Hopefully there won't be any Chinese balloons floating over LAX tomorrow . . .
OFF TO HUG WHALES - We leave Monday afternoon for our journey down to San Ignacio Lagoon, where grey whales annually come to give birth and have developed an affinity for people over the years. So while we're a group of divers, this really isn't a dive trip because you're not allowed in the water with the whales. All the interactions are done not only from a panga, but at the whale's discretion. If they don't want to play, you can't make them. We're doing this trip through our friends at Nautilus Dive Adventures and Baja Expeditions (all under one roof now) and we'll fly down to Cabo, overnight near the airport, then do a private plane flight to the lagoon early Tuesday morning. We'll have full days Wednesday & Thursday and a short Friday morning before we fly back to Cabo and then home. We should have internet access and if so, check out our FaceBook pages for some daily photos of our interactions. This is a brand-new experience for us and we're looking forward to the adventure.
AVALON CLEANUP IS APPROACHING - Reef Seekers is now listed as a group sponsor at the Green Pier but you have to sign yourself up individually and then choose us and the Green Pier. There are two boats out of Long Beach at 6AM and 7AM that will get you there on time. Cost of registration is now $55. If you'll need any sort of rental gear (tanks, weights, whatever), Catalina Divers Supply is requesting you make those reservations now so they don't run out of stuff. If you're diving as part of our cadre, you'll be able to pick up tanks/weights at their Green Pier location. Event date is February 25.
EXPRESS TERMINAL CONSTRUCTION IN LONG BEACH - It's not a big change but be aware that they're doing remodeling of the Catalina Express terminal in Long Beach. Normally when you pull up to the curb to unload gear, you'd go to the left side of the building. That's closed off. Now you go to the right. It's no more than 100 feet from where we used to enter the building and it feeds out to the same area in the back where we board the vessels.
ZOOM SEEKERS IN FEBRUARY IS ON A WEDNESDAY - The normal second-Tuesday-of-the-month would have been Valentine's Day so we've pushed Zoom Seekers back one day to February 15, still starting at 7:30PM. Our speaker is Dale Sheckler, former editor of California Diving News and beach diving aficionado. He's going to be talking about some of the best dive sites in SoCal, both beach and offshore. Hope you can join us for his talk.
INSPIRING PHOTOS - It's amazing how many national and international underwater photography contests there are nowadays. The latest comes from My Modern Met (no real clue as to who they are - they're NOT the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC) and some of the winners are quite stunning. You can see them here:
WINNING PHOTOS.
NO DIVERS DAY THIS YEAR AT THE AQUARIUM - I'm not exactly sure of the reasoning but I was told the other day that there will not be a resumption of Divers Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific this year. (The event is usually in early March.) Hopefully it resurfaces in 2024.
LIFE INSIDE A DROP OF SEAWATER - Another photo inspiration comes from Smithsonian Magazine which details the work of a Spanish wildlife photographer who specializes in extreme macro shots of drops of seawater and what lives inside. It's a great story as well as fascinating photography:
LIFE IN A DROP OF SEAWATER.
And that'll do it for now. We'll hug a whale for you. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
