Ken Kurtis
Contributor
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Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• 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 [ ONLY 1 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 - Sat., 6/24 (NOTE DATE CHANGE) - 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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I'm been traveling a lot lately so it was nice to have a weekend to myself . . .
GOT EVERYONE IN UNDER THE WIRE - It's maddening to play Airfare Roulette nowadays because you never know if the price is going to go up or down the following day. A few weeks ago it became apparent that our Yap airfare wasn't going to drop so I suggested that everyone who hadn't made their purchase get theirs now at the $2,022. Good thing. I just happened to check today (Sunday) and the airfare for the same flights is $2,300. Now, for all I know it'll be $1,500 on Tuesday but the point is it's hard to know which way these things are going to go.
USE THE 24-HOUR RULE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE - Whenever you buy an airline ticket, and it doesn't matter if it's for a dive trip or a family vacation, don't forget that all airlines are required by federal law to allow you to cancel the ticket and get a full refund - even on "non-refundable" tickets - within 24 hours of making your purchase. So any time you buy a plane ticket, keep checking back for the next 24 hours. If the airfare drops, cancel your original ticket and get a refund, and go with the lower fare (which will also trigger a new 24-hour window).
DON'T HAVE TO FLY TO GET TO AVALON - Luckily, we don't need a plane to get to Avalon. And that's where we're going on the re-scheduled June 24 day trip to dive the Underwater Park. We should get in three dives and will hopefully have an up-close encounter with some of the giant Black Sea Bass who have been hanging around the last few weeks. This is also a good way to get in some informal refresher training if you like, since the dives are guided (by me). $150 covers you for ferry, taxi, tanks & air, and fun. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 if you'd like to go.
ONE SPOT LEFT ON THE GREAT WHITE SHARK TRIP - It's your chance to go face-to-face with nature's top predator from the comfort of the fabulous Nautilus Belle Amie. This will be our fourth time down there and between the scheduled submerged cages and the first-come-first-serve surface cages, we've done as many as 19 dives over the course of three actual dive days. So there's PLENTY of opportunity to get that picture you've got in your head or just to stand there mesmerized as these giants cruise on by. The dates are September 1-6 and the trip leaves from San Diego (first part if a motor coach ride down to Ensenada to get on the boat). This is a great time of the year to go because the weather should be good, the visibility excellent (100+ feet is not uncommon) and there should be a mix of males (who arrive early) and females (who start arriving in late August). Call us at 310/652-4990 if you want to snag that last remaining spot.
JUST A REMINDER - I suppose I'm sensitive to it since I was at Normandy last month, but the anniversary of D-Day is this Tuesday. It's the main reason we don't speak German.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS? - My friend John Moskoff is an avid golfer. So I was pleased when his wife Leanna (who also happens to be my commercial and voice-over agent) told me that earlier this week, John had made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole at the Balboa course in Encino. To put this in perspective, the odds of an amateur golfer making a hole-in-one are roughly 12,500:1. Generally, your only shot at an ace is on the par 3s, which are usually 200 yards or less. This particular hole plays from roughly 150-160 depending on where the flag is. There are usually 4 par-3s on an 18-hole course. So you've got 4 chances each round. And that means that it would take 3,125 rounds of golf for the odds to work in your favor. And even if you played two rounds of golf per week every single year, that would still mean it would be over 30 years of playing before the odds catch up to you. So that's why a hole-in-one is a pretty special thing. Why am I telling you this non-diving tale? Well . . .
ME TOO!!!!! - As many of you know, I like to play golf. In fact, I was playing at Balboa on Sunday afternoon. And as we approached the 13th tee, I told the story of my friend John and his golfing feat of a few days before. The guy I was playing with teed off first and yanked his shot to the right. "THAT'S not going to be a hole-in-one," I helpfully told him. Then it was my turn. I hit a good shot, but it also drifted a little right and looked like it would land on the right side of the green. But it must have hit a small embankment because we saw the ball drop and bounce and then start rolling to the left, towards the flag. "Well, at least I might have a chance at birdie," I thought to myself. But the ball kept going. "Maybe I'll have a tap-in birdie," I thought. And then . . . it disappeared. "It went in!!!" my playing partner screamed, "You just got a hole-in-one." And so it did and so I did. So now the question is: What are the odds of two guys who know each other acing the same hole within days of each other? The closest thing I can find is the odds of two amateur golfers in a foursome each making an ace on the same hole on the same day which is 26,000,000:1. So pretty rare and pretty neat (for both of us). And for those who might be doubting Thomases, here's my card from today, attested to by my playing partner, Sam Lee:
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let’s go diving soon!!!
