Written by Millie Mannering
It was an early start at 2am for OWUSS National Park Service Intern, Hailey Shchepanik, and I as we jetted out of New York City. We had been invited by Dave Conlin, Chief of the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Centre to Boulder, Colorado.
Wearing my regs on the plane … I’ve got a lot to learn about travelling! Photo: Hailey Shchepanik
Excited to arrive at the NPS Underwater Submerged Resources Centre Headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. Photo: Dave Conlin
Hailey and I completed our Divers Alert Network Emergency Management Provider course led by our awesome instructor and NPS Archaeologist, Annie Wright. Emergency response and care is important to regularly practice, particularly as a dive professional and partaking in remote scientific expeditions. This was such a useful and timely refresher as I embark on my scholarship year.
The manikin receiving great care and on the mend. Photo: Hailey Shchepanick
We also trained with the Deputy Chief, Brett Seymour, to meet the government Blue Card requirements for all NPS divers. It was really fun to try a range of new drills and made me more comfortable with my equipment configuration and ability to problem solve under pressure.
Trying not to laugh during the drills! Photo: Hailey Shchepanick
Andrew Van Slyke, NPS underwater archaeologist, shared the importance of shipwrecks and use of tools to discover, map and preserve them. We learnt about Guerrero and the HMS Nimble and used information to predict their location. In 1827, slave trading was illegal and Spanish mariners became pirates when they dealt in the selling of African peoples. The maritime patrol schooner HMS Nimble pursued the pirate ship Guerrero as it was transporting slaves. This resulted in a maritime casualty on Carysfort Reef, in the Atlantic Ocean offshore of Key Largo, Florida. Finding Guerrero would mean identifying the first slave ship in American waters documented to have capsized with enslaved African people aboard.1
Andrew helped us to locate historical shipwrecks and taught us how to translate field notes in order to map wrecks. Photo: Dave Conlin
As an extreme mountain enthusiast, exploring the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park was a highlight. Michelle and Dave went above and beyond to make sure we saw the best of Boulder during our stay. Photo: Millie Mannering
On the wall of the Submerged Resources Centre hangs a Scuba Diving magazine cover in which Dave is featured as one of the ‘Heroes of Diving’. This gallant modelling exposé was a great topic for teasing Dave, but the real reason he is a legend?
Not just an intelligent and skilled leader, Dave’s also incredibly generous, caring and supportive. He says he only got to where he is with help from a lot of people and now he has the opportunity to help others.
“You can’t pay it back, you gotta pay it forward”
Thank you so much Dave and Michelle for opening up your home and sharing your special places and people with us.
Michelle, Dave and Maya. Photo: Millie Mannering
Trip Tune: Better Not Look Down – B.B King.
Top Tip: Moose are very big, dumb and angry – don’t approach them
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References:
1. Slate C & Policy C (Ed.). (2010) Florida Studies: Proceedings of the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Florida College English Association. Cambridge Scholars (pp. 69-75)
