Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2016-2017 vacation trips:
• November 2-18 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ 1 FEMALE-SHARE SPOT LEFT ]
• March, 2017 - Bonaire (???)
• June, 2017 - Isla Mujeres (early in the Whale Shark Season)
• 2017 - July 7-19 - Yap Immersion #1 (special 13-day trip featuring all that Yap has to offer) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 5 SPOTS LEFT ]
• 2017 - July 21-August 2 - Yap Immersion #2 (week #2 - same sked as above) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 9 SPOTS LEFT ]
• Fall of 2017 - Ultimate Indonesia - A week at Murex in Manado, 10-days in Raja Ampat, 3 days in the Lembeh Straits
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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Upcoming local dives:
• September 28 (Wednesday) - Vets Park night dive (single tank) - FREE!!!!
• October 22 (Saturday) - Avalon Underwater Park (3 dives - include tank rentals) - $150
• October 26 (Wednesday) - Vets Park night dive (single tank) - FREE!!!!
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
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It may be officially Fall but it doesn't feel like it . . .
HOW ABOUT THAT WEATHER? - Although when you get down to it, "fall" is usually pretty hot in SoCal. It's the time of year when the Santa Ana winds kick in, and that not only makes for hot, hot weather, but also for good diving because the winds blowing offshore tend to tamp down any wave action and flatten out the seas. On top of that, the diving in general from September through December is usually pretty good as we hit our peak water temps between end-of-September and mid-October and fall visibility is very often spectacular, often 100 feet or more. So it's a good time to go diving. Speaking of which . . .
NIGHT DIVE AT VETS PARK THIS WEDNESDAY - We've got a night dive scheduled for Vets Park for this Wednesday evening. We dove there last Sunday and it was quite pleasant. In the ensuing seven days, the surf kicked up a bit and looked borderline at best Saturday, but Sunday it was like a lake again and it may stay that way for another couple of days. Who knows? The WetSand model (SwellWatch 3D - Surf Report and Forecast) looks favorable so we'll keep our fingers crossed. The general plan is to meet in the parking lot at 7PM, do a quick briefing and be in the water by 8PM, out of the water by 9PM, and we're out of the parking lot no later than 10PM. Bring quarters for the parking meters. Single-tank dive and you need to bring whatever gear you'll need, including a decent night dive light. You never know what you'll see if the canyon at night but it's always a fun adventure.
LOBSTER SEASON OPEN SATURDAY AT 12:01AM - For those of you crustaceanally-inclined, I'm sure you're looking forward to this Friday night since when the clock strikes 12:01AM (which is really Saturday) and you can legally start catching lobsters (the season runs through mid-March). We'll take this opportunity to remind you not to get so excited about "bug" season that you forget common-sense diving practices, especially monitoring your air supply. Too often on opening weekend, we either get a fatality or a close call and many times it's because divers simply focused too much on lobsters and too little on air. No lobster is worth your life. Dive safely.
MONTEREY PHOTO SHOOTOUT WINNERS - The Monterey Photo Shootout attracted 107 divers this year. It's an event spread pout over three days but where everyone is shooting in roughly the same conditions. Many prizes are awarded and we've got a link to the winning images and videos. BTW, there were apparently a lot of those red Tuna Crabs in the water during the Shootout so you'll notice an high number of images - including the grand prize winner - that feature them in one form or another. But I think you'll enjoy looking at the images. Scroll down for them: Monterey Shootout & Monterey Underwater Film Festival.
DO TIDES AFFECT EARTHQUAKES - Interesting article in the weekend L.A. Times about a possible connection between tides and earthquakes, and specifically looking into whether tidal action/activity could cause small earthquakes to morph into larger ones. Certainly an infant science but interesting reading: How the moon and big tides could be a trigger for big earthquakes.
AUSTRALIA ON THE MOVE - Many thanks to Alan Wald for pointing out that Australia has moved. Almost 5 feet to be exact. Now while this may not sound like a big deal, remember that - in this age of GPS - being off by five feet here or there could have dire consequences. For instance, if your driverless car is working on a GPS system that thinks your lane is five feet off to the side . . . well, you get the idea. Interesting article in the N.Y Times and you can read all about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/24/w...alia-continental-drift-location-gps.html?_r=2.
