Emerald Sea Dive Club

Newsletter

January 2003

In This Issue ~~~

Regular Features

A Word From The President

The board for 2003 met on December 20^th to discuss the direction of our club. Our board is constructed of 7 elected and 2 appointed positions. This group is highly motivated and highly creative. This brainstorming session created numerous ideas ranging from club activities to greater membership involvement.

After a lengthy meeting the final consensus was to increase the level of enthusiasm within the membership through greater club hosted activities. The board felt that it is our duty to lead the charge and get the ball rolling. I handed out a list of goals to each of the board members specific to their office. From this baseline of goals, each officer had an opportunity to expand with their own ideas. I was more than overjoyed by the response. We parted company after this 2 hour meeting feeling more excited, exuberant and creative due to the energy that flowed from each officer.

The first goal was to have more planned club activities for the membership to participate in. I will be hosting one dive each month. These dives will be designed for all skill levels. One dive will be a President hosted club sponsored summer picnic for the whole family. Each officer has been asked to host two dives each.

The activities coordinators were busy developing plans for theme dive outings and a picture poster board to be displayed at the meetings. These pictures will depict our club in action at various outings and trips. Chad Cabe is working on a "Poker run" theme dive and an award for the member who has attended the most number of club hosted dives. Chad will also be heading up a dive sign-in sheet for each club hosted dive to keep track of who has done the most dives at club sanctioned events.

The Big Buddy Coordinator position will continue as normal, but with a few new duties added. The coordinator will create a program to mentor new divers on dive planning and dive hosting. This position will also work on developing dives that are aimed at testing your skills of navigation and orienteering ability along with "Zen" diving.

Loopla is committed to keeping the guest speakers coming to each of our meetings. She will also keep up the great guest packets that she hands out to all of our guests during the monthly meetings. Look forward to four outings at Richmond beach for the ever popular critter collection dive and BBQ.

Elena is going to continue with the electronically distributed newsletter. She has returned to her former position with whip in hand to coax all members into contributing articles to our beloved newsletter. Please support our club and help Elena by submitting articles, recipes and hosted dive information.

Your board is very dedicated to the overall success and well being of our club. Watch for an increase in club hosted activities this year. We will continue with time honored favorites plus have a number of new surprises for your enjoyment. In the famed words of Commander Farragut "damn the torpedoes-full speed ahead" ~~~~~Jason Miller, President 2003

JANUARY'S SPEAKER

Decompression Sickness/ Bubble Trouble:

We'd like to start out 2003 with a very informative risk factor for the sport we love so much. In the year 2002 a Divers Alert Network (DAN) speaker came to our meeting and shared with us numerous topics of DAN's research programs, including the "Field Doppler" research. We also had the opportunity to visit the Virginia Mason Hyperbaric Chamber. Please join us for part 3 of Hyperbaric Medicine. Mr. Richard Dunford, MS has been with the Hyperbaric Department since 1976. Mr. Dunford is a national expert in decompression illness, and he will be available to answer any questions you may have in regards to the risk elements, and the use of Doppler ultrasound in the development of decompression tables. We hope to see you there

UPCOMING FUN DIVES

PRESIDENTIAL WEAR YOUR FUNNY HAT DIVE

On January 18^th I invite you to dive with me at the Edmonds Oil Dock located in Marina Beach Park. Please come to the site around 10:30 am. Splash time is 12:00 noon with actual slack at 12:20 pm. I prefer to get to the site early to allow for a leisurely pace to gear up and give a dive briefing. This site is has a long surface swim, approximately 300 yards and is very current dependant so splashing at noon is very important so we can dive during slack current.

This is one of my favorite dives in the greater Seattle region. The depths range from 10ft near the shore to well beyond the depths of recreational diving. Average depth is 35 to 70 fsw at the west edge of the pilings. You will expect to see Ling cod, Sailfin Sculpin, Rat Fish, Cabezon, Crab and giant sea anemones.

Marina Beach Park is located south of the Edmonds ferry terminal on Admiral Way just south of the marina.

I would like to have you wear your funniest hat to this dive. The person with the wildest and funniest hat will win a prize of little value, but very tasty.

Time permitting we will do a second dive at the Underwater Park in Edmonds.

Jason Miller

ESDC President 2003

Cell #206-465-3366

DIVE NANAIMO

Annual Camp Casey Critter Collection

Here's one you don't want to miss. This is one of ESDC's oldest traditions and most popular dive weekends.

