World Oceans Day: Storytellers To Athletes Share What Inspires Them
As we remain in a twilight zone daze during lockdown, sometimes the best antidote – apart from a splash in nature – is an infusion of hope. During these tough times, global carbon emissions have dropped by more than 7 percent and less polluted air has revealed Himalayan peaks from the Indian state of Punjab. This is only a starting point, a learning curve for humanity and our impact on the grandeur and fragility of Earth.
So, for World Oceans Day, The International Ocean Film Festival has joined efforts not only with the 30X30 campaign to protect 30 percent of Earth’s oceans by 2030 but with a collection of artists, scientists, athletes, and storytellers.
As Jacques Cousteau once said “people protect what they love.” In this vein, we’ve asked our contributors to celebrate Earth’s oceans, be this with their favorite image, quote, book, gadget, or movie related to our blue planet’s waters. Enjoy!
Pam Longobardi
Pam Longobardi is an internationally acclaimed artist, distinguished professor of art at Georgia State University and artist in residence at the Oceanic Society. In the 2013, she was awarded The Hudgens Prize.
Social Media Handle: @driftersproject
Website: https://driftersproject.net
Eye of the Ocean, 2008, Pam Longobardi. Defunct devalued world currency, ink, glass, pinpricks
FAVORITE WAVE
Eye of the Ocean, 2008, Pam Longobardi - Defunct devalued world currency, ink, glass, pinpricks
WHY I CHOSE THIS WAVE
“I made this artwork inspired by my favorite wave in the world, Teahupoo, aka “Chopes” in Tahiti: a monstrous, cavitating, barreling wave; the most dangerous, most beautiful wave in the world to surf. As a surfer, I understand the physical ability and sheer guts it takes to surf and survive this wave. This is my homage.
The image includes lots of small objects in the water that represent ocean plastic pollution. Though Teahupoo is not full of plastic now, if we don’t change course and eliminate ‘disposable’ plastic, it likely will become like many other beautiful waves and beaches: despoiled by plastic waste.
There are also many eyes in the wave that represent the consciousness of Ocean watching us, as water beings who enter her, and as irresponsible humans who are damaging her. If we imagine Ocean as a conscious being, an entity responsible for weather, atmosphere, sheer beauty and life, wouldn’t we protect her in gratitude?
I offer this work with love and hope that we steer our ship away from the plastic disaster.
Giclee prints of this work are available from Plastic Pollution Coalition to support our fight.”
Gaelin Rosenwaks
Gaelin Rosenwaks is a marine scientist, explorer and ocean storyteller. She premiered her film, Coral: Glimmer of Hope, at The International Ocean Film Festival in 2019.
Social Media Handle: @GaelinGOExplore
Website: www.gaelinrosenwaks.co
Credit: Gaelin Rosenwaks
FAVORITE POEM
Exiled, by Edna St Vincent Millay
SEARCHING my heart for its true sorrow,
This is the thing I find to be:
That I am weary of words and people,
Sick of the city, wanting the sea;
Wanting the sticky, salty sweetness
Of the strong wind and shattered spray,
Wanting the loud sound and the soft sound
Of the big surf that breaks all day.
Always before about my dooryard,
Marking the reach of the winter sea,
Rooted in sand and dragging driftwood,
Straggled the purple wild sweet pea.
Always I climbed the wave at morning,
Shook the sand from my shoes at night,
That now am caught beneath big buildings,
Stricken with noise, confused with light.
If I could hear the green piles groaning.
Under the windy, wooden piers,
See once again the bobbing barrels,
And the black sticks that fence the weirs;
If I could see the weedy mussels
Crusting the wrecked and rotting hulls,
Hear once again the hungry crying
Overhead, of the wheeling gulls;
Feel once again the shanty straining
Under the turning of the tide,
Fear once again the rising freshet,
Dread the bell in the fog outside,
I should be happy!—that was happy
All day long on the coast of Maine.
I have a need to hold and handle
Shells and anchors and ships again.
I should be happy, that am happy.
Never at all since I came here.
I am too long away from water;
I have a need of water near.
