Ken Kurtis
Contributor
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Upcoming local dives (call 310/652-4990 for more info and to register):
• Saturday, October 17 [PLEASE NOTE DESTINATION CHANGE] - Avalon Underwater Park
• MORE TO COME
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015-2016 vacation trips:
• October 21-26 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island trip #2 aboard the Nautilus Explorer [SOLD OUT]
• December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [SOLD OUT]
• March 11-19 - Yap (can be combined with Palau)
• March 20-27 - Palau on the Palau Aggressor II (can be combined with Yap)
• Late May or early June - Bonaire
• July 2-14 - Indonesia
• August 1-6 - Guadalupe Island and Great White Sharks
• August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres and Whale Sharks
• November 3-16 - Maldives
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
How can it be this hot in October without the Santa Anas blowing (82º at 10PM) . . . ????
GOOD DIVE CONDITIONS - Buck reports that he was at Redondo (Vets Park) Saturday morning with mid-70s water temps and about 15-foot vis. Ankle-slappers when they started but mild swell by the time they exited. Live picture today looked like it has picked up a little with a general 1-2' and an occasional 3-footer. Dr. Bill had some shots from the Park with Guadalupe Cardinalfish and he spotted the adult Whitetailed Damselfish that we hope/think is the grown-up juvy that I spotted a couple of years ago right off of the Park steps. So there's still a lot of good diving out there and this will likely continue for another two months or more until the weather starts picking up.
WHALE SHARK IN SAN DIEGO - The unusual creature sightings keep coming. Last weekend (10/3) snorkelers spotted a Whale Shark just off of Mission Bay. The animal was just cruising around in an area about 300 feet deep. Fortunately, they've got video and there's no question of what it was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=2oYhiyvQL30 .
WANNA SEE WHALE SHARKS YOURSELF? - We've got to go a little further than San Diego to guarantee that but make note that I'm planning on a return to Isla Mujeres next year August 20-27. We'll structure this as we have in the past by flying into Cancun, then getting over to Isla Mujeres and settling in to our hotel. We'll work through Jim & Daisy Silver at Eco Dive Adventures on Isla and we'll get in three different days of Whale Shark snorkeling, a half-day of diving the Cancun Underwater Museum which features hundreds and hundreds of underwater sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor, a day of diving the cenotes near Tulum (Dos Ojos or Chac Mool most likely), and a day of diving the reefs of of Isla and Cancun (which hopefully includes a wreck as well). The trip's a LOT of fun, there's different diving every single day, it's a great opportunity for newbies or snorkelers, and if you want to be on the "I'm interested" list, let me know.
PALAU BECKONS - I'm also trying to put together Yap & Palau for next year. As with our spectacular trip this year, you can do one or you can do both. The hitch is going to be that I won't be able to get any more than nine spaces on the Palau Aggressor 2 so - at least for the Palau portion - that will be our limiting factor. For those who'd like to save a couple of hundred bucks, one of the rooms we'll hope to grab is the one that faces directly on to the dive deck which goes for $200 less than the other standard rooms. But if this is something that you might be interested in - either room type - let me know because I need to have Aggressor hold spots for me while I asses interest and I don't want to do that if there won't be enough. Yap will be March 11-19 and Palau is March 20-27. Call us at 310/652-4990 with question. (You can e-mail too.)
UNDERWATER COOPERATION BETWEEN THE US AND CUBA - There was an interesting article in the Sunday L.A. Times about an agreement between the U.S. and Cuba and work jointly together on monitoring reefs in the Florida Keys and those off of the western edge of Cuba. It's easy to forget how close Cuba really is and when you take water movement and currents into account, you can easily see how something that happens at the western tip of Cuba can easily affect the southern edge of Florida. (You can get a general idea of the geography and the water flow in my ham-handed picture below. The red arrows represent general water flow.) One good thing we know is that larval fish from Cuba tend to drift upwards and eastward and settle in the Keys. But bad things, like an oil spill, could also follow that same drift pattern. You can read more about this through this link: Thaw between U.S. and Cuba extends to marine life with 'sister sanctuary' plans - LA Times .
