Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Oooooops . . .
MY BAD - Last week, I meant to remind every one (especially the guys) that last Friday was Valentine's Day. So if you messed up and forgot, feel free to blame it on me.
IMPORTANT CLEANUP INFORMATION/CHANGE - There's an important logistical change this year for the Cleanup (which is this coming Saturday) that Cleanup Chair Jill Boivin asked me to mention. Catalina Baggage is still the official gear transportation service for the Cleanup but this year, gear transport is free ONLY from the Mole to your dive station. Any gear transport or storage after 11AM, you'll need to pay them for. This is all on your Cleanup coupon sheet. There's also a note there that they will NOT be taking weight belts, bags over 50 ponds, or tanks in bags. We appreciate their donation each year and quite frankly, the reason for scaling back is that some people were taking advantage of them last year as well as sort of acting like jerks about it. So be nice, thank them, tip them, and maybe next year we can get it back to the way it was.
WEATHER LOOKS GREAT FOR THE CLEANUP - You couldn't ask for a nicer forecast. Sunny skies and temps in the upper 60s. Should be a perfect day. Plus . . .
OUTSTANDING CONDITIONS THIS PAST WEEKEND - Justin Judd reported phenomenal viz of close to 100' at the Oil Rigs and water temps of 64º near the surface and 52º at (this is what he said) 260'. Why anyone needs to go to 260 there is a whole different TWARS. Mark Guccione reports similar stellar conditions (but obviously at shalower depths) in the UW Park over the weekend. So hopefully this is all setting us up for a great Cleanup where you'll be able to see the trash from a mile away . . . until everyone kicks up the silty bottom.
YET ANOTHER BATTERY FIRE AND SUNK BOAT - Privately-owned this time. Alf Johnson passed on to me the story of a private sailing boat that had a heavy-duty lithium-ion battery explode, the boat caught fire, the people got off, and the boat sank. This is all in a Cruiser's Forum with comments from others and you can read about it here: SAILBOAT EXPLOSION.
WARM-WATER BLOB IN THE PACIFIC - Scientists are keeping an eye on three "blobs" of warm water in the Pacific, including one off of SoCal, that they think may be causing changes in fish populations and migration patterns, as well as could be responsible for a massive seabird die-off. You can read more about it here: PACIFIC BLOB OF WATER.
SOCORRO 2021 TRIP FILLING UP - I guess when I choose the "right" trip, you all come running. Our Socorro 2021 trip (January 14-22) on the Nautilus Under Sea is filling nicely have 14 spots in total with only three vacancies left (a female-share and an open double room). This will be a fabulous trip to a wonderfully remoter area of the world and one of my favorite spots; Roca Partida. It's an isolated rock literally in the middle of the Pacific with phenomenal life there including sharks, dolphins, manta rays, and we even got a Humpback Whale one time. If you want to secure one (or more) of our last three spots on this trip, give me a call at 310/652-4990 or shoot me an e-mail.
DAN INSURANCE UPDATE - You may have seen an article in "Undercurrent" about the DAN Guardian dive accident insurance plan suddenly not being available to anyone over the age of 70. DAN sent out an e-mail earlier this week saying that while true, they found the situation unacceptable, and launched a new version of the Guardian plan on January 1 with no age restrictions. However, not all states have approved it yet (I just renewed mine so I think we're OK in CA) so you may need to double-check with them when it's time for you to renew if you're over 70.
APPARENTLY IT WAS REALLY BAD - I didn't watch the NBA All- Star game but saw on FaceBook that people were taking Chaka Khan to task for doing a horrible rendition of the national anthem along with posting clips of her screeching. It was pretty awful. Perhaps she needs to be giving some thought to changing her name to Chaka Khan't.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and see you at the Cleanup!!!
- Ken
MY BAD - Last week, I meant to remind every one (especially the guys) that last Friday was Valentine's Day. So if you messed up and forgot, feel free to blame it on me.
IMPORTANT CLEANUP INFORMATION/CHANGE - There's an important logistical change this year for the Cleanup (which is this coming Saturday) that Cleanup Chair Jill Boivin asked me to mention. Catalina Baggage is still the official gear transportation service for the Cleanup but this year, gear transport is free ONLY from the Mole to your dive station. Any gear transport or storage after 11AM, you'll need to pay them for. This is all on your Cleanup coupon sheet. There's also a note there that they will NOT be taking weight belts, bags over 50 ponds, or tanks in bags. We appreciate their donation each year and quite frankly, the reason for scaling back is that some people were taking advantage of them last year as well as sort of acting like jerks about it. So be nice, thank them, tip them, and maybe next year we can get it back to the way it was.
WEATHER LOOKS GREAT FOR THE CLEANUP - You couldn't ask for a nicer forecast. Sunny skies and temps in the upper 60s. Should be a perfect day. Plus . . .
OUTSTANDING CONDITIONS THIS PAST WEEKEND - Justin Judd reported phenomenal viz of close to 100' at the Oil Rigs and water temps of 64º near the surface and 52º at (this is what he said) 260'. Why anyone needs to go to 260 there is a whole different TWARS. Mark Guccione reports similar stellar conditions (but obviously at shalower depths) in the UW Park over the weekend. So hopefully this is all setting us up for a great Cleanup where you'll be able to see the trash from a mile away . . . until everyone kicks up the silty bottom.
YET ANOTHER BATTERY FIRE AND SUNK BOAT - Privately-owned this time. Alf Johnson passed on to me the story of a private sailing boat that had a heavy-duty lithium-ion battery explode, the boat caught fire, the people got off, and the boat sank. This is all in a Cruiser's Forum with comments from others and you can read about it here: SAILBOAT EXPLOSION.
WARM-WATER BLOB IN THE PACIFIC - Scientists are keeping an eye on three "blobs" of warm water in the Pacific, including one off of SoCal, that they think may be causing changes in fish populations and migration patterns, as well as could be responsible for a massive seabird die-off. You can read more about it here: PACIFIC BLOB OF WATER.
SOCORRO 2021 TRIP FILLING UP - I guess when I choose the "right" trip, you all come running. Our Socorro 2021 trip (January 14-22) on the Nautilus Under Sea is filling nicely have 14 spots in total with only three vacancies left (a female-share and an open double room). This will be a fabulous trip to a wonderfully remoter area of the world and one of my favorite spots; Roca Partida. It's an isolated rock literally in the middle of the Pacific with phenomenal life there including sharks, dolphins, manta rays, and we even got a Humpback Whale one time. If you want to secure one (or more) of our last three spots on this trip, give me a call at 310/652-4990 or shoot me an e-mail.
DAN INSURANCE UPDATE - You may have seen an article in "Undercurrent" about the DAN Guardian dive accident insurance plan suddenly not being available to anyone over the age of 70. DAN sent out an e-mail earlier this week saying that while true, they found the situation unacceptable, and launched a new version of the Guardian plan on January 1 with no age restrictions. However, not all states have approved it yet (I just renewed mine so I think we're OK in CA) so you may need to double-check with them when it's time for you to renew if you're over 70.
APPARENTLY IT WAS REALLY BAD - I didn't watch the NBA All- Star game but saw on FaceBook that people were taking Chaka Khan to task for doing a horrible rendition of the national anthem along with posting clips of her screeching. It was pretty awful. Perhaps she needs to be giving some thought to changing her name to Chaka Khan't.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and see you at the Cleanup!!!
- Ken
