Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Upcoming local dives (call 310/652-4990 for more info and to register):
• Sunday, August 23 - Avalon Underwater Park
• Sunday, September 6 (note date change from Saturday) - Redondo Beach Vets Park daytime dive
• Saturday, September 19 - Avalon Underwater Park
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Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015 vacation trips:
• October 21-26 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island trip #2 aboard the Nautilus Explorer (three spots available on this trip)
• December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [SOLD OUT]
• Working on 2016 dates and destinations
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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Lots to cover this week . . .
WEDNESDAY NIGHT DIVE - I was really looking forward to our night dive this past Wednesday at Vets Park because I hadn't been there in a while and I wanted to try my new 5mm Pinnacle Cruiser suit that I'd worn in Guadalupe in SoCal waters. I was even able to get the closest-in space in the Vets parking lot. But when I got out of the car, my first thought was "Uh-oh." The wind was blowing straight on-shore and probably at 20-25mph. Divers who had already completed their dive told us it had only recently picked up. In fact, my guy who was there around 6PM said the change between then and 6:30PM was pretty dramatic. What had been diveable now saw 3-4' breakers rolling in, one right behind the other, and the sea surface was extremely choppy from the wind. That also likely meant that there would likely be considerable surge underneath as well. And while those who had dove reported roughly 20-foot viz, I didn't think that would be the case if we went. On top of that, high tide was around 8PM which meant the waves would likely continue building for the next 90 minutes or so. I have long preached that you don't get hurt on a dive you don't make and invoked that clause Wednesday night, so we canceled. But sometimes that's the best (and most prudent) course of action. And while it would have been nice to dive, it wouldn't have been nice to get thrashed around doing it.
SIMILAR SITUATION SUNDAY MORNING - Buck had a class going out to Vets Sunday morning and encountered similar conditions. He also canceled, especially since it was an OW class who'd never gone through surf before. Again, it's better to be eating bagels for breakfast than to be eating sand.
SURF RULES OF THUMB - I've always used 2-foot and 3-foot as my guides. Anything under 2-foot waves should be OK for anyone. Anything over 3-foot, especially if it's consistently that way, and I'll usually cancel. At that height, you may not only have trouble on the entry and get bounced around, but it's likely that the higher surf has created surge which lessens (or destroys) the visibility, and there's always a chance that if you get dumped by a wave, you'll lose gear. Good for dive shop owners (I used to say that the surf is our best friend) but not good for divers. The hardest times to judge are when the surf is 2-3'. Not quite big enough to cancel outright but bigger than desired. Then it just really comes down to the skill level and comfort level of the divers. It's certainly easier when there's only two buddies than when you're dealing with a class situation or multiple buddy teams as the parameters might change.
CATALINA WAS NICE - Buck also was out on Saturday but over at Catalina on the Magician and said conditions were very nice with two dives at Emerald Bay and one at Eel Cove. Buck says water temps were in the low 70s and the viz was running 70-80 feet. He said there was lots of juvy Garibaldi and cleaning stations. I've heard from others that conditions have been really nice and Joie Koenders, who's also a Chamber volunteer, posted this Sunday picture from high atop a hill looking back down into Big Fisherman's Cove (the Chamber is slightly upper right of center):
SPEAKING OF THE CHAMBER - It got a new coat of paint in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Wrigley Marine Science Center. Looks pretty spiffy, although some Bruins may object to the giant "USC" that's on there. Karl swears to me it's always been there, but was a bit faded before:
A GREAT WETSUIT OFFER - In preparation for our upcoming Red Sea trip, some of our travelers have been looking at new 5mm wetsuits, which would also be good (especially with our warmer waters) for diving SoCal. The suits we're looking at are Pinnacle Cruiser 5mm ones. I ordered a women's Medium Large and a women's Medium Tall for someone but neither fit her as desired. But before I send them back to Pinnacle, I thought maybe some of you are in the market for a new suit. This is the same model I wore (and loved) in Guadalupe and the advantage of a 5mm over a 7mm is that you'll also need a little less weight. So I'm going to wait a few days before I send these back so that if any of you are interested in trying them on, you can do so. And even if you're not an ML or an MT, if you're interested in a suit, we'd be able to order your correct size once we see how you fit into these. The only caveat is that you're going to have to come to Westwood for the fitting session. (But the good news is that I have air-conditioning.) And I'll be able to offer these to you at a good price. So if you're interested in seeing if this would be a good suit choice for you, give me a call at 310/652-4990 and we'll set up a time for you to come try the suit on.
