• • • REEF SEEKERS REPAIR DEPARTMENT  • • •
Contact our repair guru Robert Stark directly at 310/947-8523
or via e-mail at ReefSeekersRepair@gmail.com
(Ask Robert about our unique concierge "Repair Pickup & Delivery Service")

SAVE 33% ON YOUR REG, OCTO, OR BC REPAIR - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW

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Upcoming local dives & classes in 2013 (call us at 310/652-4990 to sign up for any of these activities):

• Sat., Dec. 7 - Veterans Park, Redondo - Beach diving (Navigation wet - 9AM)
• Wed., Dec. 11 - CLASS - Navigation (dry - Reef Seekers Westwood - 7:30-9PM)
• Sun., Dec. 15 - Hattitude (NOTE BOAT CHANGE - ALSO LEAVES FROM PORTS 'O CALL) to the Oil Rigs
                                   (TRIP IS FULL - taking a waiting list - 7AM-4PM)
• Wed., Dec. 18 - Veterans Park, Redondo - SQUID DIVE (FREE!!! - 7:30PM)

Need rental gear? Get a 20% discount at Hollywoodivers (near Universal City) or Scuba Haus (Santa Monica).
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Want to travel??? Upcoming 2014 vacation trips:

• February 9-15, 2014 - Florida (Manatees, river drift diving, caverns)
• March 14-23, 2014 - Yap & the Magnificent Manta Rays (taking deposits)
• May 2014 - Bonaire (towards the end of the month - specific dates TBA)
• July 5-20, 2014 - Indonesia (10 confirmed already - will cap this around 12 divers)
• August 2014 - Return to Isla Mujeres (specific dates TBA)
• Fall trip TBA on all counts

GET MORE INFO ON ALL OF OUR VACATION TRIPS HERE: www.reefseekers.com/foreign_trips.html
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Who's thankful it rained on Friday instead of Thursday . . .

CONDITIONS ARE STILL GOOD - We may have lost some viz in the PV area but, despite the rain that moved through, the ocean remained fairly flat and it sounds like the conditions over at Catalina stayed pretty good. The surf was up a bit at Vets but Malibu Divers reports nice conditions up their way. Usually when a storm moves through, the issue that causes problems is not necessarily the storm itself, but the wind that frequently follows. That's what tends to whip up the seas and cause issues. Plus, usually once a front has passed through, there's colder air behind it so you may end up dealing with bigger seas AND chillier conditions. But that didn't seem to have happened this time. And while it looks like it'll cool down a bit as the week progresses, the water temps are still holding at the various buoys in the area, which are showing surface temps of 62-63º. So get out there and dive.

WHEN A REPEAT OFFENDER IS A GOOD THING - That's when you keep bringing your gear back to us for servicing. In case you didn't see it in the December newsletter, we're implementing a new pricing program for our repair work. We appreciate those of you who have continued to have Robert do your repairs/servicing on regs, octos, and BCs, and to show our gratitude and reward your loyalty, we're instituting this program which will save you 33% on BOTH labor & parts for all repairs/servicing Robert does. (Note that it doesn't apply to tanks or items we have to send back to the mfg for special attention.) And since we know you don't always get your reg serviced exactly every 12 months like you should, we're making the window of opportunity on this 18 months. So as long as you bring your gear in for servicing within 18 months of the last service, and providing Robert did the last service, we'll knock 33% off of the pricing when it's time to pay. We think it's a pretty good deal and we hope it will encourage you to get your gear serviced more regularly, and with us more regularly. One big thing to remember is that at Reef Seekers, we still do the servicing ourselves in-house. Robert's the guy. We don't farm your equipment out to anyone else. So if you've got any questions, you know exactly who to talk to. And we've even got a repair-dedicated number (310/947-8523) so you can get Robert directly. For full details on the Reef Seekers Repair Repeat Offender Program, just go to this link on our website: http://www.reefseekers.com/Repair%20Repeat%20Offender%20Program.html .

WHO WANTS TO KISS A MANATEE? - I've mentioned it briefly but really haven't pushed it hard but we have it on the books to go back to Florida this February to dive with the manatees again as well as explore the caverns of Ginnie Springs and the Branford area of central Florida. (And yes, you can add a day at Disney World if you like.) We didn't do the trip in 2013 but this was the first year in the last five or so that we haven't gone. The other nice thing about this is that we don't need a ton of people to make it work. Because it's all land-based and the logistics of driving people around, it's actually best when the group is small, eight or less. I haven't worked out exact pricing yet but the trip usually runs around $1700 which includes diving, hotel, boat rentals, car rentals, park admission, tanks/weights, and staff tips. It's a lot of fun overall and snorkeling with the manatees is a real hoot and a unique experience. If this is something you might possibly be interested in (I don't need a firm commitment), let me know. Trip dates would be February 9-15 (Sunday-Saturday - and FYI, the Super Bowl is February 2 so there's no conflict there).

AVALON CLEANUP IS SET FOR FEBRUARY 22 - In fact, it'll be the weekend after we return from Florida. We'll be taking a group over again this year and will be at our usual Green Pier location. If you'd like to join us, let me know. We'll take care of registration, boat over & back, gear transport & storage, and all the fun you can handle. And you're also welcome to join us for the traditional miniature golf game after the awards ceremony. It's a fun day that not only helps clean up the Avalon Harbor, but also benefits the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. Call us at 310/652-4990 to sign up to join us.

BOAT CHANGE ON DECEMBER 15 TO THE OIL RIGS - It looks like the Asante is getting new engines and will be down to prep for that so we're moving the trip over to the Hattitude, which is also owned by Gary Jackson. The Hattitude is docked one berth away - maybe 100 yards - from Asante, so it's essentially the same place. Those of you who already contacted us about getting on the trip has been moved to the new boat. Hattitude's about the same size as Asante but is licensed as a 6-pack (as opposed to a 12-pack for Asante) so it means that we're now full and will take a waiting list.

FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE DAY - A commercial boat sank in Nigeria and three days later, divers were able to get down to it to recover the bodies. Imagine their surprise when they came upon the cook still alive. He had found an air pocket and survived. Then the trick was to get him out without severely bending him. One of the recovery divers had a camera mounted on his helmet and you can see and hear the entire recovery (they had surface comms - the divers sounds weird because they're breathing Heliox) by clicking this link. Pretty incredible: