Past Speaker Programs

July 2025: Susan Linder, Horseshoe Crab Conservation

 

June 2025: Barry Lipsky, Surviving an Incident at Sea: An essential guide to passenger safety on board Liveaboards

 

May 2025: Richard Simon, The Defender Submarine

 

April 2025: Michael Salvarezza and Christopher Weaver, It Came From The Muck: Indonesia's Lembeh Straight

 

March 2025: Christopher Ogden: Wreckdiving in the Northeast

 

February 2025: Scanda Coffield: Exploring Mexico's Caves and Cenotes

 

January 2025: Mike Malterre: Executive VP of Stream2Sea: How Sunscreens and Personal Care Products impact our Health and Waters

 

November 2024: NUSAR Chief: Mike McCarthy, and Asst. Chief: Dr. Mike Cassetta, Rescue versus Recovery in Public Safety Diving, keeping your team safe

 

October 2024: Dr. Stephen Berk, A dive into the Ear Nose/Sinus, and Vestibular System

 

September 2024: Dr. David Charash, The Intersection between the Diving Sciences and Diving

 

July 2024: LIDA President Barry Lipsky, The Long Island Artificial Reef Project

 

June 2024: Michael Salvarezza and Christopher Weaver, The Channel Islands: California's Underwater Jungle

 

May 2024: Captain Mike Carew and Hailey Clancey, City Island Oyster Reef Project

 

April 2024: Matthew Brochhausen, The Turtlely Awesome Life of Sea Turtles

 

March 2024: Olga Torrey and Larry Cohen, Cuba Island Lost in Time

 

February 2024: Brett Seymour, Imaging for Science: Underwater Wonders of the National Park Service....and Beyond.

 

January 2024: Dee Dee Vaughan & Dr. David E. Vaughan, Great Barrier Reef

 

November 2023: Dr. Shannon Roback, Riverkeeper

 

October 2023: Lisa McIntyre, Sea Smart

 

September 2023: Cheryl McCarron, Shark Angels

July 2023: Member Meeting (presentations by Corey Joiner & Charlie Adams)

 

June 2023: Tim Thomas, Tilly Foster Mine

 

May 2023: Zdenek Ulman: A journey in commercial diving

 

April 2023: Jim & Pat Slayer: The Magical Maldives with Mantas & Whale Sharks

 

March 2023: Paul & Chrisna Avenant: Utopia Village, Utila

 

February 2023: Victor Vescovo: What Happens During a Sub Dive

 

January 2023: Dr. Larry Wood: Jewels of the Reef - The Hawksbill Turtles of Florida

 

November 2022: Member Meeting

 

October 2022: Dan Lieb

 

September 2022: Duffy Felmlee: Scuba & Lower Extremity Prostheses

 

July 2022: Karen Erren: Feeding Westchester

 

June 2022: Member Meeting

 

May 2022: Kelly Melillo Sweeting: Dolphin Communication Project

 

April 2022 - Kelly M Coursey Gray: Unique Australian Animals

 

March 2022 - Amanda Slattery (Member Mtg): Expedition to Antartica

 

February 2022 - Mike Boring: Exploring the shipwrecks of the Atomic Graveyard, Bikini Atoll

 

January 2022 - Charles Mazel: Optical Alchemy - the magic of the underwater fluorescence

 

November 2021 - Member Meeting

 

October 2021 - Tripp Funderburck

 

September 2021 - Rosemary Ciotti

 

August 2021 - Member Meeting

 

July 2021 - Alex Antoniou: The Mission of M/Y Sharkwater

 

June 2021 - Dora Sierra Sandoval: Diving Socorro & Sea of Cortez

 

May 2021 - Jennifer v. Schmidt: Whale Sharks: Mysteries of an Ocean Giant

 

April 2021 - Member Meeting

 

March 2021 - Erik Petrovic : Lost Tales of Death & Survival

 

February 2021 - Jake Stout : Stop Taking Pictures, Start Making Photos

 

January 2021 - Glenn Butler: Bending Atmospheres (Virtual Mtg)

 

November 2020 - Faith Ortins: The Sea of Cortez & Azores (Virtual Mtg)

 

October 2020 - Joseph Gessert: Dive Safety Officer NY Acquarium (Virtual Mtg)

 

August 2020- Dr. David Charash: Dive Fitness: What every diver needs to know! (Virtual Mtg)

 

July 2020- Jill Heinerth-Explorer (Virtual Mtg)

 

June 2020 - Danny Rivera, Our Island (Virtual Mtg)

 

May 2020 - Mike Carew, Oysters & City Island (Virtual Mtg)

 

April 2020 - COVID-19, meeting canceled

 

March 2020 - Dennis Santos - Diving for a Megladon Collection

 

February 2020- Dr. Matt Frye  presents "Don't Get Ticked New York"...a fascinating discussion on tick awareness and prevention in the Hudson Valley

 

January 2020-Dan Lieb presents "The Sunken Locomotives Off Long Branch" and discusses efforts to identify these two relics of a bygone era

 

October 2019- Andrew Martinez-Displayed pictures of Northeast diving and demonstrated Mobile application.

 

August 2019- Glen Butler: White Star Liner RMS Republic Salvage Expedition 1986

 

June 2019- Dr. Alexander More: Climate Change and our Ocean

 

May 2019- Jeffrey Dellon from Reefsave Lionfish trapping

 

April 2019- Ron Watkins (Photographer). Chasing Unicorns in Alaska-The Elusive Salmon Shark.

 

March 2019-Dr. George Jackman and Jen Benson from Riverkeepers spoke about the impacts to the Hudson River and proposed projects.

 

February 2019-Member meeting where Henry Hall shared video and pics from recent trips.

 

January 2019-Asher Jay . Creative Artist who creates art campaigns to education various cultures on the damage they are doing to various species of animals.

