President's Message Saw food.  Ate it. ~ By Jeff Guzowski

It’s been a pretty exciting September this year.  We really came close to having a serious hurricane (Isabel) hit our coast.  A category 4 storm would have devastated our reefs with 15 to 20 foot waves, storm surge (like when Andrew uprighted the Atria) and would have deposited a lot of sand on our reefs. 

There have been a lot of members enjoying the charter dives and Fred Miller’s beach dives, getting wet 2-3 times a week.  The last dive I did, the deeper reefs had 100’+ visibility and the shallow ones had 25’ visibility.  There is a lot of good diving left in this year, so get out there and do some dives!

If you missed the Seafood Fest, you missed a great time.  Our club chefs did a great job of preparing the main courses.  Everyone said the lobsters were done to perfection and the special marinated chicken was finger licking good (even the Colonel said so).  I want to thank all those who helped with the set up and clean up for this party.   Also, I would like to thank all of you who brought some of the best homemade covered dishes.  We know everyone came hungry, 'cause there were no leftovers to go home. 

Thanks to Nick Garbarino and Ken Banks for their presentation on the red algae at the September meeting.  Nick and Ken left forms with me to be filled out by anyone who has seen the Red Algae on any dives.  You can see or call me for the forms or download one here on your club website. 

Our October meeting will be the Great Barrier Reef, with speaker Mike Thomas.  See you there!

Safe diving,
             ~ Ski 
 

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST DIVE BUDDIES!

We are delighted to welcome new members Adelle Nickolson, Kimberly Lamas, Melinda Lamas, Nick Garbarino, Susi Glatt, and Wade Thomas!  We look forward to diving with all of you!

October 2003 Calendar and beyond

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.
 
 

• September 23, 6:30 PM: Fred Miller's weekly Tuesday night beach dive.
• September 25, 8 PM:  Laugh your mask off with Jeff Guzowski at Uncle Funny's.  Ski gets quite a rowdy crowd to join him; don't miss the fun! [Map to Uncle Funny's] 
• September 27, evening: IMAX Theater and Riverfront Dinner Social Night with Jane McArthur, contact Jane for time.  [Map here] 
• September 28, 8 AM: Join Fred Miller for  beach diving.  Beach TBA.  Contact Fred for details.
• September 30, 6:30 PM: Fred Miller's weekly Tuesday night beach dive.
• October 1, 7:30 PM: General meeting. Program:  Dr. Jim Thomas and the Great Barrier Reef.RAMADA INN FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT, 2275 State Road 84.  [Driving directions here] [Map here]  NOTE: additional parking on west side of Ramada. 
• October 3-5: Historical Diving Society-USA's 2003 Conference at Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo. 
• October 4, 12:30 show for 1 PM go: Join Wayne Pantke for some exciting Miami charter boat diving with Tarpoon Lagoon.  $40 for this two-tank dive including a wreck and a reef includes tip.
• October 5, 6:30 AM: Join Steve Anderson for a Kayak beach dive out to the reef buoys.  Meet at the beach just north of Sunrise Boulevard and Birch State Park.
• October 6, 7:30 PM: SFDI Executive Board meeting at Connections for Business, 2843 Pembroke Road, NE corner of I-95 and Pembroke Road.  Members always welcome! 
• October 7, 6:30 PM: Fred Miller's weekly Tuesday night beach dive.
• October 8-11: DEMA comes to the Miami Beach Convention Center!
• October 10-12: Columbus Day Regatta
• October 11, 7 PM:  Wine tasting at Cheryl Bartek Teugels house.  Bring a bottle of wine and an appetizer to share.
• October 12, 8 AM: Join Fred Miller for  beach diving.  Beach TBA.  Contact Fred for details.
• October 14, 6:30 PM: Fred Miller's weekly Tuesday night beach dive.
• October 16, 8 PM:  Laugh your mask off with Jeff Guzowski at Uncle Funny's.  Ski gets quite a rowdy crowd to join him; don't miss the fun! [Map to Uncle Funny's] 
• October 17-19:  Annual Ladies, Let's Go Fishing! seminar at Holiday Isle in Islamorada.
• October 17-26: Fantasy Fest
• October 18: Beach dive/picnic with Dave Wills.  Come at 4 PM to dive or snorkel with Fred Miller, or come at 5 PM to picnic with Dave and your dive buddies.  We will be at the public beach just north of the Yankee Clipper [Map here].  Bring your own meal.
• October 21, 6:30 PM: Fred Miller's weekly Tuesday night beach dive.
• October 26, 8 AM: Join Fred Miller for  beach diving. Daylight Saving Time ends so you'll get an extra hour sleep before meeting up with Fred!  Beach TBA.  Contact Fred for details.
• October 28, 6:30 PM: Fred Miller's weekly Tuesday night beach dive.
• October 30-November 3: Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show
• November 1, 8:15 AM: Want to see Joe Smariga's beautiful new Bertram, Tanks A Lot II?  Then join him for a private beach dive.  Meet at John U. Lloyd State Park at the boat ramp [Map here].  Don't be late or you will miss the boat...literally.
• November 4, 6:30 PM: Fred Miller's weekly Tuesday night beach dive.
• November 5, 7:30 PM: General meeting. SCUBA Swap!  RAMADA INN FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT, 2275 State Road 84.  [Driving directions here] [Map here]  NOTE: additional parking on west side of Ramada. 
• November 21-22:  Join Dave Wills for a Dry Tortugas adventure!  Stay at a Key West hotel Friday night then take the catamaran Yankee Freedom II to Fort Jefferson.  Camp overnight and return Sunday.
• December 3, 7:30 PM: General meeting.  ANNUAL SFDI ELECTIONS.  RAMADA INN FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT, 2275 State Road 84.  [Driving directions here] [Map here]  NOTE: additional parking on west side of Ramada. 
• December 13: Annual SFDI Holiday Party
• Spring 2004:  Ginnie Springs camping/diving with Debby Auchter.
• June, 2004:  Cayman Brac with Jeff Guzowski and Michele Burzese.
• August, 2004: Looe Key trip with Cheryl Bartek Teugels.

