Glub, Glub 25 years later Underwater Canada goes down in history

After 25 years it has, for some, become old hat. . . well, old hard hat that is. Underwater Canada '96, North America's largest consumer dive show is set to run March 29th to 31st in Toronto and organizers are promising that this year's exposition will be the crowning event in the long history of the show! While Underwater Canada is marking its Silver Anniversary, the 1996 edition is in actual fact being run more like a traditional wedding! You know, something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue! It is the "Something New" that is attracting worldwide attention to the volunteer-run show. Noteworthy is the fact that Hollywood's Ralph White will be showing, for the first time in Canada, secret footage taken of the shipwreck Titanic. The filming expedition was based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia and last summer the large crew used a rented Russian research vessel and deep water submarines to quietly capture never-before-seen images of the long lost ocean liner. The video images were taken for a new 20th Century theatre release currently being produced by Canadian born director James Cameron (True Lies, The Abyss, Terminator I & II). Another new thing at the show? British Columbia based Hard Suit Inc. will be using Underwater Canada to unveil a brand new upgraded version of its deepwater NewtsuitÑthe Newtsuit is a fully pressurized outfit which allows divers to work hundreds of meters below the surface of the sea.

"Something Old" is a notion that hasn't been forgotten by the show organizers. A number of former Underwater Canada volunteers are organizing a special party for Friday, March 29th at the Regal Constellation Hotel and Convention Centre. Every volunteer who has worked at any of the past 24 shows is being invited to the party. "We have a list of 450 names so far and we have got a long way to go," said Lise Kinaham. "We still haven't tracked down all of the people who have helped in our casino nights and with Scuba Experience in the pool!"

Now "Something Borrowed" is a cross border concept. Underwater Canada '96 has worked with the Sault Ste Marie, Michigan based Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) to bring the recently recovered bell from the sunken Edmund Fitzgerald to the dive exposition. This is the only time that the bell will be in Canada and will only be on display at Underwater Canada '96.

"Something Blue"? Well, blue is the dominant colour, beginning in the photo gallery in the lobby of the Regal Constellation Hotel and ending in the large indoor/outdoor pool. The gallery features underwater pictures taken by Canada's top photographers including James Mathias and Paul Janosi. Everyone attending the show, 12 years and over, can get wet in the hotel pool with dive instructors as part of Scuba Experience. This is the 25th year in a row that the dive show has been run almost completely by volunteers. Aside from full-time show manager Nancy Parton, it is the dive clubs, unaffiliated divers and friends of the sport who handle all aspects of the show. This year there will be approximately 150 volunteers setting up booths, taking tickets and running film projectors at this popular event.

The bane of every show is the last minute cancellation of scheduled speakers, exhibitors and guests. At press time Underwater Canada '96 announced that film presenter Bob Talbot (Free Willy I & II) will not be at the Saturday Night Film Festival because of work commitments and John Stoneman has had to withdraw from the Saturday night film show. Talbot and Stoneman have been replaced by Jim Willoughby and former Toronto resident Pauline Heaton. "Heaton, one of Hollywood's brightest rising cinematography stars, is now based in Vancouver. She has handled underwater filming assignments in many successful movies including Jumanji and Andre the Seal. At the Saturday March 30th International Film Festival Ms. Heaton will be premiering her work The Last Wild Salmon. Willoughby has appeared on stage at Underwater Canada more times than any other presenter. This year the Vancouver diver will be showing a black and white movie entitled Killers of the Sea. This archival movie was made in 1937 and, because of its age, is reportedly very funny to watch!

One can count on strange things happening when a show the size of Underwater Canada '96 (8,000 people are expected) is held. Diver Magazine has dug up five little-known strange facts about this Canadian classic.

