Ocean Explorers Society
August 2005 

Contents

Next Meeting

We will resume our monthly Thursday dinner meetings on August 4th at Panda Country, located on Clairemont Mesa Blvd just West of Genesee. 

From the President

I love the summer. I grew up in Northern California where any beach day required warm clothing and swimming was a contest against hypothermia. I love the warmer temperatures, both topside, and in the water. I don't like the weekend crowds, but they pretty much disappear after Labor Day. Weekdays after work are good, and a great way to dump the stress. The water's passed 70 degrees at the surface, which makes it great for playing in the surf.

It's a great time to dive. The red tide has dissipated, and the rest of the plankton bloom hasn't showed up yet. The water's pretty warm on the surface, though it gets chilly further down. We've got some boat trips planned, so check the local diving section below.

Liz and I did the 3R's at Goldfish point. This is a great area for both snorkelling and divng. There are caverns all along the shore between Goldfish point and Marine room.  These are great fun to explore in the right conditions.  Mark Brown showed us some of the more obscure caverns, and cracks. There are all sorts of narrow passages for you to explore. Some of them open out into substantial caves. I'm heading back for that area soon.

Barnacles are common in this area. They're sharp, immovable, and everywhere. Wear a full wetsuit, and gloves unless you're really into first aid and don't mind being the subject.

This is a great time of year to be in the water -- for any reason. Get out there and have some fun.

Happy Bubbles,
Dave Ambrose

Local Diving

The red tide seems to be in its come and go mode. For the latest vis information, call the dive and surf hotline at 619-221-8824, or go visit divebums. It's still very luminous though and a nighttime walk on the beach at high tide should feature glowing waves if you're away from the lights. If you're night diving, the stuff just goes off every time you wave your hand. You'll probably have to turn off your light to see it.

The surface water is an atrociously warm 73 degrees. There's a thermocline at 40 or 50 feet where it drops to 64.  Diving last weekend was really good. It's nice to be back in the water again. The fried egg jellyfish are still around and super cool to look at. We also came across a bat ray, who stuck around long enough to entertain us. A couple of football sized sea hares, lizard fish,

Anyone up for a Tuesday dive? We've got a couple of people wanting to dive the NOSC tower and the kelp beds.  Lois Ann is doing that trip on Tuesdays only.  Otherwise, we're looking at a weekend kelp dive off the Lois Ann. Please let me know if you want to go on either dive, and we'll send you an email when we set a date.

While not quite local, the San Diego Underwater Photographic Society (SDUPS) has spaces available on their September trip to the Northern Channel Islands. September is the best time in the islands weatherwise and offers the best chance to dive rarely visited sites of Wilson Rock, Skyscraper Pinnacle and many more. Sightings of whales, dolphins etc are also very common.

Liza and I have signed up for this trip, and there are still some spots available. This is a great price for a limited load trip.

Details:  Two day boat trip on the Conception based in Santa Barbara.When: Fri/Sat Sept 23-24, boarding evening of Sept 22. Boat departs 0400 on 9/23, returns to Santa Barbara 5PM on 9/24.

Where: Departs Sea Landing in Santa Barbara, detination North Channel Islands, hopefully San Miguel, Island.

Cost: $295.00 includes berth, all meals, air fills, multiple dives and more.

Details: Refer to the SDUPS website: www.SDUPS.com for copy of flyer and general club boat trip information.

Sign-ups: $100 deposit due at sign up, full payment preferred. Balance due by July 15th. Bunk assignment will be offered only after full payment is received.

Contact: Gary Stewart, SDUPS Boat Coordinator pe2nya@pacbell.net

Flotsam

Shark Fin Soup to be served at Disneyland Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Standard reports that despite public outcry from environmentalists, Disney Hong Kong will put shark’s fin soup on the menu at its hotel when the resort opens in September.  Ironically, Disneyland boasts its involvment in various “environmental” projects including various wildlife conservation programs through its “Disney Wildlife Convservation Fund”.

Demand for shark fin soup in Asia is the primary contributing factor to the global decline in shark populations. Often, sharks are “finned” and the rest of their bodies, often still alive, are dumped back into the sea, with Hong Kong being the world’s largest trader in shark fins. Many shark species are threatened with extinction due to overfishing. Where once shark fin soup was once an expensive luxury for the privileged few in southern China, it is now mass-produced and has become routine at weddings, banquets and business dinners for millions of people around the world.

You are encouraged to write to the individuals below and respectfully appeal to them to abandon shark fins from their menus:

Recent research shows precipitous declines in shark populations in the Northwest Atlantic. Since 1986 hammerhead have eclined by 89%, thresher sharks by 80%, white sharks by 79% and tiger sharks by 675%. All recorded shark species, with one exception have declined by more than 50% in the past 8-15 years. It is predicted that the continued removal of sharks from their ecosystems will have dire consequences for other fish species. (www.finsonline.com)

Boating Tip --  If you plan on doing any boat diving, or other boating activities, you will want to have a US drivers license, or some other form of Government identification. The U.S. Coast Guard is randomnly boarding boats and verifying identifications and running back ground checks of all those on-board.  No doubt they are checking for terrorists, however this inconvenience could possibly result in a ruined day of scuba diving or pleasure boating if anyone on board doesn't have appropriate identification (C-cards do not qualify as appropriate identification).

