Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Goodbye 2024 and more
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This is the last TWARS of 2024 . . .
READY FOR THE NEW YEAR? - I can't decide if 2024 went by quickly or slowly. Sometimes it seemed fast and other times, it seemed to crawl. Hopefully, it was a good year for you. We (both me personally and Reef Seekers as an entity) had our share of ups and downs. We set a new record for Chamber Day and almost cracked $200,000 raised. And while we had lot of great trips, we had more than our share of travel adventures this year with a couple of last-minute cancelled flights and I picked up COVID infection #3 as well (despite being fully vaxxed). So definitely a mixed bag but overall a good year. We're looking forward to whatever treats and challenges 2025 may hold in store.
HOPEFULLY YOU HAD A GOOD CHRISTMAS/HANUKKAH/KWANZAA - They all coincided for the first time in a long time. Whichever one you observe - or even if you observe none at all - hopefully this was a good time of the year to gather with friends and family and enjoy each others' company.
HOW ABOUT CELEBRATING 400 NEW YEAR EVES??? - If you were a Greenland Shark - and no, I've not been dipping into strong eggnog - that's a possibility as it's thought they can live as long as 400 years. In fact, they're the longest-living vertebrate in the world. Scientists are trying to discover their secret to longevity. You can read more about it here: WHY DO GREENLAND SHARKS LIVE SO LONG?
GOOD ECO NEWS - European Green Crabs are not natives to California but have been invading our waters since the 1980s. They're considered among the most invasive marine creatures and can lay waste to coastal waters from California up to Alaska. But they may now have met their match. In the Elkhorn Slough near Moss Landing (halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey), they've been disappearing. Over the last decade, the water in the slough got cleaner, native seagrass beds were restored, and sea otters started showing up. And guess what the sea otters like to eat? You can read more about it here: SEA OTTERS vs EUROPEAN GREEN CRABS.
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS - I read an interesting article today about New Years resolutions and that the best way to keep them is to make them specific goals you can track and achieve. For instance, instead of saying "I will dive more in 2025," make it "I will do one beach or Avalon dive each month in 2025." Instead of saying, "I'll take some more classes in 2025," make it "I will take the Fish ID class and the Photo Workshop in 2025." And then make a resolution log - just like you'd make a dive log - and resolve to keep the resolutions. Food for thought.
HUISH NO LONGER TO DISTRIBUTE SUUNTO - I don't have the full details on this yet but we got a note this past week that Suunto will end their distribution deal with Huish effective January 1, 2025. That also means, so Huish can get rid of Suunto inventory in stock, that price restrictions have been lifted for the remaining inventory. (MAP pricing - Minimum Approved Pricing - is not uncommon in the dive industry.) So if there's some Suunto gear you've been interested in, we might be able to help you get a sweetheart deal on it, while supplies at Huish last. If there's something Santa didn't leave under the tree, feel free to call us at 310/652-4990 and we'll see what we can do.
And that'll do it for now. I hope you close out 2024 on a high note and begin 2025 on a similar high note. I'm kicking off the New Year with my annual sojourn to the Rose Parade and will have pix to share next week.
In the meantime, have a great close to 2024 and let's go diving together somewhere in 2025!!!
- Ken
