AVALON
CLEANUP IS FEBRUARY 25 -
That's the logo above, designed by Christian Silva,
who's one of the DMs at Catalina Divers Supply (they're
co-hosting the Cleanup this year, along with the Avalon
Rotary Club Foundation). If you're planning on going,
there are some things you need to know as some things
are different from previous years:
• It seems there's no
formal group registration. Sign up as an individual and
note when
you sign up what group you
want to be in and what location. (For Reef Seekers,
that's the Green Pier.)
• Early registration ($45)
ends Tuesday. (After that, I think it's $55.)
• The preferred boat going
over is usually the 6:00AM out of Long Beach but that
boat
is listed as sold out,
mainly because the Express is still running their boats
at
significantly reduced
loads due to COVID protocols. However, they've added a
7AM
departure out of LB as
well which will also get you there in time for the 9AM
briefing and the 9:30AM
start of the dive.
• Return options are
3:55PM (listed as sold out), 5:30PM (new), and 7:45PM.
• To register, go to this
website: https://www.avalonharborcleanup.org/
Hope to see you in Avalon
on the 25th.
MPA
DECADAL REVIEW IS AVAILABLE -
When the Marine Protected Areas were created in 2012,
part of the deal was that there would be a review ten
years later to see how things were going. That "decadal
review" has been completed and is available for viewing.
There will also be a public forum to discuss the
recommendations on March 15 in Monterey. In the
meantime, for those interested, here's the link to the
full 137-page document: MPA
DECADAL REVIEW FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS.
FLYING
TO PALAU - Since
United changed their schedules, it hasn't always been
easy to get to Palau. But now there's a new sheriff in
town. That would be in the form of China Airlines, which
is offering flights to Palau from LAX on Monday,
Tuesday, and Friday. There's a non-stop to Taipei but
with an 8.5-hour layover in Taipei and then straight to
Palau. Return flights are only on Saturdays with a
1.5-hour layover in Taipei and then non-stop back to
LAX. Total airfare looks to be around $2,200, which is
what it is on United. It's not a great sked on the way
in, but at least it's another option to get there.
HOPE
AND HELP FOR REEFS -
There's a project going on now in the Great Barrier Reef
known as "coral seeding" that could help mitigate some
of the stresses the GBR has suffered through over the
past few years. You can read more about it here: HELPING
THE GREAT BARRIER REEF.
And
that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go
diving soon!!!
- Ken |