Diver of the Year

Cristian Dimitrius is a celebrated natural history cinematographer and photographer, whose work continually highlights the majesty and complexity of the natural world. With an Emmy Award exemplifying his creativity and expertise, Cristian is one of the most versatile cameramen in the world. A talented topside and underwater cameraman, renowned drone pilot, and masterful storyteller, his work has graced IMAX and television screens alike and has been in productions for BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Netflix, AppleTV+, Animal Planet, Smithsonian, LoveNature, PBS and many others.

Widely known for his work in such regions as the Amazon, Pantanal, and Patagonia, Cristian brings a unique talent and approach to his storytelling, not only placing his viewer directly with the subject, but making them deeply care about it as well. Whether it’s piranhas, caiman, sloths, or pink river dolphins, each subject is filmed with the same respect and awe. Some of his best known work focuses on anacondas. Christian fearlessly puts himself in the water coming face to face with such intimidating subjects, dispelling stigmas through his camera lens, showing their behavior, life history, and unseen world. While known for his work around South and Central America, Cristian has also worked with numerous subjects and locations from orcas in Norway, to the wild environments of New Zealand. Whatever subject Cristian shoots, his films and imagery are laced with an urgency to conserve and protect the natural world.

Cristian’s work is that of a virtuoso, blending all his skills together as he produces stunning cinematic pieces in record time. Fiercely dedicated to his craft and the pursuit of conservation, Cristian’s work goes above and beyond that of traditional natural history storytelling to bring his own vision and voice into the forefront of people’s lives. His work inspires, making people fall in love with the natural world around them, all while asking viewers to look deeper into every subject he adeptly illuminates.

Cristian Dimitrius is a master underwater cinematographer, photographer, and television producer, who is dedicated to raising awareness and respect for nature, and the world is better off after having shared his work.

On behalf of all Rovers, past, present and future, we are proud to recognize his contributions to increasing global awareness of the importance of protecting our environments, and all of the creatures that live above and below the water.  The Boston Sea Rovers are honored to present him with our highest award, complete with the following inscription:

2024 Walter Feinberg Memorial Diver of the Year Award
Cristian Dimitrius

Champion of the World’s Ecosystems & Wildlife
A Voice for Nature, A Conscience for Man

Chuck Davis is a world-renowned artist, natural history photographer, and filmmaker.  In a career that spans over 40 years, he has filmed in worldwide locations, including Arctic Alaska, Greenland and the frigid waters of the Antarctic, as well as the humid climate of the Amazon.  Earning degrees from UMass Amherst and Brooks Institute in fisheries biology and filmmaking, respectively, Davis has combined his love and knowledge of art and science to bring the underwater world to people in a more artistic way, one that gives them a new appreciation and understanding for the majesty of the underwater world.

His filming credits include work on several IMAX productions, including two Academy Award-nominated films, Alaska: Spirit of the Wild and The Living Sea.  Davis also worked as a cinematographer and still photographer on numerous expeditions with the Cousteau filming teams aboard vessels Alcyone and Calypso, working with the late Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his son Jean-Michel on a variety of projects over the years.  Davis’ still photography has been widely exhibited in museums and galleries and published in magazines such as LIFE, Lenswork, B&W, Silvergrain Classics, National Geographic, ORION, and BBC Wildlife, and he is the author/photographer of California Reefs (Chronicle Books).

Widely known for his analog still imagery, Chuck Davis brings complexity and nuance to each subject he photographs.  A master of light, line, and tone, Davis brings viewers to a deeper understanding of environments and subjects such as California kelp forests, smacks of sea nettle jellyfish, or migrating mobula rays. In addition to his excellence behind the lens, Chuck is also a master of the darkroom, known for spending hours perfecting single prints. Utilizing a variety of advanced developing techniques, he masterfully adjusts the tonal and granular compositions within his images, creating visual art that challenges what we think we know about the underwater world, and illuminating those beliefs to truly artistic levels. Recently, Davis’ work was included in a ground-breaking exhibition, Vital Waters, curated by Ansel Adams’ daughter-in-law Jennean F. Adams, that also featured images from other acclaimed and revered photographers, including Ansel Adams, Ernie Brooks and Ryujie Douglas. One of Chuck’s images was a humpback whale as it breached off the shore of Monterey Bay, in which Davis expertly interpreted the available light and, as the sun settled beneath the clouds, captured an image that is more reminiscent of moonlight rather than daylight.

