March 02, 2005
Day of Aquarius, Aquuuuuaaaariiiuuuuuuhhhhuuuuussss
Well the much anticipated dive at Aquarius was everything it was cracked up to be.
It was but a quick glimpse into the world's only underwater research facility run as a joint collaboration between NOAA and NURC, but the weather was good to us, the underwater visibility was prime, and everybody involved enjoyed a fab dive.
The Sea Hunters shot a scene, and then I descended with Mike and Warren. The research facility itself is approximately 9 x 40 ft, and can house up to six at a time. As is the case with many man made objects (like shipwrecks!) that find themselves in the sea, this human habitat has evolved into a marine habitat.
In just one quick visit, we saw a green moray, a spotted moray, a goliath grouper (huuuge!), another enormous grouper, countless angelfish and parrotfish and then there's all the stuff I missed...suffice to say it was an awesome experience. But I can't do it justice here, you'll just have to check out the video after we cut it tomorrow!
In the meantime, here's a shot of aquanauts on the six bunk decompressing with pure oxygen...pretty sci fi hmmmm?
And a slideshow of our day, to hold you until we get a chance to post the video later tonight.
Posted by livedive at 02:41 AM | Comments (1)
February 27, 2005
What exactly is a Taffrail Log anyway?
Here's a link to a website showing a comparable taffrail log as the one collected from the Queen of Nassau (aka C.G.S. Canada) yesterday. It offers a great description of how a taffrail log was used, and shows what the one we collected may look once she's gone through the conservation process...
Again, the Sea Hunters maintain a policy of never disturbing the shipwrecks they dive, and of not collecting anything from them. On this occasion, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) archaeologist Tane Casserly made a determination to recover this artifact as they had reason to believe that it was in jeopardy of being lost forever by recreational divers. NOAA archeologist Tane Casserley removed the artifact which will now undergo several months of conservation treatment and become a relic of artifacts from the Queen of Nassau being held at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Posted by Christine Barker at 05:14 PM | Comments (1)
Glorious Day for Victorious Dive
Christine here, checking in after a long day at sea with the Sea Hunters.
The seas cooperated today as Mike and Warren made a second attempt at diving the wreck of the Queen of Nassau, or as we Canadians fondly remember her, the warship Canada.
The first attempt, made yesterday, was foiled by the formidable strength of the Gulf-stream current. The National Undersea Research Center's (NURC) scientists called it off, as the current was sufficient enough to swallow the buoys that had been dropped as markers.
The current was still strong today, but not strong enough to keep Warren and Mike from their mission. They dove the over 200 feet required to reach the wreck without incident, using the current to carry them to the wreck instead of lowering themselves down a line. In conjunction with Tane Casserley from NURC, they even recovered an artifact from the wreck. The taffrail log is a historical device that was dragged behind to determine a ship's speed. Jim Delgado was there on deck to receive the artifact and preserve it immediately in saltwater to prevent it drying.
Tomorrow, Mike and Warren will dive the Canada for a second time. Because of the wreck's depth, they can only spend about 20-25 minutes at it each time, and must travel about 27 miles off shore just to get there! Stay tuned, as we will be feeding you video from today's dive any minute now!
Posted by Christine Barker at 01:05 AM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2005
Showering with Strangers
On a dark and lonely night, Seahunter cameraman and sound guy, John Rosborough finds himself showering with a stranger.
Posted by administrator at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
Its ok!!!!! Everyone stay palm! (tree)
Hi out there,
Yesterday Mike and Warren attempted their first dive on the Queen of Nassau, but there was a really bad current so the dive was aborted. Mike told me that had they jumped in and got to the bottom, they would have flown past the wreck so fast that there would be no usable footage. Unusable footage does not make good t.v. shows. That's what these guys are constantly facing, can we get the shot?
So I'm holed up in the condo today, editing clips for Shipwreck Central while Christine follows the Seahunters on their first dive to the Queen of Nassau. Tomorrow there should be clips from her.
If any of you have questions, comments, hate mail, praise for any of the Seahunters crew, or love letters to the Fletchers send them into Shipwreck Central. The good people of SWC will send them to me on the road and I'll get the appropriate character to answer. Or we could shoot a video clip about your specific question.
