Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015-2016 vacation trips:
• August 1-6 - Isla Guadalupe & Great White Sharks [ ONLY 5 SPOTS AVAILABLE ]
• August 13-20 (WEEK 1) - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues [ SOLD OUT!!! ]
• August 20-27 (WEEK 2) - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues [ A FEW SPOTS LEFT ]
• November 3-16 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ FILLING - ONLY 6 STILL AVAILABLE ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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The weather works in mysterious ways . . .
INTERESTING WIND ON THE WATER - You likely already realize what a windy weekend it was and while it whipped up the seas a bit, not as much as predicted. Some of our folks were on the Cee Ray Saturday and said it was a bouncy ride over and back but they were able to dive Blue Caverns and had 30-40 foot viz and decent conditions in close. The same thing was supposed to prevail Sunday but mid-afternoon I got the following note from Gary Jackson on the Hattitude, "Love these 'Gale Force' winds. Mid channel at 2:30pm" which was accompanied by this picture:
CHAMBER DAY/EVE LOOMS - We're about nine days away from the big event and usually the pace of everything pick sup as we enter the home stretch. Of course, we're not where we'd like to be in terms of signups but we've still got time to add YOU to the list. Don't forget that all the monies raised goes to help fund our Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and private funding (that's us) supplies about 50% of our Chamber's annual budget. So here's a quick run-down on what you can do to get involved and what Reef Seekers is specifically sponsoring as well.
CHAMBER DAY - We're on the Cee Ray (sharing with Douglas Dive Club) and we've still got about 10 spots available ($110/spot plus $30 food-and-air which we give to the boat). Obviously, it's open to anyone, not just Reef Seekers divers. The Cee Ray will most likely head straight for the Chamber and you'll get to do your 75-minute walking tour of the facilities first. After that (your DMs will also get all the t-shirts for everyone at that time), you'll leave the Chamber dock and do two dives in that general area. The Cee Ray crew and our DMs will pick the best spot(s) available based on conditions. After the second dive, you'll head for home and should arrive back at the dock around 5PM or so. We will also hope to have relayed all the names of raffle prize winners by then so if you've won something, you can quickly swing by the Aquarium and pick up your loot.
CHAMBER EVE - We've still got seats left at the Reef Seekers table ($110/seat) and would love to have you join us. Chamber Eve is a fun-filled affair (it's been called "Scuba Prom") that includes time to walk around the fabulous Aquarium of the Pacific (which we have all to ourselves), time for dinner, and time to win raffle prizes. Speaking of which, we've got some great ones to offer this year. Here are just two of them.
THE GRAND PRIZE IS A MULTI-DAY TRUTH AQUATICS TRIP - That's right, the Grand Prize for Chamber Eve this year is a multi-day trip (up to five days) for an individual diver on any one of the Truth Aquatics boats (Vision, Conception, and Truth). And best of all . . . we've got TWO of them to give away on May 4. The Ch-Eve raffle is open only to those in attendance at Chamber Eve. With your Chamber Eve dinner ticket, you also receive five free Ch-Eve raffle tickets. You can buy more at the event. Individual tickets are $2 each or $10 for 6, $20 for 13, $50 for 35, and $100 for 75. And there's no limit on the number of tickets you can buy. The more you have, the better your chances of winning the Grand Prize. This prize drawing will be the final event of the evening (right after the check presentation) and since you must be present to win, don't leave early. Good luck!!!
VERY COOL BLIND BID ITEM - Each year at Chamber Eve, we have a number of "blind bid" items where you can submit a bid but you don't know what others who are bidding against you have submitted. This year we've got a very unique opportunity for you to acquire something rare: An authentic beer & ale bottle, plucked 1700 feet deep, and which had been lying on the bottom of the Atlantic for almost 140 years. The bottle comes from the SS Republic. The SS Republic was a Civil War-era sidewheel steamship that sank in 1865 while carrying a large cargo of silver and gold coins and a stunning variety of everyday wares essential to life in mid-19th century America. It was discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2003. Artifacts recovered provide a fascinating look at 19th century goods in use during the Civil War years. The beer & ale bottle comes with a display stand, a certificate of authenticity, two books ("Bottles from the Deep" and "Lost Gold of the Republic"), and a DVD about the wreck and the recovery. It all goes to the highest bidder. Remember that for our Blind Bid items, you won't know what others have bid, so give it your best shot. All items will be on display at our prize table in front of the Blue Cavern exhibit. Bids can be made up until 9PM. Since you're doing this blind and don't know what others have bid, you only need to make one trip to the table and submit one bid. But make it your best offer.
FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE DAY - How about getting a whale untangled from lines and crab pots, and then having the whale hang around to "thank" you? Click here:
It Took Him 5 Hours To Rescue This Whale Stuck In A Net. What The Whale Does Next? Incredible .
A FINAL GOODBYE TO 8612 WILSHIRE - I was going to call this "End of an Era" but then was reminded that the "era" ended nine-and-a-half years ago when we got the boot by our lease not getting renewed. At the time, they were going to build a large complex with ground-floor retail and three upper stories of condos on the space where the store stood and the vacant lot next to it. Together, that accounted for a full half block and was among the larger undeveloped spaces left in Beverly Hills. But even though we got pushed out at the end of 2006, nothing ever happened to the lot. With the economy tanking in 2007 and 2008, my understanding is that the developers decided it wasn't financially feasible to go ahead with the project. But the old store sat essentially empty (some minor clients have been in and out) and the lot stood vacant. Until recently. From the public record, it looks like they were able to sell the vacant lot of likely 8612 Wilshire for a little over $10 million in September of 2013. Our bookkeeper Eleanor drove by the other day and alerted me to the acclivity. The pictures below are from this weekend. That's a pretty serious construction fence around the place and there's even a small construction office/shed at the SE corner of the lot. I've searched the Beverly Hills building permits for the vacant lot (which is 8600 Wilshire) and can't really get an idea of what they're putting up, although it does seem that they have a demolition permit, which I would assume is for our old 8612 home. C'est la vie. It was a GREAT place the 13 years we were there and we still miss it. But life goes on. Here's the view today:
And on that sad note . . . that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
• August 1-6 - Isla Guadalupe & Great White Sharks [ ONLY 5 SPOTS AVAILABLE ]
• August 13-20 (WEEK 1) - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues [ SOLD OUT!!! ]
• August 20-27 (WEEK 2) - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues [ A FEW SPOTS LEFT ]
• November 3-16 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ FILLING - ONLY 6 STILL AVAILABLE ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
—————————————————————————————————————————————
The weather works in mysterious ways . . .
INTERESTING WIND ON THE WATER - You likely already realize what a windy weekend it was and while it whipped up the seas a bit, not as much as predicted. Some of our folks were on the Cee Ray Saturday and said it was a bouncy ride over and back but they were able to dive Blue Caverns and had 30-40 foot viz and decent conditions in close. The same thing was supposed to prevail Sunday but mid-afternoon I got the following note from Gary Jackson on the Hattitude, "Love these 'Gale Force' winds. Mid channel at 2:30pm" which was accompanied by this picture:
CHAMBER DAY/EVE LOOMS - We're about nine days away from the big event and usually the pace of everything pick sup as we enter the home stretch. Of course, we're not where we'd like to be in terms of signups but we've still got time to add YOU to the list. Don't forget that all the monies raised goes to help fund our Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and private funding (that's us) supplies about 50% of our Chamber's annual budget. So here's a quick run-down on what you can do to get involved and what Reef Seekers is specifically sponsoring as well.
CHAMBER DAY - We're on the Cee Ray (sharing with Douglas Dive Club) and we've still got about 10 spots available ($110/spot plus $30 food-and-air which we give to the boat). Obviously, it's open to anyone, not just Reef Seekers divers. The Cee Ray will most likely head straight for the Chamber and you'll get to do your 75-minute walking tour of the facilities first. After that (your DMs will also get all the t-shirts for everyone at that time), you'll leave the Chamber dock and do two dives in that general area. The Cee Ray crew and our DMs will pick the best spot(s) available based on conditions. After the second dive, you'll head for home and should arrive back at the dock around 5PM or so. We will also hope to have relayed all the names of raffle prize winners by then so if you've won something, you can quickly swing by the Aquarium and pick up your loot.
