Ken Kurtis
Contributor
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Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• March 18-25 - Bonaire [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 4 SPOTS LEFT ]
• June 10-17 - Isla Mujeres (early in the Whale Shark Season)
• July 7-19 - Yap Immersion #1 (special 13-day trip featuring all that Yap has to offer) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 4 SPOTS LEFT ]
• July 21-August 2 - Yap Immersion #2 (week #2 - same sked as above) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 7 SPOTS LEFT ]
• September 1-6 - Great White Sharks of Guadalupe on the Nautilus Belle Amie
• Nov. 20 - Dec. 16 (dates can be trimmed) - Ultimate Indonesia (A week at Murex in Manado, 10 days in Raja Ampat on the Aggressor, 4 days in the Lembeh Straits)
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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Upcoming local dives:
• December 14 - Night/squid dive (FREE!!!! - Vets Park)
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
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Two weeks until Christmas (Hanukkah starts the day before and Kwanzaa starts the day after) . . .
GOOD DIVING - Szilvia Gogh and hubby Hilaire were out at the oil rigs today and report lovely conditions. 62º water temps, 50-60' viz, and good diving all around. Again, proof that when we say the late fall/early winter diving in SoCal is really good, we really mean it. It's not just a marketing ploy.
NIGHT DIVE WEDNESDAY NIGHT - This isn't a marketing ploy either. We've got a night dive on the books for this coming Wednesday at Vets Park in Redondo Beach. The general plan would be to meet in the parking lot around 6PM which should put us in the water no later than 7PM. Low tide's around 2PM, high tide is around 9:30PM, and it's only a 3-foot change so that should work in our favor. Also, although there's a storm coming in projected for Thursday afternoon, this may be the literal calm-before-the-storm. WetSand is predicting negligible surf for Wednesday night (though Thursday night and especially Friday look like stay-at-home breakers) so we may be able to get this in before the rain hits the fan. If you're interested, please let me know via e-mail or phone. Remember as always, we'll make a go/no-go weather call sometime on Wednesday so that's why I need to know who to expect. It's planned as a single-tank dive but if anyone wants to bring an extra tank and go either before or after our planned/guided dive, have at it (as some have in the past). We'll look to go down into the canyon and see if we find any early signs of squid and we'll keep a sharp eye out for any off the other denizens. But remember: If you want to come, you need to call or e-mail.
FINALIZING BONAIRE DETAILS - Those of you on my "interested" list will get a note with pricing from me tomorrow but for everyone, we're planning on being in Bonaire March 18-26 (Saturday-Sunday). This is all dictated by air sked. The best option seems to be United through Houston but it gets a little tricky. They used to have flights on Saturday AND on Sunday but now they only have an afternoon flight on Saturday (arrives in Bonaire at 6:30PM) which then sits on the ground overnight in Bonaire and returns to Houston early Sunday morning (so you're back in LA mid-afternoon). If you don't mind getting up early there's a Saturday 6:30AM flight out of LAX that connects in Houston to the Bonaire flight. Prices out just under $1,100. If you'd like to save $300 and you can take an extra day off, you can leave during the afternoon on Friday, we'll get a hotel (adds maybe $100) and then fly out at a leisurely pace on Saturday after a good night's sleep. There's also a Friday 11:59PM flight, which also saves you money, but you've got a 7-hour layover which might not be long enough to justify a hotel. But once in Bonaire, however we get there, we'll make the first Sunday an easy day with our orientation in the morning and then a checkout dive, and then we'll begin the diving in earnest on Monday morning and dive through Saturday at Noon. This trip will be limited to 12 divers, so if I don't already have you on my list and you'd be interested, be sure to let me know.
SHARK FIN SOUP? - A post on ScubaBoard from Jim Lyle caught my eye concerning a place in Torrance called Mikuni Seafood Buffet. Jim's post was pretty succinct: "We were very disappointed to discover that Mikuni Seafood Buffet is serving shark fin soup. We will not go back." Now I'm certainly not at all a sushi guy but I agree with Jim that you should vote with your feet and your wallet over things like this. And it's certainly listed on their menu (http://mikuniseafoodbuffet.com/?page_id=187) under soups. So I decided to call them (310/791-5550) and asked to speak to a manager. I admittedly didn't get his name but told him that I was a scuba instructor and asked if they were serving shark fin soup while explaining that it's a pretty barbaric practice to make it and is a sensitive subject amongst scuba divers. He told me that they weren't serving it because it was very expensive and when I pointed out that it was on their menu, he claimed, "Oh, that's just a name. We don't really serve it." Not sure if I believe him or not. I suggested to him it might be a good idea to remove it from their menu, especially if they don't really serve it, and he mumbled something about yeah, maybe, but they don't really serve it. I'm not sure if any other phone calls will help encourage them to back away from even serving faux-shark fin soup but then again, a few more phone calls might make them feel that this really is a subject they should be more sensitive to.
