Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Maldives, GSBs, Photo contest, & more
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(please scroll down for details)
Trying to forget the Saturday Night Meltdown in Baltimore . . .
COUNTDOWN TO THE MALDIVES - We're a little over a week away from the departure of Group 1 and it seems like everyone's getting excited. Even the guys on the Manthiri seem excited since I've been having some back-and-forth e-mails from them. International travel is always both exciting and tiring at the same time. In this case, we've got roughly a 17-hour flight from LAX to Singapore, about a 3-hour layover, then 4 hours to the Maldives. Once we get there, it's a 12-hour time change. So while our bodies will be telling us it's Midnight, the clock on the wall will be telling us it's Noon. Depending on how long you're gone for - those of us doing the back-to-back trips will be gone for over three weeks - it seems like just when you've got that time zone thing licked, it's time to go home and reverse the process. But that's a small price to pay, especially when exploring the waters of a place like the Maldives.
CATALINA CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN GOOD - I heard a "Mark at the Park" report today that sounded pretty good. Surface water temps are above 70º - obviously a bit colder underwater - the viz was pegged at 35-40', and they had multiple Giant Sea Bass encounters. As I mentioned in the September newsletter, fall is a great time to do local diving and the Underwater Park is a great place to do it We think there's around a dozen resident Giant Sea Bass there and this is the time of year when they seem to be curious about the bubble-breathers and you can experience some close encounters.
HOW TO FIND GIANT SEA BASS - This is not a hard-and-fast rule but they generally hang out around 60' or so. There are two ways to find them, both starting from the base of the entry/exit stairs. One option is to go straight out (you have to veer slightly left to get around a rock) until you get to 60' and then start looking. The other way is to go at a 45º angle to the right until you come to around 35-40'. That should put you at the Cousteau plaque. Then go straight out a little more to 60' and start working your way to the left. Remember that they're really good at hiding in the kelp, especially on a sunny day when their coloration and the dappling of light through the kelp helps them blend in even better, so be sure to pay close attention to how the kelp is laying and whether or not any of these large fish have nestled in.
DIN TANK CONVERTER INSERT - I mentioned this in the September newsletter but will pitch it again here. Especially for those of you who travel internationally, you will likely run into situations where the operator uses DIN valves rather than the yoke valve which is common on US tanks. Most of the time, they will have the screw-in insert you see above to convert the valve from DIN to yoke. But if they don't, you may not be able to use your reg to dive. That's why it's a good idea to carry a couple of these with you "just in case." They're small and lightweight and will save you from having to borrow a DIN first stage and change over your reg, computer, and other hoses. For the month of September, we'll get you one for a flat $20 (retail is usually $25 + tax). If you're interested, give repair guru Robert Stark a call at 310/947-8523, and we'll set it up for you.
NEVER HURTS TO DOUBLE-CHECK - A week or two before we have a trip, I always like to double-check my reservation to make sure flight times haven't changed and also to see what the seating looks like in case I want to move my assigned seat. One of our regulars tried that today and was surprised she couldn't get into the airline website but instead got "please call." She did and thank goodness she did. Somehow, and the airline rep (who she says was very nice) swore up and down he couldn't see why this had happened, her reservation had been cancelled. She had never gotten any kind of an e-mail notification about it. Fortunately, although it took close to 90-minutes, the customer service guy was able to re-book and reinstate her on the same flights and even with the same seats. Even kept the same booking number. BUT they charged her an extra $380. I'm hoping she'll be able to get that back from them. But at least for the moment she's all set. And even though it was a hassle, it beats showing up at the airport and being told you're not on the flight. So double-check those tickets before you fly.
PHOTO CONTEST FROM REEF - They're having their annual "Discover the Sea" photo contest. Submission deadline is September 19. You can submit up to three photos per category. Winners will be chosen by popular vote, which will be held September 20-30. Winners will be announced after that. Although the contest is open only to REEF members, it's free to join. (There's a membership link on the contest page. There's also a link to previous winners at the bottom of the page.) So if you've got some images, submit away: https://www.reef.org/photocontest
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
