www.emeraldseadiveclub.org

Absentee ballot form requests

Board Nominations

ESDC jackets and vests

Pumpkin Carving

2004 Board Officers

Dive & Event Calendar

Dive Site of the Month

Divers on the Loose

How to Contact Us

Other Stuff

Our Next Meeting

President’s Column

Sea Stories

Submission Deadlines

Wendy Drucker

Trick or treat? Some kinds of tricks are very unpleasant, so give yourself a treat and avoid them. Fall and winter diving are upon us. This is a time of best visibility underwater but also of cold weather, wind, and nasty driving conditions. Treat yourself to a few hours of quality time with your dive gear. In order to fit this it into your busy life, schedule a half day so you will have plenty of time to lay out each piece of equipment and check it carefully.

• Make all the little fixes and repairs you forgot about as soon as the last dive was over and your gear was rinsed and put away.
• Make sure all your serial numbers are recorded in your log book and another permanent place.
• Mark upcoming regulator annuals, tank hydros and visuals, and other regular maintenance on your calendar.
• Check the valves and seals on your BC and dry suit.
• Care for your o-rings on everything.
• Update and expand your save-a-dive kit.
• As you check each piece make a list of every little thing you need to add or replace then go out and buy them. Don’t forget back-up batteries for computers and lights.

Admit it! You love your dive gear better than you love most people. Okay, you’re just…"good friends," but you feel a passion nonetheless.

David Ripley

Alien Invasion Threatens Puget Sound

Dateline: Olympia

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has announced emergency action will be taken to eradicate an invasive marine species known as colonial tunicates—aka, Didemnum lahillei—recently discovered in Edmonds Underwater Park. A WDFW news release went on to say that these siphon-feeding animals, which form dense mats of many thousands of individuals thereby suffocating existing sea life, most likely, snuck into Puget Sound in some unsuspecting ship’s ballast water. They are fast-growing and have no known predators, which mean they could potentially pose a serious threat to Washington State’s marine life.

In an e-mail from Wes Nicholson, technical coordinator with earthwise media, Mr. Nicholson said the colonial tunicates can take on a variety of forms including flat mats, structures with projections and lobes, or long stringy lobes or "ropes." They attach themselves to hard substrates such as: wood and metal pilings, ropes, chains, tires, rocks and boat hulls. The individual animal is very small with two siphons and is connected by a membrane-the tunic-to create colonies that can get very large. The one at Edmonds measured approximately 6’ by 6’. They are most often white or creamy to beige or yellow with some appearing grey or brown.

The WDFW is anxious to determine the extent of the invasion. All divers are encouraged to be on the lookout for them, but do not under any circumstances make contact with them. Disturbing the colony may cause pieces to break off and potentially reproduce elsewhere. Note where the colony is and report it to Pam Meacham at meachpmm@dfw.wa.gov. Be sure to include dive site, date sighted, location references, depth, size of colony, color and to what it is attached.

Also be aware that you may be able to inadvertently transport the tunicates on your dive gear from site to site. Normal rinsing and thoroughly drying your equipment between dives at different sites may be sufficient to prevent transportation. However, if you dive in a known infected area it is suggested that you meticulously rinse your gear in water as hot as your equipment will allow and completely dry it before your next dive.

There are several web sites offering further information about colonial tunicates including:

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/stellwagen/didemnum/htm/page2.htm

http://convoluta.ucdavis.edu/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=West-Coast-Tunicates

Darlene Ripley

This year’s Pumpkin Carving Contest Dive is October 30, Edmonds Under Water Park.
Registration is 11:15 a.m. with briefing at 12:00 p.m. Entry fee is $10.00 with all
proceeds going to Edmonds Under Water Park. There are prizes for scariest and funniest pumpkins.

Fran Murray is looking for volunteers for the Christmas committee. This is YOUR Christmas party too; please volunteer some time to make it special. Thank you.

Did you know that when you show your ESDC membership card at Starfish dive shop you receive a 10% discount? Did you know that if you show your ESDC membership card at Northwest Sport Dive you get a free air fill? Be sure you have your ESDC membership card with you when you go shopping at dive shops—you just never know.

If other shops give you a discount please let us know and we will publish their name.

