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Call us at 310/652-4990 to join in on any
of these activities:
Upcoming local trips & beach dives in 2010:
• Wed., February
3 - Squid Dive @ Redondo (night)
• Wed., February 17 -
Squid Dive @ Redondo (night)
• Sat.,
February 20 - 29th annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup
(be sure to give us your t-shirt size when you sign up)
• Sun.,
February 28 - Great Escape (Santa Barbara Island - now
booking)
• Wed., March
3 - Squid Dive @ Redondo (night)
• Wed., 24 -
Squid Dive @ Redondo (night)
For our full 2010 schedule, click here: http://www.reefseekers.com/FLYERS/2010%20RSD%20Boat%20&%20beach%20sked%20(final).pdf
Need rental gear for these trips? Get a 20% discount at
Hollywoodivers near Universal City, Ocean Adventures in Venice, or
Scuba Haus in Santa Monica
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Upcoming 2010 vacation trips:
• February 7-13
- Florida (Manatees & caverns - leaving end of this week)
• March 12-21
(SOLD OUT) - Return to Socorro on the Nautilus
Explorer
(Hammerheads, Mantas, maybe even some Humpback Whales)
• May 21-29
- Bonaire at Buddy Dive (always a good time)
• July 9-18 -
Yap at Manta Ray Bay Hotel
(Mantas, Mandarinfish, Sharks & more - top-notch
operation and great people)
• August
2-6 (Mon-Fri) - Grand Tour of the Southern Channel
Islands
aboard the Great Escape (aka Tim & Ken's
Excellent Adventure - now booking -
staterooms available)
• September
12-18 - Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary
(new adventure - out of Freeport, Texas)
• October 10-17
- Sea of Cortez on the Don Jose
(out of La Paz - our 23rd year doing this trip)
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Boy, did we have a good day diving on Sunday . . .
We do not make it out to San Clemente Island due to
a large swell. But we had a spectacular day (in January no
less!!!) at Catalina on the Great Escape. We started at
Little Farnsworth, then went over and dove the Valiant,
and ended up with two dives at Torqua Springs. Vis was around
30-40 feet, there was some particulate in the water, water temp
was around 60º (which is warm for this time of the year). And it
was sunny pretty much all day, which was really nice between
dives.
We were also treated to a wonderful moonset over
Avalon as that big full moon from Saturday night was dipping below
the mountains shortly before 7AM:
And I personally got a rare treat on the Valiant when I was
able to photograph a Cormorant underwater:
Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, I
must confess that they're a lot easier to photograph when they're
dead, as this poor little guy was. Seemed like he may have gotten
his foot caught and drowned.
We also did something different that seemed to be a
big hit with everyone and that was leave at 12:30AM, just as we
would have had we been going to Clemente. Many times in the past,
when we know we can't make the outer islands and know we'll only
make it to Catalina, we reschedule for a 7AM departure and call
all of you in case you'd rather come down in the morning. That
plan has occasionally backfired on us as sometimes got it wrong
and actually might have been able to go at the appointed time.
We did a trip in December (also Clemente
and couldn't get there) where we left at 4AM and arrived at
Catalina at 7AM. This meant we were starting and finishing the
diving at the same times we would have at Clemente, but got
home much earlier (4PM) due to the shorter run back. That seemed
to be a hit with everyone.
This time we modified that even further. Leaving at
12:30AM still gave us the option to continue on to Clemente if our
information was wrong. (And even though it was a pretty good ride
over, there were still big swells beyond Catalina.) But it also
meant we pulled into Catalina around 3:30AM. The advantage of that
was that if anyone had trouble sleeping on the way over, they'd at
least be able to get 3 hours sleep once we anchored up, and
wouldn't be quite so tired when we finally started diving at 7AM.
This also seemed to resonate well with the folks on the trip.
So I think what we'll try to do for this year, is
just leave at the appointed hour regardless. (The exception would
be when we don't think we'll make Catalina, and then we'll just
cancel outright.) In a best-case scenario, we might actually make
the intended destination. In a worst-case scenario, we can start
diving Catalina at 7AM, and that's a good two hours before most of
the other day boats are going to get there, which means we have
our pick of dive spots. So it seems to work out pretty well.
Speaking of upcoming dives . . .
My guess is that it does NOT look good for
the Squid Dive this Wednesday. It may be raining and regardless of
that, they're predicting a fairly good swell (4-foot or so) to be
hitting Redondo. So maybe we'll get this one in on February 17.
We're still happy to sign you up as part of the
Reef Seekers group for the annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup on
Saturday, February 20, We'll be going over on the 6:15AM Express
out of Long Beach and you can return either on the 3:45PM or the
6PM. It' a great day for a good cause, $125 covers you for
everything and all you need to do is call or e-mail to get in on
the action.
And then we've got the Great Escape on
Sunday, February 28, aiming for Santa Barbara Island. As it's a
month away, we're wide open right now and are happy to be taking
reservations. Remember that you save $5 with the Early Purchase Price
and you save another $5 if you're the holder of a valid Reef Saver
Card (which only costs $25 for a year).
BTW, today's my triple-witching-day in that TWARS
and the monthly Reef Seekers newsletter are both due. Given that
it's already 9PM as I'm writing TWARS, the newsletter won't be
awaiting you this morning. But I should be able to get it
completed by the afternoon and will have it in your e-mail box by
then, chock full of good info. Thanks for your patience.
And that's about it for now. We leave on Sunday
with our group for Crystal River, Florida, and the Manatees, so
next week this will be coming to you live from that region. Have a
great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken (for all the gang here at Reef Seekers Dive
Co.)
