Ken Kurtis
Contributor
It's too damned hot, Avalon trip date, and more
(please scroll down for details)
To say "It's hot out there" is simply an understatement . . .
BROKEN THERMOMETERS - Here's a sampling I got from Weather Underground at 5PM on Sunday afternoon:
• Avalon - 84º
• Santa Monica - 85º
• Westwood (where I live) - 99º
• Dodger Stadium (where my fan cutout lives) - 103º
• Downtown L.A. - 104º
• North Hollywood - 110º
• Palm Springs - 117º
• Death Valley - 109º (cooler than North Hollywood, Palm Springs, and other places)
Every one of those places listed set new records today. Yikes!!!
CROWDED BEACHES - While the beach might have been the place to go, it might also have NOT been the place to go, just from a crowd standpoint, not COVID-related. But you had to find a place to park, a place on the sand to plop, or wade through sunbathers and umbrellas if you were going to dive and had to get to the entry point. Here's what Redondo looked like at 3PM today from the camera on top of the Redondo Pier:
CHANGING THE AVALON DATE - We really liked it the other week when we went to Avalon mid-week to dive the Park. In fact, we liked it soooo much that we're going to shift our next Avalon trip by a day and make it Monday, September 21 (two weeks away) rather than that Sunday. As we said in our newsletter report, it won't really change the boat or the taxi too much, but it will definitely be less-crowded in the Park than it will be on a Sunday. The plan will be for three dives and your $150 fee covers you for the RT ride on the Express, taxis to the Park and back, tank rental and airfills, and guided dives (hopefully my back doesn't g out again). We had a great time the other week with decent conditions and nice Jack Mackerel and Giant Sea Bass encounters and would hope to duplicate that on the 21st. Call us at 310/652-4990 if you want to join in on the fun.
EVERY DAY'S A 3-DAY WEEKEND - Someone on FaceBook made the astute comment that a 3-day weekend doesn't have quite the same appeal as it used to when you've been staying home for the last six months.
RAMPING UP FOR REPAIRS AGAIN - We're sort of gently moving back into accepting repairs again. We need to play it quite cautiously though because Robert's mother lives nearby and he visits her frequently. Plus his wife is a teacher. So most likely it'll be something where you call Robert, arrange to drop stuff off on his front porch, he'll get it later on and do the work, and then make a similar arrangement on the back-end when you're ready to pick up. And if COVID weren't enough, Robert sprained his ankle pretty good a month or so ago and is undergoing physical therapy for a while. It all means he can only stand on the ankle for a limited amount of time each day so that's going to slow things down if we get a deluge of repair requests. Please be patient. Robert should be able to give you a pretty good estimate of how long things might take. But if you need your stuff serviced, give Robert a call at our direct repair number (310/947-8523) and see what you can work out.
IF ONLY MY BIRTHDAY WAS SOONER - I'm debating on whether I should get this for myself or wait until the holidays and hope someone buys it for me. But this is the coolest sharks shirt - and accurate as well - that I think I've ever seen. It comes in numerous styles, sizes, and colors. This link will take you to the ordering site: SHARK SHIRT.
SPERM WHALE ASKS FOR HELP - And finally, for your feel-good story of the week, what would you do if a Sperm Whale swam up to you with a hook in its mouth? Very interesting watching the free diver get it loose but even more interesting to see how the whale positions his body so the diver can render aid:
SPERM WHALE HOOK REMOVAL.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, stay safe, wear your mask, wash your hands, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
(please scroll down for details)
To say "It's hot out there" is simply an understatement . . .
BROKEN THERMOMETERS - Here's a sampling I got from Weather Underground at 5PM on Sunday afternoon:
• Avalon - 84º
• Santa Monica - 85º
• Westwood (where I live) - 99º
• Dodger Stadium (where my fan cutout lives) - 103º
• Downtown L.A. - 104º
• North Hollywood - 110º
• Palm Springs - 117º
• Death Valley - 109º (cooler than North Hollywood, Palm Springs, and other places)
Every one of those places listed set new records today. Yikes!!!
CROWDED BEACHES - While the beach might have been the place to go, it might also have NOT been the place to go, just from a crowd standpoint, not COVID-related. But you had to find a place to park, a place on the sand to plop, or wade through sunbathers and umbrellas if you were going to dive and had to get to the entry point. Here's what Redondo looked like at 3PM today from the camera on top of the Redondo Pier:
CHANGING THE AVALON DATE - We really liked it the other week when we went to Avalon mid-week to dive the Park. In fact, we liked it soooo much that we're going to shift our next Avalon trip by a day and make it Monday, September 21 (two weeks away) rather than that Sunday. As we said in our newsletter report, it won't really change the boat or the taxi too much, but it will definitely be less-crowded in the Park than it will be on a Sunday. The plan will be for three dives and your $150 fee covers you for the RT ride on the Express, taxis to the Park and back, tank rental and airfills, and guided dives (hopefully my back doesn't g out again). We had a great time the other week with decent conditions and nice Jack Mackerel and Giant Sea Bass encounters and would hope to duplicate that on the 21st. Call us at 310/652-4990 if you want to join in on the fun.
EVERY DAY'S A 3-DAY WEEKEND - Someone on FaceBook made the astute comment that a 3-day weekend doesn't have quite the same appeal as it used to when you've been staying home for the last six months.
RAMPING UP FOR REPAIRS AGAIN - We're sort of gently moving back into accepting repairs again. We need to play it quite cautiously though because Robert's mother lives nearby and he visits her frequently. Plus his wife is a teacher. So most likely it'll be something where you call Robert, arrange to drop stuff off on his front porch, he'll get it later on and do the work, and then make a similar arrangement on the back-end when you're ready to pick up. And if COVID weren't enough, Robert sprained his ankle pretty good a month or so ago and is undergoing physical therapy for a while. It all means he can only stand on the ankle for a limited amount of time each day so that's going to slow things down if we get a deluge of repair requests. Please be patient. Robert should be able to give you a pretty good estimate of how long things might take. But if you need your stuff serviced, give Robert a call at our direct repair number (310/947-8523) and see what you can work out.
IF ONLY MY BIRTHDAY WAS SOONER - I'm debating on whether I should get this for myself or wait until the holidays and hope someone buys it for me. But this is the coolest sharks shirt - and accurate as well - that I think I've ever seen. It comes in numerous styles, sizes, and colors. This link will take you to the ordering site: SHARK SHIRT.
SPERM WHALE ASKS FOR HELP - And finally, for your feel-good story of the week, what would you do if a Sperm Whale swam up to you with a hook in its mouth? Very interesting watching the free diver get it loose but even more interesting to see how the whale positions his body so the diver can render aid:
SPERM WHALE HOOK REMOVAL.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, stay safe, wear your mask, wash your hands, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