Wendy has reinstated the Dive Planning Committee. She and Rich Carton are the only ones on this committee so far. Please, if you would like to plan some cool dives (not brrrr, but yahoo) see Wendy or Rich and find out when their next meeting is so YOU can have a say in YOUR club!

ESDC jackets and vests are available but we need a total order of at least 12 items (jackets and vests combined) to place our order. Your check or charge will not be put through unless and until the entire order is delivered.

Please see the order form that has been sent separately. Note that this is last year’s form, so ignore the date. Vests are available in XS-4XL and jackets are available in XS-6XL and there is not an extra charge for larger sizes this year. Dan is giving us last year’s prices. The quoted prices include garment, embroidered logo, and taxes.

You can order at the next meeting or directly from The Logo Press. Dan will be out of town for a few days, due to the passing of his father. If you have any questions that cannot wait until the meeting, feel free to contact; Wendy astromoi@earthlink.net. Let’s have all our orders in by Nov. 10, 2004.

Voting for 2005 board members will take place at the November meeting. If you do not generally attend meetings this would be a good one for you to come to. Your vote counts here—REALLY! Read my lips J You may also write-in a candidate.

If you are unable to come to the November 3 ESDC meeting you may vote absentee (current members only, of course.) You will be able to e-mail back your completed ballot or mail it in. Unfortunately, we cannot keep your absentee vote confidential from the ballot counters. Absentee ballots must be received by the ESDC board by November 10, 2004, to be counted. To request an absentee ballot please contact Wendy, astromoi@earthlink.net or Darlene esdcnewsletter@mindspring.com.

OR contact a board member if you are having difficulties obtaining your absentee ballot.

2005 board members will be announced at the Christmas Party in December.

During October’s meeting nominations for the 2005 board members were taken. They are as follows:

President

Wendy Drucker

Loogpla Cowden

Vice-President

Steve Berthinier

Secretary/Historian

Rose Tadlock

Treasurer

Chen g-Hui Wong

Activities Coordinator

Greg Becvar

Shawn Miller

Newsletter Editor

David Ripley

Buck Knight

Remember, November is the month to vote. If you cannot make it to the meeting please send your vote via USPS. Details will be announced later, apparently!

Steve Berthinier

Sorry this is a month late. I was distracted? Yeah, right. Anyway, let me say that we were not THAT bad. Let me explain.

We all arrived as planned. As you have already heard from Jason, we arrived pretty much with our buddies. Tina, being one of the smarter of us, decided not to dive but instead be beach support. This later proved to be a smart move. So, I teamed up with Jason and we decided to go directly out. Seems the kelp had other plans. As we approached the water and got our fins on you could almost see the kelp squat down and link fronds like some Sumo wrestling Naturalist. We valiantly headed straight out from the intake. After walking over the first couple of waves of defense from the kelp we decided to descend. Little did we know that this was the plan of the kelp. As you may know, one of the great ways I like to work through tall thick kelp is get down at the roots and just pull myself along while the fronds float dreamily above and filter the sun so I do not get sunburned. Meanwhile, the Sumo Naturalist kelp had squatted down and brought the fronds down around the roots. We descended and immediately lost sight of each other. I felt like I was in a "B" jungle movie as I pulled my way through a solid wall of kelp fronds. Did we get the hint . . . Nahhh. We popped up and regrouped and went at it again. We are so smart. You could hear Tina and the kelp crabs giggling in anticipation. Once more we thrashed through the solid mass of kelp. Once more we came to the surface and Jason announced he was under weighted. I gave him some weight and had him lead the next attempt. I soon lost him and we popped back up. By now Tina was thinking we were a couple of sea otters! We finally conceded the kelp had won this day and tried for open water north. Several hours of forging through the dense, green foliage and we got into fairly open sand with just wandering groups of marauding kelp. Winding our way, dodging the roaming kelp packs we finally made it back to the beach triumphant in our battle . . .Yeah right. Tina could hardly contain her excitement (see laughter). As we were getting out of our gear Jason sheepishly told me he had bought our freedom from the kelp by giving THEM one of my weights. I thought we got off easy and told him not to worry about it. Nice guy that he is Jason promptly went to his truck and gave me a weight.

