www.emeraldseadiveclub.org

In This Issue

Guest Speaker

Summer is just around the corner and some of you may not have been in the water for a few months. As a result you may try to fit a whole winter of diving into a few days. Yes! Dive, Dive, Dive, but do it safely. You may be ready to get in the water, but is your gear? Check it all thoroughly. Remember too, travel to and from dive destinations, especially those at a great distance from home, can be stressful—slow down, relax—don’t let the frustrations of traffic ruin your day and when you finally get to the water—take some time to savor the topside. Stop and smell the fresh salt air. Try to make each day and every dive your personal best. In the end, the reward for a great day of diving should be the opportunity to do it all over again. Travel and dive safely! We want to hear your sea stories. Enjoy the summer!

Dive…Dive…Dive…

We are the luckiest divers in the Pacific Northwest—the club picnic & the Christmas party will be AWESOME again this year! 

I'm happy to announce that:  Steve Berthinier is our committee head for the Christmas party. 

Rodney Windhorst is our committee head for the club picnic.

If you are interested in helping with either event feel free to contact Steve or Rodney and let them know.   Join the FUN!

Steve— res0yrua@verizon.net

Rodney— lsvision@earthlink.net

Open to all members of the ESDC.

Each member may submit up to three photographs per month through October 5.

Bring them to the club meetings where they will be displayed for all to see and/or e-mail them to me and I will forward them to Phil so he can put them on the club web site

Considering top three for yet to be announced but undoubtedly spectacular prizes to be awarded at the Christmas Party.

Also considering creating a calendar for 2006 using the top twelve photographs.

If the calendar is created any one contributor will be limited to no more than three photographs.

In order to open the competition to more members, photographs may be of above water (diving related) subjects as well as underwater subjects.

Voting to be done by all members of ESDC casting one vote each for their top twelve choices.

Deadline for submissions is October 5, 2005.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions contact David Ripley at the club meeting

or at esdcnewsletter@mindspring.com

Deadline for submissions:

May 23—for the June newsletter

June 27—for the July newsletter

July 25—for the August newsletter

August 29—for the September newsletter

September 26—for the October newsletter

October 24—for the November newsletter

November 28—for the December newsletter

.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new members:

Karen Lambright

Paul Johnson

Peggy McCright

Carl Harrington

Donald H. Trettin

and encourage them to become active participants of the Emerald Sea Dive Club.

The Land of Smiles…with an area of 513,115 square kilometers, is bordered by Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. The king rules the government. The national language is Thai, but English is widely understood in the cities. Ninety-four percent of the people are Buddhist.

Thailand is the place that has something for everyone. For those interested in foreign and ancient cultures the country boasts having more visible histories, past eras than any other Southeast Asian nation. Thailand has a tropical climate with three seasons: Hot, Rainy and Cool that vary from 70 – 93 degrees Fahrenheit with water temperatures ranging from 80-87 degrees.

Scuba diving is enjoyed year round, and considered world-class. If you’ve ever dreamed of swimming with a whale shark this is the place to do it. One of the first and still one of the most popular dive areas is Pattaya, located on the Gulf of Thailand.

Approximately fifty years ago, Pattaya was a little fishing village. Then came the Vietnam War. American GI’s discovered the beach, and the rest is history. This is the place to be for R-n-R.

GET READY Emerald Sea Dive Club….Skip and I are hosting this adventure and we’d love to have your company. Please join us for a two week adventure in Southeast Asia from October 14^th to October 29^th. We will be staying at a private English residence in Jomtien Beach Resort just south of Pattaya.

The villa is situated in a fairly quite corner of Jomtien Beach Resort. It is in a small estate of exclusive villas and houses. Most residents are Europeans. The sea is a five minute stroll away with over three miles of beautiful, palm tree-lined beaches. The villa will sleep up to 12 people. There is a shared pool, with a small garden to ensure our privacy where we can enjoy sunset BBQ’s and good conversation.

Sand, sun, and diving fun… sit back, relax, visit the temple, play in the stone park, brave the crocodile farm, take a journey to the rain forest or visit a bridge over the river Kwai.

