Ocean Explorers
Society
April 2002
Sponsored by Ocean Enterprises
Contents
Monthly
Meeting
Thursday April 4, 2002
6:50PM-- at Ocean Enterprises.
. Our guest speaker will be John Boyer from DUI(the drysuit manufacturer).
John will provide us with insight on staying warm in whatever
type of suit you use. Meet at Appleby's for dinner at 5:30.
From
the President
Wow….April already. I hope
as many of you as possible will make it to the upcoming meeting.
We had a good group at the last meeting but we had no classroom
and our guest speaker was absent (suffering from post Mexico GI
tract illness). Nonetheless we had a great raffle and were able
to cement our travel plans for the upcoming Curacao trip.
Paul Lee was able to show us some preliminary photos of his Australia trip and we can't wait to see his slides. The group gave the thumbs up to group charters this year on the Lois Ann and the back side of Catalina, with some interest in a 3 day trip to Catalina before or after the tourist season.
It's time to start planning for any new education classes! Whether you would like to do advanced, rescue or even divemaster, it is best to get your class and beach diving in while the weather is a little cooler, not to mention the crowds at the Shores. If you would like to take a class with a buddy let me know your interest and we will solicit other club members. All club members will receive a discount from the shop on all classes.
The jury is still out on a group trip to the Scuba show this June, but I know there will be enough members going to arrange carpools. We'll keep you posted. Dust off that gear and get out there! Happy Diving. -- Mark Clausen
Shore
Diving
If you want to go dive, let me
know and I'll send out an e-mail to the rest of the club. If you
don't have email acess, please let me know and I will be happy
to send out an invitaion for you.
Boat
Dives
No formal club trips planned
for this month.
Flotsam
Our web server is down. I'm working
to fix this as soon as possible.
I will never complain about our winter ocean temperatures again. I spent the last few weeks in Cleveland, Ohio. Their water temp was 36 deg. F. That's really cold.
SCUBA Show 2002 - The SCUBA show is once again set for the Long Beach Convention Center on June 29 and 30. We'll probably organize an informal carpool this year. They'll have the introductory scuba pool there again, more exhibitors than last year, and seminars too. Admission will be $9 and we have $1 discount coupons available. If you haven't been to this show, you should join us. We also stop at the Macaroni Grill for dinner on the way back.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR FESTIVAL OF SAIL 2002 - Tall ships will sail into San Diego Bay in September to help celebrate the San Diego Maritime Museum's Festival of Sail. Much like 1999's event, the museum will host tall ships (mostly Class B vessels) for dockside visits, public receptions, and exciting on-the-water cannon battles. This will provide numerous opportunities for volunteers to "man" the gangplanks (help with visitor needs), "slop" chests (assist in the Museum Store), "signal" flags (to answer telephones), etc. Thousands of people will converge on the Big Bay for Festival of Sail, which runs September 12-16, 2002. To volunteer, contact Kay Johnston, Volunteer Coordinator, San Diego Maritime Museum, at (619) 234-9153, x 120.
Diver Safety Survey - David Colvard, MD has asked that we assist in a survey of scuba divers.
"In the Fall of 2000 over 12,000 divers participated in the Safety Survey of Recreational Scuba Divers. A report of those results has been accepted for presentation at the June scientific meeting of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. Articles in dive magazines will soon follow.
Several dive researchers and organizations encouraged me to
conduct a follow up survey to help us better understand divers
and their experiences. Several
of them gave me much good advice and helped design the questions.
This anonymous, confidential survey should take approximately
3 to 6 minutes to complete. Results will be compiled and completed
as a group only. No
individual identifying information will be released to anyone
without permission. Ideally, I would like to be able to follow
the same group of divers each
year for 3 consecutive years for a prospective study.
Survey URL:
http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?8V4F4CVB7M1NXFVYT1EY9QD9
San Diego
Council of Divers
The next SDCD meeting is Tuesday,
March 12, at 7:00 pm at Rock Bottom Brewery.
Curacao- We set the dates; May 9-16. Preliminary cost should be around $1500.00 which includes 1 week lodging (dbl occupancy) at Captain Don's Habitat, 6 days of 2 tank diving, airport transfers, taxes and service charges, daily buffet breakfast, unlimited shore diving, tanks, weights and a free buoyancy workshop. See mark if you want to go on this trip. There may be a few openings left.
La Bufadora - The Dive Animals Scuba Club organizes several Camp & Dive trips south of the border. The weekend of Cinco de Mayo (Friday night May 3 - Sunday May 5) is the first trip of the year. They have the reserved the dormitory-style bunkhouse at Dale's Dive Center on the cliffs overlooking the boat launch. Adjacent camping is available for those that prefer a bit more privacy or just like to camp!
This trip is open to all divers (and non-divers) that want to go. For those of you with non-diving spouses/friends/kids/whatever, this is a weekend trip that they'll equally enjoy. There's plenty to do here (hiking, horseback riding, snorkeling, shopping at the nearby village, partying in Ensenada, napping), or nothing at all. (some compadres just bring a beach chair and a book!) Last year we had 30-40 people on each trip. It was a blast!
Cost of admission is $30 (covers 2 nights of lodging, parking, breakfast, necessities like toilet paper, firewood, etc.). Diving is $30 per day for 2-tank dives. Add on tank rentals, air fills, gas, meals, sodas, cervesa and margaritas, and you'll have a dive adventure to another country for about $120 for the entire weekend (depending on how much cervesa you buy!)
And the diving is incredible...! Check out the website http://www.diveanimals.com "Where we dive" - La Bufadora and also "Club Photos 2001" for detailed info and photos of our last few trips.
Sign up now with diveanimal@pacific-ocean.com. The 15 bunkhouse spots go early. $30pp deposit required to hold your spot.
Dates of future trips:
June 21-23
Aug 2-4
Sept 13-15
Other trips - We're also in the planning stage for Channel Islands, Grand Cayman, and Palau. Cayman Madness runs from August to October. Palau is in the works for 2003.
Dacor Extreme Plus regulator with octopus; excellent condition, but needs annual rebuild. No console, but I can supply an SPG. $200 takes it. Call Dave Ambrose at 858-679-7817 or email me at stargazer1@cox.net
Membership
Renewal rates are $20 single;
$30 for a family. Send your renewal to Mark Clausen; 1862 Willow
Way; Vista, CA 92083.
OES
Info
OES members can receive $30 off
the regular OE price for specialty classes.
Subscriptions to Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine are available through the club for only $10. See Mark Clausen for details.
For more information: