2007 Historical Diving Society Conference in Tarpon Springs

The 2007 Historical Diving Society Conference will return to the famous Greek sponge diving community of Tarpon Springs, Florida, October 26 - 28, 2007. This is the weekend before the DEMA 2007 show in Orlando, Florida. Tarpon Springs is just over an hour from Orlando.

The Historical Diving Society has partnered with the City of Tarpon Springs for this year’s conference. The conference will include the Friday evening City Welcoming Reception at the historic Sponge Exchange, full Saturday Conference at Tarpon City City Hall, and the Awards Banquet with Zale Parry at The Westin Innisbrook Golf Resort. There will also be a traditional Greek sponge diving demonstration on Sunday.

Presentations at the conference will include the following:

Wooden Tanks and Live Sharks by Zale Parry. Internationally recognized as the pioneer female Hollywood diver, Zale Parry carved here own unique spot in diving history when it was predominantly a "Mans World." In 1954 she set a new international scuba depth record, and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1955, in what was possibly the first swim suit issue. Her celluloid career includes Sea Hunt, Kingdom of the Sea, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Aquanauts, and more. Zale will recount her adventures on both sides of the Hollywood underwater camera.

The History of Great White Shark Diving by Carl Roessler. From the early Australian adventures to current world operations, carl will recap the history of controlled (and some uncontrolled) encounters with the oceans ultimate predator. carl has 100's of "in cage" hours filming the Great White Shark. He is a pioneer of diving tourism having operated tour's to diving's remotest regions since the 1960's.

Hollywood Underwater by Kent Rockwell. From 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Sea Hunt and The Creature From the Black Lagoon, this is an overview of diving in the movies and on tv. Kent is the associate editor of Historical Diver magazine and a leading authority on scuba history, including the behind the scenes history of tv's first major diving show, Sea Hunt.

The Sponge Divers of Tarpon Springs by Tom Lowe. Tom is head of Eagle Productions and maker of the critically acclaimed PBS documentary on the history of the divers of Tarpon Springs. Tom will lead us on a visual journey back through time, from the birth of American sponge diving up to the challenges of the modern day sponge diver.

The Japanese Divers of California by Scrap Lundy. Internationally recognized as one of the leading authorities on the history of abalone diving, Scraps 1997 book on the subject sold out. In this presentation Scrap will show the development of a diving industry on the opposite coast of America that was also established and developed by immigrants starting in the late 1800's.

Conference tickets are $35.00 each and available now. Tickets for the Awards Banquet, with Zale Parry, $55.00 each and available now. These tickets are limited in number. “Smart Casual” dress is required for the Awards Banquet. You can save $15.00 by purchasing a combined Conference and Banquet ticket for $75.00 prior to September 15, 2007.

Tickets are available from the HDS office at 805-934-1660, Monday - Friday 9am - 1pm Pacific time. To get tickets by e-mail, put HDS Conference in the Subject box and contact the HDS office at hds@hds.org.

The Conference hotel is The Hampton Inn and Suites, 39284 U.S. 19 North, Tarpon Springs. State that you are part of the HDS block when booking for the reduced Conference rate. Early booking is highly recommended. A standard non smoking room with 2 queen beds is $97.00 plus tax. A suite with two queen beds and pull-out sofa bed is $124.00 plus tax. Cut off date for these rates is October 12, 2007. For reservations call 727-945-7755.

Transportation will be provided from the hotel to and from each event. More details on this event will be posted at www.hds.org
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