Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning . . .

SIX MORE WEEKS OF "WINTER" - Given that our "winter" has already been unseasonably hot and sparked wildfires, I'm not so sure we want MORE of that. But what IS of weather-note is that the forecast is calling for some rain Wednesday and Thursday and even into Friday of the coming week. Early predictions had called for around an inch but the forecast I'm seeing now says closer to one-half inch. Obviously one concern is the burn areas, especially around Pacific Palisades and Malibu, and whether rainwater runoff will bring more debris into the ocean and wondering how that will affect things. Obviously any time there's rainfall, it washes stuff into the ocean that affects water quality but this rainy season is going to be markedly different. So we shall see.

HOW THE FIRES AFFECTED THE OCEANS SO FAR - I mentioned this in the February newsletter but there was a really good article last week in the L.A. Times about the immediate and potential long-term effects the fires may have on ocean health. I can't imbed links in the newsletter but I can in TWARS so here it is, with the caveat that this might be behind a paywall. But it's an interesting and relatively quick read: FIRE AFTERMATH AND THE OCEAN.

ROATAN IN JUNE/JULY - I got a couple of inquiries this week about this trip so thought I'd mention it again. We're planning on returning to Roatan and Anthony's Key June 28 - July 5. One reason we pushed it back from May (when we went in 2024) is anticipation of better conditions overall than we got in May. Once again we've got over-the-water bungalows reserved out on the actual key. We'll get up to three dives/day plus two night dives, all the food is included, as well as airport transfers and the crew/staff tip. Cost for a diver is $3,195 (this includes the 19% government tax). Some of you inquired about a non-diver rate and in that case, it knocks $850 off of the price so $2,345. Call us at 310/652-4990 to sign up or get more info.

HYPERBARIC CHAMBER EXPLODES - You may have read about this over the weekend. It seems a hyperbaric chamber in Michigan caught fire and exploded, killing the young boy inside undergoing treatment and injuring his mother who was sitting nearby. The first thing to understand is that this was NOT a chamber being used to treat a diving injury. Although there's no indication as to why the boy was being treated, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used for treating diabetics, burn victims, and other medical issues. The indications are that this was not a large metal multi-place chamber like we have at Catalina, but that this was a small, mono-place chamber which has a plexiglass shell encasing a bed where the patient is lying down. Another difference is that in our Catalina Chamber, we use specialized oxygen masks for treatment rather than flooding the entirety of the inside of the chamber with oxygen, which is highly flammable. Mono-place chambers, however, because of their smaller volume, frequently do not use an oxygen mask and simply have the entire inside volume filled with pure oxygen. Although a cause of the fire has yet to be determined, one report I saw mentioned a spark inside the chamber from a unknown source. That certainly could have ignited the oxygen which then caused the explosion. There's still more to be learned from this tragedy but the main reason I wanted to give you some details on this is to highlight the differences between this chamber and our Chamber that's specifically designed to treat diving accidents.

SPEAKING OF CHAMBERS . . . - Perhaps this is a time to slip in a reminder that Chamber Day 2025 is Wednesday, May 7. Our website - www.chamberday.org - will go LIVE on March 1 and you'll be able to sign up for all aspects of the event, including the Reef Seekers Chamber Eve table, at that time.

AVALON TRIP POSTPONED - We have a day-trip to Avalon and the Underwater Park listed for next Wednesday February 12. But I'm flying back east for a few days and am leaving on 2/12 so we'll have to postpone that. And because we'll be visiting Easter Island with two groups for two weeks in March, the next scheduled Avalon mid-week day trip isn't until Wednesday, April 9.

THE LONELIEST WHALE IN THE WORLD - This comes courtesy of Skip Abelson and it's both a sad and intriguing story. But it seems that scientists who monitor sound in the ocean, and specifically whale sounds, have for years now been hearing a specific whale who emits sound at a frequency no other whale does. They think he may be a hybrid whale and unique, or simply speaks a "language" that no other whale speaks. And there's an interesting story in Forbes (doesn't seem to be behind a paywall) that talks about trying to find out who and where this whale is. I found it to be quite an interesting (and quick) read. You can read more about it here: THE WORLD'S LONELIEST WHALE.

And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving together in 2025!!!

- Ken