Kayak-N-Dive on the Des Moines Marina Wreck.

Skip Stacy

          On Sunday, April 3rd, Kevin Casey sponsored a Kayak-N-Dive to the Wreck at the Des Moines Marina.  I got up early and looked out my window.  I could see wetness and that the tops of the trees were bent to the Northeast.  My wind chimes were playing music constantly and I kind of thought that at least for the sake of some good food around the Des Moines waterfront I would load up and show up.  I made my mocha and loaded my dive gear.  I had to fight my dive kayak down the stairs and tied it on top of my rig.  I tied on another set of rope because of the wind factor and took off.   I was supposed to meet Loogpla at her storage shed to help her load both her kayaks as Wendy was borrowing one.  It was still windy and rainy down I-5 to Sea-Tac and when I got to the shed it was still wet.  Loogpla had a good cold so we just tied Wendy's kayak on and took off for Des Moines.   

Coming down the big hill it was still cloudy but the rain and wind had stopped.  We found Fran waiting for us at the marina and we drove around finally finding Kevin in a cute little park with a stream and picnic area with green grass and a little bridge.  I looked out and it was mirror calm.  I knew once we were underway the wind and rain would threaten to swamp us every inch of the way.   Wendy showed up and pretty soon all the water vehicles and dive gear was staged and ready to go.  Kevin had missed the St. Pat's celebrations but was making up for it on this trip.  He had a little canvas and aluminum pole canopy over the picnic table. The coals where we would bury the cast iron pots containing the old Irish staple of Shepard’s Pie and mashed potatoes were already getting red-hot. Loogpla kept an eye on the food and off we went.  

My wind and foul weather prediction never even materialized and it was dead calm, warm and peaceful.  So tranquil that I closed my eyes and could only hear the paddles as they quietly dipped on our journey.  A "Call of the Loon" was the only thing missing. How quaint and relaxing.  How could we be right smack dab in the middle of Seattle-Tacoma metropolis?   We soon landed on a public beach nestled between private beaches. We were all alone on this beautiful stretch of sand and logs.  We explored.  The set of wooden stairs with signage told us we were in a park in the township of Normandy Beach.  We had gone almost a mile.  There were more stairs to explore and more boardwalk paths, but we’d have to do it later, it was time to dive.   

We pulled our kayaks way up on the beach, secured them and donned our gear.  A quick briefing by Kevin and Fran and we were in the water.  The visibility was decent. We followed our compasses out to deeper water. We encountered one old bottle and then another, Kevin had mentioned it was a party boat.  We looked all over, one direction, then another.  The current picked up and picked up a little more.  We started back after a short search and I think the current picked up even a little more.  Somewhere on the way back I decided that Fran was one hell of a strong swimmer.  I was having trouble keeping up with her.  Finally, she took one of the bottles and it was a little easier for me to keep up.  I followed her to within a few feet of where we went in.  The kayaks were right in front of us.  After a short rest we secured our dive gear and noticed that in one of my bottles there was a little octopus. Fran let it go in deeper water. We took off again.  

 Still calm. Still tranquil.  No wind. No rain.   I wanted to stay.   We took our time going back.  Now our thoughts were on the food.  We could smell it as we got closer.  We secured all our gear and kayaks amid the aroma of the food wafting thru the air   Last knot on the kayak and a dash to the food.   It was fantastic, every bite as good as it smelled.  Seconds and thirds were in order.  What a day—a far cry from my wanting to bag it and go back to bed.   We explored the park and stream and buildings.  It was a children’s home at one time and was on the historic register.  The stream was overflowing and flooding a couple buildings and park area.  It’s scheduled for some up grades and flood control but it was a nice little place to be in at the moment.  

