Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Flat seas, COVID rules, NASA NBL, and more
(please scroll down for details)
Since you'll get the newsletter tomorrow, I'll keep it relatively short tonight . . .
LAKE PACIFIC - It doesn't get much calmer than this and I hope you were able to take advantage of the waveless conditions over the weekend. The pix below is from the Redondo Pier looking south towards Vets and the Topaz Jetty. Mike Couffer dove the area just before the weekend and reports there was a little surge in the shallows - which surprised me given the lack of wave activity - and visibility of 15-20' but it dropped over the course of his dive, which he attributes to the outgoing tide. Water temp was 55-57º. The waveless conditions should hold for another day or so. However . . .
CAN YOU BEACH DIVE UNDER THE NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS? - I don't know. The new restrictions, in effect until December 20, prohibit "gatherings" with anyone not in your household. So is a beach dive a "gathering"? It might be if two friends who don't live together go for a dive. But what if I'm teaching a class and the beach is where I conduct my business? And how about between dives? Beach activity is allowed as long as it's "active" (so just just sitting and sunning but what if we do two dives and have a one hour surface interval? I'm actively off-gassing but it won't appear that way to the uninitiated. And will any of this really be enforced, or is this again on an "honor system" (which doesn't seem to be working so well). As I think most of you know, I'm in no way minimizing the seriousness of the situation we're in. As I write this (Sunday evening), we had 5,014 new cases reported today, hospitalizations rose to about 2,000 total (a month ago we were around 800 people hospitalized) and roughly 25% of the currently-hospitalized folks are in ICU. The best advice to start beating this thing (other than more widespread compliance) is to stay home as much as possible and always wear a face covering over your nose and mouth when you are outside of your household and around others.
I'M NOT SURE ABOUT DECEMBER 7 - We've got Avalon on the sked for Monday, December 7, but I'm not sure if we'll be allowed to do that or not. I will try to get more guidance. If you were thinking of joining us for that, let me know, because if no one signs up, permission/ability to go is a moot point.
GUEST ZOOM SPEAKER TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8 - I think I'l start referring to any of our Zoom get-togethers as a Zoom Seekers meeting. And we've got a good one for you Tuesday, December 8, starting at 7PM. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Robert Sanders. Some of you may have run into Bob over the years when he worked at the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber but what he'll be discussing 12/8 is the job he's held for the last six years which is Medical Director at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston. This is where the astronauts train for space missions in a simulated zero-g environment, which is a huge training pool (as you can see below). The pool itself is 200 x 100 feet and 40 feet deep, and Bob will give us an overview as well as explain what he does and how he interacts with the various space mission crews. Should be really interesting. I will send out the Zoom link shortly before December 8.
SOUNDS OF THE OCEAN - There are studies going on now about using sound, and listening to the ocean, to determine how healthy it is. There was an interesting article in the New York Times recently about just that. (Thanks to Larry Schnabel for forwarding, although the link here will be to the Japan Times version since the NYT one is behind a paywall). There's some research going on through Woods Hole as well. But it's a novel concept and a good read: LISTENING TO THE OCEAN.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, wear your mask, wash your hands, and let's go diving soon (but within the revised COVID restrictions/guidelines).
- Ken
(please scroll down for details)
Since you'll get the newsletter tomorrow, I'll keep it relatively short tonight . . .
LAKE PACIFIC - It doesn't get much calmer than this and I hope you were able to take advantage of the waveless conditions over the weekend. The pix below is from the Redondo Pier looking south towards Vets and the Topaz Jetty. Mike Couffer dove the area just before the weekend and reports there was a little surge in the shallows - which surprised me given the lack of wave activity - and visibility of 15-20' but it dropped over the course of his dive, which he attributes to the outgoing tide. Water temp was 55-57º. The waveless conditions should hold for another day or so. However . . .
CAN YOU BEACH DIVE UNDER THE NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS? - I don't know. The new restrictions, in effect until December 20, prohibit "gatherings" with anyone not in your household. So is a beach dive a "gathering"? It might be if two friends who don't live together go for a dive. But what if I'm teaching a class and the beach is where I conduct my business? And how about between dives? Beach activity is allowed as long as it's "active" (so just just sitting and sunning but what if we do two dives and have a one hour surface interval? I'm actively off-gassing but it won't appear that way to the uninitiated. And will any of this really be enforced, or is this again on an "honor system" (which doesn't seem to be working so well). As I think most of you know, I'm in no way minimizing the seriousness of the situation we're in. As I write this (Sunday evening), we had 5,014 new cases reported today, hospitalizations rose to about 2,000 total (a month ago we were around 800 people hospitalized) and roughly 25% of the currently-hospitalized folks are in ICU. The best advice to start beating this thing (other than more widespread compliance) is to stay home as much as possible and always wear a face covering over your nose and mouth when you are outside of your household and around others.
I'M NOT SURE ABOUT DECEMBER 7 - We've got Avalon on the sked for Monday, December 7, but I'm not sure if we'll be allowed to do that or not. I will try to get more guidance. If you were thinking of joining us for that, let me know, because if no one signs up, permission/ability to go is a moot point.
GUEST ZOOM SPEAKER TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8 - I think I'l start referring to any of our Zoom get-togethers as a Zoom Seekers meeting. And we've got a good one for you Tuesday, December 8, starting at 7PM. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Robert Sanders. Some of you may have run into Bob over the years when he worked at the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber but what he'll be discussing 12/8 is the job he's held for the last six years which is Medical Director at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston. This is where the astronauts train for space missions in a simulated zero-g environment, which is a huge training pool (as you can see below). The pool itself is 200 x 100 feet and 40 feet deep, and Bob will give us an overview as well as explain what he does and how he interacts with the various space mission crews. Should be really interesting. I will send out the Zoom link shortly before December 8.
SOUNDS OF THE OCEAN - There are studies going on now about using sound, and listening to the ocean, to determine how healthy it is. There was an interesting article in the New York Times recently about just that. (Thanks to Larry Schnabel for forwarding, although the link here will be to the Japan Times version since the NYT one is behind a paywall). There's some research going on through Woods Hole as well. But it's a novel concept and a good read: LISTENING TO THE OCEAN.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, wear your mask, wash your hands, and let's go diving soon (but within the revised COVID restrictions/guidelines).
- Ken