SPEAKING OF WARM WATERS - We always talk about how warmer waters and an El Nino mean unusual animal sightings. And last week, we had one of the most unusual ever: Two Manta Rays were spotted out at the Oil Rigs. No pictures, unfortunately, but three divers out with Kyaa Heller (not sure if it was Sundiver Express or Sundiver II) spotted them and it sounds like a legit sighting. So keep you eyes peeled because you never know what might see.
HAMMER TIME - The warm water also seems to have attracted at least one Hammerhead Shark to San Clemente Island. You may have heard about him in the sensationalist headline "Hammerhead Attacks Diver" that made the rounds last week. But that's not exactly a complete story. Turns out the "diver" was actually a freediver, who was spearfishing, and was holding a speared fish in his hand when the Hammerhead bite him on that very hand. So I think the headline more correctly should have been "Spearfisherman Steals Hammerhead's Meal and Hammerhead Takes It Back."
FISH CAROUSEL IN NEW YORK - There's a new attraction in new York, in the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. It's the SeaGlass Carousel, which opened last Thursday, and instead of riding wooden horses, you're riding fish in a whirling sea of sea creatures. Costs $5 and looks worth investigating. Read the full story and see what it looks like here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/a...-in-a-whirling-school-of-mechanized-fish.html .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
—————————————————
Ken Kurtis
Owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
P.O. Box 634 (please note our revised/new box #)
Beverly Hills, CA 90213
(310) 652-4990
www.reefseekers.com
• Sunday, August 23 - Avalon Underwater Park
• Sunday, September 6 (note date change from Saturday) - Redondo Beach Vets Park daytime dive
• Saturday, September 19 - Avalon Underwater Park
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015 vacation trips:
• October 21-26 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island trip #2 aboard the Nautilus Explorer (three spots available on this trip)
• December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [SOLD OUT]
• Working on 2016 dates and destinations
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Lots to cover this week . . .
WEDNESDAY NIGHT DIVE - I was really looking forward to our night dive this past Wednesday at Vets Park because I hadn't been there in a while and I wanted to try my new 5mm Pinnacle Cruiser suit that I'd worn in Guadalupe in SoCal waters. I was even able to get the closest-in space in the Vets parking lot. But when I got out of the car, my first thought was "Uh-oh." The wind was blowing straight on-shore and probably at 20-25mph. Divers who had already completed their dive told us it had only recently picked up. In fact, my guy who was there around 6PM said the change between then and 6:30PM was pretty dramatic. What had been diveable now saw 3-4' breakers rolling in, one right behind the other, and the sea surface was extremely choppy from the wind. That also likely meant that there would likely be considerable surge underneath as well. And while those who had dove reported roughly 20-foot viz, I didn't think that would be the case if we went. On top of that, high tide was around 8PM which meant the waves would likely continue building for the next 90 minutes or so. I have long preached that you don't get hurt on a dive you don't make and invoked that clause Wednesday night, so we canceled. But sometimes that's the best (and most prudent) course of action. And while it would have been nice to dive, it wouldn't have been nice to get thrashed around doing it.
SIMILAR SITUATION SUNDAY MORNING - Buck had a class going out to Vets Sunday morning and encountered similar conditions. He also canceled, especially since it was an OW class who'd never gone through surf before. Again, it's better to be eating bagels for breakfast than to be eating sand.
