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South Florida Divers, Inc. 


October 2004 Newsletter
CONTENTS

President's Message Come Join The Fun !
Calendar for October and beyond October's Program
Seafood Fest / 30th Birthday Party Sandra Soler's Scuba Pics
Happy October Birthday! Turks & Caicos Trip Planned
Oleta State Park Rendezvous Papua, New Guinea Trip Planned

President's Message

 
        ~ By Jeff Guzowski                       

Whew!  We have been pretty lucky so far during this busy hurricane season.  It seems the hurricane gods must be angry with Florida this year, since we have had already 5 hurricanes in the last 40 days.  We still have till November 30th to hold our breath and hope that we are spared anymore threats. Being hit by a category 4 hurricane could be catastrophic to the southeast coast of Florida, since it could do a lot of damage to the reef system. 

I want to thank Peter Kendrigan for his presentation at the September meeting.  Unfortunately hurricane Frances was getting closer to South Florida, and we only had maybe around 30 brave people who showed up.

Then as the date of the Seafood Fest was getting closer, also getting closer was hurricane Ivan.  It was a difficult choice to reschedule the Seafood Fest, but it seemed that the weather people could not make a definite call on where Ivan would make landfall, and it caused some concern about a last minute cancellation of the party, which would have resulted in a loss of our deposit.  Since all of October was already booked at the Yacht Club, it was unfortunate that the only date that was available to reschedule was Saturday, September 25th, Yom Kippur.  Our club tries to take into consideration all religious holidays, but because of no other date being available; we had no other choice but to book this date. 

Update:   The Seafood Fest was cancelled once again, thanks to another hurricane named Jeanne.  As you all know by now we had to postpone the party again, the new, and first available date will be Saturday, November 6th. 

Because of all this hurricane activity, we would like to ask that you check your email often for any changes, cancellations or rescheduling of any events that are going on, or that you might be signed up on.  If you do not have email, please keep in touch with the coordinator for the event or any eboard member by phone. 

Stay safe

SKI

 

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Come Join The Fun  !!

We are delighted to welcome new members Robin Merson and Ron Kaufman!  We look forward to diving with you! 

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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October 2004 Calendar and beyond


~ By Cheryl Teugels, Vice President of Calendar 


Phone numbers of trip coordinators are not posted here to ensure privacy.  If you are a club member, consult your Buddy List for numbers or call Cheryl Teugels

  • October 3 : 8:15am Show, 8:30 Go, Private Boat Dive - John Lloyd State Park. Meet Joe Smariga, Bright & Early.
  • October 6 : General meeting. RAMADA INN FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT, 2275 State Road 84.  [Driving directions here] [Map here]  NOTE: additional parking on west side of Ramada.
  • October 9th : 12:30 Show, 1:00 Go,  Dive the Florida Keys with Debby Auchter with Conch Republic Divers at MM90.8 in Tavernier. $55.00 for a 2 tank dive. Enjoy Dinner  afterward at one of the marvelous Keys restaurants. Contact Debby to sign up.
  • October 11 : 7:30 PM: SFDI Executive Board meeting at Connections for Business, 2843 Pembroke Rd. NE corner of I-95 and Pembroke Road.  Members please feel free to sit in and join us! 
  • October 17 : UPDATED, 12:30 Show, 1:00 Go. Dive the Starfish Enterprise in Lantana. Dive planned to "The Horseshoe", (weather permitting.) $45.00 includes tip. Limited to first 13 Paid. Call Dave Schneider
  • October 23: 7:00pm till???, " Casino Night" at the Hollywood Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (directions here). Meet Cheryl and Lou Teugels at the Entrance for some Gambling Fun and Dinner !!
  • October 24 : !0:00am till Dusk, - Oleta State Park - ( map here ) Enjoy a day of Outdoor Activities or Relaxation with Dave Wills. Bring your Favorite Foods and Enjoy the Picnik. See More info below.
  • October 31 : 12:30 Show, 1:00 Go, ADVANCE CERT. Dive. Dive The "Rebel", with Cheryl Teugels. Afterward enjoy Dinner and Drink at a Local Restaurant of Choice.
  • November 6 : 5:00pm Til Midnight, " SFDI 30th Anniversary " Seafood Festival. At The Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club , ( map here ) . Bring your Catch of the Day and a Favorite Dish to share.  See more info below.
  • December 11:  Annual Holiday Party at I.T. Parker Center in Dania Beach.
  • June 18 - 25, 2005: Turks and Caicos Trip. Join Pete Stephinson for a Trip to Club Med. More info below.
  • July 4-10 : Private Boat Trip to Bimini, Cat Cay and Points South. Approx. $ 1,200.00
  • October 28 to November 7, 2005 : Papua, New Guinea, Join Fred Miller aboard Peter Hughes Live-A-Board "Star Dancer" . See more info below. 
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 Oleta State Park Rendezvous

Sunday, October 24, 2004

 

             Please join Dave Wells for a fun filled day at Oleta River State Park's

            Pelican Pavilion. The Pelican Pavilions waterfront location provides especially good 

            access for canoeing and kayaking. You can explore Oleta River, paddle to the islands in 

           the bay, or wander along the canals under the mangrove canopy.

