Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Another gorgeous sunset tonight . . .
JOIN US FOR THE 39TH ANNUAL AVALON UNDERWATER CLEANUP - The date this year is Saturday, February 22 (always the Saturday following President's Day) and we will once again be encamped at the Green Pier. The general plan is to go over on the 6AM Express out of Long Beach, plop ourselves down, you guys all go to breakfast while I get everyone signed in, and then we're back in time for the 9AM briefing. Diving starts at 9:30 and everyone usually does just the one dive although as long as you're out of the water by 11AM, you're free to go back in. After that, we'll either have your gear stored for you for the afternoon, or you can get an airfill and we'll send you over to the Park and you can do some more diving. Your call. Then there's the awards ceremony at 1PM plus you can choose to join us for our annual Miniature Golf Tournament around 3:30PM. We'll take an early evening boat back. Cost for everything with Reef Seekers - event registration, boat, taxis, gear storage, fun - is $150. Call us at 310/652-4990 to get signed up.
ROSE PARADE 2020 - As many of you know, I go the the Rose Parade every year (end of the route), take WAAAAY to many pictures, and then share many of them with you. This year was no exception (and the weather couldn't have been better). There weren't as many underwater-themed floats this year but there were a few. If you'd like to take a look at what we saw (slightly different angle and perspective than you get on TV), here's the link. Scroll down for collage view and/or click on any individual pix to get it full-screen: KEN'S 2020 ROSE PARADE PIX.
ZERO DIVE FATALITIES IN L.A. COUNTY FOR 2019 - As many of you know (and for those of you who don't know), I'm the Forensic Consultant to the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner for scuba fatalities. And we are DELIGHTED to report that within the Coroner's jurisdiction (which is all of Los Angeles County), there were NO DIVE FATALITIES REPORTED for calendar year 2019. Our reliable records about scuba fatalities go back to 1994 and this is the FIRST TIME that we've ever recorded ZERO deaths-while-diving for a calendar year. The previous low was 1 in 1999 and again in 2018. (The average is a little over 4 fatalities per year. The most ever was 10 in 2012.) Hopefully, this happened (or didn't happen) because people are diving smarter, paying attention more (out-of-air contributes to a disproportionately high % of scuba deaths, as much as 45% of the time according to one study), monitoring any medical conditions that might affect their ability to dive, changing behaviors as they get older, or better/more training. Whatever the reason, let's hope this trend continues into 2020. Good job everyone!!!
YAP IN MARCH - Given that we're just about two months away, if the Yap trip in March is something you'd be interested in, we're getting close to the point where I have to make a go/no-go decision. One nice thing about this trip is that, because it's land-based, I don't need a ton of people. But those of you who have called and chatted and said you'll be thinking about it, we're at a point where you need to make up your mind. Details are on the website and you can let me know via e-mail or at 310/652-4990.
SPECIAL/EXTRA INDONESIA TRIP - We can still offer that 40% discount on the specialIndonesia Aggressor trip April 6-17 that's visiting "The Forgotten Islands." It's a fabulous deal but we don't know how much longer Aggressor will allow us to offer it. The trip is 11 days of diving with all meals included, and starts at $3,030 (instead of $5,000+). Call us at 310/652-4990 to get signed up for this. We've already got 5 people on this trip and it's a definite go.
PHOTO WORKSHOP CLASS DATE CHANGE - I've now got a sked conflict so have to shift the January Photo Workshop class ($25) by one day, to Thursday, January 16. Whether you're a new shooter or a pro, we can probably give you some tips to hone your skills and improve your shots. Call us to sign up.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
JOIN US FOR THE 39TH ANNUAL AVALON UNDERWATER CLEANUP - The date this year is Saturday, February 22 (always the Saturday following President's Day) and we will once again be encamped at the Green Pier. The general plan is to go over on the 6AM Express out of Long Beach, plop ourselves down, you guys all go to breakfast while I get everyone signed in, and then we're back in time for the 9AM briefing. Diving starts at 9:30 and everyone usually does just the one dive although as long as you're out of the water by 11AM, you're free to go back in. After that, we'll either have your gear stored for you for the afternoon, or you can get an airfill and we'll send you over to the Park and you can do some more diving. Your call. Then there's the awards ceremony at 1PM plus you can choose to join us for our annual Miniature Golf Tournament around 3:30PM. We'll take an early evening boat back. Cost for everything with Reef Seekers - event registration, boat, taxis, gear storage, fun - is $150. Call us at 310/652-4990 to get signed up.
ROSE PARADE 2020 - As many of you know, I go the the Rose Parade every year (end of the route), take WAAAAY to many pictures, and then share many of them with you. This year was no exception (and the weather couldn't have been better). There weren't as many underwater-themed floats this year but there were a few. If you'd like to take a look at what we saw (slightly different angle and perspective than you get on TV), here's the link. Scroll down for collage view and/or click on any individual pix to get it full-screen: KEN'S 2020 ROSE PARADE PIX.
ZERO DIVE FATALITIES IN L.A. COUNTY FOR 2019 - As many of you know (and for those of you who don't know), I'm the Forensic Consultant to the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner for scuba fatalities. And we are DELIGHTED to report that within the Coroner's jurisdiction (which is all of Los Angeles County), there were NO DIVE FATALITIES REPORTED for calendar year 2019. Our reliable records about scuba fatalities go back to 1994 and this is the FIRST TIME that we've ever recorded ZERO deaths-while-diving for a calendar year. The previous low was 1 in 1999 and again in 2018. (The average is a little over 4 fatalities per year. The most ever was 10 in 2012.) Hopefully, this happened (or didn't happen) because people are diving smarter, paying attention more (out-of-air contributes to a disproportionately high % of scuba deaths, as much as 45% of the time according to one study), monitoring any medical conditions that might affect their ability to dive, changing behaviors as they get older, or better/more training. Whatever the reason, let's hope this trend continues into 2020. Good job everyone!!!
YAP IN MARCH - Given that we're just about two months away, if the Yap trip in March is something you'd be interested in, we're getting close to the point where I have to make a go/no-go decision. One nice thing about this trip is that, because it's land-based, I don't need a ton of people. But those of you who have called and chatted and said you'll be thinking about it, we're at a point where you need to make up your mind. Details are on the website and you can let me know via e-mail or at 310/652-4990.
SPECIAL/EXTRA INDONESIA TRIP - We can still offer that 40% discount on the specialIndonesia Aggressor trip April 6-17 that's visiting "The Forgotten Islands." It's a fabulous deal but we don't know how much longer Aggressor will allow us to offer it. The trip is 11 days of diving with all meals included, and starts at $3,030 (instead of $5,000+). Call us at 310/652-4990 to get signed up for this. We've already got 5 people on this trip and it's a definite go.
PHOTO WORKSHOP CLASS DATE CHANGE - I've now got a sked conflict so have to shift the January Photo Workshop class ($25) by one day, to Thursday, January 16. Whether you're a new shooter or a pro, we can probably give you some tips to hone your skills and improve your shots. Call us to sign up.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
