SECONN 2020 Webinars

SECONN is encouraging everyone to stay safe in this time, but also wants to continue encouraging you to learn more about the great world of scuba diving. Each of the webinars will last approximately 45 minutes with a following Q&A. All of the webinars will be held on the Demio platform (unless noted otherwise). A link will be provided for you to access the webinars, once there, simply add your name, email, and click register.
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If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions to help us make this endeavor the best webinar series around, please email Ryan – President@seconndivers.org. Cheers!

View Past Webinars

Susannah Snowden-Smith

Tuesday, October 27
@ 7:30PM EST

“Insiders Guide To Cayman:
Everything you ever wanted to know about diving and photographing in the Cayman Islands but didn’t know who to ask”

Presentation Abstract

Through her underwater photography, Susannah will present on diving in the Cayman Islands. She’ll give tips on the best boat dives, where to shore dive, suggestions of places to stay, and great water activities to do when you’re off-gassing.

Bio

Susannah H. Snowden-Smith is an award-winning underwater photographer who brings her unique eye to the underwater world. Her fine art photography is available on her website for purchase as metal prints, matted prints, photo cards, canvases and more.

Susannah’s accomplishments include placing in the Underwater Photographer Of The Year competition three times; winning the Wrecks Of The World Photo competition; regularly placing in the British Society of Underwater Photography competitions; and being awarded the title of Grand Master by UnderwaterPhotography.com.

Susannah’s work has been featured by publications including National Geographic, Outside Magazine, Diver Magazine, Scuba Diving Magazine, Sport Diver Magazine and Archaeology Magazine.

She started as the shooter on underwater archaeology excavations and has photographed ancient shipwrecks all over the world. Susannah has been diving since she was 16-years-old and is a PADI Divemaster. Prior to growing fins and transitioning into full-time underwater work, she was an award-winning photojournalist.

Susannah is based out of Grand Cayman, where she is able to experiment with underwater photography techniques year-round. See her latest photographs and news on her website SusannahPhotography.com, Facebook: Susannah H. Snowden-Smith Photography and Instagram @SusannahPhotography.

Dr. Anjani Ganase

Thursday, November 5th
@ 7:30PM EST

Bringing Tobago’s coral reefs online: The Maritime Ocean Collection

Presentation Abstract

The Maritime Ocean Collection integrates state-of-the-art 360º photography, Google Street View, smartphone technology, and videography, to allow anyone – adult or child, Trinbagonian or visitor – to view Trinidad and Tobago’s remarkable underwater world. We have built an underwater collection of Tobago’s coral reefs and marine environments to increase awareness, engagement and education, and to instill a sense of stewardship for these fragile marine ecosystems. This imagery will form the basis of Trinidad and Tobago’s first online coral-reef collection and will provide a baseline record for scientific comparison and management.

Bio

Anjani is a Marine Biologist with a special interest in coral reef ecology and understanding drivers of marine spatial patterns and the impacts on livelihoods. During her time at the University of Queensland, Australia, she mapped coral reefs around the world using 360-degree imagery technology for the purpose of online engagement and outreach as well as scientific research. Through the Maritime Ocean Collection Project, she aims to create novel opportunities to engage with people on critical coral reef issues by meshing state-of the art 360-degree photography and Google street view to strengthen the connection between people and coral reefs and to showcase their importance and how we impact them. Anjani also writes a weekly column for the Tobago Newsday collected in the blog, Wild Tobago.

www.MatthewMeierPhoto.com

Tyler Phelps

Tuesday, November 10th
@ 7:30PM EST

Exploration and Ecology of Twilight Zone Fishes

Presentation Abstract

Fifteen minutes. That’s all the time they have to collect their data at 500 feet. Dressed like “aquanauts,” they’re the first divers to ever visit these deep coral reefs. After documenting the habitat, conducting fish surveys, and collecting potential new species, they begin their ascent. It will take six hours of decompression before being able to surface. Diving to these depths took years of preparation for Ichthyology Graduate Student, Tyler Phelps. Each dive takes hours of preparation and extensive safety precautions to mitigate the risks in conducting their research. Take a “dive” with Tyler as he shares what it’s like to explore the Twilight Zone, and the latest discoveries their team has found from these remarkable communities.