WHEN YOU THINK WE HARP ON SAFETY TOO MUCH - I've got one other thing I'd really like you to read and it relates back to what I said about diving safely during the upcoming lobster opener (not to mention every day you dive). Malpelo Island is a remote area off of Columbia. It's NE of the Galapagos and SE of Cocos. It's serious diving and, like with Cocos and Galapagos (not to mention Socorro and other remote places), you really don't want things to go wrong. Earlier this month, things went VERY wrong as five divers were lost on the final dive of a trip. Three of the divers were eventually rescued but two are presumed dead (not sure of their bodies have been found or not). There's an active thread of ScubaBoard that includes comments from one of the rescued divers (Peter Morse). You can access the full thread here: 4 diveres went missing - Malpelo, Colombia. But before you do, I'd like you to read the first-hand account my friend Sten Johansson wrote on his blog page. I've know Sten for over eight years and first met him when he was lead DM on our first Socorro trip. He's a great guy, an excellent diver and dive guide, and takes this stuff very seriously. Sten was DMing a boat that had just arrived at Malpelo and they spotted Peter Morse in the water and pulled him in. (Peter had been lost and drifting for about 15 hours at that point.) They then joined the search for the other divers. What I want you to read is Sten's account of all this, which is rather harsh at times. And there are some comments/posts on his blog (as well as on ScubaBoard) that accuse Sten of showboating and trying to drive business to his boat. I know the guy and trust him with my life. Nothing could be further from the truth. But the reasons I want you to read this and feel Sten's anger and frustration, is that the next time you're out on a dive here or wherever, and you think we're being pricks or unusually harsh about safety procedures, or that we're taking things too seriously, bear in mind that THIS is exactly what we're trying to avoid because a situation like this is always in the back of our minds and our worst nightmare come true: License to kill: Lost divers in Malpelo.
And on that note . . . that'll do it for now., Have a great week and let's go (safely) diving soon!!!
- Ken
• November 2-18 - Maldives on the Manthiri [ 1 FEMALE-SHARE SPOT LEFT ]
• March, 2017 - Bonaire (???)
• June, 2017 - Isla Mujeres (early in the Whale Shark Season)
• 2017 - July 7-19 - Yap Immersion #1 (special 13-day trip featuring all that Yap has to offer) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 5 SPOTS LEFT ]
• 2017 - July 21-August 2 - Yap Immersion #2 (week #2 - same sked as above) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 9 SPOTS LEFT ]
• Fall of 2017 - Ultimate Indonesia - A week at Murex in Manado, 10-days in Raja Ampat, 3 days in the Lembeh Straits
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
————————————————————————————————————————————
Upcoming local dives:
• September 28 (Wednesday) - Vets Park night dive (single tank) - FREE!!!!
• October 22 (Saturday) - Avalon Underwater Park (3 dives - include tank rentals) - $150
• October 26 (Wednesday) - Vets Park night dive (single tank) - FREE!!!!
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
————————————————————————————————————————————
It may be officially Fall but it doesn't feel like it . . .
HOW ABOUT THAT WEATHER? - Although when you get down to it, "fall" is usually pretty hot in SoCal. It's the time of year when the Santa Ana winds kick in, and that not only makes for hot, hot weather, but also for good diving because the winds blowing offshore tend to tamp down any wave action and flatten out the seas. On top of that, the diving in general from September through December is usually pretty good as we hit our peak water temps between end-of-September and mid-October and fall visibility is very often spectacular, often 100 feet or more. So it's a good time to go diving. Speaking of which . . .
NIGHT DIVE AT VETS PARK THIS WEDNESDAY - We've got a night dive scheduled for Vets Park for this Wednesday evening. We dove there last Sunday and it was quite pleasant. In the ensuing seven days, the surf kicked up a bit and looked borderline at best Saturday, but Sunday it was like a lake again and it may stay that way for another couple of days. Who knows? The WetSand model (SwellWatch 3D - Surf Report and Forecast) looks favorable so we'll keep our fingers crossed. The general plan is to meet in the parking lot at 7PM, do a quick briefing and be in the water by 8PM, out of the water by 9PM, and we're out of the parking lot no later than 10PM. Bring quarters for the parking meters. Single-tank dive and you need to bring whatever gear you'll need, including a decent night dive light. You never know what you'll see if the canyon at night but it's always a fun adventure.