Here's the crew:
Mike Fletcher - diver / underwater camera / director
Warren Fletcher - diver / underwater camera
Jim Delgado - archaeologist
Marc Pike - director of photography
John Rosborough - audio and cameraman
Christine Barker - host of SWC
Chris Kingston - SWC cameraman and editor and Seahunters editor
...and on that note I'll end with a quote:
"I have no taste for either poverty or honest labour, so writing is the only recourse left for me"
-Hunter S. Thompson ( 1938-2005 )
Posted by Christine Barker at 01:01 PM | Comments (1)
February 25, 2005
Day Two - The suspense is killing us
When we last left them Mike and Warren Fletcher were being evaluated by Doug Kesling, in preparation for the dive on the Queen of Nassau.
Maybe we'll just let Doug say it...
Posted by administrator at 07:09 PM | Comments (0)
Christine vs Aquarius
Hello Everyone
Right now it's 8:30 am. Christine, Jim Delgado and the film crew are diving down to the Aquarius habitat to scout out the location, do some interviews and tell the tale of Shipwreck Central going underwater for the first time.
At this moment they are prepping their gear, which is why you are hearing from me, SWC cameraman and MAT: Chris. Not a whole lot going on other than that. But check in later today to find out who won in the clash of the titans: Christine vs Aquarius.
Bye for now
Chris
Posted by Christine Barker at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
The Sea Hunters are live and in the house...
The Sea Hunters are together again. Well, they're waiting for Jim, and soundman/cameraman/godsgift JohnR is in the shower, but they're ready to embark on the next adventure.
We're pumped about this one. Perfect weather, high-speed internet in the apartment, and some very cool dives coming up, including a visit to Aquarius, the amazing underwater habitat. NURC, NOAA, NUMA, and a whole pile of other acronyms. Will Dirk Pitt show up to dive? Stay tuned. Video cameras galore, an editor on site, and video iChat for quick hits.
Left click on the file to download it. Know any diving buddies? Send it on by email. This is where it is happening. Remember you can subscribe to our RSS feed to catch all the latest updates. Dive with us into the future.
We proudly kick off:
"The Queen of Nassau/HMCS Canada"
Much more to come from now until March 4. Get ready, it's going to be a gas, literally.
(Right click here to download sharable file.)
Posted by administrator at 04:54 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2005
The sea that made me sick
Hello everyone,
I'm writing today to relate the terrible story of your beloved Shipwreck central cameraman becoming seasick. The Seahunters were doing test dives yesterday and I went along to film the clips that you will soon be watching on your computer. The water was green blue and it was a great day for diving. We got to the site and got the boat moored up and that's when this terrible saga began.
The boat was rocking side to side and I was shooting Mike and Warren getting ready. Started to feel a little weird but nothing out of the ordinary. I haven't spent a lot of time on boats. In fact the Seahunters trip to Chile to dive Doterel was my first real voyage on a boat for any length of time. Anyway, as the minutes passed, it kept getting worse. My big mistake was trying NOT to be sick. It only prolonged my agony. The boat was rocking, the sun was blasting down and all I could smell was the diesel fumes of the boat exhaust. Then the moment of truth. It happened. All over the side of the boat. Thankfully the good people at NOAA / NURC are prepared for such incidents and it was washed off quickly by their hose.
Later Mike told me that when he is feeling ill, which happens from time to time in REALLY rough weather, he just lets it fly. Then you feel better right away. Good advice.
It was a humbling experience to say the least. I'd hoped that I would have made it several trips before I got sick. I went through the Straits of Magellan and was ok but Florida got me.
Today Mike and Warren have gone out to do more work up dives. I'm here editing clips for Shipwreck Central. They will be back later this afternoon with word on how it all went. Also Christine and the rest of the film crew will be driving in from Miami so you will start to hear from her in the near future. That's it for now. Keep your eyes on the horizon and a hose at the ready and your days of sailing will be as enjoyable as mine.