Bio

When his parents took him for stroller walks along the Long Beach peninsula (in California), they had no idea someday he would be diving deep below the surface. Inspired by family trips to the aquarium and his elementary school teachers, he has dreamed of becoming a marine biologist since he was eight years old.

In high school, Tyler captained the Marine Decathlon team and volunteered at the Aquarium of the Pacific. After attending Soka University of America (Aliso Viejo, CA) for two years for Environmental Studies and a swimming scholarship, he transferred to the University of Hawaii at Hilo to earn his Bachelor of Science in Marine Science.

During Tyler’s college career, he has balanced his love for diving and love of science. This harmony inspired the formation of his training company, Balanced Divers, to offer private instruction as a NAUI Course Director, Technical Diving/Rebreather Instructor, and has won several awards serving on NAUI’s Training Committee. As an undergrad, he learned about the research his idols were conducting at the California Academy of Sciences and the new species they were finding in this “twilight zone” of coral reefs. Tyler realized this would be a perfect avenue for his research and spent the next six years advancing towards that goal.

Today, Tyler is earning his Master of Science from San Francisco State University while serving as their Assistant Diving Safety Officer. He is a Graduate Student in the Ichthyology Department at Cal Academy and serves as one of their On-Call Dive Officers. Tyler researches how fish assemblages change across depth gradients, mechanisms that drive community structure of fish communities, and understanding the role deep reef ecosystems could play in the conservation of threatened shallow coral reefs.

Erik has a master’s degree in Environmental Science/Toxicology, a master’s in Environmental Law and a PhD in Environmental Toxicology.

Dr. David Charash

Tuesday, November 24th
@ 7:30PM EST

Presentation Abstract

This presentation will go over such topics as cave formation and geomorphology, the biological importance of cenotes and their underwater cave ecosystems, the historical importance of cenotes, cave exploration in the Yucatan Peninsula, and some considerations for cave diving (including training and requirements).

Bio

Erik has a master’s degree in Environmental Science/Toxicology, a master’s in Environmental Law and a PhD in Environmental Toxicology.

Previous Webinars

Please note not all previous recordings are available.

View Previous Webinar Recordings

Jeff Milisen

Follow the Tentacles: Epipelagic Cephalopods and the Animals that Eat Them.

Dr. Jason Krumholz

Artificial Reefs for Diving, Fishing, and Conservation: A Scientific Perspective

Dr. David Charash

Cardiac Health and Diving

Weldon Wade

Diving in Bermuda

Richie Kohler

Shadow Divers

Dan Orr

Does Scuba Diving Have a Retirement Age?
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Scuba Diving Safety: Risk Versus Reward

Faith Ortins

Exploring the Polar Regions: Above and Below the Water

Jennifer Idol

Lens of Adventure

Robert Turpin

The USS Oriskany

Erik Rosenstein

Caves and Cave Diving the Yucatan Peninsula – Past, Present, and Future

Neal W. Pollock, PhD

Thoughtful Management of Decompression Stress

Rustin Cassway

The Octavian Project

Becky Kagan Schott

Stories Behind the Shot

Dr. John Littlefield

Underwater Archaeology in Turkey

Josie Iselin

The Curious World of Seaweed

Jill Heinerth

The Explorer’s Mindset

Andrew Martinez

New England Fish ID and the Marine Life App

Matt Meier

The Solomon Islands: World War II History and Pristine Reefs

SECONN 2020 Webinars

This series is set up so that you will only need to register once; all of the webinars will be held on the Demio platform. A link will be provided for you to access the webinars, once there, simply add your name, email, and click register.

We are working on a way to allow viewing the previous webinars; once we have a solution, we will send an email out with information.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions to help us make this endeavor the best webinar series around, please email Ryan – President@seconndivers.org. Cheers!

