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South Florida Divers, Inc.
June 2006 Newsletter
President's Message get wet.......
~ By Pete Stephinson
I have just got home after a club dive off the Starfish in Lantana with about a dozen club members. While there was a strong current, the conditions otherwise were great and we saw an abundance of sea critturs. We saw several turtles, morays, barracudas, rays and even a couple of bugs. The water was warm and the sea was calm which made for a great afternoon on and under the water. As usual, the company was great. As you are aware, we had to re-schedule the May General Meeting at short notice. This was caused by events beyond our control. It was pleasing to see how members of the eboard came together to help make sure everyone was aware of the change. The website carried the notice, an email was sent to all of you, and most of you should have received an phone call as well. We were fortunate in that our speaker was also able to accommodate our rescheduled date. We also had several eboard members present at the Ramada on the original date to speak with any visitors who turned up. The result was outstanding. I believe we had even more attendees at our rescheduled General Meeting than we would otherwise have had. Thank you to all who pitched in and helped get the word out and also to all the members who came to the meeting. The calendar for the summer months is starting to fill up. We have the member appreciation day on July 15th, and have scheduled one of those popular all day charters off Key Largo on July 22nd. For those of you who want to do some local dives there are also beach dives scheduled. Details are in this month's calendar. However, there are still dates open so we welcome any members who have an idea for a dive or other activity, and would like to organize it. Don't be shy, share your idea with Dave Schneider or come along to the June eboard meeting and share it with all of us. See you in the water some time soon Pete email: President@SFDI.com
Open e-Board position
It is with regret that we advise the
resignation of Tina Livanos from the e-board. Tina has been a great
contributor to the e-board and the club. While Tina has resigned from the
e-board due to time constraints, we look forward to continuing to see her
at Club activities and dives. Nominations for the vacant e-board position
will be opened at the June meeting and an election held in July. If any
one is interested in this position, please have someone nominate you at
the June or July meetings.
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WELCOME YOUR NEWEST DIVE BUDDIES!
We are delighted to welcome new member Gary Carlson, Cheryl Harrington, Bruce Wills, Joanna Diamond, Rebecca La Nasa, Barry Landau,
Marsha Horn and Bob O'Reilly ! As a Reminder to Everyone, We are a NO-DECO Dive Club. Always adhere to Safe Recreational Dive Depths and Limits.
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June 2006 Calendar and Beyond
~ By Dave Schneider, Vice President of Calendar
Just a quick reminder... the Calendar exists for the information of all our members. Should you see an event that is of interest please contact the coordinator and sign on at any time of the month. Sign-up is certainly not limited to the monthly General Meeting. The coordinator will be more than pleased to place you on his/her list and tell you where to send payment.
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SFDI meetings are the first Wednesday of each month at the Ramada Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport. 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! For driving directions to the meeting, visit our About Us page. 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. |
ATTENTION ALL BEACH DIVERS !
The water has warmed-up substantially and the urge to submerge has started to get to everyone. Fred Miller is our beach diving guru and wants to hear from anyone ready to start trekking over the sand and plunging into the water. Give him a call so he can start planning his weekend forays into the briny.
JUNE DINNER AT LARGE
Julie Taylor and Joe Smariga will co-host this month's dinner. They promise a superb Italian meal at Marino's Italian Restaurant. This restaurant is a long-time area favorite and has been the subject of several very favorable articles in the Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel. Menus will be available at the next General Meeting. Marino's is located south of Griffin Road on State Road 7/441.
June Meeting Program
Neil was born in South Africa, raised in Canada, and now resides in Miami. Find out more by going to www.neil4sharks.org.
BAHAMAS DIVE WEEKEND !
September 15-17
Details are still subject to change but the basics are in place and this promises to be a great weekend dive trip!
The plan is to leave Friday morning on Discovery out of Ft. Lauderdale. The ship leaves at 8:00AM. This allows Friday, Saturday and Sunday for diving (two per day). The return trip leaves at 4:30PM Sunday. With all likelihood there will be a shark feeding dive included. At this time Stefan is leaning to using Xanadu Undersea Adventures as our dive coordinator.
Friday and Saturday nights we will be at the Port Lucaya Hotel. Meals and beverage will be additional and not figured in the quoted price.
Total cost... unbelievably less than $500.00, double occupancy.
Initial deposit of $200.00 per person is due at the June meeting.
Stay tuned for more details !!
A SAFETY MINUTE
This Month's Feature by Michele Ashby
Diving is all about safety. After all, the equipment we wear is designed to let us humans go safely into an environment that we otherwise could only stay in for maybe a minute (or seven minutes if you’re a trained free diver). Following good, safe diving practices and having the right safety gear makes our diving experiences that much more enjoyable.
June 2006 Safety Minute
Hand signals remain the
most widespread method of underwater communication despite fancy devices that
allow you to actually talk with and listen to other divers, providing they have
compatible equipment.
You could spend big bucks on this type of equipment or indulge in dive slates.
For safety purposes, you should still recognize the common hand signals, a form
of sign language. You never know when a diver, who doesn’t have a communication
device other than his or her hands, will try to tell you something urgent like,
"I’m out of air!"