SURF RULES OF THUMB - I've always used 2-foot and 3-foot as my guides. Anything under 2-foot waves should be OK for anyone. Anything over 3-foot, especially if it's consistently that way, and I'll usually cancel. At that height, you may not only have trouble on the entry and get bounced around, but it's likely that the higher surf has created surge which lessens (or destroys) the visibility, and there's always a chance that if you get dumped by a wave, you'll lose gear. Good for dive shop owners (I used to say that the surf is our best friend) but not good for divers. The hardest times to judge are when the surf is 2-3'. Not quite big enough to cancel outright but bigger than desired. Then it just really comes down to the skill level and comfort level of the divers. It's certainly easier when there's only two buddies than when you're dealing with a class situation or multiple buddy teams as the parameters might change.
CATALINA WAS NICE - Buck also was out on Saturday but over at Catalina on the Magician and said conditions were very nice with two dives at Emerald Bay and one at Eel Cove. Buck says water temps were in the low 70s and the viz was running 70-80 feet. He said there was lots of juvy Garibaldi and cleaning stations. I've heard from others that conditions have been really nice and Joie Koenders, who's also a Chamber volunteer, posted this Sunday picture from high atop a hill looking back down into Big Fisherman's Cove (the Chamber is slightly upper right of center):
SPEAKING OF THE CHAMBER - It got a new coat of paint in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Wrigley Marine Science Center. Looks pretty spiffy, although some Bruins may object to the giant "USC" that's on there. Karl swears to me it's always been there, but was a bit faded before:
A GREAT WETSUIT OFFER - In preparation for our upcoming Red Sea trip, some of our travelers have been looking at new 5mm wetsuits, which would also be good (especially with our warmer waters) for diving SoCal. The suits we're looking at are Pinnacle Cruiser 5mm ones. I ordered a women's Medium Large and a women's Medium Tall for someone but neither fit her as desired. But before I send them back to Pinnacle, I thought maybe some of you are in the market for a new suit. This is the same model I wore (and loved) in Guadalupe and the advantage of a 5mm over a 7mm is that you'll also need a little less weight. So I'm going to wait a few days before I send these back so that if any of you are interested in trying them on, you can do so. And even if you're not an ML or an MT, if you're interested in a suit, we'd be able to order your correct size once we see how you fit into these. The only caveat is that you're going to have to come to Westwood for the fitting session. (But the good news is that I have air-conditioning.) And I'll be able to offer these to you at a good price. So if you're interested in seeing if this would be a good suit choice for you, give me a call at 310/652-4990 and we'll set up a time for you to come try the suit on.
SPEAKING OF WARM WATERS - We always talk about how warmer waters and an El Nino mean unusual animal sightings. And last week, we had one of the most unusual ever: Two Manta Rays were spotted out at the Oil Rigs. No pictures, unfortunately, but three divers out with Kyaa Heller (not sure if it was Sundiver Express or Sundiver II) spotted them and it sounds like a legit sighting. So keep you eyes peeled because you never know what might see.
HAMMER TIME - The warm water also seems to have attracted at least one Hammerhead Shark to San Clemente Island. You may have heard about him in the sensationalist headline "Hammerhead Attacks Diver" that made the rounds last week. But that's not exactly a complete story. Turns out the "diver" was actually a freediver, who was spearfishing, and was holding a speared fish in his hand when the Hammerhead bite him on that very hand. So I think the headline more correctly should have been "Spearfisherman Steals Hammerhead's Meal and Hammerhead Takes It Back."
FISH CAROUSEL IN NEW YORK - There's a new attraction in new York, in the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. It's the SeaGlass Carousel, which opened last Thursday, and instead of riding wooden horses, you're riding fish in a whirling sea of sea creatures. Costs $5 and looks worth investigating. Read the full story and see what it looks like here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/a...-in-a-whirling-school-of-mechanized-fish.html .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
—————————————————
Ken Kurtis
Owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
P.O. Box 634 (please note our revised/new box #)
Beverly Hills, CA 90213
(310) 652-4990
www.reefseekers.com