                The park also offers biking trails...from mountain biking to hard surfaces. This includes     i          a bike washdown station ( if you really get into the dirt ).

                 Dave hopes to have grills going for lunch and dinner. So bring your hungry friends and 

           and family and your favorite cookout food.

        

           Activities include : Cooking and eating, swimming and beaching, biking and hiking,         

           kayaking and canoeing ( bring your own ), bird and wildlife watching.

 

           Things to bring : swimsuit, sunscreen, watertoys ,food, drink and a smile !

           Things provided : Disposable tableware (plates ,cups utensils ), charcoal and lighter.

 

                                                          See : www.floridastateparks.org/oletariver

                   

            SEE YOU THERE  !!

 

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SEAFOOD FEST / 30th BIRTHDAY PARTY

Rescheduled For November 6, 2004

Every year our club has a Seafood Fest party in September, but this year is a special one, since our club will be celebrating its 30th birthday at the same time.  This party will be held on Saturday, November 6 , from 5PM to midnight.  The party will be held at the Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club.  This is a great party where you bring your latest catch, whether it is lobster, fish or even steak for those landlubbers, who don’t like seafood. We will have one of our famous club chef’s standing by to grill it for you, to perfection.  You also need to bring a covered dish, and there will be food sign up sheets at the October Club meeting (see Cheryl or Gerry) to either give you an idea of what to bring, or see what everybody else is bringing so not to duplicate too many dishes.  If you have never been to the Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club for one of our parties, directions will be on the website, and hard copies will be available at the Sept. meeting, or feel free to call me or any E Board member for directions.  So come and bring your entrée, covered dish and $5 per person, and hope to see you there.

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October  Program

Gregory Galland

   Our October guest speaker is Greg Galland. In June Greg and friends traveled to Maylasia to dive the islands of Sipadan and Mabul before the island of Sipidan is closed in order to become a WWF site on Jan. 1, 2005. Come see his slideshow presentation.
   The Diving in Sipidan lived up to it's reputation as the turtle mecca of the world. There were green turtles, hawksbill kemper-riddley and leatherbacks. Schools of bigeye trevaley jacks, batfish and bumphead parrotfish, kept our cameras clicking. 
   The diving in Sipidan is mostly wall diving. The best site was barricuda. We also experienced a wild ride at hanging gardens with a downwelling. 
We were one of the few groups to explore the turtle cave. The visibility was 40-60 ft. and the water temprature was 80 degrees. Mabul diving was a contrast to Sipidan. Shallow dives and murky water prevailed. The visibility did not matter as you were looking only 1 to 3 feet in front of you, looking at little creatures among the coral croppings. There were numerous nudibranchs, flat worms, ghost pipefish, blue ribbon eels, frogfish, 
manta shrimp and squat lobsters. 
   We also did a three day extension to Borneo to take in the orangatans, probiscia and pigmy elephants.

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.

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2004 Scuba Pics

Photo's by Sanda Soler

                                        

                                     

 

 

Click Here for more of Sandra's Pictures

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Happy October Birthday!

Carol Clayton

 

Annie Baugh

  

Debby Auchter

  

Jeanne Kossey

 

Diana Rudnik

 

Steve Seacrest

 

Cary Soloman

 

Lydia Soloman

 

Pam Munsey

 

John Hunziker

 

 

 

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Turks & Caicos Trip Planned

June 18-25,2005

We are planning a trip to the Turk & Caicos Islands. We will be staying at Club Med

(www.clubmed.com/) which is an all-inclusive resort. The diving is great - checkout the photo's in 

Julie Taylor's Turks & Caicos Gallery.  To reserve your place, sign up at the September meeting. 

The cost for the trip, which includes all transportation, accommodation, food, premium drinks, entertainment and water sports is expected to be $1500 per person plus you will have the option of taking either a 6 day or 3 day dive package ($305 or $180).  

To confirm your space you need to make a $250 deposit now plus $250 due at the October meeting. In the event that you have to cancel, the trip will be refundable up through mid March, though if you cancel and we are unable to find a replacement you may forfeit up to a maximum of $40.
Spaces will be limited --- if you're interested I suggest you sign up now and put down your deposit - spaces will go to the first people to put down their $$.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA

 

October 28 thru November 7, 2005

 

 

 

             Join Fred Miller for a ten day live aboard dive trip  scheduled for          

            Papua New Guinea aboard the Peter Hughes dive boat " Star Dancer ".      i           The trip is scheduled for October 28 thru November 7, 2005. These dates

            put us in the area at a time when there is little rain, the least wind and 

           with clear waters of 84 to 88 degrees.

           Papua New Guinea is noted for the diversity and abundance of fish life, 

           creatures, corals and is one of the best areas for photographers.

            Current price for the live aboard portion of this 10 day trip is $ 3006.00

           before any discounts.

            This trip will start from Walindi, on New Britian, PNG, travel thru Kimbe Bay,

           and at Kavieng, New Ireland, noted for its large pelagic sea life.

           For more information on this dive trip, please go to www.peterhughes.com

             and click on Star Dancer at the top.

             

 

             

        

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