Ken Kurtis
Contributor
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Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• March 18-25 - Bonaire
• 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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'Tis the season . . .
CHRISTMAS TREE SHOPPING - Well, it's not dive-related but if you're looking for a Christmas tree, I highly recommend Home Depot on Jefferson in Playa del Rey. Very large selection, fresh-cut trees, decent prices, and well-organized so it doesn't take too long to select the perfect tree and then check out. They've even got a machine that wraps the tree in plastic netting making it much easier to transport home on top of your car. I don't get a kickback but if you're looking, it's a good place to go. (And I'd assume other Home Depots around the city are set up similarly.)
ANOTHER FATALITY OVER THE WEEKEND - I'm sad to report that we had another dive fatality over the weekend, which brings us to about five for the year so far (still have three weeks to go). This appears to have been a diver making his fourth dive during certification, he was with an instructor, but it seems that water conditions changed while underwater (strong current came up), and he panicked and bolted. Despite what sounds like gallant and extended efforts on the part of all responders (boat, Baywatch, chamber), he was not able to be revived. But this also underscores, assuming we have all the facts correct, something very important about diving: Panic kills. We used to run an ad at the beginning of the summer season that said, "There's no more important piece of equipment you can take with you on a dive than your brain." And what that means is that you need to recognize that, when we're underwater, we're in an alien and hostile environment (albeit serene and beautiful when everything's going right) but if you don't have your brain engaged in what you're doing, things can quickly spiral out of control. Obviously, the most serious problem would be a loss of air supply so make sure you're either carrying an independent air source &/or that you're close enough to your buddy that you can share air. Also remember that panic is not something that suddenly happens without warning (although it appears to) but is part of a step-by-step process that begins with anxiety and builds. So it's really important to recognize within yourself when that anxiety starts setting in and either take steps to alleviate it if you can, or abort the dive altogether if you can't. As we've said for years, you never get hurt on a dive you don't make. And there's no sin in aborting a dive for reasons that only have to make sense to you.
RAISING BLACK SEA BASS - There was a nice article in today's L.A. Times about raising juvy Black Sea Bass (aka Giant Sea bass) at the Aquarium of the Pacific. The juvy, who's about the size of your thumbnail, is in a behind-the-scenes tank right now. I see him (??) regularly as he lives right by one of our presentation areas and it's really amazing to see how big/small he is after only 59 days. (I also "saw" him as a larvae.) Here are two links so you can find out more about him. First is a reprint of the article: PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News. But second is even better as it's the L.A. Times video website where you'll see a short video showing the actual fish. You'll also need to un-mute the audio: Researchers attempt to raise giant sea bass in captivity.
NIGHT DIVE ANYONE?? - We'll try (weather-permitting of course) for our final night dive of 2016 on Wednesday, December 14, at Vets Park. We might get lucky and get some squid action but you never know. I haven't heard of anything yet but this is about the time the squid start returning and laying eggs. It's a 1-tank dive, it's FREE (so you can't beat the price - but you do have to bring quarters for parking), and night dives at Vets are always interesting. If you want to join us, make sure I've got your name on our list and we'll hope to have a good dive on the 14th.
VARYING WATER TEMPS - When people ask, "What's the water temp?" it's sometimes hard to give a coherent answer. Just from the people I've talked to who were out this weekend, water temps around here were either (1) 60º, (2) 55º, or (3) 48º. What's really ironic is that the distance from #1 to #3 is only a little over 10 miles. I remember a dive from some years ago on the Star of Scotland in Santa Monica Bay and on my first dive I recorded 48º. (I was very thankful I was in a drysuit.) But on the second dive only about 90 minutes later, I thought it felt colder than the first and was rather shocked to see that my gauge now read 44º (which is also the coldest water I've ever been diving in). But the point is that you can get some radical temp changes within a relatively short period of time or over a relatively short distance. I remember another dive one summer at Vets Park where it was a balmy 72º up in the shallows and then when you went into the Canyon, it dropped to a bone-chilling 52º.
LAKE TAHOE WATER CLARITY - My friend Ron Roth sent me this video link about how clear the water in lake Tahoe is. You might enjoy it as well: .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• March 18-25 - Bonaire
• 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
————————————————————————————————————————————
'Tis the season . . .
