USHydro2011 Start With Thunder and Lightning

The USHydro2011 conference started with a big bang. On Monday, 25th April, hydrographic professionals from the US, Canada, and the rest of the world gathered at the ice breaker social of the 13th biennial US Hydrographic Conference at the Marriott Waterside Hotel of Tampa on the West coast of Florida. The Tampa Bay area was a spectacular venue for the thundering start of the conference, as thunder storms rolled over the hotel while the Tampa bay Lightning Hockey team plays a home game in the 2011 play offs in the St. Pete Times Forum at the other side of the street.

Hundreds of conference delegates took the opportunity to renew old acquaintances and make new ones during the event that was very kindly sponsored by IVS 3D, in order to celebrate their recent merger with QPS of the Netherlands. Everyone enjoyed the beer, wine, soft drinks and some light snacks, while looking forward to an extremely varied programme. The technical sessions include navigation and AIS, water level determination challenges, visualisation, Lidar surveys, and vertical datums. The programme also features workshops on a range of topics, more than sixty exhibitors, a student outreach program, and a social program that includes an Exhibitors Social on Tuesday 26^th April and a Dinner on Wednesday night at the famous Spanish-style Columbia restaurant. On Thursday, 28^th April, the conference concludes with an invitation to the Canadian Hydrographic Conference 2012, to be held in Niagara Falls from 15th to 17^th May 2012.