LOBSTER SEASON OPEN SATURDAY AT 12:01AM - For those of you crustaceanally-inclined, I'm sure you're looking forward to this Friday night since when the clock strikes 12:01AM (which is really Saturday) and you can legally start catching lobsters (the season runs through mid-March). We'll take this opportunity to remind you not to get so excited about "bug" season that you forget common-sense diving practices, especially monitoring your air supply. Too often on opening weekend, we either get a fatality or a close call and many times it's because divers simply focused too much on lobsters and too little on air. No lobster is worth your life. Dive safely.
MONTEREY PHOTO SHOOTOUT WINNERS - The Monterey Photo Shootout attracted 107 divers this year. It's an event spread pout over three days but where everyone is shooting in roughly the same conditions. Many prizes are awarded and we've got a link to the winning images and videos. BTW, there were apparently a lot of those red Tuna Crabs in the water during the Shootout so you'll notice an high number of images - including the grand prize winner - that feature them in one form or another. But I think you'll enjoy looking at the images. Scroll down for them: Monterey Shootout & Monterey Underwater Film Festival.
DO TIDES AFFECT EARTHQUAKES - Interesting article in the weekend L.A. Times about a possible connection between tides and earthquakes, and specifically looking into whether tidal action/activity could cause small earthquakes to morph into larger ones. Certainly an infant science but interesting reading: How the moon and big tides could be a trigger for big earthquakes.
AUSTRALIA ON THE MOVE - Many thanks to Alan Wald for pointing out that Australia has moved. Almost 5 feet to be exact. Now while this may not sound like a big deal, remember that - in this age of GPS - being off by five feet here or there could have dire consequences. For instance, if your driverless car is working on a GPS system that thinks your lane is five feet off to the side . . . well, you get the idea. Interesting article in the N.Y Times and you can read all about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/24/w...alia-continental-drift-location-gps.html?_r=2.
WHEN YOU THINK WE HARP ON SAFETY TOO MUCH - I've got one other thing I'd really like you to read and it relates back to what I said about diving safely during the upcoming lobster opener (not to mention every day you dive). Malpelo Island is a remote area off of Columbia. It's NE of the Galapagos and SE of Cocos. It's serious diving and, like with Cocos and Galapagos (not to mention Socorro and other remote places), you really don't want things to go wrong. Earlier this month, things went VERY wrong as five divers were lost on the final dive of a trip. Three of the divers were eventually rescued but two are presumed dead (not sure of their bodies have been found or not). There's an active thread of ScubaBoard that includes comments from one of the rescued divers (Peter Morse). You can access the full thread here: 4 diveres went missing - Malpelo, Colombia. But before you do, I'd like you to read the first-hand account my friend Sten Johansson wrote on his blog page. I've know Sten for over eight years and first met him when he was lead DM on our first Socorro trip. He's a great guy, an excellent diver and dive guide, and takes this stuff very seriously. Sten was DMing a boat that had just arrived at Malpelo and they spotted Peter Morse in the water and pulled him in. (Peter had been lost and drifting for about 15 hours at that point.) They then joined the search for the other divers. What I want you to read is Sten's account of all this, which is rather harsh at times. And there are some comments/posts on his blog (as well as on ScubaBoard) that accuse Sten of showboating and trying to drive business to his boat. I know the guy and trust him with my life. Nothing could be further from the truth. But the reasons I want you to read this and feel Sten's anger and frustration, is that the next time you're out on a dive here or wherever, and you think we're being pricks or unusually harsh about safety procedures, or that we're taking things too seriously, bear in mind that THIS is exactly what we're trying to avoid because a situation like this is always in the back of our minds and our worst nightmare come true: License to kill: Lost divers in Malpelo.
And on that note . . . that'll do it for now., Have a great week and let's go (safely) diving soon!!!
- Ken
