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South Florida Divers, Inc.
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Bye bye bugs ~ By Jeff Guzowski
In February, Uncle Funny’s night was a blast. The night we were there, they had a headliner, Bobby Collins, and there were 21 club members rolling in the aisles. Next Uncle Funny’s night is March 27. There are a lot of events planned for March. On the calendar we have our first billiard night, on March 8, and a Whirlyball night on March 22, both being run by Cheryl Bartek. Jane McArthur will be running another Imax and dinner night, featuring the Coral Reef on March 15. And on March 29, Glenn Orihood will be running another kayak trip to Fish Eating Creek off Lake Okeechobee. On April 3, 4, 5 and 6,the Dania Marine Flea Market at the Dania Jai Lai is a must for anyone who wants to pick up great deals with substantial savings on some new dive gear or boat equipment. Just a reminder, the April club meeting (and only that month) is one week later than usual, it will be held on April 9. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the April Pig Roast on April 12th. There is a pig (and some chicken) just waiting to be barbequed for us. Don’t forget to bring your March Curacao payment; the final payment is due at the April meeting. And last, on a sad note, our condolences go out to Joe Smariga on the passing of his father. Dive safe,
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WELCOME YOUR NEWEST DIVE BUDDY! We are delighted to welcome new member Joe Giambrone. Be sure to introduce yourself to Joe at the next meeting! |
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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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We have a very interesting program lined
up for you this month! Brenda Kato, President of the Marine
Archaeological Council, will be speaking about the exciting new Lauderdale
by the Sea Snorkel Trail.
| In August of 1637, a fleet of
Spanish galleons loaded with copper, silver, gold, emeralds, tobacco, indigo,
as well as private treasures smuggled aboard by the passengers to avoid
taxes, set sail from Havana bound for Spain. The fleet was led by
its Capitana, or flagship, the Nuestra Senora de Caplano.
The Nuestra Senora de Caplano is a fictitious ship but its story is representative of the numerous wrecks that sprinkle the coast of south Florida. In order to stimulate awareness of the rich maritime heritage that lies off our shores, the Marine Archaeological Council (M.A.C.) has constructed a shipwreck snorkel trail and artificial reef just south of Anglin's Fishing Pier in Lauderdale by the Sea at Commercial Boulevard and the ocean, which represents the final resting place of the imaginary Caplano.
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Click
on each map below for a
Click
here for the map
Click
here for the map
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At
long last...thanks to Julie Taylor's artistic talents, and John Kansman's
ability to get them printed...we have club t-shirts! In order to
keep from carrying a costly inventory, they will be printed on demand from
the designs you see to the left and below. The low cost of these
gorgeous t-shirts is just $11 for white shirts and $15 for colors.
We'll always have a few popular sizes available for you at the meeting,
but to get the designs, sizes and colors you want, be sure to get your
order in! At these prices, you can afford to own several! Click
on each image to enlarge it. You can see all seven images on our
new
t-shirt page.
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Your
website continues to win awards! We recently received the following
e-mail from the International Association of Webmasters and Designers:
"Congratulations! South Florida Divers has been reviewed and chosen to
bear the 2003-2004 Golden Web Award."
Glenn
Orihood has scheduled another of his popular kayak trips for March 29.
The cost is $65 and includes a gourmet lunch, water and soft drinks (menu
later).
The destination is Fisheating Creek at Palmdale, Florida. This creek is considered by many to have some of the most beautiful scenery in the state. It is abundantly vegetated, with the trees generously draped in a veil of Spanish Moss. It is also home to many critters including wild turkey, wild boar, deer, otters, armadillla, gaters and many birds.
Single
kayaks are provided, all appropriate paddling gear, an experienced guide,
and the lunch provided by Fernandina`s International Market. Instruction
in paddling is provided, the trip is rated moderate, is full day starting
at 9:30 AM to approximately 3 PM. It is about 5 miles in length. The number
is limited to 12, so get your money in early. The outfitter requires full
payment two weeks in advance.
When I became newsletter editor in 2001,
I sent a desperate plea to members to send photographs and stories.
Several of our talented members responded, but none so prolifically as
your greeter, Julie Taylor. She submitted so many photos that I had
to break them up into subjects and create an entire
gallery to showcase her works!
Julie's hard work and talented eye have been paying off "famously" for Julie. In July of 2001, Julie's underwater photo of Joe Smariga working Reef Sweep was published by Real Sailors Magazine. Right after mini-season, we learned that a surfing website up the coast had "stolen" one of her lobster photos right off the SFDI website. We contacted them and said take it off...or give Julie credit. They gladly gave our Julie a credit line.
Last
month, right here in your newsletter, you saw a copy of the Christmas
Tree Dive photo that Julie had published in the Miami Herald.