Chuck Davis is a true pioneer of the underwater world, creating visual masterpieces that not only capture the magnificence of the ocean and its’ inhabitants, but also conjure spiritual refuges that inspire all of us to better understand, and protect, this delicate ecological habitat for the health of our planet.

Chuck is a member of the Boston Sea Rovers, and we are honored to present him with our highest award.  The inscription on the Paul Revere silver bowl reads:

Chuck Davis
Passionate Master Image Maker

Majestically Capturing & Preserving
The Mystique of the Underwater World

Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble are world renowned wildlife filmmakers who have lived and worked in East Africa creating ground-breaking stories for over 30 years. Their films celebrate biodiversity and the inter-connectivity of the natural environment, and they have dedicated their lives to bringing awareness of the fragility of nature to audiences around the globe. This husband and wife team produce ‘authored’ films – they both direct, film, produce and write their own work. They are respected for their ability to immerse themselves in their subjects – typically living on location with a small, dedicated team for 2 years to shoot each film. They are both accomplished divers and pilots, and loving parents who brought up their two sons while living in remote wilderness sites throughout Africa. Their films have garnered more than 100 international awards and they have received numerous prestigious honors for their contributions to wildlife film making, earth science and on behalf of the wildlife on land, and within the sea. Awards include Emmys®, Peabodys®, Griersons, and numerous Best of Festivals including Jackson Hole, and the UK Documentary awards. The Wildscreen Festival, the world’s leading international festival for nature films, has also presented numerous awards to Deeble and Stone throughout the years, including Best Cinematography and ‘Green Oscars’, and in awarding their Golden Panda award for the best film of the festival for “A Little Fish in Deep Water”.

Mark and Vicky’s filming and choice of subject has always been driven by conservation and their passion for the natural world. The couple build outreach and educational programs around their films which include translating the films into other languages, donating the broadcast rights to the countries in which they are made, and working on the ground with local conservation groups. They’ve recently completed their first feature, the award- winning “The Elephant Queen”, which became the first feature film to be purchased and released by Apple plus.  Their now-classic wildlife film “Mzima: Haunt of the Riverhorse” was awarded Gold at the prestigious Peabody Awards. This evocative documentary combined powerful storytelling with uncompromised production values and specialist cinematography that took audiences into the underwater realm of two of Africa’s most dangerous animals, the hippopotamus and the crocodile. Filmmakers Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone spent two years documenting the remarkable way in which a family of hippos brought life to Kenya’s crystal-clear Mzima spring. Using cutting edge diving techniques and an underwater camera system they devised, Deeble and Stone chronicle the intimate behavior of these animals, much of it new to biologists. Their film reveals the intricate pyramid of life supported by the hippos and the astonishing animal behavior hidden beneath the surface of Mzima. A seemingly simple story, this visually stunning documentary resonates well beyond the banks of an oasis in the African bush to link all nature.

Whether at risk from being attacked by cobras or stomped on by elephants while entombed for 12 hours a day baking beneath the brilliant African sun, lying still in a man-made tunnel within inches of submerged hungry hippos, or flying above a vicious sandstorm searching for the lone runway buried beneath a layer of dust, this dynamic duo have been risking their health, and sanity, for over three and half decades to capture images others could barely comprehend. For this, and so much, much, more, it is with great pride that the Boston Sea Rovers award our 2021 Walter Feinberg Memorial Diver of the Year Award.

The inscription on the Paul Revere silver bowl reads:

Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble

Passionate Conservationists & Visionaries Creating Breathtaking Images that Capture the Glory of Wildlife About, and Within, the Wild Waters of Africa

One of the great Sea Rovers, Joe Hohmann is a true American legend, and a hero for us all.  Joe has been actively involved with this club since 1958, when he first volunteered to help out with one of the early clinics.  His excitement for diving and passion for life is as strong now as it was over sixty years ago.  Joe enlisted in the US Navy in 1955 after the Korean War as a Gunner’s Mate, quickly volunteered for additional training, and soon found himself trying out for the Underwater Demolition Teams.  During the brutal training in Virginia, Joe held the obstacle course record for 3 months, and he was the only trainee to ever make it across the Death Trap during Hell Week.  He served as a member of UDT 21, stationed in Little Creek, VA – the noted group that would later become SEAL Team Four in 1983.  Leaving the Navy and anxious to find exciting things to keep him busy as a civilian, he found out about the Boston Sea Rovers, and that partnership provided Joe with plenty of excitement over the next several decades, both in and out of the water.

