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March 2012

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 1, 2012 - Members Showcase


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 8, 2012 - Nissen Davis - Morale Entertainment Foundation
Visits to our Servicemen

Nissen Davis is president of the Aero Club of Southern California, a board member of the Flight Path Museum at LAX and director of public relations for the Morale Entertainment Foundation.

He retired from the aerospace industry in 2004 after 30 years with Flying Tiger Line, McDonnell Douglas and Hughes Electronics where he held senior positions in Public Relations, Advertising and Communications.

His Power Point presentation will describe two trips he took with Morale Entertainment to boost troop morale in Europe and the Middle East.

The first, in March 2010, took astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan, Skunk Works test pilot Bob Gilliland and Vietnam fighter ace Steve Ritchie to bases in Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrein, Germany and England and out to the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on station in the Arabian Gulf.

The second tour, in January this year, celebrated the Centennial of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and involved drivers Mario Andretti, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser Jr., Davey Hamilton, Sarah Fisher, Larry Foyt and Martin Plowman and visited Germany, Bahrain, Iraq, Turkey, England and the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln at sea.

While emphasizing the serious purpose of the ventures, Nissen will share some of the humorous sidelights of the tours.

He will also include comments on the Carrier Classic organized by Morale Entertainment last Friday in San Diego. As you may know, we built a basketball court on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson for the North Carolina Tarheels to play the Michigan State Spartans in a salute to Veterans. Honorary coaches were alumni James Worthy and Magic Johnson, and the spectators included President & Mrs. Obama and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.

Website: MoraleEntertainment.org
Website: CarrierClassic.org

The Adventurers' Club thanks Mr. Nissen Davis for volunteering to present this evening's topic.

We thank Ramona Cox, "Sky Chick" for recommending


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

Photo of Nissen Davis and Mario Andretti in full battle dress inside a USAF C-130 en route to Joint Base Balud, Iraq
Nissen Davis and Mario Andretti
in full battle dress inside a USAF C-130 en route to Joint Base Balud, Iraq.

Photo of Nissen Davis in the Predator UAV hanger at Joint Base Balud, Iraq
Nissen Davis in the Predator UAV hanger at Joint Base Balud, Iraq

Photo of Nissen Davis suited up for a test drive in an IndyCar 2-seater at the Bahrain International Speedway before troops are taken for a ride
Nissen Davis suited up for a test drive in an IndyCar 2-seater
at the Bahrain International Speedway before troops are taken for a ride

Photo of Nissen Davis and an F/A-18 on the flight deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on station in the Arabian Gulf
Nissen Davis and an F/A-18
on the flight deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on station in the Arabian Gulf

Photo of with Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, first and last men on the moon in the USO at Ramstein AFB, Germany
Nissen Davis with Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan,
first and last men on the moon in the USO at Ramstein AFB, Germany

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 15, 2012 - Dr. Phil McGillivary
Going to Extremes: Exploring The Oceans' Polar Regions

Going to Extremes: Exploring The Oceans' Polar Regions with Icebreakers and Unmanned Vehicle Plus (Inuit research and artifacts)

In the 1940s three archaeologists, two Americans and one Danish colleague, began to excavate on the north Alaskan coast at a place called Ipiutak. This site near Pt. Hope, Alaska, was the locale of a proto-Inuit [Eskimo] community active approximately 1500 YPB. The Ipiutak excavations, funded by the Works Projects Administration (WPA), produced an astonishing array of jade and ivory carvings declared the most amazing treasures ever found in the arctic.

At the start of WWII the two Americans archaeologists left the Pt. Hope excavations because of the war, leaving the Danish archaeologist to continue and complete the on-site work. One shipment of the artifacts went back to New York to be photographed, but on its' return to Alaska, the ship it was on, an Army barge, sank en route to Juneau. There may have been a second barge from Pt. Hope, loaded with Ipiutak artifacts, lost not far offshore in the shallow ice-infested area of strong currents of the Bering Strait. A portion of the collections apparently ended up in the Danish National Museum, and a portion of these collections remained in the U.S., but a significant portion of the collections are apparently carefully packaged and intact on the seafloor within one or two shipwrecks.

A multi-agency plan to face the significant challenges to the recovery of the Treasures of Ipiutak is presented, along with photographs of some of the treasures known to be on the seafloor.

BACKGROUND
In 1998, the US Coast Guard (USCG) conducted an arctic summer cruise from the icebreaker POLAR STAR jointly sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the National Park Service, and the US Navy. This cruise also provided educational outreach from the arctic with live daily video outreach via the Internet daily to approximately 2000 public schools.

