Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015-2016 vacation trips:
December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [ TWO SPOTS JUST OPENED UP ]
March 11-19 - Yap (can be combined with Palau)
March 20-27 - Palau on the Palau Aggressor II [ can be combined with Yap - WE ONLY HAVE 2 SPOTS LEFT ON THE BOAT SO DON'T DAWDLE ]
Late May or early June - Bonaire or Cayman
July 2-14 - Indonesia
August 1-6 - Isla Guadalupe & Great White Sharks [ ONLY 6 SPOTS AVAILABLE ]
August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues
November 3-16 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ FULL BOAT, BUT THAT'S ONLY 12 SPOTS ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
I am still in shock at the events in Paris and wonder how people can have such hatred in their hearts and such callous disregard for other humans to do such a thing. Words are inadequate to convey my emotions, so let's discuss kinder things . . .
STILL HAVE LAST-MINUTE RED SEA SPOTS - As I mentioned last week, we had two last-minute cancellations on our December 1 Red Sea trip so if any of you want to plan a spur-of-the-moment trip, get hold of me right away and I can go over the details with you. Best part of this is that the airfare on Lufthansa has dropped by about $300. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 if you're interested.
SO THERE WERE SOME COOL THINGS AT DEMA - Shortly after I sent out TWARS last week, I got a gentle note from Mark Gibello at XS Scuba reminding me that they had a couple of cool things that were introduced at DEMA. One is the PLUS (which stands for "Peripheral Lighting Underwater System") and it's a series of micro-LED lights which can make you more visible at night. It comes standard on two BCs, the SeaBlazer and the Phantom (XS Scuba - SeaBlazer - Phantom BC's). The second is the Switch mask which essentially does for masks what the FlipFilter does for GoPros. The Switch comes with a series of filters that can be "switched" in and out of the mask through a clever filer holder mounted in front of the mask (XS Scuba - SWITCH MASK). Don't go rushing to stores to buy these quite yet as all of these won't be available until spring of 2016. But I must give kudos to Mark and the XS Scuba crew - and this is not just blowing smoke his way on my part - as they do seem to be continually looking for ways to produce or acquire products that make diving safer and more fun.
SPEAKING OF COOL AND INNOVATIVE - Lionel Galway passes along information about a hydraulic diver lift that is being used on boats in the UK. Basically, you swim up to it, stand on it, and it lifts you up to deck level. Here's a short video showing it in action on a boat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3113oxz0RE). Lionel asked me if I thought this was practical for SoCal boats and I opined that with all the testosterone we still have on most local boats, if anyone put one of these diver-elevators in, it would be quickly be dubbed "The Emasculator."
ANOTHER "EASY" WAY OUT OF THE WATER - This is another way to get out of the water, if only briefly. And let's face it: It's not every day you see a sea lion riding on the back of a whale. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euQnytv0BrU .
AND SPEAKING OF WHALES - Add "shark" and you've got our August 20-27 trip next year when we will return to Isla Mujeres (NE of Cancun) for a trip that combines snorkelling with Whale Sharks, diving cenotes, diving the world's first underwater museum (MUSA), and a whole lot of fun. This is the same trip we did in 2013 and 2014. It's a Saturday-Saturday and we can usually grab a non-stop from LA to Cancun, then take a ferry over to Isla Mujeres and check in to our hotel. Sunday is a half-day of diving (that's the underwater museum day - really cool and unique), Mon/Wed/Fri are all Whale Shark days, Tuesday is cenotes, and Thursday is reef diving around Isla which usually includes a nice wreck. So it's a trip with a lot of variety and some really special dives. We've got a number of people saying they're interested and about half a dozen already who say they're committed. So this is one you don't want to get left out of. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 and make sure you're on our list if this is something on your radar.
AUGUST 2016 COULD BE SHARK MONTH - You could do the Whale Shark trip just mentioned, but you could also start the month with Great Whites on the Nautilus Belle Amie as we return to Isla Guadalupe for more cage diving with these top predators. If you really want to go all out, give some thought to doing both trips (and we could even watch Shark Week on Discovery during the time between trips). We had a blast on both of our Guadalupe trips this year and have a couple of thoughts and tricks in mind for next year to get the sharks even closer. And, since this is not a cheap trip, if you're ready to commit to it, we can certainly work out easy monthly payment plans to help remove some of the financial sting. As with the other trips, let us know if you're interested.