Chris
Posted by Christine Barker at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2005
Florida: end of day one
Hello everyone,
It's Chris again. In the absence of Christine for these first few days, I'll be writing in about what is going on with the Seahunters in Florida. This afternoon Mike and Warren went out for the first of a two day evaluation of their skills by NURC. We cruised out of our backyard dock around 11:00 am and set out on a 15 min run to the wreck of Spiegel Grove. This morning I wrote that they were doing test dives on Queen of Nassau and was mistaken.
The boys geared up and the dives got underway sometime around 12:00. They completed the first series close to 5:00pm and are going to finish up the work up dives tomorrow. So far, so good for the Seahunters.
The work up or evaluation dives are done by NURC so that they can see the skill level of divers. The wreck of the Queen of Nassau is in around 240 feet. More than enough water to get yourself killed in if you don't know what you are doing. This makes it safer for everyone.
Posted by Christine Barker at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)
Greetings from Florida
This is Chris, Shipwreck Central cameraman and MAT.
We arrived in Key Largo yesterday and met most of the NURC people we are going to be working with. This Morning Mike and Warren are in the NURC dive shop and are putting together their dive gear for the first of several test dives on the Queen of Nassau. There's a lot of equipment to be put together and tested. We will be running out to the site in a small boat called “Research Diver” it“s a cool boat. The Fletchers are going through dive tests because NURC has a strict set of rules for their divers, and because we are working with them we need to be aware of them. It's pretty cool stuff to see. The dive tanks look like Octopus's with up to three regulators on one tank.
We are staying in a condo owned by NURC. Very nice digs. Palm trees are everywhere and the dock for the dive boats is literally in the backyard. The dive shop I mentioned earlier is on the main floor, just under where we are staying.
Florida will make for a cool Seahunters adventure. Christine. Jim Delgado and the rest of the Seahunters film crew will arrive tomorrow.
We are about to go out on the first test dive so I gotta run. Keep posted for the clips of Mike and Warren's first morning in Key largo.
Posted by Christine Barker at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2005
Episode 2: Halifax- Still No Luggage
Christine Barker arrived in Halifax last night and like all her Shipwreck Central related arrivals her luggage was no where to be found. Stay tuned...




Posted by victoria at 10:38 AM | Comments (1)
February 01, 2005
On the way home
Lan Chile is trying to killllll me, I'm convinced of it. Can you spell c-o-n-s-p-i-r-a-c-y? I felt like they were trying to punish me! Did you guys win my ticket in one of those vending machine games?
So we all flew to Santiago from Punta Arenas yesterday together, and as my connecting flight was late I bade a sad farewell to everyone early. On a lark, our local friend and translator Caroline (sp?) and I decided to check the bowels of the Santiago airport for my luggage. Lo and behold, in the tangle of a mess of orphaned luggage there was my bag. Sad, beaten, torn and bruised, but otherwise intact. The good news is, whoever molested my bag left the film equipment alone! Unhappily though, some of my stuff is gone. It was obvious when I opened it up and my new jacket was conspicuously absent...I put it on top so I could access it quickly. Shoes too...I'll take inventory when I'm a little more coherent. They have good taste, those thieves. I then had to rush back to check in and try to explain how I had suddenly acquired luggage and had to check in again. That was good fun.
Didn't matter though, as the flight to NY was delayed three hours last night. Then when we boarded the plane the lights kept cutting out as the plane kept losing power. Niiiiiiiice, I thought. I had spotted Rodrigo in the airport (he was obvious as the one with the pilot's cap on), so I was watching to see if he stayed on the plane. We had a stopover in Peru to refuel, and in what could only be explained as a suspicious evacuation, we were all boarded onto a bus in the wee hours of the morning as rumors spread of 'something wrong with the plane' or a 'security problem' mumble mumble mumble. There were no announcements, just rumors of being flown to Dallas, waiting in the airport 8 hours for the next plane...terrorist ramblings, the usual. Then suddenly, they announce that we're to board the same plane again. I am beginning to understand the clapping ritual at the end of a flight.
So at about 4 am I'm apprehensively settling back into my same window seat hoping this plane will take me closer to home.
Okay, gotta go for now....fading fast!
ciao
Posted by Christine Barker at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
January 31, 2005
Releasing the Penguins
The crew has left Punta Arenas and is currently in mid-air, expected to arrive home at their various base camps later today.
