Ken Kurtis
Contributor
All I've got to say is: Go see "Parasite" . . .
PHILIPPINES TRIP REPORT & PIX - Almost done. I'll send you links tomorrow (Monday).
CORONAVIRUS & YAP - Obviously, the coronavirus (formally "2019-nCoV") is causing some havoc with foreign travel. (When I was standing in the Immigration line in Manila last week, I sneezed and boy did I get a bunch of dirty looks.) As you'll likely read, people who have been to China when they return to the U.S. are being screened before they're allowed to enter this country. And now other countries are taking similar steps for those trying to enter. Specially, the Federated State of Micronesia (FSM - which is comprised of Yap, Truk/Chuuk, Kosrae, & Pohnpei) has instituted a policy that if you want to enter any of the FSM states, you have to be able to document that you have spent the previous 14 days (the max incubation period for the virus) in a country that's free of the virus. Needless to say, this complicates travel tremendously as there are cases of the virus in the United States. Partially for this reason, we're going to cancel our March Yap trip and will wait until this all dies down.
IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING - This is a very fluid situation so make sure you check ahead of time with your destination to make sure you can get there, especially if it's a destination that's in the vicinity of China or if you have to fly through China to get where you're going. It seems like every day the rules change a bit.
WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL INSURANCE? - This question was discussed in Sunday's L.A. Times Travel section. If you've got travel insurance, read the policy carefully as it may not cover you in this situation. It seems one of the keys will be when you bought your policy as well as specifically what it covers. If you have a "cancel-for-any-reason" policy, you're likely covered. For anything else, you may need to check with the insurer to find out what's what.
SCUBA EQUIPMENT SAVES A LIFE - I've actually thought about this given the possibility of fire here in Southern California. But there's a great story coming out of Australia about a woman whose home was about to be overrun by the Australia brush fires. So she grabbed her scuba gear, jumped in her pool, and survived. You can read more about this here: WOMAN SURVIVES FIRE ON SCUBA.
AVALON CLEANUP IN TWO WEEKS - Just a reminder that the 39th Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup is happening in two weeks, on Saturday, February 22. Pre-registration closes this coming Thursday, the 13th. And here's a sneak peek at the winning logo design from Jeremy Mackie: CLEANUP LOGO.
AND HE DIVES - I was out of the country when Kobe Bryant was killed in that helicopter crash, and I also was not here for the tribute to him prior to the Lakers game. So I read with great interest Sunday the article in the L.A. Times Sports section about Ben Hong, the cellist from the L.A. Philharmonic who played "Hallelujah" while the video highlights of Kobe's career ran. Not only is Ben a talented artist who rose to the occasion but he's also someone we certified as a diver at Reef Seekers. If you missed the article, here's a link: BEN HONG AT KOBE'S TRIBUTE.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
PHILIPPINES TRIP REPORT & PIX - Almost done. I'll send you links tomorrow (Monday).
CORONAVIRUS & YAP - Obviously, the coronavirus (formally "2019-nCoV") is causing some havoc with foreign travel. (When I was standing in the Immigration line in Manila last week, I sneezed and boy did I get a bunch of dirty looks.) As you'll likely read, people who have been to China when they return to the U.S. are being screened before they're allowed to enter this country. And now other countries are taking similar steps for those trying to enter. Specially, the Federated State of Micronesia (FSM - which is comprised of Yap, Truk/Chuuk, Kosrae, & Pohnpei) has instituted a policy that if you want to enter any of the FSM states, you have to be able to document that you have spent the previous 14 days (the max incubation period for the virus) in a country that's free of the virus. Needless to say, this complicates travel tremendously as there are cases of the virus in the United States. Partially for this reason, we're going to cancel our March Yap trip and will wait until this all dies down.
IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING - This is a very fluid situation so make sure you check ahead of time with your destination to make sure you can get there, especially if it's a destination that's in the vicinity of China or if you have to fly through China to get where you're going. It seems like every day the rules change a bit.
WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL INSURANCE? - This question was discussed in Sunday's L.A. Times Travel section. If you've got travel insurance, read the policy carefully as it may not cover you in this situation. It seems one of the keys will be when you bought your policy as well as specifically what it covers. If you have a "cancel-for-any-reason" policy, you're likely covered. For anything else, you may need to check with the insurer to find out what's what.
SCUBA EQUIPMENT SAVES A LIFE - I've actually thought about this given the possibility of fire here in Southern California. But there's a great story coming out of Australia about a woman whose home was about to be overrun by the Australia brush fires. So she grabbed her scuba gear, jumped in her pool, and survived. You can read more about this here: WOMAN SURVIVES FIRE ON SCUBA.
AVALON CLEANUP IN TWO WEEKS - Just a reminder that the 39th Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup is happening in two weeks, on Saturday, February 22. Pre-registration closes this coming Thursday, the 13th. And here's a sneak peek at the winning logo design from Jeremy Mackie: CLEANUP LOGO.
AND HE DIVES - I was out of the country when Kobe Bryant was killed in that helicopter crash, and I also was not here for the tribute to him prior to the Lakers game. So I read with great interest Sunday the article in the L.A. Times Sports section about Ben Hong, the cellist from the L.A. Philharmonic who played "Hallelujah" while the video highlights of Kobe's career ran. Not only is Ben a talented artist who rose to the occasion but he's also someone we certified as a diver at Reef Seekers. If you missed the article, here's a link: BEN HONG AT KOBE'S TRIBUTE.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