Why is it that many of us do not pay close attention to our communication
skills underwater?
Communicating effectively underwater is an important skill that is often
underrated and/or not paid close attention to. Frankly, few people are used to
gesturing questions and answers with their hands, as opposed to doing so
verbally. We all learn some common dive signals during our OW courses --
ascend, descend, ok?, and low on air. However, many of
us, including myself, are guilty of forgetting the signals and/or not
communicating regularly with our dive buddy. In cases of underwater emergencies,
proper communication could be very important. And, even during regular dives,
you have the ability to share your experience right then and there with
your buddy, e.g., pointing out fish and other wonderful sights.
Accordingly, I thought maybe a short post on this topic could be of interest to
some people. There certainly are books dedicated to SCUBA diving communication
out there. Likewise, there are many links online that offer some commonly-known
hand signals, as well as a few that I personally was unaware of. Unfortunately,
many hand signals are not standardized (e.g., to describe a lobster or shark),
so please be aware that some of these may vary according to dive agencies (PADI,
BSAC, etc.). Plan your hand signals before the dive so both you and your
dive buddy will know what to use. It is suggested that you use signals
comfortable to both divers. A few links are offered below...
So, keep those lines of communication familiar and open during your dives! It
will make for a more enjoyable dive for you and your buddy
Unless indicated otherwise, keep your hand in front of your body when signaling. Here are some of the signals you will most likely encounter – see handout.
Trivia Question
A Monthly Feature by Marjory Meechan
TRIVIA QUESTION ANSWER
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ORISKANY SINKS
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On
May 17th, the long awaited sinking of the
USS Oriskany, a 32,000-ton,
888-foot long aircraft carrier
took place off Pensacola, Florida.
Veterans of the Oriskany attended a reception on Saturday, May 13th and on May 15th, it began its journey from Pensacola to its final resting place in 210 feet of water 77 square mile Escambia East Large Area Artificial Reef site. The proposed location was 30* 02' 38" N Latitude and 87* 00' 25" W Longitude - about 24 miles offshore and initial reports indicate that the sinking went largely as planned. The top of the carrier was expected to rise to approximately 60 feet assuming that the ship came to rest on its keel and it appears that it has. Unfortunately, not all may have gone as well as expected. The flight deck was supposed to be at 130 feet but there is some controversy over whether this is or is not true. The deck may have a bit of a tilt. Divers were not permitted on the wreck for between 48 and 96 hours after sinking. All divers are required to have at least 20 logged dives and only divers who have logged at least two dives to 80 feet in the last year will be permitted to dive without a guide. Impressions from the first civilian divers to dive the Oriskany were encouraging. The decision to sink the Oriskany off the gulf coast has not been without controversy. Some of our club members have strongly suggested that this was not the best place for this wreck. We would be interested in hearing your comments on the Oriskany and, in particular, if the Oriskany might entice any interest in a club dive to the wrecks of Pensacola. Any comments can be directed to Marjory Meechan and will be aired in future issues. |
South Florida Divers Club
By Brian Hufford
Where's Kansman ??
Oh, there he is !
San Salvador, Bahamas
June 17th-24th, 2006
SOLD OUT
The SFDI group that just returned from the Turks & Caicos Islands had such a great time that a number of them decided to do a similar trip in 2006. Check out the photos in this month's Newsletter and on the site to see what great diving they enjoyed, and the fun times which they had on land. On returning, Pete Stephinson, trip organizer checked out the prices and availability and secured an even better deal for 2006 at the Club Med Columbus Isle on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.
"What San Sal offers divers is vertical walls, populated shallow reefs ideal
for macro photography, groupers so friendly they will lay in your arms and the
ever-present chance of spotting big creatures, such as Hammerhead Sharks and
Manta Rays. San Sal was one of the very first destinations to develop wall
diving and this is still the reason most divers visit. The south and western
sides of the island are lined by one of the most impressive walls in The
Bahamas, starting as shallow as 40 feet and dropping to thousands of feet. "
For more info visit http://www.about-the-bahamas.com/bahamas/sansalvador.cfm
The cost for the trip includes:
We have over 20 people signed up. Don't miss out, if you want to sign up you are recommended to do so at the September Meeting. A $200 deposit is required to confirm your place. Payments will be accepted monthly with full payment due by April 2006.
HAPPY JUNE BIRTHDAY
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Check The Weather
Check the weather from Joe Smariga's
Weather Station. Thanks Joe !!
Click Here
www.sfdi.com/wx.htm
Dive Australia.
Oct 30- Nov 6, 2007
Travel from Cairns to Cod Hole on the Spirit of Freedom Live-aboard with Michele Ashby.
Note : $ 200.00 Deposit Due at June 2006 Meeting
to Secure Cabin !!
LOTS OF LAUGHS and Other Wisdom
People are unreasonable, illogical and
self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be
shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind.
Think big anyway.
What you spend years building may
be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack if you help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have
and you might get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
- unknown
The Wet Zone
South Florida Divers, Inc.,
Copyright 2006