 

October 2018-Asher Jay-Artist-have to reschedule

 

September 2018-Ron Watkins have to reschedule

 

August 2018-Glenn Butler

 

July 2018:  Kaitlin Gallagher-Parasites and Sharks

 

June 2018:  Moosa Hassan and Mark Potter from Manthiri Liveaboard in the Maldives

 

May 2018:  Kramer Wimberley spoke with us about "Diving with Purpose" and the archeology work they do around the world.

 

April 2018:  Kate Sutter from The Ocean Agency.  This agency implemented Google Underwater streetview. Her boss, Vevers was the subject of the Netflix documentary, Chasing Coral

 

March 2018:  Speaker Christian Fox of the nature conservancy spoke about the Long Island Blue Plan

 

November 2017:  Speaker Joseph A Williams to discuss his latest novel "The Sunken Gold"

 

September 2017: Kristi Ashley Collom and Eric Angel Ramos -Expedition Echo and Helloocean.org

 

August 2017: Joanna Lentini "Underwater Photography and Ocean Conservation"

 

June 2017: Mark Leiren Young-"The Killer Whale Who Changed the World". Discussed how the capture of Moby Doll led to the captivity and exhibition of other whales including Namu.

 

April 2017: Guest Speaker: Christopher Drew-spoke about the Mazotos Wreck off the coast of Cyprus in 150 ft of water. He showed us the documentary he has been working on.

 

 

March 2017: Guest Speaker: Dr. Craig O'Connell of the O'Seas Conservation foundation. Established in 2013, O’Seas Conservation Foundation (OCF) is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization that actively participates in wildlife conservation projects all over the world. With a home base in New York, OCF’s key focus is to characterize the shark, skate and ray fauna in local waters to help obtain valuable population dynamics and structure-related data for several critical species. 

 

February 2017: Guest speaker: Dr. Charash. He spoke about Medical Fitness:What Every Diver Needs to Know!

 

January 2017: Gregory M. Metzger - Long Island Shark Collaboration: The Long Island Shark Collaboration (LISC)one of the newest organizations to begin studying the large coastal sharks found along the south shore of Long Island.

 

December 2015: TSSC Holiday Party

 

November 2016: Kim Diaz and Ethan Wolf-Representatives from Sea Shepard Conservancy.  Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Operation Jairo campaign, defends endangered populations of green, leatherback, hawksbill, olive ridley and loggerhead turtles in Florida, Costa Rica and Honduras. These icons of the ocean face many threats to their lives including poaching, fishing net entanglement, trash and light pollution, and destruction of their habitat.

 

October 2016: Guest Speaker- Joao Correia

Joao shared his underwater adventures with us as well as discuss his book Sex, Sharks and Rock & Roll.

 

July 2016: Guest Speaker: Maria Maust-Mohl, Topic: Eavesdropping on Animals: Investigations of Animal Sounds

 

March 2016: Guest Speaker: Cassie Pacenka, Topic: Pace University’s Documentary Team. Cassie is the assistant director and lead editor of Curacao’s Coral Challenge.

 

November 2015: Guest Speaker: Amanda Brewer, Topic: Great White Sharks. Amanda is Co-founder and Recruitment Manager of SHARKSERVATION. She talked about their projects, and how we can get out and volunteering with them. Amanda´s bio and more information about SHARKSERVATION can be found on the meeting details page.

October 2015: Guest Speaker: Paul Sieswerda, Topic: Whales of New York. Paul is the Founder of Gotham Whales, a conservation group that aims to study, advocate for, and educate about the whales and marine mammals of New York City.

September 2015: Guest Speaker: Polina Reznikov, Topic: Papua New Guinea—Adventures in the Fourth World. Polina spoke about the cultural uniqueness of Papua New Guinea. She answered questions about whether or not it´s worth it traveling 2½ days from the northeast coast of the USA. Polina´s bio is available on the September meeting page.

August 2015: Guest Speaker: Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain, Topic: Classroom Under the Sea. Their presentation was on how they lived and worked under the sea for 73 days in Jules´ Undersea Lodge. All the details of this meeting and our guest speakers bios can be found on the meeting page.

July 2015: Guest Speaker: Dan Fessler Education Director from Shark Research Institute presented interactions and behaviors of the Great White Sharks off the coast of South Africa and Guadalupe Island, Mexico.

June 2015: Guest Speaker: Tim Thomas gave us a presentation on cave diving, and local wreck diving in the northeast.

April 2015: Beneath the Surface, a novel about SeaWorld: Guest Speaker: John Hargrove gave us a heartrending account of everything that´s wrong with orca captivity, and a passionate call for the relationship between humans and killer whales to be radically rethought.

March 2015: The Wreck of the Coast Steamer Robert J. Walker: Guest Speaker: James Delgado Underwater Explorer, Archaeologist and Author.

February 2015: Searching For Moby Dick: Guest Speaker: Rick Morris took us on a rare expedition to the island of Dominica researching sperm whales, the first cut of his new documentary on these elusive creatures.

January 2015: Dive Equipment Service: Guest Speaker: Jim Bayreuther. Jim´s presentation focused on scuba gear maintenance and storage. His biography and the rest of the meeting´s details can be found on the meeting page.

November 2014: An Overview of Mission 31: Guest Speaker: Dr. David Charash. David covered three overall objectives; preparation for the epic dive, an overview of Mission 31, and an understanding of saturation diving. Full bio for David and the meeting details.

October 2014: Ocean Doctor´s Trips to Cuba´s Gardens of the Queen: Guest Speaker: Dr. David E. Guggenheim. Ocean Doctor´s Cuba Conservancy Program engages Cuban scientists and institutions toward developing innovative solutions for marine conservation and coastal community sustainability challenges. 

September 2014: Shipwrecks and Sharks: Guest Speakers: John Christopher Fine and Rav Freidel. John Christopher Fine told about his adventures exploring shipwrecks from around the world, and Rav Freidel on how his persitance led to new laws in New York for the type of hooks used in Shark fishing tournaments. 