The cruise provided the first documentation on any of Alaska's 1100 shipwrecks, successfully finding some of the ships from the so-called Lost Whaling Fleet of 1871. Also demonstrated was underwater use of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with a stereo video camera system initially designed for the Mars Rover. This system allowed real-time video conversion to VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language), greatly reducing data transmission volume, and allowing for the first time real-time display of underwater holographic video. Results of the cruise, a description of this video system, and holographic video stills may be found in a series of articles (http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/arctic; Ballou, et al., 1998; Derbes and Ota, 1999; Weast et al., 1999; for images see http://schwehr.org/archive/arcticTROV98/ ).

While the work during this cruise on the Lost Fleet showed use of new technology for shipwreck archaeology, additional planned work around Pt. Hope was not undertaken, and remains to be addressed.

BIOGRAPHY
As Science Liaison for Coast Guard PACAREA, Dr. Phil McGillivary coordinates science issues for the Coast Guard for the Pacific Ocean in conjunction with Coast Guard Headquarters and the Coast Guard Research & Development Center. His responsibilities include management of science conducted using Coast Guard aircraft, buoytenders, and other assets, as well as high latitude science conducted on icebreakers managed by the Coast Guard. He previously worked in the Office of Secretary of Defense after a post-doc at NOAA in Monterey, California through a joint appointment with the Naval Postgraduate School, and an earlier post-doc at the Marine Science Institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara. His 1988 doctorate in Ecology from the University of Georgia on biogeochemical fluxes at fronts along the Gulf Stream followed three years employment at the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida. His experience includes two years at sea on research vessels and submersibles and includes studies in traditional maritime knowledge from cultures across the Pacific and in Alaska.

WEBSITES
1999/2000 NASA Ames "Jeremy Project" from my icebreaker off Alaska:
Quest.Arc.Nasa.gov/arctic/explore/
From the 2008 HEALY NSF-SF Exploratorium "Ice Stories" project:
IceStories.Exploratorium.edu/dispatches/author/phil-mcgillivary/
IceStories.Exploratorium.edu/dispatches/author/kevin-fall/
blog.sylviaearlealliance.org/2011/06/threats-to-pacific-northwest-marine.html

The Adventurers' Club thanks Reda Anderson for her continuing support of the Adventurers Club programs.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

Photo of Dr. Phil McGillivary
Dr. Phil McGillivary

Inuit Italy Poster
Inuit Italy Poster

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 22, 2012 - Ladies Night - David Finnern - Sunken Mysteries of Idaho:
Wrecked Steamships, Sunken Trains and Indian Canoes

Dinner will start 15 minutes early to allow a short additional presentation.

A short additional talk will be given about the upcoming twin Everest Summit planned by Bill Burke and Allan Smith.

David Finnern Diving 200 Year Old Indian Canoe David Finnern has spent over 35 years searching for shipwrecks and submerged ruins. As an award-winning writer, he has published hundreds of stories on underwater exploration and has written on-assignment for such magazines as Skin Diver, Western and Eastern Treasures, Wreck Diver, Underwater USA, Western Diver and Immersed, and is the author of several books, including Lost Below: The Southwest’s Most Intriguing Shipwrecks, Sunken Aircraft, Submerged Ruins and Undersea Treasures. He is a member and former president of both The Adventurers’ Club and California Wreck Divers, Inc., and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society in 2002.

During his latest venture, David and Pete "Squidlips" Matthews traveled to Northern Idaho to explore its shipping history. From 1878 through the 1930s Lake Coeur d’ Alene, in particular, was blanketed with steamships, many of which succumbed to fire or other calamities and sank below the lake’s surface. Pete and Dave not only explored and photographed several known sunken steamers in Lake Coeur d’ Alene, but they also discovered a new shipwreck yet to be identified. They also braved 46 degree water and dived on a sunken train, circa 1904, in the depths of Lake Pend Orielle, and an Indian canoe believed to be associated with the 1809 expedition of early explorer David Thompson. They then ventured over the mountains via float plane and searched-out shipwrecks in Priest Lake, including landing in Mosquito Bay and exploring the wreck of the Type II.

This will be a fascinating Ladies Night, and a joint meeting with California Wreck Divers.

The Adventurers Club wishes to welcome the California Wreck Divers and thank our member, DAVE FINERN for volunteering this program.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

Wreck of the Harrison in Lake Coeur d’Alene
Wreck of the Harrison in Lake Coeur d’Alene

Funnel of Mystery Steamer
Funnel of Mystery Steamer

Lake Pend Orielle Sunken Train c1904
Lake Pend Orielle Sunken Train c1904

The Wreck of Tyee II and Float plane in Priest Lake
The Wreck of Tyee II and Float plane in Priest Lake

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 22, 2012 - Allan Smith and Bill Burke - Upcoming Twin Everest Summit

Dinner will start 15 minutes early to allow a short additional presentation.

A short additional talk will be given about the upcoming twin Everest Summit planned by Bill Burke and Allan Smith.

