Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2018-19 vacation trips:
• October 27 - November 3 - Roatan at Anthony's Key (SOLD OUT!!!)
--- THE TENTATIVE PLAN FOR 2019 ---
• Easter Island - January 5-13
• Yap & Truk - March (do one or both)
• Bonaire - Late May
• Indonesia - July (Murex in Manado)
• Whale Shark congregation at Isla Mujeres - August
• Maldives - October 5-14 or 15-24
• Sea of Cortez (Cabo Pulmo) - mid-November
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: Foreign Trips
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Upcoming local dives & classes:
• Thu., Sept. 20 - CLASS - PHOTO WORKSHOP @ Reef Seekers Westwood ($25)
• Thu., Oct. 4 - Redondo - Night Dive (FREE!!)
• Sat., Oct. 13 - Catalina Express - Avalon Underwater Park ($150 - three dives)
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
———————————————————————
Where did the summer go . . .
FALL IS APPROACHING - Seems like just yesterday that it was Memorial Day, and we've got until September 22 when fall officially starts. No worries. As we've long said, some of the best SoCal dive conditions happen September-December. 100-foot visibility, especially if you can get out to San Clemente Island, is not unheard of this time of the year. Given how warm the summer has been and how warm the water has been, it's going to be an interesting fall season to say the least. And for many of you, fall also means the start of lobster season, which this year is Saturday, September 29. So we've likely got a couple of months of good diving lying in front of us.
NOT SO GOOD ON THE MEXICAN RIVIERA - We've complained here at times about Sargassum in SoCal, which tends to choke out the kelp, but our issues are nothing like those they've been experiencing down in Mexico, specifically on what's called the Mexican Riviera, which are the areas around the Yucatan Peninsula, especially both Cancun and Cozumel. I don't think the problem's been too severe in Cozumel but it sounds like Cancun is getting hit pretty hard to the point where resorts and hotels are having to clean their beaches daily of the stuff floating in from the sea. Isla Mujeres - where we go for Whale Sharks - has seemingly been spared due to the way the currents flow, according to Jim Silver, who owns Aqua Adventures Eco Diving on Isla. The L.A. Times did an extensive article about this the other day and if you'd like to read that, here's the link: Loads of seaweed are threatening the Caribbean's sea life and tourism. Experts say we may be to blame.
HURRICANES TOO - But not in Mexico at this time. Olivia and Florence are the names to remember, the first taking aim at Hawaii and the second at the US east coast. Based on the latest National Hurricane Center models, it looks like Olivia will cross just north of the Big Island late Tuesday night as a very strong storm. But given that the Big Island just went through Hurricane Lane a few weeks ago, more rain from Olivia will not be a good thing. Thursday afternoon is when it's projected Florence will come ashore, right now in the southern part of North Carolina, and it's projected to be a major hurricane at that point. The track right now is taking it in-between the Bahamas and Bermuda and while it's good that those places won't get hit, it also means there's nothing slowing this thing down until it hits the Eastern Seaboard. It will likely be messy. And if that's not bad enough, there's yet another one in the Atlantic named Issac which looks like it will cross over the Lesser Antilles - Dominica's in the path - Thursday morning as it goes from hurricane to tropical storm. But given the damage those islands have suffered in the last few years, this also will not be good. So it's looks like this is Hurricane Week. Keep your TV on the Weather Channel. And if you have travel plans to those areas or know people who are there already, fingers crossed all the way around.
COASTAL CLEANUP DAY IS THIS SATURDAY - There are over 50 cleanup sites throughout LA County and you don't have to be a diver, nor actually dive, to participate. (Although a couple of dive shops are organizing underwater versions of this as part of the overall event as well.) Here's a link to the website where you can see where all the sites are as well as register. The event starts at 9AM this Saturday and wraps around Noon: Coastal Cleanup Day 2018.
AVALON TRIP THIS SATURDAY - Given that I'd rather have you go clean a beach - either under- or above-water - plus I have an event at the Aquarium Saturday evening, I'm going to pull back on the plans to go to Avalon this Saturday. So the next one will be Saturday, October 13.
