5/20/26: David Finnern on "Sunken Mysteries of the West"

TOPIC:

Literally thousands of shipwrecks and sunken objects lay hidden beneath the waters of the Western States, from treasure-laden steam ships and antiquated submerged trains to forgotten sunken cities and World War II aircraft. In this talk, David Finnern travels beneath the waves and explores some of the enigmatic and time-obscured relics and historical treasures lost below Western waterways and the Pacific Ocean.

SPEAKER BIO:

Award-winning writer, explorer and investigator David Finnern has published hundreds of stories about his underwater discoveries and explorations which have regaled the pages of books, magazines and newspapers for over 35 years.

He has investigated a wide variety of “lost tales and mysteries,” including shipwrecks, sunken trains, Nazi spy tunnels, lost aircraft, sabotage, sunken cities, vanished civilizations, and lost landings. Much of his writing requires an acute understanding of underwater exploration and investigation techniques.

David began diving at the age of 12 and built his first underwater camera at age 15. He holds several certification levels, including Advanced Diver, Rescue Diver and Certified Divemaster, and graduated from the N.A.U.I. Professional College “Underwater Equipment Specialist” course and the U.S. Divers Technical School, as well as completed U.S.C.G.A. seamanship, piloting and navigation courses. Finnern also studied investigative journalism via the American Press Institute, Golden West College, Poynter News University, Society of Professional Journalists, and Anderson School of Journalism. He has also completed the Level One Intelligence Analyst course, and graduated from the Investigation Program at California State University, Fullerton.