that was printed in error in the Official Divescapes '06 Program last month.
PLEASE VISIT THEIR CORRECT WEBSITE ADDRESS AT: www.bonicadive.com |
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| Divescapes Message from the Executive Director | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dear Alberta Divers, Well, the dust has settled, the stress & lack of sleep finally over, the accounting almost finished and the tally complete. General consensus is that “DIVESCAPES 2006” was an outstanding success! On behalf of the Alberta Underwater Council and the DIVESCAPES 2006 committee, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of the Divescapes 2006 Conference and Trade Show. Our semi-official numbers are: 117 seated for Dinner & Film Show, with additional 15 Silver Passes (no dinner), plus an additional 35 attendees for Film Show only. There was also an additional 35 who bought seminar passes for one day only. The estimate numbers for the trade show portion: 250 – 275. The Gold/Silver Pass holders were rewarded for their support by a great VIP Reception on Friday evening and the chance to win some incredible prizes donated by our sponsors! Those whose work/family schedules preempted their full participation came out to enjoy a few of the speakers plus the trade show on Saturday or just enjoyed our great Keynote Speakers & Film Show on Saturday evening: Mandy-Rae Cruickshank & Jim Delgado To all participants, your support was greatly appreciated and helped to make Divescapes 2006 the great success it was. Divers traveled to Sherwood Park for DIVESCAPES ’06 from Calgary, Camrose, Cold Lake, Fort McMurray, Lloydminster, Peace River, Ponoka, Saskatoon, Wainwright, Wetaskawin, Winfield & many smaller towns in between, plus our local greater Edmonton area TO OUR SPONSORS, your support was overwhelming & greatly esteemed! OUR SPECIAL THANKS TO: FUN Baja Diving, La Paz, Mexico & DEEP DISCOVERIES DIVE TRAVEL, DAVCO DIVING, Wainwright, BROKEN ISLAND ADVENTURES, Bamfield, DIVER MAGAZINE, BONICA, OCEANIC CANADA, SIDNEY DIVE ‘N SURF, UK CANADA, WHITE’S MFG. LTD, The Edmonton Sun, Corus Radio Group: 630 Ched, 880 Cool, 92.5 Joe FM, CISN Country. TO OUR SPEAKERS & PRESENTERS: your presentations were excellent & immensely enjoyed by all! Our sincere appreciation to: Mandy-Rae Cruickshank & Jim Delgado, Dan McKay, John McCuaig, Dan Bauer, Darrell Cyr, Andy Lamb, Enrique Castillo, Donnie Reid, Brian Nadwidny. Our well rounded list of presenters included local Alberta presenters plus our special guests from B.C.’s West Coast, Ontario’s Kingston area and even from the exotic La Paz, Mexico! Topics covered from fish to ship wrecks, exotic travel and even strange underwater life forms. TO OUR EXHIBITORS: We couldn’t do it without you! Thank you for your support: AQUA-SPORTS SCUBA (Calgary), Brooks Dive Gear (Vancouver), Caradonna Dive Tours (Calgary), Greg Chomey (Historical Commercial Dive Gear Display), Closed in Cozumel (Edmonton), Deep Discoveries (Edmonton), Edmonton Pub Divers Club, Edmonton Underwater Hockey Clubs, Fly and Sea Dive Adventures (Vancouver), FUN Baja Diving (Mexico), HMCS Tecumseh (Navy Reserve Calgary), Northern Alberta Aquatic Rescue Society, Northern Tech Diver (Kingston), OCEAN SPORTS, Sidney Dive n’ Surf, Tech Zone Enterprises, THE DIVE OUTFITTERS, U of A Scuba Appreciation Club, Vancouver Coast Mountain Tourism, Wet and Wild Diving Society of Fort McMurray, and the Wing Divers Club TO OUR DIVESCAPES PROGRAM ADVERTISERS: DEEP DISCOVERIES, IRWIN AIR LTD, SUNSHINE COAST TOURS, WWW.WRECKS WORLDWIDE.COM and TAHTSA DIVE CHARTERS Thanking you all again for your great support! You all helped make it happen! Happy diving,
Sincerely, |
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| Divescapes 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date: April 21-23,
2006 Location: Best Western Sherwood Hotel & Conference Centre Sponsor: Alberta Underwater Council |
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| Alberta Underwater Council Proudly Presents…….
