Ken Kurtis
Contributor
I hope none of you are guilty of hoarding toilet paper . . .
COVID-19 AND DIVING - It's hard to know where to begin and I'm sure many of you are sick of hearing about all of this. But the goal is to make sure you and others DON'T get sick so it's important stuff. For a disease whose primary entry point into your body can be your nose or your mouth, divers could actually find themselves at a higher risk given that we're using regulators and masks which, if dipped into a rinse bucket infected by someone else, might undo whatever other preventative measures we're taking. I think the best advice I heard was from an infectious disease expert in New Zealand who said what you should do is pretend you're infected with COVID-19, and then alter your behavior to make sure you don't infect anyone else.
REEF SEEKERS PLANS - As we exist mainly on-line now, we're easily accessible. We're happy to advise, commiserate, or just listen to your concerns. And we're reachable by e-mail and phone pretty much almost any time. For those of you with repairs, Robert Stark is still happy to have you come by to drop off or pick up. Just call him to schedule a time. Whatever classes and trips (local & foreign) we have coming up, we'll make decisions about them closer to the planned date. But for the most part for us, it's business-usual.
TRAVELING? MAYBE, MAYBE NOT - It was a nightmare over the weekend as thousands of people flew back from Europe and other destinations (obviously some of them dive-related) and waited for hours and hours upon arrival in the U.S. to be screened and given the OK to go home. Supposedly at O'Hare, it was 4-6 hours to go through Immigration and get your bags, and then another 2 hours to be released through Customs. Yikes!!! The daughter on one of our divers flew home into LAX and it was close to 4 hours from landing before she was able to exit the terminal (while her mother waited and stewed). I heard of one dive group traveling to Truk and another going to the Solomons, each of whom landed, was denied entry, and was sent back home.
DO YOU HAVE A TRIP COMING UP? - It's hard to know what to do. Operators are going to be loathe to cancel outright far ahead of time because of the financial hit they'll take. By the same token, if you cancel a trip now that might be weeks and weeks away, because we don't know what the situation will be at that time, you may incur non-refundable fees or cancellation penalties. If you wait until just before your trip, you'll have a better idea of the possibilities and can probably negotiate a better deal if you have to cancel.
THIS IS A FABULOUS COVID-19 TRAVEL RESOURCE - If you plan on traveling internationally in the near future, there's a fabulous webpage from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that gives the latest on travel restrictions for pretty much every country in the world: TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS.
LOCAL DIVE CLOSURES - The Aquarium of the Pacific is closed to the public at least until the end of the month, although paid and some volunteer staff will work to feed the animals and clean the exhibits. The same goes for the California Science Center (including the IMAX Theater and Space Shuttle) but they haven't listed a back-end date. It seems that most dive shops and dive boats will continue to operate as normally as possible but you should check directly if you have anything planned. And if you're renting gear, you might want to inquire about disinfection procedures they do once stuff has been returned and before it's rented out again. (The same caution applies if you're in a class using dive shop gear.) As of now, the Scuba Show is still on track for May 30-31 but that could change as the situation develops over the coming weeks.
THE CHAMBER WILL BE THERE - Because it's considered an "essential service," the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber will remain open and available, outside of any directives or closures that USC may be issuing for their students and other employees.
CHAMBER DAY & EVE - First of all, Chamber Director Karl Huggins and I have discussed this extensively and want to assure everyone that, as an entity dedicated to diver safety, we're not going to knowingly do anything that would put you at risk by participating in the event. That being said, Chamber Day & Eve are both question marks at this point. While we hope to hold them as usual, how things unfold over the coming weeks will determine what's what. We will continue signing people up for both and if we have to cancel, will deal with that down the road. That being said, we do have a wonderful opportunity because those are only two of the four components of the event.
THE CHAMBER CHALLENGE AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN ARE BOTH COVID-PROOF - Since they exist totally on-line, you can still support your Chamber without exposing yourself to any risk whatsoever. Nervous about signing up for a boat? Then sign on to the Lost Crew of the Flying Dutchman. You'll get a unique Dutchman t-shirt, 5 raffle tickets, and no chance of infection. Not sure about coming to Chamber Eve? Instead of spending $120/ticket for that, make a donation to the Chamber Challenge. We can certainly use the money and you won't have to listen to me prattle on during the Evening program (which alone ought to be worth $100 or more). But in all seriousness, the COVID-19 crisis will end but we still need to raise money for our Chamber. And some aspects of this event can't be postponed so we still need to do the best we can and raise as much as we can by May 6. Speaking of which . . .
FLYING DUTCHMAN CONTEST - This year, we're having a contest to see which store or club can get the most people to sign up for the Flying Dutchman. Right now, Reef Seekers is #1. And we'd like to keep it that way. So hopefully you'll go sign up for the FD and when you get to the part that asks for who referred you, simply type in "Reef Seekers." Here's the direct link to the overall sign-up page: SIGN UP FOR THE DUTCHMAN.
A MORE LIGHT-HEARTED ENDING - Feast your eyes on 98 seconds worth of underwater critters (with music) from Dan Rodda, who dove some Palos Verdes sites last week: DANA'S PV VIDEO.
