NYC-Based Dive Club and Women Divers Hall of Fame Celebrate Club's Founding with Seminar Series and Evening Gala to Benefit OCEANA

September 10, 2008, New York, NY-Oceanblue Divers - "America's Ultimate Scuba Diving Club," and the Women Divers Hall of Fame will celebrate the second anniversary of the dive club's founding with a Daytime Seminar Series and an Evening Gala in Manhattan on Saturday, October 11. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the ocean advocacy organization OCEANA and the Women Divers Hall of Fame scholarship program.

"Oceanblue Divers has grown by leaps and bounds in the past two years, so it's only fitting that our Anniversary Party has also grown," said founder and president Michael Feld. "Last year, we had a great evening event with Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. This year, we're thrilled to join with the Women Divers Hall of Fame to make it an all-day celebration with the addition of our seminar series."

The Daytime Seminar Series will be presented at the Bleecker Street Theater, 45 Bleecker Street in New York, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The slate of presenters includes:

• Stan Waterman, legendary underwater cinematographer and author, shows his newest video from a recent trip to the Philippines, and moderates a screening of Michele and Howard Hall's IMAX movie Island of the Sharks.


• Underwater explorer, writer and photographer Anne L. Doubilet, a Fellow and Board Member of the Explorers Club, presents the photographic journey "From the Ends of the Earth: Papua New Guinea to the Arctic."


• CAPT (retired) Bobbie Scholley, US Navy, a former Navy diver who led underwater recovery efforts for TWA Flight 800 and the USS Cole bombing, shares her experience raising the turret of the historic wreck of the USS Monitor.


• Martha Watkins Gilkes, president of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and Explorers Club Fellow, talks about Caribbean wrecks and the writing of her book Shipwrecks of the Caribbean.


• Bonnie Toth, Women Divers Hall of Fame Chair, presents "Diving LARGE on the West Coast," a discussion about diving with humpback whales and white sharks.


• Andrea Zaferes, vice president of dive rescue training organization Lifeguard Systems, discusses public diving safety.

The Evening Gala will take place at BLVD, 199 Bowery in New York, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Stan Waterman and the rest of the Daytime Seminar Series presenters, along with many other dive industry professionals and VIPs, will be on hand to mix and mingle with attendees. The evening's festivities will include a one-hour open bar, a silent auction and a raffle of such items as dive trips, training courses, scuba equipment and more.

Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance at www.oceanbluedivers.net/anniversary, or in person on the day of the event. Tickets are available individually for either the Daytime Seminar Series or the Evening Gala, or as a combined Package. Advance ticket prices start at $35 (Seminars), $40 (Gala) and $65 (Package) until September 12; prices increase at regular intervals until the day of the event. Full ticket price schedule is available at www.oceanbluedivers.net/anniversary.

About Oceanblue Divers:
Founded in 2006 by diving enthusiast Michael Feld, Oceanblue Divers is a New York Citybased organization dedicated to bringing divers of all experience levels together to enjoy social and educational events, participate in local dive excursions, travel to the best dive destinations on the planet, learn about the underwater world and marine ecology issues, and continue their dive training. Serving nearly 1,200 members, the group is the tri-state area's largest and fastestgrowing dive club.

About Women Divers Hall of Fame:
The Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) is an international non-profit professional honor society whose member's contributions span a wide variety of fields. WDHOF's two-part mission is to (1) recognize women divers who have made outstanding contributions to the exploration, understanding, safety and enjoyment of our underwater world; and (2) support the underwater world and its associated careers by promoting opportunities for women and men in diving through scholarships, internships and mentorship opportunities and a worldwide network of industry contacts.

About Stan Waterman (Director and star of Sharkwater):
A pioneer of underwater cinematography, Stan Waterman first started filming his diving exploits in the 1950s and 60s. His work includes the classic shark film Blue Water, White Death; The Deep, based on Peter Benchley's novel; and a long list of productions for National Geographic, ABC, ESPN and others. He has been recognized with five Emmys, two Gold Medals from the U.K. Underwater Film Festival, and many other honors and awards. His first book, Sea Salt, was published in 2005 and is in its second printing. Mr. Waterman continues to dive, film, lecture and host dive tours.

About OCEANA:
Oceana seeks to make our oceans as rich, healthy and abundant as they were in our grandparents' youth. OCEANA's teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates win specific and concrete policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the irreversible collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life.