WATCH HERE FOR UPDATES ON FILM SHOW, SPEAKERS, SEMINARS & MORE! Download the Registration form and Register Today! Check out the Courses offered at Divescapes 2006! DIVESCAPES—what is it? For those of you who haven’t attended one before—it is the ALBERTA UNDERWATER COUNCIL’S “Underwater Conference & Exhibition”. This event, brings to your own backyard, an under water trade show venue to bring divers, travel agents, manufacturers, resort & boat charter operators and dive store retailers together into western Canada’s largest scuba conference. Plus, you’ll enjoy the Keynote speakers, of which our previous speakers included some of the dive industry's best known & popular personalities…. people like Stan Waterman, Dee Scarr, John Stoneman, Terry German, Dr. David Sawatzky, Jim Willoughby, Dr. Phil Nuytten, Andy Lamb, Dan Orr, Greg Mossfeldt, and Jim Cosgrove. Your Divescapes committee is working hard to bring to Alberta in 2006, some very exciting and dynamic speakers. Albertans are avid travelers, after training in Alberta Lakes, we then begin looking to B.C.’s West Coast, Ontario’s Great Lakes, Canada’s East Coast and even out-ofcountry exotic dive resorts and dive operators for opportunities to expand our diving horizons. Our 2006 Venue: we are booking the BEST WESTERN SHERWOOD HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE, conveniently located just off the Yellowhead, and most importantly also attached to Strathcona County’s MILLENIUM PLACE, whose pool facilities can be utilized for scuba gear demos, discover u/w hockey, discoverscuba sessions, free- diving clinics, etc. Breakout sessions are planned so you, can enjoy an up close & personal sitting with our keynote speakers. Also in the works are plans for an underwater photography contest for amateur local divers to have the opportunity to share their digital photos & experiences with us all. Banquet tickets are reasonably priced, so here it your chance to see it all under one roof without traveling many kilometers away from Alberta. So what will all this cost? A lot less than you’d think. You will have the opportunity to take in as little or as much as you want. But many previous attendees will tell you it is worth it to be a part of Western Canada’s most exciting underwater symposium! For the best in value, prizes & perks consider purchasing the Divescapes “GOLD PASS”
Hotel Services & Amenities: Centrally located with convenient access to business, shopping & entertainment centres including direct access to :MILLENNIUM PLACE POOL & FITNESS CENTRE via attached heated Pedway from hotel. Enjoy swimming, skating, fitness, indoor track, children’s playground & more! Restaurant, ATM, Gift Shop, 24hr Coin Laundry, Games/Arcade Room Nearby: Elk Island National Park, Strathcona Wilderness Centre, Broadmoor Lake Park, Festival Place Theatre, Ukrainian Village, 7 Golf Courses, and only 15 min from Downtown Edmonton, 30 minutes from WEM.
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The Alberta Underwater Council proudly presents: DIVESCAPES 2006 SPEAKERS SCHEDULE & BIOS April 21, 22, 23, 2006 |
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| ** The speaker bios and schedule may be downloaded in PDF format here. ** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alberta based John’s desire for scuba
adventures have caused him to lead expeditions (both recreational & technical) to
B.C.’s varied coastal locations, plus to the Caribbean, Yucatan, Mexico and even
Scotland. His varied career in the scuba industry has extended from instructor to small
dive boat operator, from underwater photographer, to former dive store owner. The next
challenge was Cave Diving and that led to his experiencing the superb crystal caves of the
Mayan Riviera in Mexico. Please join John on the Friday evening of the AUC’s DIVESCAPES 2006, as he relates his enthusiasm and excitement for diving the fascinating caves in Yucatan, Mexico. |
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What better way to experience the sea and challenge yourself at the same time. By the end of the year Mandy-Rae placed 3rd in her first AIDA international team competition in Nice, France and had done 136 meters in the no-limits category. Since then, Mandy-Rae has gone on to capture ten National records and six World records. As a three time member of Team Canada she has been there to help the women's team two first places finishes in the last two AIDA World Championships. Mandy-Rae currently teaches courses with Performance Freediving in Canada and abroad and works as the National Sales Rep at PADI Canada. For more information on Mandy-Rae please visit her website at www.mandy-rae.com MANY THANKS TO OUR DIVESCAPES SPONSOR: DAVCO DIVING FOR PROVIDING FUNDING TO HELP US BRING: MANDY-RAE CRUICKSHANK/KURT KRACK TO DIVESCAPES 2006 |
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He began diving in 1992 but in 1997 he began diving in earnest and pursued a career in the diving industry. He became the only Canadian Global Underwater Technical instructor in the fall of 1999. In the year 2000 he founded Northern Tech Diver in Kingston, Ontario. Dan currently teaches technical diving internationally full time. He is an avid videographer, photographer and author. He typically completes over 300 dives a year, about half of which are mixed gas technical OC or Rebreather dives. In his spare time over the last year, Dan completed his Private Pilot's license as well. Join Dan as he shares with us the HMS Repulse Expedition 2004. |
