Ken Kurtis
Contributor
INDONESIA SOON, SHARKS NOW, INSIDE OUT, & more (scroll down for details) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
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PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR PO BOX NUMBER HAS CHANGED FROM 11634 TO 634
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• • • REEF SEEKERS REPAIR DEPARTMENT • • •
Contact Robert Stark (our repair guru) directly at 310/947-8523 or ReefSeekersRepair@gmail.com
SAVE 33% ON YOUR REPAIRS - CLICK HERE: Repair Repeat Offender Program
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Follow us on Facebook by clicking here and then choosing "LIKE": www.facebook.com/reefseekers
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Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015 vacation trips:
• July 11-22 - Indonesia (includes Bunaken, Lembeh Straits, & Bangka)
• July 31-August 5 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island aboard the Belle Amie (JUST ADDED TWO MORE - THREE BOAT SPOTS STILL LEFT)
• October 21-26 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island aboard the Nautilus Explorer (now four spots available on this trip)
• December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes possibility of snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [SOLD OUT]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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How many of you watching the end of the U.S. Open said, "I could have made that putt . . ."???????
GOOD DIVING - The warm weekend made for some nice diving conditions according to some of the reports I've been seeing. Surf seems minimal, swell seems minimal, and those of you who complain that the water's too cold should appreciate that we've still got relatively (for this time of the year) warm water out there. I've heard some reports as high as 68º. "Normal" for this time of the year would more likely be 58-60º. As we discussed last week, bad for the kelp but perhaps good for you. I was chatting with someone and wondering the other day about how this warm water will affect the likelihood of seeing Black Sea Bass around Italian Gardens and Goat Harbor, the two places they're most commonly seen at Catalina. On the one hand, the warm water should bring them in. On the other hand, the lack of kelp - due to the same warm water - means they've got no place to hide & lurk. So one sort of plays off the other. But I was encouraged to see a note from Claudette Dorsey that she was out at Anacapa over the weekend and enjoyed good conditoons AND Black Sea Bass. Like I always say, you never know what you'll find if you don't go out and look.
GETTING READY FOR INDONESIA - Sent out the traditional "Tips & Tricks" that precedes every Reef Seekers trip to our small but hearty band of intrepid divers for this trip. There are numerous great things about doing trips with Reef Seekers (of course, I'm a bit prejudiced) but one is that once we've commited to a trip, we'll go even if it's not a financial success for us. That doesn't mean we don't occasionally cancel a trip (as we did with Isla last week) but if we think a trip is looking squirrely, we'll make sure you're not spending money (plane tickets) you can't get back and give you plenty of notice or offer you an alternative. And we generally like small groups anyhow. Most of our trips are 10-12 people. We used to take 16 on the beloved Don Jose and we're taking 20 to the Red Sea in December but we've run trips with as few as three people. There are lots of variables but smaller groups in general are easier for us to run and allow for more interaction with you. As always, if you have questions about existing trips or suggestions for upcoming ones, let me know. I'm starting to think about 2016, and the Maldives, Raja Ampat, and similar locales keep popping into my head.
SHARK DRONE - You read that correctly. The city of Seal Beach has purchased an aerial drone so they can better keep an eye out for juvy Great White Sharks that frequent the SoCal coastline, especially in the summertime. The rationale is simple: It's easier to spot them from high in the air than from a few feet above the surface if you're patrolling in a boat. It's certainly not unusual to have these animals here and they're looking for bottom fish to feed on so really shouldn't present any danger to humans. But it's understandable that people get nervous when you say "Great White Shark" and "behind you" or something like that. At least it sounds like they're simply using the drone as a tool to inform ocean-users rather than making this the first weapon in a mindless shark hunt. The L.A. Times did a nice story on this and if you'd like to read more, you can do this through this link: Seal Beach uses drone to track young great white sharks - LA Times .
MOVIE REVIEW (INSIDE OUT) - Went to see this on Sunday and was thoroughly charmed by it both in concept and execution (and it did something like $91 million at the box office). Be prepared to cry, possibly a lot, at some points in the movie. (But it's a GOOD cry.) But almost as good & charming was the 7-minute also-by-Pixar animated short that preceded the film called "Lava". It's the story of a lonely volcano in the middle of the Pacific who simply longs for the company of another volcano before he erodes back into the sea. And there's a whole bunch of animated sea creatures in it too, like whales and dolphins. You'll probably cry during this one too (or maybe I'm just becoming a big softie in my old age). But really cute and how can you not be charmed by a smiling volcano that looks like this (he sings, too):
VOLUNTEER POSITION OPEN - Staci Kaye-Carr alerted me that the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary is looking to fill two seats on their advisory council for a non-consumptive recreation member and an alternate. Applications are due by June 30. It's a two-year commitment, there are 21 voting members of the council, and they meet every other month in Ventura or Santa Barbara Counties. I'd love to apply but I can't make the time commitment due to other duties and my travel sked but if you'd like to find out more and perhaps apply, you can get all the info and the application form here: Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary - Advisory Council - News .
