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With the heat and conditions the last few days,
summer may be upon us . . .
HAVE YOU GONE DIVING YET??? -
Whether you view Memorial Day or June 21 as the
start of summer, it's certainly time for you to
go diving if you haven't already. The great
thing about SoCal is that we can dive year-round
here, as long as you don't mind it being a
little chilly January-March. But this year,
thanks to the developing El Niño, that hasn't
been the case as water temps, while still
chilly, have been noticeably above what should
be normal. It makes for more comfortable diving
although it may take a toll on the kelp as the
summer gets going. But the point is that there's
still diving to be had and we're still getting
reports of really great viz - 40-80 feet - at
many of the local spots so plan on taking the
plunge if you haven't already.
GEAR TUNE-UP -
I know I've mentioned this before but if you
haven't been diving since last season, you
should at least get a bench check of your stuff
before you take the plunge. That being said, you
should also bear in mind that many mfgs still
have various parts on back-order (combination of
not recovering from COPVID supply line
disruptions and Iran war disruptions) so that if
your reg needs servicing, there's a chance that
it can't be done right away. This is why, even
if you're not going diving for a little while,
it's much better to bring your gear in now, so
that if we have to wait for parts that are on
back-order, it doesn't screw up your dive plans.
When you come in and say, "I'm leaving in three
days, can you get it done for me by then," there
are times when we simply can't do it because
we're waiting for parts. Food for thought. (And
a good time to mention that Reef Seekers repair
guru Robert Starks' direct number is
310/947-8523. Feel free to call him to make sure
we have in stock the parts you will need.)
MALDIVES ACCIDENT UPDATE -
We presented as part of the "Why Divers Die"
panel last week at the Scuba Show, what we know
about the Maldives cave fatality. There's not
much new to report. Basically all we really know
is that five Italian divers have died, one
rescuer has died, and both the Maldives and
Italy have launched criminal investigations into
the accident. In our talk, we covered it from a
standpoint of if we were doing the
investigations, what are the questions we'd need
answered and what would we like to know? Level
of certification, experience, equipment, dive
plan, contingencies, and things like that are
what we'd be looking at. There was a sixth diver
who was part of the group who chose not to make
the dive (and has since returned to Italy) and
I'm thinking she will likely be key in all of
this, especially when she reveals why she chose
to skip the dive. Was she aware of the plan, did
she not feel well, did she feel it was beyond
her comfort zone? These are things that you'd
like to know in an investigation. So we really
didn't have new info to offer but we were able
to point out some of the inaccuracies going
around (including some AI-generated versions of
the cave which aren't correct). There's no
telling how long it will be before any
information is released so at this point we will
haver to just sit back and wait. A number of you
have asked for a copy of the PowerPoint slides
we used and I've managed to upload them here if
you'd like to take a peek. If you have any
questions about anything, just shoot me a
private e-mail: MALDIVES
ACCIDENT POWERPOINT.
QUICK MOVIE REVIEW -
Laurie and I went to see "Pressure" today, the
story of how meteorology played a major role in
the success of D-Day. (And how fitting to see it
on D-Day weekend.) The story centers on two
meteorologists battling over the "correct"
forecast for D-Day which was originally
scheduled for June 5, but which was postponed a
day because of the forecast. Pleasant
performances, nicely shot (but there are some
grisly archive and Normandy recreation scenes),
runs 100 minutes long. JFK asked Eisenhower if
he had any advantages over the Germans for D-Day
and Ike supposedly said, "We had better
meteorologists."
A NEW BLUE OCTOPUS -
Scientists have gotten excited about the
discovery of a new blue golf-ball size octopus
species in the Galapagos. Now before you get too
excited and think you'll go find him, be aware
that this little guy lives around 5,800 feet
deep. But you can express your joy vicariously
through this article: NEW
BLUE OCTOPUS.
MPA VIOLATER BUSTED!!! -
And in a big way (thanks goodness). If you own a
seafood restaurant, it's very trendy to promote
your offerings as sustainably-caught. It's not
quite so trendy when it turns out you've been
lying about it AND have been poaching in Marine
Protected Areas (MPAs) to get your catch. The
owners of Dudley Market in Venice were recently
cited after a DF&W investigation and are being
heavily fined, as well as prohibited from owning
a commercial fishing vessel. You can read more
about this here: POACHERS
BUSTED.
FATHER'S DAY IS THIS COMING SUNDAY -
It never gets the play that Mother's Day does,
but don't forget about Dad on his special day
next Sunday.
And that'll do it for now. have a great week and
let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken |
