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CONTENTS |
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| President's Message | Meeting Location |
| Calendar for December and Beyond | December Meeting Program |
| A Safety Minute | Happy December Birthday |
| Get Smart With Joe | 2012 OverseasTrips |
Notice of Elections for Eboard positions for 2012
With the end of 2011 approaching it is time to elect our Executive Board Members for 2011. All positions are up for election. Nominations were solicited at the November General Meeting and will be solicited again at the December General Meeting. After nominations are closed an election will be held to decide the 2012 Executive Board Members during the December meeting.
The Executive Board Positions are:
President
VP Membership and Membership Assistant
VP Calendar and Calendar Assistant
Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer
Webmaster
Greeter
Editor
Sergeant at Arms
Members at Large (6)
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2012 Membership Renewal Reminder
With the end of 2011 approaching it is time to start thinking about renewing your SFDI membership for 2012. At $70, membership of South Florida Divers is a helluva deal. If you need reminding of the benefits of membership, click here. Application forms should be completed when renewing. An additional $5 is charged for renewals after the February General Meeting.
To renew your membership please do the following: 1) Print and fill out the New Member Application Form (Verify your address etc.) 2) Print and fill out the Yearly Renewal Application Form 3) Make a copy of your c-card 4) Please write a check for $70.00 made out to South Florida Divers Inc. for a single membership or $100.00 made out to South Florida Divers Inc. for a family membership. If the application is made after the February meeting, add $5 to the check amount. $75 for single and $105 for family. 5) Bring along all four items to the monthly meeting (preferred) or mail it the following address: Joe Smariga |
MEETING LOCATION !!!
Location for General Meeting
Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club, 2637 Whale Harbor Lane, Ft. Lauderdale
The Same Place We Have The Pig Roast and Seafood Fest !!
Directions:
1. Take I 95 to Davie Blvd. Head West.
2. Turn Left on 27th Ave, (Riverland Road ).
3. Follow around and Stay on Riverland Road
4. Turn left at Whale Harbor Lane.
5. Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club is on the Right
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PLEASE SEE NOTE ABOVE !!
SFDI meetings are the first Wednesday of each month at Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club. The meeting starts at 7:30 If you are not a member, and you are reading this on the Internet, please join us because visitors are ALWAYS WELCOME! In an attempt to condense the length of the meetings, we are going to start the meeting PROMPTLY at 7:30. Please come earlier to socialize before the meeting starts. |
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WELCOME YOUR NEWEST DIVE BUDDIES!
We are delighted to welcome new member: Anne Hennessey John Lucka As a Reminder to Everyone, We are a NO-DECOMPRESSION Dive Club. Always adhere to Safe Recreational Dive Depths and Limits.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS December… and beyond ! David Schneider, Vice President, Calendar
Once again we would like to thank all those members who have stepped up and organized our many various events. No matter how much we have going on we still need more members to come forward with new ideas and to act as Coordinators. Any E-Board member will be more than happy to give you any needed assistance to get you started. The more people we have planning events the better our Club will be.
To ensure privacy please note that we never post the phone numbers of our event coordinators. If you are a Club member please consult your Buddy List for the number you need. If you do not have one there will be a copy available at the next General Meeting, or contact Melissa Ames.
The Calendar is here for your convenience. If you see an event that interests you please contact the Coordinator directly. You can sign-up for an event at any time. Simply contact the Coordinator and he/she will be more than happy to add your name to the list and tell you where to mail payment. Remember, you are not on an event until payment has been received. For those events with a maximum number of openings the date payment was received will be the determining factor for who goes on the event. No exceptions, no whining.
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November 24: Thanksgiving
Day…. a perfect day for the turkey in all of us.
December 3: Holiday Party This is the "big one".. need we say more? If you haven't put it on your social calendar as yet do so now 'cause you don't want to miss it. As always a nominal charge of $10.00 per person for lots of fun, food, holiday cheer and a live band! A covered dish is required and we will want to know what you will be bringing so we can assure a well-rounded banquet table. I.T. Parker Community Center, Dania Beach will once again host the event. The festivities will begin around 7:30.
December 7: General Meeting (Wednesday 7:30 Sharp!) Lauderdale Isles Yacht and Tennis Club. Address and directions elsewhere on the website.
December 10: Trim-the-Tree Dive (Saturday – 8:30 AM Show 9:00 AM Go) Jeff Raffa will be hosting our annual trim-the-tree dive, this year on Sea Experience out of Bahia Mar. This one always sells out quickly, so be sure to get your name on the sign-up sheet early. At this time Jeff is planning for two dives, one to sink and trim the tree and the second on a shallow reef. The cost should be $55.00, tax and tip included. Call Jeff for more details or go to www.seaxp.com.
December 12: SFDI Executive Board Meeting at Connections for Business, 2843 Pembroke Road, NE corner of I-95 and Pembroke Road. Everybody welcome! Meeting starts at 7:30 Come and join us and see how your Club is run.
December 13: "Over-the-Hill & Off-the-Stern" (Tuesday 2:00 PM Go) Just another chance for another day of great diving, this time on Scubatyme out of Pompano. Cost will be $55.00, tax and tip included. Call Dave Schneider for more details or go to www.scubatyme.com.
December 17: Private Boat Dive (Saturday 8:00 Show 8:30 Go) John Kansman and Dave Wills are once again leading the fleet to sea for a crack at our favorite crustaceans. Leaving from John U. Lloyd Park, our intrepid Captains caution you not to be late unless you want to wave bye bye from the dock.
December 21: Hanukkah… a nice holiday to put a little light in your life.
December 25: Christmas Day… good times, good friends, good cheer.. what more could we ask for?
December 31: New Years Eve… let’s all be careful out there.
January 1: New Years Day… great time to shake off the night before and take in some college bowl games.
January 4: General Meeting (Wednesday 7:30 Sharp!) Lauderdale Isles Yacht and Tennis Club. Address and directions elsewhere on the website.
January 8: Coral Gables Bike Ride (Sunday 1:30 PM) Let’s all rally to Dave Wills house and get ready for a fun filled day of biking through historic and beautiful Coral Gables. Sounds like a plan!
January 9: SFDI Executive Board Meeting at Connections for Business, 2843 Pembroke Road, NE corner of I-95 and Pembroke Road. Everybody welcome! Meeting starts at 7:30 Come and join us and see how your Club is run.
January 12: Dinner-at-Large (Thursday) Joe G. has spent countless hours seeking out the ideal location for our January dinner and has settled on the Las Olas Wine Café. Conveniently located at 922 E. Las Olas Blvd., Joe plans to gently ring the dinner bell at 7:30. Call him for more information or visit the website at www.lasolaswinecafe.com for a look at their menu.
February 23:Dinner-at-Large (Thursday) A special treat! Lynne Schreiber has arranged a cooking demonstration and scrumptious meal (seafood menu) for us at the Lenore Nolan-Ryan Cooking School. Lynne will have more details for us at the January meeting. The dinner bell will ring at 7:30. The School is located at 228 Commercial Blvd. , Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
March 23-25: Spring Camping Weekend Time to start marking your calendars for next year! Craig and Linda Sandel have a brand new tent and want a bunch of folks to join them at Jonathan Dickinson State Park for a weekend of fun in the woods. More details to follow but you can figure on a cost of about $10.00 a person. There will be a limit of nine tents.
June
23-30: Bonaire
Trip Cost $1500 which includes
travel, lodging and 6 one tank boat dives and unlimited shore dives and
rental of pickup trucks. Meals are not included but there is a $75 credit at
the resort ( Captain Dons
Habitat ). Contact Jeff Raffa for more details. |
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"POLICIES AND PROCEDURES" NOW PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE. The rules and regulations that we must all abide by are now printed in their entirety on the website. I cannot stress enough how important it is that all members, new and old, read and be thoroughly aware of how these rules apply to them. I have summarized below some of the more important points.
Payment: A member is confirmed on an event only after their payment has been received. Payments for dives must be made when signing-up. Payments for trips must be made according to the schedule provided by the Coordinator. In the event that a dive, trip, etc. is overbooked than those confirmed to go will be determined by the date order of payment.
Cancellation: Once a member signs on for a dive or other event he/she is obligated to pay unless they contact the Coordinator by the specified cancellation deadline. Cancellation deadlines are outlined in Policies and Procedures.
Certification Requirements: Some dives will be restricted to divers with certain minimum qualifications, generally as specified by the dive operator. In some cases these minimums will be set by the Coordinator in conjunction with the E-Board based on the profile and/or characteristics of the planned dive. No exceptions will be allowed.
Special Needs: Some of our members have "special needs" when participating on a dive, trip or other event. These can be cases where someone needs extra help off or back on a dive boat, special requirements regarding accommodations, etc. Coordinators are not psychic. It is the responsibility of the member to make sure that the Coordinator knows of these needs well in advance of the event.
