INDUSTRY NEWS Boston Sea Rovers - Kicking Off the Northeast USA Dive Season in Style – by Jeff Cinciripino, JeffCinciripino.com, Former Owner of Scuba Shack, Rocky Hill, CT
The Boston Sea Rovers 71st International Ocean Sympo- sium and Film Festival kicked off the Northeast dive season with a fantastic show March 15 and 16 in Danvers, MA. As one of the world’s longest continuously running scuba diving shows, the 2025 edition lived up to its mission of Raising the
While the show may be considered small, it is powerful with high profile attendance and offers an intimacy and energy that is difficult to get with large scale productions. This year the exhibit floor was packed with both returning and new ex- hibitors ready to engage with the multitude of attendees.
Level of Knowledge of the Underwater World. The two-day event featured 39 daytime seminars with unique themes covering wrecks and maritime history, marine science and tech- nology, photography and videography, dive travel and programs along with marine con- servation, corals and animals. The signature event of the weekend was the 71st Annual In- ternational Film Festival. Nancy McGee, a
What is very encouraging is the number of younger participants eager to learn and interact with some of the legends of the dive industry. The Boston Sea Rovers is an all-volunteer non- profit organization started in 1954 when they also conducted their first clinic. The organiza- tion is led by Kim Malkoski, the first woman president who has grown up with the Sea Rovers having been the 2005 Boston Sea
member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and an Explor- ers Club Fellow served as the master of ceremonies. The packed hall was treated to an outstanding program featuring work by Hergen Spalink, Eric Chang, Jennifer Sellitti, Rose Dalrymple and Cristian Dimitrius. We were also treated to a surprise presentation by Dr. Bob Ballard and the incredible work he is doing with NV Nautilus.
Rovers Summer Intern. Dive shows like the Boston Sea Rovers International Ocean Symposium are critical to the dive industry and serve as a reminder that we are a social sport who need to meet with all of the stakeholders in the diving community. The planning is already underway for next year, so mark your calendars for March 14 and 15, 2026 for the 72nd show in Danvers, MA.
In Memoriam: Barry Guimbellot 1949–2025: Writer, Photographer & Friend – by Cathryn Castle Garcia, Owner, ClearStoryCoach.com, The Azores
The diving community lost a treasured friend when Barry Guimbellot died on February 14, 2025. Barry and his wife
beings you’d ever meet. We were work colleagues at Dive Training magazine for many years, during which time we be- came close friends – and chosen family. My former Dive Training colleagues echo the same sentiment: Dive Training’s publisher, Mark Young, says, “We were beyond fortunate when Barry and Ruth joined the DT family decades ago. They did incredible work, which included shooting many of the maga- zine’s iconic “reverse” covers, and their Scuba Skills videos have garnered over 2.5 million YouTube views. More importantly, my good fortune was having such incredibly nice, kind people as friends. I have never known anyone like Barry; his passing is a loss to humanity.” Jerry Beaty, DT’s Associate Publisher says, “Barry was a friend, a brother, and the most talented person I’ve ever known. He was an im- portant part of my life for decades.” Marty Snyderman, DT’s Marine Life Editor says, “I’m grateful our working re- lationship developed into a close friendship of 30+ years, which included dive trips to many destinations around the world. I’ll miss my weekly phone calls with Barry. He’s gone, but I intend to keep his memory alive in my heart.” PAGE SEVENTEEN | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
Ruth co-owned Creative Illusions Photography and served as Contributing Editors for Dive Train- ing and Dive Center Business magazines for over 25 years, with Barry as the photographer/videogra- pher and Ruth often serving as his most beloved photo subject. The pair co-authored dozens of articles and how-to videos, and produced nearly
100 magazine cover photos together. Barry was the founder of the Dallas Underwater Photographic Society and served as its president from 1992 to 2021. In addition to his award- winning photographic talent, Barry was an accomplished martial artist. He held a Black Belt in American Tae Kwon Do and was a Tenth Degree Black Belt in Karate. He owned the Texas Karate Institute in Richardson, TX for over 30 years. Barry also promoted the Southern Karate Champi- onships and Big “D” National Karate Championships for over 30 years. What’s more impressive than his skill as a mar- tial artist or his obvious talent as a photographer is that Barry Guimbellot was one of the kindest, gentlest human
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