It seems that the truly smart ones were Tina, David and Darlene. You see, Tina stayed on the beach. David and Darlene started to follow Jason and I and quickly saw the stupidity of our ways and headed north to enjoy a long and hassle free dive! Sharan and Paul had the right idea from the start and attempted to approach the kelp from the north but did not enter the forest much better than Jason and I. David and Darlene headed north, away from the main pack and had a great dive.

Did I learn anything? Yes. The ocean and her members are still stronger and smarter than I am. Kelp is a great dive. However, when there is a LOW enough tide that the kelp is sitting on the rocks it is not a good idea to enter. I am really glad I had Jason as my buddy. Through it all he kept his cool and we fought the battle together . . . and lost together. We did not panic however and I think that was a major factor in our success . . . Yeah right. Ha Ha giggle giggle.

Editor’s Note: David and I DID follow Jason and Steve. When we descended we fought our way through the thick kelp. Hand over hand, from kelp stalk to kelp stalk, fighting the current that was pushing us back to shore. After about 15 minutes of fighting the elements we came to a clearing. This is where the current calmed down and we started our leisurely dive exploring to the north. We had no idea the Super Guys did not make a dive. When we descended they were about 20’ NW of us and we wondered why we never bumped into them during our dive. When we ascended and saw everyone on the beach: Steve, Jason, Sharan, Paul, and Tina we thought it odd that we were the last ones out! Did not realize we were the only ones IN and DOWN. Even with fighting the kelp and current we had a GREAT dive!!

Darlene Ripley

Picture this. An overcast but warm day; the sun biding it’s time to come out. No rain. Underwater visibility approximately 30’ and water temperature 57º. Eight ESDC members and two MBDC members. Everyone is one to three hours early for the 9:30 am. splash at Sunrise Beach. What could be better? Nothing, is what you are thinking.

Murphy’s Law has a way of following people, waiting, in the bushes, ready to pounce, especially on unsuspecting, hopeful, ever so optimistic Puget Sound divers. No, no, I am not being pessimistic I am being optimistic.

First, one diver gets all their (non-gender specific) gear put together with anticipation of jumping in and discovers there is no REGULATOR. It seems divers, at least these ten, were never Boy Scouts because no one carries a full, ready-to-go regulator set-up as in, "Always Be Prepared". Oh, well, someone should really be beach support.

Second, this diver gets their gear all put together, is half-way dressed, remembers it (non-gender specific) has forgotten something in the cab of the pick-up. Boom, crash, plunk, "AHHHHHHH", "Ut-oh, that can’t be good", "Ohhhh, nooooo", etc., etc., etc. What is one of the first rules you learn in diving class? NEVER leave your cylinder standing (especially a "dressed" one) on your tailgate and walk off to get something out of your cab. There goes regulator number two. When the cylinder crashed to the ground the regulator got broken as well as "something" on the cylinder. I am not quite sure what the end diagnosis was; HOWEVER, BB came to the rescue and bits and pieces, and parts, and tooling, and diver number two gets to go diving. Or does he?

Third, tides and currents charts. Are they dependable? Is the software reliable? Do the friends who give you this information want you to return from your dive? You are thinking, "YES!" aren’t you? HA HA HA ß dive gods

Alright, it is time to go diving! Yeahhhhhhhh. We were instructed to get in the water in front of the shack and swim down to the cragged tree. Sounds easy enough. You know that short little swim from the beach to the first buoy at EUWP? Imagine doing that in a hurricane with a 10 knot current undertow? "And we’ll have fun, fun, fun till her daddy takes the . . . ". Wrong song. Half an hour later and two thighs that refuse to go on, I look toward shore to see how close the cragged tree is. WHAT? Have I not moved at all? Am I tangled in kelp? Am I asleep? I start looking for other divers to see how far ahead of me they are. Well, two strong men are BEHIND me—thank gosh for small wonders. My dive buddy is about five feet in front of me and he is a very strong swimmer, two other divers are about 20’ in front of him, and one diver is at the tree waiting—this diver got into the water long before the rest of us. Are we missing two divers?