CHRISTMAS TREE SHOPPING - Well, it's not dive-related but if you're looking for a Christmas tree, I highly recommend Home Depot on Jefferson in Playa del Rey. Very large selection, fresh-cut trees, decent prices, and well-organized so it doesn't take too long to select the perfect tree and then check out. They've even got a machine that wraps the tree in plastic netting making it much easier to transport home on top of your car. I don't get a kickback but if you're looking, it's a good place to go. (And I'd assume other Home Depots around the city are set up similarly.)
ANOTHER FATALITY OVER THE WEEKEND - I'm sad to report that we had another dive fatality over the weekend, which brings us to about five for the year so far (still have three weeks to go). This appears to have been a diver making his fourth dive during certification, he was with an instructor, but it seems that water conditions changed while underwater (strong current came up), and he panicked and bolted. Despite what sounds like gallant and extended efforts on the part of all responders (boat, Baywatch, chamber), he was not able to be revived. But this also underscores, assuming we have all the facts correct, something very important about diving: Panic kills. We used to run an ad at the beginning of the summer season that said, "There's no more important piece of equipment you can take with you on a dive than your brain." And what that means is that you need to recognize that, when we're underwater, we're in an alien and hostile environment (albeit serene and beautiful when everything's going right) but if you don't have your brain engaged in what you're doing, things can quickly spiral out of control. Obviously, the most serious problem would be a loss of air supply so make sure you're either carrying an independent air source &/or that you're close enough to your buddy that you can share air. Also remember that panic is not something that suddenly happens without warning (although it appears to) but is part of a step-by-step process that begins with anxiety and builds. So it's really important to recognize within yourself when that anxiety starts setting in and either take steps to alleviate it if you can, or abort the dive altogether if you can't. As we've said for years, you never get hurt on a dive you don't make. And there's no sin in aborting a dive for reasons that only have to make sense to you.
RAISING BLACK SEA BASS - There was a nice article in today's L.A. Times about raising juvy Black Sea Bass (aka Giant Sea bass) at the Aquarium of the Pacific. The juvy, who's about the size of your thumbnail, is in a behind-the-scenes tank right now. I see him (??) regularly as he lives right by one of our presentation areas and it's really amazing to see how big/small he is after only 59 days. (I also "saw" him as a larvae.) Here are two links so you can find out more about him. First is a reprint of the article: PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News. But second is even better as it's the L.A. Times video website where you'll see a short video showing the actual fish. You'll also need to un-mute the audio: Researchers attempt to raise giant sea bass in captivity.
NIGHT DIVE ANYONE?? - We'll try (weather-permitting of course) for our final night dive of 2016 on Wednesday, December 14, at Vets Park. We might get lucky and get some squid action but you never know. I haven't heard of anything yet but this is about the time the squid start returning and laying eggs. It's a 1-tank dive, it's FREE (so you can't beat the price - but you do have to bring quarters for parking), and night dives at Vets are always interesting. If you want to join us, make sure I've got your name on our list and we'll hope to have a good dive on the 14th.
VARYING WATER TEMPS - When people ask, "What's the water temp?" it's sometimes hard to give a coherent answer. Just from the people I've talked to who were out this weekend, water temps around here were either (1) 60º, (2) 55º, or (3) 48º. What's really ironic is that the distance from #1 to #3 is only a little over 10 miles. I remember a dive from some years ago on the Star of Scotland in Santa Monica Bay and on my first dive I recorded 48º. (I was very thankful I was in a drysuit.) But on the second dive only about 90 minutes later, I thought it felt colder than the first and was rather shocked to see that my gauge now read 44º (which is also the coldest water I've ever been diving in). But the point is that you can get some radical temp changes within a relatively short period of time or over a relatively short distance. I remember another dive one summer at Vets Park where it was a balmy 72º up in the shallows and then when you went into the Canyon, it dropped to a bone-chilling 52º.
LAKE TAHOE WATER CLARITY - My friend Ron Roth sent me this video link about how clear the water in lake Tahoe is. You might enjoy it as well: .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
