Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Gift cards, Orcas, Turtles, and more
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(please scroll down for details)
How can it possibly be December already . . .
GIFT CARDS - Not to start off with a commercial-y pitch but just a reminder that if you're looking for something "special" for the diver in your life, we still do Reef Seeker gift cards. It could be for a specific dollar amount or a trip or whatever. We customize a certificate for you to present to the recipient. If you're interested, give us a call at 310/652-4990 or send an e-mail to this addy.
EASTER ISLAND TRIPS ARE NOW FULL - We filled the last remaining diver spot of our second Easter Island trip last week. However, we can still take some non-divers if that's of interest to you. We're limited to 7 divers due to the size of the boats we use but we can go up to 12 people for the land tours. So if you have any interest in seeing the Moai of Easter Island (aka Rapa Nui), this is a good chance to do so. We'll do three half-day land tours (afternoons, following morning dives) which will allow us to cover all of the major sites and a couple of minor ones as well. Non-diver price is $1,945 + airfare (which is around $2K).
ROATAN IN LATE JUNE - As you may have seen in the newsletter, we've got our Roatan dates dialed in for next year: June 28 - July 5. We'll be at Anthony's Key again in the over-the-water Key Superior rooms and doing three dives each day plus eating all the food they put before us at breakfast/lunch/dinner. We've even got two nights dives on the schedule. $3,195 covers you for all of that plus airport transfers in Roatan and crew/staff tip. Give us a call if you'd like to join. Trip is limited to roughly 12 divers.
MORE ON TRIPS - We generally do 5-6 vacation trips each year. Next year is no exception but we're doing a couple of them as back-to-back. #1 & #2 are at Easter Island, #3 is Roatan, and #4 & #5 are the Maldives. Since the Easter Island and Maldives trips are both full, if you're interested in doing a Reef Seekers vacation dive trip next year, the only thing we have available at the moment is Roatan. (I know: Embarrassment of riches and First World Problem.) but hopefully you'll be able to join us. We always have a blast on these trips.
ORCAS DOCUMENTED HUNTING WHALE SHARKS - This is not exactly a feel-good story but is an example of how we learn more of the secrets of the ocean the more we can observe underwater. It's long been known that juvy Whale Sharks can be found in Baja California. (We first went down to observe them in 1992.) It's also know that Orcas can be found in that same general area. And now, scientists have documented that the Orcas sometimes team up to attack the Whale Sharks. (To be clear, this is NOT the same area as the Isla Mujeres Whale Sharks we've gone to see. Those are in the Gulf of Mexico near Cancun and Cozumel. These are in the Gulf of California which is La Paz and Loreto.) One thing that Orcas do is flip the Whale Shark into an upside-down position which induces tonic immobility which somewhat paralyzes the Whale Shark. You can read more about this here: WHALE SHARKS TARGETED BY ORCAS.
LOCAL CLASSES & TRIPS - In case you missed it in the newsletter - or simply haven't read the December newsletter yet - we've put out our full list of local trips (Avalon day trips and Vets Park beach dives) and classes (some at the beach, many via Zoom) for 2025. The list is available on our website but you can also download a copy through this link:
REEF SEEKERS 2025 LOCAL CLASSES & TRIPS.
THE TURTLE TAXI - You may need to have FaceBook open to see this but its really cute. It's a very short (8 seconds) video of an octopus riding on the back of a turtle. I have no idea who shot it or where it was but I can guarantee that it'll put a smile on your face: OCTOPUS HITCHES A RIDE.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving together somewhere soon!!!
- Ken
