Ken Kurtis
Contributor
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Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• March 18-25 - Bonaire [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 5 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 - 5 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:
• I guess I need to start planning 2017 dives . . .
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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Even a broken clock is right twice a day . . .
TIMING - Those of you who travel with me know that I always bring a large (16 oz.) mug with me on these trips for tea. You also know that regardless of the season, the mug I bring is a Frosty the Snowman one. So it's nice to be using it during the season that it's actually designed for.
THAR BE SQUID - We had a FABULOUS dive last Wednesday night at Vets Park. Dana Rodda & Chris Menjou joined me for what we were hoping was going to be a successful squid dive and we were not disppointed. Even on the kick out through the shallows, we saw many Target Shrimp and crabs leading out to the canyon as well as a teeny Plainfin Midshipman and a California Lizardfish who was buried in the sand. Once we dropped into the canyon, there were many, many eggs and squid, mostly around 75 feet and deeper. They also seemed to be more prevalent heading south, using Main Stairs as your point of reference. Surf was maybe 1 foot with an occasional 1.5 footer, and I had 58º on my gauge at 70-80 feet, which is where the action was. Viz was about 20-30 feet throughout the dive. Dozens and dozens and dozens of mating squid, thousands of eggs in many clusters, hundreds of more Target Shrimp in the egg clusters or feasting on dying squid. (In case you didn't already know it, the squid mate and then die.) There were also Cusk Eels, Sarcastic Fringeheads, and even a really big Sheep Crab. We had a phenomenal squid run in August of 2013 but 2014 and 2015 were so-so at best. Although the season (at least for Vets) is considered to be mid-December to mid-March, it can vary in both timing and intensity. But this one's off to a good start so hopefully it's a really good season and we'll have many more exciting night dives to come. I didn't have a camera with me but Chris Menjou did and here are a couple of shots he had showing both the mating squid (note the red tentacles on the male in the middle pix) and the female forming the egg sac to plant (lower):
BLACK SEA BASS BONUS - And if the squid themselves weren't enough to make it a great dive, we got a BSB Bonus on the kick back in when we ran into not one, but TWO juvy Black Sea Bass drifting to and fro in the sand. One (top) is younger than the other and, based on what our juvy at the Aquarium looks like, I'm guessing the second one is at least 90 days old. First one is a little less than an inch long and the second is maybe an inch-and-a-half. Chris got a couple of shots of these guys too. Note that you can just barely see a hint of spots on the first (younger) one but they're quite evident on the second one. And especially on the second one, you can see the transparent caudal (tail) and anal fins:
TIMING IS EVERYTHING - We dove Wednesday night, the rain started Thursday afternoon, and the wind started Thursday night. This is what it looked like at the Topaz Jetty (100 yards south of the Vets Main Stairs) on Friday morning. Shows how quickly things can change (this is from "Dave & Kathy's Slice of Heaven" webcam which is on their balcony and yes, those are Christmas icicle lights hanging down):
LESSONS LEARNED - I promised "the diver" I wouldn't reveal name let alone gender but suffice it to say that we started out as a 4-person dive team. The reason we became a threesome - and "the diver" missed out on a phenomenal dive - was that they didn't check their gear before they left home. We were literally in wetsuits and about to don tanks when I heard, "Uh-oh, my computer's not working." Turned out to be a dead battery. "The diver" didn't have a spare, nor did I nor anyone else nearby, and no one had an extra pressure gauge. So "the diver" had to pack things up and headed back home. The obvious lesson is to check all of this stuff BEFORE you leave home - especially if you have used the gear in a while - so you have ample time to repair or replace anything that needs attention.
I'm heading back east on Tuesday to spend Christmas with my dad in Delaware (Sister Sue flies in on Wednesday) and we'll get in a side trip to our relatives in New York as well. I will next chat with you on Christmas Day (in the eve). Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, none-of-the-above or all-of-the-above, I truly hope it's a great time of the year for you and your family.
