Boston Sea Rovers 2026: Volunteering, Films and Inspiration
If you’re new to this blog, then I am Mia DaPonte and I share my life underwater with you after I got certified as the youngest female Master Scuba Diver in the USA! I was also chosen to be a member of the 2025 PADI Jr. AmbassaDiver team. Our AmbassaDiver motto is “Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean.” That means we want everyone to experience the amazing world beneath the waves — and take care of it at the same time.
You can also follow me and all my adventures on Instagram: @underwaterwithmia.
Hello again! In this blog I’m going to be sharing my experience at the 2026 Boston Sea Rovers conference that my mom and I go to every year.
This year was a little different because I got to get involved and volunteer in the morning at the silent auction section while my mom went to a few presentations. It was fun, and it was also good practice with learning to talk to strangers and help by answering their questions. I was surprised because a few people came up to me and they said they knew who I was! It was also cool to be on the inside of things and see how they run the different stations and how they set it up. Then when I was done volunteering we went to presentations with my mom.
This year was dedicated to Captain Joe Mazraani, who passed away last July. There was a whole room full of artifacts that he and his team recovered from the Andria Doria all on display in his honor. He was also named the Diver of the Year at the festival. I went to a special presentation that Jen Sellitti gave and she explained the story of Joe’s last shipwreck exploration and how it brought her together with the family of one of the missing passengers. I cried. She is such a great storyteller and presenter. Jen said this is one of her favorite pictures of Joe and I wanted to share it so that everyone can remember him.
Other presentations I attended this year were also incredibly great, like hearing about coral conservation and the new things they are doing to help save our reefs. Like, there’s now a robot that can go in the water and see what corals need help. And they are recording the sounds from a reef and playing them in labs, which is helping the lab corals to grow!
The intern this year was Sofia Butler. She is studying marine biology at the University of Rhode Island. I was super interested in what she had to say about her experience over the summer as the intern. Some of the biggest things I want to learn is underwater photography and she got to do a two-week training with some of the best in the diving world! And at the end of her internship she spent two weeks on a boat in Antarctica and even dove near an iceberg. It’s my dream to dive in Antarctica. I want to see a beluga whale so badly.
On the second night was the annual film festival. It was such a great one that I think it’s the best one I’ve seen. Jen ran the whole show and she is so fun, I knew it was going to be a great night. We got to see different films like watching orcas hunt, which was cool because they work as a team. They were eating rays which are my mom’s favorite. She was a little sad but I explained to her that it is the circle of life and if they didn’t eat them then we would be dealing with overpopulation. Another film was on the forest acting as a sponge and how it contributes to a healthy world. Then there was a film about this group that spends every day protecting the animals from illegal fishing. I found out that there are something like 250 sharks hunted every minute! And there is a group out there that helps stop the hunting and pulls fishing lines from the water to keep animals from getting caught. Another one was on freshwater photography, I forget sometimes that there is a lot to look at in fresh water too. And other films were shown too. It was a ton of fun going to this and I hope to do it every year to come.
Guess what? The dive shop where I trained was the sponsor for the meet the speakers event after the film festival. It’s a big night where we all get to talk and meet some really cool people. I was super proud that Dive On It Scuba was a fun part of the big night.
Of course we could not leave without checking in with “the Joshes”. They are two guys both named Josh and are the regional managers at PADI and they know me from before. Now that I am an Ambassadiver it is like I am part of the PADI family and it was fun to see them. We always try to get a funny picture.
Overall we met and reconnected with amazing people at this conference and the presentations, and film festival were absolutely awesome. I got so many great blog ideas and invitations to experience new diving adventures. I am excited to share so many adventures with you! I hope to do this again next year!
Next stop: back to Aruba for Lion Fish Hunting. I can’t wait to share!
Until next time, sea you all later!!!