August 2014: Shark Month: Guest Speaker: Scott Curatolo-Wagemann. Scott is a Marine Biologist, and shark attack survivor. Since his attack he has studied shark fishing regulations and the health of shark populations along the U.S. East Coast. Read more about Scott and his work with Shark Attack Survivors for Shark Conservation.

July 2014: Seal Stories: Guest Speakers: Dr. Kevin Woo and Dr. Kristy Biolsi. Kristy and Kevin discussed their seal research projects around New York waterways. Watch Professor Biolsi on YouTube, and find out about The Center for the Study of Pinniped Ecology and Cognition (C-SPEC) at Saint Francis College.

June 2014: TerraMar Project and Niche a Shark Conservation Film: Guest Speakers Amir Fogel and Mike Misner. We learned about the TerraMar project from ocean advocate Mike Misner, and we were asked to sign their “I Love the Ocean” pledge. Amir Fogel shared his recent film, Niche, about the complex issues facing shark conservation today. 

May 2014: Saving a Living Fossil: Guest Speaker Gregory Barord gave his presentation on his travels around the world studying the chambered nautilus. He is also working with a team of nautilus researchers on field studies to determine the sustainability of nautilus fisheries throughout the Indo-Pacific.

April 2014: Diving Jamaica Bay with New York Harbor School: Guest Speakers Joe Gessert and Liv Dillon are dive instructors at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a maritime-themed vocational high school on Governors Island in New York City.

March 2014: Shark Whisperer: Guest Speaker Cristina Zenato. Cristina, from the famous YouTube video that she induces a shark into a state of tonic immobility, came to a special multi-club meeting at the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium. Attendees were treated to a shark dive demonstration, then Cristina answered questions about shark behavior.

February 2014: Sea Turtle Conservation: Guest Speakers Lou Guarneri, Keith Reynolds, and Jim Ritterhoff. Lou Guarneri and Keith Reynolds showed their short film PaceBaja, a production and research journal for Pace University´s award winning documentary travel course. Jim Ritterhoff Author of Tuke the Specialist Turtle, presented on the Central Caribbean Marine Institute, and the Coral Reef Conservancy, about the work they do to educate the public about coral reef conservation. 

January 2014: Cousteau Divers: Guest Speaker Stephanie Stefanski, the U.S. Coordinator, for the new Cousteau Divers Headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida. Stephanie spoke about Cousteau Divers´ goals of creating Marine Protected Areas around the world, and a few of the explorations she has been on since becoming involved with Cousteau Divers. Follow Stephanie´s adventures on her blog Ocean Diplomat.

November 2013: Diving the National Parks: Guest Speaker Naomi Blinick, an author, biologist and photographer with a background in marine ecology and conservation gave a presentation on how she spent the summer of 2011 traveling throughout the United States as an intern for the National Park Service´s Submerged Resources Center. 

October 2013: How A Performer Came To Love Scuba: Guest Speaker Tim Watts, a 28 year old performer, and animator who lives in Perth, Western Australia, gave a presentation of diving Australia, and talked about his show "The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer".

September 2013: Diving Emergencies: What Every Diver Needs To Know: Guest Speaker David Charash, Medical Director of Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut, covered the recognition of Decompression Illness, on-site early intervention, the role of in-water recompression as well as definitive treatment, in his presentation.

August 2013: Shark Encounters With Epic Diving: Guest Speakers Vincent, and Debra Canabal, taught us about little know shark facts, and gave us a presentation about their shark diving and snorkeling expeditions from Cat Island, in the Bahamas. We also had a couple of lucky winners that walked away with Epic Diving t-shirts.

July 2013: Shark Stories: Guest Speaker Krishna Thompson´s, presentation was about his shark attack experience, and how it turned him into an advocate for shark preservation. Krishna had an engaging warmth, inspiring positivism and a generosity of spirit held us spellbound. As did his "rascal" sense of humor. As he said, his glass is always half full – and his experience has led him to meet many people he would not otherwise have ever met.

June 2013: Diving The Finger Lakes: Guest Speaker David O. Brown, gave a presentaton about upstate New York Finger Lakes, and his Baseline, project that he is working on that catalogs their health and biodiversity.

May 2013: Ocean Conservation, The Future of Fish, Sharks and Fishing in America´s Oceans: Guest Speaker Jamie Pollack, Shark Angel, diver, and conservationist spoke about fish stocks in the Mid Atlantic, what fish to eat, how to protect bluefin tuna, turtles, and sharks, and New York´s Shark Fin bill.

April 2013: Diving with Octopus and other Cephalopods—Guest Speaker Professor Peter Godfry–Smith, writes about Cephalopods on his blog called The Giant Cuttlefish. His presentation was about his studies or octopuses and giant cuttlefish around Australia. 

March 2013: WCS An Ocean Commitment—Guest Speaker Caleb McClennen Director of Marine Conservation from Wildlife Conservation Society spoke about their marine conservation efforts in the coastal waters of twenty countries around the world. 

February 2013: Jules Verne Birthday Celebration—Guest Speakers George J. Rios, and Dave Shuff both treated us to presentations related to the authors novel 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. George Rios wrote Masters of the Sea: The Adventures of Jules Verne´s Mathias Sandorf, and David Shuff´s presentation was about Disney´s 20K Disney Theme Park Ride. 

January 2013: Doctor Joy Reidenberg—Inside Nature´s Giants. Dr. Reidenberg´s presentation told of her travels around the world for the documentary series produced by Windfall Films called "Inside Nature´s Giants" which examined the anatomy and evolution of large animals.

November 2012: Doctor Charles McKay Jr.—Marine Envenomations. Enlightening presentation about some of the dangers we all face while entering into the water for recreational purposes. The Doctor presented solutions for all types of stings and bites that we may encounter.

