Ken Kurtis
Contributor
This was not my week . . .
AVALON CLEANUP - I missed it this year for the first time in a long time due a sudden Saturday 5AM relapse of whatever's been ailing me. Wasn't fun. But we were ably represented by Jeff Reimer and Gordon Patterson (we had two other late illness cancellations as well) who joined 350 of their fellow divers for the 35th Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup. It was a perfect day with sunny skies and calm seas. As usual, there was (unfortunately) plenty of trash to be scoured off the bottom of Avalon Harbor and there was even a report that someone found a Rolex watch. (Not sure if it was waterproof or not.) The event not only helps to clean up the harbor each year, but also serves as a fundraiser for both the Catalina Conservation Divers and the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. So it's always nice to see everyone come out and pitch in. Congrats to chair Jill Boivin and team for another job well done. Here's picture from Jeff of Catalina Scuba Luv's Bob Kennedy getting the Green Pier divers briefed and ready to go:
CONGRATS TO BUCK - Also being singled out for recognition this year was our very own R.A. Buck, who was named this year's recipient of the Jon Hardy Award. This year (and going forward), we changed the focus of the award to recognize someone who has done a great job of promoting diving at Catalina, not only in the Underwater Park, but all around the island. Jon Hardy, after whom the award is named, truly loved diving Catalina. When I first met Jon in 1980 at an SSI instructor crossover in Virginia, all he could was talk about his beloved island of Catalina and how wonderful the diving was there. So the award will now be given to those who promote diving at Catalina in the spirit that Jon did and Buck certainly fills the bill in that regard and is definitely a worthy first recipient of the re-purposed award. Although rumored to be speechless at first, Buck apparently was able to cobble together some words of thanks.
CONGRATS TO KARL HUGGINS, GOLF CHAMPION - As many of you know, the Cleanup also marks our annual Reef Seekers Miniature Golf Championship where we play one round at Golf Gardens and low score gets to claim rights to the title of "Champion" for the coming year. Usually, it's a battle between Mike Madden and myself but this year neither one of us were there. However, it probably wouldn't have mattered. Usually, the winning score is low-to-mid 50s (par is 51) but Karl Huggins was apparently on fire Saturday, managing to shoot a 52 and take the crown (second place was a 59). So congrats to Karl but we may have to schedule a summer grudge match or something like that.
DIVERS DAY IS APPROACHING - Make sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, March 12, as that's the annual Divers Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach where anyone with a c-card gets in for free. We'll also have a number of exhibitors with display tables, special in-water presentations, and all of the normal activity that goes into a day at the Aquarium such as diver shows and feeds. It's a lot of fun and the festivities run from 9AM until 5PM.
SEAHORSES EVERYWHERE - El Nino may seem like a bust so far, but the warmer water we've been having has been paying off dividends in terms of unusual creature spottings. In the last week, we've had not one but TWO confirmed sightings of seahorses who have taken up residence in our waters. One has been spotted out at Vets Park in Redondo, and the other was discovered by Ruth Harris inside the Avalon Underwater Park. Bill Bushing managed to get some photos and there's no doubt, as you can see, that a seahorse is definitely what it is. Ruth says it's a female and they're going to see if there's also a male around somewhere. There's a video from Russell Dwiggins of the one at Vets and here's a shot of the Avalon one (photo courtesy Dr. Bill Bushing):
SAVING SHARKS - There was a international meeting in Costa Rica this past week dealing with how best to save shark populations around the world. More than 30 governments were represented as reports of shark populations being threatened are becoming more and more common, even as countries take measures to protect them. You can read a bit more about it here: International Meeting to Protect the World's Sharks Convenes in Costa Rica | CMS .
HOW-NOT-TO VIDEO - Put this in your files under "How Not To Do a Backroll Off a Small Boat." Too funny and you gotta wonder what this guy was thinking (and ignore the lack of BCs): .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
AVALON CLEANUP - I missed it this year for the first time in a long time due a sudden Saturday 5AM relapse of whatever's been ailing me. Wasn't fun. But we were ably represented by Jeff Reimer and Gordon Patterson (we had two other late illness cancellations as well) who joined 350 of their fellow divers for the 35th Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup. It was a perfect day with sunny skies and calm seas. As usual, there was (unfortunately) plenty of trash to be scoured off the bottom of Avalon Harbor and there was even a report that someone found a Rolex watch. (Not sure if it was waterproof or not.) The event not only helps to clean up the harbor each year, but also serves as a fundraiser for both the Catalina Conservation Divers and the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. So it's always nice to see everyone come out and pitch in. Congrats to chair Jill Boivin and team for another job well done. Here's picture from Jeff of Catalina Scuba Luv's Bob Kennedy getting the Green Pier divers briefed and ready to go:
CONGRATS TO BUCK - Also being singled out for recognition this year was our very own R.A. Buck, who was named this year's recipient of the Jon Hardy Award. This year (and going forward), we changed the focus of the award to recognize someone who has done a great job of promoting diving at Catalina, not only in the Underwater Park, but all around the island. Jon Hardy, after whom the award is named, truly loved diving Catalina. When I first met Jon in 1980 at an SSI instructor crossover in Virginia, all he could was talk about his beloved island of Catalina and how wonderful the diving was there. So the award will now be given to those who promote diving at Catalina in the spirit that Jon did and Buck certainly fills the bill in that regard and is definitely a worthy first recipient of the re-purposed award. Although rumored to be speechless at first, Buck apparently was able to cobble together some words of thanks.
CONGRATS TO KARL HUGGINS, GOLF CHAMPION - As many of you know, the Cleanup also marks our annual Reef Seekers Miniature Golf Championship where we play one round at Golf Gardens and low score gets to claim rights to the title of "Champion" for the coming year. Usually, it's a battle between Mike Madden and myself but this year neither one of us were there. However, it probably wouldn't have mattered. Usually, the winning score is low-to-mid 50s (par is 51) but Karl Huggins was apparently on fire Saturday, managing to shoot a 52 and take the crown (second place was a 59). So congrats to Karl but we may have to schedule a summer grudge match or something like that.
DIVERS DAY IS APPROACHING - Make sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, March 12, as that's the annual Divers Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach where anyone with a c-card gets in for free. We'll also have a number of exhibitors with display tables, special in-water presentations, and all of the normal activity that goes into a day at the Aquarium such as diver shows and feeds. It's a lot of fun and the festivities run from 9AM until 5PM.
SEAHORSES EVERYWHERE - El Nino may seem like a bust so far, but the warmer water we've been having has been paying off dividends in terms of unusual creature spottings. In the last week, we've had not one but TWO confirmed sightings of seahorses who have taken up residence in our waters. One has been spotted out at Vets Park in Redondo, and the other was discovered by Ruth Harris inside the Avalon Underwater Park. Bill Bushing managed to get some photos and there's no doubt, as you can see, that a seahorse is definitely what it is. Ruth says it's a female and they're going to see if there's also a male around somewhere. There's a video from Russell Dwiggins of the one at Vets and here's a shot of the Avalon one (photo courtesy Dr. Bill Bushing):
SAVING SHARKS - There was a international meeting in Costa Rica this past week dealing with how best to save shark populations around the world. More than 30 governments were represented as reports of shark populations being threatened are becoming more and more common, even as countries take measures to protect them. You can read a bit more about it here: International Meeting to Protect the World's Sharks Convenes in Costa Rica | CMS .
HOW-NOT-TO VIDEO - Put this in your files under "How Not To Do a Backroll Off a Small Boat." Too funny and you gotta wonder what this guy was thinking (and ignore the lack of BCs): .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
