March 2020
Hans Hass: The Man Who Discovered the Sea
Sponsored by: Marie L Morrisroe Known by divers internationally as the Pioneer of the Pioneers, Hans Hass started his diving career in the 1930s. He was the first free-swimming film maker to film and photograph sharks, manta rays, and whales in their natural environment. A prolific writer, Hass had published six books on diving by 1950. He left the underwater world in 1960 and was largely forgotten by the diving…
We the Voyagers: Our Moana
We are the living crew of Lata, the Polynesian culture-hero who built the first voyaging canoe and navigated across the Pacific. We are the only Polynesians left who still use only ancient designs, materials, and methods. In our films we share our history, motivations, and skills through story-telling, canoe building, and wayfinding, and we invite everyone to reconnect with ancestors and sustainable lifeways. Our most experienced navigator taught us the…
April 2020
The Mystery of the Marie
Nearly 60 years ago, on June 7, 1960, the Marie, a converted WWII Landing craft set out at sunrise from Santa Barbara Harbor with seven men working on a covert underwater Raytheon-related project…and was never seen again. Eventually, four victims’ bodies were recovered, but three disappeared along with the Marie’s life boat—the captain, a scientist, and an engineer (Diego “Jim” Terres, Jr). Only 2 years old when her father disappeared,…
Mermaids: Visualizing the Myths and Legends
Sponsored by: Mimi Michaelis & Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation, and the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation Thousands of years ago the Syrian goddess of the sea, Atargatis, transformed herself into a mermaid by flinging herself into a lake. She emerged with the lower body of a fish and upper body of a human. Ever since, mermaids and mermen have captivated the imaginations of people and cultures around the world. Ralph A. Clevenger grew up…
May 2020
Dearest Minnie: A Sailor’s Story
Hoping to enforce treaties and protect overseas holdings, President Theodore Roosevelt and Congress set out to build American naval power. Beginning in the 1880s with just 90 small and mostly obsolete ships, the navy quickly grew to include new steel fighting vessels. The hulls of these battleships were painted a stark white, which earned them the nickname, the Great White Fleet. By order of President Theodore Roosevelt, 16 battleships and…
SBMM 20th Anniversary Fundraiser
Honoring Surf Legends Shaun Tomson and Renny Yater
Join us in Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary
June 2020
The Loss of the USS Conestoga
The USS Conestoga, with 56 U.S. Navy sailors onboard, departed Mare Island in San Francisco Bay on March 25, 1921 for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was never seen again. The U.S. Navy launched the largest sea and air search in its history for the missing fleet tug, up until the search for Amelia Earhart’s lost plane in 1937. The Navy searched 400,000 square miles off the Hawaii Islands and out…
SBMM’s Annual Kardboard Kayak Race
A Family Fun Event! The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is excited about hosting the 18th annual Kardboard Kayak Race Team Challenge, in conjunction with Semana Nautica. SBMM’s Kardboard Kayak Races challenge families and teams to participate in a battle of wits, creativity, design, and courage! Teams of up to four people each receive two sheets of cardboard, one roll of duct tape, a permanent marker, a utility knife, a yardstick,…