Our first attempt at shooting and blogging Live from the Dive was a success, albeit a somewhat mixed one. The video's were pretty awesome but various little snafu's with missing gear, separated crew, and troublesome hotel internet connections meant we weren't able to get up quite as many reports as we would have liked. For a first attempt at it though we take our hats off to Christine, and we can't wait to see the other footage she and Chris Kingston shot for us so we can share it here with you in the coming weeks.
The job sounds like it's a lot of fun, and it is, but it's also one of the toughest ones going, long hours under difficult circumstances doing something that is very rarely done, reporting here back to you "Live from the Dive". One of Christine's many tasks is to take the stack of release forms we gave her and make sure that everyone included in her videos signs one. It's one of the joys of the job, endless paperwork and legal clearances. After watching this clip though we're starting to wonder if maybe we should have been a bit clearer in our instructions regarding releases... No doubt about it, Christine is giving us 300%.
Posted by administrator at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2005
In Memory of the Officers and Ship's Company of the HMS Doterel
There is a memorial plaque to the Officers and ships company of the HMS Doterel in Punta Arenas.

You can also find a very interesting discussion about the Bibles that were given to the families of the victims, and the fact that the plaque apparently contains some inaccuracies over in the Shipwreck Central discussion forums.
Posted by administrator at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)
The Penguins of Magellan
Our friend, the Penguin.
The Chonos is back in Punta Arenas and Christine has been able to spend time with the Sea Hunters as Mike and Warren made some night dives on the wreck. Their Internet connection closes for the weekend at noon today, (thanks Austro Internet!), but hopefully Christine will have some time to text blog later today and tomorrow from the dial up connection at the hotel.
Earlier in the trip Christine and Jim Delgado had a chance to visit a penguin colony, and in a change of roles it was Marine Biologist Christine who was able to point out some interesting things about the Magellan Penguin to Archaeologist Jim.
Posted by administrator at 05:36 PM | Comments (1)
January 28, 2005
Surveying The Wreck of the Ambassador
I had the most amazing experience a few days ago. Jim Delgado, marine archaeologist extraordinaire, and I went to the beached wreck of the Ambassador. This fascinating shipwreck is on the shores on the Straits of Magellan and I got a private lesson on it from Delgado himself. All he needs is a wreck and the information he can give you is incredible, what an amazing experience.
Keep your eye on the blog because I went one on one with some penguins and it will be up soon. Enjoy this video and stay tuned to Live from the Dive because the adventure continues……..
Posted by Christine Barker at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
The True Cost Of Lost Luggage
Back when all of us were without luggage, Susan asked me to pick up some essentials for her while I was in town. It doesn't pay to be vulnerable in the presence of a film crew.

Posted by Christine Barker at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2005
A Passage to Punta Arenas
Ah! The agony and the ecstasy of starting a new job in a new place with new people... here's a glimpse into the 'just getting there', and the start of a beautiful new friendship between myself and Jim Delgado...
Off to buy some underwear, if you can believe it. I did mention the lost luggage, right? Hopefully tomorrow you can join Jim and me on the wreck of the Ambassador, a tea clipper built in the spirit of the Cutty Sark.
From Punta Arenas, this is Christine Barker, Live from the Dive, signing out.
Posted by Christine Barker at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)
Sailing Toward the Doterel
Today Mike, Warren and Jim will dive the wreck of the Canton. Tonight, they're camping onshore in Tierra Del Fuego and having a bonfire to commemorate the indigenous peoples who communicated with smoke from fires. Legend has it that Magellan saw this and called the area Tierra del Fuego, or land of fire. Actually, I've also heard that he originally called it "Land of Smoke" but that back home the Queen took dramatic license and renamed it Land of Fire.
Tomorrow, they will be headed into Punta Arenas harbor to dive the wreck of the Doterel...let's hope the weather holds up for them, it's a beautiful day today!