We said our good-byes but decided to drive up and explore the park above the wooden stairs.  It took awhile to find, but Kevin, Fran and I started down the trail that was both gravel and paved. We took a nice, muddy short-cut that pretty much tested our traction and really tested Fran’s sandals.  We made it.  It was like hiking in the foothills with wild flowers and even Trilliums, which usually follow the last thaw and grow a little higher up in the Cascade foothills.  We followed the main path back out. It was a good climb after our current swim so we got double duty exercise for the day.   The wreck is still there so now we have a reason to go back.  I'm looking forward to it again and thank you, Kevin, it was a real joy. Maybe we will have more divers and kayakers next time.     

ESDC in action at the Scuba Swap
Greg Becvar

I was at the scuba swap on Saturday, April 9th.  I sold a pair of gloves and a
couple books for $3.85.  Everyone there was focusing on selling or getting deals
on gear.

I met and spoke briefly with a guy who's involved in the Ships to Reefs
program locally. He offered to come speak to the club. I have already
forwarded his contact information to Steve Berthinier.  Stay tuned and come to the meeting for the latest update!

 You are invited to collect, photograph, help on shore or just enjoy the scenery while divers collect critters for Camp Casey Sealab on Sunday, May 15th. There are three dives planned, two at Langley Tire Reef and the third at Admiralty (Coupville) Tire Reef.

Plan on catching the 6:05 a.m. ferry at Mukilteo to Clinton.

First dive at Langley Tire Reef is at 7:30 a.m. The second dive is at 9:30 a.m..

The third dive at Admiralty Tire Reef will be done after the critters are dropped off at the Sealab at Camp Casey. Splash around 12:30-1:00 p.m.

What you will need: 2 lights, knife or shears (I did get caught in some fishing line at both sites—comes with the territory when you get into and around the tires where fishing line had been snagged), camera, grab bag, two or three plastic containers with holes drilled in the lids, 8"-10" wide fish-tank net, 30 gallon garbage bag to put the octopus or wolf-eel in to protect it and you ( should you be so lucky to find one), hmmm sounds like a challenge to me.

 Also bring your attitude to enjoy these dives, do not think of them as work. Getting 20lbs of critters in one dive is not what this is about, but rather enjoying the company of fellow divers supporting the Sealab run by Seattle Pacific University at Camp Casey, and seeing/sharing in what we will be giving to them ( my version of Community Service). The dive briefing will be ten minutes prior to the stated splash times.

Come to one, two, or all three dives. Your help in any way will be needed. Be sure to stay hydrated before and between dives. Langley has hot showers so bring your quarters too.

Should you have any questions please contact me at Bury1of6@AOL.com,

Thank you.

Skip Stacy

Loogpla Cowden

Deposit due at the May meeting.  If you have not made lodging arrangement at

Curley's Resort please do so at this time!  Thank you. 

Hornby Island
Phil Morgan-Ellis

So...fellow divers of the Emerald Sea Dive Club anyone else interested in this great trip over the Memorial Day weekend?  There is more information in the February newsletter.
I have 8 diver spots filled right now with only 6 left.  For additional
information please email me at pcellis@gmail.com  Hope you can join me.

On June 17-18-19, Loogpla and I hope ESDC divers can join us for three days in Nanaimo, BC on beautiful Vancouver Island.  We will catch the early ferry out of Twassen Friday morning and head from Dukes Point into Ian's dive shop to begin our two dives for Friday.  One of those dives will be Dodd Narrows to ride the current one way, a slight slack, then ride the current back to the boat. (The smaller one as the large one will be in a little precarious position).   It is really colorful and relaxing.  The second dive could be anywhere around Nanaimo.  The Snake Island Wall, Clark Rock, Orlebar Point (another beautiful wall) or perhaps the Saskatchewan or Cape Breten.  The Cape Breten is dear to the ESDC hearts as many members made the trip to Vancouver to help clean her out prior to sinking and the volunteers have a plaque mounted on the vessel with their names.  Clark Rock is kind of special in my mind as I remember Guy (a past member who moved back to Hawaii) feeding the wolf-eels that came out of their dens just to intermingle with us humans.  They must love to be scratched and rubbed (although slowly).