- Ken
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• March 18-25 - Bonaire [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 5 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 - 5 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:
• I guess I need to start planning 2017 dives . . .
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
———————————————————————————————————————————
Even a broken clock is right twice a day . . .
TIMING - Those of you who travel with me know that I always bring a large (16 oz.) mug with me on these trips for tea. You also know that regardless of the season, the mug I bring is a Frosty the Snowman one. So it's nice to be using it during the season that it's actually designed for.
THAR BE SQUID - We had a FABULOUS dive last Wednesday night at Vets Park. Dana Rodda & Chris Menjou joined me for what we were hoping was going to be a successful squid dive and we were not disppointed. Even on the kick out through the shallows, we saw many Target Shrimp and crabs leading out to the canyon as well as a teeny Plainfin Midshipman and a California Lizardfish who was buried in the sand. Once we dropped into the canyon, there were many, many eggs and squid, mostly around 75 feet and deeper. They also seemed to be more prevalent heading south, using Main Stairs as your point of reference. Surf was maybe 1 foot with an occasional 1.5 footer, and I had 58º on my gauge at 70-80 feet, which is where the action was. Viz was about 20-30 feet throughout the dive. Dozens and dozens and dozens of mating squid, thousands of eggs in many clusters, hundreds of more Target Shrimp in the egg clusters or feasting on dying squid. (In case you didn't already know it, the squid mate and then die.) There were also Cusk Eels, Sarcastic Fringeheads, and even a really big Sheep Crab. We had a phenomenal squid run in August of 2013 but 2014 and 2015 were so-so at best. Although the season (at least for Vets) is considered to be mid-December to mid-March, it can vary in both timing and intensity. But this one's off to a good start so hopefully it's a really good season and we'll have many more exciting night dives to come. I didn't have a camera with me but Chris Menjou did and here are a couple of shots he had showing both the mating squid (note the red tentacles on the male in the middle pix) and the female forming the egg sac to plant (lower):
BLACK SEA BASS BONUS - And if the squid themselves weren't enough to make it a great dive, we got a BSB Bonus on the kick back in when we ran into not one, but TWO juvy Black Sea Bass drifting to and fro in the sand. One (top) is younger than the other and, based on what our juvy at the Aquarium looks like, I'm guessing the second one is at least 90 days old. First one is a little less than an inch long and the second is maybe an inch-and-a-half. Chris got a couple of shots of these guys too. Note that you can just barely see a hint of spots on the first (younger) one but they're quite evident on the second one. And especially on the second one, you can see the transparent caudal (tail) and anal fins:
TIMING IS EVERYTHING - We dove Wednesday night, the rain started Thursday afternoon, and the wind started Thursday night. This is what it looked like at the Topaz Jetty (100 yards south of the Vets Main Stairs) on Friday morning. Shows how quickly things can change (this is from "Dave & Kathy's Slice of Heaven" webcam which is on their balcony and yes, those are Christmas icicle lights hanging down):
LESSONS LEARNED - I promised "the diver" I wouldn't reveal name let alone gender but suffice it to say that we started out as a 4-person dive team. The reason we became a threesome - and "the diver" missed out on a phenomenal dive - was that they didn't check their gear before they left home. We were literally in wetsuits and about to don tanks when I heard, "Uh-oh, my computer's not working." Turned out to be a dead battery. "The diver" didn't have a spare, nor did I nor anyone else nearby, and no one had an extra pressure gauge. So "the diver" had to pack things up and headed back home. The obvious lesson is to check all of this stuff BEFORE you leave home - especially if you have used the gear in a while - so you have ample time to repair or replace anything that needs attention.
I'm heading back east on Tuesday to spend Christmas with my dad in Delaware (Sister Sue flies in on Wednesday) and we'll get in a side trip to our relatives in New York as well. I will next chat with you on Christmas Day (in the eve). Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, none-of-the-above or all-of-the-above, I truly hope it's a great time of the year for you and your family.
- Ken
