SDM JOURNAL FOR...
February 16, 2010
The new issue of SDm is in full force now, I am in the process of getting the story line ups and images for the next issue. More changes are in store for this issue just thought I would let you know. Of course your probably thinking, " That is something I always say," But I believe when each mag hits your hands, the changes are pretty clear. Of course this issue will probably have more changes then normal... In fact you might be asking yourself if this is actually SDm when you open it up. The breath taking images and the exciting stories will still be the same, but the cast of characters may evolve a bit. Some may not like some of the changes but I feel it is neccessary, each issue of Sdm needs a soul of its own. And for Sdm to survive, it has to be that way, it has to flow and evolve and change, because I evolve and change with each and every issue of SDm.
In my professional life and my personal life I am always evolving and changing. This is in part because of the adventures I experience, the people I encounter, the places I visit, and so on. The person I was a year ago is not the person I am today. Its hard to explain, and sometimes its hard for the people who are close to me to understand and accept, but its the truth. Things that were important, or seemed important 6 months ago, may no longer be so in my life. My dreams are different, my needs are different, who I am whole heartedly is different. The things that remain the same is what this magazine represents; passion, adventure, fun, and the beauty of this underwater world that we all love and crave. I still want to create an exciting magazine that gets you all fired up about wanting to go diving, that will never change. How I create it, and how it feels in your hands when you get it is what changes.
Its funny, years ago, I wrote about how through my travels I am evolving and changing in one of my newsletters. The response I got from that one newsletter was overwhelming. Readers responded one of two ways; Some got angry, and others wanted to experience these kind of changes as well. Well I can't help people being angry with me. Ha, it seems lately that is all that is happening, people getting upset with me because of one thing or the other, all due to the ever changing, ever flowing journey that I am on. Can't really say anything about that, no point. The flip side is the people who are evolving and growing as well, are all pretty excited about the changes in their lives, and I am proud and humbled that I have been able to share a piece of their world, even if its for a little while. That is the shit I live for, those are the moments I chase. I want to thank each and everyone of you whom I have crossed paths with for that. Can't wait to see you out in the world somewhere...anywhere.
The thing is, change is not what you seek out when you experience crazy adventures, change is what happens to you when you survive them. Things happen to you when your out there, life happens to you. Life flows and you flow with it, and when the trip is over, and the dust settles, your just never the same again. And the more experiences you have the more alive this change becomes. The energy grows and becomes something you can feel. And if don't believe me - Try standing next to people like Howard Hall, or Andy Murch, or Amanda Cotton. Just stand there, listening or chatting with them and tell me you can't feel that energy in the air around them. People like that just make you feel like your standing still in life, without them even trying to...the vibe is just electric.
So anyway, sorry about the rant, but I wanted you all to understand why issue 22 is headed in the direction that it is, and why I am going to do it that way. I know I did not mention what I am planning yet, but I just wanted you to all the mag is now alive and breathing and will be headed your way very soon!
cheers for now...
Oh yea, I know I said I was going to write about our sailfish adventure but its gonna have to wait another day or two so I can get you all the images ready for the report as well. The images are pretty flipping amazing!
February, 15 2010
I am finally home from our Playa del Carmen, Mexico bull shark, and Isla Mujeres, sailfish baitball expeditions. It was a long 21 days and I am exhausted and I can honestly say I am forever changed and humbled by this experience. This trip was filled with highs and lows. I wish I could talk about them all here but it is just too much information, and really more than you all want to hear, just know this was a taxing trip emotionally all the way around. The biggest thing emotionally that I experienced on this trip was the human greed that is going to destroy the reef system that surrounds Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
I first recieved word about it about 4 days before we were set to leave for Playa, I got a call from Chino, the bull shark feeder in playa, and he tells me that the sharks have dropped down to deeper water. They were having a record season this year, with over 27 individuals hanging around before the sharks took off. The reason the sharks left the area was a huge commercial construction vessel had moved in directly above the feeding grounds and began pumping water from the ocean, mixing it with sand that had been taken from Cozumel Island, and was now being sprayed onto the beaches of Playa. Playa del Carmen had almost zero beach front left, it had all erroded away with huricanes, high and low tides pulling at it and just time and wind. So before they knew it, the beach was gone. Well a restoration project had begun, without telling any of the local businesses, they just showed up one morning and the work began. Typical of Mexican Governments. I am sure the big hotel owners were in on it, but the small shop owners and dive operators had zero say so.
The project is to add over 200 feet of beach front along the entire Playa Carmen hotel coastline. Which is great for all the hotels and restaurants, they loved it. The problem is that within the next 5 to 10 years, all that sand will eventually wash back out to sea, most of it during the next big hurricane that hits Playa, covering all the shallow reefs with sand, killing them off, and causing all the fish life to move off to find new homes. The long term effects of this short term solution is pretty heart breaking. But the local govenrment serves a 2 year term, which means they need to make as much money as they can before they are replaced. So they really do not care about any long term effects of this project, all they care about is the kick backs they will recieve from the contractors who were awarded the fat contracts on this project.