SOMETHING I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE - I've heard about Black Sea Bass (now more correctly known as Giant Sea Bass) eating lobsters but I've never seen it. As you may know, the way a GSB eats is simply to open its mouth and inhale and pretty much everything in front of it gets sucked it. It can then chew things up and expel whatever it doesn't like. And I just read a paper about GSBs doing this to lobsters so was very excited to see that Roger Carlson had actually filmed this happening on a recent dive to Santa Cruz Island. It happens quickly, but there's no doubt as to the outcome. Take a look: http://www.rogercarlsonphotography.com/UnderwaterCalifornia/2015-11-02-Santa-Cruz-Island/ .
PLAYING THE AIRFARE GAME - We're in the midst of booking airfares for our upcoming Yap/Palau trip (still have at least one spot left on the Palau Aggressor 2) and we're finding ways to beat the airlines at their own game. What they do is called "Dynamic Pricing" which means airlines adjust prices almost daily to see what the market will bear and what they can get away with. But, if you diligently check regularly, you can gain a little bit of an upper hand as many airlines, for a small fee, let you hold an itinerary at a guaranteed price for a specified time frame. On United, it's called FareLock and for Yap/Palau, we'd been seeing prices around $2100. But then the price dropped to $1900 so - for $12 - we all did a FareLock for a week to see if it would drop any lower. And actually, the price went UP $300 but because we gambled $12, we will still be able to ticket at the lower price. But whether you fly United or someone else, check out these types of offers to hold a specific fare. Many times, it can work in your favor and the amount of money you pay for the hold is so small that even if the fare doesn't change by the time you have to ticket, you're not losing very much.
24-HOUR NO-PENALTY CANCELLATION TOO - The other thing to be aware of is that many airlines, once you've actually purchased your ticket, will give you a 24-hour window in which to cancel the ticket and still get a full refund. So continue to check the price for the 24 hours after you make your purchase and if the fare goes down, cancel the first ticket, get confirmation of the refund, and buy the second ticket, which will also trigger a new 24-hour cancellation period. (In theory, you could do this every single day but at some point, it gets a little obsessive.)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015-2016 vacation trips:
December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [ TWO SPOTS JUST OPENED UP ]
March 11-19 - Yap (can be combined with Palau)
March 20-27 - Palau on the Palau Aggressor II [ can be combined with Yap - WE ONLY HAVE 2 SPOTS LEFT ON THE BOAT SO DON'T DAWDLE ]
Late May or early June - Bonaire or Cayman
July 2-14 - Indonesia
August 1-6 - Isla Guadalupe & Great White Sharks [ ONLY 6 SPOTS AVAILABLE ]
August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres & Whale Sharks, cenotes, and statues
November 3-16 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ FULL BOAT, BUT THAT'S ONLY 12 SPOTS ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
I am still in shock at the events in Paris and wonder how people can have such hatred in their hearts and such callous disregard for other humans to do such a thing. Words are inadequate to convey my emotions, so let's discuss kinder things . . .
STILL HAVE LAST-MINUTE RED SEA SPOTS - As I mentioned last week, we had two last-minute cancellations on our December 1 Red Sea trip so if any of you want to plan a spur-of-the-moment trip, get hold of me right away and I can go over the details with you. Best part of this is that the airfare on Lufthansa has dropped by about $300. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 if you're interested.
SO THERE WERE SOME COOL THINGS AT DEMA - Shortly after I sent out TWARS last week, I got a gentle note from Mark Gibello at XS Scuba reminding me that they had a couple of cool things that were introduced at DEMA. One is the PLUS (which stands for "Peripheral Lighting Underwater System") and it's a series of micro-LED lights which can make you more visible at night. It comes standard on two BCs, the SeaBlazer and the Phantom (XS Scuba - SeaBlazer - Phantom BC's). The second is the Switch mask which essentially does for masks what the FlipFilter does for GoPros. The Switch comes with a series of filters that can be "switched" in and out of the mask through a clever filer holder mounted in front of the mask (XS Scuba - SWITCH MASK). Don't go rushing to stores to buy these quite yet as all of these won't be available until spring of 2016. But I must give kudos to Mark and the XS Scuba crew - and this is not just blowing smoke his way on my part - as they do seem to be continually looking for ways to produce or acquire products that make diving safer and more fun.
