TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - February 5-12

[Ken Kurtis]

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 - 2 SPOTS LEFT ]
• July 21-August 2 - Yap Immersion #2 (week #2 - same sked as above) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 6 SPOTS LEFT ]
• September 1-6 - Great White Sharks of Guadalupe on the Nautilus Belle Amie [ WE'VE ONLY GOT 6 SPOTS - ONLY 1 SPOT LEFT ]
• November 2-12 - Fiji (SW area near Suva) on the Fiji Aggressor [ 10 SPOTS TOTAL - ONLY 2 LEFT ]

GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
————————————————————————————————————————
Upcoming local dives & classes:
• CLASS & DIVE - Sat., 2/11 - Navigation with one daytime dive at Redondo (9AM - $25)
• DIVE - Wed., 2/15 - Squid night dive at Redondo (6PM - FREE!!)
• DIVE - Sat., 2/25 - 36th Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup (6:15AM - $150 w/event, boat, & taxi)
• DIVE - Wed., 3/1 - Squid night dive at Redondo (6PM - FREE!!)
• CLASS - Wed., 3/15 - Photo Workshop (7PM in Westwood - $25)
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
———————————————————————————————————————————
Pretty wild sports finishes on Sunday . . .

NEVER GIVE UP - The big golf match in Phoenix goes into sudden death and took four playoff holes to decide the winner. The Super Bowl goes into sudden death and takes less than four minutes to decide the winner. I was pulling for the Falcons but . . . what a comeback!!! (Or what a collapse, depending on your perspective.) Fairly boring first three quarters but, wow, what a finish. Just goes to show that it ain't over till it's over, and never give up.

WE GAVE UP LAST THURSDAY - Despite what I just said above, we did give up Thursday night on the Squid Dive as the surf was building and we didn't want to get nailed. And while it didn't build as big as was predicted (at least, not at Redondo), better safe than sorry. We've got rain predicted for Monday into Tuesday this week, and then a teensy-weensy bit of possible rain towards the end of the week. And while no forecast is perfect, it always pays to check things like Weather Underground, Wet Sand, and the like. And for a real-time view of Redondo, don't forget about the live Redondo Pier camera that points towards Vets (City of Redondo Beach Website - Piercam). All are good tools to have in your weather research library.

NAVIGATION CLASS SATURDAY IS (SORT OF) WEATHER-PROOF - We have our navigation/beach class scheduled for this Saturday and already have some people signed up. The good thing about this is that it's a fairly weather-proof event because for the first part of it, where we really go through the nuts and bolts of navigating, we do it in the open field next to the parking lot at Vets. Once we're done with that and we think everyone's comfortable running reciprocals, boxes, and triangles, then we go ahead and make the dive. But the dive is really sort of just a bonus, since you can get the meat of how to navigate without ever having to get wet (unless it's raining). So no matter what's falling from the sky or pounding on the beach, we can still plan to meet up at 9AM and do the land-based navigation portion of this. Cost of the class is $25 (which includes the guided dive). Bring your own compass if you have one. I'll try to have one or two there or we can share. You can also buy one prior to Saturday. I have never been a fan of traditional dive compasses and have always, since I first got certified, used a Silva Polaris compass. They're inexpensive ($15-20), easy to use, and fit inside your BC pocket. Just Google "Silva Polaris Compass" and you'll find a bunch on-line. You can also probably find them (or something similar) at REI, A-16, or Big 5. Here's what the one I use looks like:

FIJI AIRFARE SALE - We've got two spots left on our November 2-12 Fiji trip aboard the Fiji Aggressor. (I know the newsletter said one but one person changed their mind since then and backed out.) But the best news is that Fiji Airways launched a fare sale from LAX non-stop into Nadi and the fare has dropped from around $1,400 to $794. However, they say this fare is only good through Tuesday. Now that's not to say that they may not have the fare sale again, but the point is that if you've been thinking about joining us for the fabulous Fiji trip AND you've like to shave $600 off of your total cost, now's the time to do it. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 to lock down your spot and to get whatever other details you need to know.