MADE YOUR VACATION PLANS FOR 2019? - You hopefully noticed in the newsletter and may have noticed above that I've started laying out the trip plans for 2019. I'm building the schedule around our fall trip to the Maldives where we hope to see the huge Manta Ray congregation (like HUNDREDS of them feeding). That trip will be on the Manthiri, our Maldivian boat of choice, with the dive dates either October 5-14 or 15-24 (plus a stopover of some sort on the way back for those interested in Singapore or Hong Kong or Dubai or some place like those). The boat only holds 12 people and I've already got 8 confirmations so if this one is on your bucket list, contact me ASAP lest you find out that there's no room at the inn. I'm also very keen on going back to Easter Island (January 5-13 - perhaps as many as 8 going) as well as Cabo Pulmo in November (I'll do back-to-back trips if there's enough interest on that one). Then we've got a combo Yap/Truk adventure in March, a relaxing week in Bonaire in May, a return to Indonesia and our good friends at Murex in July, and gotta go nose-to-nose with a Whale Shark in August. I'm still working on the pricing on most of these but please let me know the ones you're interested in so I can get you on my list. I hope to have more complete details on the Reef Seekers website in the next week or so.
TOM WETZEL MEMORIAL SERVICE SEPTEMBER 22 - It's hard to believe that it was almost nine months ago that Tom Wetzel died. At his and his sister's request, we are planning a second remembrance for him on Saturday, September 22, at 9AM at Veterans Park in Redondo where Tom frequently taught. (Tom would probably be appalled we weren't starting at 6AM.) The thought is that we'll have a short informal service and then, for those interested, will have a single-tank dive in Tom's memory down to about 80-feet in the Canyon. You are welcome to attend and not dive or join us for the dive. If the latter, please let me know via e-mail (kenkurtis@aol.com) as I'll be planning out the dive logistics. (You'll also need to provide all of your own gear.)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
• October 27 - November 3 - Roatan at Anthony's Key (SOLD OUT!!!)
--- THE TENTATIVE PLAN FOR 2019 ---
• Easter Island - January 5-13
• Yap & Truk - March (do one or both)
• Bonaire - Late May
• Indonesia - July (Murex in Manado)
• Whale Shark congregation at Isla Mujeres - August
• Maldives - October 5-14 or 15-24
• Sea of Cortez (Cabo Pulmo) - mid-November
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: Foreign Trips
———————————————————————
Upcoming local dives & classes:
• Thu., Sept. 20 - CLASS - PHOTO WORKSHOP @ Reef Seekers Westwood ($25)
• Thu., Oct. 4 - Redondo - Night Dive (FREE!!)
• Sat., Oct. 13 - Catalina Express - Avalon Underwater Park ($150 - three dives)
To sign up for any of these dives, either call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us at kenkurtis@aol.com
———————————————————————
Where did the summer go . . .
FALL IS APPROACHING - Seems like just yesterday that it was Memorial Day, and we've got until September 22 when fall officially starts. No worries. As we've long said, some of the best SoCal dive conditions happen September-December. 100-foot visibility, especially if you can get out to San Clemente Island, is not unheard of this time of the year. Given how warm the summer has been and how warm the water has been, it's going to be an interesting fall season to say the least. And for many of you, fall also means the start of lobster season, which this year is Saturday, September 29. So we've likely got a couple of months of good diving lying in front of us.
NOT SO GOOD ON THE MEXICAN RIVIERA - We've complained here at times about Sargassum in SoCal, which tends to choke out the kelp, but our issues are nothing like those they've been experiencing down in Mexico, specifically on what's called the Mexican Riviera, which are the areas around the Yucatan Peninsula, especially both Cancun and Cozumel. I don't think the problem's been too severe in Cozumel but it sounds like Cancun is getting hit pretty hard to the point where resorts and hotels are having to clean their beaches daily of the stuff floating in from the sea. Isla Mujeres - where we go for Whale Sharks - has seemingly been spared due to the way the currents flow, according to Jim Silver, who owns Aqua Adventures Eco Diving on Isla. The L.A. Times did an extensive article about this the other day and if you'd like to read that, here's the link: Loads of seaweed are threatening the Caribbean's sea life and tourism. Experts say we may be to blame.
