Still winding down from Chamber Day . . .

CHAMBER DAY 2025 - There's still a lot of post-event stuff to do but thank you once again to all who helped make this (again) a resounding success. Just a reminder that you should have received a post-event survey asking about your thoughts. I really do read every one of them and share the thoughts (anonymously) with our Steering Committee. So if you'd like to have some input into helping shape the event for next year, the opportunity is there.

PRICING FOR 2026 TRIPS - That's my next big project and I hope to get that all nailed down in the next day or so. One slight change is going to be with the dates of the Indonesia trip with our friends at Murex Manado. Because of other groups already booked, we're sliding the dates a couple of days earlier so the new dates - these are the dates we're actually there - are July 3-13, 2026. Because that's 14 months away, we don't know the exact air skeds (or prices) yet since airlines typically only work 11 months ahead of time. So we likely can't lock those in before August of this year. And hopefully we're able to do the LAX-SIN nonstops with short connections to Manado. Also . . .

IMPROVEMENTS AT MUREX MANADO - They're always working on something but this one is major. They've torn down the building that housed the dive shop and the camera room and are rebuilding that totally. In addition, they've created a new room catagories: Premium Deluxe and Oceanfront Villa. The Villa wasn't available but we were able to reserve three of the Premium Deluxe rooms (as well as six Deluxe rooms - which are also pretty nice). The Premium Deluxe are set back on the property near the lily ponds and have a large front porch with seating, in addition to being very nice on the inside. I don't have the exact pricing worked out yet but looks like it adds about $400/person for our 10-nihgt stay (so only an extra $40/night/person). So if this is of interest to you, let me know sooner rather than later. For obvious reasons, I will give preference to couples or two-to-a-room-non-couples over singles. (But we can do single-supplement for those interested. Here's what the new Premium Deluxe rooms look like:

80% OF REEFS ARE BLEACHED - Certainly not good news. That's the conclusion in a new report from NOAA and the International Coral Reef Initiative. It seems like no reef in the world was spared. I saw bleaching last year when we were in Roatan - not too extensively thank goodness - and even at Easter Island two months ago. The good news is that corals can recover from the bleaching and have over the years. But the bad news is that this is being considered the worst bleaching event is history and they don't know when - of it - it will end. You can read the article in Smithsonian Magazine: WORLDWIDE CORAL BLEACHING.

CAN'T END ON A DOWNER - One positive note is that we keep hearing of many, many reports of multiple whale sightings all around the SoCal waters. One thought is that a lot of food has moved into the area - krill, sardines, and the like - and the whales have followed. We heard reports of Minke, Humpbacks, and even a Blue. Pretty impressive and hopefully portends a healthy summer of exciting sightings either when you're making a channel crossing, going out on a whale watch, or even during your dive. (Always look out into the blue.)

ONE MORE THING - Don't forget that next weekend - May 24-26 - is Memorial Day Weekend. Beaches will be crowded so if you're thinking of a shore dive, plan accordingly. (And the weekend after that - May 31 and June 1 - is the Scuba Show, but we'll discuss that next week.)

And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!

- Ken