TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - March 12-19

[Ken Kurtis]

Oscars, Zoom Seekers, Orcas, and more (please scroll down for details)​

Congrats to our Oscar nominees and winners . . . OSCAR DIVERS - We really usually do have at least a couple of people we deal with or have dealt with in the past who are nominated or actually win an Academy Award. Joe Hutshing won twice for editing (and brought the Oscar into the store the next day) and one of my private students told me one year he was a songwriter and then the next night accepted the award for co-writing "Fame." It's the advantage of being based in Beverly Hills. And congrats to "Everything, Everywhere" on the sweep of the major awards. I loved it but you've got to pay attention or you'll get lost. NO AVALON THIS WEEK - With the projected deluge for Tuesday and some rain continuing into Wednesday, we will not be doing a delayed Avalon trip on Wednesday. Next planned one is on the sked Wednesday, April 19. This coming Saturday we have "Taming Surf Entries" planned (Vets Park in Redondo) and we'll leave that in place for now since the storm might actually create some rough but teachable conditions. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 if you want to sign up. ZOOM SEEKERS THIS TUESDAY @ 7:30PM - This one will definitely be unusual. (In fact, we have a number of "unusual" ones planned for this year.) Our primary speaker is Dan Orr and while he normally talks about safety issues, this one's going to cover some gear that might make your diving easier as well as as safer. Dan will be joined by Aviad Cahana, a scuba instructor/engineer who was fed up with carrying heavy and cumbersome gear. So Aviad invented the Avelo System which is an innovative, lightweight scuba system that uses water to manage your buoyancy. The Avelo System consists of a bladder containing the breathing gas inside a carbon-fiber-wrapped Hydrotank and a Jetpack. The Zoom Seekers presentation will be given by Aviad and Dan (I believe Dan is a consultant for the company) and they'll explain this revolutionary diving system and why they feel it's the next step forward in the evolution of scuba diving equipment. Here's the link to join us:​ ZOOM SEEKERS - TUESDAY, MARCH 14 @ 7:30PM DAN ORR & AVIAD CAHANA - THE AVELO SYSTEM​ DISTURBING REPORT ON OCEAN HEALTH - A study of 40 years worth of data collected from 12,000 sampling points worldwide paints a troubling picture of the amount of plastic in the ocean. Looks like it really started rising dramatically around 2005 and the rate has been increasing since then. Plastics in the ocean don't really decompose but instead break down into smaller and smaller micro-plastics, which can then be ingested by fish. None of this is good. However, the study also says this can all be mitigated but some hard decisions will have to be made. You can read more about the study here: TOO MUCH PLASTIC IN THE OCEAN. NEW PLASTICS-CAUSED DISEASE - After reading the previous, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to find out that scientists have discovered a new disease that's killing seabirds which they call plasticosis. The short version is that when seabirds ingest plastic, it can harm some of their internal organs to the point that it kills the animal. Although it didn't have a formal name at the time, I saw evidence of this when I was at Midway Island back in 1998 and the shorelines were littered with litter and dead juvy Albatross who died trying to eat disposable lighters that they mistook for small fish. Read more about plastictosis here: PLASTICS ARE KILLING SEABIRDS. GOTTA END ON A HIGH NOTE - I always try to end with something a bit "up" and those last two stories certainly don't do it, so how about a unique encounter with an Orca in the Sea of Cortez? Especially as you watch the beginning, watch the Orca turn and come back after seemingly being ready to glide by the boat. I also found it interesting that the hand-splashing the person on the boat is doing to get the Orca's attention, is exactly what we did in San Ignacio Lagoon last month to get the attention of the friendly Gray Whales: CURIOUS ORCA COMES TO VISIT. And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!! - Ken​