THE ORCAS WIN A ROUND - On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission ruled that Sea World can no longer captive-breed Orcas as one of the conditions in granting them a permit to build an expanded holding facility for the current animals under their care. Sea World supporters immediately cried foul, stating that the Coastal Commission does not have the authority to make a ruling on captive-breeding. The caveat here is that I'm not a lawyer (and this WILL get played out in court) but the way I read it, they're not directly saying that they are banning Sea World from captive-breeding. What they are saying is that if you want to build this expanded holding area (and the Commission DOES have say in that area), the only way we'll grant you that permit is for you to agree that you will no longer do captive-breeding. I think the argument will be that this is a "voluntary" agreement Sea World is making in order to get the permit for the larger holding facility. Granted, it's "voluntary" with the proverbial gun pointed at their head, but it's a condition of the permit as opposed to an edict all unto itself. Needless to say, this isn't over yet. Here's the full article about Thursday's hearing. There are other follow-up articles as well: Coastal Commission bans captive orca breeding at SeaWorld San Diego - LA Times.
ALCATRAZ GREAT WHITE SHARK ATTACK - This is not a joke but at least it doesn't involved humans. There was a Great White that chomped down on a seal right off of the docks at Alcatraz over the weekend. Former Reef Seekers employee Trevor Hendron is now captain of one of the boats that ferries visitors out to The Rock and one of their security cameras on the boat just happened to be pointing at the right spot at the right time and actually taped the initial strike. (Trevor's trying to get me that footage which I will hopefully be able to share with you next week.) But he also sent me a link to the footage of someone just standing on the dock who was able to record the aftermath where you can clearly see the shark's fin and nose. The coolest thing about this is that there's a young (10 years old??) kid who's talking the whole time and going, "That's a Great White! Holy crud!" He ends with "That's the best thing I've ever seen in my life!" Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFumUdCSgOQ&feature=youtu.be .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
Upcoming local dives (call 310/652-4990 for more info and to register):
• Saturday, October 17 [PLEASE NOTE DESTINATION CHANGE] - Avalon Underwater Park
• MORE TO COME
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015-2016 vacation trips:
• October 21-26 - Great White Sharks at Guadalupe Island trip #2 aboard the Nautilus Explorer [SOLD OUT]
• December 1-13 - Red Sea Aggressor (southern route - includes snorkeling with dolphins) plus 2 days in Cairo [SOLD OUT]
• March 11-19 - Yap (can be combined with Palau)
• March 20-27 - Palau on the Palau Aggressor II (can be combined with Yap)
• Late May or early June - Bonaire
• July 2-14 - Indonesia
• August 1-6 - Guadalupe Island and Great White Sharks
• August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres and Whale Sharks
• November 3-16 - Maldives
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
How can it be this hot in October without the Santa Anas blowing (82º at 10PM) . . . ????
GOOD DIVE CONDITIONS - Buck reports that he was at Redondo (Vets Park) Saturday morning with mid-70s water temps and about 15-foot vis. Ankle-slappers when they started but mild swell by the time they exited. Live picture today looked like it has picked up a little with a general 1-2' and an occasional 3-footer. Dr. Bill had some shots from the Park with Guadalupe Cardinalfish and he spotted the adult Whitetailed Damselfish that we hope/think is the grown-up juvy that I spotted a couple of years ago right off of the Park steps. So there's still a lot of good diving out there and this will likely continue for another two months or more until the weather starts picking up.
WHALE SHARK IN SAN DIEGO - The unusual creature sightings keep coming. Last weekend (10/3) snorkelers spotted a Whale Shark just off of Mission Bay. The animal was just cruising around in an area about 300 feet deep. Fortunately, they've got video and there's no question of what it was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=2oYhiyvQL30 .