Over the ensuing years, Joe completed 5 Boston Marathons, and dove year-round in New England and beyond.  One of the very first divers to explore the wreck of the U-853 off RI, he was part of one of the first non-commercial explorations of the Andrea Doria in 1967.  As he recalled of that dive later, “It was still in very good shape, with rows and rows of portholes as far as the eyes could see.  We didn’t get much off it except great memories.  After Gimbel and Cousteau, we were probably only the 3^rd or 4^th group to ever visit the wreck.”  In the late ‘70’s, Joe notched another first, being one of the very first divers to visit the wreck of the Chester Poling, that had gone down just a few short months earlier.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was directly involved with three different underwater habitat projects, including the Early Bird project on the Doria and the FLARE project with U. Miami off Florida.  He was also one of seven Boston Sea Rovers that were the 24/7 support divers for the EDALHAB project with WHOI and UNH, a four-day saturation diving effort in a habitat placed in 70’ of water off the Isles of Shoals, in April of 1971.  Not the best time of year to be making repetitive dives in wetsuits to re-supply the 3 UNH students, that’s for sure!  Joe has had numerous jobs throughout his career, including working as a commercial diver for 30 years in Boston Harbor.  Some of the more memorable jobs that he undertook were dealing with a variety of issues with the Deer Island sewerage pipeline, making in-water repairs to the oil tanker City Service Baltimore, and repairing the pilings, hardware and water intakes for other notable fixtures in the harbor such as Pier 4 and Hook’s Lobster Pound.  He also worked as an arborist, spending many years high above the ground, bringing monster trees down, one limb at a time.  To this day, Joe still feels that his most important accomplishment lies even closer to home, and is a proud husband, father and grandfather.  But perhaps, it is also his ability to bring out the best in others, as fellow club member Bob Ballard credited Joe for giving him the inspiration to go and find the Titanic (although, to be honest, Joe really didn’t think he could do it….).

For all these deeds, and countless other acts of kindness and unselfishness, it is with great pride that the Boston Sea Rovers award our 2020 Walter Feinberg Memorial Diver of the Year Award to Joe Hohmann.  The inscription on the Paul Revere silver bowl reads:

Joe Hohmann

The Living Spirit of the Boston Sea Rovers

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

Joe Romeiro is a multi-award winning professional underwater cinematographer, as well as a producer, director, editor, photographer, artist, and shark researcher. He has worked as a T.V. show presenter for many of the world’s top production companies and networks including The BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Communications, Facebook, Oprah Winfrey Network/OWN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, FOX and Lionsgate Pictures. He has been a regular on Discovery Channels SHARKWEEK and National Geographic’s SHARKFEST. Joe is one of the founders of the Atlantic Shark Institute, a member of the Explorer’s Club, Ocean Artists Society and a Boston Sea Rover. He has worked with many of the top scientists in the field of shark research and behavior earning a reputation as a highly respected shark naturalist with over a decade of experience filming and interacting with different sharks from all over the world. The inscription on his bowl reads:

 STORY TELLER, ADVENTURER, CINEMATOGRAPHER,

FOCUSING ON THE BEAUTY OF SHARKS, ONE FRAME AT A TIME

It was 1982, when at the young age of 11, Berkley White first learned to dive. In fact, it was a bit of a business venture. His grandfather paid for his certification course so the two of them could go into business together doing light salvage around Possum Kingdom Lake, in Texas. Berkley took out a $250 loan from the bank that his business partner (aka grandfather) co-signed, and with that money he invested in his first set of Healthways scuba gear. His grandfather lined up the work and Berkley recovered keys, fishing rods, rings, or whatever someone wanted retrieved from the lake bottom, and in two years he had paid off his loan. This was not only the start of his lifelong focus on diving, but also his start as an entrepreneur. As a kid he was inspired by Jacques Cousteau and he wanted to explore the world’s oceans. In middle school he had an opportunity to attend Seacamp where his eyes were opened to the fact that there were other kids his age that were into diving too. Berkley went on to attend Humbolt State University, located north of San Francisco. There he studied marine biology and became very active with the diving program. He began masters level study there, but dropped out to pursue his interest in photography, as he had dreams of becoming a “big underwater photo guy.” He went to work for Norbert Wu and met Ernie Brooks during that time. He and Ernie bonded immediately and Ernie became his photographic mentor. At the same time he went to work for a brand new company, Light & Motion. He was their first employee and slept in the same space where he built their products, so he could save up the money to buy more gear.

