Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Rain is supposedly on the way . . .
WET THANKSGIVING - Although forecasts can change, it's looking like a wet Thanksgiving is headed our way as a big storm makes its way on down to us. The rain amounts have been changing but it looks like Wednesday and Thursday will see the most stuff, with a bit over 1/2" on Wednesday and a bit under that amount on Thursday. This means if you were planning on a post-Thanksgiving shore dive, you might want to re-think that plan as water quality will likely be impacted and places like WetSand are predicting 3-6' surf until Saturday morning, when it will start to calm down a bit.
PERFECT THIS PAST WEEKEND - We had our Navigation Class at Redondo (Vets Park) Saturday and we were greeted by sunny skies, decent temps, and less-than-1-foot surf. We were even told by a pair of exiting divers that the viz was excellent. (They said 30-40' but we later discovered that their sense of measurement was somewhat skewed.) So once we went over all of the land practice, we were quite eager to get in and see what was what. It started off promisingly, as in the shallows the water seemed quite clear, but as we dropped down, our expectations were shattered. Other than seeing that the Sand Dollar bed has re-established itself in the 12-foot depth range, this was probably one of the most boring dives I've ever done at Redondo. The shallows are usually somewhat barren but things generally pick up once you get down into the canyon. Not so on Saturday. The canyon - where normally we expect to find Sarcastic Fringeheads, Cusk Eels, Pipefish, juvy Rockfish, and other things - was also fairly devoid of life. I had my GoPro7 with me and when I start videoing anemones because there's nothing else around to shoot, you KNOW that this is a less-than-stellar dive.Conditions weren't horrible with 15-20' viz and water temp below the thermocline around 62º but there just wasn't anything there. I actually managed to put together a "highlight" reel of the dive which is a whopping 34 seconds long (including opening/closing graphics) and shows you the one shot that's the highlight of the dive. Here's what you missed (please enjoy suffering along with me):
KEN'S LESS-THAN-STELLAR REDONDO DIVE.
CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR PAT O'BRIEN - Pat was one of our longtime divers and she died (peacefully) back on September 1. Pat had requested no formal funeral but asked instead that her friends gather for a celebration of her life. Pat's niece Carrie Breck has organized that as a luncheon on Sunday, December 15, at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and invites Pat's friends and fellow divers to attend. In addition to the luncheon, you'll also get free Aquarium admission. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP (they need an accurate head count for the meal) to pmko.remembered@gmail.com . There will be options available for anyone who wants to make a memorial donation in Pat's name to various organizations she supported, but that's still being worked on right now. Hope to see you at the Aquarium on December 15.
AVALON DATE CHANGE - Because of Pat's Celebration of Life, we're moving our Avalon trip that was scheduled for that day to Saturday, December 14. Same general plan, just Saturday instead of Sunday.
LEAVING FOR CABO PULMO SOON - We're a little more than a week away from exploring what's been called one of the most successful Marine Protected Areas ever created. The Cabo Pulmo Marine Park showed a 400% increase in biomass in the first 5 years of existence and is regularly used as a model for how to manage marine resources. We'll be spending December 5-10 exploring this wondrous place and will share with you as much as we can.
SPEAKING OF VACATION TRIPS - Just a gentle reminder that we'd like to go back to Guadalupe next year on the Nautilus Belle Amie and are sweetening the pot with a $400 discount to those who commit and put down a deposit before November 30, which is next Saturday. After that, you can still go, but the trip reverts to its normal price. Trip dates are September 9-14, 2020. So great ready for some amazing dives AND do it at a discount. Call 310/652-4990 to get signed up.
THIS IS WHY WE DIVE MANDO TUA - Those who have been on Indonesia trips with me know that I always - somewhat jokingly - want to do at least one dive at Manado Tua. That's because in 1998, a living species of Coelacanth was discovered there. These fish were considered to have gone extinct some 80 million years ago until a living one was sighted off of South Africa in 1938. Since then, a few others have been discovered but always around South Africa up until the 1998 discovery. So I'm always optimistic that maybe we'll spot another one with a Manado Tua dive. Ya never know unless you look. Well . . . there was another sighting this past week in South Africa and they got video. So if you'd like to see what all the excitement is about (it really DOES look prehistoric), click on the link, and also give some thought to signing up for our next Indonesian trip October 17-29 when we can try to find another one at Manado Tua:
COELACANTH SIGHTING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
2020 LOCAL DIVES & CLASSES SKED - If you want a sneak peek at what we've got planned for next year locally, just click on the image below for a PDF copy of the planned 2020 local dives and classes sked. Avalon trips, Redondo dives, and various non-basic classes are on the schedule. (No Coelacanths are planned though.)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and a happy Thanksgiving, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
WET THANKSGIVING - Although forecasts can change, it's looking like a wet Thanksgiving is headed our way as a big storm makes its way on down to us. The rain amounts have been changing but it looks like Wednesday and Thursday will see the most stuff, with a bit over 1/2" on Wednesday and a bit under that amount on Thursday. This means if you were planning on a post-Thanksgiving shore dive, you might want to re-think that plan as water quality will likely be impacted and places like WetSand are predicting 3-6' surf until Saturday morning, when it will start to calm down a bit.