HURRICANES TOO - But not in Mexico at this time. Olivia and Florence are the names to remember, the first taking aim at Hawaii and the second at the US east coast. Based on the latest National Hurricane Center models, it looks like Olivia will cross just north of the Big Island late Tuesday night as a very strong storm. But given that the Big Island just went through Hurricane Lane a few weeks ago, more rain from Olivia will not be a good thing. Thursday afternoon is when it's projected Florence will come ashore, right now in the southern part of North Carolina, and it's projected to be a major hurricane at that point. The track right now is taking it in-between the Bahamas and Bermuda and while it's good that those places won't get hit, it also means there's nothing slowing this thing down until it hits the Eastern Seaboard. It will likely be messy. And if that's not bad enough, there's yet another one in the Atlantic named Issac which looks like it will cross over the Lesser Antilles - Dominica's in the path - Thursday morning as it goes from hurricane to tropical storm. But given the damage those islands have suffered in the last few years, this also will not be good. So it's looks like this is Hurricane Week. Keep your TV on the Weather Channel. And if you have travel plans to those areas or know people who are there already, fingers crossed all the way around.
COASTAL CLEANUP DAY IS THIS SATURDAY - There are over 50 cleanup sites throughout LA County and you don't have to be a diver, nor actually dive, to participate. (Although a couple of dive shops are organizing underwater versions of this as part of the overall event as well.) Here's a link to the website where you can see where all the sites are as well as register. The event starts at 9AM this Saturday and wraps around Noon: Coastal Cleanup Day 2018.
AVALON TRIP THIS SATURDAY - Given that I'd rather have you go clean a beach - either under- or above-water - plus I have an event at the Aquarium Saturday evening, I'm going to pull back on the plans to go to Avalon this Saturday. So the next one will be Saturday, October 13.
MADE YOUR VACATION PLANS FOR 2019? - You hopefully noticed in the newsletter and may have noticed above that I've started laying out the trip plans for 2019. I'm building the schedule around our fall trip to the Maldives where we hope to see the huge Manta Ray congregation (like HUNDREDS of them feeding). That trip will be on the Manthiri, our Maldivian boat of choice, with the dive dates either October 5-14 or 15-24 (plus a stopover of some sort on the way back for those interested in Singapore or Hong Kong or Dubai or some place like those). The boat only holds 12 people and I've already got 8 confirmations so if this one is on your bucket list, contact me ASAP lest you find out that there's no room at the inn. I'm also very keen on going back to Easter Island (January 5-13 - perhaps as many as 8 going) as well as Cabo Pulmo in November (I'll do back-to-back trips if there's enough interest on that one). Then we've got a combo Yap/Truk adventure in March, a relaxing week in Bonaire in May, a return to Indonesia and our good friends at Murex in July, and gotta go nose-to-nose with a Whale Shark in August. I'm still working on the pricing on most of these but please let me know the ones you're interested in so I can get you on my list. I hope to have more complete details on the Reef Seekers website in the next week or so.
TOM WETZEL MEMORIAL SERVICE SEPTEMBER 22 - It's hard to believe that it was almost nine months ago that Tom Wetzel died. At his and his sister's request, we are planning a second remembrance for him on Saturday, September 22, at 9AM at Veterans Park in Redondo where Tom frequently taught. (Tom would probably be appalled we weren't starting at 6AM.) The thought is that we'll have a short informal service and then, for those interested, will have a single-tank dive in Tom's memory down to about 80-feet in the Canyon. You are welcome to attend and not dive or join us for the dive. If the latter, please let me know via e-mail (kenkurtis@aol.com) as I'll be planning out the dive logistics. (You'll also need to provide all of your own gear.)
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
