Project Team
The Santa Barbara Deepwater Diving Monument (DWDM) Committee was formed by local historian and founder of the Historical Diving Society, Leslie Leaney and Professor Emeritus Don Barthelmess of Santa Barbara City College’s Marine Diving Technology Program. They have both held a long-standing wish to build a Monument to celebrate Santa Barbara's legacy as the birthplace of Deepwater Diving and for the diving pioneers who went before us.
Their mission, "To design and fundraise a bronze diver sculpture/monument to the pioneering local divers, as a gift to the City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Department".
The monument will provide an enduring local attraction that confirms Santa Barbara harbor’s place in history as the birthplace of international deepwater ocean exploration.
Principle Contractor
At the DEMA Show (Diving Equipment & Marketing Association) located in Las Vegas in 2021, Leslie and Don held a meeting with the two Directors of Monument Projects Ltd, Paul Guiver and Tony Sexton, to discuss the feasibility of the project.
Paul and Tony, both former Royal Navy Mine Clearance Divers were already running a project in the UK to build a similar bronze statue in recognition of Military Divers. Also, Paul's original company had acted as the Principle Contractor for the highly successful MkV Monument Project ('JAKE') at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City Beach, Florida; completing in 2012.
As a result, Monument Projects Ltd. were formally engaged as the Principle Contractor to produce, manage and deliver the DWDM project and the 'Team' was formed.
Wider Project Team
July 2023: The team are now excited to welcome several new key members of the diving community to the committee. Their experience, wisdom and drive will take us forward as we move into the production phase of the project.