PERFECT THIS PAST WEEKEND - We had our Navigation Class at Redondo (Vets Park) Saturday and we were greeted by sunny skies, decent temps, and less-than-1-foot surf. We were even told by a pair of exiting divers that the viz was excellent. (They said 30-40' but we later discovered that their sense of measurement was somewhat skewed.) So once we went over all of the land practice, we were quite eager to get in and see what was what. It started off promisingly, as in the shallows the water seemed quite clear, but as we dropped down, our expectations were shattered. Other than seeing that the Sand Dollar bed has re-established itself in the 12-foot depth range, this was probably one of the most boring dives I've ever done at Redondo. The shallows are usually somewhat barren but things generally pick up once you get down into the canyon. Not so on Saturday. The canyon - where normally we expect to find Sarcastic Fringeheads, Cusk Eels, Pipefish, juvy Rockfish, and other things - was also fairly devoid of life. I had my GoPro7 with me and when I start videoing anemones because there's nothing else around to shoot, you KNOW that this is a less-than-stellar dive.Conditions weren't horrible with 15-20' viz and water temp below the thermocline around 62º but there just wasn't anything there. I actually managed to put together a "highlight" reel of the dive which is a whopping 34 seconds long (including opening/closing graphics) and shows you the one shot that's the highlight of the dive. Here's what you missed (please enjoy suffering along with me):
KEN'S LESS-THAN-STELLAR REDONDO DIVE.
CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR PAT O'BRIEN - Pat was one of our longtime divers and she died (peacefully) back on September 1. Pat had requested no formal funeral but asked instead that her friends gather for a celebration of her life. Pat's niece Carrie Breck has organized that as a luncheon on Sunday, December 15, at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and invites Pat's friends and fellow divers to attend. In addition to the luncheon, you'll also get free Aquarium admission. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP (they need an accurate head count for the meal) to pmko.remembered@gmail.com . There will be options available for anyone who wants to make a memorial donation in Pat's name to various organizations she supported, but that's still being worked on right now. Hope to see you at the Aquarium on December 15.
AVALON DATE CHANGE - Because of Pat's Celebration of Life, we're moving our Avalon trip that was scheduled for that day to Saturday, December 14. Same general plan, just Saturday instead of Sunday.
LEAVING FOR CABO PULMO SOON - We're a little more than a week away from exploring what's been called one of the most successful Marine Protected Areas ever created. The Cabo Pulmo Marine Park showed a 400% increase in biomass in the first 5 years of existence and is regularly used as a model for how to manage marine resources. We'll be spending December 5-10 exploring this wondrous place and will share with you as much as we can.
SPEAKING OF VACATION TRIPS - Just a gentle reminder that we'd like to go back to Guadalupe next year on the Nautilus Belle Amie and are sweetening the pot with a $400 discount to those who commit and put down a deposit before November 30, which is next Saturday. After that, you can still go, but the trip reverts to its normal price. Trip dates are September 9-14, 2020. So great ready for some amazing dives AND do it at a discount. Call 310/652-4990 to get signed up.
THIS IS WHY WE DIVE MANDO TUA - Those who have been on Indonesia trips with me know that I always - somewhat jokingly - want to do at least one dive at Manado Tua. That's because in 1998, a living species of Coelacanth was discovered there. These fish were considered to have gone extinct some 80 million years ago until a living one was sighted off of South Africa in 1938. Since then, a few others have been discovered but always around South Africa up until the 1998 discovery. So I'm always optimistic that maybe we'll spot another one with a Manado Tua dive. Ya never know unless you look. Well . . . there was another sighting this past week in South Africa and they got video. So if you'd like to see what all the excitement is about (it really DOES look prehistoric), click on the link, and also give some thought to signing up for our next Indonesian trip October 17-29 when we can try to find another one at Manado Tua:
COELACANTH SIGHTING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
2020 LOCAL DIVES & CLASSES SKED - If you want a sneak peek at what we've got planned for next year locally, just click on the image below for a PDF copy of the planned 2020 local dives and classes sked. Avalon trips, Redondo dives, and various non-basic classes are on the schedule. (No Coelacanths are planned though.)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and a happy Thanksgiving, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
