Ken Kurtis
Contributor
NICE WEEKEND TO DIVE - I didn't get a chance to go out this weekend but, from all the reports I've seen from Catalina, it was a great weekend to take the plunge. And it's not necessarily unusual for this time of the year to get these kinds of conditions. So bear that in mind as you plan your January and February diving (as in . . . go do some).
AVALON UNDERWATER CLEANUP - We're in the process of assembling our compact yet enthusiastic group of divers for the 38th Annual Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup, which will be held Saturday, February 23. We'll be in our usual spot at the base of the Green Pier which is advantageous for a number of reasons. Other than you finds LOTS of good stuff in that area, it also means that once we get there (we'll likely take the 6AM boat out of Long Beach and then a taxi to our dive area - minimal gear schlepping), we'll plop our stuff down and walk up the street half a block to have our traditional breakfast. We'll be done with that in time for the 9AM briefing. The event dive starts at 9:30AM and you've got to be out of the water (you can make multiple entries and exits if you like) by 11AM. At that time, choose to either have us store your gear or we'll send you over to the UW Park for more diving. The awards ceremony runs from roughly 1:00-3:30PM. After that you're welcome to join us for our annual Reef Seekers Miniature Golf Tournament or you can just stroll around Avalon. We'll take a 6PM boat back to the mainland. If you sign up on-line, be sure to choose "Reef Seekers" as your group and let me know, or you can sign up directly through us by calling 310/652-4990. Either way, you're supporting a good cause and we'll hope to see you there.
FREE FISH ID BOOKS - I just updated and got the current editions of the fabulous Paul Humann series of fish ID books and I'd love to find a new home for my old ones. I'm happy to give them (yes, FREE - a diver's favorite word) to anyone who would like them. Just shoot me an e-mail to this address. I'm giving away "Tropical Pacific Fish" (1st edition), "Reef Fish Florida/Caribbean/Bahamas" (2nd edition), and "Reef Creatures Florida/Caribbean/Bahamas" (1st edition). Obviously, they're going to show a bit of wear and tear as well as a few notes from me, but they're yours if you'd like. I'd rather give them to three different people but am also happy to give them all to one person if there's no demand. So in your e-mail to me, tell me what you'd like and list your order of preference. Happy to have them give you as much info and joy as they've given me.
THAR BE WHALES!!! - Hearing lots of good whale sightings in the last few weeks. Of course, this is the time of the year when we have Gray Whales heading south to the birthing grounds in Baja, California. But we've also been hearing of Humpbacks, some Blues, and even a pod of Orcas. Fun thing to do when you've got a few hours free. And if you're on a dive boat or the Catalina Express, be sure to keep your eyes peeled.
BIG ENOUGH TYPE??? - As I mentioned above, please give me any comments you have about the new formatting. It's a work-in-progress. Specifically, is the type font big enough and easily readable for you? I'm using Arial 14-point single-spaced but I can't tell if the way it looks as I create it will be the way it reads once you get it. So feel free to let me know what you think. (Thanks.)
BLAST FROM THE PAST - As some of you know, I spent about 10 years as a Top 40 disc jockey at various stations. Apropos of nothing, in a old-radio-guys forum I'm in, someone mentioned one of the first songs I played on the radio called "How Do You Do?" I thought I'd share it with you in closing. It was by a one-hit-wonder duo called Mouth & McNeal and for the record, no, I wasn't Mouth:
How Do You Do - Mouth & McNeal (1972)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
AVALON UNDERWATER CLEANUP - We're in the process of assembling our compact yet enthusiastic group of divers for the 38th Annual Annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup, which will be held Saturday, February 23. We'll be in our usual spot at the base of the Green Pier which is advantageous for a number of reasons. Other than you finds LOTS of good stuff in that area, it also means that once we get there (we'll likely take the 6AM boat out of Long Beach and then a taxi to our dive area - minimal gear schlepping), we'll plop our stuff down and walk up the street half a block to have our traditional breakfast. We'll be done with that in time for the 9AM briefing. The event dive starts at 9:30AM and you've got to be out of the water (you can make multiple entries and exits if you like) by 11AM. At that time, choose to either have us store your gear or we'll send you over to the UW Park for more diving. The awards ceremony runs from roughly 1:00-3:30PM. After that you're welcome to join us for our annual Reef Seekers Miniature Golf Tournament or you can just stroll around Avalon. We'll take a 6PM boat back to the mainland. If you sign up on-line, be sure to choose "Reef Seekers" as your group and let me know, or you can sign up directly through us by calling 310/652-4990. Either way, you're supporting a good cause and we'll hope to see you there.
FREE FISH ID BOOKS - I just updated and got the current editions of the fabulous Paul Humann series of fish ID books and I'd love to find a new home for my old ones. I'm happy to give them (yes, FREE - a diver's favorite word) to anyone who would like them. Just shoot me an e-mail to this address. I'm giving away "Tropical Pacific Fish" (1st edition), "Reef Fish Florida/Caribbean/Bahamas" (2nd edition), and "Reef Creatures Florida/Caribbean/Bahamas" (1st edition). Obviously, they're going to show a bit of wear and tear as well as a few notes from me, but they're yours if you'd like. I'd rather give them to three different people but am also happy to give them all to one person if there's no demand. So in your e-mail to me, tell me what you'd like and list your order of preference. Happy to have them give you as much info and joy as they've given me.
THAR BE WHALES!!! - Hearing lots of good whale sightings in the last few weeks. Of course, this is the time of the year when we have Gray Whales heading south to the birthing grounds in Baja, California. But we've also been hearing of Humpbacks, some Blues, and even a pod of Orcas. Fun thing to do when you've got a few hours free. And if you're on a dive boat or the Catalina Express, be sure to keep your eyes peeled.
BIG ENOUGH TYPE??? - As I mentioned above, please give me any comments you have about the new formatting. It's a work-in-progress. Specifically, is the type font big enough and easily readable for you? I'm using Arial 14-point single-spaced but I can't tell if the way it looks as I create it will be the way it reads once you get it. So feel free to let me know what you think. (Thanks.)
BLAST FROM THE PAST - As some of you know, I spent about 10 years as a Top 40 disc jockey at various stations. Apropos of nothing, in a old-radio-guys forum I'm in, someone mentioned one of the first songs I played on the radio called "How Do You Do?" I thought I'd share it with you in closing. It was by a one-hit-wonder duo called Mouth & McNeal and for the record, no, I wasn't Mouth:
How Do You Do - Mouth & McNeal (1972)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