I have set and confirmed the dates for our spring collection weekend at Casey Conference Center. It will be the weekend of March 22nd and 23rd. We need to get in the water at 7:15 AM for Saturday mornings first dive and 1 PM for the second. For Sunday splash will be at 7:50 AM and again at 1:50 PM. This year Mitch has scheduled us for the BOQ, although I am going to ask about "J" barracks again for this year. The coat has gone up from $55 to $60 per person. ~~ Mike Mcgrath

Friends of Richmond Beach Project (F.O.R.B.)

Want to do something beyond sightseeing while you dive? Come to the next F.O.R.B. work party and make a difference! Meet Sunday, January 19, 1:00 PM, at Richmond Beach. Plan on having fun.

ESDC begins the Richmond Beach Project

In 1994 the Emerald Sea Dive Club adopted Richmond Beach Park with the hope of creating an underwater park. During our preliminary investigation and early efforts we were tripped up by obstacles and lost in loopholes. We had to deal with various official agencies from the State Department of Fish and WildLife to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We also needed the City of Shoreline to apply for many of our permits regarding actions near water. The City was not in favor of funding the project. With these concerns in mind, ESDC has been keeping peace with the city officials by supporting City of Shoreline critter dives and beach walks during spring and summer.

From 1994 to1996, ESDC enhanced the site with underwater trails, using large blocks graciously donated by various sources before all the difficulties arose. Richmond Beach is very secluded and well groomed. The dive site, with its many geoduck beds and limited marine life, is rated as an easy and relaxing site to enjoy.

Richmond Beach Project put on Hold

The past four years we have let nature take its course. Today there's life! We notice many sea anemones, many varieties of sea stars, sea cucumbers, lingcods, and occasionally an octopus under the big blocks. However, we lost the marker buoy in the year 2000, and the underwater trails got displaced during big winter storms.

What does the future hold for the Richmond Beach dive site? If we take no further action, it will probably revert to its previous barren state and the effort ESDC made there would be diminished or undone. The divers we hoped to attract might not return to dive this site again. I would like to continue with the Richmond Beach project, developing and enhancing the underwater environment to create marine habitats and an interesting scuba site for divers to visit.

Let's Restart the Richmond Beach Project

The plan and goal for this project will be environmental friendly. We will utilize what already exists underwater. The plan would be:

• Straightening of the existing trails
• Reattaching the missing section of the trails
• Creating two 4x4-rock reefs at the depth of 30 FSW, totaling 32 square feet. Utilizing the rock and boulders around the beach
• Creating a "navigation course" with the existing blocks located at the depth of 65 FSW

The Emerald Sea Dive Club has a history of improving Richmond Beach. We are going to help the environment, create a great space for divers, and have lots of fun in the process. We ask you for your support and involvement in this worthwhile club activity. Please join us on Sunday, January 19^th at 1:00 PM, Richmond Beach. We will be locating and mapping the materials that got displaced. We hope to see you.

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

Hello ESDC members. I am looking forward to another exciting year of diving with all of you, serving on the board and most of all editing YOUR newsletter. The key word here being YOUR. I do enjoy doing this job but equally feel it is only what the membership contributes to it. I would like to see as many of you contributing to it as possible. Examples of contributions are dive site reviews, dive reviews, enthusiastic write-ups of upcoming dives that get the members excited enough to actually go and do the dive, your memoirs of a "dive of a lifetime" dive trip, and even recipes of the favorite foods you may have experienced as a result of diving in exotic places. And, of course, if you are on a dive with me there is a good chance you will be singled out to write your thoughts on the dive, especially if I haven't seen any contributions from you. These are just a few but, hey, you get the idea.

So, that being said, there are a number of ways to get information into the newsletter and get a newsletter out for everyone to benefit from it. The way I prefer to receive the information is through an attachment from a word document, but I will accept it just in an email too. If there is no way you can send it electronically and you have to send it by snail mail, please be sure it is ledgible so I can transcribe it without to much difficulty.

Each month there will be a deadline date for articles to be printed in the newsletter. Please try to get them in by that date. If they arrive a day or two later I will still do my best to get them in but make no promises. It does take a bit of time to get this all together and, frankly, I have a busy life so please help me make this easy. I also intend to send the newsletter out each month one week before the scheduled monthly meeting. I also will continue to send it out electronically. If there is anyone out there who can't get it that way and their only option is to get it by snail mail, please let me know and I will print and send you a copy. I know there are some of you out there who prefer a hard copy but the board and membership in general seem to be satisfied with receiving it electronically which saves the clubs money for better things like the Christmas party.

I hope to be as good as Wendy was with the Newsletter and with her help I have been able to figure out the linking process so you can jump directly to each section and then back to the top. I think the formatting issue may be my vversion of Window's Word but am not sure so I will continue to work on it. I'll appreciate your patience. Have a Happy New Year everyone.

Now is a good time to remind all members that everyone's Membership dues are due by the end of February. If your dues have not been paid you will not receive newsletters starting with the April newsletter. You will not reap the other benefits of being a club member either such as receiving air cards for hosting two dives, or your $15.00 reward for receiving additional certifications, etc. Please remember that by paying your annual dues you are helping to support a number of these club benefits and the dues really aren't that much. Annual dues for a single individual is $25.00 and a family (living at the same address) is $42.00.

The Web Master and Big Buddy Coordinator positions are both positions appointed by the board. Their terms begin in March and end at the end of February. This gives the board the opportunity to get information from members who may be interested in these positions and to make a decision who to appoint. The board is now accepting this information so if you are seriously interested in one of these positions and have the time to fully contribute to them please let one of the board members know by the end of January. Both of these positions are serious positions in our club, are a major part of who ESDC is and involve your time and efforts so please only volunteer if you are serious about them.

ROATAN~~~Two perspectives

The plane was touching down on the Roatan airport runway and looking out it was sunny and the sea was mirror calm without a ripple to be seen anywhere. Outside it was warm and humid, just the way a Caribbean island should be. FANTASTIC, I was really looking forward to this. We made it thru Honduran customs and onto the resort buses. It was fast getting dark and the short ride to the resort seemed to take forever. We were finally there and were ushered into a large day room where we signed waivers, were assigned our rooms and dive boats and had a short briefing. Off to dinner in a quaint 3 or 4 level open air dining room complete with bar. The food here was top notch with stateside type breakfasts and lunches. Dinner was 5+ courses that usually included some type of seafood with a meat entree and a tropical dessert. Finally off to bed after our luggage and dive gear was delivered to our rooms. The rooms were also open air and were screened and shuttered. There were about 60 little cabins scattered throughout Anthony's, on the sides of the hill or over the water. They were all private with their own bath and plenty of storage space. Anthony's had their own little water taxi's that ran between the keys, making everything highly accessible with a touch of third world charm. Trying to sleep with the anticipation of all the diving was next to impossible. Then it hit, all of a sudden the wind started, rustling trees, snapping branches, the loud sound of wind driven surf . What' s going on? We're up to see what's happening. Is it a hurricane moving in? Do we need to get to higher ground?

Finally morning and our first look at everything in the daylight. Still windy. The office staff tells everyone the dives have been cancelled for the day because the boats can't make it out past the reef thru the pounding surf. What to do? Breakfast. Explore the resort. Beautiful setting with coconut palms, tropical vines and plants with beautiful flowers. Snack and Rental shop. Full Dive shop and Photo Shop. A gift shop that almost makes Pier One look bad. Wooden walkways and stairs to everything. We are assigned #'s to stow our dive gear in a large room by the dive shop and we get our first look at the dive boats. Custom made for Anthony's, about 8 of them, with room for 16+ divers and all their gear for 2 dives. They just stay moored there for the day and we're all just itching to be on them. Too bad. We have to settle for renting a 4x4 and shop and tour the island. Fran, Rodney, Buck and Tyler elect to horseback ride for the morning. Mark, Laura. Loogpla and I team up with Randy from the Midwest (we adopted him into our group) and off we go. The newlyweds, Mel and Birdie, are off doing their own stuff! . We tour and browse and stop at small shops, small kids jump on the back and won't get off until Loogpla or Laura gives them some money. We find a quiet little seaside village with plenty of shops and food. I find a little sign with arrows pointing directions and take off on my own. I wander around thru yards and paths and wind blown surf and finally get to the restaurant out on a pier. Conch Ceviche. Finally, I've yearned for it since Cozumel, since the Bahamas. I order double orders and then go back for the rest of the group. Everyone follows me back and we end up eating for almost 2 hours. Fish, Shrimp, Conch and more Conch, with the old lady�es special sauce. We're finally full and off to more shopping. We run into Rodney, Buck, Tyler and Fran. Tyler looks like he ran into a jungle ambush. His horse must have been to small for his size and he took a pretty good fall. He decided to soften the landing via a thorn bush and he was really cut up. Everyone finally made it back to the resort for dinner and some of us explored around after dark for land crabs, bats and a couple of Tarantula dens.