- Ken
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2017 vacation trips:
• 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 [ ONLY 1 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 - Sat., 6/24 (NOTE DATE CHANGE) - 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
——————————————————————————————————————————
I'm been traveling a lot lately so it was nice to have a weekend to myself . . .
GOT EVERYONE IN UNDER THE WIRE - It's maddening to play Airfare Roulette nowadays because you never know if the price is going to go up or down the following day. A few weeks ago it became apparent that our Yap airfare wasn't going to drop so I suggested that everyone who hadn't made their purchase get theirs now at the $2,022. Good thing. I just happened to check today (Sunday) and the airfare for the same flights is $2,300. Now, for all I know it'll be $1,500 on Tuesday but the point is it's hard to know which way these things are going to go.
USE THE 24-HOUR RULE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE - Whenever you buy an airline ticket, and it doesn't matter if it's for a dive trip or a family vacation, don't forget that all airlines are required by federal law to allow you to cancel the ticket and get a full refund - even on "non-refundable" tickets - within 24 hours of making your purchase. So any time you buy a plane ticket, keep checking back for the next 24 hours. If the airfare drops, cancel your original ticket and get a refund, and go with the lower fare (which will also trigger a new 24-hour window).
DON'T HAVE TO FLY TO GET TO AVALON - Luckily, we don't need a plane to get to Avalon. And that's where we're going on the re-scheduled June 24 day trip to dive the Underwater Park. We should get in three dives and will hopefully have an up-close encounter with some of the giant Black Sea Bass who have been hanging around the last few weeks. This is also a good way to get in some informal refresher training if you like, since the dives are guided (by me). $150 covers you for ferry, taxi, tanks & air, and fun. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 if you'd like to go.
ONE SPOT LEFT ON THE GREAT WHITE SHARK TRIP - It's your chance to go face-to-face with nature's top predator from the comfort of the fabulous Nautilus Belle Amie. This will be our fourth time down there and between the scheduled submerged cages and the first-come-first-serve surface cages, we've done as many as 19 dives over the course of three actual dive days. So there's PLENTY of opportunity to get that picture you've got in your head or just to stand there mesmerized as these giants cruise on by. The dates are September 1-6 and the trip leaves from San Diego (first part if a motor coach ride down to Ensenada to get on the boat). This is a great time of the year to go because the weather should be good, the visibility excellent (100+ feet is not uncommon) and there should be a mix of males (who arrive early) and females (who start arriving in late August). Call us at 310/652-4990 if you want to snag that last remaining spot.
JUST A REMINDER - I suppose I'm sensitive to it since I was at Normandy last month, but the anniversary of D-Day is this Tuesday. It's the main reason we don't speak German.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS? - My friend John Moskoff is an avid golfer. So I was pleased when his wife Leanna (who also happens to be my commercial and voice-over agent) told me that earlier this week, John had made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole at the Balboa course in Encino. To put this in perspective, the odds of an amateur golfer making a hole-in-one are roughly 12,500:1. Generally, your only shot at an ace is on the par 3s, which are usually 200 yards or less. This particular hole plays from roughly 150-160 depending on where the flag is. There are usually 4 par-3s on an 18-hole course. So you've got 4 chances each round. And that means that it would take 3,125 rounds of golf for the odds to work in your favor. And even if you played two rounds of golf per week every single year, that would still mean it would be over 30 years of playing before the odds catch up to you. So that's why a hole-in-one is a pretty special thing. Why am I telling you this non-diving tale? Well . . .
ME TOO!!!!! - As many of you know, I like to play golf. In fact, I was playing at Balboa on Sunday afternoon. And as we approached the 13th tee, I told the story of my friend John and his golfing feat of a few days before. The guy I was playing with teed off first and yanked his shot to the right. "THAT'S not going to be a hole-in-one," I helpfully told him. Then it was my turn. I hit a good shot, but it also drifted a little right and looked like it would land on the right side of the green. But it must have hit a small embankment because we saw the ball drop and bounce and then start rolling to the left, towards the flag. "Well, at least I might have a chance at birdie," I thought to myself. But the ball kept going. "Maybe I'll have a tap-in birdie," I thought. And then . . . it disappeared. "It went in!!!" my playing partner screamed, "You just got a hole-in-one." And so it did and so I did. So now the question is: What are the odds of two guys who know each other acing the same hole within days of each other? The closest thing I can find is the odds of two amateur golfers in a foursome each making an ace on the same hole on the same day which is 26,000,000:1. So pretty rare and pretty neat (for both of us). And for those who might be doubting Thomases, here's my card from today, attested to by my playing partner, Sam Lee:
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let’s go diving soon!!!
- Ken
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