Chamber Day (again), Saving Reefs (again), & more

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Ten days to go . . .

CHAMBER DAY IS MAY 6 - The good news is that on May 7, I stop nagging you about Chamber Day 2026. But until then . . . Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to sign up and there's still space on the boats and at Chamber Eve. (Our table is full but others have seats.) And obviously there's still room on the Flying Dutchman. And we can always add another name to the Chamber Challenge. The direct link to get signed up is https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0jFziXyUHZALTIG.

WATER'S STILL WARM - We've passed the time of the year, usually mid-March, when our waters reach their lowest temperatures. So it looks like we're not getting below 60º in general and will start going up from there as the spring and summer progress. Ecological considerations aside, the warmer water will make for generally more pleasant diving. So hopefully you'll take time to either do a beach dive, go over to Avalon, or go out on a boat. (And that's not a sly pitch to sign up for one of the Chamber Day boats . . . but we do have spots available.)

:-)

WARM WATER BRINGS IN UNUSUAL CRITTERS - Jim Agronick was surprised and pleased to see a turtle at Catalina last week. And he got some nice shots of it, one of which is below. (He didn't say where he was but it doesn't look like the U/W Park.) From the looks of the head, this one appears to be a Green. If you're going to see a turtle in our waters, that's likely the most common one. Additionally, there are apparently a number of them, estimated at around 100, who live in the lower regions of the San Gabriel River. In fact, the Aquarium of the Pacific just released a rehabbed one - named Porkchop - back into that area and there's another one - Meatloaf - who they're rehabbing now. So keep your eyes open because you may get some company in the coming months. Here's a peek at the one Jim saw.

BUT SPEAKING OF THE U/W PARK - Don't forget we offer monthly mid-week (usually Wednesdays) excursions over to Avalon to dive the Park. They're guided dives (by me) where we visit the Cousteau plaque, look for Giant Sea Bass, and usually get in three dives over the course of the day. (I guess we'll add turtles to the list now as well.) $180 covers you for the Catalina Express, taxi to the park, tank rental and fills, and all the fun you can handle. It's great to use as a refresher or just for a pleasant day of diving. Call us at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us here to get signed up. We'll usually go even if there are only a couple of people. (I need an occasional diving break as well.)

SAVING CORAL REEFS - Thanks to Tabby Stone for passing along this article about replanting coral reefs. Currently, it's a labor-intensive process. Bonaire got a good start on things years ago and there are efforts going on in Roatan and other places as well. And when you realize that corals make up about 1% of the ocean but house 25% of the ocean's inhabitants, you can see how important they are to the overall health of the ocean and, therefore, our planet. This article talks about harnessing robotics and AI to try to do a better job at this and to do it more quickly. Interesting read: SAVING CORAL REEFS.

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

- Ken