View Past Webinars

Alex Fogg

Rescheduled Date TBA

Artificial Reefs and Lionfish: Their role in Ecotourism

Robert Turpin

Wednesday, April 20 @ 7pm

The USS Oriskany

Erik Rosenstein

Monday, April 27 @ 7pm

Caves and Cave Diving the Yucatan Peninsula – Past, Present and Future

Presentation Abstract

Bio

Erik Rosenstein has been a diver for over 30 years, and a professional member of several diving agencies since 1997. He is a TDI technical and cave diving instructor with over 3500 cave and/or technical/decompression dives and over 9,000 lifetime dives.

Erik has a master’s degree in Environmental Science/Toxicology, a master’s in Environmental Law and a PhD in Environmental Toxicology.

Neal W. Pollock, PhD

Wednesday, April 29 @ 7pm

Thoughtful Management of Decompression Stress

Bio

Neal Pollock is an Associate Professor in Kinesiology at Université Laval in Québec, QC and Research Chair at the Centre de médicine de plongée du Québec, Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis, QC. He was previously Research Director at Divers Alert Network (DAN) in Durham, North Carolina. His academic training is in zoology, exercise physiology and environmental physiology. His research interests focus on human health and safety in extreme environments.

Dan Orr

Friday, May 1 @ 7pm

Scuba Diving Safety: Risk Versus Reward

Presentation Abstract

This presentation is a review of the published diving accident and fatality data identifying risks and discussing ways to reduce accidents through risk mitigation.

Bio

Dan Orr is President of Dan Orr Consulting providing a variety of services to the diving community. Dan retired from the position of President of Divers Alert Network (DAN) and Chairman of the Board of International DAN, where he helped DAN focus on its worldwide diving safety mission. Prior to coming to DAN, he worked and taught recreational diving in a retail store, developed and implemented course curricula in the academic environment, collected data and supervised research efforts in the field of science diving, tested diving equipment for military contractors and worked for or served on the Boards of various not-for-profit organizations during his career.

He has published and co-authored over 200 articles and a dozen books and manuals including: Scuba Diving Safety, Pocket Guide to First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries; Pocket Guide for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries; and the DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries Training Manual.

He has also been honored by his peers by being the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors including the NOGI Award in Sports/Education, the Leonard Greenstone Award for Diving Safety, the Our World-Underwater Award, Beneath the Sea’s Diver of the Year, the Wyland Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement, the DEMA Reaching Out Award and is an inductee into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.

Rustin Cassway

Tuesday, May 5 @ 7pm

The Octavian Project

Presentation Abstract

On July 4^th 2018 the RV Explorer crew identified a recently discovered wreck. The Wreck of the D/S Octavian has been positively identified and confirmed through the recovery of the Engine & Boiler builders plaque. This was further confirmed by Jorgan Johannassan of the Maritime Museum on Oslo Norway. The wreck lies 70 miles from Cape May in 227’ of water. The Octavian was owned by Hjalmar Reksten Rederi of Bergen, Norway and was a 250’ Norwegian Freighter carrying Sulfur and Wood Resin.

Octavian left Galveston Texas on January 9, 1942 headed to St. John New Brunswick. The freighter never arrived in St. John and all 17 crewmembers perished without a trace. Due to an error, some history books have the Octavian located off Nova Scotia which is north of New Brunswick but there would be no reason for the ship to be in this location. It’s possible that St. John New Brunswick and St. John Newfoundland were confused and the coincidence of U-203 sinking an unknown vessel in the vicinity credited the 203 with the sinking.

Interestingly there are footnotes in multiple locations including, War Sailors.com, U-Boat War against the Americas and Researcher Edward R. Rumpf, that suggest that U-123 commanded by Hardegen sank the Octavian.

U-123 is also credited with sinking the Cyclops, Norness, Coimbra prior to the Octavian. U 123 then headed to Cape Hatteras to sink 4 more ships and damage a 5^th .

The deck logs of the U-123 7^th war patrol indicate that Hardegen sunk an unidentified freighter in the location of the now identified Octavian on January 17, 1942. The location given by Hardegen in his deck log is less than 700 yards from the ships current location. The ship sank in a plume of black smoke in less than a minute as Hardegen used his last stern torpedo. The U-123 then departed at maximum speed toward cape Hatteras.