October 2012: Photographer Daragh Muldowney—Underwater Photography In Ireland´s Tidal Pools. Daragh gave a presentation on his trip around Ireland, visiting tidal pools along the shore, and documenting the life that lives in tidal pools. He´s made his images available in his latest book, Jewellery Box Ireland's Hidden Gem.

September 2012: Author David Kirby—Death at SeaWorld . David spoke about how he came to write about this controversial book about the "beloved" SeaWorld, and the practice of keeping killer whales in captivity. 

August 2012: Kevin McCarey—Islands Under Fire, The Improbable Quest to Save the Corals of Puerto Rico. Kevin told us about the events leading up to the show-down between a couple of environmentalists and the US Navy, and how they saved the island of Culebra. His humorous story of how locals, politicos, and mariners came together to save the reefs is chronicled in his book that's available at Ocean Publishing.

July 2012: Joseph Napolitano—Diving in Japan. Joe gave his presentation on his life while living in Japan.

May 2012: Eric M. Stroud—Researching Shark and Sea Lamprey Repellents. Eric ia an organic chemist, and co-founder of SharkDefense, a NJ company that discovered and commercialized the first semiochemical, magnetic, and electrochemical shark repellents that are now used in the commercial fishing industry.

March 2012: Steve Kulls—former fraud investigator and licensed private investigator, has appeared on the History Channel's MonsterQuest Series and most recently appeared on the NatGeo Channel Series, The Truth Behind The Loch Ness Monster. He is founder/director of Squatchdetective.com and hosts a weekly video podcast, Sundays 8PM EST at SquatchDTV.com.

February 2012: Judith S. Weis—Spoke about her new book, Do Fish Sleep? Fascinating Answers to Questions about Fishes. Her book can be purchased at Rutgers University´s website, and her bio and contact information can be found at Judith Weis´s personal website.

January 2012: Timothy J Thomas Sr.—Cave diving venture to Eagles Nest and to Jackson Blue Springs. Tim Thomas is an avid scuba diver, Owner of Best Dive Training, LLC. and the current manager of the BRATS (Best Recreational And Technical Scuba) club. Both located in Connecticut.

November 2011: Richard E. Hyman—FROGMEN The True Story of My Journeys with Captain Jacques–Yves Cousteau and the Crew of Calypso. Visit Richard E. Hyman´s website for more information and for links to buy his book.

October 2011: Kevin F. McMurray—author of the well-received adventure/historical book Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria (Pocket Books, 2001) and the Dark Descent: Diving and the Deadly Allure of the Empress of Ireland (McGraw-Hill, May, 2004). Kevin talked about the sinking of the RMS Empress of Ireland, off of Quebec, Canada in the early morning of 29 May 1914.

September 2011: Chisa Hidaka—director of Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins spoke about the Dolphin Dance Project and communicating with wild dolphins through dance. The Dolphin Dance Project has produced “Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins” a (3 min 33 sec) film, depicting the tender dance between Japanese American choreographer/filmmaker Chisa Hidaka and wild dolphins.

August 2011: Joseph W. Zarzynski — Underwater Archaeologist & Executive Director — Bateaux Below, Inc. Joe´s presentation was called “The History and Underwater Archaeology of the Sunken Fleet of 1758”, his story of Bateaux Below´s 23-year underwater archaeological study in Lake George, New York. For more information on Joseph W. Zarzynski´s DVDs and books:

• Wooden Bones DVD-The Sunken Fleet of 1758
• Search For Jefferson Davis DVD
• Visit The History Press and search for “Lake George Shipwrecks and Sunken History”

July 2011: Captain Philip G. Renaud, USN (Ret) — Executive Director of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. The Living Oceans Foundation is focusing the on the study of coral reef resilience, remote sensing and habitat mapping, education and outreach, and marine science knowledge management operations. From 2011–2014, Phil Renaud will lead the Living Oceans Foundation on its Global Reef Expedition: Science Without Borders® program; a global circumnavigation to survey coral reefs across gradients of bio–diversity and anthropogenic stress with the objective of providing enhanced scientific knowledge to stimulate coral reef conservation and management actions.

June 2011: Rosanne Masone - founder/CEO of Giant Strides LLC author of “Chasing the Shark: A Journey from Fear to Freedom.” The meeting was hosted by the Norwalk Aquarium where we met members from the Diving BRATS Club and were treated to a tour of the aquarium including a dive exhibit at their shark tank. Learn more about volunteering at Norwalk Maritime Aquarium's for the dive team.

May 2011: Bernie Chowdhury - His presentation was on the historical and technical diving aspect of “Controversial War Wrecks of Scotland´s Orkney Islands/Scapa Flow”. Bernie Chowdhury is best known for his critically acclaimed, international top-selling book, “The Last Dive”, (non-fiction, HarperCollins, 2000)

April 2011: Alan Duckworth - From Blue Ocean Institute, his presentation “Farming Sponges, Avoiding Crocs” discussed the trials and tribulations of scientific diving, showed the many reefs and animals of the Great Barrier Reef, examined the challenges of working and diving with indigenous people, and mention how to avoid becoming a snack for large charismatic animals.

March 2011: Dominique Serafini - showed two of his "Dream Wrecks" videos, and told a few, very entertaining anecdotes about his life, diving, his bond with Jacques Cousteau, his art, and many personal experiences. He seems to have the right attitude towards life in general, enjoy it while you can! The evening was truly motivating and put a smile on everyone's face.

February 2011: Daniel Azarian - Executive Producer of Underdog Entertainment gave us a sombering presentation on Lolita the Orca, who has been held captive for 40 years in an illegally-sized small concrete pool. Daniel recently produced the Public Service Announcement (PSA) , "Save Lolita."

January 2011: Lenny Speregen - Commercial diver, Equipment Specialist and Safety Diver. Lenny provided us with many tips on how to care for our scuba equipment and gave us a little insight into the life of a commercial diver in New York City.

