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South Florida Divers, Inc.
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President's Message
~ By Jeff Guzowski
Happy New Year! Your club is moving to
a new location starting with the January 2003 general meeting. The
meetings will now be held at the Ramada Inn, at the northwest corner of
I-95 and State Road 84. You can click
here for a map or call any E-board member.
We have a lot of trips planned for 2003. We start with a Manatee trip to Crystal River and a Ski trip to Lake Tahoe in February; two Curacao trips, one in June and the other in July; and our annual Keys trip in August, where we will be diving the infamous Spiegel Grove. Thanks to everyone that came to the Holiday Party and made it a lot of fun. You are the people who make this party special. You brought excellent covered dishes that were gone early, and generous toys for the Women in Distress kids and the Broward Outreach Orphanage. Also, a Special Thanks goes to the hard working people that make our party so successful. These are the people who worked in the kitchen getting the food ready and setting it out on the tables, the bartender who made the excellent drinks, all the people who came in early to set up and make the hall look festive, and of course the tired ones who stayed to help clean up. You are the people that make our party what it is. The Christmas tree dive went without a hitch. The tree was placed on the Ebenezer, off South Hollywood in 60 feet of water. Thanks to Walt DeMartini of the Dry Martini for a great trip. I want to this time to thank our 2002 E-board for a year well done, and welcome the 3 new E-board members Cheryl Bartek, Wayne Pantke and Don Lawrynuik to the 2003 E-board. Have a Happy and Safe New Year. ~ Ski
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WELCOME YOUR NEWEST DIVE BUDDIES! We are delighted to welcome new members Branson Rector, Brom Rector, Peter Stephinson, Tom Wickenhauser, and William Gorman. We look forward to diving with all of you. |
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Phone numbers of trip coordinators are not posted here to ensure privacy. If you are a club member, consult your Buddy List for numbers; if not, and you wish to contact a trip coordinator, e-mail the web divemaster.
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By
popular demand, we will repeat last January's program and have the second
annual "Wacky Gift Exchange" at the general meeting. We are sure
you got a Hanukah or Christmas or holiday or birthday gift that made
you say "thanks, but you really shouldn't have."
Wrap it up and bring it to the January 8 meeting because one person's trash
is another's treasure!
Here's how it works. Bring along a new unwanted gift...look around, you know you have at least one somewhere...and wrap it real purty-like. Everyone who brings a gift gets a raffle ticket.
We
will draw the tickets in "Chinese Auction" style. The first person
whose ticket is pulled gets the pick of the unopened gifts, and must open
it in front of everyone. The second person whose ticket is pulled
can take the first person's ticket, or choose another unopened gift.
If they take the gift from the first person, the first person gets to go
back and pick and open another gift. The third person whose ticket
is pulled can pick a third unopened gift, or take the gift away from the
first or second person.
Yes, it takes awhile to go through all the
gifts and you will not want to miss the fun. Surprisingly, at the
end of the evening, nearly every unwanted gift went home with someone who
actually wanted it. See you at the RAMADA, remember not to go to
HoJo's!
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According to SFDI rules, any bylaw changes must be published in the newsletter for two months, and voted on by the general membership. Click here for details on a bylaw change you will be voting on at the February 5 General Meeting. |
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Attention club members, your membership expires December 31. Remember to bring your checkbook or cash to the January meeting. The February meeting is your last chance to renew without paying a $5 late fee. Dues are still only $45/member, $60/family. |
We had a great turnout at the December general meeting and we are delighted to have a few new faces on the E-board. Click here for the "About Us" page, then scroll down for the election results.
The
Historical Diving Society-USA is a group of divers who collect and dive
vintage (and new) copper and brass deep-sea diving helmets and suits.
All members of this specialized group are at the very least scuba certified,
and many members have some commercial and/or military diving training.
Their third annual diving rally was held the weekend of Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1 at the Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo.
The lagoon is an ideal spot for hard hat diving, and general manager Rick Ford was very accommodating. You gear up on the bench placed on wide cement stairs leading into the water, then move down the ladder to a terrain that is not flat but easily navigable “on foot” with plenty to look at but no coral at risk as you stomp from one area to another. Grunts and a gray angelfish congregate under the dive training platform and the small dock, lobster reside in every rock and crevice around the rim of the lagoon, juvenile barracuda are found under the mangrove roots, and check the buoy ropes and other tie-offs for sea horses (I didn't find any but I'm told they are spotted regularly). And while you're down there, peer into the undersea lodge portholes and observation bubbles!
Some
divers went in with helmets-only and wetsuits and booties, others stayed
dry in full suits. The trade-off here was less mobility and quicker
entry vs. more gear and stay dry. Most of us also got into scuba
gear to photograph the hard hat divers and to provide buddy services –
helping with the hoses that trail behind and of course keeping the diver
company.