WANNA SEE WHALE SHARKS YOURSELF? - We've got to go a little further than San Diego to guarantee that but make note that I'm planning on a return to Isla Mujeres next year August 20-27. We'll structure this as we have in the past by flying into Cancun, then getting over to Isla Mujeres and settling in to our hotel. We'll work through Jim & Daisy Silver at Eco Dive Adventures on Isla and we'll get in three different days of Whale Shark snorkeling, a half-day of diving the Cancun Underwater Museum which features hundreds and hundreds of underwater sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor, a day of diving the cenotes near Tulum (Dos Ojos or Chac Mool most likely), and a day of diving the reefs of of Isla and Cancun (which hopefully includes a wreck as well). The trip's a LOT of fun, there's different diving every single day, it's a great opportunity for newbies or snorkelers, and if you want to be on the "I'm interested" list, let me know.
PALAU BECKONS - I'm also trying to put together Yap & Palau for next year. As with our spectacular trip this year, you can do one or you can do both. The hitch is going to be that I won't be able to get any more than nine spaces on the Palau Aggressor 2 so - at least for the Palau portion - that will be our limiting factor. For those who'd like to save a couple of hundred bucks, one of the rooms we'll hope to grab is the one that faces directly on to the dive deck which goes for $200 less than the other standard rooms. But if this is something that you might be interested in - either room type - let me know because I need to have Aggressor hold spots for me while I asses interest and I don't want to do that if there won't be enough. Yap will be March 11-19 and Palau is March 20-27. Call us at 310/652-4990 with question. (You can e-mail too.)
UNDERWATER COOPERATION BETWEEN THE US AND CUBA - There was an interesting article in the Sunday L.A. Times about an agreement between the U.S. and Cuba and work jointly together on monitoring reefs in the Florida Keys and those off of the western edge of Cuba. It's easy to forget how close Cuba really is and when you take water movement and currents into account, you can easily see how something that happens at the western tip of Cuba can easily affect the southern edge of Florida. (You can get a general idea of the geography and the water flow in my ham-handed picture below. The red arrows represent general water flow.) One good thing we know is that larval fish from Cuba tend to drift upwards and eastward and settle in the Keys. But bad things, like an oil spill, could also follow that same drift pattern. You can read more about this through this link: Thaw between U.S. and Cuba extends to marine life with 'sister sanctuary' plans - LA Times .
THE ORCAS WIN A ROUND - On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission ruled that Sea World can no longer captive-breed Orcas as one of the conditions in granting them a permit to build an expanded holding facility for the current animals under their care. Sea World supporters immediately cried foul, stating that the Coastal Commission does not have the authority to make a ruling on captive-breeding. The caveat here is that I'm not a lawyer (and this WILL get played out in court) but the way I read it, they're not directly saying that they are banning Sea World from captive-breeding. What they are saying is that if you want to build this expanded holding area (and the Commission DOES have say in that area), the only way we'll grant you that permit is for you to agree that you will no longer do captive-breeding. I think the argument will be that this is a "voluntary" agreement Sea World is making in order to get the permit for the larger holding facility. Granted, it's "voluntary" with the proverbial gun pointed at their head, but it's a condition of the permit as opposed to an edict all unto itself. Needless to say, this isn't over yet. Here's the full article about Thursday's hearing. There are other follow-up articles as well: Coastal Commission bans captive orca breeding at SeaWorld San Diego - LA Times.
ALCATRAZ GREAT WHITE SHARK ATTACK - This is not a joke but at least it doesn't involved humans. There was a Great White that chomped down on a seal right off of the docks at Alcatraz over the weekend. Former Reef Seekers employee Trevor Hendron is now captain of one of the boats that ferries visitors out to The Rock and one of their security cameras on the boat just happened to be pointing at the right spot at the right time and actually taped the initial strike. (Trevor's trying to get me that footage which I will hopefully be able to share with you next week.) But he also sent me a link to the footage of someone just standing on the dock who was able to record the aftermath where you can clearly see the shark's fin and nose. The coolest thing about this is that there's a young (10 years old??) kid who's talking the whole time and going, "That's a Great White! Holy crud!" He ends with "That's the best thing I've ever seen in my life!" Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFumUdCSgOQ&feature=youtu.be .
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