Posted by Christine Barker at 03:15 PM | Comments (0)
The Southern Cross
The helicopter ride went today. Jim Delgado and I flew from the Punta Arenas airport along the Straits of Magellan. We actually passed a top the Southern Cross, which marks the southern most tip of South America, it was just beautiful. It was a clear day and the sky was 40 different shades of blue; it was amazing.
The helicopter ride was about an hour to the Chonos, the boat the Sea Hunters are on. The helicopter landed on the beach where Mike and Warren arrived by the zodiac, to meet myself and Jim. I also met Francisco, who is the ships Captain. He has an amazing reputation for being incredibly knowledgeable about all things relating to shipwrecks in the area. I was able to interview him, while I was onboard, so keep an eye out for that.
The team experienced gale force winds over the last view days. The seas have been very rough; but today it has been absolutely beautiful. Warren couldn’t believe the change in the weather, he said he hadn’t seen this much sun the entire time they have been out here. The weather has been crazy, sunny, then raining, then sunny again but now it is getting quite warm. It’s a gorgeous day to be out here.
On the way back in the helicopter I was alone because Jim stayed on board with the team. They will soon be heading out to the site of the HMS Doterel. So, I got to sit in the front seat, which was really neat. It was a great experience I had never been in a helicopter before this week; it has been a really exciting trip for me.
The Sea Hunters should arrive at the Doterel in 2 or 3 days; in the interim are going to be diving another wreck along the way. The team will go ashore at Tierra Del Fuego to camp for the night.
Everything is going well. It started off as a really rough trip but our luck seems to have turned around. I received an email from a friend who wrote “You are in Chile; I thought it would be warm.” But what they didn’t understand is that we are on the southern most tip of the continent, about 1300 km north of Antarctica. The temperate is really quite cool here, between 40-50 degrees and a bit cooler when you are out on the water. This area is known for its treacherous weather conditions; the winds pick up out of no where, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Experiencing the weather here first hand certainly sheds light on why this area has such a formidable reputation for Mariners. Around Cape Horn you have the confluences of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans combined with the winds coming up from Antarctica; enabling the weather to change on a dime. The seas can get very rough, very fast.
It is a really amazing area; Mike was saying that he is thrilled to be on the Straits of Magellan. This is his first time sailing through here and the journey is proving to be an exciting on for us all.
Posted by victoria at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)
The apple has landed!
Just trying a test live blog with photos form the heli ride...
Posted by Christine Barker at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2005
Live Dive Update - Jan. 25, 2005
What a trip. If you've been reading along you are no doubt aware of the "exciting" start we had to this dive. All of our luggage was delayed in Canada due to a wildcat walkout by Air Canada employees. We're happy to report that thanks to the hard work of line producer Susan MacDonald and others, the luggage did arrive very late on Friday night, so work has been proceeding. Not so lucky was Christine Barker, whose own luggage, including some camera gear, was also lost coming from New York in a totally unrelated incident. When it rains...
Mike and Warren Fletcher, (along with Shipwreck Central cameraman and "man about town" Chris Kingston), boarded the "Chonos" and travelled up the west coast of Chile to the location of their first dive target. They have been diving targets along the way and will return to the most promising targets when they come back south to dive the Doterel later this week. The underwater video they are shooting will eventually show up here, but not until Christine has been able to rendezvous with Chris and get some of those tapes. Then of course they have to digitize and upload it to here, so you can expect some dive video later in the week or early next. We'll keep it coming.
Speaking of rendezvous. Today Christine and Jim are making another attempt at meeting the Chonos via helicopter. Unfortunately there is limited space on the boat, so Christine will be returning to Punta Arenas, meeting up with them again when they arrive to dive the Doterel. She has some interesting plans for how to spend those few days, more on that later.
How would you spend a couple of days in Punta Arenas? Feel free to use the comments below to let us know.
Posted by administrator at 04:55 PM | Comments (2)
So Who the Heck is Christine Barker?
As we await new video this afternoon from our intrepid videoblographer Christine Barker, it might be a good time to share with you the video that Christine first sent us as part of her job application.
(It originally had some pretty cool music with it as well, but due to rights restrictions we had to ask Christine to remove it so we could post it here. Just think "Bossa Nova")
You'll be seeing a lot more of Christine from now on, but until then you'll have to make due with this. We think you are going to like her as much as we do.