Ian has informed me that their third vessel, the Riv Tow Lion, a 157 foot North Sea rescue tug, has been added to the list of sunken vessels in the Nanaimo area.  It was sunk on the NW end of Newcastle Island in the more protected area near the inner harbor and somewhat shallower. It will be used for wreck diving classes as well as a back-up site when other sites are too rough to dive.  

We have asked everyone to make their own arrangements through Ian (1-800-233-4145).  One call will do it all as he also makes the arrangements for us at the Buccaneer Inn—our little diver friendly home away from home with a dry room to hang up drysuits and store gear and a washer and drier for leaky drysuits.  It’s just a short hop away from the dive shop.   Two nights and five dives for approximately $310.00 American (it could go up or down a little due to the exchange rate). We do our own meals but everyone usually does their own thing in the mornings but does lunch and dinner together at some really nice restaurants.  If there are enough divers Ian will do a Dodd Narrows trip again on Saturday or if someone wants to do it a second time.  Nanaimo it self is a beautiful little city and I remember a couple of real beautiful sunsets on the way in.  One year we took a little passenger ferry out to the floating Pub and had dinner. It was a quaint little treat. The sushi places are among the best in this corner of the world. Usually to top off this fantastic weekend, we take the Horse Shoe Bay ferry back to the mainland and spend some leisure time in Horse Shoe Bay Village.  The village is right in the bend of the Sea-to-Sky Hi-way (to Squamish and Whistler). The snowcapped mountains, the marina, the ferry, the shops and restaurants on the piers compose a complete picture of Northwest life in one little area.  As soon as I get the name of one particular restaurant I remember, I'll post it so whoever wants to join us can sample the food. The seafood platter was so large that only four platters fit on the table and we had to get extra seating—makes me hungry so I better close and start dinner.   Please join us and you'll go back every year.    

Contact Skip at  425-775-2410 for more information.

Saturday, 04/30/2005 - 9:00 a.m.

Location
Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, WA

Hundreds of divers from all over the Pacific Northwest will gather at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma on April 30th for the Third Annual NW Underwater Treasure Hunt & Dive Show. This year, more than 700 divers and 2,000 visitors from the entire Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and nearby British Columbia will attend the annual event.

TIME LINE
APRIL 30th 2005
8:00 am TREASURE HUNT DIVER REGISTRATION
9:00 am SNORKELING SEMINAR
11:00 am SNORKELING TREASURE HUNT
1:00 pm SCUBA DIVNG EVENT

ANYONE CAN DO THIS! (If they can swim)

Snorkeling and Freediving (breath hold diving) SEMINAR
World Record Holder Mandy-Rae Cruickshank, a 29 year-old four time world record holder from Vancouver, Canada, will give a 30-minute seminar on free diving techniques and tips. Certified dive instructors will be on site to provide safety, guidance, and training advise. This a great time for beginners to experience this part of our fascinating sport.

Guinness World Record Attempt
This is the largest gathering of divers in the world! 700+ divers will line the beach shoulder to shoulder for almost a ¼ mile! We are expecting over 700 divers to participate in our event April 30th event and set a new Guinness Book World Record for the most divers diving at one time. The current listed world record was set in South Africa in 2001 and stands at 592 divers.

The sight of hundreds of divers dashing into the water will be tremendous. There will divers taking underwater footage of the event to be provided to newscast personnel on site. With prior arrangement, newscasters can broadcast from the site, EVEN UNDERWATER!

Great Opportunity for Radio Remote
There will be thousands of people attending this event from a wide demographic. Sharing a love for diving, these are Boeing engineers, mechanics, lawyers, construction workers and family and friends. Young and old divers. The sport is fascinating to the general public.

Exciting Contests and Prizes
The event sponsored by Northwest Dive News Magazine and many other dive businesses offers divers a chance at winning over $50,000 in trips and prizes. There will be more than $50,000 in fantastic prizes given away, including general drawings and hourly giveaways!

PREMIER PRIZES
The premier prizes are four 7 to 10-day trips to Fiji (including airfare from Los Angeles International), sponsored by the Fiji Tourism Board and several Fijian businesses. Divers can win drysuits, wetsuits, regulators, BCDs, dive charters and tons of cool gear. You've got to see it to believe it!