This is exciting news and we hope to bring closure to the families of 16 Norwegian Sailors and 1 Canadian sailor.

Credit to this project and research should go to the RV Explorer team Rustin Cassway, Brian Sullivan, Michael Dudas and Tom Packer. Others who helped in this research effort were Gary Gentile, Hildrun Sommer (our assistant in Oslo and former Evie Dudas Employee) The Maritime Museum in Oslo Norway, Richie Kohler for providing the grid chart and explain how to use it, Bob Cope of Full Ahead Sport Fishing and Bob Duckenfield of Jim’s Bait and Tackle.

Becky Kagan Schott

Wednesday, May 6 @ 7pm

Stories Behind the Shot

Presentation Abstract

There is always a story behind an image whether it’s a behind the scenes story of an amazing wildlife interaction. Becky specializes in capturing images in extreme environments around the world from underwater caves to ghostly shipwrecks and even under ice in Antarctica! Her passion is bringing shipwrecks back to life through photography and she’ll explain how she captures that feeling in her work and stories that will ignite your imagination.

Bio

Becky is a 5 time Emmy award winning underwater cameraman and photographer who’s work appears on major networks including National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Red Bull. She specializes in capturing images in extreme underwater environments including caves, under ice and deep shipwrecks. Her projects have taken her all over the world from the Arctic to Antarctic and many exciting locations in between. She’s filmed new wrecks discoveries to cave exploration and even diving cage-less with great white sharks. She’s earned a reputation for being able to bring back quality imagery from harsh conditions. Her biggest passion is shooting haunting images of deep shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. She combines her artistic style with powerful stories of tragedy, mystery and survival to ignite the viewers imagination. She’s constantly pushing the limits and trying new techniques to capture the beauty of the underwater world. She’s a frequent contributor to several Dive Magazines and her photography has been used in books, museums, and advertising. Becky has been actively diving for 26 years and technical diving for 22 of them. She has been an Instructor for 2 decades and is currently an active TDI Mixed Gas CCR Instructor. She leads expeditions all over the world to capture unique images that inspire others to explore our planet!

Liquid Productions

Meg Diver

If you are interested in presenting for a future webinar, please reach out to Ryan, President@seconndivers.org

Previous Webinars

Jeff Milisen

Monday, March 30 @ 7pm

Follow the Tentacles: Epipelagic Cephalopods and the Animals that Eat them.

Official Website

Jason Krumholz

Wednesday, April 1 @ 7pm

Artificial Reefs For Diving, Fishing, and Conservation: A Scientific Perspective

Dr. David Charash

Thursday, April 2 @ 7pm

Cardiac Health and Diving

Bio

Dr David Charash is a Dive Medicine Physician, Board Certified in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. He is the Principal at Dive Medicine and Hyperbaric Consultants LLC. and he is the Medical Director at Inova Health Systems in Alexandria, Virginia. Dr Charash is a DAN Referral Physician and DAN Instructor, and he has lectured at the United States Coast Guard Academy and the United States Navy Base Naval Undersea Medical Institute on Dive Medicine and Basic and Advanced Diving Physics.

Join the Zoom Meeting

Weldon Wade

Monday, April 6 @ 7pm

Diving in Bermuda: Shipwrecks and Reefs

Bio

Weldon Wade has been extremely active in the Bermuda diving community for over ten years and is unapologetically dedicated to its growth and continues a unique and exciting journey. Wade is the first and only Bermudian certified freediver, SCUBA diver and closed-circult rebreather diver and founder of an ocean conservation organization called Guardians of the Reef.

The mission of Guardians of the Reef includes getting new divers excited to explore and protect the ocean, keep divers diving and to encourage more young Bermudians to put on a pair of fins, mask and snorkel and see for themselves what the healthiest reef in the region looks like. Ocean protection is at the core of Guardians and hunting invasive lionfish and removing plastic pollution from land and the sea floor are two main goals.