On a whim he started Backscatter. He wound up with the old Light & Motion space in Monterey, as they had grown so big, they had moved into a new facility. Located right on the bay, he started renting his own photo gear to local divers. He named the business ‘Backscatter’ because that’s mostly what the local divers photographed! By 1994 the business had started to take off and he was not only renting gear, but also making retail sales. Today Backscatter is the world’s largest underwater camera store, and Berkley not only sells gear to most of the world’s top photographers, but even more important, people look to him for advice not only on what gear to buy, but on how to use it. His calm manner and willingness to share his knowledge have made him one of the most sought after photo sages in the underwater world.

Not only do people seek his advice, but his stunning images and videos as well. His photographs have been published in every dive magazine from Skin Diver, to Scuba Diving, Sport Diver, DAN, Fathoms, and more. He’s worked as tech support and cameraman for BBC, Nature, PBS, Discovery, ABC and numerous film projects.

Berkley is a regular attendee, Associate Rover, and a huge supporter of the Boston Sea Rovers. He and Backscatter are sponsors of our new initiative to reduce plastic waste at our show. This year the Boston Sea Rovers would like to acknowledge Berkley White for his commitment to diving, underwater image making, and the protection of the world’s oceans. The inscription on his bowl reads:

PHOTOGRAPHIC SAGE, ARTIST AND ADVENTURER,

DIVING ENTREPRENEUR, AND PROTECTOR OF THE OCEANS

The Boston Sea Rovers are known throughout the world as the Dive Club that can proudly boast ownership of “The Longest Running Underwater Show on Earth”, but the Club is much, much more than that. The Sea Rovers has always been a team of no more than twenty-five divers, people from diverse and varied backgrounds who share the common bond of a love for scuba, and for the world’s waters and all its inhabitants and secrets. They are divers first, and showmen second. Throughout the past six and a half decades, hundreds of members have come and gone. Some have been involved as active members or Associates for decades, and others have helped for a few years before moving on, but there has only been one constant member directly involved with the club since the earliest days until now. 

Don DeSantis was one of the earliest members of the club,and helped produce the first Sea Rovers Clinic, which in fact was the very first diving related shows in the country. At the time, diving underwater was so new and radical, most didn’t even consider it a sport and the term SCUBA hadn’t even been invented yet. There were no national training organizations or instruction manuals, and the Boston Y was one of the very few institutions in the country that offered even rudimentary training guidelines. In the first decade, the Clinics were more of an educational event, and a venue for sharing the latest advance in training and techniques from around the country. As diving became more mainstream, and ocean exploration and discoveries continued to make headlines across the country, Sea Rovers Clinics became the main event of the underwater world. Throughout those years, Don DeSantis remained a strong presence, first as an officer of the club directly involved in day to day operations, and later as a member of the Board of Directors, providing a steady hand on the tiller, ensuring that all of the new members stayed true to the original intentions and goals of the club.

The Boston Sea Rovers have been seen at the top of the world, at the bottom of the sea, on some of the most famous wrecks in history, in some of the most experimental equipment designed for underwater exploration, and, as always, enjoying the challenges and joys of the underwater world. The Club would not be here today if it were not for the scores o f hard working members whom have donated countless hours of their time behind the scenes to keep the show going since 1955.

One of the very first, and hardest working o f those members has been Don DeSantis, who recently retired from the Board of Directors after sixty-three years of service to the Club. On behalf of all Rovers, past, present and future, we are proud to recognize his contributions to this organization,and pledge to continue the fine example he’s established. The Boston Sea Rovers are honored to present him with our highest award, complete with the following inscription:

FOR PROVIDING A GUIDING HAND AND

A N EVEN KEEL, ENSURING THAT THE

GOOD SHIP SEA ROVER

HAS REMAINED ON COURSE

FOR OVER SIXTY YEARS.

Photo: In 1956, Jacques Yves Cousteau came to MIT to meet with Doc Edgerton, a Sea Rover Associate. Doc invited the Rovers to attenda special viewing of “The Silent World”, a year before it won the Academy Award. This photo, taken at the event, shows the Rovers with JYC. Don DeSantis is kneeling on the far right.