Then, in late January, a textbook publisher contacted us and asked for
permission to publish this
picture in a collection of photos of invertebrates for instructors
who are teaching invertebrate biology.
Maybe you've thought about submitting some photos but decided that it wasn't important, that nobody would see them. Julie's experience is proving you wrong. It is very exciting for me to see one of our members getting published in a diverse variety of publications. You...could be next!
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Shark
Trouble
By Peter Benchley |
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Master storyteller Peter Benchley combines high adventure with practical information in Shark Trouble, a book that is at once a thriller and a valuable guide to being safe in, on, under, and around the sea. The bestselling author of Jaws and The Deep draws on more than three decades of experience to share information about sharks and other marine animals.
“Shark attacks on human beings generate a tremendous amount of media coverage,” Benchley writes, “partly because they occur so rarely, but mostly, I think, because people are, and always have been, simultaneously intrigued and terrified by sharks. Sharks come from a wing of the dark castle where our nightmares live—deep water beyond our sight and understanding—and so they stimulate our fears and fantasies and imaginations.”
Benchley describes the many types of sharks (including the ones that pose a genuine threat to man), what is and isn’t known about shark behavior, the odds against an attack and how to reduce them even further—all reinforced with the lessons he has learned, the mistakes he has made, and the personal perils he has encountered while producing television documentaries, bestselling novels, and articles about the sea and its inhabitants. He tells how to swim safely in the ocean, how to read the tides and currents, what behavior to avoid, and how to survive when danger suddenly strikes. He discusses how to tell children about sharks and the sea and how to develop, in young and old alike, a healthy respect for the ocean.
As Benchley says, “The ocean is the only alien and potentially hostile environment on the planet into which we tend to venture without thinking about the animals that live there, how they behave, how they support themselves, and how they perceive us. I know of no one who would set off into the jungles of Malaysia armed only with a bathing suit, a tube of suntan cream, and a book, and yet that’s precisely how we approach the oceans.” No longer. Not after you’ve read Shark Trouble...and remember, it's available @ your library!
Click here for more book reviews!
This
wonderful site, www.floridasprings.org,
is brought to you by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
When we think of Florida diving, most of us think of warm coral reefs swarming
with tropical fish, but a visit to this month's website lets you explore
an entirely different underwater environment.
This
site is rich with resources, beginning with how springs form and a look
at some of the residents of a spring. Club members going on the Manatee
trip should spend a little time here first in order to be able to identify
what you will see. Life from manatees to birds to reptiles
and even insects and plants are discussed and illustrated with beautiful
photographs.
Enjoy a virtual expedition with filmaker and cave diving legend Wes Skiles as he takes you from Karst Country through the aquifer, from cave diving to paddling. Learn how sinkholes are the "windows" to the aquifer. Find out what is being done to protect our springs, and how you can help.
There are educational resources for kids and teachers, and lots of information, including an interactive map, to help you plan your diving, canoeing, or camping trip to our fabulous freshwater resources. The photography is absolutely breathtaking. This is a site you will want to add to your Favorites and visit again and again.
Click here for more Websites of the Month!
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March
has arrived and you know what that means, it is the end of lobster season
until August. The lobsters seemed pretty scarce this year, but there
are still some out there. On March 30, we have a charter dive scheduled
on the calendar, for your last chance lobster dive. If you are interested
in signing up, payment must be in full at the March 5 meeting.
Early
the next morning the fleet was scattered by a massive hurricane and Nuestra
Senora de Caplano found itself wrecked off the shore of what is now known
as Lauderdale by the Sea. The survivors salvaged the cargo and, over
the years, worms ate away the wood of the ship itself. All that remains
of this grand vessel is the ballast pile (a pile of rocks that were used
as weights to keep the wooden ships up right in rough seas), 5 cannons
and the anchor.
Jean-Michel
Cousteau assisted in the dedication of the Shipwreck Snorkel Trail at OceanFest
in May 2002. Following the dedication, the final cannon, 8 feet long
and weighing almost 400 lbs. was pulled along the beach to the site by
MAC members and willing volunteers. A 55 gallon drum was used to float
the cannon over the site where it was lowered and then cemented in place.
The
snorkel trail is the culmination of almost 4 years of hard work by M.A.C.,
a non-profit organization founded in 1976 dedicated to documenting and
preserving the maritime heritage of Broward County. A resolution
was passed on July 28, 1998 by the Town Commission of the Town of Lauderdale
by the-Sea authorizing the creation of the artificial reef. For the next
3-1/2 years, M.A.C. worked with the various governmental bodies to obtain
all of the required permits. The permits allowed them to create an
artificial reef consisting of an anchor, five cannons and a ballast pile.
Construction was finally started in February, 2002.