WHY I CHOSE THIS POEM
“To celebrate World Oceans Day 2020, I wanted to share one of my favorite poems, Exiled, by Edna St Vincent Millay. Like Millay, when I am away from the ocean, I long to be near it. Fortunately, I work in and on the ocean, so I no longer often feel this longing, but growing up in New York City, it was a daily pining. While I am currently living by the ocean, having stayed in one place for the longest period of time since I was 17 years old, I now find myself longing to be back on expedition filming and exploring.
I should be out in the blue water of the Atlantic continuing my project on sperm whales for my new film, Finding Physty. We will be back out soon, but in the meantime, here is one of my favorite poems about being isolated from the ocean and the magic of the shoreline.”
© Monterey Bay Aquarium/Tyson Rininger
Julie Packard
Julia Packard is an ocean conservationist and philanthropist, as well as executive director and founding member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Social handle: @montereybayaquarium
Website: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org
FAVORITE DEEP SEA ANIMAL
The bloodybelly comb jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer)
WHY I CHOSE THIS ANIMAL
“Jellies – in all their diversity – are underappreciated, and the bloodybelly comb jelly is no exception. Though jellies are simple (no brains, no heart, no central nervous system), they have been successful life forms for more than 500 million years. They play a critical role in ocean food webs, as prey and predators. We’ve learned they’re a vehicle for transporting carbon from the surface to the bottom of the ocean – helping balance the CO2 we’re putting into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.
Animals like the bloodybelly comb jelly are also incredibly beautiful. I love watching the rainbow lights diffracted through their cilia as they propel themselves through the water. I’m fascinated by what scientists have learned about their life history through observations from remotely operated vehicles as they explore the dark midwater. For example, their blood-red belly may hide bioluminescent light emitted by the animals they eat, keeping them invisible to their own predators.
I’m excited that our animal care team at Monterey Bay Aquarium has learned to raise these delicate deep-sea animals so we’ll be able to introduce them to visitors in our upcoming “Into the Deep” special exhibition featuring life from the largest habitat on Earth.”
Kim Bernard pictured in Antarctica. Credit: Ken Keenen, who was the Winter Site Manager at Palmer Station
Kim Bernard
Kim Bernard is an associate professor at Oregon State University, who recently led a scientific expedition to Palmer Station in Antartica.
Social handle: @psycho_kriller
Website: https://www.psychokriller.com
FAVORITE OCEAN QUOTE
“In healing the ocean, we can heal ourselves. The ocean sustains and feeds us. It connects us. It is our past and our future. The ocean is not too big to fail, nor is it too big to fix. It is too big to ignore.”
Jane Lubchenco and Steven D. Gaines in A new narrative for the ocean published in 2019 in Science. Volume 364. Issue 6444.
WHY I CHOSE THIS QUOTE
“I chose this quote because it rings true to my core. I spent much of my childhood enthralled by the wonder and magnificence of the Eastern Cape coast of South Africa. My days were spent exploring the rocky tidal pools, swimming with wild dolphins, harvesting mussels for that evening’s meal. I loved the ocean like a dear friend, an adored teacher, a trusted confidant. I told her my secrets, I vowed to protect her, and in return I found my own salvation through the sea.
Throughout my adult life, I have dedicated my work to studying the ocean in an attempt to live up to my childhood promise of protecting her. But I’ve come to see that science alone won’t save my beloved ocean. We already have scientific proof of the staggering effects man is having on our oceans - from climate change and overfishing, to pollution, habitat destruction and oil extraction. We know we are losing whole ecosystems. We know we are at a tipping point, beyond which there will be no return.
What we need is more people standing up for and protecting our oceans. More businesses taking their corporate social responsibility more seriously. More governments making better decisions for the future of our planet. We need leaders from diverse backgrounds with a unified message, that of protecting this precious resource upon which we all depend.”
Maria Brown
Maria Brown is the Superintendent of NOAA's Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
Website: https://farallones.noaa.gov
FAVORITE ANIMATED TELEVISION SERIES
Kimba the White Lion
WHY I CHOSE THIS SERIES
“A Japanese anime series from the late sixties about a white lion cub who escapes captivity and returns to the jungle. Throughout the series Kimba learns that only communication and mutual understanding between animals and humans will bring true peace.
