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In this month’s issue--
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Bon Voyage to 11 ESDC
members who fly to Roatan, Bay Island, Honduras this month! Dive Safely!!
Have a great time! |
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www.emeraldseadiveclub.org
Regular Features
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Dive
& Event Calendar
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As the holidays draw near we need to remind ourselves that you can never have too much dive gear. Providing that you have been good boys and girls this year, Santa may reward you with the much coveted package containing your greatest diving want. Please don’t worry about asking for too much on the wish list to ol’ Saint Nick, there is no harm in asking for the latest $600.00 Scuba Pro regulator or fancy dive computer that supports Windows XP and gets the current football game via satellite uplink, (very useful on long deco stops). I know the rules state that Christmas is a time of giving, but hey, somebody’s going to give you something. It might as well be something you want. Make those wishes known; tell everybody that you are not above taking presents. Clothing is nice, but you can’t play with clothes like you can with a new canister light. Besides how helpful is a cardigan sweater with poodle dogs on it when you are at 70 ft in the dark? If you feel compelled to give to those who have less than you don’t feel bad to give to yourself. More than likely you have less than your dive buddy, therefore you qualify as one of those people. Remember the old adage, He or She with the most toys in the end wins…
Jason Miller
ESDC President 2002
Stay Wet, and Stay Dry…Dry Suit Diving
Starting out in a wet suit -- no problem. We are brave, and we plunge into the 45-degree water with a “can do” attitude. After 50 dives we begin to consider a dry suit.
While many people prefer warm water diving, most of us NW divers only have access to the cold water, and especially for beginners, diving during the winter is not so inviting.
It can be a tough decision when you are first starting out. The choices and the possibility are endless. Would it be compressed neoprene? Kevlar Suit? Shell or tri-laminate style suit? Front or back entry? Dry gloves? Latex or Neoprene seal? So many decisions!
Join us this month for a very informative evening of “DIVING DRY.” ESDC has invited Eric Morris, president and founder of Hightide Drysuit in Port Orchard, WA. Eric will share with us the secret of diving dry and how we can enjoy our sport year round. Keep your fins on and keep diving this winter.
Don’t
forget—
We will be voting for club officers and member of the year at this Wednesday’s meeting. If you need an absentee ballot but didn’t receive one, call or e-mail me and I will zip you out a printed copy posthaste!!
Wendy
ESDC Newsletter Editor 2001-2002
206-632-3874
astromoi@earthlink.net
The weathermen had called for a windy and rainy day on Thursday, October 10th and as we arrived at the Tsuwassen Ferry Terminal I really wasn’t sure what we would get. The wind blew at our backs as we made our way to the parking lot cafeteria hastening our steps to quickly escape the chill. I silently wondered if I should take another Bonine or if we would even be able to get out to the wrecks that day. At about 10:30 AM Skip, Loogpla, Rodney and I met our guest, John Church, from the Eugene Dive Club at Ocean Explorers Dive Center in Nanaimo, BC for a beautiful weekend of diving.
We were immediately informed by Ian Hall, Ocean Explorers proprietor, of the conditions at the wrecks and he advised us to choose alternate, more protected dive sites for diving that day. On the ferry crossing we had the pleasure of meeting up with Rick Stratton, publisher and editor of Northwest Dive News, who was heading to Ocean Explorers also to meet with Ian. We were asked if we would mind if he joined us for diving that day. Clarke Rock was our first dive. Visibility wasn’t the best but we were excited to find the wolf eels that Ian had described in our dive briefing. It turned out that Rick and John were the only ones who found any and they found three!! After a quick lunch we headed to Jesse Island Wall where we had a beautiful second dive and Rodney and I found a humongus octopus. The six of us had dinner at the Sake House that evening where we enjoyed eating sushi and sharing Shabu-Shabu with Skip and Loogpla.