We happened to arrive 2 weeks into this beach project progress and it was pretty heart breaking for me and the group because of what was happening, and of course because there were no sharks. Chino and his group did everything, and searched everywhere for the sharks. Sharks were being sighted at different places along the coastline, but not where we were expecting to find them. I was pretty devestated about all this, trying to help in anyway I could but it was a hopeless cause, the sharks were not going to come anywhere near the machines, they just weren't. It was not till around our 10th day of diving that we spotted some sharks at one of the near by reefs, around 4 bull sharks showed up to say hi. They were a bit shy and were not behaving typically of what you would expect from the Playa bulls, but at least we were seeing and were able to photograph some sharks. Our last day of diving we had a couple of bull sharks come in to play for a while as well.
I was excited for our guests that some bulls came in, and that we were leaving Playa with the story, not the kind of story we normally tell, but a story none the less. The greed of mankind, and man playing god kinda of thing. I am really sad that our first 2 groups did not get to see sharks. Which was the first time we had ever been skunked so badly. I have been skunked before on one of our mako trips, but it was not too bad. We did not see sharks one day out of three, we still had makos and blues 2 out 3 days. This was the first time I had to send our guests home with no sharks at all. Something I pray never happens again. So this trip is one that I will always remember and regret, for many reasons, because my guests left without any shark images, or stories, and because this beautiful port town is forever changed, and I was included in this tragic change as well.
I had some really low moments dealing with this, but through it all I also had a few highs. I learned a few things about my surroundings. I had a bunch of conversations with locals from all over the place and I found out a few things about the Mexican waters around the Playa area. There is a lot of big animal life around here. I now know where it is possible to find tiger sharks around Cozumel Island in pretty shallow blue water, there are wrecks with big schools of eagle rays, a little futher out is a pinnacle that has schooling hammerheads around it, as well as a few deep water chumming spots which is good for pelagic sharks as well. Potentially bringing in oceanics, makos and blues.
Next season I will be ready for the unexpected and I will be ready to put it all out there, giving everyone what they expect to see and I will make sure everyone comes back with the story. This was out first official season out there and I was new to the area and I arrived expecting guaranteed sharks, but if there is one thing I learned on this trip; nothing - and I mean - nothing is ever guaranteed!
Next blog will highlight our sailfish baitball adventure out to Isla Mujeres...
January 19, 2010
Preparations are being made for our first reader shark trip of the season. We are heading out to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for the annual bull shark migration that runs through these waters every season. I am pretty excited about the trip, and nervous as well. I am always like that before all of our trips. I am nervous about weather, nervous about the sharks being there, safe travels for our guests and so on. I am always hoping that everything goes great and everyone has a good time. Hope and luck are on our side, so I feel good... but until we see that first shark?
I was talking to Andy Murch yesterday about the next issue coming out, I have some new ideas on how I want the next issue to look and feel. I was inspired by a mountain biking mag I picked up the other day. I was thumbing through it, and the mag had this gritty raw feel and it got me all fired up to want to be out there, experiencing this. I wanted to be on the bike, riding some hard core single track, feeling the wind and mud and dirt on my face. I wanted to have sore legs, and a tired back, and have this monster smile from ear to ear. That is how the mag made me feel, and that is how I want our readers to feel when they pick up a copy of SDM.
So expect some more changes and work done to the next issue of SDM. A lot of work! It will feel different, it will look different, but the one thing that will remain the same is the heart and soul of this issue. That will remain 100% what I started out in this business doing, promoting shark diving and show casing a world where sharks and humans co-exist.
A few notes on our new film, The Shark Con. This film will have a heavy presence in the film festival circuit in 2010 so keep an eye out for it, and keep checking back, a calender and schedule will be put on our website shortly to let everyone know where it will be playing. Starting February 15th, we will begin letting everyone know where each fest will be heald at.
We also have our first official film review coming in sometime early next month. ESPN outdoor is reviewing our film, so it is pretty nerve racking waiting for the first official review to come in. Good or bad, I will let you know when its out. ElasmoDiver.com reviewed an early cut of our film. Andy Murch gave us an interesting review, of course I consider it a bit biased because he is in the film and is my good friend. But it was an honest look at an early cut of our film.
Check it out.
We also have been notified that our second film review coming in sometime early next month. ESPN outdoor is reviewing our film, so it is pretty nerve racking waiting for the first official review to come in. Good or bad, I will let you know when its out. Elasmo Diver.com reviewed an early cut of our film. Andy Murch gave us a good review, of course I consider it a bit biased because he is in the film and is my friend. But it is an honest look at our film. Chec
January 12, 2010
Ok back into the swing of a new year. With a new year comes changes. I have a bunch of plans for 2010, and I would share them with you here but I won't because like the ocean my plans change all the time. Sometimes by need, other times because I fall out of love with an idea and want to do something else. So I just flow. The one thing I have to say is that I have a big surprise for you with one of the issues of SDM coming out this year. I had this idea in my head I have been thinking about and talking to Andy on our Cabo trip this past November I decided that I wanted to do it. So I am gonna try it out this year just for the hell of it. So be ready for a what the hell moment when you peel open issue 23 of SDM. I would of done it with issue 22 but I have to finish up Andy's road trip so I am gonna wait, even though I do not want to.