December 2010: Dennis Chamberland - NASA Aquanaut, Scientist and Engineer at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, has logged more than 30 days as a working aquanaut. Thank you to Dennis for sharing his vision of undersea colonization of ‘Aquatica.’ Read more about Dennis Chamberland and Atlantica Expeditions, or watch a welcome video by him.

November 2010: JenFu Cheng - Photographer and Volunteer for Stay-Focused, an Adaptive Diving Program. JenFu's presentation was about the steps taken and hurdles to overcome, while teaching scuba to teenagers with mobility challenges. To see examples of JenFu's photography or to contact him, visit the web site of JenFu Cheng Photography.

October 2010: Joe Radomski - Rebreather expert that teaches rebreather instructors. Joe gave an enjoyable presentation of the advantages for diving with a rebreather.

September 2010: Dr. Richard A. Cooper - Seabase 1 is the ideal extreme underwater adventure. Scientific researchers and anyone who yearns to know what it's like to actually like to live in the ocean for an extended period of time will find this to be the ultimate ecotourism destination. Seabase1 will offer an undersea habitat located at Ambergris Caye, Belize, that provides the diving enthusiast with days of underwater exploration opportunities. Watch a Seabase1 promotional video or visit their underwater adventure website for more information.

August 2010: Matthew D. Potenski - Director of Field Operations for The Shark Research Institute. He spoke to us about his PhD studies of whale sharks in Mafia Island, Tanzania. Matt founded MDP Photography in 2007 and has worked part time as an underwater photographer.

July 2010: Corey Joyner, a TSSC member for many years showed us a picture presentation of his recent trip to the Red Sea.

June 2010: 'Exploration' in Honor of Jacques Cousteau's 100th Birthday - Those attending the meeting were treated to a showing of a Jacques Cousteau Movie Night - "World Without Sun". The Scuba Sports Club would like to thank Pierre-Yves Cousteau and the Cousteau Society for making it possible to show the film "World Without Sun" during our meeting.
Cousteau Divers Facebook Page | http://www.cousteau.org/

May 2010: Matthew S. Partrick M.D. - Medical Director, Institute for Diving Medicine. Attending Physician in Emergency Medicine, Southern Ocean County Hospital. His clinic is located at Southern Ocean County Hospital in Manahawkin, New Jersey, in close proximity to Long Beach Island and Atlantic City. Read more about Matthew S. Partrick, M.D. and the Institute for Diving Medicine on his Web site. He has experience with Texas A&M University's Institute of Nautical Archeology and their excavations in the Mediterranean as well as several other more local projects for the Institute of Nautical Archaeology.

April 2010: Bill Evans - ABC News Meteorologist/Diver. A member of WABC-TV since December 13th of 1989, Bill is the Senior Meteorologist for Eyewitness News in the Morning and Eyewitness at Noon. Bill, a 5-time Emmy award winner for Outstanding On-Camera Achievement in Weather Broadcasting, also broadcasts the weather with "Scott and Todd in the Morning" and throughout the day on 95.5FM WPLJ Radio. Category 7 is one of Bill Evan's novels that can be purchased at Amazon.com.

March 2010: John Hanzl - Diving Safety Officer for the New England Aquarium. John's presentation was on his training and preparation leading up to diving the Andrea Doria. Visit John's Web site for a complete biography and to order his novel; "Out of Hell's Kitchen".

February 2010: Mike Gerken - Evolution Underwater Imaging. Mike gave his presentation on the history of the SS Coolidge from her years as a luxury passenger liner to her untimely demise in the waters of Vanuatu. Read Mike's full bio and underwater images portfolio on his Web site.

January 2010: Howard Rosenbaum - World Conservation Society Ocean Giants Program. Howard Rosenbaum directs the Wildlife Conservation Society's Ocean giants Program, which aims to secure the future of whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks. Visit World Conservation Society's Web site for more information on humpback whales and saving wildlife!

December 2009: Baron Jupp Kerckerinck zur Borg - Shark Protect. The Baron showed video and pictures of his many dives and snorkels with sharks. He presented many facts that are leading to the demise of the numerous shark species.

October 2009: Keith Ellenbogen - Underwater Photography. Returning from an expedition in the Mediterranean Sea on a campaign to protect the endangered Atlantic Bluefin Tuna from ‘pur seiner’ over fishing — Keith will shared extraordinary underwater images of this magnificent animal on the brink of extinction.

September 2009: Michael Lombardi - Oceans of Opportunity Inc. His lecture provided a basic overview of the geology and biology of Bahamian Blue Hole systems, and highlighted their five expeditions to the blue holes. Oceans of Opportunity Web site

July 2009: Dr.Alonso Aguirre, Senior Vice President, Conservation Medicine from Wildlife Trust gave his presentation on Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals: Sentinels of Our Oceans' Health.

June 2009: Frank Copren,  from OS Systems. Frank gave a presentation on the types of drysuits OS Sytems sells and how to pick one. Visit OS Systems' Web site to learn more.

May 2009: Katie Dolan,  from the Eastern New York Chapter, Director The Nature Conservancy. Katie recently went to the Coral Triangle (Raj Ampat) for a dive trip and showed slides about that trip as well as The Nature Conservancy's marine work in a general sense.

April 2009: Armando Santiago, in addition to showing photo images Armando talked about underwater photography, equipment etc. and how it has moved from film to digital and what he believes its impact is. For more details and to order pictures visit Armando Santiago's web site.

March 2009: Mike Monahan author of the Barracuda which will be enjoyed by readers who appreciate the aquatic action of Jaws, the mob intrigue of The Godfather, and the police procedural sense of The Onion Field. You can read some more at Mike Monahan's web site and his book Barracuda can be purchased at Amazon.com at this link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419684027/ref=cm_arms_pdp_dp.