Northwest Dive News Magazine has invited dive industry professionals from around the world to showcase their products at this extraordinary event. Prospective divers can meet equipment manufacturers, dive travel agents, dive resorts, charter operators and local dive retailers to learn more about their products and services.

It’s Not too Late to Promote the Event
For a $30 entry fee, divers can enter two exhilarating treasure hunt contests. Event registration has moved up one hour and now begins at 8:00 a.m. We had to make more time for registration because of strong pre-registration at our website. At this point we have over 200 divers pre-registered, assuring them a spot at the Treasure Hunt. Pre-registration is easy and it saves you $5 per diver. After the Snorkeling Seminar At 11:00 a.m. we will have a Snorkeling Treasure Hunt. Divers will use their snorkeling gear and breath-holding skills while searching for tokens on the sea floor. You do not need to be an expert to participate in this event, but all participants must use the buddy system. No tokens will be accepted without both buddies present. For divers without a buddy – event staff will help find a buddy for you.

The Scuba Diving Treasure Hunt will begin at 1 p.m. All divers must attend the pre-dive briefing and dive with a buddy. Participants will scuba dive for tokens that represent prizes. Some tokens will be instant winners and divers will simply walk out of the water and claim their prize. No tokens will be accepted without both buddies present.

Divers can save $5 each by pre-registering online by April 25. To participate or learn more about the biggest scuba diving event in the world, contact Northwest Dive News at (360) 240-1874 or email nwdiver@nwdivenews.com.

Bruce Bury

Well, there were treasures at the ESDC Edmonds Fishing pier cleanup to be found,
and wait till you see what I found on the first dive. Robin was my dive buddy for
both dives and a new club member too. A Conan four-foot long stainless steel sword with a  beautifully engraved handle, with two snakes engraved on the handgrip, two bull  heads on opposing sides above the grip and two panther heads below the hand  grip. Fran, thought it was plastic, till she grabbed it after hauling it up to the pier. It drew a
crowd of onlookers on the pier as well as back on shore.  I showed it to my friends at
the Edmonds Underwater Sports dive shop while they provided us with a free
air fill. Seeing is believing and they were blown away.

Also, on our way in, still on the part of the pier that runs East and West, my
buddy Robin found a skateboard in very good condition. He tried it out on the
parking lot pavement. On the second dive we both spotted at the same time a Spiderman
tree ornament with a Christmas present attached to Spiderman. We gave it to Fran for
her grandson. The sun came out after the first dive. It was still windy, but it finally stopped raining. There was hardly any wave action on the north side of the seawall. While we were en route to the surface after our safety stop I felt some wave action above us. Swells were running two to four feet. After we got around to the north side of the wall the swells died down. We had lunch between the dives at the cafe that is in front of the marina. I stopped by and showed the sword to my friends at Northwest Sport Diver in Kenmore and at Bubbles Below in Woodinville, again everyone was blown away when they actually saw it.   

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.

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 Greg Becvar, 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!

4820 196^th SW

Lynnwood WA

425-775-5459

Board meeting, 6:00 p.m.; everyone is welcome to join. General meeting, 7:00 p.m.

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 Loogpla Cowden loogplacowden@att.net

Vice-President Steve Berthinier resoyrua@verison.net

Secretary/historian Rose Lyn Tadlock tadloro2002@yahoo.com

Treasurer Cheng-Hui Wong chengwong@comcast.net

Activities Coordinator Greg Becvar tridoxia@yahoo.com

Newsletter Editor David Ripley esdcnewsletter@mindspring.com

Big Buddy Coordinators Skip Stacy skipstacy@aol.com

Wendy Drucker astromoi@earthlink.net

Greeter Jared Averill jared_averill@hotmail.com

Web Master Phil Morgan-Ellis pmorg@olympus.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 www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ESDClist

₪ 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

₪ John Laggart –weekday dives

jmnlaggart@msn.com

If you are interested in being included on this list please contact the editor.

DATE LOCATION HOST