The “Journal of Diving History” will host a special presentation during the upcoming 2024 Santa Barbara Divers Reunion, set for early October at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.
Among the presenters will be local author, and hardhat abalone diver, Steve Rebuck, along with a special screening of the documentary: “Morro Bay. Once the Abalone Capital of the World,” which was produced in conjunction with the Morro Bay Maritime Museum Association.
Rebuck is the author of the book: “Abalone Diving on the California Coast,” a pictorial history of abalone diving from the earliest efforts by Native Americans, to domination of the fishery first by Chinese and then Japanese immigrants and the boom fishery of the 20th Century (from about 1928-76) and including the diving industry from Morro Bay up to Monterey and down to Santa Barbara’s Channel Islands.
Other presenters include Emma Horanic on SBCC’s Marine Diving Technology Program; Tom Ingram on the Historical Diving Society 2024; and Kevin Hardy on the SEALAB 60th Anniversary.
The event will also have an update on the Deepwater Diving Monument project planned for Santa Barbara Harbor.
The event includes a buffet dinner, no-host bar, open seating and an amazing look into Central Coast maritime history.
The reunion event is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara. There’s also an opening reception from 6-10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4 at Anchor Rose, which is upstairs at the maritime museum.
Cost is $75 a person and tickets are available online at: buytickets.at/historicaldivingsocietyusa/1314084.