February 2009: LT Jon R. Vanderweele from The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) at the U.S. Navy submarine base in Groton, CT.

January 2009: David Rosenthal gave his presentation of The Wharves Project, which was an exciting look into the history around some of our local dive sites here in the northeast. If you would like to buy his book please visit http://www.thewharvesproject.org .

November 2008: Dick Blankfein from the New York Aquarium Volunteer Dive Program. If you are interested in volunteering contact Dick at http://www.wcs.org/getinvolved/volunteers/nyaquarium/60537.

October 2008: Woody Tinsley gave a presentation on his adventures discovering megaladon teeth. He let us in on the destinations and dive operators that will yield the best results.

September 2008: Mark Snyder participated in judging our photo contest while giving tips on how to enhance our pictures using Photoshop. Visit Mark's web site at http://www.starknakedfish.com/.

July 2008: Ann McGovern Ann McGovern has written 55 books for children. Her classic Stone Soup has been in print since 1967. Two of her books are illustrated by photographs she took in the Antarctic and the Galapagos Islands. Stop by her web sites for more details at http://www.annmcgovern.com/index.html and http://www.annmcgovernpoet.com/!

June 2008: Paul Forestell Paul gave a very informative presentation on the different whale species all around the world and their problems.

May 2008: Dr. Pilar Santidrian and graduate student Gabriela Blanco's presentation was on the plight of the leatherback turtle in Costa Rica. Visit their web site at http://www.leatherback.org/

April 2008: Ronni Gilligan's presentation was on her experiences diving the Empress Of Ireland in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence. She was the first women diver (and first civilian group) to dive on the wreck in the late 1960's. Read more online about Ronni Gilligan at http://www.aquawoman.org/PDFs/Ronni%20Gilligan.pdf.

March 2008: Bob Schrager's presentation was on North Sulawesi: Bali, Lembah Strait & Bunaken Marine Park. Diving in waters which have some of the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world!

February 2008: Tony Vargas Tubbataha - Unexpected Paradise. Tony presented us with his slide show from the Phillipines. He gave us a detailed desciption of the different types of coral. Visit his web site for more pictures at www.Vargas-reef.com.

January 2008: Tim Nurse Diving in Tanganyika Africa. Tim gave a detailed description of his trip to Africa from start to finish. Visit his website for more information at http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diving_lake_tanganyika.php.

November 2007: Richard Ellis - Winner of the 2005 BTS Diver of the Year Award - Spoke to us in detail about the problems facing the Bluefin tuna.

October 2007: Mark Snyder the accomplished photographer, gave a presentation from a trip to Wakatobi, a quick lesson in lighting for photography, and gave quick tips for all entries into our photo contest. http://www.starknakedfish.com/

August 2007: Taffy Lee Williams is the founder and director of the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, the NY project of Cetacean Society International.

July 2007: Kathleen M. Dudzinski, Director of the Dolphin Communication Project. Kathleen Dudzinski recently became Research-in-Residence with the Mystic Aquarium / Institute for Exploration (MA/IFE) in Mystic, CT.

June 2007: Dane Klinger is Blue Ocean Institute´s Seafood Research Associate

May 2007: Lou Cafiero is the National Media Director for NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program. He joined NOAA this year after serving as a consultant for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

April 2007: It's was our yearly Open House for new members and local dive shops to come in and introduce themselves. We enjoyed door prizes, and pizza that were on the club, viewed videos of club activities, and had great conversation with club members.

March 2007: We made up for our missed February meeting with a very interesting March event, including a stunning slide show by P.J. Jordan, presenting her view of life and death in Indonesia, on land and in the ocean.

November 2006: Paul J. Mila author and phtographer. Paul spoke about the writing of his 2 books and gave a presentation of his snorkeling trip with humpback whales off of Dominican Republic.

October 2006: Eric Douglas author of Cayman Cowboys. Eric is also the Director of training for DAN.

September 2006: Edward P. Hayes III from Global Underwater Explorers spoke about his Brownstone Quarry and showed a video from Ginny Springs.

August 2006:  Suzanne Garrett of Oceana works for deep water coral protection as project manager for Oceana´s Stop Destructive Trawling campaign.

July 2006:  Rob Cowin of Conserve Our Ocean Legacy was supposed to speak. Unfortunately due to weather conditions our meeting had to be cancelled. We hope to reschedule Rob soon.

June 2006:  Hans Walters New York Aquarium shark researcher.

December 2005:  We held our annual Christmas Party in place our regular meeting.

November 2005:  Faisal Khalaf spoke on Diving the wrecks of Beirut, Lebanon.

October 2005:  Mason R. Logie Jr showed slides of 19th Century Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario and Seneca Lake.

September 2005:  Longtime club member Vreni Roduner showed slides of the chamber experiments Behind The Numbers: How Decompression Tables Were Developed.

August 2005:  Matt Sasso spoke on spearfishing.

July 2005:  Jason Heller, founder of DivePhotoGuide.com, spoke and showed pictures on Wakatobi, in Sulawesi, and on his experience in Thailand following the December 2005 Asian tsunami.

June 2005:  Denise Mattia spoke on encounters with underwater denizens and topside attractions from around the world. The meeting was preceded by a clambake dinner on Tino’s Patio.

May 2005:  Wayne Fisch spoke on the 2005 Northeast DIVE Challenge.

April 2005:  The club supplied pizza and we watched the spectacularly beautiful movie Coral Reef Adventure, originally made for IMAX theaters.

March 2005:  Delia Milliron spoke and showed us videos of Diving in Northern California.

February 2005:  We started the evening with a buffet dinner and continued with videos from BTS 2004 and Michael Prange's recent liveaboard trip in the Revillagigedo Archipelago.

January 2005:  We held no meeting this month as we celebrated our annual holiday party on January 8.

December 2004:  We had a great holiday-themed buffet and social hour.

