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Meet the Beaners

Dawn and Blair Witherington at the 2008 Sea-bean Symposium at the Cocoa Beach Public Library.

Dawn and Blair Witherington at the 2008 Sea-bean Symposium at the Cocoa Beach Public Library.

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com.

Last week I wrote about the upcoming 14th Annual International Sea-Bean Symposium and Beachcombers’ Festival and mentioned that I would introduce you to some of the interesting, knowledgeable and talented people you will see at the 2009 Festival on October 16th & 17th (just a few weeks away).

Above are Dawn and Blair Witherington. Dawn is an artist and Blair is a scientist who does a lot of fascinating work with sea turtles. They are both authors of one of my favorite books: Florida’s Living Beaches, A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber. They’ll have their beautiful books and art works on display and for sale at the Symposium.

Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer sits surrounded by all the objects he and other people have found washed up on beaches.

Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer sits surrounded by all the objects he and other people have found washed up on beaches.

Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer will be the Keynote speaker on Saturday, October 17, 2009 and will present The Origins of Florida Flotsam at 7:45 – 8:45 p.m. I wouldn’t miss it. Dr. Ebbesmeyer is an entertaining speaker.

He is also the author of Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science.  Dr. Ebbesmeyer is an oceanographer who studies ocean currents by tracking floating objects. There are some pretty curious things floating around out there in the ocean, including sea-beans.

Wildlife photographer Jim Angy displays his work at the Sea-bean Symposium.

Wildlife photographer Jim Angy displays his work at the Sea-bean Symposium.

On quite a few occasions I’ve displayed Jim Angy’s photography on this blog. Although he photographs all kinds of wildlife, his photos of nesting sea turtles are particularly captivating. Jim knows where to go to find wildlife. Many of Jim’s photographs are displayed on Marge Bell’s Blog SpaceCoastBeachBuzz.com.  Marge is one of the key organizers behind the Sea-bean Symposium and if you attend you’ll likely meet her. She does have a knack for avoiding the camera lens though, so I don’t have  a photo of her.

Ed Perry (seated) helps a newcomer to the Symposium identify sea-beans she found on the beach during the "Bean-A-Thon."

Ed Perry (seated) helps a newcomer to the Symposium identify sea-beans she found on the beach during the "Bean-A-Thon."

Ed Perry has been a park ranger at Sebastian Inlet State Park for over 20 years and is an absolute fountain of knowledge about Florida Nature. You can usually find Ed doing managerial things at the McLarty Treasure Museum on the south side of Sebastian Inlet, which is where I first met him.  He’s co-author of Sea-Beans from the Tropics: A Collector’s Guide to Sea-Beans and Other Tropical Drift on Atlantic Shores.  Ed has continued organizing the Symposium after the original founder Cathie Katz passed away in 2001. Marge Bell recently published a great blog post with more information about Ed Perry and the Sea-Bean Symposium.

My fiance Suzie with a beautiful sea-bean she found at Sebastian Inlet.

My fiance Suzie with a beautiful sea-bean she found at Sebastian Inlet.

Sea-Beaner's from all over the world comb the wrack at Sebastian Inlet State Park after the 2008 Sea-Bean Symposium.

Sea-Beaner's from all over the world comb the wrack at Sebastian Inlet State Park after the 2008 Sea-Bean Symposium.

That’s it for now. More later. See you at the Symposium!

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