Friday brought a day of beautiful sunshine and calm seas. We knew we would be diving the wrecks. today. The first of our three dives was on the Cape Breton, the first for all of us except Rodney. We were excited about finding the club plaque with our names engraved on it. I was amazed by the expanse of the wreck even though I had spent hours on it on land. Seeing it underwater was truly spectacular. I am sure that it will take another ten or more dives to see the whole outside of it and possibly on one of those I will get to see that plaque. Our second dive was on the Sascatchewan which has now been down for five and a half years. The life there is getting denser and changes from year to year. It always seems to be a new dive each time I visit her. We were told by Ian that the medallion for the Citizen dive watch still has not been found. More reason to return to the wreck again. We finished our day at Four fathom Reef where Loogpla and I found an octopus at the bottom of the anchor line and then another one a bit later in the dive. That evening we took a foot passenger ferry to the Dinghy Dock Pub, a floating pub recommended by our hosts at the Buccaneer Hotel. We enjoyed a variety of appetizers and entrees. The food was very good and we all left with stuffed bellies ready to hit the sack.
Saturday was another beautiful day with even calmer seas than on Friday. We were given a choice to either visit the wrecks again or do some wall diving. The group decided on new dives and chose the walls. We headed out to Snake Island Wall for our first dive. This turned out to be Rodney’s favorite dive of the weekend. The site is teaming with all sorts of life both on the wall and in the shallows. We saw everything from large cloud and boot sponges and plumous anemones to nudibranchs, a variety of seastars, China Rock fish and black eyed gobies. Rodney even got buzzed by one of the harbor seals as he was coming up off of the wall. Following a quick lunch, we headed off to Orlebar Wall where we got to see beautiful crimson anemones and really large Alabaster nudibranchs as well as a variety of other nudibranchs and seastars. I really enjoyed that dive especially swimming around in the shallower depths where the sun was shining on everything. But, my favorite dive of the weekend was the last one at Dodd Narrows. The exchange was a small one that day and, as most often happens, Ian timed our splash just right. The current was mild enough that those who wanted to ride it the length of the island and back could do so and others could duck into the nooks and crannies and stop to look at the small stuff and take pictures. I got 60 minutes out of that dive and enjoyed every minute of all the beautiful life that we get to see there. What a perfect way to end our weekend of Charter diving. We ended off the day with beer, appetizers and dinner at Miller’s Pub where Rodney held the pool table until he was tired and we discussed the dives we had done with each other and new friends we had made along the way.
Ocean Explorers has a new dive boat, The Christy Bay, which is just about ready to be put into use for day charters. It will take up to sixteen divers and will have facilities to refrigerate and microwave our lunches as well as purchase frozen entrees. We all had such a good time we are already discussing our next adventure trip to dive in Nanaimo. We hope you can join us the next time.
Elena
DiPardo
By
Max Stritzel
On Saturday the 10th of August
several members of the Emerald Sea Dive Club went down to the Virginia Mason
Hyperbaric chamber and had a great tour.
In attendance for the chamber were Skip, Loogpla, Elena, Dan, Anya,
Calaera, Caroline, Max, and Vera.
Dan Williams was our camera man for the day.
He had a chance to take some really impressive photos of the chamber and of the
staff on hand. We were unable to see much inside the chamber because there was
a recovering burn victim in treatment. The chamber is not only used for the
treatment of divers but also in cases of severe burns and wounds that occur at
higher altitudes. I found this to be impressive because I thought there was
only one use for the hyperbaric chambers.
Amazingly the hyperbaric chamber is used most everyday.
One of the funniest stories was of the
17-year-old that was not using dive gauges at the time of his dive. Now, most
of us would never even think to hit the water without a couple of gauges and
some of us look like we came out of a big computer terminal with all of the
gauges we use. But this poor kid only used an oxygen tank and a regulator. When
he went to use the bathroom later, he was unable to urinate. He wound up in the
chamber because there was a nitrogen bubble stuck in his spine. Luckily he
recovered and was advised to use proper gear the next time he went diving.
Our tour guide explained there are several
contributing factors to getting the bends; the main problems being lack of
sleep, too much caffeine in the system, and not properly completing safety
stops.
After this tour we met at Uwajimaya for
lunch. We also had a chance to try
something different, Skip and Loogpla bought some Duraien fruit. Max had eaten
some in the Philippines when he was in the military. This inspired Vera to
purchase some Duraien fruit cookies. Now if you have never consumed any of
these cookies or fruit, the fruit itself has a very pungent smell but the taste
is simply wonderful! (to those of us who have developed taste buds for it!)