November 2004:  Nic de Gersigny of SEAL (Sea-Air-Land) Expeditions spoke and showed a video on Diving South Africa.

October 2004:  Club members Bob Schrager and Gwyn Grant showed pictures from their recent trip to Peru and the Galapagos: "Incas and Boobies".

September 2004:  Our own Don Reynolds showed slides and a video from his recent trip to Dominica.

August 2004:  Glenn Butler spoke on the wreck of the Republic.

June 2004:  We enjoyed superb desserts while we watched the unaired Blue Planet documentary "Deep Trouble."

May 2004:  Peter Venoutsos showed us his pictures of Diving the Wrecks of Lake Ontario and the Upper Saint Lawrence River.

April 2004:  Bob Sherwood, a technical and recreational DIR instructor, spoke on the Doing It Right system.

March 2004:  Gregg Macaulay, PADI course director and TSSC director-at-large, told us how maintain and store our gear so that it will be ready for another season of diving.

Feb 2004:  Lewis Kohl, chairman of emergency medicine at Long Island College Hospital, spoke on Marine Envenomations and illustrated the talk with his own underwater photographs.

Jan 2004:  Club members Zeke Petryszyn and Michael Prange showed pictures and video of TSSC's 2003 dive trip to North Carolina.

Nov 2003:  Mike Emmerman spoke on The "Rules" of Diving - What to Believe, What Not to Believe.

Oct 2003:  Lada Simek continued his February presentation on selected topics in maritime history.

Sept 2003:  Ted Beck and club members Pete Riekstins and Bob Schrager presented slides and video from their adventures in Bali and Komodo on board the Komodo Dancer. .

Aug 2003:  Peter Venoutsos presented a photo essay on Searching for Seals.

July 2003:  Michael Lombardi of Applied Subsea Technologies spoke on Diving Extreme Environments.

June 2003:  Glenn Butler spoke on The Great Nitrox/Space Connection. Nitrox played a pivotal role in preparations for the repair of the Hubbell Space Telescope, as it made possible the extended underwater spacewalk simulations required to practice for that groundbreaking event.

April 2003:  Dr. Erik Larsen, medical director for the STAT flight medivac service at Westchester Medical Center, spoke to us on marine life injuries - avoidance and treatment.

March 2003:  Dr. Bill Hamilton, current chairman of the board of Divers Alert Network, gave an overview of DAN's many faces and how it helps divers, and how divers can help DAN.

February 2003:  Lada Simek spoke on some topics in maritime history.

January 2003:  Gregg Macaulay, PADI course director and TSSC director-at-large, told us how maintain and store our gear so that it will be ready for another season of diving.

November 2002:  John Atkin, president of Save the Sound, spoke on issues in preserving and improving the environment of Long Island Sound.

October 2002:  Bob Bak, our education and safety director, shared his adventures in Truk and Yap.

August 2002:  Robert Waters, excutive director of the Beczak Environmental Educational Center in Yonkers, NY, presents leads us on an exploration of the Hudson River.

July 2002:  Bob Schrager presents photos from his recent trip to Cocos Island.

June 2002:  Social event. No speaker.

May 2002:  Captain Mike of Captain Mike's Diving present "The Search for the Hussar in Hell's Gate."

April 2002:  Social event. No speaker.

March 2002:  David Millhouser regaled us with his tales of the "shipwrecks of Cape Ann."

February 2002:  Barry Lippman showed his slides teaching us how to "dive with new eyes."

January 2002:  Gary Szabo, captain of the NJ-based charter dive vessel Seeker when he's at home, spoke on things a little farther afield and warmer as he showed slides of diving Truk Lagoon.

November 2001:  Dr. Joseph Rachlin, Dean of Natural and Social Sciences at Lehman College, spoke on the estuarine system of the Laguna Madre.

October 2001:  Club members Michael Prange, Pete Riekstins, Zeke Petryszyn, and Lada Simek presented photos and video from club trips to North Carolina and the Delaware River.

September 2001:  Kevin McMurray spoke on diving the Andrea Doria, a topic he has written about in his book Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria.

July 2001:  Mason Logie, Jr. spoke on diving the cruisers USS Houston and HMAS Perth, both of which sank in 1942 in the Sundra Straits off Java.

June 2001:  Peter Venoutsos showed slides of diving the wrecks of Lake Ontario and the upper Saint Lawrence River.

April 2001:  Club member Jack Dully showed slides & told stories from TSSC's trip to North Carolina in 1999.

March 2001:  Bernie Chowdhury talked about his recently published, critically acclaimed book, The Last Dive, and the lessons that all divers can draw from the tragic events in that book.

January 2001:  Club members Zeke Petryszyn showed slides of the club's recent trip to La Paz, Baja California.

November 2000:  Club members Peter Riekstins and Bob Schrager showed slides of their recent trip to Beautiful Borneo.

October 2000:  Club member Lada Simek showed us a video on scuba cylinder manufacture, and gave a hands-on demonstration of how a VIP (visual inspection) is done - and what is usually missed! Following this, we enjoyed our Halloween Party!

September 2000:  Heeth Grantham and Gerard Sullivan, creators of the diving web site Uglyfish.com , spoke on Scuba and the Internet

August 2000:  Dr. Bill Hamilton spoke on on Nitrox in Recreational Diving

July 2000:  Renowned Northeast photographer Dave Millhauser shared slides and stories of the critters of Cape Ann

June 2000:  Club members Dave Lindsay & Lada Simek presented slides of their recent trip to the Turks and Caicos

April 2000:  Barbara Kroos spoke on Drugs and Diving

March 2000:  Jenny Colon of the Puerto Rico Department of Tourism will give a slide and video presentation on Diving in Puerto Rico

February 2000:  Club members Michael Prange and Momo Nishio showed slides and a video of Diving in Southeast Asia.

