Bruce Higgins honored
Diver and environmentalist Bruce Higgins was honored by People For Puget Sound May 8 in Seattle. Higgins, orca scientist Ken Balcomb and fisheries biologist Sam Wright are this year’s Warren G. Magnuson Puget Sound Legacy Award honorees. The awards recognize people who work on behalf of marine life in Puget Sound. Higgins, a long-time advocate of recreational diving, was a guiding force behind creating Edmonds Underwater Park with volunteer divers. He continues to maintain and improve the park with volunteer help.
Seattle Aquarium’s sixgills net $50,000 grant
Sixgill sharks will received even more attention in Seattle thanks to a $50,000 grant. Royal Caribbean International Ocean Fund awarded the grant to Seattle Aquarium to support sixgill shark research and an exhibit. “We are thrilled to receive this grant to support our sixgill shark research,” Aquarium Society CEO Bob Davidson said. “With these huge animals swimming right beneath our pier we are pleased to present new data findings in a creative exhibit about this most elusive and interesting sea creature.” Sixgills are the third largest predatory shark in the world and are regularly seen beneath the aquarium in Elliott Bay. www.seattleaquarium.org.
Dive a straight flush in Nanaimo
Make sure you have plenty of air for the Great Nanaimo Poker Dive Sunday, May 25. There’s a $20 buy-in per diver. Teams of two divers will make staggered entries from Finn Beach at Neck Point Park, navigate to five different submerged poker boards and draw a card. After completing the dive at Sink or Swim Scuba, let the best hand win. Divers will be able to pick up bonus cards along the way. www.sosscuba.ca
Alpha Dive adds kayaks
Divers and outdoor enthusiasts can rent kayaks and all the needed gear and accessories at Alpha Dive Services in Powell River, B.C. The store’s recent move and expansion gave Scott and Kathy Friesen room to add watercraft to the store.
www.divepowellriver.com.
Sign up to Dive Around the Clock
Dive, have fun and help Seattle’s Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center July 25-26 when Dive Around the Clock returns to Redondo Beach. Teams of divers rotate so there’s something scuba happening for a full 24 hours. The inaugural dive in 2007 raised almost $11,000. Organizers want to surpass that amount this year. All proceeds go to the hospital’s cancer department. Children’s treats children in Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Divers from these states and anyone else who wants to help will be welcome. This dive club that raised the most money will have their name placed on a plaque and have bragging rights for the year. www.divearoundtheclock.com
Seattle Aquarium continues Sound Conversations
Discuss Puget Sound’s health with local experts during Seattle Aquarium’s Sound Conservation lecture series. Help bring this body of water to life by sharing experiences, as well as research on the area’s most charismatic marine creatures. Learn about challenges and opportunities to heal and conserve Puget Sound. The speaker series is set for Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 3, Ken Balcomb, executive director for the Center for Whale Research. Tickets are $20.
www.seattleaquarium.org.
Scuba Show floods Long Beach with diving
The Scuba Show fills Long Beach, Calif., June 21-22. This is the 21st year of the huge exposition. The show at Long Beach Convention Center will consist of 76,000 square feet of diving-related exhibits including new gear, travel pros and diving experts. A continuous underwater film festival featuring premier films on a two-story tall screen, seminars by top diving experts, door prizes and a Saturday night party are fixtures of the show. Admission is $10 and includes admission to exhibit hall and film festival (seminars are an additional charge). Discount coupons are available at California dive stores, on dive California dive charter boats and through California dive clubs. www.scubashow.com.
Make reservations for marine summer camps
Kids age 7-15 can explore Puget Sound with Seattle Aquarium during age-specific day camps in July and August. Camps include beach field trips, hands-on activities with animals, behind-the-scenes tours and art projects. Pre-registration is required – call (206) 386-4353. www.seattleaquarium.org
Celebrate world oceans June 7-8
Seattle Aquarium celebrates World Ocean Day with a weekend of special talks and activities. Learn why whales are important to the oceans and how what people do on land affects these big mammals including local orcas. www.seattleaquarium.org.
See Oddwater in Oregon
Oddwater, Oregon Coast Aquarium’s new exhibit opens May 24 in Newport. The exhibit features strange marine life from around the world. Oddwater includes interactive components and colorful wall murals depicting the different species and their habitats. Some of the species featured in Oddwater will include the cuttlefish, the chambered nautilus and flashlight fish. Blown art glass inside the tanks of some of the displays will complement to the creatures. www.aquarium.org.
Divers needed for TV production
Divers who have a week or more this fall can help on the set of Liquid Assets’ TV shows that will focus on the world of diving. Production on two pilots runs Sept. 6 through Oct. 4 aboard Turks & Caicos Explorer II. Five weeks of shooting in the Turks & Caicos Islands will produce episodes “The Over/Under” and “Into The Drink.” “Over/Under” goes behind the scenes in days of a live-aboard dive crew. “Into The Drink” will explore destinations. Viewers will not only learn who’s maintaining the ocean’s treasures and how they can get involved, but also discover the best local foods and spirits and where to enjoy them. liquidassets.tv
Team Scuba rumbles onto NASCAR scene
Ray Black, Jr., and the Team Scuba vehicle lapped up the attention at the Goodyear Late Model Challenge in Florida, March 15. NAUI is an anchor sponsor of Team Scuba along with DAN and Dive Training. NAUI representatives were at the race, giving away Team Scuba swag and recruit new divers. Black, who is a NAUI diver, and the Team Scuba car placed 16 in a field of 22. www.teamscuba.com.
SEA-Inside fins into third year
“SEA-Inside: Pacific Northwest” kicks off its third year as the only TV series to focus on what’s underwater in the Pacific Northwest. “The beauty of this series is that it lifts oceanography out of its scientific pigeonhole and carries it into the worlds of art and story-telling,” its producer, John F. Williams, said. The show appears on 38 cable-access stations reaching about three million homes across British Columbia and the United States. “SEA-Inside: Pacific Northwest” provides a new half-hour TV show every other month. stillhopeproductions.com |