CHAMBER EVE - We've still got seats left at the Reef Seekers table ($110/seat) and would love to have you join us. Chamber Eve is a fun-filled affair (it's been called "Scuba Prom") that includes time to walk around the fabulous Aquarium of the Pacific (which we have all to ourselves), time for dinner, and time to win raffle prizes. Speaking of which, we've got some great ones to offer this year. Here are just two of them.
THE GRAND PRIZE IS A MULTI-DAY TRUTH AQUATICS TRIP - That's right, the Grand Prize for Chamber Eve this year is a multi-day trip (up to five days) for an individual diver on any one of the Truth Aquatics boats (Vision, Conception, and Truth). And best of all . . . we've got TWO of them to give away on May 4. The Ch-Eve raffle is open only to those in attendance at Chamber Eve. With your Chamber Eve dinner ticket, you also receive five free Ch-Eve raffle tickets. You can buy more at the event. Individual tickets are $2 each or $10 for 6, $20 for 13, $50 for 35, and $100 for 75. And there's no limit on the number of tickets you can buy. The more you have, the better your chances of winning the Grand Prize. This prize drawing will be the final event of the evening (right after the check presentation) and since you must be present to win, don't leave early. Good luck!!!
VERY COOL BLIND BID ITEM - Each year at Chamber Eve, we have a number of "blind bid" items where you can submit a bid but you don't know what others who are bidding against you have submitted. This year we've got a very unique opportunity for you to acquire something rare: An authentic beer & ale bottle, plucked 1700 feet deep, and which had been lying on the bottom of the Atlantic for almost 140 years. The bottle comes from the SS Republic. The SS Republic was a Civil War-era sidewheel steamship that sank in 1865 while carrying a large cargo of silver and gold coins and a stunning variety of everyday wares essential to life in mid-19th century America. It was discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2003. Artifacts recovered provide a fascinating look at 19th century goods in use during the Civil War years. The beer & ale bottle comes with a display stand, a certificate of authenticity, two books ("Bottles from the Deep" and "Lost Gold of the Republic"), and a DVD about the wreck and the recovery. It all goes to the highest bidder. Remember that for our Blind Bid items, you won't know what others have bid, so give it your best shot. All items will be on display at our prize table in front of the Blue Cavern exhibit. Bids can be made up until 9PM. Since you're doing this blind and don't know what others have bid, you only need to make one trip to the table and submit one bid. But make it your best offer.
FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE DAY - How about getting a whale untangled from lines and crab pots, and then having the whale hang around to "thank" you? Click here:
It Took Him 5 Hours To Rescue This Whale Stuck In A Net. What The Whale Does Next? Incredible .
A FINAL GOODBYE TO 8612 WILSHIRE - I was going to call this "End of an Era" but then was reminded that the "era" ended nine-and-a-half years ago when we got the boot by our lease not getting renewed. At the time, they were going to build a large complex with ground-floor retail and three upper stories of condos on the space where the store stood and the vacant lot next to it. Together, that accounted for a full half block and was among the larger undeveloped spaces left in Beverly Hills. But even though we got pushed out at the end of 2006, nothing ever happened to the lot. With the economy tanking in 2007 and 2008, my understanding is that the developers decided it wasn't financially feasible to go ahead with the project. But the old store sat essentially empty (some minor clients have been in and out) and the lot stood vacant. Until recently. From the public record, it looks like they were able to sell the vacant lot of likely 8612 Wilshire for a little over $10 million in September of 2013. Our bookkeeper Eleanor drove by the other day and alerted me to the acclivity. The pictures below are from this weekend. That's a pretty serious construction fence around the place and there's even a small construction office/shed at the SE corner of the lot. I've searched the Beverly Hills building permits for the vacant lot (which is 8600 Wilshire) and can't really get an idea of what they're putting up, although it does seem that they have a demolition permit, which I would assume is for our old 8612 home. C'est la vie. It was a GREAT place the 13 years we were there and we still miss it. But life goes on. Here's the view today:
And on that sad note . . . that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
