Depths in focus as the sea celebrated in pictures

The tanks at the Sea Life Centre in Scarborough will not only contain creatures from the deep but also a series of famous faces including television presenters, a celebrity chef and a world-renowned yachtsmen

The Celebrations of the Sea exhibition not only features photographs which were taken underwater but is also presented inside the fish tanks.

It has been launched by the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, one of the oldest charities providing financial support to former seafarers, in honour of “unsung heroes of the sea”.

The images were taken by acclaimed marine photographer Kate Westaway and all of those captured are linked in some way to the sea.

The unique gallery of the deep includes images of both celebrities and everyday people such as fishermen and lobsterpot makers who are pictured carrying out their day jobs.

Dan Snow has presented a series of programmes about Britain’s naval history, while Ellie Harrison is a wildlife TV presenter.

The exhibition features Mitch Tonks, one of the country’s leading seafood chefs, who is pictured holding ingredients from the sea.

There are also images of surfing champion Tassy Swallow who is shown sitting on her surfboard while underwater, world champion cliff diver Gary Hunt and the world-renowned yachtsman Mike Golding.

Visitors to the centre can support the exhibition by purchasing a £1 brochure with funds raised going to the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society.

The exhibition will be on display at the Sea Life Centre from today until next Monday, which will mark the end of its tour of the country.

It was launched at the Brighton Sea Life Centre in October and has toured the centres in Weymouth, Birmingham and Blackpool before arriving at its final destination on the Yorkshire coast.

Sea Life spokeswoman Ellie Cowley said: “It has received really good reactions from the visitors who have seen them.

“I think the photographs themselves are really interesting from a visual point of view when you realise they have been taken underwater.

“The image of Tassy Swallow on her surfboard for instance I think is a brilliant photograph.”

She added: “We are constantly looking for new ways to engage visitors with the amazing underwater world.

“Celebrations of the Sea really illustrates the delicate relationship between humans and the sea, and to host the world’s first photography exhibition underwater is a real honour.”

Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society chief executive Malcolm Williams said: “Celebrations of the Sea is a unique and fantastically creative project which aims to honour the maritime industry’s unsung heroes.

“These include the fishermen who brave the UK’s stormiest seas, to traditional lobsterpot makers who keep precious fishing traditions alive and our most talented chefs who turn the fish caught out at sea into the nation’s favourite dishes.

“We are incredibly excited to have worked with a photographer of Kate’s calibre on this project.

“Hopefully it will go some way to not only showcasing the variety of professions involved with the sea in the UK today, but will support donations to the charity to help those former mariners who have given so much and are now in need.”

Mr Williams said the exhibition would not have been possible without the support of sponsors John West and CEVA Logistics.

The society hopes the event will remind people about the importance of those who work at sea to the country.

More than 95 per cent of all Britain’s imports and exports are transported by sea and the £37 billion UK maritime sector employs more than 250,000 people – more than those who work in aerospace and agriculture combined.

All donations generated from the exhibition will go to the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society to support the UK’s retired and impoverished seafarers in times of financial hardship.

The society, one of the UK’s oldest charities whose patron is the Princess Royal, operates to help UK seafarers in need through a combination of regular and one-off crisis grants.

In the last 12 months 2,644 former seafarers across the country benefited from the society’s support and it has distributed grants totalling more than £1.5 million.

It also helped beneficiaries gain access to Government benefits.

The charity received 729 new applications for financial support last year – the highest level since 2005.

Subjects from coral to celebrities

THE IMAGES from what is being described as the world’s first underwater photography exhibition have been taken by Kate Westaway.

In her career, she has pictured everything from the rarest marine life in waters across the globe to high profile stars including Angelina Jolie.

The Celebrations of the Sea exhibition has showcased her images inside fish tanks alongside living marine life at such as conger eels and wolf fish.

It can be seen for a week from today at the Sea Life Centre in Scarborough.

The centre is open from 10am until 5pm with last admissions at 4pm.