And that'll do it for now. Take a deep breath, have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
COVID-19 AND DIVING - It's hard to know where to begin and I'm sure many of you are sick of hearing about all of this. But the goal is to make sure you and others DON'T get sick so it's important stuff. For a disease whose primary entry point into your body can be your nose or your mouth, divers could actually find themselves at a higher risk given that we're using regulators and masks which, if dipped into a rinse bucket infected by someone else, might undo whatever other preventative measures we're taking. I think the best advice I heard was from an infectious disease expert in New Zealand who said what you should do is pretend you're infected with COVID-19, and then alter your behavior to make sure you don't infect anyone else.
REEF SEEKERS PLANS - As we exist mainly on-line now, we're easily accessible. We're happy to advise, commiserate, or just listen to your concerns. And we're reachable by e-mail and phone pretty much almost any time. For those of you with repairs, Robert Stark is still happy to have you come by to drop off or pick up. Just call him to schedule a time. Whatever classes and trips (local & foreign) we have coming up, we'll make decisions about them closer to the planned date. But for the most part for us, it's business-usual.
TRAVELING? MAYBE, MAYBE NOT - It was a nightmare over the weekend as thousands of people flew back from Europe and other destinations (obviously some of them dive-related) and waited for hours and hours upon arrival in the U.S. to be screened and given the OK to go home. Supposedly at O'Hare, it was 4-6 hours to go through Immigration and get your bags, and then another 2 hours to be released through Customs. Yikes!!! The daughter on one of our divers flew home into LAX and it was close to 4 hours from landing before she was able to exit the terminal (while her mother waited and stewed). I heard of one dive group traveling to Truk and another going to the Solomons, each of whom landed, was denied entry, and was sent back home.
DO YOU HAVE A TRIP COMING UP? - It's hard to know what to do. Operators are going to be loathe to cancel outright far ahead of time because of the financial hit they'll take. By the same token, if you cancel a trip now that might be weeks and weeks away, because we don't know what the situation will be at that time, you may incur non-refundable fees or cancellation penalties. If you wait until just before your trip, you'll have a better idea of the possibilities and can probably negotiate a better deal if you have to cancel.
THIS IS A FABULOUS COVID-19 TRAVEL RESOURCE - If you plan on traveling internationally in the near future, there's a fabulous webpage from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that gives the latest on travel restrictions for pretty much every country in the world: TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS.
LOCAL DIVE CLOSURES - The Aquarium of the Pacific is closed to the public at least until the end of the month, although paid and some volunteer staff will work to feed the animals and clean the exhibits. The same goes for the California Science Center (including the IMAX Theater and Space Shuttle) but they haven't listed a back-end date. It seems that most dive shops and dive boats will continue to operate as normally as possible but you should check directly if you have anything planned. And if you're renting gear, you might want to inquire about disinfection procedures they do once stuff has been returned and before it's rented out again. (The same caution applies if you're in a class using dive shop gear.) As of now, the Scuba Show is still on track for May 30-31 but that could change as the situation develops over the coming weeks.
THE CHAMBER WILL BE THERE - Because it's considered an "essential service," the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber will remain open and available, outside of any directives or closures that USC may be issuing for their students and other employees.
CHAMBER DAY & EVE - First of all, Chamber Director Karl Huggins and I have discussed this extensively and want to assure everyone that, as an entity dedicated to diver safety, we're not going to knowingly do anything that would put you at risk by participating in the event. That being said, Chamber Day & Eve are both question marks at this point. While we hope to hold them as usual, how things unfold over the coming weeks will determine what's what. We will continue signing people up for both and if we have to cancel, will deal with that down the road. That being said, we do have a wonderful opportunity because those are only two of the four components of the event.
THE CHAMBER CHALLENGE AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN ARE BOTH COVID-PROOF - Since they exist totally on-line, you can still support your Chamber without exposing yourself to any risk whatsoever. Nervous about signing up for a boat? Then sign on to the Lost Crew of the Flying Dutchman. You'll get a unique Dutchman t-shirt, 5 raffle tickets, and no chance of infection. Not sure about coming to Chamber Eve? Instead of spending $120/ticket for that, make a donation to the Chamber Challenge. We can certainly use the money and you won't have to listen to me prattle on during the Evening program (which alone ought to be worth $100 or more). But in all seriousness, the COVID-19 crisis will end but we still need to raise money for our Chamber. And some aspects of this event can't be postponed so we still need to do the best we can and raise as much as we can by May 6. Speaking of which . . .
FLYING DUTCHMAN CONTEST - This year, we're having a contest to see which store or club can get the most people to sign up for the Flying Dutchman. Right now, Reef Seekers is #1. And we'd like to keep it that way. So hopefully you'll go sign up for the FD and when you get to the part that asks for who referred you, simply type in "Reef Seekers." Here's the direct link to the overall sign-up page: SIGN UP FOR THE DUTCHMAN.
A MORE LIGHT-HEARTED ENDING - Feast your eyes on 98 seconds worth of underwater critters (with music) from Dan Rodda, who dove some Palos Verdes sites last week: DANA'S PV VIDEO.
And that'll do it for now. Take a deep breath, have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