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My real love was the outdoors so it was back to the University of Calgary where I enrolled in the Physical Education department. Here I pursued a degree in you guessed it, Outdoor Pursuits. It was the last year of University where I was introduced to diving and what an introduction. My course was a full semester and wound up on the West Coast of Canada, in a place called Galiano Island. I was joined by my then infant daughter Karah and spouse Delia. I became a certified diver and the year was 1988. What was going to be just another one of the many outdoor activities I did has now become a full time career. Along the path of this aquatic journey it has seen me become a NAUI Instructor and Course Director. After 10 years of teaching, 1500 plus dives I have had many great experiences while introducing people to the amazing underwater world of diving, at the West Coast of Canada, in local lakes and in many exotic, warm water travel destinations. It was at Calgary's first ever NAUI Instructor training course that I meet my partner Luke DaSilva. After teaching him to be an instructor he turned around and introduced me to the world of dive travel. We saw a need and it was out of this relationship we created DaSilva Dive Tours. Is this a great job or what! You bet I've struggled making a living but the places I've been, and the things I've seen plus the people I've meet along the way are worth more than any amount of money. What's in store for the future? Well, my wife Delia is a diver, Karah (17) wants to be one and Nigel (13) hates swimming at the surface, so with the world being made up of over 70% water we have a lot of exploring to do! Please come and join me very early Saturday morning at DIVESCAPES ’06 as we visit the dragons and then explore the unique underwater world near the Komodo Island, Indonesia |
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He has contributed to Diver, Western Angling, Nature Canada and Skin Diver and is the co-author of Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. In 1986 Andy Lamb released the soft cover “Coastal Fishes of the Northwest” a must-have book for every diver that visits the region to include in their dive bag. After 8 printings and 33,000 copies sold, Andy, along with Bernard Hanby follow up with the spectacular hardcover “Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest-A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds and Selected Fishes” With 1,700 superb colour photographs of over 1,400 species, “Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest” is the most comprehensive collection of photographs of Pacific Northwest marine life ever published. Andy will let is on what it took to put together a book of this magnitude. |
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They also offer camping & diving safaris, as well as Baja's newest, largest and most modern retail dive store conveniently located at the marina, close to downtown La Paz. FUNBAJA will provide you with safe and comfortable dive trips in our fast 26, 28 and 35 foot dive boats. All boats are equipped a canopy for shade, a bathroom onboard and you'll be served the largest and best lunch you may have ever had on a dive boat. Spanish, English and Japanese are fluently spoken by our staff and we will ensure that you feel right at home. FUNBAJA will take you to the most exciting dive sites around La Paz to dive with the sea lions, hammerheads, mantas and whale sharks. OR you can enjoy action packed days and relaxing nights, camping and diving in luxurious comfort on the irresistible island of Espíritu Santo. We provide you with the perfect opportunity to experience the essence of Baja, you are just minutes away from the world renowned dive sites of El Bajo and San Francisquito Islands... home to the world famous resident Hammerheads, 20ft Pacific Mantas and Sea Lion Colony. Also, each year at this time, the Whale Sharks of the Sea of Cortez frequent these nutrient rich waters. The Camping Safaris allow you to maximize your time in the water with these magnificent creatures, while experiencing warm hospitality and pampering at one of the most deluxe diving camps available anywhere in the world. |
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Donnie became involved with the research in Pavilion Lake in 1997 when he was asked by a friend to photograph the “freshwater corals” in the Lake. He returned to the Lake with a team of researchers in 1998, which led to the October 2000 Nature paper. Then in 2004 Drs. Darlene Lim and Bernard Laval asked him to be the Dive Safety Officer and photographer for the Pavilion Lake Research Project. Donnie has been diving for the past 22 years. Most of that time has been spent diving in the coastal waters of British Columbia. The first 10 years, he was heavily involved in dive instruction having certified over 2000 entry-level divers. During this time he became involved in underwater photography under the mentoring of Neil McDaniel, a world-renowned underwater photographer. Due to the photography, Donnie has been a member of numerous projects and expeditions -
1996: became full cave diver certified to photograph caves in the Yucatan for Diver Magazine. 1997: was photographer for a project in Eastern British Columbia studying turn-of-thecentury wrecks in Kootenay Lake. 1998: photographer for the Nature paper on Pavilion Lake. 2000: photographer/writer for an article on the wreck of the SS Yongala for Diver Magazine. 2003: still photographer for an expedition to the Bowie Seamount. 2004: underwater photographer for the MATE ROV National Competition at UCSB. 2004: photographer and DSO for the Pavilion Lake Research Project. From the summer of 2000 until present, Donnie has been the Diving Safety Officer for the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. As DSO his responsibilities are the development and monitoring of the science diving program for the Aquarium. This entails maintaining the diving authorization for over 30 divers, ensuring that the diving program meets CAUS and WCB regulations to running the dive show Underwater BC. |
