2022 Speakers


Ric Mixter - Bottled GoodByes

TV producer, U/W photographer, Shipwreck Researcher & Story Teller


Bottled Goodbyes   Bottled messages have been discovered on shore nearly as long as glass containers have been invented. They bring tidings from ocean voyagers, invitations for pen-pals, tragic attempts for rescue and floating farewells from long lost souls. Based on Ric Mixter’s new book, Bottled Goodbyes chronicles the most famous messages ever recovered, including […] read more...

Ken Merryman - Preserving our Shipwreck Discoveries Using Photogrammetry

Diver, Underwater Videographer


Preserving our Shipwreck Discoveries Using Photogrammetry Ken has just completed his sixth year on what was going to be a five-year adventure to circum-navigate the Great Lakes. Livin’ the dream, Ken spends all summer cruising from dive site to dive site and lake to lake photographing and making photogrammetry models of the wrecks that are […] read more...

Tamara Thomsen - The Cave Where I Live: Perspectives of a Midwest Cave Diver

Maritime Archaeologist, Dive Shop Owner & Instructor


With more than 2,500 cave dives logged over the last thirty years, Tamara Thomsen will share stories of cave diving, training, exploration, and science from caves around the world to those right in our own backyards. read more...

Katrina Colby - Traveling During a Pandemic: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Tips and Tales

Nurse by trade, Traveler at heart


For many people, including myself, traveling is our livelihood.  It keeps us excited to connect to different cultures, experience new things, dip in the ocean and it helps renews us.  However, this pandemic has put a major damper on travel, and with all of the travel restrictions it is often difficult to know what is […] read more...

Jeff Ginther - Cayman Island Diving

Midwest Sales Representative


Cayman Islands is one of the premier diving destinations in the Caribbean. Explore the Cayman Islands above and below the water, then and now. Who better to guide you than an expert from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism? Jeff Ginther will enlighten and entertain you with his highlights of the Cayman Islands. read more...