If any of the above are not abundantly clear be sure to get clarification from an E-Board member.
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June 23-30: Bonaire Trip Cost $1500 which includes travel, lodging and 6 one tank boat dives and unlimited shore dives and rental of pickup trucks. Meals are not included but there is a $75 credit at the resort ( Captain Dons Habitat ). Contact Jeff Raffa for more details.
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Click on here for more pictures
Stan Pierce's
October
Schnebly Winery Tour
& Tasting Photos
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Click
on here for more pictures
Mike
McKeever's
October Vandenberg Photos
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Click
on here for more picture
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December Meeting Program
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Social Nite |
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Get Smart with Joe G. December 2011
What is an Open-circuit regulator
The most commonly used scuba set today is the "single-hose" open circuit 2-stage diving regulator, coupled to a single pressurized gas cylinder, with the first stage on the cylinder and the second stage at the mouthpiece.[2] This arrangement differs from Emile Gagnan's and Jacques Cousteau's original 1942 "twin-hose" design, known as the Aqua-lung, in which the cylinder's pressure was reduced to ambient pressure in one or two or three[citation needed] stages which were all on the cylinder. The "single-hose" system has significant advantages over the original system.
In the "single-hose" two-stage design, the first stage regulator reduces the cylinder pressure of about 200 bar (3000 psi) to an intermediate level of about 10 bar (145 psi) above ambient pressure. The second stage demand valve regulator, connected via a low pressure hose to the first stage, delivers the breathing gas at the correct ambient pressure to the diver's mouth and lungs. The diver's exhaled gases are exhausted directly to the environment as waste. The first stage typically has at least one outlet delivering breathing gas at unreduced tank pressure. This is connected to the diver's pressure gauge or computer, in order to show how much breathing gas remains.
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Joe G’s Safety minute for December 2011
Decompression stops Decompression stops are a very necessary and vital part of the diving process. Decompression stops involves the necessary pauses or time periods that a diver stops his or her ascent from waters in order to permit his or her body to naturally dissolve various gases in his or her bloodstream. If decompression stops are not implemented during a diver’s ascent, there is a tremendous risk that he or she will develop what is commonly identified as decompression sickness.
Decompression sickness is basically the human body’s natural response to sudden changes in the water pressure around the body during a dive. During a diver’s ascent out of waters, the amounts of gases in his or her blood stream can actually convert into dangerous gas bubbles if they are decreased in an ultra-rapid fashion during a diver’s ascent. With too many gas bubbles inside a diver’s blood stream, the bubbles fail to dissolve correctly and to dissipate via the diver’s lungs; these dangerous bubbles contain large quantities of nitrogen which can cause serious and very dangerous health complications.
When involved in deep dives, decompression stops are part of the ascent process that cannot be overlooked. Each periodic pause upon ascent gives the diver’s body the opportunity to allow the dangerous gas bubbles caused from rapid changes in pressure to dissolve naturally. Decompression stops basically involve a pause in the diver’s ascent, and periodic pauses occur along the path to the water’s surface. Decompression sickness has a whole host of negative symptoms associated with the condition; the diver might experience unexplained itchiness, pains in the chest, bodily cramping, irritation of the skin, significant pain in the joints and neurological effects also accompany the onset of the condition. A diver that does not use decompression stops can suffer paralysis, mental confusion, incontinence, and in some severe cases, the dive can prove fatal when decompression sickness occurs.
The process of using decompression stops to avoid decompression sickness involves a periodic pause in a diver’s ascent and the stops are generally based on the recommendations supplied in a variety of different decompression tables supplied by different organizations. Decompression tables are offered by the United States Navy, the PADI organization, and there are also Bühlmann tables, BASC tables, DCIEM tables and French Navy decompression tables as well. Diving decompression tables are also supplied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Some divers prefer to rely on state of the art computer applications which can determine the number of decompression stops that the diver has to make and the period of time for each decompression pause during the diver’s ascent.
A diver’s ascent must be adequately planned as well as perfectly timed. Decompression stops are incorporated into such planning; an ascent should occur at a pace of roughly nine meters every sixty seconds or less. If the diver is relying on special equipment for diving, like that involving the use of nitrox air, then specific dive tables are used to calculate one’s decompression stops. During training classes for use in special equipment, the use of specialized decompression tables is covered.
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The Wet Zone South
Florida Divers, Inc., |