Dr. Gregory Skomal is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, aquarist, and author. He has been a senior fisheries biologist with Massachusetts Marine Fisheries since 1987 and currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program (MSRP). He i s also adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford, MA, and an adjunct scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOl) in Woods Hole, MA. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. from Boston University. Through the MSRP, Greg has been actively involved in the study of life history, ecology, and physiology of sharks. His shark research has spanned multiple locations around the globe, taking him from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to coral reefs in the tropical Central Pacific. Much of his current research centers on the use of acoustic telemetry, satellite-based technology, and underwater vehicles to study shark ecology and behavior. He has written dozens of scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film and television documentaries, including programs for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, ESPN, and numerous television networks. Most recently, he has headed up the research efforts to study great white sharks off Cape Cod, MA. Greg w s also the lead biologist for a series of Discovery Channel projects, which involved the tracking of white sharks using a REMUS100 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) called SHARKCAM. Working with WHOI engineers off the coasts of Chatham, MA and Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Greg and his team were the first to follow and film sharks using an AUV. Greg has been an avid SCUBA diver and underwater photographer since 19 78. Although his research passion for the last twenty-five years has centered on sharks, he has been an avid aquarist for over four decades having written eleven books on aquarium keeping. His most recent book,The Shark Handbook, is a must buy for all shark enthusiasts. He is a Boston Sea Rover, and his home and laboratory are on the south coast of Massachusetts.

Now, in 2016, the Boston Sea Rovers are honored to present him with our highest award, complete with the following inscription:

SCIENTIST – RESEARCHER – ENVIRONMENTALIST

FOR STUDYING, DEFENDING & PROTECTING

“THE DENIZENS OF THE DEEP”

Marine biologist, award-winning cinematographer and film director Rick Rosenthal has spent more than a quarter of a century exploring the worlds’ oceans with a camera. However, even before he started his successful career behind the lens, he was destined for a career in, on, or near the ocean. While in college, he was hired by Sea World of San Diego where he was the first trainer of the park’s pilot whale. This experience led him to pursue graduate studies in marine biology and oceanography, earning a Masters in zoology with California State University at San Diego, and Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Leaving California and his work as a marine biologist at Westinghouse Ocean Research Laboratory and Scripps, Rick moved to Alaska, where he became a pioneer in underwater research. As a scientist, Rick has written and published 45 scientific papers, reports and popular articles on marine biology, ecology and animal behavior, but began filming underwater when he realized that he wasn’t reaching enough people with his research. Underwater camerawork played an essential part in h is marine studies. Aiming to share his observations with the wider world, Rick turned to filmmaking and television, and has since gone on to capture some of the most challenging wildlife subjects on our planet. Early in his film career, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) took Rosenthal under its wing and helped him develop as a cinematographer. “They gave me a few little assignments, and the rest is history,” he says. Rosenthal was principal cameraman for BBC’s landmark Blue Planet series and the feature films Deep Blue, A Turtles Journey and Disney’s Earth. He filmed on BBC’s blockbuster series Planet Earth and was awarded his second Emmy for cinematography in 2010 for his work on BBC’s LIFE series. His films also include three award-winning programs on the great whales, Riddle of the Right Whale, Humpback Whales and Sperm Whales Back From the Abyss shot for the British television network, BBC. Rick’s film, Superfish, described his own quest to find and film the fastest predator in the sea. His follow-on film, Hot Tuna, was an extremely challenging endeavor to film the natural history of bluefin, yellowfin and skipjack tunas in the wild. Both films are narrated by the celebrated Sir David Attenborough, and were shared worldwide, including over 10 million people in Japan tuning in on a single evening. Despite his long career in the water, Rosenthal still gets an adrenaline rush every time he goes to work. “We never know what we’re going to see – and that’s the great part.”Now, in 2015, the Boston Sea Rovers are honored to present him with our highest award, complete withthe following inscription:

