Tomorrow's the big day . . .
I'M IN DALLAS FOR THE ECLIPSE - As some/many of you know, I like chasing eclipses and this one is no different. The 2017 eclipse went NW to SE across the U.S. (I was in Nashville for that one), and this ones goes from south Texas NE to Maine. It has a number of major cities - Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo - in the path of totality. But it also seemed as you moved further NE along the eclipse path, the chances of clouds got stronger. So many months ago I did my research and decided that Dallas offered the best chance of cloud-free skies and was also easy to get to from LAX. Unfortunately, as Dr. George used to say, "No man can predict the future." And it seems that the actual forecast for tomorrow all along the path of totality is the opposite of what the historical data suggests and that there may be clouds over Texas and Arkansas, but it may get clearer as you move to the NE. But who knows? Hopefully I'll have some cool shots to share with you but, by the same token, it may only be a sad face under cloudy skies. The key time is 1:41-1:45PM Dallas time. Fingers crossed.
YOU'LL SEE IT IN L.A. - You won't get a total eclipse but you'll get a partial eclipse with the moon covering 57% of the sun. The moon starts "eating" the sun at 10:06AM. Maximum coverage is at 11:12AM PDT. Please remember that you can't stare at even a partially-eclipsed sun and must use proper eclipse glasses for eye protection. And while a total eclipse is somewhat awe-inspiring, even a partial is pretty cool to experience.
FIRST TRAGEDY OF THE ECLIPSE TRIP - Seems I left my beloved Bose Quiet Comfort headphones on the plane. Hopefully I can retrieve them at the American Airlines Lost & Found when I fly back on Tuesday.
STARTING TO RUN OUT OF CHAMBER EVE SEATS - The Reef Seekers table is full as are many other tables. But there are still seats to be had. However, there are only 74 left (out of 350). So if you want to join us, don't dilly-dally. The website is
www.chamberday.org. Click on the big blue box that says "SIGN UP NOW."
DUTCHMAN - By the way, still plenty of spots left on the Flying Dutchman and and there's no limit to how many we can take. Reef Seekers is usually the top-recruiter so I hope you'll help us hold on to that title again this year.
NORTHERN KELP FORESTS DEVASTATED - This is a painful example of the balance of nature and the end result is that northern California kelp forests have been devastated and may not recover. It all started with Sea Star Wasting Disease which started affecting Sunflower Stars. They help keep purple urchins in check. Without the Sunflowers, the urchin population exploded. Urchins like to eat the holdfasts of kelp which then sets the kelp adrift and creates what are called urchin barrens. And unchecked, the urchin population then explodes, the urchins are hungry, and any kelp that tries to re-populate gets eaten. On top of that, the water up there has been warmer than normal which also doesn't help the kelp. And this all resulted in the closures of the recreational abalone fishery up there, as well as almost wiping out the commercial red urchin fishery. So when we talk of "balance of nature" and how things have a cascading effect, this is a prime example. You can read more about it here:
NORTHERN CAL KELP PROBLEMS.
TIGER SHARK PHOTOGRAPHERS - Researchers have been able to attach cameras to Tiger Sharks to gt a slightly different perspective of the ocean. Interesting stuff. You can read more about it here:
TIGER SHARK PHOTOGRAPHERS.
APRIL FOOLS NEWSLETTER - Hope you enjoyed it last week. Always a challenge to write but always fun to hear your collective reaction.
So that'll do it for now. Have a great week, please support our Chamber, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