Join us October 1 when Dr. Jim Thomas, Professor at Nova Oceanographic Center and Research Director at the National Coral Reef Institute, will present a program on the Ecology of the Great Barrier Reef.   He was born and raised in South Florida, where he learned to love the ocean. Visiting the local beaches daily on the back of his mother's bicycle, he learned to swim before he could walk.  Before coming to Nova, Dr. Thomas taught and conducted research in the Florida Keys for 20 years prior to becoming a Curator of Crustacea at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural History Museum.  He joined the Oceanographic Center in 1996. He has traveled extensively teaching and conducting research on reef systems in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian oceans.  The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) inducted Dr. Thomas as a Science Fellow at its recent annual Science and Technology Meeting in Denver. Dr. Thomas was recognized for outstanding contributions in advancing research in tropical marine environments and for providing learning experiences for undergraduate and graduate students at numerous marine field locations around the world, including coral reefs and mangrove ecosystems. 

The November 5 meeting will be our SCUBA Swap so spend some time in October gathering up your excess dive stuff...or saving up to buy someone else's excess dive stuff!

SFDI meetings start at 7:30 at the Ramada Fort Lauderdale Airport.  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.

June, 2004, we have planned an 8 day/7 nights all inclusive trip to Brac Reef Beach Resort in Cayman Brac.  It includes 7 nights deluxe beach view room, 17 boat dives (3 tanks a day, 2 night dives, an optional 2 tank dive to Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman).

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, land transfers, hotel taxes, and service charges are included.  It also includes round trip airfare from Miami to Cayman Brac, (the air departure tax is not included).  Cost around $1375.  First down payment of $175 was due at the August club meeting.  Trip coordinators are Jeff  “Ski” Guzowski and Michele Burzese.

Book Review Blackwater Sound By James W. Hall

 I spend a lot of time on or near Blackwater Sound off Key Largo, and so does author James Hall.  He lives not far from me in Key Largo and that was enough to make me pick up this thriller.  Hall's character Thorn, a typical Conch whose sole source of income is from making and selling fishing flies, is taking his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend on a boat ride when suddenly, a commercial airliner crashes into the Everglades, barely missing them.  After rescuing the survivors, Thorn becomes curious about three suspicious-looking people who were also on a boat near the crash...and starts an investigation that drags him into dangerous situations.

He gets tangled up with the Braswells, a powerful Florida family in the high-tech industry.  The Braswells, a dysfunctional family haunted by a blue marlin who took the life of their eldest son, have gotten into a very dangerous business in an attempt to revive their failing business.  While they are docked at an exclusive resort in the Bahamas, with a kidnapped Alzheimer's patient on board, Thorn gets himself invited to fish for the detested marlin and the action doesn't stop until you finish the last page.  If you like adventure stories, you will enjoy Blackwater Sound.  And remember, you can check this page-turning thriller out @your library!

Click here for more book reviews!

NOAA Dive Page

NOAA has many wonderful web sites and we've reviewed a few in the past.  The NOAA Dive Page, at www.dive.noaa.gov, should be added to your Favorites list.  Planning a diving or snorkeling trip is no easy task. Divers need to consider the environment they are diving as well as their own personal safety before submerging into the water. NOAA has many resources available for recreational divers to help make trip planning easier and more enjoyable. 

This Web site provides direct links to specific NOAA services and products that divers should use in planning memorable dives, for instance the Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail, nautical charts and maps, and the Wreck Database of approximately 10,000 submerged wrecks and obstructions in the coastal waters of the United States.

Whether you are tying to find out tomorrow's weather forecast, local navigation charts or tips on how to be an environmentally responsible diver, remember that NOAA is here to help. Think of NOAA as your dive planning partner and take advantage of the information that is provided here! 

Click here for more Websites of the Month!

October Wacky Foto

 Why yes, this IS a real "Navy Seal"! This 375-pound sea lion is part of a special Navy SEAL team that went to Iraq to detect enemy divers. 
 

 Click here for more Wacky Fotos!