Looking for on-camera interviews about Broward County Wrecks

[Videodude]

Hello fellow Scubaboarders!

The next episode of "Dive Charter: A Day in the Life of a Dive Boat" is now
gearing up for production. We're doing this episode on local wrecks -
specifically the "Jim Atria" and the "Ancient Mariner" due to their interesting
histories. We're looking for anyone who may have historical information, first-
or second-hand stories/anecdotes, photos/videos of either of the sinkings that
they would be interested in sharing. We're also looking for people willing to
be interviewed on camera about their experience with the sinkings or stories
about their experiences diving on these wrecks.

If this sounds like you (or someone you know), please contact me at Video Dude
Productions either by email or by phone at 954.296.6449

Thanks very much and hope to hear from you soon!

Doug Barkley
Producer/Director/Principal Videographer
Video Dude Productions, Inc.

 

[aue-mike]

Talk to Ken Banks with the Broward County Artificial Reef Program. I got tons of images of those wrecks through their office. Additional background and historical info can be found in my book, Encyclopedia of Florida Shipwrecks.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[DebbyDiver]

South Florida Divers, Inc. dive club (of which you are a member, but a more recent one) helped clean both wrecks before they were sunk. It was lots of fun. Give Joe Smariga a call. Do you need his number?

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Doug, BTW my avatar was taken on the deck of the Ancient Mariner as part of a comedy show. The bit was about dining on the first underwater restaurant. I'm the one pouring the watered down coffee in the middle. I can put you in touch with Donna and Steve, my "customers" in the photo. They are also very knowledgeable about the wreck. Donna might still be a member of SFDI; Steve isn't.

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This shot hangs on the wall over my desk.

I wrote an article about this for the dive club web newsletter back in 2001. The shots were taken in 1991. Here's what I wrote:

[SIZE=-1] I always enjoy Ski’s Wreck of the Month column. This month’s "The Wrecks We Dive" article brought back special memories. Former e-board member Steve d’Oliveira and I used to work for a local newspaper, and with people from other newspapers and radio and TV stations, we put on an annual comedy show called “Yellow Feathers” to parody local news and politics. My favorite role each year was to be the anchorwoman in “I Missed It News” and read stories while funny slides were projected behind me.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
As he was writing scripts for the 1991 show, Steve had the zany idea to spoof a restaurant review of the “world’s first underwater restaurant.” Says Steve, "I was lucky enough to have such good friends that when I said to them, 'Hey, let's take photos of an underwater restaurant scene on the Ancient Mariner,' they didn't look at me like I was totally nuts. Instead, they didn't bat an eye and said, 'OK.'"
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] News photographer Jackie Bell would take photos of Donna Harland, Steve and me in an underwater dining scene, and of Steve as “Snapper Cousteau,” typing a restaurant review underwater. After much planning we set off one nice September day on the Ragamuffin, loaded with all of the accoutrements of a fine restaurant...chairs, table, tablecloth, place settings, glassware, and menus. We also took a typewriter for “Snapper Cousteau” to type his “review.” With the help of safety divers Wayne Harland and his neighbor Lou, we got everything into place with much effort.
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] When we were ready for the first scene, we removed all our gear except our masks. Steve wanted us mask-free too, but I had not had LASIK surgery yet and feared losing my contact lenses. Steve chose to do the second scene of him “typing” the review mask-free and had a little mucous problem. Here is the account of the dive, unedited, from my logbook:
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] Fun but stressful! Devo (d’Oliveira), Donna and I were a bit too buoyant on 1st (shot) and I had to hook my feet under their chairs to stay down! It was lots of fun “taking their orders” and “pouring coffee.” Jackie got some great shots. Lou cut his hand moving props and needed 16 stitches. Second shot was great, the typewriter was a heavy mother and we had to leave it behind. Devo had a big booger but couldn’t see our hand signals (to wipe it off for the photo); Donna ended up wiping it off (yuck!) Jackie got great shots of that, too. I did my safety stop clutching a table and a blackboard—thank God there wasn’t much current!
[/SIZE]
How did Snapper Cousteau review the underwater restaurant? “The fish was fresh, but the rolls were soggy, the salad was limp, and the wine was watered down.”