What was it like? Walking and even running and jumping underwater brought to my mind images of moonwalks. No worries about buoyancy control or dive time or air remaining, and although the image was sometimes bowed you get a much wider field of vision, I especially liked the “sun roof” on the top!
This experience might not have you looking to sell your tanks and your mask/fins/snorkel to buy a copper helmet… but it is an interesting new way to experience the underwater world and worth trying.
Click here for more photos of the 2002 Hard Hat Rally.
Click here for more great diving stories by our members!
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Naked
Warriors: The Story of
By
Commander Francis Douglas
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Naked Warriors was first written in 1956 in collaboration with Don Moore. It was re-issued as a paperback in 1995. From combat in WW2 and Korea to important technological work in the 1950's, this updated edition is both a great read and the best history of UDT. It is the story of the development and the combat experiences of the U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Teams, who were engaged in a then-new technique of warfare at sea. Fane's descriptions of underwater combat will keep you glued to the book and lest you wonder if a frogman can be a decent author, know that he later became a journalist and he can spin a tale! His first-person narrative of the development of the UDT is an important contribution to United States Naval history.
MGM produced a feature movie based on Fane's book, called "The Underwater Warriors". Dan Dailey played Cmdr. Fane and Zale Parry played Doug Fane's wife. Cmdr. Fane was Technical Consultant on the film.
After serving 34 months in the U.S. Navy, Lt. JG. Francis Douglas Fane volunteered for ''extra-hazardous duty.'' This turned out to be with the UDT. Before reporting for training at Ft. Pierce, Florida, the 33-year-old Fane had to learn how to swim. He earned the nickname of ''Red Dog Fane,'' because of his red hair and toughness. Fane was Commander of Underwater Demolition Unit One, helped prevent disbanding the UDT, evaluated and developed advanced diving equipment, launched new diving techniques, and shared his expertise in several other aspects of diving and the public. Cmdr. Fane received many honors and awards during his distinguished career, including numerous military commendations and medals.
In mid-1949, Lt. Cmdr. Fane searched out the co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung, engineer Emile Gagnan. Fane convinced him to bring two of his Aqua-Lungs to Little Creek, where Fane and his UDT tested the new underwater air breathing systems called SCUBA. Lt. Cmdr. Fane was able to get the Aqua-Lung accepted by the U.S. Navy UDT.
Much of the vision and hard work of Cmdr. Fane was the foundation for the U.S. Navy SEAL Team, which was formally launched in January 1962 by President Kennedy.
Most of this information came from Edward C. Cargile, a long-time friend of Fane's and a diving legend in his own right. Mr. Cargile has e-mailed me lots of biographical information about Commander Fane, and a special page about Fane will appear on our website sometime in January. You can read more information about Fane by Cargile here at Sport Diver Interactive, or here on the Historical Diving Society website. Cargile has recently published a book, PIONEERS IN DIVING, which I plan to obtain and read and review early in 2003. In a recent e-mail exchange, Cargile said "Doug is one of the prime reasons I wrote Pioneers In Diving. There are so many individuals that have contributed so much to the advancement of diving. It took 22 years to document those individuals and organizations in Pioneers In Diving.
Click here for more book reviews!
Getting
too cold to dive here in Florida this time of year? Go somewhere
else if you have the urge to submerge in warmer waters. This comprehensive
website has information on 600 live-aboards and "every dive destination
on Earth", according to their home page. Visit and you will see that
an incredible amount of work went into gathering lists of live-aboards,
dive travel specialists, international dive travel destinations, airline
reservation numbers, certifying agencies (you will be astounded at the
number worldwide), dive publications around the world, dive clubs (yes,
they include SFDI!) and a LOT more.
There is absolutely no advertising on this website and no pop-up or pop-under ads. All you will find are hundreds of useful links to travel and diving sites, and tools like the currency converter, map of international time zones, and an international weather map. Visit DiveWorld Travel today and start planning your next underwater adventure!
Click here for more Websites of the Month!
Members of South Florida Divers, Inc. are entitled to place free Classified Ads here! However, you must agree to have either your e-mail address, telephone number, or both published so that people can contact you. Members, to place your free ad, simply e-mail me with the details. Non-members, come to our next general meeting and join us!COMPUTER NEEDED: Do you have a no-longer-used Windows 98 desktop or notebook computer that you would donate to the club? Your web divemaster needs a backup unit. It would remain the property of SFDI; if someone else becomes the web divemaster, it goes to them or back to you. Contact Debby Auchter. |
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Dave's new Honda bow thruster.
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