SCIENTIST – CINEMATOGRAPHER – EXPLORER

COMBINING SCIENCE AND ART

TO CREATE MAGICAL UNDERWATER

EXPERIENCES FOR MANKIND

Dr. Greg Stone is one of the world’s leading authorities on marine conservation policy and ocean health issues, and the Boston Sea Rovers are proud to have him as a member, and to announce that he is our 2014 Diver of the Year. Born in Boston and nurtured in the cold waters of New England, Greg is a lifelong scientific explorer and a prolific diver. Throughout his career, he has logged over 8,000 dives in every sea on Earth, has lived underwater for 30 days in a habitat and has dived to 18,000 feet i n submersibles. For the past 30 years, Dr. Stone’s career has integrated marine science, conservation, policy and communications. Since the early 1990’s, Dr. Stone has been a pioneer in marine conservation, on a national and international scale. He created a new paradigm for aquariums by establishing an aquarium-based marine conservation program, and has created and implemented international ocean conservation policies that have helped save marine species throughout the Atlantic and Pacific basins. He has worked with science advisors to Presidents George H. Bush and Bill Clinton, and he was appointed to the Japanese Prime Minister’s council for advanced technologies. While a NOAA official overseas, Dr. Stone negotiated international ocean science agreements between the United States and Japan. In related work, realizing the need for broad public communication in achieving marine conservation goals, Dr. Stone initiated and produced an award-winning series of conservation films with author Peter Benchley, and he leads ocean expeditions with The National Geographic Society.

Greg has a passion for marine technology and for communicating his work to the broader public. He was senior editor of the Marine Technology Society Journal for six years, and is considered the world’s leading author on New Zealand’s Hector’s dolphin – one of the most endangered species on the planet. He is an undersea technology and exploration specialist using deep-sea submersibles, has produced an award-winning series o f marine conservation films, and has lectured throughout the world. Greg has also written prolifically for science and popular publications including Nature and National Geographic Magazine. He is a National Fellow of the Explorers Club, a recipient of the Pew Fellowship for Marine Conservation, an honorary associate professor at the Leigh Marine Laboratory at  the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He was awarded the National Science Foundation/U.S. Navy Antarctic Service medal for research in the Antarctic, and hi s book “Ice Island” was awarded the 2003 National Outdoor Book Award for Nature and the Environment. Since 2000, Greg has led the effort to create the world’s largest marine protected area around the Phoenix Islands i n Kiribati using, for the first time, market-based mechanisms to conserve ocean biodiversity, which encourage economic opportunity for local communities. For this accomplishment he was named one of Nation Geographic Society’s Heroes of 2007 and is considered an authority on these innovative marine conservation models. He holds degrees in marine science, marine policy, and human ecology. To date he has written several award-winning books, and he is widely published the scientific literature. He has appeared in National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentaries and has given an invited TED talk.

Greg continues to be a leading voice urging the world to embrace conservation, and protect our marine environments. As a crusader for the ocean, the Boston Sea Rovers are honored to present him with our highest award, the Walter Feinberg Memorial Diver of the Year Award, complete with the following inscription:

SCIENTIST – CONSERVATIONIST

ENVIRONMENTAL PIONEER

PROTECTOR & GUARDIAN

OF THE UNDERWATER WORLD

“Just Because Someone Gives You a Degree Doesn’t Mean You’re Done Learning”

There are only a few names in the diving, marine industry, and oceano­graphic community that people immediately associate with a product, a science, or a technology. When you hear Jacques Cousteau – you think of diving. When you hear Marty Klein – you think of Side Scan Sonar, and a high probability of success in the difficult fields of underwater search, dis­covery, & recovery. For nearly fifty years, Marty has been at the forefront of the conception, design, improvement, and implementation of some of the most sophisticated and successful pieces of equipment ever developed to explore the ocean’s depths. His equipment has been used to find count­ less shipwrecks in all corners of the world, including some of the most historic, oldest, and richest wrecks ever lost by man over the past 4,000 years. He credits meeting (Sea Rover) Harold Edgerton with sending him in the direction that was to become his career. “When I was a senior at MIT in ’62, I visited Doc Edgerton’s lab and asked if he had anything interesting to work on,” he recalls. “My life was never the same again.” It certainly wasn’t, and within just six years of finishing college, Marty had founded Klein Associates, a company whose name quickly became synonymous with excellance in side scan sonar.

In 1967, Klein assisted pioneer underwater archaeologist George F. Bass in the discovery of a 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck off southwest Turkey – the first ancient shipwreck found using remote sensing. From that point, side scan, and in particular Klein Side Scan sonars, have been used to help find most of the famous shipwrecks that we are all familiar with – the Titanic, the Breadalbane, the Lusitania, the Atocha, Benedict Arnold’s gunboat in Lake Champlain and countless others. It was also used to find the remains of the Space Shuttle Challenger, downed aircraft including TWA Flt 800, Swiss Air Flt 111, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane off the coast of Mass, and Egypt Air 990, among countless others. The value and practical use of side scan sonar goes well beyond ship­ wrecks, and it has been the cornerstone piece of equipment for the offshore energy industry, as all ocean drilling and energy production requires detailed ocean bottom survey work. As the vast global network of undersea tele­ communications continues to expand, the role of side-scan also grows, as the necessary precise surveys would not be possible without the pioneering efforts of Marty, and his world-renowned company.

