Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• March 17-25 - Bonaire [ WE'RE BACK!!! ]
• June 10-17 - Isla Mujeres (early in the Whale Shark Season)
• July 7-19 - Yap Immersion #1 (special 13-day trip featuring all that Yap has to offer) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 6 SPOTS LEFT ]
• July 21-August 2 - Yap Immersion #2 (week #2 - same sked as above) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 6 SPOTS LEFT ]
• September 1-6 - Great White Sharks of Guadalupe on the Nautilus Belle Amie [ WE'VE ONLY GOT 6 SPOTS - ONLY 1 OFFICIAL SPOT LEFT ]
• November 2-12 - Fiji (SW area near Suva) on the Fiji Aggressor [ SOLD OUT!!! ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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Upcoming local dives & classes:
• DIVE - Thu., 4/6 - Night dive at Redondo (6PM - FREE!! - might still see some squid)
• DIVE - Sat., 4/22 - Avalon UW Park ($150)
• CLASS - Wed., 4/26 - Fish ID (7PM in Westwood - $25)
• CHARITY EVENT - Wed., 5/3 - Chamber Day & Eve 2017 2017 (7AM-11PM at Catalina and in Long Beach)
• DIVE - Thu., 5/24 - Night dive at Redondo (6PM - FREE!!)
• DIVE - Sat., 6/3 - Avalon UW Park ($150)
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
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It's good to be back home, but . . .
ELEVATOR OUT OF ORDER - When you live on the third floor of your building, and you've had the taxi driver drop you in the garage so you don't have to lug your bags up the stairs (2 checked at 50 pounds each plus a carry-on at 37 pounds and a personal bag at 18 pounds), the last thing you want to see is a sign telling you the elevator's out of order. Nothing like getting a workout after your vacation when what I really need is a vacation after my vacation.
ANOTHER FABULOUS WEEK IN BONAIRE - We just flew back this afternoon (Sunday) and we are pooped puppies since we left Bonaire at 7:30AM which meant getting up at 4AM which is 1AM L.A. time. But even though the journey home always seems bittersweet, we created a lot of really good memories this week with the diving we did and renewing friendships at Buddy Dive, while making some new ones as well. We saw frogfish, seahorses, tuna, and all the usual creatures you'd expect to find on a Caribbean reef. We haven't been to Bonaire in three years so it was interesting to see what has changed. Lots of building going on (both commercial and residential). But the biggest change is that they now get one or even two cruise ships each day. So you now see sightseeing vans roaming around, bicycle groups, and even a Sedgeway tour. None of this impacted our diving, but when driving through downtown Kralendijk now, you're apt to actually have the Bonairean version of a traffic jam. We enjoyed really nice water conditions (80-100' vis and 80º water), had our own boat each day, got to spend time with old friends Murph and Augusto, made a lot of new friends (they've had a fair amount of DM turnover since we were last there), and ate a lot (probably too much) good food. I'm working on the trip report and tweaking pix which I hope to have to you later this week but in the meantime, here's a peek at some pix to get your juices going: A TASTE OF BONAIRE 2017 - kenkurtis. And if you want to look at the Daily Top 10 Pix I posted each day we were diving, here's the overall link and then you can choose the individual galleries: BONAIRE 2017.
I'M ONLY GOING TO SAY THIS ONCE - Be aware that Saturday is April 1.
PADI HAS BEEN SOLD - This is true and NOT an early April Fools joke. PADI was purchased for $700 million. What's interesting is that the buyers are described as "wealthy individuals and endowments." I can't imagine this is just people who want to dive for "free" and will plunk down $700 million to do so. So it'll be interesting to see where this goes from here. No one has branded themselves better, especially worldwide, than PADI has, so it's not really surprising that they have such a market value. To put this in perspective, the last numbers I've seen on the entire US retail scuba diving market - which would including training, equipment sales, and trips booked through shops - was somewhere around $750 million. Obviously, PADI has a worldwide reach and another study I saw says PADI's income is about 50% US and 50% the rest of the world, so their sale price may not be out of line. You can read the Wall Street Journal article through the Dow Jones website by clicking here: Dow Jones.
