Victor was 18 when he received his scuba diving certification. During the following decades, the adventurer would travel extensively to dive the exotic locales of Fiji, the Bahamas, the coast of Egypt, and elsewhere. “I’d seen my first shark when I was diving in Egypt,” Victor remembers, “and as I kid I was always crazy about sharks for some reason. To get that close to one of the world’s greatest apex predators, knowing that they are tolerating your presence in their world, is a humbling experience.” A subsequent shark encounter with hammerheads in the Sea ofd Cortez further inspired him. “I couldn’t find anything that I would have wanted to display on my living room table, so I decided that when I got back to LA, I’d sculpt my own.” Despite having never sculpted before, Victor’s first edition of Hammerhead sold quickly, as did the second and third. Before long, inspiration would strike and he would soon be at work creating another sculpture, a ritual he would come to repeat again and again. “I didn’t set out to become a sculptor or to have a sculpture business, but like many things in my life, my journey leads me,” Victor says. “In the same way, my sculptures choose me, I don’t choose them.”

 

CREATING SCULPTURES OF UNDERWATER CREATURES
When Victor sees a beautiful animal in its natural surroundings, he experiences something impossible to describe with words alone and is compelled to re-create the encounter in artistic form. Through this process, he closes the circle — from natural beautiful form to artistically beautiful form. Victor cites the crossroad of his elemental love of all animals and the sense of adventure he derives from the pursuit of getting as close to them as he can. Whether it’s scuba diving with sharks or getting into an enclosure with a tiger, witnessing these beings in their world with such deep respect for them is key to this distinctive rendering of immersion therapy. And he'll share that passion with you in this talk.

Steve Wertz is a Senior Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Since 1991, he has served CDFW on variety of marine research and management projects. In 2008, Steve became involved in the design and implementation of California’s globally recognized network of marine protected areas (MPAs). Designed using a scientifically guided, stakeholder-driven approach, the MPA Network consists of 124 individual MPAs and 14 special closures that encompass approximately 16% of California’s jurisdictional waters, with 9% in no-take MPAs. As California approaches the 10-year anniversary of network completion, Steve and his amazing crew are preparing the first comprehensive review of the MPA Management Program and progress of the MPA Network towards meeting the ecosystem-focused goals of the Marine Life Protection Act.

MARNE PROTECTED AREAS UPDATE
One of the requirements in creating the network of MPAs was that they be adaptively managed. This means that periodically, CDFW and the various stakeholders would review the individual MPAs to see if they're working as intended and makes decisions about how to change that one way or the other to better fulfill the requirements of the Marine Life Protection Act. The first review was completed at the end of 2022 and Steve will update you on what changes and adaptations were deemed necessary moving forward.

Rachel hails from Long Beach, California, and completed her education at Los Alamitos High and later studied Marine biology at California State University Long Beach. Rachel was previously an Assistant Dive Safety Officer at Aquarium of the Pacific before being promoted to her current position of Diving Safety Officer (Aquarium Operations). She's also a NAUI Instructor and teaches through Ocean Gear SCUBA Center. Rachel tries to encourage women across the country to get involved with the sport of SCUBA and to share her passion for protecting the ocean.

VOLUNTEER DIVING AT THE AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC
AOP, as it's called by the staff, has long been home to one of the largest volunteer diver programs in the country, enlisting the aid of as many as 165 divers on 18 different dive teams during all seven days of a week and 52 weeks of a year. COVID required some drastic realignment in terms of the number of divers and teams that could work regulary, but now AOP is staffing back up to full capacity. Rachel will explain not only what she does as Diving Safety Officer overseeing the program, but also what the divers do and how you can join this vibrant team if you're so inclined.

Charlotte Sadler, MD, is a board-certified physician who specializes in emergency medicine, hyperbaric medicine and diving medicine. She treats conditions such as air and gas embolisms, decompression sickness and non-healing wounds. Dr. Sadler greatly enjoys treating patients with hyperbaric medicine for both acute and chronic illnesses, as well as serving the diving community in San Diego. She has special interests in diving medicine, physiology and pathophysiology. Dr. Sadler is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians and is on the board of directors of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. She is board certified in emergency medicine and undersea and hyperbaric medicine.

RETURN TO DIVING AFTER BEING INFECTED WITH COVID
Just because you - finally - tested negative after a bout with COVID doesn't necessarily mean you're ready to go back in the water. Charlotte has been at the forefront of medical research and studies of divers post-COVID, has helped develop protocols for when to return to diving that have been adopted by the Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society, D.A.N., and the major training agencies. In this talk, she'll give an overview of what you need to be aware of as well as emphasize some of the risks of getting back underwater too soon, before your body is truly ready.

Karl Huggins has been the Director of the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber Facility at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center since 1992. He is noted for his work in decompression theory and models, which resulted in the Michigan Sea Grant (HUGI) tables and his participation in the development of the EDGE dive computer. Karl is the 1990 recipient of the Leonard Greenstone Diving Safety Award, the DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year for 1993, the 2004 Conrad Limbaugh Memorial Award for Scientific Diving Leadership and the 2008 California Scuba Service Award. And he puts up with Ken Kurtis for much of the year as they jointly shepherd the annual Chamber Day fundraiser.

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOUR DIVE COMPUTER CAN KILL YOU
You've heard the saying, "What you don't know can't hurt you." But that's NOT the case when it comes to dive computers. And few people know the intricacies of these digital information devices better than Karl Huggins. And it turns out that there ARE ways in which you can use a computer that while you may feel you're being safe, can actually put you in great danger. In this talk, Karl will outline some of those issues as well as just give some general advice about how to safely use a dive computer.

To Be Announced

Doug and Lorenza Sloss have worked in the tourism and hospitality business for several years aboard the Aggressor liveaboards in Kona, Hawaii and Palau, Micronesia. There, they have taught hundreds of people how to dive and shoot photography. Their passion for teaching translated into the creation of a successful series of video tutorials that help photographers of all levels to effectively and professionally post-process their images. Their award-winning photography has appeared in Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, Scuba Diver Australasia, Islands, Asia Diver and many other magazines and books worldwide. Doug has been Field Editor and regular columnist for Scuba Diver Australasia magazine. They also lead photo workshops teaching photography and digital editing, both above and below the waterline.

TAKE BETTER PICTURES - IF SAM CAN DO IT, WHY NOT YOU?
Everyone who has ever held a camera in their hand wants to take better pictures than they currently do. And for those who are on that quest to be the next underwater Ansel Adams, Doug & Lorenza can help point you there. In this talk, they'll go through some of the basics and will share with you how they got their son, Sam, interested and involved in underwater photography.