Long Island Divers Association 2027 Winter Gala
NEW YORK—JUNE 13, 2026 — The Long Island Divers Association (LIDA) is excited to announce the date of its annual winter event.
The first annual Long Island Divers Association Winter Gala will be held Saturday, February 6, 2027, at 6:00 p.m. at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, New York. The entire tri-state dive community, including dive stores, dive boats and dive clubs, along with friends and families, are invited to an evening of great food and entertainment, along with the opportunity to socialize, reconnect with friends and dive buddies, and begin planning future dive adventures.
The Long Island Divers Association Winter Gala will feature:
Food and beverages
Cash bar
Amazing raffle prizes
Keynote speaker
A unique opportunity to win a Shark Cage Dive in the aquarium’s shark tank (bring your swimsuit and be ready to dive during the event!)
Full access to the aquarium exhibits and displays
Exhibits from many of our local dive stores , dive boats including Ocean Pals for the children, and the Nassau County Hyperbaric facility.
Meet Our Keynote Speaker
The Long Island Divers Association is excited to announce that the keynote speaker for the upcoming LIDA Winter Gala event to be held February 6, 2027 at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, New York will be Jennifer Sellitti.
Jennifer Sellitti is the Managing Member of Atlantic Wreck Salvage and the captain of the company’s dive vessel, D/V Tenacious. She leads dive expeditions, conducts historical research on both active and prospective projects, and directs the team’s public education efforts on the importance of shipwreck discovery and responsible salvage.
Jennifer has participated in the discovery of several previously undocumented shipwrecks, including the 1855 French passenger steamship SS Le Lyonnais, the WWI-era fishing trawler ST Seiner, the U-53 casualty SS West Point, and the bow of MV Stockholm, the vessel that collided with and sank Andrea Doria, among others. She organizes and leads regular expeditions to dive sites along the Eastern Seaboard and has provided surface support on international expeditions to SS Andrea Doria, Titanic’s sister ship HMHS Britannic, RMS Lusitania, and other deep-water wrecks far offshore.
Her first book, The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket (Schiffer Publishing, March 2025), chronicles the sinking of the nineteenth-century passenger steamship Le Lyonnais. The epilogue documents D/V Tenacious’s 2024 discovery and exploration of the wreck’s final resting place.
For more information about Atlantic Wreck Salvage and D/V Tenacious, visit: www.dvtenacious.com
Mark your calendars now for this must-attend event! Tickets will go on sale soon.
Location: Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, New York.
Date: Saturday, February 6, 2027
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Promoting local diving and representing divers interests throughout the diving community of Long Island.
The Long Island Divers Association (LIDA) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit regional organization dedicated to the promotion of local diving, the representation of divers interests throughout the diving and general community, and the protection of divers rights through outreach to our local and regional government officials. We are funded by member dues and donations and the proceeds from our annual Film Festival fundraiser. LIDA is staffed completely by volunteers.
Highlights & Events
Saving our Shores - Lost to the Sea - Barry Lipsky teams up with News 12's Meredith Garofalo and shows how shifting coastlines and climate change are rapidly deteriorating historic shipwrecks.
HMS Culloden Dive Access - The HMS Culloden is a Revolutionary War era British warship that sank in a winter storm on January 23, 1781 while attempting to repel a French fleet of 13 frigates and 7 “ships-of-the-line” from entering Gardiner’s Bay to aid the Colonial forces.
Special access to Secret Beach (Scuba & Snorkel) - After several months of discussions and cooperation with the Village of Greenport, Secret Beach is once again available on a limited basis for scuba and skin diving through the efforts of the Long Island Divers Association (LIDA).
LIDA Photo Gallery
Check out the Long Island Divers Association's online photo gallery, hosted by SmugMug.
The photo albums presented here depict the wide variety of local scuba diving related events that we host, sponsor or participate in.
Promoting Local Diving
View our 40+ years of accomplishments and services that we were able to provide to the local diving community.
Are you prepared to survive a vessel emergency?
A must see presentation for any diver traveling abroad. Whether you’re a diver, boater, or ocean enthusiast, knowing how to prepare & react during a crisis at sea can mean the difference between life and death.