SAD PERSONAL NEWS WITH A SCUBA APPLICATION - A number of you know this already, but my dad died March 21 following an in-home injury he suffered the evening of Tuesday, March 8. My sister and I were going to visit him anyhow because his 88th birthday was March 9 and we were on the redeye set to arrive early that morning. We had talked to him on Tuesday but on Wednesday his phone just rang and rang. He lived alone and didn't go out much, so this was unusual. I had the phone company check the line and when they said it was good, I had a neighbor go over who knocked on the door and got no response, but found mail in his box and the car in the garage. At that point, and fearing the worst, I called the local police (benefits of living in a small town) and explained what was going on. They sent a unit over, entered the house and found him upstairs, injured but conscious and got him to the hospital. Although the eventual outcome was not what we would have wanted, I am absolutely convinced that by calling the police and activating EMS when I did with nothing more than a hunch and a suspicion to go on, that IF he had a chance to survive this, that's what gave it to him. Had I not made that call when I did, there's no doubt in my mind that my sister and I would have arrived on his birthday morning only to find him dead in the house. And then we would have spent the rest of our days going, "If only we had called earlier." The scuba application of this is . . .
BETTER TO ACTIVATE EMS EARLIER THAN LATER - In diving, our window of survivability is extremely small. If you are unconscious and not breathing underwater, we've got about 5-6 minutes to find you before brain death sets in. So speed is of the essence when we are dealing with potential dive emergencies. Activating EMS (Emergency Medical Services) can be as simple as letting a Divemaster know something's wrong up to having the Coast Guard launch and search-and-rescue and many things in between. If you've got an inkling that something's wrong with a diver, let someone know about it. Tell a DM or the boat captain. Alert a lifeguard if you're on shore. 99% of the time it's probably nothing. But that 1% of the time when you act quickly, you might be able to save someone's life. And you certainly won't be followed for the rest of your days with thoughts of "What if?"
R.I.P. GEORGE OLLWEILER - My dad was a good guy and a lot of fun to be around. Unique to say the least. While my sister and I are obviously very sad about this, we feel like we got good closure in his final days. And he certainly lived a very good and full life. If you'd like to read his obit (the pix is from Father's Day 2016), click on this link: George J Ollweiler.
And on that sad but hopefully useful note, that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
• March 17-25 - Bonaire [ WE'RE BACK!!! ]
• June 10-17 - Isla Mujeres (early in the Whale Shark Season)
• July 7-19 - Yap Immersion #1 (special 13-day trip featuring all that Yap has to offer) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 6 SPOTS LEFT ]
• July 21-August 2 - Yap Immersion #2 (week #2 - same sked as above) [ LIMITED TO 12 DIVERS - 6 SPOTS LEFT ]
• September 1-6 - Great White Sharks of Guadalupe on the Nautilus Belle Amie [ WE'VE ONLY GOT 6 SPOTS - ONLY 1 OFFICIAL SPOT LEFT ]
• November 2-12 - Fiji (SW area near Suva) on the Fiji Aggressor [ SOLD OUT!!! ]
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
——————————————————————————————————————————
Upcoming local dives & classes:
• DIVE - Thu., 4/6 - Night dive at Redondo (6PM - FREE!! - might still see some squid)
• DIVE - Sat., 4/22 - Avalon UW Park ($150)
• CLASS - Wed., 4/26 - Fish ID (7PM in Westwood - $25)
• CHARITY EVENT - Wed., 5/3 - Chamber Day & Eve 2017 2017 (7AM-11PM at Catalina and in Long Beach)
• DIVE - Thu., 5/24 - Night dive at Redondo (6PM - FREE!!)
• DIVE - Sat., 6/3 - Avalon UW Park ($150)
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
———————————————————————————————————————
It's good to be back home, but . . .
ELEVATOR OUT OF ORDER - When you live on the third floor of your building, and you've had the taxi driver drop you in the garage so you don't have to lug your bags up the stairs (2 checked at 50 pounds each plus a carry-on at 37 pounds and a personal bag at 18 pounds), the last thing you want to see is a sign telling you the elevator's out of order. Nothing like getting a workout after your vacation when what I really need is a vacation after my vacation.