Posted by administrator at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2005
Now We're Rolling
Okay, now we´re rollin! The hotel´s internet service couldn´t handle the photos, and the last place I went to only had floppy drives in their PC's (que?). I´m writing from an internet cafe (sans the cafe) across the street from the Museo de Magallenes where Jim is researching the wreck of the Doterel. I´m heading over there after I share some of yesterdays´adventures with you to interview him about his discoveries there.
Jim and I headed to the airport yesterdy to board a helicopter which was to take us to meet Mike and Warren aboard the Chonos. The plan was to land on the shore of the Straights of Magellan, where Mike would retrieve us by Zodiac. We got a taste of why the region has such a formidable reputation....forty minutes into our helicopter ride Mike called the pilot´s cell phone from a satellite phone aboard the Chonos and directed the pilot to turn back.
Though the weather appeared alright where we were, further down the straights the wind, waves and rain were gale force. It´s exactly this reason that the Straights of Magellan and the Cape Horn passage are infamous among mariners and home to countless wrecks. Even here in Punta Arenas, we´ve seen the wind pick up considerable force in a matter of minutes in the few days we´ve been here.
Mike called this morning at 5:30 am. We were up and ready to go, but he determined that tomorrow the weather should be more suitable for the helicopter trip to meet the Chonos. He and Warren have been diving wrecks along the Straights en route to the wreck of the Doterel.
Yesterday was actually my first ride in a helicopter, and it was great. I saw no less that five rainbows appear over the straights, it was an exciting ride.
Off to the Museum to meet up with Jim Delgado!
Posted by administrator at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2005
Welcome to Punta Arenas
After a relatively uneventful passage to Santiago, all hell broke loose. At approximately the same time yesterday evening, I boarded a flight to Punta Arenas, concerned that the rest of the crew was conspicuously missing from the flight. At the same time, somewhere else in the twilight zone vortex that is the Santiago airport, the rest of the crew was boarding a plane to Punta Arenas and wondering what had happened to me.
Why there were two planes to the same destination at the same gate numbers but on different floors remains mysterious, as does the ongoing mystery of the whereabouts of my luggage.
I grabbed a cab from the aero Puerto to meet the crew at our hotel after we just missed each other at the airport (I know this because two members late reported seeing a woman dressed just like me and wearing the same clothes. At the time, they commented that the woman looked like me...it was me). I entered the cab to a blaring Spanish rendition of the Captain and Tennille’s "Love will Keep us Together". Toni screaming¨"I will, I will I wiiiiill...." was replaced by "Yo soy, yo soy, yo sooooooy......" Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation from traveling 26 hours straight but I found it very amusing.
I arrived at the hotel moments later just thrilled to finally meet Mike, Warren, and the rest of the crew. My flight blunder was topped by the fact that the airlines had misplaced all sixteen cases of the film equipment that should have left Halifax. Susan had already leaped into action and was making calls to trace the equipment. Without it, our shoot is shut down. I met the Sea Hunters crew in the midst of madness, after all having traveled far, and it was clear to me that I am joining a great and capable crew of people. Amidst it all they were cheerful and composed. Nothing like a crisis to see the salt of a Sea Hunter.
Posted by Christine Barker at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)
More Luggage Woes
We heard from Christine last night at 10:55 pm AST, 11:55 in Punta Arenas, and the luggage woes continue. Not only are the Sea Hunters looking for 16 bags of camera equipment and dive gear that apparently never left Halifax, Christine is also looking for her own bags that never made it to Punta Arenas. This morning they were scheduled to unpack the gear and get down to "Chonos", the boat they've chartered. Something tells me that the morning is going to be spent doing triage and tracking down luggage. We'd love to be able to share some of John Davis's thoughts here, but unfortunately most of them are unprintable. You've gotta love it. Hopefully Christine can get her hands on the powerbook and camera that we sent down for her, and be able to report here herself soon. Do you have any lost luggage stories of your own? Feel free to use the comments area below to share them.