Max
By Tina Seawell
Usually I dread catching any ferry, but Saturday morning it was "pay and load" at the Mukilteo ferry. There was only time to grab a cup of coffee from the Buzz Inn. So during the ride to the Keystone Jetty, I kept looking for a place to grab a bite to eat. About four miles before the turnoff to the Keystone Jetty, I discovered a great little country store. It is on the left, a gray building with a post office on one side and two gas pumps out front. Inside grandma cooked me scrambled eggs and ham for two bucks. I bought a hunk of sharp cheddar sliced from a cheese round and some fresh fruit. It was hard to resist the homemade cherry pie.
An unexpected bonus of diving the Keystone jetty on a gray, misty October day is the lack of company. Elena, Tyler, and I met at 9:30 for a 10:30 splash. We saw a total of five other divers while there. This meant that most of time under water we were alone. Don't think I will ever go to Keystone in the summer again. We saw a six octopus, they were all still in bed. Must have been a late night crab fest, because there were few crabs around. Also saw four grunt sculpins, a couple of gunnels, lots of rock fish, painted greenlings, and numerous sculpins in various sizes and colors. Visibility was about twenty feet.
From the Jetty, we headed to the Langley Marina, stopping for lunch at the small Pizzeria at the top of hill, near the Marina turnoff. We ordered the Chicken Salad Caesar Pizza, which was different and good, even if I could only eat the topping.
This was my first dive at the
Langley Marina. The access is easy.
Sand is much easier to walk on than rock. Visibility was around 15 feet and the water was like a sandy
morning fog and filled with schools of shiners. The tire reef is surrealistic,
with lots of crabs, dungeness and decorator.
One decorator crab had covered itself with light brown algea and was
almost indistinguishable on one of the large cresote logs lying on the reef.
The highlight of this dive was a colony of nudibranchs. There were hundreds of
small gray white nudibranchs on wide dark purple seaweed. I'm fairly certain that they were
Acanthodoris pilosa. A photograph can
be found at http://www.vibrantsea.net/pilosa4_hardy11.html.
The facilities at Langley have been improved. There is a new outdoor shower, located outside the men's shower room. The heated floors and warm shower inside was a great ending to a good day of diving. Just don't forget quarters for the shower, it's distressing to be naked and need quarters for the water.
Tina
On the way home from our recent dive trip to the Nanaimo. BC area where we got to see Ocean Explorers’ new dive boat “The Christy Bay” we discussed how fun it would be to dive off of it. We agreed it would be fun to return there at a time when the diving is usually pretty good because of the great visibility. As a result, I am hosting our 4th annual February trip to dive the Nanaimo area. Unfortunately, I didn’t reserve the boat early enough to get President’s Day weekend this year, but I did get the following weekend. The dates are February 21st through the 23rd. The cost will be approximately $200.00 based on double occupancy and last years prices. I have booked this trip but we need a minimum of ten divers to secure the Christy Bay for the weekend , but we can take up to sisteen. In the past, we have been able to take up to 14 divers and have filled the trip every time. So, if you think you might want to go let me know as soon as possible and get a deposit down. A $100.00 deposit will be due by the January general meeting.
If you have other questions about the trip, please give me a call or e-mail me at edipardo@u.washington.edu.
Elena DiPardo
We will be going to Skyline Marina Wall in Anacortes on Sunday, Nov. 10th.
The wall in not really at the marina. You need to drive
toward the Anacortes Ferry, look for the Marina. Once you are in the
parking area go to the open beach that is located just to the north
of the marina. The wall itself bottoms out at a depth of 85-95',
depending on the tide height. The wall has many shelves. You can
find both Pectin and Rock Scallops too. This dive is excellent. We
hope you can make it.
Editor’s Note: For the benefit of Emerald Sea Dive Club
members, the Newsletter may include news of upcoming sales at dive shops in the
area. The ESDC does not support or endorse any one dive shop over another.
We received this announcement from Starfish Enterprise:
Starfish Enterprise announces its BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR.
Our annual December sale – every year you wait for this opportunity to save on the dive equipment you really want – and need.
Get the Best Prices of the Year on:
ONE DAY ONLY…………SATURDAY,
DECEMBER 7, 2002
10:00 AM to
4:00 PM
Please come on down! We’re looking forward to seeing you!