ANOTHER FABULOUS WEEK IN BONAIRE - We just flew back this afternoon (Sunday) and we are pooped puppies since we left Bonaire at 7:30AM which meant getting up at 4AM which is 1AM L.A. time. But even though the journey home always seems bittersweet, we created a lot of really good memories this week with the diving we did and renewing friendships at Buddy Dive, while making some new ones as well. We saw frogfish, seahorses, tuna, and all the usual creatures you'd expect to find on a Caribbean reef. We haven't been to Bonaire in three years so it was interesting to see what has changed. Lots of building going on (both commercial and residential). But the biggest change is that they now get one or even two cruise ships each day. So you now see sightseeing vans roaming around, bicycle groups, and even a Sedgeway tour. None of this impacted our diving, but when driving through downtown Kralendijk now, you're apt to actually have the Bonairean version of a traffic jam. We enjoyed really nice water conditions (80-100' vis and 80º water), had our own boat each day, got to spend time with old friends Murph and Augusto, made a lot of new friends (they've had a fair amount of DM turnover since we were last there), and ate a lot (probably too much) good food. I'm working on the trip report and tweaking pix which I hope to have to you later this week but in the meantime, here's a peek at some pix to get your juices going: A TASTE OF BONAIRE 2017 - kenkurtis. And if you want to look at the Daily Top 10 Pix I posted each day we were diving, here's the overall link and then you can choose the individual galleries: BONAIRE 2017.
I'M ONLY GOING TO SAY THIS ONCE - Be aware that Saturday is April 1.
PADI HAS BEEN SOLD - This is true and NOT an early April Fools joke. PADI was purchased for $700 million. What's interesting is that the buyers are described as "wealthy individuals and endowments." I can't imagine this is just people who want to dive for "free" and will plunk down $700 million to do so. So it'll be interesting to see where this goes from here. No one has branded themselves better, especially worldwide, than PADI has, so it's not really surprising that they have such a market value. To put this in perspective, the last numbers I've seen on the entire US retail scuba diving market - which would including training, equipment sales, and trips booked through shops - was somewhere around $750 million. Obviously, PADI has a worldwide reach and another study I saw says PADI's income is about 50% US and 50% the rest of the world, so their sale price may not be out of line. You can read the Wall Street Journal article through the Dow Jones website by clicking here: Dow Jones.
SAD PERSONAL NEWS WITH A SCUBA APPLICATION - A number of you know this already, but my dad died March 21 following an in-home injury he suffered the evening of Tuesday, March 8. My sister and I were going to visit him anyhow because his 88th birthday was March 9 and we were on the redeye set to arrive early that morning. We had talked to him on Tuesday but on Wednesday his phone just rang and rang. He lived alone and didn't go out much, so this was unusual. I had the phone company check the line and when they said it was good, I had a neighbor go over who knocked on the door and got no response, but found mail in his box and the car in the garage. At that point, and fearing the worst, I called the local police (benefits of living in a small town) and explained what was going on. They sent a unit over, entered the house and found him upstairs, injured but conscious and got him to the hospital. Although the eventual outcome was not what we would have wanted, I am absolutely convinced that by calling the police and activating EMS when I did with nothing more than a hunch and a suspicion to go on, that IF he had a chance to survive this, that's what gave it to him. Had I not made that call when I did, there's no doubt in my mind that my sister and I would have arrived on his birthday morning only to find him dead in the house. And then we would have spent the rest of our days going, "If only we had called earlier." The scuba application of this is . . .
BETTER TO ACTIVATE EMS EARLIER THAN LATER - In diving, our window of survivability is extremely small. If you are unconscious and not breathing underwater, we've got about 5-6 minutes to find you before brain death sets in. So speed is of the essence when we are dealing with potential dive emergencies. Activating EMS (Emergency Medical Services) can be as simple as letting a Divemaster know something's wrong up to having the Coast Guard launch and search-and-rescue and many things in between. If you've got an inkling that something's wrong with a diver, let someone know about it. Tell a DM or the boat captain. Alert a lifeguard if you're on shore. 99% of the time it's probably nothing. But that 1% of the time when you act quickly, you might be able to save someone's life. And you certainly won't be followed for the rest of your days with thoughts of "What if?"
R.I.P. GEORGE OLLWEILER - My dad was a good guy and a lot of fun to be around. Unique to say the least. While my sister and I are obviously very sad about this, we feel like we got good closure in his final days. And he certainly lived a very good and full life. If you'd like to read his obit (the pix is from Father's Day 2016), click on this link: George J Ollweiler.
And on that sad but hopefully useful note, that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
