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South Florida Divers, Inc.
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Stock up on butter! ~ By Jeff Guzowski |
First of all, I would like to start my president’s letter by saying, “Happy Birthday, SFDI.” The club turns 28 years old this month, and boy has it has changed in just the last 19 years since I first became a member. We grew from a small club of 35 members, when diving wasn’t very popular, to 300 when it was the “in sport”. The last few years we’ve averaged around 125 members. If you would like to read about the history of the club, it will appear on our website in the near future, under "About Us.".
Captain Mike Lamphear will be our guest speaker this month. He swears, he really is retiring this year, so don’t miss the July meeting, since this will be our last with him. As you know, Captain Mike is no stranger to our club, he has been our July speaker, since…. Oh heck, we’re still trying to figure how long he’s been our July speaker. He has 32 years with the Florida Marine Patrol (now called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), with a lot of tales to tell.
I’m sure most of you know, Lobster Mini Season, is open on July 24 and 25. The regular season starts on August 6. Don’t forget to update your saltwater fishing license and crawfish stamps.
The Keys weekend will be August 23-25. The final payment for the boat and accommodations are due at the July 3 meeting. And if you don’t know by now, the Spiegel Grove is finally an artificial reef. The wreck opened for diving on June 25 with an underwater christening on June 26. Our first dive on the Keys trip will be on the Spiegel Grove. I still have a few openings; so if you are interested in going, please see me at the meeting.
If you missed our
June meeting, you missed one of the best meetings we’ve had. I would
like to thank Valerie Kevorkiann on her “Dive Miami” presentation.
Her video reminded us how many great wrecks there are to dive off Miami.
The club will be running a charter trip, with Valerie, to dive on one of
the many wrecks. Check the calendar below for dates
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Also, Marcy Decker,
of Hollywood Parks and Recreation, still needs dive gear donated for the
Kid’s Summer Dive program. Please see me at the meeting if you have
any gear you would like to donate.
As I close, I wish you all luck, with hopes you catch your limit.
Dive safe,
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WELCOME to our newest members! |
We warmly welcome our newest dive buddies, Rebecca Gaines and Julie R.Taylor. Be sure to say HI to them at the next meeting!
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 and she will get the message to the coordinator.
To defray the costs of cleanup, preparation, and towing of the Spiegel
Grove, the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce Artificial Reef Committee is selling
medallions which will be a prerequisite for divers wishing to visit the
artificial reefs off the Upper Keys. Divers may choose between a $250 gold
finish lifetime medallion, or a $10/year plastic version.
To show our support for the years of effort by the Key Largo diving community, your dive club purchased Medallion #547 of a limited edition of 1,000 cast. We are raffling the medallion as a separate raffle from the regular dive club raffle at a cost of $5 per ticket. Tickets will be available at the next three general meetings.
The Lifetime Medallion, designed for display as a memento, has a raised likeness of the Spiegel Grove, is made of brass with an antique gold finish, and comes with a velvet look case. Also included is a gold colored injection molded plastic disk designed to withstand exposure to saltwater.
For purchasing the $250.00 Lifetime Medallion, our club's name will be placed on a permanent plaque that will be attached to the wheel house of the Spiegel Grove. For more information about purchasing a medallion to help the Artificial Reef Committee, click here.
SFDI Treasurer Adrian Soler invites you to join him on Sunday, August 11,
at the beginning of regular lobster season, for Hollywood Lobster Mania!
Meet
at Seafair Marina [Map
Here], 101 N. Beach Road in Dania Beach at 1 PM for a 1:30 departure
on the Dry Martini. Capt. Walt will take us to two reefs in search
of...well, you know what! Sign up at the July 3 meeting or contact Adrian
at
Adriansolr@aol.com or
(954) 545-4650.
Adrian Soler uses a lobster snare for a successful catch
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~ By Debby
Auchter, Newsletter Editor
~ Photography by Julie Taylor, Club Greeter
For your convenience, the club's Lobster Information Page has been updated to reflect this year's information. Here are some of the items that make our lobster page so valuable:
 Click here for Julie's best lobster photos! |
This time of year, many of us are looking for some light reading for the
beach or pool, but we've grown tired of fiction. Jimmy Buffett's
A
Pirate Looks at Fifty is part memoir, part flight log, part philosophy,
and part sociological study of people Jimmy meets in his birthday adventure
aboard his seaplane, the Hemisphere Dancer. Published in 1998, it
is still a boatload of fun to read.
Buffett is behind the wheel of his Grumman Albatross, safely piloting family and friends through a three-week trip around South and Central America and the Caribbean. He blends gentle scenic narration with rambling, unplugged life stories meant to convey that he's made peace with the whole aging process. For Buffett, turning 50 "can be a ball of snakes that conjures up immediate thoughts of mortality and accountability. (`What have I done with my life?') Or, it can be a great excuse to reward yourself for just getting there. (`He who dies with the most toys wins.') I instinctively chose door number two."
The hardback edition is a hefty 458 pages, but it is an easy and delightful read that you can pick up and put down throughout your busy week. Check out a copy @your library and take it on your next seaplane adventure!
Click here for more book reviews!
The Unofficial Sea
Hunt Site, by Brian Jackson, is recognized by other Sea Hunt fan sites
as being the most comprehensive. Long before diving became popular
and we had learned about many of the inhabitants of our oceans, diving
was an activity that only a few brave souls undertook. Each week from 1957
to 1961, Lloyd Bridges portrayed Mike Nelson, one of those few adventure
some men who was our guide to the world below and made those breathtaking
journeys.
If you have your computer's sound on, you will hear the Sea Hunt theme song while you learn about the show's history, read the closing monologues, see all 155 story titles with a synopsis of each show, and enjoy the covers of Sea Hunt comic books. For me, the most enjoyable part of this site is looking at all of the wonderful old black-and-white photos of scenes from the show. Dive into this site for a blast from the past. (Editor's note: SFDI has a page of links devoted to Sea Hunt and diving history. Click on "Links" at the top of this page, then on the "Sea Hunt" link.)
Click here for more Websites of the Month!
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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!
For Sale: Three Nitrox tanks. Contact Laura Johs at LJJOHS@AOL.COM or call her at home home (561) 470-5807 or cell (954) 383-9461.
"The Spiegel Grove makes my butt look small. " |
Many thanks to Dave Rosenthal of Aqua-Nut Divers for this month's Wacky Foto!
