GUE Conference 2006
GUE was proud to host the second annual GUE Conference on Nov. 3-5, 2006 in Gainesville, FL; attendance included a very diverse group of supporters from all around the world.
Conference 2006 activities started on Nov. 2 with two events. The first was a Demo Day held at Manatee Springs, sponsored by DUI, GUE, Halcyon, and Extreme Exposure Adventure Center. Participants enjoyed a full day of testing DUI and Halcyon equipment while diving at Manatee springs exceptional conditions; guests were treated to a great BBQ feast prepared by the DUI team. The second event was the famous Alachua Aquifer Tour with GUE Science Director, Dr. Todd Kincaid. Todd's unique knowledge and passion for the aquatic environment entertained an engaged crowd of participants. This year, the educational tour concluded with a beautiful canoe trip down the Santa Fe River.
Extreme Exposure hosted our annual Instructor Meeting on Friday morning, providing a productive and positive platform for communications from the Training Committee on recent GUE training updates as well as the introduction of our newest GUE instructors; the introduction included Gideon Liew’s induction into the GUE Training Committee.
Friday evening Jarrod Jablonski opened the Conference with a historical account of open water dive training, including the rationale for GUE’s openwater program. Chris Werner followed by sharing details of the WKPP exploration of the St. Marks River Rise; Casey McKinlay, Project Director of the WKPP, showcasing the impressive 2006 WKPP exploration season. A rough cut of a newly developed DVD was presented for the first time; this DVD contained over an hour of previously un-released video footage from the record-breaking exploration dives at Wakulla and Turner Sink.
Rising before the sun on Saturday & Sunday morning GUE Fitness Director Cameron Martz treated attendees with a running workshop including gait analysis; other enthusiastic participants joined Evolve Pilates trainers Renee Neuman and Sonya Tittle at the Hilton for an energizing session.
The reaming late sleepers joined conference proceedings that started with Dr. David Doolette sharing his insight into the Contributory Effects of DCS – his research experience at the US Navy facility provided some fascinating discussion points amongst the attendees. GUE’s Science Director, Dr. Todd Kincaid followed by discussing the Global Implications of water management issues within the Woodville Karst Plain. Bob Stinton of DUI gave an entertaining and informative talk on the Evolution of Thermal Protection, introducing the topic with images of early dry suits and some unique history. Joining us from Italy, Paolo Passalacqua and GUE Training Committee member Mario Arena presented a fascinating report full of rich, historical detail from their Pantelleria exploration of ancient amphorae found on the Mediterranean sea floor. Continuing on our global exploration journey, Danny Riordan and Christophe LeMaillot, GUE Training Committee Member, shared with us the unique cave environments they have been exploring in the Yucatan region of Mexico.
Other main presentations included an overview of the recent trends in Recompression Science with Gene Hobbs, a review with exceptional photos and video footage of the exploration done in Narvik by GUE Training Committee member, Richard Lundgren and his group Ocean Discovery. Attendees also enjoyed an in-depth review of Global Considerations for Conservation and Ecology given by Dr. Tom Sawicki. The collection of unique and educational presentations continued with an impressive presentation from UF Researcher & professor, Dr. Stephen Mulkey, on the Effects of Global Warming on the Hydrologic cycle.
This year we introduced a series of Break Out sessions designed to add some diversity and a bit of choice for the attendees. These included:
- Professional Diving Ethics with Dr. Panos Alexakos
- GUE Photography Basics with Sonya Tittle
- Halcyon Repair Clinic with Corey Smith
- Gavin Maintenance and Repair with Dean Marshall
- Dive Planning & Decompression with Jarrod Jablonski
- Survey Techniques with Dr. Todd Kincaid & Fred Devos
- Regulators 101 with David Rhea
- Geologic Highlights of the Florida Aquifers with Dr. Todd Kincaid
- Doppler: What is it and how to use it with Gene Hobbs
- Advanced Photography Documentation with David Rhea
- Extreme Team Dive Planning with WKPP coordinators Mark Messersmith & Todd Leonard
- Evolved Fitness for Dives with Renee Neuman and Sonya Tittle
- Getting the most out of DecoPlanner 3 and Dplan with Todd Leonard & Andreas Hagberg
- Extreme Science with Dr.Todd Kincaid
- Science Diving with Rick Gomez
- Nutrition for Divers with Cameron Martz
- GUE Facilities with Sonya Tittle
Following the main conference, a group set out for Wakulla Springs with Dr. Todd Kincaid to enjoy a personalized tour of this remarkable region.
The 2006 conference was a wonderful success and the GUE Staff would like to acknowledge the dedication and generosity of our presenters as well as the wonderful support of our participants. Your involvement and energy made this year’s conference a great success and we look forward to the 2007 GUE conference. Details will follow for the next conference in the coming months – we look forward to seeing you there.
See images from the 2006 GUE conference taken by Marciano Moreno, David Rhea, Sonya Tittle and Barry Mutch
here.
For a report on the GUE 2005 Conference, click
here.
