Dr. Toni L. Carrell

Toni joined Ships of Discovery in its early monthsafter having worked as an underwater archaeologist for the National Park Service’s Submerged Cultural Resources Unit for many years. Her extensive experience investigating shipwrecks from the 1600s to WWII throughout the United States and several foreign countries has continued as she pursues an interest hull construction. That led her to field directing the excavation of the La Salle shipwreck, La Belle for the Texas Historical Commission in 1997 and her involvement with replica ships construced in Brazil. A respected author and lecturer, Toni has written many articles for both popular and scientific journals, and has authored numerous archaeological reports. She served as Chairman of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology from 1995-2000 (currently Emeritus member) and represented the Society for Historical Archaeology during the UNESCO meeting of experts on the development of the international Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, adopted in 2001. Toni was elected to the Women Diver's Hall of fame in 2001.


"My interest in underwater archaeology did not stem from a lifelong love of the sea and ships nor from a desire to do something useful with my life. Rather it grew from watching Lloyd Bridges in Sea Hunt. As a tomboy growing up in California, the weekly episodes represented escape and adventure of the most exotic kind imaginable. But thoughts of Sea Hunt faded as I grew. I entered college as a business major, and to fulfill a requirement for a class in the social sciences, I read Kroeber's Ishi. That lead to other classes in anthropology/archaeology, and by the time I finished my undergraduate degree in anthropology, my fascination with prehistoric California was strong. I would have pursued land archaeology as a career except for Sea Hunt. I jumped at the opportunity to take a scuba class in my senior year. After my first open water dive, I was hooked on scuba as a sport. Within a few months of becoming certified I visited Califomia's Channel Islands and saw my first shipwreck. Since then ships and the people who built them have captured my imagination and challenged my curiosity. The wrecks that mark their passage truly embody escape and adventure." why

"Adventure is danger and discomfort when viewed from the complacency of reflection."

Anonymous

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