Starfish Enterprise
600 W. Nickerson
Seattle, WA
(206) 286-6596
Editor’s Note: For the benefit of Emerald Sea Dive Club
members, the Newsletter may include news of upcoming sales at dive shops in the
area. The ESDC does not support or endorse any one dive shop over another.
We received this
announcement from Bubbles Below:
Bubbles Below is having an after DEMA "What's New Sale."
This is One Day Only event Saturday November 9th.
Join us for free manufacturer seminars, prizes and extraordinary
savings on equipment.
Visit Bubbles Below website for complete SALE information,
http://www.bubblesbelow.com
Don't miss it! Saturday November 9th!
Bubbles Below - The Scuba Professionals
425-424-3483
http://www.bubblesbelow.com
Date:
Wednesday,
November 6, 2002
Place:
Coco’s
Restaurant
7929 Lake
Ballinger Way
Edmonds, WA
Time:
Board meeting 6:00
PM (everyone welcome)
General
meeting 7:00 PM
Speaker:
Eric
Morris/Hightide Drysuit (see article this issue)
How To Get There:
From I-5 take exit #177,
and then head west toward Edmonds until
the “Y” in the road (approx. 1.5 miles).
Turn Left onto 205th Street.
Coco’s is on your right in the center of the “Y.”
The board officers have
volunteered to be there for the club and for you. If you have any questions pertaining to the club, feel free to
contact any officer.
President:
Jason Miller (425) 778-7548
jason.miller@IDG-Corp.com
Vice President:
Loogpla Cowden (206) 399-5682
loogpla@worldnet.att.net
Treasurer:
Rodney Windhorst (425) 258-3071
Lsvision@earthlink.net
Secretary/Historian:
Anya Dollar (425) 345-4210
dollara@earthlink.net
Activities Coordinator:
Buck Knight (206) 542-8887
l.sceptre3@verizon.net
Newsletter Editor:
Wendy Drucker (206) 632-3874
astromoi@earthlink.net
Big Buddy Coordinator:
Guy Balbirona (425) 252-1632
kaikanuni@aol.com
Webmaster:
Lucas Scott (425) 640-9896
lukenmel@msn.com
Looking for a dive
buddy? The members listed here are
hoping someone will want to go for a dive. Give ‘em a call!
David Mangels - anytime
(425) 483-6897
Skip Stacy - rainy days
(425) 775-2410
Guy Balbirona - anytime
after work (3:30)
(425) 252-1632
Jason Miller - Rescue (425) 778-7548
jason.miller@idg-corp.com
Visit our web site at www.emeraldseadiveclub.org
Or write to us at:
Emerald Sea Dive Club
P.O. Box 73
Edmonds, WA 98020
Or call or e-mail any of the board members.
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November 10 (Sun) Skyline Marina, Anacortes |
Meet at the dive site: 1:00 PM See article this issue for directions |
Host: Skip Stacy (425) 775-2410 |
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November 16-23 Roatan, Bay Island, Honduras |
Anthony’s Key Resort See Skip and Loogpla for
update on availability |
Hosts: Skip & Loogpla (425) 775-2410 |
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December 1 (Sun) Richmond Beach Park |
Meet at noon |
Host: Skip Stacy (425)775-2410 |
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December 6
(Fri) ESDC Holiday Party |
At Milltown Sailing Assn. Clubhouse, Everett. Details to follow. Fun! Fun! Fun!! |
Chair of Holiday Party Committee: Elena DiPardo (425) 334-1640 |
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December 8
(Sun) Edmonds Underwater Park |
9:30 AM: Clean buoys 1:30 PM Dive Telegraph Way |
Host: Loogpla (206) 399-5682 |
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December 15 (Sun) Richmond Beach Park |
Meet at noon |
Host: Skip Stacy (425)775-2410 |
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December 22 (Sun) Urchin Rock, Rosario Beach |
Meet at 1:00 PM Call Skip for details and directions |
Host: Skip Stacy (425)775-2410 |
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December 29
(Sun) Edmonds Oil Dock |
Meet at noon |
Host: Skip Stacy (425)775-2410 |