The next day finally brought some diving. The boats made it out and were waiting on the other side of the island while we were bussed to meet them. All our diving was on the other side during the rest of our stay and the boats were moored there. (The wind never stopped until it was almost time to fly out) All the dives were really terrific wall dives, from 60-140 feet with 80-150 foot viz. After the 1st little checkout dive, the divemaster let us pretty much do our own thing. Rodney took some beautiful pictures and put on quite a show a couple of evenings back in the day room. Buck had a real good reference book with him and with Guy and Fran's help, everything was pretty much identified and named. Mel and Birdie put on a little underwater kissy-kissy love scene for the video diver and Guy did a really cute little underwater dance. A porcupinefish played hide-n-seek with Loogpla for a good 20 minutes. Everything imaginable was seen, from Spotted Eagle Rays to schools of Tangs and Jacks. A few Barracuda. Morays. A few large Grouper and Snapper. Trumpet fish. Little Hamlets and Basslets swam in and out of coral and crevices. Lizzard fish were frozen on the bottom. Large Parrotfish pecked away at Coral heads and expelling more pure white Caribbean beach sand. My favorite, the graceful French Angel Fish along with Queen Angel Fish paired up like Mel and Birdie. Juvenile Damsel Fish with those sparkling blue jewels all over them. A nervously pacing drum fish that wouldn't even stop to pose for Rodney's camera. Sea Horses, not many, as most of them were in large wicker baskets for tourists to buy. Every dive included giant barrel and blue vase sponges with some of them having lobster or Red Banded Coral Shrimp hiding inside them. Fran found a pair of green Nudibranches hidden in green sea weed (What were they?) Sea Fans and every type. Coral. Christmas Tree Worms, Pink Tipped Anemone, Caribbean King Crab. Slender spiked Urchins. The (someone help me here) Portuguese ????. I know I left a lot out except I didn't forget the cute little red-head Tyler met and that he went AWOL from the group. Thanks to everyone who was able to go on this trip with us. The wind and weather provided only 2 dives a day instead of 3 or 4 but maybe a reason to go back. Thank all of you. ~~~ Skip

Anthony's Key Resort

Roatan, Honduras, C.A.

The ten of eleven of us gathered at SEATAC on time and full of anticipation of the days to come. Sat. to Sat. Ready for whatever our warm water destination would present to us. Our numerology chart would line us up to the pre-determined eleven when we got to Houston. A shuffle of bags and gear at Bush International and we are on our way to Roatan. Ultimately, Anthony's Key Resort on the leeward side of the island. Leeward side? Yeah, right! Standby for news! Our landing on the single, one plane only strip was flawless. As was our bus ride to the resort. Little did we all know that we would soon be familiar with bus rides! Because, after arriving in near perfect weather, the wind started to blow that night straight into our diveable shores!

Day 1....... No diving, because the boats can't get out because of the wind. The windward side of the island now is the favored choice, but we got to get there. Through much discussion, contemplating and contingency plans, still no diving. We the sturdy NW, dive any profile or conditions divers, could not convince the resort operators to show our stuff! Nothing left to do but send the positive energy needed to get the wind powers to settle down or go horseback riding. Sounds gentle enough but Tyler has another story. His horse decided to introduce him to the local thorn bush! Luckily it wasn't serious. Perhaps too easy for me to say.

Day 2...... First day of diving! Out of the eleven dives we get to do, two stand out the most. The first dive is one of them. When after all the anticipation of diving, you finally get underwater and your expectations are exceeded many times over, it leaves you wondering...... how could it get better. Each area we dove in had it's own personality about it. The first dive, as you submerge and get nearer to the reef, the majesty of it all unfolds with the spectacle of new sights, colors and comfort of the warm water experience. I was truly mesmerized. Amazing, awesome, tubular wormy, pelagic, crustaceous, lobsterrific, coralline, barreling, inverted, schooly, if these were all true words it would describe the wonderfully diverse reef we were on. Whizzzzzz. Whizzzzzzzz. What was that? Am I hallucinating? No that wasn't me relieving the mornings Honduran coffee. It's the divemaster signaling with his rattle to come and view yet another subject of interest. Fireworm? Flamingo Tongue? Drumfish? Hogfish? Sandiver? Seahorse? Filefish? Arrowcrab? Porcupine Fish? French or Queen Angelfish? Trunkfish? Moray? Mermaids Purse? This was diving Roatan Style!

The days to follow presented its challenges with the wind, but we all persevered. If there was any re-payment for the endurance, it was the world class diving in the second largest barrier reef in the world. The dive rated #2 in the Carribean was Mary's Place, Roatan. I think it is underated. As we descended, we spotted a lobster about as big as the little people in the group! I could easily measure up to that! There were deep cuts in the reef from 50' down to 115'. Where's the divemaster? Where's the diver that was in front of me just a second ago? Right turn into the cut that worked around to the direction that we originally turned into. Wow! This is universe class! I could not compare it to anything else! More diverse sealife. Whizzzz....... Whizzzzz..... The elusive Seahorse! Hanging out on a very identifiable coral. I don't want to go home!