Despite the success that Martin Klein has experienced as a gifted engineer, entrepreneur and explorer, he still thinks of himself as a student. Marty’s quote at the top of this page, spoken decades after his formal education ended at MIT, epitomizes how he still continues to lead by example. He is an inspiration and ideal role model for the numerous students and professionals that he comes in contact with through his tireless volunteering efforts to local, national, and international communities, donating his time and expertise to a myriad of projects and organizations. In 2006 Marty received one of the Marine Technology Society’s highest honors, the Compass Distin­guished Achievement Award, presented for outstanding contributions to the advancement of marine science and technology. This was just one of the many awards that he has so justly deserved. Now, in 2011, the Boston Sea Rovers are honored to present him with our highest award, the Walter Feinberg Memorial Diver of the Year Award, complete with the following inscription:

ENGINEER – INVENTOR – EXPLORER

THE GODFATHER OF SIDE SCAN SONAR FOR DEVELOPING THE TECHNOLOGY

THAT UNLOCKED THE SECRETS OF THE DEEP

Photo: Marty with Sea Rover Expedition Flag#3 in 2005, on site in Loch Ness, Invernesshire, Scotland. Together with fellow Sea Rover Gary Kozak, the team successfuly compeletd a side scan sonar map of the entire Loch in one pass, searching for the remains (carcass) of Nessie. None were found.

“Each year since 1956 the Sea Rovers have looked up and out into the underwater world to find a person who has made a significant contribution to diving for our Diver of the Year award.  One rule has always been that the award could not be made to “a present Rover”.  But rules are made to be broken,and there could be no more appropriate person to be the first Walter Feinberg Diver of the Year than Frank Scalli.  He is “a man dedicated to the support of diving and extending a helping hand to his fellow man”.

 Frank has always been a leader, a pioneer, one who simply goes ahead, knowing you will follow.  He used SCUBA first in the Army in 1952, and was one of the first Sea Rovers in 1954.  In 1957 he became a partner in the “Kay G”, an early, infamous wreck diving boat out of Boston.  Frank was the first New England YMCA Instructor in 1959, and a member of the National YMCA SCUBA committee.  In 1961 he began marketing for U.S.Divers Co.; in 1983 he was the world wide marketing manager for U.S.D. Corp., the parent company in Los Angeles.  He was the only person to be on he Board of Directors of YMCA SCUBA, NAUI and PADI simultaneously – he has been a force in SCUBA diving.

 Frank was a founder of the Cousteau Society, and has received the Underwater Society of America NOGI award for outstanding service to diving.  Here in Boston, Frank helped found SEAMARK, the annual fund raiser that had by 1983 contributed over $79,000 to the Cotting School for Handicapped Children, and is on the School’s Board of Directors.  He has been President, Treasurer, and Clinic Chairman of the Sea Rovers ( ed. – By 1993, over $250,00 had been raised).

             Frank had, with Walter Feinberg, been the setter-of-standards for the Club and Clinic, our window on the world of diving whose myriad friends come to educate and to entertain.  He has long been a Diver of Many Years and is the very best person to receive the first Boston Sea Rover’s Walter Feinberg Diver of the Year Award.” (1983 Program Guide)

The engraving on Frank’s Walter Feinberg Diver of the Year Bowl was elegant in its simplicity.