Eli Martinez with Andy Murch...Cabo San Lucas. Nov, 2009
This is going to be a busy year for us at SDM, at least it is going to feel busy. You know its funny I don't feel busy today even though I have so much to do, and so much will get done today but I still feel like I can do more...I can always do more.
Some updates for you all; We are prepping for our first reader shark trip of the season. Plans to visit Playa del Carmen, Mexico for the bull shark migration are underway. I am hoping for a successful trip, not only for our readers, but for the sharks. Latest reports are that plenty of sharks are there, which is good. We also will be spending some time seeking out the sailfish baitballs while we are in Mexico. A quick trip to Isla Mujeres to seek them out for a few days is also on the to do list.
Our new film, The Shark Con is also going to be busy this year. We have already entered it in over 30 film festivals, so we are hoping to make it into a few of them. Now its a waiting game. The wait is to see which film festivals have selected us for their fests. Some festivals will be harder to get into then others, because they are pretty high profile. So we will see? Just entering into a fest does not mean your film will be selected. They have to review your film, and then a panel of judges decides if this is a film they want for their festival this season. So it is a pretty big deal when you get selected. We will know pretty quickly on a few fests if we are in or not, others we have to wait a few months before they will let us know if we are in.
We also have our first film review coming in sometime this week or early next week. ESPN outdoor is reviewing our film, so it is pretty nerve racking waiting for the first official review to come in. Good or bad, I will let you know when its out.
The film made some noise with our trailer when we first put it our because it was pretty dark. But we needed the viewers to care about what they were watching, and it was great that people really got into it. The film itself is about balance. Its about trying to find a balance for our beloved sharks and the people who make their living off of sharks. Whether its fishermen or shark divers or researchers. Its about all these user groups co-existing together. The shitty part is that no matter what, sharks lives are all dependant on desicions we make for them. Their lives are no longer their own, they have become property of humans...it's pretty sad.
January 5, 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Damn 2009 flew by, it really did. Most of it feels like a blur. It was an amazing year filled with adventure, and the people I need to thank is our subscribers and readers of our magazine. Thank you so much for being there and supporting us. We would not be here without you all. 2009 was a great but a tough year for us. The troubled economy affected us as well, which made it hard for us to put out the 3 magazines we normally publish each year. Instead we were only able to publish 2. It was a tough, but then again, not that tough. Because it was either shut the magazine down, or make some cut backs to deal with a troubled season. Since shutting down was never an option, I decided that I would publish 2 issues and focus on 2010 being a much better year. Which is what I did. So thank you everyone for understanding.
Issue 20 and 21
I was trying to think of the highlights for us this past year, and there were just so many its hard to really pinpoint what they are. But there were also a few things that really stuck out for me so I thought I would share them with you all...
- I think the biggest thing for me in 2009 was being in Holbox for the monster aggregation of whale sharks. To witness first hand the largest gathering of whale sharks in the world was a highlight of my shark diving career, and one that I will never forget.
A photo we published in issue 21 of SDM was an aerial shot of the monster aggregation. I have repeatedly said at least 300 whale sharks were feeding at this event. But when I counted the sharks that were in the published image I was blown away by the atcual number of sharks I counted. There were exactly 300 whale sharks in the image. 300! What that means is that the actual of whale sharks feeding in the area had to be at least double that amount. Because what the image does not show is the sharks that were out of camera range, or deep below the surface, or travelling to the area, which we often saw on our way to the area. So I am estimating at least 600 to a 1000 whale sharks were here during this crazy aggregation. Its history-true history. And I am honored to have been there when it happened.
- Another exciting moment for me was helping to put Playa del Carmen, Mexico on the map. Every year a seasonal migration of bull sharks visits Playa del Carmen Mexico and we went down there in February to see this aggregation for ourselves. Not many people knew about this. The locals knew they had something special, but they really did not know how special it was. A year later having a bunch of my friends, and great photographers like Doug Perrine head down there to shoot the phenom was humbling.
-2009 was also the release of our first film on DVD, Summer of the Sharks. This film was a labor of love and a project that was very important to me. I had always wanted to make films. That was something I set out to do back in 2003 when I first started the magazine. I knew making documentaries was the direction I wanted to go, but the plans and the idea fell through. It was not the right time. Towards the end of 2005 the bug to make a film came banging back. But this time I was relentless in making my documentary a reality.
There was a lot more that got me fired up about 2009 but it really is more than one blog can handle, so to keep you from passing out from boredom, I'll leave you with my top 3. I just hope that 2010 will be just as good if not better than 2009...Only time will tell?
Again, Happy New Year my friends!