OK, we all finally make it to "about" the same spot in front of the cragged tree and we all go down. Down? Did I say down? How about down and out? I thought for sure the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was farther away than that. See the wall? The wall with octopus, wolf eels, clams? GRAB IT! HANG ON!! OK, this is cool. We can crawl all the way up the wall. "Inch by inch, step by step, foot by foot, slowly I turn . . . ".Wrong movie. What is the difference between a little current . . . say 2K and a little current . . . say 300k? Oh, look, a cute little octopus out in the open. This little fella’s tentacles are probably 6" long, cute little purpleish thing sitting incognito on the bottom looking like a rock. I gave him a little pat so we could watch him swim. HA HA HA ß octopus gods

One push forward, ten pushes back; one push forward, ten pushes back. I am thinking to myself, "Man, if an octopus can’t swim in this how are we suppose to?" Good question you ask. We must continue our trek along the rocks in search of calmer waters so there is no time to worry about the octopus and why its mother did not teach it to swim better.

Calmer waters? HA HA HA ß water gods All of a sudden the current decides to pick up. Now it’s up around 500k and we cannot hold on any longer and go flying past the entire wall we had so diligently clung to get so far. Ah, an opening. Sand and kelp. Good, grab the kelp and hold on. Only problem with that is the kelp gods forgot to tell the kelp it is suppose to be grounded into the bottom! OK, so let’s just call this a dive and head for the surface. Yeah, the sun is out and we’re alive. Wait a minute. There’s that dang cragged tree.

Elena DiPardo

On the weekend of October 16 and 17 five old members and one new member (Loogpla would not let him leave until he gave her money!!) of our club braved the elements and their instructor, Jerry Dollar, and completed their PADI Rescue Diver Course.

The course consisted of a series of knowledge reviews, classroom and pool time, and the practical which took place at Alki Beach at 64^th St. It was a grueling and long week for the participants but after all has been said and done I am happy to congratulate them for a job well done.

The weather conditions were not the best they could have been but I believe they represented conditions we all quite often experience while diving in the Northwest. During the weekend on the beach the weather ranged from pouring rain, cold piercing wind, choppy water with white caps and, as we would expect somewhere in the mix, the sun shined! There was even a time, while Jerry was reviewing search patterns with the participants, the divemasters sat on a bench waiting in the pouring rain telling passersby that we were working on our rust!!

Our fellow members really worked hard and deserve to be congratulated when you see them. So, help me in congratulating Laura Orlich, Mark Soule, Skip Stacy, Loogpla Cowden, John Laggert and Mike Powroznik for earning their Rescue Diver Certifications! Thanks goes to Jerry Dollar for offering this special class to ESDC members. Also thanks to ESDC/ Bubbles Below Dive Center divemasters, Steve Berthinier, Jack Titternesss, Sharan Smith and Elena DiPardo as well as Bubbles Below Dive Center divemasters Chris Riser and Lori Ralls for their efforts in making the experience even more grueling! Oh excuse me, I meant to say they helped to keep it all safe!!! Chances are the participants will not have as tiring a weekend diving for a long time to come.

Loogpla Cowden

Sitting in the classroom Monday evening I was both curious and excited about who I was going to be at the end of my rescue class. My concern was to complete the knowledge review prior to my actual open water rescue training. With the help of my instructor, Jerry Dollar, I completed the knowledge review, passed my exam, and was READY for the actual open water rescue training.

Saturday morning I was late to the dive site. It was cold and raining but because of the love and enthusiasm that the instructor and divemasters brought with them the weekend was off to a good start.

I spent most of the day recognizing and managing emergencies and how to avoid equipment malfunctions and problems with my dive buddy, John Laggart. We also learned four different search and recovery techniques. One of the hands-on exercises was completing an actual search and recovery, which we did repeatedly. Our day ended at 5:00 p.m. with the instruction to meet the following morning at 8:00 a.m. sharp.

I woke up to a rainy Sunday morning, yet I was anticipating what the day would bring. I was Laura Orlich’s dive buddy that day. We spent the day practicing different rescue scenarios. As part of the training we practiced rescuing a responsive and an unresponsive diver underwater and at the surface including performing equipment removal and exits.