Kimba the White Lion is one of my first film memories and it made an impression that has been with me throughout my life. It sparked in me at a very young age the desire and passion to speak for the animals. It demonstrates the power of film to inspire and shape our lives.”
Grant Washburn
Grant Washburn is a big wave surfer based in California.
Social handle: @biggwash
Credit: Ed Grant, Grantsgraphics.com
FAVORITE BOOK
Endurance: Shackleton‘s incredible voyage.
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK
“This is one of my favorite oceanic yarns. I read it long ago, and constantly find myself thinking back to it and being inspired. This was true before the last few months changed our world, and I find myself reflecting on it even more these days.
‘Incredible’ is a tough term to surpass, but this is such an astounding tale that the title sells it short. If you are familiar with the voyage but haven’t read this book, get it. If you don’t know Earnest Shackleton, seek him out. Some years after passing this treasure around to my big wave friends, we launched our own adventure to surf a wave in Antarctica that is pictured in the book.
This is is a life changer!”
Gemma Cubero Del Barrio, Director’s Shot in Pukapuka.
Gemma Cubero del Barrio
Gemma Cubero Del Barrio is a Documentary filmmaker, writer, director, and producer. She recently directed and produced Our Atoll Speaks: Ko Talatala Mai Tō Mātou Wenua
Website: www.talcualfilms.com
FAVORITE POEM
The Sea by Pablo Neruda from the Book On the Blue Shore of Silence
WHY I CHOSE THIS POEM
“I discovered this poem in my teens way before I ever knew I would become a documentary filmmaker. I love these words because they still inform me - I do need the ocean, it speaks to me of interdependence, the ways in which the ocean reveals her/his ancient wisdom and knowledge.”
The Sea by Pablo Neruda
" I need the sea because it teaches me,
I don't know if I learn music or awareness,
if It is a single wave or its vast existence,
or only its harsh voice or its shining
suggestion of fishes and ships.
The fac is that until I fall asleep,
in some magnetic way I move in
the university of the waves"
( SPANISH)
El Mar de Pablo Neruda
NECESITO del mar porque me enseña:
no sé si aprendo música o conciencia:
no sé si es ola sola o ser profundo
o sólo ronca voz o deslumbrante
suposición de peces y navios.
El hecho es que hasta cuando estoy dormido
de algún modo magnético circulo
en la universidad del oleaje.
Kip Evans
Kip Evans is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, and explorer who has led or participated in more than 60 expeditions around the world.
Social Handle: @kipevansphoto
Website: https://www.kipevansphotography.com
Kip Evans in action
FAVORITE INVENTION
SCUBA
WHY I CHOSE THIS INVENTION
“Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) is a mouthful, but it’s an invention that has transformed not only my life but the lives of millions who dive in the ocean for both pleasure and work. I began diving in 1982 at the age of 16 and I have now spent thousands of hours underwater documenting science and conservation projects worldwide. SCUBA has a long history dating back to 1864, when Auguste Denayrouze and Benoit Rouquayrol created the first open-circuit scuba system. In 1942, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan improved on Denayrouze and Rouquayrol’s efforts by designing the first successful open-circuit system known as the Aqua-Lung. Scuba has greatly evolved since then and now includes computers, exposure suits, and other important accessories that make diving much safer and more comfortable.
SCUBA diving is a very unique activity and it means different things for different people. For me, it’s always been about exploring new places and seeing wildlife, but there’s another side to diving that is harder to put into words. It can be very exciting, relaxing, stressful, and demanding, depending on the day and the location. It’s also one of the few places you can feel weightlessness. I love “falling" to the bottom on a deep dive and drifting in a strong current while watching the bottom fly-by. I also enjoy the feeling I get when I see something big in the distance and it’s swimming right at me. Most sharks, fish and other wildlife are curious too and it’s fun to have "close encounters" that leave you feeling inspired and lucky to be a diver.
I have been fortunate to explore some of the best dive sites around the world during the course of my career, including Mexico, Cocos Island, Cuba, Palau, Galapagos Islands and the Arctic. I love Cocos for everything the ocean should be. It’s wild, remote and beautiful. It’s also one of the few places on Earth where you can still see large aggregations of sharks. If I could only make one last dive it would be at Cocos.”
