2nd Deep Dive Auction

First Winner of “Deep Dive” Auction Announced  
Second Auction Launches Midnight, Friday, August 27th

Alison Osinski, Ph.D., principal-owner of Aquatic Consulting Services in San Diego, was the successful bidder for the first ever Undersea Voyager Project (UVP) auction that concluded at midnight on Monday, August 23. She heard about the auction by reading it in The Catalina Islander. She is moving to Catalina next summer.

Osinski is an avid boater and SCUBA diver, member of Point Loma Yacht Club, and previously lived on an island in Lake Erie. Her experience in the field of aquatics includes past employment as a lifeguard, swim instructor, swim coach, crew coach, pool manager, pool service technician, marine institute aquatic specialist, park and recreation supervisor and university professor, prior to starting her consulting firm in 1982.

Osinski will become a Citizen Scientist on one of UVP’s exciting deep-sea research missions around Catalina that will take place in October in collaboration with the Catalina Conservancy, the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Catalina Island Company.

And, by popular demand—and through the generosity of OceanGate which is sponsoring UVP in Catalina—the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and the Conservancy have been given to auction three more Citizen Scientist opportunities in the submersible Antipodes, a craft rated for dives up to 900 feet deep.

The new auction will begin at midnight on Friday, August 27 (12 a.m. Saturday, August 28) and end on Friday, September 10 at 11:59 p.m.

In the meantime, high school students 15 or older throughout the southland are competing to join the team for part of this deep-sea mission by proposing their own research project. Two Avalon High School students along with six students from the mainland will be selected from among applicants in the competition. Deadline to enter the UVP Student Ambassador Contest is 5 p.m., Monday, September 6. Youth who are selected will learn from leading scientists, train with experienced professionals and participate in several facets of this multi-disciplinary “citizen science” expedition. This includes a chance to spend time deep underwater in a research submarine!
 
To be considered in this competition, students must submit a completed UVP Catalina Project Application and Permission form. To enter, visit the Conservancy’s website  and click on “Sub Adventure Enter Here!” Information can also be found on the the Chamber’s website.
 

Voyage Details
As high auction bidder, Osinski will receive a two-day Submarine Mission for one person with round-trip transportation from Long Beach to Avalon or Two Harbors aboard the Catalina Express ferry. Meals and accommodation will be provided based on the location of the dive site. She will also receive a Naturalist Level membership, a $1,000 value, courtesy of the Conservancy.
The mission includes:
Ground School: 1/2-day systems / safety training
Research Mission: 1-day sub dive operations (3-4 hours / dive)
Analysis / De-Brief: 1/2-day with researchers

New Auction Launching
To participate in the upcoming auction beginning Friday, August 27, click HERE. 

If you are not a successful bidder and would like your own opportunity to be a deep-diving citizen scientist, or for other citizen scientist opportunities, visit the Catalina Conservancy or Catalina Island Chamber's websites.  Or, call Guillermo Söhnlein at (703) 346-3041.