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Each diver involved was required to move 600 -700 pounds of personal gear 5000 kilometers. Additionally, team items such as a compressor and Haskell booster also needed to be shipped. Large amounts of helium and oxygen had to be stockpiled, accommodations arranged and boats chartered. In the end, this proved well worth the effort, as the 2003 expedition led to the discovery of the Athelviking. On January 14, 1945, U1232 under the command of Kapitän zur See Kurt Dobratz, was lurking perilously close to Halifax. On this day, the U1232 managed to sink 3 merchant ships and narrowly missed a Royal Canadian Navy escort vessel with its 4th shot. Despite being within sight of the mainland and only 20 miles from Halifax itself, the U1232 escaped and eventually her captain became the last Commanding Admiral of the U-boats. Brian's presentation will focus on two casualties of this remarkable day, the tanker British Freedom, and molasses carrier Athelviking. The highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the discovery of the Athelviking, sitting since 1945 upright in 310' of water. She has remained undisturbed since the 1970's, when navy divers conducted a few exploratory dives. Other wrecks explored were also WW2 casualties; the Kolkhoznik (sank in 1942) and the Kaaparen (1942). The presentation will also discuss the trials, tribulations (and politics) of diving far from one's home base. Brian resides just outside Edmonton in Sherwood Park, Alberta. He started diving in 1980, but it wasn't until 1989 when he moved to Nova Scotia for a 2 year period, that his fascination with shipwrecks began. He holds a particular fondness for those shipwrecks found in the approaches to Halifax. While most of his diving these days is done off the West Coast of Canada, due to his location long distance travel to dive is a necessity. His dive travels have taken him all over the world, including Scapa Flow, the Shetland Islands and a year in Australia. Brian retired from the world of the employed in 1989 and since 1996, most of his diving has been of the "technical" variety. His interest in underwater videography began in 1998 and he enjoys the challenges of imaging deep shipwrecks. He was recently cave certified and looks forward to capturing images of that realm in the future. Brian is a current NAUI instructor and has held instructor ratings from SSI and IANTD. He has been published in Diver Magazine and currently serves on the Board of the Alberta Underwater Council. |
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Saturday, APRIL 22 nd, DIVESCAPES 06 FILM SHOWCocktails 6:00-7:00 Film Show Starts at 8:30 P.M – 11 P.M. (approx) |
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His archaeological work has also included the excavation of ships and collapsed buildings along the now-buried waterfront of Gold Rush San Francisco. Delgado is executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Vancouver, British Columbia. Previously, he was the head of the U.S. government’s maritime preservation program and was the maritime historian for the U.S. National Park Service. When not at the museum, he is the co-host of the National Geographic International television series The Sea Hunters along with best-selling author Clive Cussler. The show is now in its fifth season. Delgado’s other television credits include specials for the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Explorer, A&E, the History Channel, and ABC. Delgado’s active participation in the study and preservation of shipwreck sites and maritime heritage has included a founding membership in the International Commission on Monuments and Site (ICOMOS) committee on underwater cultural heritage and the presidency of the Council of American Maritime Museums. He also enjoys a more hands-on approach to preservation, and most recently led the crew that restored Ben Franklin (PX-15), a 130-ton oceanographic research submersible originally built in Switzerland for famed undersea explorer and scientist Jacques Piccard and most famously employed on a historic 30-day “drift mission” along the eastern seaboard of the United States in 1969. He is considered one of the world’s foremost marine archaeologists. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Fellow of the Explorers’ Club, Jim is the author or editor of nearly thirty books and numerous articles, most recently Lost Warships: An Archaeological Tour of War at Sea and Across the Top of the World: The Quest for the Northwest Passage, both international best-sellers published simultaneously in North America and Britain. His other books include The British Museum Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology; Ghost Fleet: The Sunken Ships of Bikini Atoll; Pearl Harbor Recalled: New Images from the Day of Infamy; Great American Ships; To California by Sea: A Maritime History of the Gold Rush and three books for children, Wrecks of American Warships, Native American Shipwrecks, and Shipwrecks of the Westward Movement. |
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The Sea Hunters—renewed for a fourth season—James Delgado goes in search of, among others, the RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued Titanic's survivors; Mary Celeste, the infamous “ghost ship” found sailing alone without a soul aboard in the mid-Atlantic in 1872; Vrouw Maria, a perfectly preserved Dutch cargo ship of 1771, discovered on the bottom of the Baltic Sea packed with cargo, including crates of long-lost Old Masters belonging to Empress Catherine the Great of Russia; the lost ships of the Mongol fleet of Kublai Khan that invaded Japan in 1274 and USS Mississinewa, the first ship sunk by a Japanese “suicide submarine” in WWII. Stories and personalities of the past are interspersed with visits and voyages around the world - crossing the Atlantic, drifting in a powerless ship at the mercy of gales in the heart of the Pacific, and navigating through the fabled Northwest Passage. The undeniable thrill of being where history was made makes Adventures of a Sea Hunter a highly entertaining, personal account of the exploration of the sea and the past that rests beneath the waves. |
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