Bill Burke On May 23, 2009, Bill Burke, a member of the Adventurers’ Club, summitted Mt. Everest from the South (Nepal) side of the mountain. In reaching the summit at age 67, he became the oldest American to climb the highest mountain in the world. In 2010 & 2011, Bill returned to attempt a summit from the North (Tibet) side of the mountain. He turned around on both attempts on the Northeast Ridge, less than 1,000 feet from the summit.

In April of this year, Bill will be returning to Asia at age 70 and will attempt to summit Mt. Everest from both the South and North sides, a feat that has never been accomplished. Bill has already climbed the highest mountain on every continent. In the 2012 expedition, Bill be accompanied by Club member and filmmaker, Allan Smith. Allan will be producing a documentary of the expedition through his award-winning production company, DreamQuest Productions. The documentary will be titled “8 Summits: The Bill Burke Story.”

Allan and Bill will briefly discuss the 2012 expedition and feature some of the exciting equipment they have assembled to broadcast the climb in real time.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

Photo of Bill Burke on the Summit of The Carstensz Pyramid
Bill Burke on the Summit of The Carstensz Pyramid

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 29, 2012 - Chris Morasky - Stone Age Technology:
From Nothing to Thriving in 7 Days

The 13th Program of the 90th Anniversary Year of
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

The skills of the Native Americans that enabled them to live easily and comfortably pre-European contact can still be found imperfectly preserved in dusty captivity accounts, a few ethno botany books, and various tribal histories. However, none of this conveys any real sense of what it was like to live in California several hundred or several thousand years ago. The reality of starting fire with sticks, gathering grasshoppers to roast over coals, tanning a deer hide using the brains of the deer, and walking in yucca sandals can only be understood through experience. Unfortunately, the knowledge and skills to competently live this way today are known to only a few people, at most.

Ancient skills have been Chris' passion and he has been studying them for the past 33 years, since his first failed attempt at starting fire with a bow drill (which took two years of trial and error before he created his first Stone Age fire). This passion for the old ways has led him to live almost his entire adult life either in the wilderness or in small communities surrounded by wilderness. He lived in a tipi for 6 years, was attacked by moose and bear, and spent time learning from Lakota, Blackfeet, Shoshone, Arapahoe, and Serri tribes. He has also led totally Stone Age trips into the wilderness wearing buckskin clothing, carrying a handmade bow and stone pointed arrows, and with a willow pack basket on his back. He started two schools teaching ancient skills to thousands of students. He is considered one of the foremost authorities of Stone Age skills in North America.

Now he is preparing for a new project. He will be entering into the wilderness in Southern California with his 14 year-old son and living completely from the land for one week. They will start with absolutely nothing, not even clothing, and use their knowledge and skills to satisfy first their needs and then their many wants. From elderberry bark clothing and plaited yucca sandals to hand drill fire-making to a range of foods consisting of seeds, greens, roots, reptiles and mammals, they will demonstrate that life in California pre-historically was easy, abundant and relatively carefree. All this will be captured on film.

As technology increases exponentially, the indices on happiness show a steady decline from what was recorded during the simpler times of the 1950s when these studies began. Today, more people are on Facebook than existed on the planet 200 years ago. The skills required of a person to be successful financially are vastly different than what was required of our ancestors. And yet, any evolutionary shift in human physiology or instinct is barely perceptible. We are still a primal species; we've just put on fancy clothes.

To truly understand what it means to be human and to wisely create a future of happiness, abundance and beauty, we must know what it FEELS like to live as our ancestors did. Those millions of years of Stone Age living are the foundation of our current society, and as every builder knows, ignoring the foundation puts everything above it at risk. There are secrets in the smoke of sagebrush and the tracks of deer in the sand; our ancestors knew these secrets, and we'd better learn, too.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

Photo of Chris Morasky Making a willow basket
Chris Morasky Making a Willow Basket

Photo of Chris Morasky at a Rock Shelter in Hell's Canyon Wilderness of Oregon. Cooking Stinging Nettles in a Clay Pot
Rock Shelter in Hell's Canyon Wilderness of Oregon. Cooking Stinging Nettles in a Clay Pot

Various tools.  Obsidian biface, stone hammer, willow deer hunting effigy, West Coast style spoon, handdrill fire set, dogbane fiber, stinging nettle cordage, cedar bark berry basket, and basket of cedar and rushes.
Various tools.
Obsidian biface, stone hammer, willow deer hunting effigy, West Coast style spoon, handdrill fire set, dogbane fiber, stinging nettle cordage, cedar bark berry basket, and basket of cedar and rushes.

Photo of Chris Morasky Blowing a tinder bundle into flame.
Chris Morasky Blowing a Tinder Bundle into Flame

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© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948