Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015-2016 vacation trips:
• March 11-19 - Yap (can be combined with Palau)
• March 20-27 - Palau on the Palau Aggressor II [ can be combined with Yap - ONE spot left ]
• Late June or early July - Bonaire or possibly Cayman
• August 1-6 - Isla Guadalupe & Great White Sharks [ ONLY 6 SPOTS AVAILABLE ]
• August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues
• August 13-20 - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues [ TECHNICALLY THE "SECOND" WEEK EVEN THOUGH IT COMES FIRST ]
• November 3-16 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ 6 SPOTS CONFIRMED - ONLY 6 STILL AVAILABLE ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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This past weekend was the perfect time not to have to fly to New York (which is what I'm doing this coming Thursday) . . .
THE GREAT BLIZZARD OF 2016 - The first at least. Who knows what else might be lurking between now and spring? A lot of the storms that we expect to be getting will then march eastward across the country. So El Nino affects not only us on the West Coast, but the rest of the country too. My sister actually was in New York (Manhattan) this past weekend and she said it was pretty amazing to be in Times Square after the travel ban was instituted because there were no cars zipping around, just people walking. I'm flying there Thursday for my cousin's 65th birthday and while I'm sure there will be plenty of snow left, it won't be anything like what walloped them over the past few days.
A BIT ROUGH HERE TOO - Not sure if dive boats made it out, especially Sunday, because the wind started howling (at least in Westwood) Saturday night and the swell picked up to 7 feet (and then some) overnight. Just goes to show it's hard to predict what's going to be happening during our winter (through end of March) so when you find the diving conditions are good, take advantage of it.
AVALON CLEANUP IS ONE MONTH AWAY - It's always interesting, after we get some rain, to see all the stuff that washes down into Avalon Harbor and that we can find during the Cleanup (February 20). And while we haven't had a ton of rain . . . yet . . . we've probably had enough that there will be some interesting things to find. Also remember that if you've got a great story behind whatever you dredge up, you might qualify for the competition for the coveted Ken Kurtis Silver-Tongued Devil Award. Hopefully you can join our group at the Green Pier and to do that, you simply need to give us a call at 310.652-4990 to get yourself signed up.
ISLA MUJERES UPDATE - There's a lot of interest in this trip this year. For those who are saying "Where?", the short version is Isla is home to the largest known congregation of Whale Sharks in the world (as many as 800) and we're gonna go snorkel with them multiple times over the course of a week. I can fairly confidently say that I guarantee the only way you WON'T see a Whale Shark is to keep your eyes closed. Originally, I had planned on doing this trip August 20-27. That is still the case but I'm almost full on those dates. So, because of the interest, we're actually adding a SECOND week, which is really the week before, August 13-20. It'll be the same structure as the other week with three days of Whale Sharking, diving the Cancun Underwater Museum one day, doing some reef and wreck diving around Isla another day, and a day of diving cenotes (probably Dos Ojos) down near Tulum. I'm still working on pricing for this but the point is that if you're interested in this, be aware that things are heating up more quickly than usual. I'm limited to about 14 scuba divers (as opposed to some who just come to snorkel with the Whale Sharks) on any given week so don't get left behind. Call me at 310/652-4990 to let me know you're interested and/or to secure your spot.
GUADALUPE AND GREAT WHITE SHARKS - Also remember that we've got spots on the Nautilus Belle Amie for a return to Guadalupe Island and the resident Great White Sharks. That trip is scheduled for August 1-6, leaving out of San Diego. We drive down to SD that afternoon, then take a chartered bus down to Ensenada, where we board the boat and start the 20-hour journey to Guadalupe. We'll have a full day at sea (good time to get cameras set up and work out the schedule of who's in which cage at what times), and then we get three full days of diving with the Great Whites. I think when I did this trip last year, I did 17 cage dives (each anywhere from 45-90 minutes ). It's really a great way to view a fabulous apex predator up close and personal. It's certainly not a cheap trip as - with taxes and crew tip - it comes in at $3,595 but I promise you it's worth every penny. And the boat is simply fabulous and perfectly designed for this type of diving. The back deck is enormous (that's NOT an exaggeration) and there are five cages that are running generally from about 7AM until 5PM each of the three days, with 3-4 divers in each cage. There's ample time to observe, take pictures, review what you shot, or just stare in awe at these magnificent beasts. This is definitely a trip you need to do and - because all the diving is done on hookah - you barely bring any equipment with you (mask, no snorkel, fins, booties, wetsuit) so packing is a breeze. If you'd like to find out more or sign up, shoot me an e-mail or call us at 310/652-4990.
A DEPRESSING THOUGHT - A new report out following a three-year study predicts that if we don't change our ways, in terms of weight and mass, there will be more plastic in the ocean by 2050 than there will be fish. Ever as early as 2025, the ratio of plastic mass to fish mass might be 1:3. Needless to say, this is not good, especially when you realize that plastic generally doesn't biodegrade, certainly not in any reasonable amount of time, and yet we keep using it and disposing of it in ways that are harmful to the ocean. If you'd like to read the full report, use this link: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf .
A MORE UPLIFTING THOUGHT - Absolutely not dive-related but absolutely amazing is a robot and a computer program designed to solve Rubik's Cube . . . in one second. Whether or not you're impressed by the speed, just the engineering to make this possible is amazing IMHO. You got to check out the short video and watch this thing in action: http://memebase.cheezburger.com/share/77736193.
