Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Zoom Seekers, Murph Foundation, and more
(please scroll down for details)
Happy New Year!!!!
GOODBYE 2020 - I think everyone is quite happy to have the previous year in our proverbial rear-view mirrors. Here's to better times ahead.
ZOOM SEEKERS STARTS THIS TUESDAY @ 7:30PM - Our first speaker is be Dan Orr, past president of the Divers Alert Network. Dan's got a passion for dive safety - certainly resulting from his 23 years at D.A.N. - and will be talking about "Five Mistakes In Diver Safety," focusing especially on what we call "triggering" events, which is something going wrong that then starts a tumbling cascade of events which sometimes have tragic outcomes. We start at 7:30PM, Dan's talk will go 45-60 minutes, and we'll do a Q&A afterwards. Here's how you join us . . .
ZOOM SEEKERS INFO & LINK - We're limited to the first 100 people who join the call. (Last month, we had about 45 for our first one.) If we're full up or if you don't have or don't like Zoom, we will also be live-streaming through FaceBook Live and the Reef Seekers FB page. When you join us on Zoom (doesn't apply to FB):
• You'll first be put in the Zoom "Waiting Room"
• I'll admit everyone at 7:30 and will keep an eye out for stragglers
• Your mic will be automatically muted when you enter
• Once we have everyone in I'll go over procedures
• Chat will be enabled as will "Raise Hand"
• I'll call on people during the Q&A
• If you can't join us, Dan's talk will be recorded and available on our FB page
Here's the link: Zoom Seekers: Dan Orr - Five Mistakes in Diver Safety
ALL THE ZOOM SEEKERS SPEAKERS ON THE WEBSITE - If you'd like to see all of the speakers we have planned for the entire year, we've got them listed on our website along with a bio and a topic summary. Also, if you can't find the link for a specific talk on the day its happening, that will be listed there as well. But take a peek at the line-up for 2021: ZOOM SEEKERS SPEAKERS FOR ALL OF 2021.
SOCORRO IN A LITTLE OVER A WEEK - Barring any last-minute issues, we fly to Cabo on January 13 and get on the Nautilus Under Sea the next evening. (We'll do two local Cabo dives on 1/14.) We still have three spaces available if anyone would like to join at the last minute. Call us at 310/652-4990 if you're interested.
THURSDAY SQUID DIVE CANCELLED - With the rise of both the number of infections and the positivity rate here in L.A., plus that I'm leaving a week later for Socorro, in an abundance of caution, I'm going to cancel the Squid Dive that's on the books for Thursday. We'll hope to be able to go out in February. Besides, we don't have any reports yet of fields of squid eggs at Vets, so we may not be missing anything.
MEMORIAL FOUNDATION FOR MURPH - Those of you who went to Bonaire with us undoubtedly met and dove with Murphyn Henar, better known just as Murph, longtime guide at Buddy Dive. He loved diving and adored diving in Bonaire, especially when he could go find some new "little friends." You may recall that Murph died suddenly (medical complications - and not COVID - not a diving accident) just a little over a year ago. His Buddy Dive colleagues have established "The Murphyn Henar Foundation" and if you'd like to make a contribution, they've set up a website that explains their mission and how you can donate: THE MURPHYN HENAR FOUNDATION.
CAYMAN ISLANDS TO REOPEN IN MARCH - Cayman Premier Alden MacLaughlin announced that, with the arrival of the COVID vaccine, Cayman plans to reopen to visitors in March. Arriving visitors will need to show proof of a negative COVID test or agree to quarantine. Read more about it here: CAYMAN TO REOPEN IN MARCH.
AIN'T TECHNOLOGY WONDERFUL? - What can you get when you stitch together 38,000 satellite photos? How about a complete map of every reef in the Caribbean? This comes about from a new company called Planet Labs, who have a series of satellites that map then entire globe every day. So, over time, you can get clear shots of every place on earth. The hope is that this will help governments better manage and protect their reefs. Read more about it here: MAPPING THE CARIBBEAN.
Have a great week, wear your mask, wash your hands, and let's go diving soon.