January 2000:  Peter Sattler of the Interstate Sanitation Commission gave us a Historical Perspective on Water Quality in and around Long Island Sound.

November 1999:  Following club elections we held a tag sale/flea market of club members' diving and photographic gear.

October 1999:  Club members Michael Prange, Bob Schrager, Pete Reikstens, and Zeke Petryszyn showed slides and a video of TSSC's August trip to North Carolina.

September 1999:  George Safirowski of Lifeguard Systems gave an excellent presentation on buoyancy control.

August 1999:  Joe Fiorentino spoke about his underwater excavations of the HMS Feversham, in the waters of Nova Scotia, Canada.

July 1999:  Club members Bob Schrager & Pete Riekstins showed slides and video of their recent trip to the large-pelagic Mecca, Cocos Island.

June 1999:  Our safety director Lada Simek cajoled club members into sharing their Tricks of the (Scuba) Trade, tips on how they make scuba diving and its associated tasks easier, cheaper, faster, or better. Afterward, club founder "Zig" Zigahn provided food & drink for a Beneath The Sea recruitment party.

May 1999:  Glenn Butler spoke on Nitrox and the Great Space Connection. Glenn has been involved in safer human performance in extreme environments for the last 30 years, including the development of operational nitrox techniques and oxygen safety standards for the NASA Hubbell repair mission, and study of medical uses of oxygen under hyperbaric conditions.

April 1999:  Louis Hernandez of Aquatic Trancension spoke and showed a video on diving in Cozumel.

March 1999:  Renowned author & Northeast wreck diver Robert Louis Stevenson III spoke about his vast deep-water diving experiences and how they relate to his passion for writing -- and autographed his novels!

February 1999:  Captain Steve Hardick presented Sharks of North Carolina. Steve has been filming these beautiful creatures off Cape Lookout for two years.

November 1998:  Our own members gave a terrific presentation of their diving- and club-related slides.

October 1998:  William Broad, Pulitzer Prize-winning science reporter for the New York Times, spoke and showed slides. He also autographed his book The Universe Below. William Broad is a Pulitzer Prize-winning science reporter for the New York Times. His book has received excellent reviews from Dr. Robert Ballard, Dr. Sylvia Earle, and others

August 1998:  Club members who went on the club's recent trip to the Turks & Caicos showed slides of the trip.

June 1998:  A panel of the Club's own experts, members who are experienced instructors, discussed safety while diving. Other members contributed their own stories of near-disasters and what they've learned from them.

May 1998:  Dan Berg, producer of the TV show Dive Wreck Valley, gave a video presentation.

April 1998:  Mike Hurley presented slides from around the world, accompanied by indigenous music.

March 1998:  A speaker from Save the Sound showed us slides of the Sound's underwater inhabitants.

February 1998:  We enjoyed a Social Hour this month.

January 1998:  Our very own Gus Barry and Jack Dully showed slides of TSSC's trip to North Carolina last summer.

November 1997:  This was the month of our Club Elections as we chose our directors and vice president for 1998.

October 1997:  Marine biologist Rosanne Mamo gave a slide presentation and talk on Caribbean Organisms.

September 1997:  This month we held a Tag Sale of members' diving and photographic gear.

August 1997:  Jeff Talamini talked about Lake George - Its History and Diving. Jeff has been diving and researching Lake George for seven years and told us about its history - battles and hotels - and the underwater sites and artifacts they have left for divers to explore.

July 1997:  A Double Feature! Two of our own members gave slide presentations. First, Jack Dully showed us slides of North Carolina Diving. Jack is one of our club's foremost underwater photographers. Our second feature was by Howie Forman on Cocos Island. Howie's expertise with underwater photography has won him awards and honors for his work; currently, a picture he took is being used in an ad by the Aggressor Fleet.

June 1997:  Gary Nilsen, president of The Institute for Marine Archæology , spoke on the value and techniques of underwater archeology, and showed slides of his recent excavation work in Eritrea.

May 1997:  Michael Emmerman spoke on Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Deep Diving:  an Interesting Comparison. Michael is an independent hyperbaric and hypobaric researcher who has done extensive investigative research in the areas of diving safety, diving physiology and hypo/hyperbaric exposures.

April 1997:  Dave Millhouser, noted underwater photographer specializing in New England waters, gave a presentation on his trip to St. Paul's Island, Graveyard of the Gulf. St. Paul's Island is an uninhabited island in the gulf between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. 340 ships are reported to have met their demise on its rugged shores.

March 1997:  Kourosh Mahboubian of Mad Dog Expeditions gave a presentation on diving Bikini -- an area just opened up to divers.

February 1997:  The Cayman Islands - wouldn't it be nice to be there now! Warm water, great vis, and super wall diving! The Cayman Island Department of Tourism gave a presentation on their great diving. Plus, a lucky member at the meeting won a 4-day vacation in the Caymans!

January 1997:  North Carolina diving is a Northeast diver's dream - warm water, great visibility, tropical fish, turtles, barracudas, sharks, photo-perfect shipwrecks. We showed a promotional video from Olympus Divers, one of the several dive operations in the Morehead City/Beaufort area.

November 1996:  Following club elections we held a tag sale/flea market of club members' diving and photographic gear.

October 1996:  This month's speaker was Dr. Hillary Viders. She has spoken at Beneath the Sea and at Scuba Sports Club meetings previously. Her program was Ecotourism: Has This Become the Biggest Catch in the Sea? She signed copies of her book after her talk.

September 1996:  This month's speaker was Glenn Butler. Glenn has been involved in hyperbarics and designing rebreathers and his compa ny installs nitrox recharging stations in the US and Caribbean. Glenn's presentation was about pressure and how we as divers have a great deal in common with today's astronauts.
 

 

 

Here's what you would have been enjoying had you been coming to our meetings over the past few years. 

 

The views expressed herein are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent those of The Scuba Sports Club.