Posted by administrator at 12:55 AM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2005
Hello from Santiago
(Christine Barker left from New York last night and will be joining up with the Sea Hunters at the Santiago Airport today. When they do get together Christine will be handed the LiveDive Powerbook and the rest of the Videoblographer gear, which will allow her to post here directly. Until then, here is an email we just received from Christine.)
Hello!
I'm in Santiago airport waiting for the Sea Hunters!
Packing, as you know, is an underestimated skill. It is decidedly an art that I have yet to master. I realized in the "limo" to the airport that I had neglected to pack a hairbrush or a strap for my sunglasses. I use the term limo loosely...it was a classic NYC version, rattling, circa 1970, cigarette holes in the velour burgundy upholstery...you get the picture.
The thing with etickets as that they really give you very little information. As my eticket said I was to be on an American Airlines flight, I foolishly went to the AA international departures terminal. Having been victimized at JFK before, I asked the limo driver to wait while I went to check if we were indeed at the right terminal. Note to self....check terminal first, pay limo driver after. Yup, wrong terminal, no driver.
It's wonderful that in the renovated terminals of JFK you can buy booze, makeup, perfume, Swarvoski crystals, an entire iZod wardrobe and a large bronze cast replica of Jane Poupelet´s sculpture "woman bathing", but God help you if you want to buy a hairbrush. Or sunglass straps. I've lost more sunglasses leaning over the sides of boats...I dread that blopblupe sound they make as they disappear into the sea.
So I've been on two planes so far, and each time when we landed, albeit shakily, people clapped. Did they expect it not to land? The planes did seem a little ancient, there were ashtrays in the bathrooms. Really. And the Chilean immigration card asks you very few things, but they want to know your marital status (que?) and what you do for a living. Oddly, I did not tempt fate by writing "Videoblographer".
I´ll go write my bio now and send that off later.
Ciao!!
Christine
Posted by administrator at 04:06 PM | Comments (0)
Introducing Christine Barker, your new Videoblographer
As you are may no doubt be aware, we have been hard at work behind the scenes here at SWC getting ready for the new season of "The Sea Hunters", and a massive expansion of Shipwreck Central which is beginning this week.
We had over 200 applications for our call for a "Videoblographer", the person who will be travelling with the team, reporting back to you, "Live from the Dive". We were absolutely blown away, both by the number of applicants, (well, it's a cool job so you'd expect a fair bit of interest), but also by the quality of the applicants. It made our job extremely difficult in choosing just one person, because there were a number of people who would have been just great.
At a fairly late stage in the process we received this email, and it piqued our interest to say the least. In our follow up discussions we quickly realized that we had found our person.
So without further ado and in her own words, we'd like to introduce to you the newest member of our team, in the same way that we first heard of her, Videoblographer, Christine Barker.
You'll be hearing, and seeing, a whole lot more from Christine soon.
A friend that I haven't seen for two years forwarded me your listing with the subject heading "Ohmigawd This is perfect for you!". She's right, I'm an aquatic scientist, a film-maker, an actor, a writer, a scuba diver, and I can parallel park a 40' boat. Read on, pls.
I left a 12 yr. successful career as ecotoxicologist (specializing in aquatic environments) to pursue film-making. So I know aquatic life, I know science, and I looove talking about it.
A film I wrote, produced and directed a 16 mm film that plays on the Independent Film Channel...IE, I can do this - techy stuff, creative stuff, all of it.
I finished a feature script this year and got it into the hands of Michael Douglas (to consider producing it). He took the time to read it, and took the time to write me back. The letter started with "this is the hardest kind of pass letter to write because you really show talent"....see? I can write. Even Michael Douglas thinks so, and he's a very busy guy. And I'm resourceful - got the script to him, didn't I?
I'm a certified diver, and pretty close to getting my captain's license. In fact, although I live in NYC, I just sold my boat literally yesterday ( a 30' classic wood Chris Craft).
I love to travel. Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, seen lots of it. I won't bail on you.
I never, ever hard sell myself.....but I want this. I'm your woman! I'm even funny, I swear on it.
Interested?? I can send you a photo if so. I think look good on camera....I was in a hosiery commercial, if that's an endorsement!
Really looking froward to hearing from you,
Christine Barker
Posted by administrator at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)