SPEAKING OF COOL AND INNOVATIVE - Lionel Galway passes along information about a hydraulic diver lift that is being used on boats in the UK. Basically, you swim up to it, stand on it, and it lifts you up to deck level. Here's a short video showing it in action on a boat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3113oxz0RE). Lionel asked me if I thought this was practical for SoCal boats and I opined that with all the testosterone we still have on most local boats, if anyone put one of these diver-elevators in, it would be quickly be dubbed "The Emasculator."
ANOTHER "EASY" WAY OUT OF THE WATER - This is another way to get out of the water, if only briefly. And let's face it: It's not every day you see a sea lion riding on the back of a whale. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euQnytv0BrU .
AND SPEAKING OF WHALES - Add "shark" and you've got our August 20-27 trip next year when we will return to Isla Mujeres (NE of Cancun) for a trip that combines snorkelling with Whale Sharks, diving cenotes, diving the world's first underwater museum (MUSA), and a whole lot of fun. This is the same trip we did in 2013 and 2014. It's a Saturday-Saturday and we can usually grab a non-stop from LA to Cancun, then take a ferry over to Isla Mujeres and check in to our hotel. Sunday is a half-day of diving (that's the underwater museum day - really cool and unique), Mon/Wed/Fri are all Whale Shark days, Tuesday is cenotes, and Thursday is reef diving around Isla which usually includes a nice wreck. So it's a trip with a lot of variety and some really special dives. We've got a number of people saying they're interested and about half a dozen already who say they're committed. So this is one you don't want to get left out of. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 and make sure you're on our list if this is something on your radar.
AUGUST 2016 COULD BE SHARK MONTH - You could do the Whale Shark trip just mentioned, but you could also start the month with Great Whites on the Nautilus Belle Amie as we return to Isla Guadalupe for more cage diving with these top predators. If you really want to go all out, give some thought to doing both trips (and we could even watch Shark Week on Discovery during the time between trips). We had a blast on both of our Guadalupe trips this year and have a couple of thoughts and tricks in mind for next year to get the sharks even closer. And, since this is not a cheap trip, if you're ready to commit to it, we can certainly work out easy monthly payment plans to help remove some of the financial sting. As with the other trips, let us know if you're interested.
SOMETHING I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE - I've heard about Black Sea Bass (now more correctly known as Giant Sea Bass) eating lobsters but I've never seen it. As you may know, the way a GSB eats is simply to open its mouth and inhale and pretty much everything in front of it gets sucked it. It can then chew things up and expel whatever it doesn't like. And I just read a paper about GSBs doing this to lobsters so was very excited to see that Roger Carlson had actually filmed this happening on a recent dive to Santa Cruz Island. It happens quickly, but there's no doubt as to the outcome. Take a look: http://www.rogercarlsonphotography.com/UnderwaterCalifornia/2015-11-02-Santa-Cruz-Island/ .
PLAYING THE AIRFARE GAME - We're in the midst of booking airfares for our upcoming Yap/Palau trip (still have at least one spot left on the Palau Aggressor 2) and we're finding ways to beat the airlines at their own game. What they do is called "Dynamic Pricing" which means airlines adjust prices almost daily to see what the market will bear and what they can get away with. But, if you diligently check regularly, you can gain a little bit of an upper hand as many airlines, for a small fee, let you hold an itinerary at a guaranteed price for a specified time frame. On United, it's called FareLock and for Yap/Palau, we'd been seeing prices around $2100. But then the price dropped to $1900 so - for $12 - we all did a FareLock for a week to see if it would drop any lower. And actually, the price went UP $300 but because we gambled $12, we will still be able to ticket at the lower price. But whether you fly United or someone else, check out these types of offers to hold a specific fare. Many times, it can work in your favor and the amount of money you pay for the hold is so small that even if the fare doesn't change by the time you have to ticket, you're not losing very much.
24-HOUR NO-PENALTY CANCELLATION TOO - The other thing to be aware of is that many airlines, once you've actually purchased your ticket, will give you a 24-hour window in which to cancel the ticket and still get a full refund. So continue to check the price for the 24 hours after you make your purchase and if the fare goes down, cancel the first ticket, get confirmation of the refund, and buy the second ticket, which will also trigger a new 24-hour cancellation period. (In theory, you could do this every single day but at some point, it gets a little obsessive.)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