AND FINALLY (ALSO NOT DIVE-RELATED) - Broncos vs. Panthers in two weeks. Go Peyton Manning, in what many are predicting - win or lose - will be his last professional game.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
• March 11-19 - Yap (can be combined with Palau)
• March 20-27 - Palau on the Palau Aggressor II [ can be combined with Yap - ONE spot left ]
• Late June or early July - Bonaire or possibly Cayman
• August 1-6 - Isla Guadalupe & Great White Sharks [ ONLY 6 SPOTS AVAILABLE ]
• August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues
• August 13-20 - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues [ TECHNICALLY THE "SECOND" WEEK EVEN THOUGH IT COMES FIRST ]
• November 3-16 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ 6 SPOTS CONFIRMED - ONLY 6 STILL AVAILABLE ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
——————————————————————————————————————
This past weekend was the perfect time not to have to fly to New York (which is what I'm doing this coming Thursday) . . .
THE GREAT BLIZZARD OF 2016 - The first at least. Who knows what else might be lurking between now and spring? A lot of the storms that we expect to be getting will then march eastward across the country. So El Nino affects not only us on the West Coast, but the rest of the country too. My sister actually was in New York (Manhattan) this past weekend and she said it was pretty amazing to be in Times Square after the travel ban was instituted because there were no cars zipping around, just people walking. I'm flying there Thursday for my cousin's 65th birthday and while I'm sure there will be plenty of snow left, it won't be anything like what walloped them over the past few days.
A BIT ROUGH HERE TOO - Not sure if dive boats made it out, especially Sunday, because the wind started howling (at least in Westwood) Saturday night and the swell picked up to 7 feet (and then some) overnight. Just goes to show it's hard to predict what's going to be happening during our winter (through end of March) so when you find the diving conditions are good, take advantage of it.
AVALON CLEANUP IS ONE MONTH AWAY - It's always interesting, after we get some rain, to see all the stuff that washes down into Avalon Harbor and that we can find during the Cleanup (February 20). And while we haven't had a ton of rain . . . yet . . . we've probably had enough that there will be some interesting things to find. Also remember that if you've got a great story behind whatever you dredge up, you might qualify for the competition for the coveted Ken Kurtis Silver-Tongued Devil Award. Hopefully you can join our group at the Green Pier and to do that, you simply need to give us a call at 310.652-4990 to get yourself signed up.
ISLA MUJERES UPDATE - There's a lot of interest in this trip this year. For those who are saying "Where?", the short version is Isla is home to the largest known congregation of Whale Sharks in the world (as many as 800) and we're gonna go snorkel with them multiple times over the course of a week. I can fairly confidently say that I guarantee the only way you WON'T see a Whale Shark is to keep your eyes closed. Originally, I had planned on doing this trip August 20-27. That is still the case but I'm almost full on those dates. So, because of the interest, we're actually adding a SECOND week, which is really the week before, August 13-20. It'll be the same structure as the other week with three days of Whale Sharking, diving the Cancun Underwater Museum one day, doing some reef and wreck diving around Isla another day, and a day of diving cenotes (probably Dos Ojos) down near Tulum. I'm still working on pricing for this but the point is that if you're interested in this, be aware that things are heating up more quickly than usual. I'm limited to about 14 scuba divers (as opposed to some who just come to snorkel with the Whale Sharks) on any given week so don't get left behind. Call me at 310/652-4990 to let me know you're interested and/or to secure your spot.
GUADALUPE AND GREAT WHITE SHARKS - Also remember that we've got spots on the Nautilus Belle Amie for a return to Guadalupe Island and the resident Great White Sharks. That trip is scheduled for August 1-6, leaving out of San Diego. We drive down to SD that afternoon, then take a chartered bus down to Ensenada, where we board the boat and start the 20-hour journey to Guadalupe. We'll have a full day at sea (good time to get cameras set up and work out the schedule of who's in which cage at what times), and then we get three full days of diving with the Great Whites. I think when I did this trip last year, I did 17 cage dives (each anywhere from 45-90 minutes ). It's really a great way to view a fabulous apex predator up close and personal. It's certainly not a cheap trip as - with taxes and crew tip - it comes in at $3,595 but I promise you it's worth every penny. And the boat is simply fabulous and perfectly designed for this type of diving. The back deck is enormous (that's NOT an exaggeration) and there are five cages that are running generally from about 7AM until 5PM each of the three days, with 3-4 divers in each cage. There's ample time to observe, take pictures, review what you shot, or just stare in awe at these magnificent beasts. This is definitely a trip you need to do and - because all the diving is done on hookah - you barely bring any equipment with you (mask, no snorkel, fins, booties, wetsuit) so packing is a breeze. If you'd like to find out more or sign up, shoot me an e-mail or call us at 310/652-4990.
A DEPRESSING THOUGHT - A new report out following a three-year study predicts that if we don't change our ways, in terms of weight and mass, there will be more plastic in the ocean by 2050 than there will be fish. Ever as early as 2025, the ratio of plastic mass to fish mass might be 1:3. Needless to say, this is not good, especially when you realize that plastic generally doesn't biodegrade, certainly not in any reasonable amount of time, and yet we keep using it and disposing of it in ways that are harmful to the ocean. If you'd like to read the full report, use this link: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf .
A MORE UPLIFTING THOUGHT - Absolutely not dive-related but absolutely amazing is a robot and a computer program designed to solve Rubik's Cube . . . in one second. Whether or not you're impressed by the speed, just the engineering to make this possible is amazing IMHO. You got to check out the short video and watch this thing in action: http://memebase.cheezburger.com/share/77736193.
AND FINALLY (ALSO NOT DIVE-RELATED) - Broncos vs. Panthers in two weeks. Go Peyton Manning, in what many are predicting - win or lose - will be his last professional game.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
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