¥ Dim bulb slows show. According to volunteer worker Colleen Parton, back in the early days the show had a number of Toronto venues including a large auditorium in an old downtown Eaton's store. In the mid '70s guests attending the evening film festival had to go home early when the bulb in the theatre's movie projector blew out. Despite the fact that the films were being shown in Toronto's largest department store, no replacement bulbs were available. Everyone had to come back the next night to see the rest of the movies!
¥ Cuba just too hot. In 1994 one of the biggest draws of the show was a group of Cuban musicians and dancers who performed outside of the show's exhibit hall. "The troupe was there to promote diving in Cuba, however, the scantiness of the female dancers' costumes had some Underwater Canada patrons complaining that more than just tourism was being promoted on stage! Despite many encore requests (almost all from male attendees) the Cuban entertainers will not be back in 1996.
¥ Hark a Shark! "When organizers of Underwater Canada '96 booked an airline ticket for Vancouver's Rick Martin he told them to alert the airlines that there will be something dangerous in his luggage! A bomb? No, Richard is bringing a shark to the show to dissect at his Sunday afternoon Future Divers Program seminar. The Program is a free afternoon session for children!
¥ That is a lot of popcorn. At Underwater Canada, exhibiting underwater movies and videos is a growth industry. In the early years of Underwater Canada there was just one movie night. Now, 25 years later there are three film nights which will attract an audience of over 2,000 people. The films don't stop there. This year slide pictures, movies and videos will be used in most of the 22 workshops, 24 symposia and the aforementioned Future Divers Program that are being staged at the Regal Constellation Hotel.
¥ From double hose to double hose. When Underwater Canada began back in 1971 as part of the Ontario Underwater Council's Annual Meeting, double hose regulators were still part of a diver's kit. "As time passed the double hose regulator disappeared from exhibitors inventories and was replaced by high pressure single hose regulators, spare air cylinders, dive computers and a host of other technological innovations. Now, in 1996, with Ontario's first showing of a sport diving rebreather, the old double hose is back! The new Atlantis Draeger rebreather uses two rubber hoses, a la Sea Hunt, to recirculate a diver's exhaled air through the new system.

The actual Treasure Hunt is just one part of a weekend of family activities planned by the OUC. Included in activities slated for Saturday June 15th are a car rally, a Kids Olympics, underwater orienteering and a "Meet & Greet" campfire. A brochure about the June 15th & 16th Treasure Hunt is available from the OUC. To obtain a copy call (416) 426-7033 or (416) 426-7336 FAX.

On the information highway, bulletin boards are located down a dark Cyberspace back alley. Limited only to those who know the special phone number and access code that allows a computer to log on, bulletin boards give specialized groups a hi-tech forum. Divers across North America use bulletin boards extensively to "chat" and exchange information about the sport. Two of North America's favourite boards, Rec Scuba and DESC: Scuba Diving are abuzz this month with the news that two divers are reported to have accidentally entered the Chunnel in the middle of the English Channel. Apparently the pair found an airlock on the bottom of the seabed and entered it thinking it was a long lost World War 2 bunker! ( Many cyberdivers, this writer included, believe this is a "waterworld" urban myth in the making and are questioning the authenticity of the report). Another item receiving coverage on the boards this month involves scuba humour. Computer users continue to collect jokes about the sport. . . the latest? Q. Do you know why divers fall backwards when entering the water? A.Because if they fell forward, they'd still be in the boat! Finally, back to the Internet. Divers should take note that the Divers Aware Network now has its own web page. DAN can be reached at: http://www.dan.ycg.org

Ontario's two most popular dive destinations, Tobermory and Picton, happen to also be in two of the province's most hard-to-reach Great Lake communities. This year, thanks to the work of the Cantel Phone network, both destinations are now just a cell phone call away! Tobermory, situated on the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula for a number of years has been on the edge of the range of most cell phones. Scuba divers who rely upon portable phones for safety and communication reasons have not been able to use cells while diving out of Tobermory. Likewise the Lake Ontario port of Picton, near the southern tip of Prince Edward Peninsula has not had cell phone service. Late last year the Cantel phone company introduced cell phone service to both communities. This year divers heading either to Tobermory or Picton are advised to pack their Cantel cell phones along with the rest of their safety gear.

The Toronto tourist offices of the Cayman Islands announced earlier this month that a new five star hotel has opened for business along the famed Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman Island. The Westin Casuarina Hotel is a luxury resort that has been constructed beside the popular Cayman Holiday Inn. The hotel is well situated for divers since the wreck of the 178 foot steel hulled Oro Verde sits in 50 feet of water almost directly off shore from the Westin property. The island's tourist board has just published a 1996 watersports guide to the Cayman Islands. Copies of that colourful brochure and information about the Westin Casuarina are available by contacting the Cayman Islands Tourist Board at: (416) 485-1550.