TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - March 6-13

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Ken Kurtis

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Location
Beverly Hills, CA
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Big Swell, Zoom Seekers, Big Fish, and more
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We are sooooo glad the Cleanup wasn't this past Saturday . . .

WIND GENERATES HUGE SWELL - Where did all that wind comes from? It started blowing Friday night and really kicked in overnight to the point that the Catalina Express cancelled ALL of their trips to the island on Saturday and the all the dive boats I know of cancelled as well. The swell in the San Pedro channel was up to 10-feet at an 8-second interval. That would not have been pleasant. We sort of joke about the Cleanup having some sort of weather magic associated with it because it seems we almost always get good weather, and that certainly seemed to the case this year. This past Saturday, the Park was undiveable. As a point of reference, this is what it looked like at Vets Park in Redondo Saturday afternoon. The dots on the beach are people. The waves are 5-7 feet:​
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ZOOM SEEKERS IS THIS TUESDAY - We're very excited to remind you that our guest speaker is none other than Mike Lever, owner of Nautilus Liveaboards. (That's who we're going to Socorro with.) Mike's talk is called "Secrets of Gray Whales" because Nautilus has installed an operation in San Ignacio Lagoon, where the whales annually go to calve, and they also seem to love to interact with tourists who go out in pangas to observe them. If you've ever seen pictures of whales sticking their heads out of the water and someone hugging them, that's what happens at San Ignacio Lagoon. So Mike will be sharing all kinds of whale encounter stories with us as well as giving you a glimpse into the Nautilus "glamping" setup, which is what you call "glamorous camping." No small nylon tents with a sleeping bag here. As usual, we'll start at 7:30PM and be wrapped up by 9PM. Hope you can join us. Here's the link:


CHAMBER DAY 2022 IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS - And we're off to a pretty good start. Reef Seekers will not specifically be doing a boat this year but we have both an in-person and a virtual table at Chamber Eve. We've already got 4 (out of 10) seats sold and if you plan to join us, don't dilly-dally. Because of COVID mitigation measures - which admittedly could change by May 4 but under which we have to plan as of now - each group sponsoring a table only gets ONE table of 10 this year. And we're assuming each group will fill their respective table so don't get left out. And also give some thought to adding the VGD (Very Generous Diver) package to your ticket. For an extra $50, you get early access (5PM) to the Aquarium, a private veranda to enjoy appetizers and cocktails, and extra raffle and Grand Prize tickets. We limit VGD to 75 people so don't get left behind. And if you're still not comfortable being in a large group . . .

VIRTUAL CHAMBER EVE - This may be just what you were looking for. It's our virtual table and it's only $95 instead of $150 (since we won't be feeding you). You'll still get raffle tickets and a Grand Prize ticket - a week on the Turks & Caicos Aggressor - plus we'll send you a private link to the live-stream we plan on doing from the Aquarium on Chamber Eve (May 4) as well as a Cmaber Eve short-sleeved t-shirt. For any and all things Chamber Day, sign up at www.chamberday.org.

GETTING READY FOR SOCORRO - We fly to Cabo San Lucas Friday morning and will board the Nautilus Under Sea the following evening. Then it's a full day sail SSW, arriving Sunday evening and diving Monday-Friday. We did this trip last year in January and by going a little later, we hope to improve our chances of getting some Humpback Whale encounters. We'll have satellite Wi-Fi on the boat so I hope to post some pix each day to the Ken Kurtis and Reef Seekers FaceBook pages. Not sure if I'll be able to get out TWARS next week but if I can I will. Of course, it'll be all things Socorro. It's a magical place to dive, we had a fabulous trip last year, they've had a good season so far, so fingers crossed.

PREPPING FOR BONAIRE WHEN WE RETURN - Bonaire is on the sked for May 20-28 and when we get back from Socorro, we'll move that into high gear. We've got 10 people on the trip right now and have room for a few more. Especially if you haven't been diving for a while because of the pandemic, Bonaire's a great place to get back into the swing of things. Call us at 310/652-4990 for more info or to sign up.

LET'S KILL ALL THE BIG FISH - That was my first impression when I heard that Florida Fish & Wildlife has approved a plan - ill-conceived in the opinion of many, including me - to allow Goliath Groupers (which used to be called Jewfish) to be hunted again. These are basically similar to our Giant Sea Bass, and they've been protected in Florida waters since 1990. The plan allows for 200 Goliaths to be slaughtered each year, despite the fact that no good data exists as to how large the Goliath population is and whether they can sustain such a reduction in numbers. You can read more about it here: GOLIATH GROUPERS TO BE HUNTED AGAIN.

And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!

- Ken​
 
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