December President’s Message
Wow! 2025 is in our rear view mirror! Every year seems to go by more quickly than the previous one.
As usual we held the nominations for the E-board at the November meeting. The nominations are still open. We will take additional nominations at the December meeting. All positions are open! I was happy to see some new people accepting nominations and as I said all nominations are still open.
Our Holiday party is on for December 6 at the I T Parker center in Dania Beach. Look forward to lots of food, open bar and great music. If the vin ordinarier that we serve doesn’t suit you feel free to bring whatever you like.
The Christmas tree dive will be held on the 13th of December. As usual we will be on the Sea Experience docked at the Seventeenth Street Causeway. This is always a fun dive for both us as divers and the fish getting a free meal.
Our annual holiday lights cruise will be Sunday December 21. Once again we will hold the event on the Sea Experience, docked at the Seventeenth Street Causeway. Please bring your beverage of choice and some finger food to share. Once again, feel free to bring guests. The boat will leave the dock promptly at 6pm. The cost for this event will be $37, the same as last year. That includes tax and gratuity. We plan to be back at the dock before 9pm. Please send a check to the club PO Box or pay by PayPal.
As the year is coming to a close, please remember to renew your membership. Don’t forget that you must fill out a renewal form and sign the waivers. You must also provide proof of insurance that will cover a dive injury. Please remember to update your information if you have moved or changed phone numbers or email addresses. You can download the renewal form from the club website.
I would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and a happy and healthy new year.
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Jeff
November President’s Message
We have some important business to take care of at our next two meetings. November will be the nominations of our executive board and December will be our elections. All positions are open and I encourage everyone to consider running for an office. You can nominate yourself or ask someone to nominate you. New blood is always welcome.
Our biggest social event of the year will be here before we know it. December is right around the corner and I am looking forward to having a great time at the Holiday Party which will be held on December 6th this year. Please feel free to bring as many guests as you like. The more the merrier! We are back at the I T Parker community center in Dania Beach so we will also be back to having an open bar. If you prefer to drink your favorite wine or any other alcohol feel free to bring it.
The water will be cooling down a bit soon but it is still quite nice. Think about joining us for some diving. For a great time plan on joining us for the sinking of the Christmas tree on December 13. It’s always a lot of fun and of course the more the merrier. What we do is sink the Christmas tree from the holiday party on one of our wrecks. Once it is settled on the wreck, we descend in our holiday garb, and decorate the tree with things that fish like to eat, typically other fish. Once the decorating is done we back off and the feeding frenzy begins. It is always a great photo opportunity.
We had such a good time last year on the holiday lights cruise that we will be doing it again. We pretty much get the Sea Experience to ourselves and cruise the Intracoastal Waterway and admire the water front homes decorated for the holidays. We bring our own beverages and snacks and appetizers to share. This year it will be on December 21. Please consider joining us. It’s always a fun time.
Jeff
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OCTOBER PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Once again we had a really good time on the Keys weekend. We returned to the Ragged Edge and again had the whole resort to ourselves. It just doesn’t get any better. We were blessed with good weather, sunny skies and flat seas All in all it was a fun weekend. We returned to Lazy Days for dinner and it was terrific as usual. Much thanks to Joe Smariga for a great weekend.
We are looking forward to the annual Seafood Fest (Saturday Oct 4 Fort Lauderdale Firefighters Benevolent Association). See calendar and website for more details. Hoping to see many of you there.
Summer is officially over but our weather is still good and the water is still warm. Check out the calendar and join other club members on a dive before winter sets
I hope to see many of you soon on a club event.
Live long and lobster.
Jeff
🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞
September President’s Message
Our summer is practically over! Where did it go? We patiently wait for its arrival all winter and dream about warm water, it comes, and then it’s gone. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the water is still warm and we still have a couple of months to enjoy it before it chills down.
On September 20 we are going to hopefully get a glimpse of the Goliath Groupers that use the wrecks as a romantic getaway. We will be on the Ocean Quest Scuba boat. Please see the calendar for all of the details
Our annual seafood festival will be held at the Firefighters Benevolent Association, on October 4. To avoid the ire of Joe, make sure your seafood is defrosted. Don’t forget to bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert. We will provide the usual wine, beer, soft drinks and water. If you have a favorite beverage feel free to bring it. I hope to see a lot of you there. Feel free to invite guests. Price for members $15 and for guests $20.
Despite my somber opening, we still have lots of warm water dives on the schedule. Be sure to sign up and join us.
Live long and lobster!
Jeff Raffa
President SFDI