FATHER'S DAY - Hope you had a good one either with your kids, or calling your dad, or remembering your dad. And I truly hope that this little girl used a white grease pencil and not what she has in her hand (although it seems like a great prank):
Have a great week everyone and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR PO BOX NUMBER HAS CHANGED FROM 11634 TO 634
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
• • • REEF SEEKERS REPAIR DEPARTMENT • • •
Contact Robert Stark (our repair guru) directly at 310/947-8523 or ReefSeekersRepair@gmail.com
SAVE 33% ON YOUR REPAIRS - CLICK HERE: Repair Repeat Offender Program
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Follow us on Facebook by clicking here and then choosing "LIKE": www.facebook.com/reefseekers
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015 vacation trips:
• July 11-22 - Indonesia (includes Bunaken, Lembeh Straits, & Bangka)
• July 31-August 5 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island aboard the Belle Amie (JUST ADDED TWO MORE - THREE BOAT SPOTS STILL LEFT)
• October 21-26 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island aboard the Nautilus Explorer (now four spots available on this trip)
• December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes possibility of snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [SOLD OUT]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
How many of you watching the end of the U.S. Open said, "I could have made that putt . . ."???????
GOOD DIVING - The warm weekend made for some nice diving conditions according to some of the reports I've been seeing. Surf seems minimal, swell seems minimal, and those of you who complain that the water's too cold should appreciate that we've still got relatively (for this time of the year) warm water out there. I've heard some reports as high as 68º. "Normal" for this time of the year would more likely be 58-60º. As we discussed last week, bad for the kelp but perhaps good for you. I was chatting with someone and wondering the other day about how this warm water will affect the likelihood of seeing Black Sea Bass around Italian Gardens and Goat Harbor, the two places they're most commonly seen at Catalina. On the one hand, the warm water should bring them in. On the other hand, the lack of kelp - due to the same warm water - means they've got no place to hide & lurk. So one sort of plays off the other. But I was encouraged to see a note from Claudette Dorsey that she was out at Anacapa over the weekend and enjoyed good conditoons AND Black Sea Bass. Like I always say, you never know what you'll find if you don't go out and look.
GETTING READY FOR INDONESIA - Sent out the traditional "Tips & Tricks" that precedes every Reef Seekers trip to our small but hearty band of intrepid divers for this trip. There are numerous great things about doing trips with Reef Seekers (of course, I'm a bit prejudiced) but one is that once we've commited to a trip, we'll go even if it's not a financial success for us. That doesn't mean we don't occasionally cancel a trip (as we did with Isla last week) but if we think a trip is looking squirrely, we'll make sure you're not spending money (plane tickets) you can't get back and give you plenty of notice or offer you an alternative. And we generally like small groups anyhow. Most of our trips are 10-12 people. We used to take 16 on the beloved Don Jose and we're taking 20 to the Red Sea in December but we've run trips with as few as three people. There are lots of variables but smaller groups in general are easier for us to run and allow for more interaction with you. As always, if you have questions about existing trips or suggestions for upcoming ones, let me know. I'm starting to think about 2016, and the Maldives, Raja Ampat, and similar locales keep popping into my head.
SHARK DRONE - You read that correctly. The city of Seal Beach has purchased an aerial drone so they can better keep an eye out for juvy Great White Sharks that frequent the SoCal coastline, especially in the summertime. The rationale is simple: It's easier to spot them from high in the air than from a few feet above the surface if you're patrolling in a boat. It's certainly not unusual to have these animals here and they're looking for bottom fish to feed on so really shouldn't present any danger to humans. But it's understandable that people get nervous when you say "Great White Shark" and "behind you" or something like that. At least it sounds like they're simply using the drone as a tool to inform ocean-users rather than making this the first weapon in a mindless shark hunt. The L.A. Times did a nice story on this and if you'd like to read more, you can do this through this link: Seal Beach uses drone to track young great white sharks - LA Times .
MOVIE REVIEW (INSIDE OUT) - Went to see this on Sunday and was thoroughly charmed by it both in concept and execution (and it did something like $91 million at the box office). Be prepared to cry, possibly a lot, at some points in the movie. (But it's a GOOD cry.) But almost as good & charming was the 7-minute also-by-Pixar animated short that preceded the film called "Lava". It's the story of a lonely volcano in the middle of the Pacific who simply longs for the company of another volcano before he erodes back into the sea. And there's a whole bunch of animated sea creatures in it too, like whales and dolphins. You'll probably cry during this one too (or maybe I'm just becoming a big softie in my old age). But really cute and how can you not be charmed by a smiling volcano that looks like this (he sings, too):
VOLUNTEER POSITION OPEN - Staci Kaye-Carr alerted me that the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary is looking to fill two seats on their advisory council for a non-consumptive recreation member and an alternate. Applications are due by June 30. It's a two-year commitment, there are 21 voting members of the council, and they meet every other month in Ventura or Santa Barbara Counties. I'd love to apply but I can't make the time commitment due to other duties and my travel sked but if you'd like to find out more and perhaps apply, you can get all the info and the application form here: Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary - Advisory Council - News .
FATHER'S DAY - Hope you had a good one either with your kids, or calling your dad, or remembering your dad. And I truly hope that this little girl used a white grease pencil and not what she has in her hand (although it seems like a great prank):
Have a great week everyone and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
