[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16262]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN MEMORY OF WES SKILES

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                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 22, 2010

  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable life 
of Wes Skiles. Wes was a world-renowned photojournalist and underwater 
photographer. His work appeared in numerous publications, most notably, 
National Geographic.
  Wes, who was a resident of High Springs, Florida in my congressional 
district, died July 21 off the east coast of Florida. He was 52 years 
old. Wes died doing what he loved most; exploring the ocean and 
providing vivid pictures of unusual places. At the time of his death he 
was filming a project on the behavior of high-speed fish near the 
Boynton Beach Inlet.
  Wes's love of the ocean was a constant throughout his life. As a 
child growing up in Jacksonville, Wes would often skip school to go 
surfing and became a certified scuba diver at age 13. He began taking 
photographs of his underwater explorations off the north Florida coast 
to share with friends and family. He was hooked and soon his hobby 
became his profession. He became a hands-on expert on underwater caves 
and was known as Florida's Jacques Cousteau.
  Wes spent 27 years as a photojournalist and was among the first 
people to set foot on the largest iceberg in Antarctica. He loved 
adventure. According to a media report, one time, off the coast of 
South Africa, a shark jammed itself into Wes's protective cage. Wes 
beat the creature back with his heavy, waterproof camera, taking 
pictures throughout the episode, and had close-up photos of the great 
white's jagged teeth as a token of his survival.
  Wes founded Karst Productions, a photography and cinematography 
company that filmed, produced and directed dozens of programs for 
television, including segments for PBS, Imax and the Discovery Channel.
  Wes Skiles lived a passionate life full of adventure and excitement. 
Although he was taken from us too soon, his work will carry on for many 
years to come. Our thoughts go out to his wife of 29 years, Terri, and 
their two children, Nathan and Tessa.

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