DODGERS IN THE WORLD SERIES -
Tough call for me given that they're my two
favorite teams but I'm pulling for the Dodgers,
despite the anguish they put us through to get
there. It was worse than being in an airport on
standby for the last flight to your dive
destination and watching the plane board while
you wait for clearance. The real nutsy part is
how much the tickets for Game 1 are going for on
StubHub. Cheapest ticket I see is Reserve
section 45 for $1,133. Where I normally sit
(Reserve 1), tickets are running around
$1,700/seat (no, I don't have a pair to sell).
Wanna sit on the Field level? $3,000-5,000 per
seat. Prefer the Dugout Club? $15,000-25,000 per
seat. To be clear, those prices will buy a LOT
of dive trips. Anyhow, going to be an exciting
series and the reality is that the best view is
usually on TV anyhow, which is still (at the
moment) free. FYI, the World Series games will
all be on the Fox network.
BE WARY OF OF WAVES - Although
this happened in Hawaii, it's a good lesson for
us in SoCal as well. It seems that there's been
some big surf - 14-18 feet - on the North Shore
due to a storm passing through. Three people
were standing on a beach or jetty (unclear) when
a large wave broke and washed up towards and
then around them. As the water receded, all
three were dragged out and into the subsequent
incoming waves. Two of the people died despite
rescue attempts. While obviously you'd never try
to do a beach dive in surf that high, this
incident serves as a stark reminder of the power
of water. A lot of people think, "I could just
hold my ground." But when you're submerged in
water, you no longer weigh what you weigh on dry
land since you're buoyant in the water. If you
clock in at 200 pounds, floating in water means
you might weigh 10-15 pounds. A cubic foot of
seawater water weighs 64 pounds. So a wave
that's 2 feet tall, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet
front-to-back (8 cubic feet) has a weight of 512
pounds against your now-10-15 pounds of weight.
Now remember that it's moving (which increases
the force you feel from it) and it's easy to
understand why these can knock you over, despite
your best efforts.
GREAT WHITE SPOTTED OFF THE MANHATTAN PIER -
A friend of mine posted a video about this on
FaceBook. This is not unusual nor is it a cause
for alarm. It's hard to tell from the video but
it looks like this was a juvy Great White, maybe
five feet long. They have long been sighted
occasionally in SoCal waters as apparently the
lower California coats is a pupping area for
pregnant Great Whites. The juvies hang out here
because our water's a tad warmer and the small
fish they go after are plentiful. They're
frequently spotted around Manhattan, Hermosa,
and Redondo because all three of those
communities have piers that sit high above the
water, providing an excellent vantage point and
angle to spot things swimming underneath. Put
all of those together and that's why, especially
it seems in the fall, we get reports of small
Great Whites in the area.
EASTER ISLAND BECKONS -
Our Easter Island trips in March of next year
are starting to fill. I mentioned these last
week as well. It's a really interesting place to
go visit because you've got a unique underwater
environment - 25% of the fish are endemic to
Easter Island plus the water conditions are such
that you can get up to 200 feet of visibility -
and the carved moai statues all around the
island are legendary. One thing to remember
about this adventure is that we're extremely
limited in the number of people we can take each
week: no more than 7 divers and 4 non-divers.
(The topside stuff makes it a great trip for a
non-diving significant other.) Right now we have
space on both weeks but that will change as
people sign up so don't get left behind. Cost of
the trip is $2,775 for divers ($1,945 for
non-divers) plus airfare. The two trip dates
(including travel) are March 8-16 or March
15-23. Give us a call at 310/652-4990 to get
more info or to sign up.
AIR SUPPLY PROBLEM -
Interesting problem posted by a friend of mine
of FB. She was concerned (and shot a video of
it) that her pressure gauge, which was reading
1,000psi underwater, would drop to 0psi as she
took a breath, and then popped back up to 1,000.
Many people, including me, explained that this
is what happens when you don't have your tank
valve fully opened (usually 3-4 turns) and you
start to run low on air. You basically are
sucking all the air out of the hoses faster than
the partially-opened valve can replenish the
supply. That why the pressure drops to 0psi,
even if it's just momentary. She swears the tank
valve was opened fully. So the other option was
that there's something wrong inside the first
stage of her regulator and she was advised to
stop using it immediately and have it checked.
Running out of breathing supply gas is a major
problem and it's why we always want you to check
your tank valve before you jump in the water to
insure that it's fully open. One quick way to
check, besides physically opening the valve, is
to take a huge breath on the regulator while you
watch the gauge. Even a digital gauge shouldn't
budge. If you see the pressure dropping, even
just a little bit, and then rising, either the
valve's not open fully or there's something
inside your reg blocking air flow. Correct the
issue before you submerge.
AND ONE MORE THING -
The scenario above also underscores why it's
important to go over your out-of-air options
BEFORE you submerge. If you're diving with a
buddy, discuss octo breathing, buddy breathing,
which reg will be donated, and other options
before you go under. If you're diving alone,
check your Spare Air or pony bottle, make sure
you know how to do an exhaling ascent, and also
talk with others who might be near you and to
whom you might rush for some air if you run out.
Just some thoughts to take with you on your next
dive.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and
let's go diving together somewhere soon.
- Ken |