WANT TO LEARN A LITTLE ABOUT GREAT WHITES? - I mentioned that last month I gave a lecture at the Aquarium of the Pacific about Great White Sharks. The Aquarium has posted the full lecture as well as a short podcast on their website. I've gone ahead and transferred those to my YouTube page so if you interested in learning a little bit about the top-level predators, you can access them here using these links: Podcast (4 minutes - )
or, if you're a real glutton for punishment, the full lecture (40 minutes - ).

WHY DO WHALES BREACH? - Ever wonder why whales, all over the world, occasionally launch themselves out of the water and then come crashing back down? Scientists in Australia think it may be a form of communication. You can read more about their findings here: Scientists finally figured out why whales leap into the air.

CLEANUP IS COMING - It's Saturday, February 25th as USC's Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies (Catalina Conservation Divers) are proud to host Catalina Island's 36th Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup, one of the largest annual dive events in Southern California. Take advantage of this unique experience all while doing your part to make Avalon Harbor clean. We'll be at our usual Green Pier location and you can either register with us directly or on-line and choose "Green Pier/Reef Seekers". Proceeds support USC's Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and Wrigley Institute Scientific Diving Program. Lots of fun and we'll hope to see you there. Here's the website link to sign up directly: RSVP for 36th Annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup.

And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go navigating (or diving) soon!!!
- Ken

 

[Sam Miller III]

Ken,
It is raining! Being a Kaliforian I don't go out in the rain for fear I might melt of shrink
So I had time to view and enjoy your 40 minute GWS presentation.

Fyi - me personally I thought your presentation was 25 % information and 75% promotion of your trips, but not a problem with me- I watched and enjoyed it to the very end. If you don't promote you cant fill the boat..
Recall:
Early to bed ,
early to rise ,
work like hell and advertise

I have had my share of shark encounters in my career...A lemon off Veracruz in the 1950s fought him off with my Samson camera: A hammer head on the very first dive at Farnsworth in December 1950 and unknown how many in the ensuing years here in California and all over the world

I have had three friends killed by GWS, The first was Al Sneppersnoff about 40 years ago at Guadalupe Island ...and about 10 years ago Debbie Franzman at Avila beach and finally poor Randy Fry who had his head bitten off while free diving for Abalone in Norcal

In 1963 Jim Stewart, CDO of SIO was attacked and lost a portion of his arm-- the attack was documented by the late Ron Church, three moths later Jim and I were diving together at Catalina. At that time we considered sharks an occupational hazard and an attack just a luck of the draw.

11 years a few days and a few hours after Al Sneppersnoff had been bitten Harry Ingram also had a life changing experience Like Al he was near the boat and preparing to hand off his spear gun. Suddenly a GWS came at him, circled him and came full force with is mouth open ready for a bite. Harry swung his gun fired point bland range into the sharks mouth which forced the shark to close it but the sharks speed picked Harry up out of the water and For a moment Harry became the first and only person to ever ride on the back if a GWS and tell about it. He is alive and well and is still a very active member of the LB Neptunes spear fishing club.

You can read a detailed description of Harrys encounter in Carlos Eyles book "The last of the blue water Hunters"

You can read about Jim Stewarts encounter complete with pictures in a early SDM

You can read about Al's death in the book "The Golden sea."

You might want to obtain Dr. R. Parry Gilberts long out of print book "Sharks and survival" which documents ALL known shark attacks including Jim Stewarts.

Long before Guadalupe Island was a active shark tourist attraction it was a spearfishing destination . Around 1962 a local OC group of divers chartered the Double Eagle out to Newport beach and made the long journey to Guadalupe.

It paid off - my diving buddy (and we must note Dr. Bills basic instructor) Ron Merker shot and broke the existing Blue Fin Tuna Spear fishing record.

This record remained for 18 years until broken by Terry Maas also at Guadalupe Island with a whopping big 398 pound Blue Fin Tuna

It as stopped raining ...time for my little dog Max and I to go for a walk on the beach and breath the fresh crisp salt air.

Ken keep up the good work.. It is encouraging that the baton has been passed from my generation to a person with your enthusiasm and dedication


SDM