Diving at Children's Pool -- NOAA Enforcement is responsible for handling claims of marine mammal harassment. If a complaint is received of a potential Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) violation, it will be investigated based on the facts and circumstances of that particular case. The following are common sense guidelines from NOAA Enforcement in San Diego with regards to diving at Children's Pool. 

Rocks, Rips, and Reefs

Every year, the San Diego Council of Divers and the San Diego City Lifeguards sponsor a series of in-the-water seminars at local shore diving spots. The protocol is the same as previous years; snorkelling gear only, wear no more than half your normal diving weight. The cost is $5 per person and includes drinks and snacks afterwards. Registration and waivers start at 0800 and you should be suited up and ready by 8:15. This is a fun way to get familiar with our local waters.

Call the dive and surf hotline the morning of the session at 619-221-8824 to make sure the session hasn't been cancelled due to rough weather.

3R's Schedule
Sat, Aug 13, 2005
3Rs- Marine Street
8:00am - 10:30am
Meet at 300 Marine Street.		 Sat, Aug 27, 2005
3Rs- Hospital Point
8:00am - 10:30am
Meet at 400 Coast Blvd (south of Cuvier)

Travel

Destination – Kona

BY BOAT : Kona Aggressor - Eat. Sleep. Dive.  Sept 24 - Oct 1, 2005. 

You've all seen the T-shirts - now you can experience it for yourself !  Join us on the Kona Aggressor Sept 24 - Oct 1, 2005.  The standard itinerary is as follows:

Cost is approximatley $2,095 plus airfare.  There are still 2 spots available... For more information, contact Laura Jean @ laurajean@gypsydivers.com, or you can check out the Aggressor website www.aggressor.com.  A small contingent from OES is arriving a few days prior to check in and staying a few days afterwards to explore the island.

KONA BY LAND  - Dates will be October 1-8. This will be on the tail end of the Kona Aggressor trip for those who would like to experience the island itself. It would really be nice to get another person or two for this leg.

Estimated cost for the trip will be $900 per person, plus food and airfare. It will be less if we get more than 4 people. Flights to the Big Island (KOA) from San Diego have been running from $350 to $700 round trip. Right now, Aloha Airlines is offering a $273 fare from San Diego to Honolulu, you can then catch an interisland flight to Kona. Staying a few days on Oahu is relatively cheap if you want to extend your vacation by a few days.

Lodging will be at Dolphin Bay House at Kealakekua Bay. Kealakekua Bay is only 20 minutes from the nightlife in Kona, but still a bit off the beaten track. It's much more like old Hawai'i and less commercial. The bay itself is a state park, and a great place to snorkel, dive, kyack, or just hang out. There is an active heiau (temple) at the bay, and the Captain Cook memorial is just across the bay from the house. This area gets enough rain to have lots of greenery, but not so much that the outside shower doesn't need a faucet.

The house can accommodate up to 8 people; 2 singles and 3 couples. The exact cost will depend on how many people go but the house is equivalent to a 2 bedroom condo with only 4 people. The house has a full kitchen, so we can cook some meals in. We can also split the cost of renting a van.

Diving will be with Dive Makai, Aloha Diving Company, Jack's Diving Locker or some combination. Dive Makai offers blue water dives, Aloha offers trips to the more remote sites for those who didn't get to go on the Kona Aggressor. I really like Dive Makai because of their very thorough predive briefings. Close in dives run $95. The 3-tank, all day, adventure dive is $165. Aloha charges $140 for the remote sites which are also full day trips.

There's good shore diving all up and down the Kona coast. Kealakekua Bay, and the nearby City of Refuge are particularly good. Let's Go Shore Divin' has all the information you'll ever need.

The Big Island offers plenty of non-diving activities. We found that diving in the morning, and sightseeing in the afternoon worked well. A trip to Mauna Loa, the active volcano, is a full day trip. City of Refuge and Kealakekua Bay are great places to shore dive and hang out.

World-class stargazing is available at the visitors center on Mauna Kea. If there's enough interest, I'll see about bringing a telescope of our own. The visitors center is at 9000 feet so a visit there will be a non-diving day.

Travel Tip: New internet scam combines cheap airfares and Google Ads

There’s a new internet scam aimed at travelers, which steals credit card information from would be customers.  The scheme is effective because it uses paid listings on various search engines, such as Google, offering low-cost airline tickets. The real purpose of these websites is not to sell anything, but to get users to enter their credit card information. Once the details have been entered, an error page is displayed telling the user that the transaction has been unsuccessful, prolonging the illusion of an actual transaction. Instructions are then given on how to pay for the ticket by postal money order, thereby possibly defrauding the purchaser twice.

The primary difference between this scam and the more common email solicitations are that the user makes the initial contact with the fraudulent party, which can create a false sense of security to proceed with the transaction. These websites are shut down as they are exposed, however there are always those ready to take their place, and their bait may  not always be airline tickets.

Internet users are warned to use established and trusted web sites when making on-line purchases. (CDNN.com)

Membership

Renewal rates are $20 single; $30 for a family. If you can't make it to a meeting, send your renewal to Mark Clausen; 1862 Willow Way; Vista, CA 92083.

OES Info