As 3:00 p.m. rolled around I was tired and exhausted and I was beginning to wonder if the instructor was ever going to let me go home. By this time my energy level was depleted and it was taking me twice as long to get to the rescue site. When I got to the site everyone was on their way back, which confused me; however, I remained focused and to my surprise I screamed at the top of my lungs to get the diver’s attention. I must say, the rescue scenarios are one of the most rewarding exercises I could have done for myself as a diver.

I could not deny that there was something for me to gain from participating in the rescue course, 650 dives and 10 years later . . . If you asked me I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I want to thank Jerry Dollar for sticking with me and for not giving up. And a special thank you to ESDC divemasters: Sharan Smith, Elena DiPardo, Jack Titterness, and Steve Berthernier for being there and making a difference in my rescue diving course. My dearest thanks to Skip Stacy, Mark Soule, Laura Orlich, John Laggart, and Mike Powroznik, a new member, you guys are the greatest. I love you!

You could win a $50.00 ESDC check by hosting club dives. Every time you sponsor a club dive your name "goes into a hat" and twice a year a raffle will be held and one person from each drawing will receive $50.00 from ESDC as a Thank You for sponsoring dives, friendships, and fun! Remember, a club dive is a dive approved by Rich Carton, Activities Coordinator, and placed on the clip-board and on the ESDC web-site. This is a great way to meet club members and have lots of fun. Book your dives today! Remember: the more dives you book the more chances you have of winning.

When you take a class that furthers your diving experience, such as Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Dive Master, etc., show The Board your certification card and you will receive a congratulatory $15.00. This offer is only good one time per calendar year.

E-mail Jason Miller, our mailing list moderator, Jason.t.miller@comcast.net

to be put on the ESCD yahoo group mailing list

(www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ESDClist) where you can communicate with other members regarding various dive topics, find dive buddies, or let everyone know about a planned dive that did not make it to the newsletter or clipboard in time. Join the list so YOU won’t be left out!

Wednesday, November 3

Alfy’s Pizza

4820 196^th SW

Lynnwood WA

425-775-5459

Board meeting, 6:00 p.m.; everyone is welcome to join these meetings

General meeting, 7:00 p.m.

by Elena DiPardo

Please join in welcoming our November guest speaker David Brumley, Commander U.S. Navy Reserves and Chief Staff Officer for Harbor Defense Command.    Commander Brumley will speak to us about "My Experiences in Iraq and Kuwait"; Wednesday, November 3, 8:00 p.m. following the general meeting.  Please plan to come and hear about his experiences as they relate to diving.

Heading north on I-5: take exit 181B (196^th St SW/Alderwood Mall Pkwy). At the top of the exit there is a stop light, turn left. At the next stop light turn left onto 196^th St SW proceeding to 48^th. Alfy’s is on the south side of the road. (Alfy’s is 4 blocks down from The Rock.)

Heading south on I-5: take exit number 181 (Lynnwood). At the top of the exit there is a stop light, turn right onto 196^th St SW, proceed to 48^th. Alfy’s is on the south side of the road. (Alfy’s is 4 blocks down from The Rock.)

President Wendy Drucker astromoi@earthlink.net

Vice-President Elena DiPardo edipardo@u.washington.edu

Secretary/historian Laura Orlich lorlich@ssoe.com

Treasurer Willow Moore dr.moore@verizon.net

Activities Coordinator Rich Carton addcorich@verizon.net

Newsletter Editor Darlene Ripley esdcnewsletter@mindspring.com

Big Buddy Coordinator Sharan Smith sjsmith0@gte.net

Webmaster Phil Morgan pmorg@olmpus.net

Greeter Loogpla Cowden loogpla@att.net

Visit our web-site: www.emeraldseadiveclub.org

Write us: Emerald Sea Dive Club

PO Box 73

Edmonds WA 98020

Contact any of the board members via telephone or e-mail.

Month for newsletter Deadline

December November 22

₪ Greg Becvar

360-659-2853

tridoxia@yahoo.com

₪ Bruce Bury -- PADI rescue

425-788-8063

bury1of6@aol.com

₪ Jason Miller -- Rescue

425-778-7548

Jason.t.miller@comcast.net

₪ Skip Stacy – rainy days

425-775-2410