Reef Seekers Dive Co. Home Page

Upcoming local boat trips:

        • July 13 (Sunday) - Great Escape to Farnsworth/Catalina (6AM departure - filling fast)
        • July 26 (Saturday) - Great Escape to San Clemente backside
                       (12:30AM departure - starting to fill)

        • August 10 (Sunday) - Magician to the Oil Rigs
                        ( • • • Advanced dive - limited load - 7:00AM departure • • • )

Need rental gear for these trips? Get a 20% discount at Scuba Haus in Santa Monica, Ocean Adventures in Venice, or Laguna Sea Sports in Laguna Beach

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Fun stuff for already-certified divers:

• July 3 - Fish ID

• July 9 - Night diving (FREE!!!)

• July 12 - Beach diving/navigation (FREE!!!)

Get the full 2008 continuing education sked at:
http://www.reefseekers.com/FLYERS/2008%20Advanced%20classes.pdf
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Upcoming foreign trips:

        • July 11-20 - Yap
                   (Mantas, Mandarinfish, macro, shark feeds, and more - small group, spots available)
        • August 30 - September 12 - Indonesia (Sulawesi & Lembeh)
        • October 11-18, 2008 - Sea of Cortez aboard the Don Jose
                   (one spot possibly left - airfare may be an issue)
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We had a lovely day Saturday at Santa Barbara Island (as the pictures will attest) . . .

It started out a little squirrely, though. We pulled into a small pinnacle on the north side of the island. We dropped our hang weight in and we were going to follow that with dropping one of the DMs in to check conditions. But "OH MY GOD!!!" (although the language was slight stronger). It was one of the strongest currents we've ever seen in California. The hang weight (15 pounds on a 30-foot line) was being lifted up close to the surface. The DM jumped in and without giving a single kick, was flying by the back of the boat within a few seconds. We deemed it undiveable.

But then we anchored up at Black Cavern and although there was also a surface current there, it was nowhere nearly as strong. Vis was OK at about 30 feet, and we always enjoy seeing all the Brittle Stars that carpet the shallow areas and dropping over the edge to see the actual cavern.

After that we moved to Sutil Cove, where the vis was a bit better and the sea lions a bit more active. We finished up the day at Three Sisters, where Stan Maslanka made his 500th dive, and where we had great Sea Lion activity with 30-40 foot vis. Best of all, the water temps seemed to have warmed up a lot. We recorded temps of 63º, 65º, and 67º on the three dives we did at the three sites we dove. That's about 10º warmer than it was a month ago and that's significant.

Here's a quick peek at all the fun we had, including a picture of Kodi and his Man:

This trip did mark the end of the No-Fuel-Surcharge trip. With diesel fuel pretty much keeping pace with gasoline, it's impossible for the boats (or us) to absorb the extra cost anymore. So we're going to have to start passing that on to you. Effective July 1 (which basically means it starts with our July 13 Farnsworth trip), there will be a $5/person fuel surcharge added on to every ticket. (Reef Saver and club discounts do not apply.) We've held off as long as we can but with fuel costs up 80% from the start of the year, it's impossible to hold off any longer. If this is a deal breaker for anyone already signed up for a trip with us, let me know ASAP.

Speaking of upcoming trips . .

We've about 10 spots left for our Farnsworth trip on July 13, and a few more than that for our Clemente backside trip ion July 26. So if you're thinking about those, now's the time to sign up lest you get squeezed out. One thing that we think sets our trips apart from anyone else's is the fun quotient. This may sound like BS, but we like to think that we have more fun on our trips than anyone else. And that doesn't have anything to do with the diving conditions. That has to do with the people. Not only the people who book onto our trips but also the people that we have staff them. Part of their job is to be the host (or hostess) of a floating party. We can't control the diving conditions. But we CAN do everything in our power to make sure everyone has an enjoyable time. And hopefully we achieve that goal.

We've still got room on our Indonesia trip (August 30 - September 12) if you can fit that into your schedule. Lots of good diving plus we'll spend two days in Singapore (which is always a great city to explore). Give us a call at 310/652-4990 if you're interested,

I think I've covered everything. Hope you have a great Fourth of July at the end of the week (we'll be at the Hollywood Bowl Friday night) - long weekend, actually - and let's go diving soon!!!

- Ken (for all the gang at Reef Seekers Dive Co.)