Needless to say the diving was spectacular. The service was top notch. Food and accomodations was excellent. The value for the dollar was very reasonable. The lessons of gratitude of a people living in abject poverty, priceless. Seeing what other people endure at that level makes me very grateful to live in a land of vast prosperity. The ESDC club members that showed me their same emotion of giving of themselves to a people less fortunate gave me a sense of pride to be associated with them. Thanks to Skip and Loogpla for the planning of a trip I'll always remember. Here is your invitation to join us on the next trip! ~~~~~~~Guy

EDMONDS OIL DOCK ~~A DIVE REVIEW

I arrived at the Edmonds Oil Dock Park at 11:45, the sun was shining between the clouds. My computer showed the air temp to be 51 degrees which was a vast improvement from Saturdays 38 degrees at about the same time when I had just completed a dive with Ralph, Herb, and Peter at the park volunteering my time to help build the Tripod. Skip, Mike, and Todd, from the club, were at the Oil Dock for the noon dive, Skip set up. Skip mentioned that he would be looking for crab on the South side of the pier, so Todd and myself brought our crab bags and my crab measuring tool just in case we saw any legal Red Rock or Dungeness Crabs.

Todd got into the water first, I followed, and a couple of minutes later Skip and Mike was in the water. Todd and I buddied up, and Skip and Mike made up the other buddy team. We made our way to the Oil Dock, stayed just to the south of it, noticed some current pushing against us and at about half way, on Skips advice we dropped to try and avoid the surface current at about 1:01PM. While under the pier, I saw a lot of morning sun stars and sunflower stars, and what looked like a leather star on the sandy bottom. On the pier supports were blood stars, Ochre and Spiny Pink stars. There were clusters of bloodworms under the pier and to the north of it. There were plenty of mussels, chitons, white plumed sea anemones and decorator crabs attached to the pier supports. I saw one swimming anemone in the sand next to a pier support red in color. We bagged a total of six crabs between the three of us; a mixture of Red Rock and Dungeness crabs that were legal to keep. I saw around 5 Ratfish, a large school of Tubesnouts, and one female Kelp Greenling under the pier. We headed north from the pier into deeper water
where I saw a two foot long Cabezon that were resting on a log until we got near it. Starting from the north of the pier, we headed into deeper water. It looked like the starfish have been busy, it was a graveyard of seashells all
over the bottom. There were some sole either lying still on the sandy bottom or gliding slowly over the graveyard of seashells.

While still heading north from the pier, I noticed a seabird that had dived to our depth now 70 feet looking for dinner. The bird was less than 10 feet away and I put my light on it and saw its sleek black and white body of feathers and watched it for a few seconds. I believe it to be a Cormorant (Brandt's). I checked enature.com
after I got home for an ID of this bird. Everyone else had not seen it for by the time I got their attention the bird had gone to the surface. So instead of getting my pencil and writing tablet out of my bc's pocket, I had tried to use sign language with my arms flapping and my hand making wavy motions in the water. They must have thought I was suffering from Narcosis and they had told me that after we got ashore after I mentioned it to them. I won't do
that again; next time I'll bring a camera!!! Ha Ha!!

I reached my max. depth of 72 feet and it was time for me to turn back, when my air was down to 1000psi, with Todd while Mike and Skip continued on. Once we got to the South side of the pier and heading back to shore, I noticed the current got stronger pushing us at an angle towards the pier supports. I tried to adjust my dive pattern and Todd, who was holding his crab bag ,was having just as hard enough a time as myself. When we got to 11 feet of depth we surfaced and swam the rest of the way in. We were both tired from the current trying to push us north into the pier supports. We waited for Skip and Mike to surface, whom we saw about five minutes later about a 100 yards south of the pier and around 500 feet from shore. We double-checked our crab catch and walked onto the beach and got on the trail on the South side of the park, walking all around it and back to our vehicles. It reminded me of the long walk at Richmond beach but without the incline.

In all we had a good time, despite the current and the lack of sun in the sky now. Skip said if he wasn't working on 12/30 or 1/1/03, that he wanted to go back, and since I'm on vacation till the sixth of Jan., I asked him to call
me and I would go, if the weather also was agreeable. Well that's all for now. ~~ Bruce Bury

OUR NEXT MEETING

BOARD OFFICERS~2003

Loogpla Cowden

Rodney Windhorst

Laura Olrich

Elena DiPardo

Tina Seawell

Visit our web site at www.emeraldseadiveclub.org

Or call or e-mail any of the board members.

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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

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