COOL DIVE OF THE WEEK - This one is figuratively and literally cool. Betsy Suttle just returned from Iceland when she dove the Silfra Crack. Now before you think this is an early edition of the April Fools newsletter, I assure you it's not. The Silfra Crack is actually quite well-known (SILFRA.ORG - All about Silfra, the famous dive site in Iceland) as it's the boundary between the North American and Eurasian continental plates. And there are even places where it's narrow enough that you can put your hand on Europe on one side and North America on the other. It's also fresh water and the visibility can reach up to 300 feet, although Betsy says she doesn't think it was that high when she was there last week. She did it as part of a tour of Iceland (they take divers as well as snorkelers) and the package includes use of a drysuit, which makes sense when you realize that the water is around 35ºF. Brrrrr!!!! The dive is guided and is about half a hour. Betsy said it was really interesting in terms of looking at the geology (not many fish - some algae and even kelp-like stuff) and she would have liked to have done it a second time to be able to better process what you're seeing. But the point is that if you're in Iceland, you CAN go diving.
RAISING BABY (BLACK SEA BASS) - I can now reveal something that's been kept under wraps for weeks and that is that the Aquarium of the Pacific is rising a baby Black Sea Bass that was spawned by the resident male and female in the Blue Cavern exhibit. The juvy is now almost 70 days old. He (I actually have no idea what the sex is but will just generically refer to it as "he") is not on public exhibit but is in a special area and being hand-raised by AOP aquarist Nicky Leier. The animal's about an inch long right now and seems very comfortable in his tank. There are certainly on-going debates regarding zoos and aquariums and whether animals should be in captivity but this is a great example of what animals in captivity can teach us. There's a lot we don't know about Black Sea Bass and their life cycles and their young, and this gives us a chance to observe at a level simply not possible in the wild. For instance, I've been asked to take a picture of him each week so we can document his growth. That's something that I don't think has really been done before. About three years ago the aquarium acquired, through a donation, a small Black Sea Bass to go with the two adults who have been there since we opened in 1998. Even though we still call him (and we do think this one's a male) the "small" BSB, he's almost the size of the other two who are estimated now to be around 35 years old and 250 pounds or so. So it's been amazing to see how he's grown in the time we've had him. Likewise, it will be an interesting journey with the juvy. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy seeing a pix of Nicky and her spotted baby:
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon (maybe Wednesday night???)!!!!
- Ken
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• March 18-25 - Bonaire [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 4 SPOTS LEFT ]
• June 10-17 - Isla Mujeres (early in the Whale Shark Season)
• July 7-19 - Yap Immersion #1 (special 13-day trip featuring all that Yap has to offer) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 4 SPOTS LEFT ]
• July 21-August 2 - Yap Immersion #2 (week #2 - same sked as above) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 7 SPOTS LEFT ]
• September 1-6 - Great White Sharks of Guadalupe on the Nautilus Belle Amie
• Nov. 20 - Dec. 16 (dates can be trimmed) - Ultimate Indonesia (A week at Murex in Manado, 10 days in Raja Ampat on the Aggressor, 4 days in the Lembeh Straits)
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
——————————————————————————————————————————
Upcoming local dives:
• December 14 - Night/squid dive (FREE!!!! - Vets Park)
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
——————————————————————————————————————————
Two weeks until Christmas (Hanukkah starts the day before and Kwanzaa starts the day after) . . .
GOOD DIVING - Szilvia Gogh and hubby Hilaire were out at the oil rigs today and report lovely conditions. 62º water temps, 50-60' viz, and good diving all around. Again, proof that when we say the late fall/early winter diving in SoCal is really good, we really mean it. It's not just a marketing ploy.
NIGHT DIVE WEDNESDAY NIGHT - This isn't a marketing ploy either. We've got a night dive on the books for this coming Wednesday at Vets Park in Redondo Beach. The general plan would be to meet in the parking lot around 6PM which should put us in the water no later than 7PM. Low tide's around 2PM, high tide is around 9:30PM, and it's only a 3-foot change so that should work in our favor. Also, although there's a storm coming in projected for Thursday afternoon, this may be the literal calm-before-the-storm. WetSand is predicting negligible surf for Wednesday night (though Thursday night and especially Friday look like stay-at-home breakers) so we may be able to get this in before the rain hits the fan. If you're interested, please let me know via e-mail or phone. Remember as always, we'll make a go/no-go weather call sometime on Wednesday so that's why I need to know who to expect. It's planned as a single-tank dive but if anyone wants to bring an extra tank and go either before or after our planned/guided dive, have at it (as some have in the past). We'll look to go down into the canyon and see if we find any early signs of squid and we'll keep a sharp eye out for any off the other denizens. But remember: If you want to come, you need to call or e-mail.
