Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Upcoming local dives (call 310/652-4990 for more info and to register):
Wednesday, October 7 - Vets Park night dive
Saturday, October 17 [PLEASE NOTE DESTINATION CHANGE] - Avalon Underwater Park
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015 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]
Working on 2016 dates and destinations
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
Waiting for the rain . . .
QUIET OPENING WEEKEND - This are the kind of reports we like to give. As far as we know at this point (7PM Sunday night), we made it through the opening weekend of lobster season without any fatalities or serious incidents. Two thoughts: (1) Whew!!! (2) Congratulations. Now let's keep us the safe diving.
CORAL DIE-OFF IN FLORIDA - It was rather disheartening to learn of what appears to be a major coral bleaching going on in Florida waters. Experts say it's the worst in the last 20 years or so. Warm water is the culprit and to what extent the corals can recover is open to question. There actually seems to be somewhat of a worldwide bleaching event taking effect as it's also going on in reefs around Hawaii and some other Pacific islands. There are fears this could stretch much further west before it's over. You can read a good article about this here: Coral bleaching epidemic devastates reefs off South Florida - LA Times .
AVALON POSTPONED - We postponed our Avalon trip that was supposed to go Sunday (mainly because I was at the Dodger game Saturday evening) and will re-schedule that for Saturday, October 17. We were going to do a beach dive that day so we'll still dive, but just in a different venue. If you're interested in going (most likely 8AM out of San Pedro), give us a call at 310/652-4990 to get signed up.
THE 2016 FOREIGN TRIP SKED - I'm inching closer to finalizing our 2016 trip schedule. One trip I've locked in (I think I mentioned this last week) is a return to Guadalupe Island for Great White Sharks. But next year, we'll only do that trip once (as opposed to twice this year). The other issue I'm working around is a personal one and that's when to get the cataract surgery done on my left eye. The issue is that once it's done, I have to be out of the water for eight weeks so that's a big chunk of time. Nothing like having to carve out 1/6th of the year to stay dry. We've got some regular favorites, two regulars we skipped in 2015, and a new destination. So here's what my thinking is now, subject to final revision. Let me know what you think:
March 11-19 - Yap (land-based - can be combined w/Palau)
March 20-26 - Palau (liveaboard - can be combined w/Yap)
Late May or early June - Bonaire (land-based)
July 2-14 - Indonesia (land-based)
August 1-6 - Guadalupe (liveaboard - Great Whites)
August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres (land-based - Whale Sharks, cenotes)
November 3-16 - Maldives (liveaboard)
GLOBAL WIND MAP - I don't know what else to call this other than way cool. Francesca Owings turned us on to this and it's an interactive globe that shows current wind patterns and swirls. With your mouse, hold down the left button and drag it, and you can rotate the globe in any direction you wish. To zoom in (or out), use your scroll knob on your mouse. And if you start in the Atlantic, you can get a really great view of Hurricane Joaquin. What I find especially interesting is looking at the larger global view and you can really see how the various wind patterns interact with each other. For those of us who are weather nerds, this is pretty nifty. Here's the link: http://earth.nullschool.net .
GLOWING TURTLE - We'll end this week with a glowing turtle. He's not radioactive, but scientists in the Solomon Islands recently discovered the first biolfourescent reptile ever. This is different than bioluminescence. We've known for years that corals can be bioflourescent so when they came upon this Hawksbill turtle, it caused quite a stir. Here's a link to the National Geographic story which also has a video: Exclusive Video: First "Glowing" Sea Turtle Found.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
Wednesday, October 7 - Vets Park night dive
Saturday, October 17 [PLEASE NOTE DESTINATION CHANGE] - Avalon Underwater Park
Want to travel??? Upcoming 2015 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]
Working on 2016 dates and destinations
GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
Waiting for the rain . . .
QUIET OPENING WEEKEND - This are the kind of reports we like to give. As far as we know at this point (7PM Sunday night), we made it through the opening weekend of lobster season without any fatalities or serious incidents. Two thoughts: (1) Whew!!! (2) Congratulations. Now let's keep us the safe diving.
CORAL DIE-OFF IN FLORIDA - It was rather disheartening to learn of what appears to be a major coral bleaching going on in Florida waters. Experts say it's the worst in the last 20 years or so. Warm water is the culprit and to what extent the corals can recover is open to question. There actually seems to be somewhat of a worldwide bleaching event taking effect as it's also going on in reefs around Hawaii and some other Pacific islands. There are fears this could stretch much further west before it's over. You can read a good article about this here: Coral bleaching epidemic devastates reefs off South Florida - LA Times .
AVALON POSTPONED - We postponed our Avalon trip that was supposed to go Sunday (mainly because I was at the Dodger game Saturday evening) and will re-schedule that for Saturday, October 17. We were going to do a beach dive that day so we'll still dive, but just in a different venue. If you're interested in going (most likely 8AM out of San Pedro), give us a call at 310/652-4990 to get signed up.
THE 2016 FOREIGN TRIP SKED - I'm inching closer to finalizing our 2016 trip schedule. One trip I've locked in (I think I mentioned this last week) is a return to Guadalupe Island for Great White Sharks. But next year, we'll only do that trip once (as opposed to twice this year). The other issue I'm working around is a personal one and that's when to get the cataract surgery done on my left eye. The issue is that once it's done, I have to be out of the water for eight weeks so that's a big chunk of time. Nothing like having to carve out 1/6th of the year to stay dry. We've got some regular favorites, two regulars we skipped in 2015, and a new destination. So here's what my thinking is now, subject to final revision. Let me know what you think:
March 11-19 - Yap (land-based - can be combined w/Palau)
March 20-26 - Palau (liveaboard - can be combined w/Yap)
Late May or early June - Bonaire (land-based)
July 2-14 - Indonesia (land-based)
August 1-6 - Guadalupe (liveaboard - Great Whites)
August 20-27 - Isla Mujeres (land-based - Whale Sharks, cenotes)
November 3-16 - Maldives (liveaboard)
GLOBAL WIND MAP - I don't know what else to call this other than way cool. Francesca Owings turned us on to this and it's an interactive globe that shows current wind patterns and swirls. With your mouse, hold down the left button and drag it, and you can rotate the globe in any direction you wish. To zoom in (or out), use your scroll knob on your mouse. And if you start in the Atlantic, you can get a really great view of Hurricane Joaquin. What I find especially interesting is looking at the larger global view and you can really see how the various wind patterns interact with each other. For those of us who are weather nerds, this is pretty nifty. Here's the link: http://earth.nullschool.net .
GLOWING TURTLE - We'll end this week with a glowing turtle. He's not radioactive, but scientists in the Solomon Islands recently discovered the first biolfourescent reptile ever. This is different than bioluminescence. We've known for years that corals can be bioflourescent so when they came upon this Hawksbill turtle, it caused quite a stir. Here's a link to the National Geographic story which also has a video: Exclusive Video: First "Glowing" Sea Turtle Found.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
