Hard to believe we're halfway through the year already . . .
WATER'S WARMING UP - I'm hearing reports of water temps approaching 70º in the Avalon Underwater park and similar numbers along the shore sites. It's a good/bad news story. It's good news for divers in that warmer water means a more comfortable dive. But it's bad news for kelp because warmer water means the kelp starts to die off, as it only thrives in a relatively narrow temperature range, and 70º is generally the upper limit. This gets further complicated in that when the kelp dies off, it creates room for Sargassum to move in and take root, which then further stresses out the kelp as they both compete for territory. So warmer water is truly a double-edged sword.
DAILY CONDITIONS REPORT - If you're on FaceBook, check out Mark Guccione's page. He's one of the lead instructor at Catalina Divers Supply and every day, he posts a short "Mark at the Park" video segment where he gives you current conditions, water temps, and other tidbits. Definitely worth checking out, especially just prior to a Catalina dive (even if it's not going to be in the Park).
AVALON ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 20 - Just a reminder that we're going over on this day for one of our monthly day trips to dive the Park. $175 covers you for boat, taxi, tanks, fills. We'll hopefully see some of our Giant Sea Bass friends, the warmer water provides opportunities to see other creatures not normally seen in the Park, we'll visit the Cousteau plaque and give it a quick touch-up, and a good time will be had by all. We should have time for three dives and MAYBE even a round of mini-golf. Call us at 310/652-4990 if you want to join us.
ZOOM SEEKERS THIS TUESDAY - We've got a really interesting one planned for this week. Our guest speaker will be Kurt Lieber, founder and president of Ocean Defenders Alliance. The easy way to describe what they do is their main goal is to remove as much trash, debris, and other crap from the ocean as they can. They've been instrumental in cleaning up ghost nets and stuff like that on some wrecks here in California, and Kurt's currently working with a crew in Hawaii to remove tires from a local harbor. Kurt will be talking about how he got started/interested in this line of work, what ODA does, and how you can pitch in as well. (They've got chapters all over the place so this is not limited to California.) Here's the link for this week. We start at 7:30PM:
WANNA FLY LAX TO CAYMAN NON-STOP? - Pending regulatory approval, you'll be able to do just that starting November 5. Cayman Airways has announced plans to start non-stop service at that time. They haven't released flight details yet, but I'd guess one or maybe two flights each week. It could either be a red-eye that leaves LAX late evening and arrive in Cayman mid-morning, which then allows for a turn-around return flight that would leave Cayman late morning and arrive back at LAX around Noon. Or they could do an early-morning flight which would arrive in Cayman late afternoon with a turn-around that would get back to LAX before midnight. Either way, it beats flying through Miami and will also once again make Cayman a very attractive option from LAX. We'll let you know more when they release details.
MUST-SEE TV: THE SEA BEAST - It's on Netflix so technically it IS still TV. But this is a FABULOUS animated film which has not only been getting great reviews but I'm betting with also pick up some Oscar nominations when the time comes. The animation I thought was astoundingly detailed, the story is good, good depth to the characters, and it moves along. My only issue it at times, since it's a British cast, was I occasionally had trouble with the accents. But the basic story - and there are also REALLY interesting comparisons to real-life issues - is that the kingdom has been at war for hundreds of years with the Sea Beasts with the Beasts taking down ships and the ships killing Beasts. But what if the underlying reason for all of this animosity simply wasn't true? And therein lies the rub. The actors playing the kid protagonist Maisie and the sailor/hunter Jacob are not only good but have a good rapport with each other. It's a great way to spend two hours. (Plus, the blue baby Beast is REALLY cute.) Here's the trailer:
WE'RE EITHER DEDICATED OR WE'RE IDIOTS - I happened to stop by to see repair guru Robert Stark today and he pointed out to me a customer tank that we did a valve rebuild on, but which has yet to be picked up. We've contacted the customer numerous times and now it seems his phone may be disconnected. But we'll keep trying because that's how we do things at Reef Seekers. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention a key detail: The work was done . . . in 2013!!! So we've been trying to get hold of this customer for 9 years. But we don't give up (even though maybe we should) and we don't just say, "Well, they're not returning calls so it's our tank now." But Larry Goldman, if you're out there, we'd really like to get your tank back to you (and get paid for our valve work).
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
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