Wade hosts clean-up events and works with Project AWARE, 5 Gyres and Ocean Conservancy to remove trash and plastic pollution from beaches and bays locally and overseas. He also hosts invasive lionfish tournaments. Community engagement is key to Wade and he believes hosting events helps give divers purpose and the chance to use skills to help the environment and have fun. These events also open up countless opportunities to collaborate with businesses and other organizations and present information to students in schools and at various kids’ camps.

Wade presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, the Bermuda Historic Wrecks Authority, the Bermuda Lionfish Taskforce and the Bermuda Marine Debris Taskforce. He is also a 2020 PADI AmbassaDiver, an ambassador for 5 Gyres, One Ocean, Sea Hive, Pathwater and was a speaker at TEDxBermuda in 2014 sharing his journey on a world stage. If you are ever in Bermuda or planning to visit, be sure to contact him and plan a dive!

TEDx Bermuda Talk

Instagram

Richie Kohler

Tuesday, April 7 @ 7pm

Shadow Divers

Bio

Richie Kohler’s diving experiences may have began in the waters surrounding his Brooklyn NY, roots, but for over thirty years his passion for diving and exploring shipwrecks has taken him to all corners of the globe.

He has explored and documented well-known shipwrecks such as the Andera Doria, RMS Titanic, and the HMHS Britannic, but it was the identification of the WWII German submarine, U-869, which catapulted his diving career into the world of television and underwater documentary filmmaking. That six-year effort has been the subject of several television documentaries and a best-selling book, Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. The New York Times bestseller is soon to be a major motion picture by 20th Century Fox. Alongside diving partner John Chatterton, Kohler co-hosted 57 episodes of the History Channel series, Deep Sea Detectives, multiple documentary specials and continues to work on underwater projects for the film and television industry.

Currently residing with his wife Carrie Kohler in Sutton, MA, Kohler has two children, Richie III and Nikki. Currently, Kohler is conducting technical dive training, lecturing and leading expeditions to explore shipwrecks worldwide.

Official Website

Dan Orr

Thursday, April 9 @ 7pm

Does Scuba Diving Have a Retirement Age?

Presentation Abstract

This presentation is a review of how the normal aging process affects diver safety and what every diver should know about risk and risk mitigation to improve their safety regardless of age.

Bio

Faith Ortins

Monday, April 13 @ 7pm

Exploring the Polar Regions: Above and Below the Water

Presentation Abstract

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica. 200 years later, there are still so much waiting to be discovered in our polar regions. During this presentation, we will take you from the polar ice cap in the north to the frozen continent in the south- giving you a small taste of these unique environments and the ecosystems that depend on them.

Bio

Faith has spent most of her adult life in the ocean. Starting as a scientific diver and volunteering for public safety diving operations in the 1980’s, Faith became a technical diver and divemaster and has thousands of dives over her 41 year diving career. She worked with DUI to develop some of the first women’s drysuits while still a dive retailer in MA. She created the DUI DEMOTOUR, which promoted local diving while allowing divers to test dive DUI products, and the DIVEOPS program which promotes education about the risks of diving in contaminated water.

She has led expeditions around the world- many to the most remote places on Earth including multiple expeditions to both poles. Recently, she co-founded Blue Green Expeditions and now runs expeditions full time as she continues to share her passion for diving with divers from around the world. A frequent presenter at dive shows and conferences, she is a 2010 inductee into the Women Divers Hall of Fame and a member of the Boston Sea Rovers.

Jennifer Idol

Wednesday, April 15 @ 7pm

Lens of Adventure

Presentation Abstract

What stories do we tell through our images? Where do they lead us? And what isn’t told through our images? Now, more than ever, our lens is changing. Join Jennifer Idol on a journey of exploration through photography as she shares how one journey leads to the next. From helping people connect to our local waters to helping divers engage personally with wildlife on expeditions, Jennifer will share the raw story of getting the shot and how it relates to the world around us.

Bio

Jennifer Idol is a designer, author, and underwater photographer recognized as a PADI® Ambassadiver (2017 and 2018) and a member of the Ocean Artists Society. Her photography and articles have been published in periodicals such as DIVER, SCUBA Diving, and Alert Diver. She earned more than 29 certifications. She began a quest to document American waters in her book An American Immersion and became the first woman to dive in all 50 states.

Official Website