FINALIZING BONAIRE DETAILS - Those of you on my "interested" list will get a note with pricing from me tomorrow but for everyone, we're planning on being in Bonaire March 18-26 (Saturday-Sunday). This is all dictated by air sked. The best option seems to be United through Houston but it gets a little tricky. They used to have flights on Saturday AND on Sunday but now they only have an afternoon flight on Saturday (arrives in Bonaire at 6:30PM) which then sits on the ground overnight in Bonaire and returns to Houston early Sunday morning (so you're back in LA mid-afternoon). If you don't mind getting up early there's a Saturday 6:30AM flight out of LAX that connects in Houston to the Bonaire flight. Prices out just under $1,100. If you'd like to save $300 and you can take an extra day off, you can leave during the afternoon on Friday, we'll get a hotel (adds maybe $100) and then fly out at a leisurely pace on Saturday after a good night's sleep. There's also a Friday 11:59PM flight, which also saves you money, but you've got a 7-hour layover which might not be long enough to justify a hotel. But once in Bonaire, however we get there, we'll make the first Sunday an easy day with our orientation in the morning and then a checkout dive, and then we'll begin the diving in earnest on Monday morning and dive through Saturday at Noon. This trip will be limited to 12 divers, so if I don't already have you on my list and you'd be interested, be sure to let me know.
SHARK FIN SOUP? - A post on ScubaBoard from Jim Lyle caught my eye concerning a place in Torrance called Mikuni Seafood Buffet. Jim's post was pretty succinct: "We were very disappointed to discover that Mikuni Seafood Buffet is serving shark fin soup. We will not go back." Now I'm certainly not at all a sushi guy but I agree with Jim that you should vote with your feet and your wallet over things like this. And it's certainly listed on their menu (http://mikuniseafoodbuffet.com/?page_id=187) under soups. So I decided to call them (310/791-5550) and asked to speak to a manager. I admittedly didn't get his name but told him that I was a scuba instructor and asked if they were serving shark fin soup while explaining that it's a pretty barbaric practice to make it and is a sensitive subject amongst scuba divers. He told me that they weren't serving it because it was very expensive and when I pointed out that it was on their menu, he claimed, "Oh, that's just a name. We don't really serve it." Not sure if I believe him or not. I suggested to him it might be a good idea to remove it from their menu, especially if they don't really serve it, and he mumbled something about yeah, maybe, but they don't really serve it. I'm not sure if any other phone calls will help encourage them to back away from even serving faux-shark fin soup but then again, a few more phone calls might make them feel that this really is a subject they should be more sensitive to.
COOL DIVE OF THE WEEK - This one is figuratively and literally cool. Betsy Suttle just returned from Iceland when she dove the Silfra Crack. Now before you think this is an early edition of the April Fools newsletter, I assure you it's not. The Silfra Crack is actually quite well-known (SILFRA.ORG - All about Silfra, the famous dive site in Iceland) as it's the boundary between the North American and Eurasian continental plates. And there are even places where it's narrow enough that you can put your hand on Europe on one side and North America on the other. It's also fresh water and the visibility can reach up to 300 feet, although Betsy says she doesn't think it was that high when she was there last week. She did it as part of a tour of Iceland (they take divers as well as snorkelers) and the package includes use of a drysuit, which makes sense when you realize that the water is around 35ºF. Brrrrr!!!! The dive is guided and is about half a hour. Betsy said it was really interesting in terms of looking at the geology (not many fish - some algae and even kelp-like stuff) and she would have liked to have done it a second time to be able to better process what you're seeing. But the point is that if you're in Iceland, you CAN go diving.
RAISING BABY (BLACK SEA BASS) - I can now reveal something that's been kept under wraps for weeks and that is that the Aquarium of the Pacific is rising a baby Black Sea Bass that was spawned by the resident male and female in the Blue Cavern exhibit. The juvy is now almost 70 days old. He (I actually have no idea what the sex is but will just generically refer to it as "he") is not on public exhibit but is in a special area and being hand-raised by AOP aquarist Nicky Leier. The animal's about an inch long right now and seems very comfortable in his tank. There are certainly on-going debates regarding zoos and aquariums and whether animals should be in captivity but this is a great example of what animals in captivity can teach us. There's a lot we don't know about Black Sea Bass and their life cycles and their young, and this gives us a chance to observe at a level simply not possible in the wild. For instance, I've been asked to take a picture of him each week so we can document his growth. That's something that I don't think has really been done before. About three years ago the aquarium acquired, through a donation, a small Black Sea Bass to go with the two adults who have been there since we opened in 1998. Even though we still call him (and we do think this one's a male) the "small" BSB, he's almost the size of the other two who are estimated now to be around 35 years old and 250 pounds or so. So it's been amazing to see how he's grown in the time we've had him. Likewise, it will be an interesting journey with the juvy. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy seeing a pix of Nicky and her spotted baby:
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon (maybe Wednesday night???)!!!!
- Ken