- Ken
(please scroll down for details)
Happy New Year!!!!
GOODBYE 2020 - I think everyone is quite happy to have the previous year in our proverbial rear-view mirrors. Here's to better times ahead.
ZOOM SEEKERS STARTS THIS TUESDAY @ 7:30PM - Our first speaker is be Dan Orr, past president of the Divers Alert Network. Dan's got a passion for dive safety - certainly resulting from his 23 years at D.A.N. - and will be talking about "Five Mistakes In Diver Safety," focusing especially on what we call "triggering" events, which is something going wrong that then starts a tumbling cascade of events which sometimes have tragic outcomes. We start at 7:30PM, Dan's talk will go 45-60 minutes, and we'll do a Q&A afterwards. Here's how you join us . . .
ZOOM SEEKERS INFO & LINK - We're limited to the first 100 people who join the call. (Last month, we had about 45 for our first one.) If we're full up or if you don't have or don't like Zoom, we will also be live-streaming through FaceBook Live and the Reef Seekers FB page. When you join us on Zoom (doesn't apply to FB):
• You'll first be put in the Zoom "Waiting Room"
• I'll admit everyone at 7:30 and will keep an eye out for stragglers
• Your mic will be automatically muted when you enter
• Once we have everyone in I'll go over procedures
• Chat will be enabled as will "Raise Hand"
• I'll call on people during the Q&A
• If you can't join us, Dan's talk will be recorded and available on our FB page
Here's the link: Zoom Seekers: Dan Orr - Five Mistakes in Diver Safety
ALL THE ZOOM SEEKERS SPEAKERS ON THE WEBSITE - If you'd like to see all of the speakers we have planned for the entire year, we've got them listed on our website along with a bio and a topic summary. Also, if you can't find the link for a specific talk on the day its happening, that will be listed there as well. But take a peek at the line-up for 2021: ZOOM SEEKERS SPEAKERS FOR ALL OF 2021.
SOCORRO IN A LITTLE OVER A WEEK - Barring any last-minute issues, we fly to Cabo on January 13 and get on the Nautilus Under Sea the next evening. (We'll do two local Cabo dives on 1/14.) We still have three spaces available if anyone would like to join at the last minute. Call us at 310/652-4990 if you're interested.
THURSDAY SQUID DIVE CANCELLED - With the rise of both the number of infections and the positivity rate here in L.A., plus that I'm leaving a week later for Socorro, in an abundance of caution, I'm going to cancel the Squid Dive that's on the books for Thursday. We'll hope to be able to go out in February. Besides, we don't have any reports yet of fields of squid eggs at Vets, so we may not be missing anything.
MEMORIAL FOUNDATION FOR MURPH - Those of you who went to Bonaire with us undoubtedly met and dove with Murphyn Henar, better known just as Murph, longtime guide at Buddy Dive. He loved diving and adored diving in Bonaire, especially when he could go find some new "little friends." You may recall that Murph died suddenly (medical complications - and not COVID - not a diving accident) just a little over a year ago. His Buddy Dive colleagues have established "The Murphyn Henar Foundation" and if you'd like to make a contribution, they've set up a website that explains their mission and how you can donate: THE MURPHYN HENAR FOUNDATION.
CAYMAN ISLANDS TO REOPEN IN MARCH - Cayman Premier Alden MacLaughlin announced that, with the arrival of the COVID vaccine, Cayman plans to reopen to visitors in March. Arriving visitors will need to show proof of a negative COVID test or agree to quarantine. Read more about it here: CAYMAN TO REOPEN IN MARCH.
AIN'T TECHNOLOGY WONDERFUL? - What can you get when you stitch together 38,000 satellite photos? How about a complete map of every reef in the Caribbean? This comes about from a new company called Planet Labs, who have a series of satellites that map then entire globe every day. So, over time, you can get clear shots of every place on earth. The hope is that this will help governments better manage and protect their reefs. Read more about it here: MAPPING THE CARIBBEAN.
Have a great week, wear your mask, wash your hands, and let's go diving soon.
- Ken