Frank Scalli

 Walter Feinberg Diver of the Year, 1983

A man dedicated to the sport of diving and extending a helping hand to his fellow man

The Diver of the Year Award for 1960 was presented to Dr. George Bond by Club president Jerry O’Neill, two years after he received a special service award from the Sea Rovers. The concept of man living under the sea was completely revolutionary to the diving public, and even the scientific public in 1960, yet Dr. Bond had already spent several years working and studying that very possibility. He eventually earned the loving nickname of “Papa Topside” from Navy divers throughout the world because of his pioneering work and diligent efforts dedicated to deep and saturation diving. The impact of his initial works were summed up in a recent publication regarding the history of diving:

“The concept and more importantly, the demonstration of saturation diving resulted from the efforts of Dr. George F. Bond and his colleagues at the U.S. Navy Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in New London, CT. Through a series of experiments involving rats, goats, monkeys and finally humans from 1957 to 1963 (referred to as the Genesis Experiments),it was shown that once the tissues and blood of the body have absorbed all the nitrogen or other inert gasses at a given depth, the decompression time required at the end of a dive does not increase with additional time spent at that depth. It was these experiments that made the concept of living in the sea more than just a dream.” (A Pictorial History of Diving, Bachrach et. al, 1988)

The inscription on the Diver of the Year Plaque simplistically defined the life work of Dr. Bond, with:

FOR EXTENDING MAN’S CAPABILITIES UNDER THE SEA

.Photo: Dr.George Bond, relaxing after emerging from the training tower at the Submarine Training Base, New  London CT

James Dugan, the Sea Rovers Diver of the Year for 1959, was instrumental in the behind the scenes organization of this event, as so typical was the case with this man. Jim was an organizer, and a doer, as well as an excellent writer. An example of James Dugan’s writing that has stood the test of time, and printed in the Program Guide for the National Convention, was a divers creed named “The Free Divers Code”, as timely and relevant now as it was in 1959 (see Fig. 5-15). His letter of welcome also included in the Conventions Guide is reprinted here as Figure 5-16, as it brings to life the spirit, and significance, of the event.

PRIME MOVER OF THE UNDERWATER SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Photo: James Dugan was the FIRST to “discover” Cousteau introducing  him to the world as a whole, and the Sea Rovers in particular. Here the two are studying fathometer recordings during a1953 Geographic expedition (Nat. Geo., July, ’54, p74)

Jim Cahill was the Club’s local expert, but more than that, he was a good guy – a DDT officer, a great personality, and he was doing well in the diving business. He started New England Divers with Bob Gurette, which would turn out to be the first mega-dive store and dive gear mail order house in the country. The Award was presented by Rover Dick Irvine to Jim:

IN APPRECIATI0N OF YOUR EFFORTS

FOR FURTHERING THE SPORT OF 

SKIN DIVING IN NEW ENGLAND

On July 25th, 1956, the day that the Andrea Doria sank, Peter Gimbel was on the phone to the editors of LIFE, making agreements for an exclusive story for the first underwater photos. The next day, in heavy fog, he was on a chartered fishing boat out of Nantucket (it took all afternoon to find one that would agree to the trip) heading towards the site with a quickly picked team, which included his wife Mary, his twin brother David, newsman Robert McKeon, and his dive partner Joseph Fox. They managed to find the wreck site relatively easily because it was marked by leaking oil and a yellow drum left by the Coast Guard the day before. Less than 28 hours after the ocean liner sank, Peter and his partner pushed the two hose regulator and double tanks to the limits of their design. When on the wreck, Peter had only taken 8 shots before Fox was signaling that he was having serious problems. Fox was suffering from CO2 build-up, and almost passed out while on the wreck. Peter grabbed Fox and raced to the surface. Fox survived, but only because of Gimbel’s swift and heroic actions. Peter had some pictures, but the story was not yet over. The boat ran out of fuel on the way back in, and Peter had to swim the quarter-mile to shore, borrow a reluctant islander’s phone, and make plans to get help out to the boat, and the film to New York. LIFE sent out two planes to the island for the film in case one had problems, and the Coast Guard dispatched a boat for a tow (Gentile, 1989). The mission was a success and the pictures graced the next issue of LIFE magazine, marking just the first of many expeditions that Peter led out to the “Everest” of Northeast Wreck Diving. Because of his diving skills and prowess exhibited by being the first diver in the world to see the Doria underwater, Peter was selected unanimously as the second recipient of the Boston Sea Rovers Diver of the Year in 1957.

Photo:  Peter Gimbel suiting up for his first dive to the Andrea Doria, 28 hours after she sank (from Andrea Doria, Gentile,1989)

The first award of its kind was presented to Edward Pansewitz, a local diver who had recovered the body of an M.I.T. student who had drowned while crossing the frozen surface of the Charles River in Cambridge. The river was reported as forty feet deep and the water the color of Coca Cola. At the time, this was quite an accomplishment. The victim’s fraternity brothers were very grateful and presented the award.  (Feinberg)