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In This Issue

Guest Speaker

from

will speak to us about

Loogpla Cowden

Gear Junkie------- Now What?!

It’s natural to think that accidents always happen to other divers, but even the most experienced and responsible divers aren’t immune to such mishaps. I take good care of my equipment most of the time, however sometimes I ignore it for a week then go diving again without rinsing it. Bad President!

My computer failed six months ago and I was too cheap to buy a new one so I continue diving with my bottom timer and a depth gauge. I had no complaints about it—until my last dive. My dive buddies and I made a dive to the depth of 130fsw at the Mukilteo T-Dock. We went down the line, looked under the boat, swam north and located the line and then found the statue, knowing that our no-decompression time allowed us nine minutes. Visibility was five feet so the four of us stayed together. When I noticed my bottom timer reached nine minutes I signaled my buddy—time to go up. He looked puzzled but agreed. The rest of the team followed. We made a nice slow ascent. At the surface my buddy was sure that I was totally NARCED! I too was wondering what was up with them! What I’ve learned: bottom timers and computer divers do not mix… DUH!

I’ve been very fortunate to dive with the same gear for the past 10 years with minor costs. I recently bought a brand new first and second stage regulator with all the goodies, BCD and a dive computer. Dive gear has come along way since I bought mine ten years ago. It was a lot of fun reading the manuals and figuring out how everything works and getting use to the new equipment.

As a service technician I get to see a lot of dive gear that comes in for the annual service and I wonder how people survived their dives with the condition it was in. Please take care of your life support equipment, especially when you don’t feel like it. Live life fully…..Be happy!

Everyone is encouraged to submit stories about their dives or any dive related topic.

The deadlines for submissions are:

March 27

April 24

May 29

June 26

July 24

August 29

September 26

October 24

November 28

photo by: David Ripley

Open to all ESDC members. Photographs may be of above water dive related subjects as well as underwater subjects.

Each participant may submit a total of 12 photographs with no more than 3 submitted in any one month. Photographs should be those taken from October 2005 through September 2006.

The photos can be submitted to me via e-mail to edscnewsletter@mindspring.com

or by hard copy at any of the meetings.

Contest closes September 2006 and entries must be submitted no later than the October 5^th meeting.

Prizes and calendar price will be announced later.

We have sold all 50 calendars for 2006. If you would be interested in purchasing one/or more for 2007 let me know so we can adjust our order accordingly.

 Camp Casey Information:

Greg Becvar

Jason Miller prearranged much of the following last year. Thank You Jason. I will send out more detailed info when confirmations are received.

The cost this year is $65.00 per person or $15.00 per meal for those that will only be coming up for the day. Breakfast on the first day (Saturday) is at 8:00 am, lunch is at noon and supper is at 6:00 pm. On Sunday use the same schedule. Final payment should
have been made to Emerald Sea Dive Club by FEB 3rd. We will be lodging in the "J" barracks this year. Please bring your own bedding/sleeping bag and refreshments. There
is no alcohol allowed at the center, (if you bring any, keep it quiet and inside). We are also responsible for taking out any alcohol related containers in our own vehicles; do not place them in the trash containers in the barracks.

Divers are welcome to come up for just a day of diving without staying the night. Bring your own food to enjoy with us at lunch or dinner.

We use Point Wilson 1.3 miles SW for current predictions. The best current to dive is the slack before ebb.

3-10-06 8:56 am slack before flood 1:25 pm slack before ebb

 3-11-06 9:24 am slack before flood 2:42 pm slack before ebb 8:40 pm slack before flood

3-12-06 9:51 am slack before flood 3:43 pm slack before ebb

I would recommend that the briefing be 45 minutes prior to the slack. That will give people the window to check the current prior to splashing.

Notes on Collecting

Wendy Drucker (reprint Mar. 2004)

As divers we have all been taught, "Don’t touch anything. Don’t bother the animals. We are merely tourists in their world." As members of the Emerald Sea Dive Club we have rare opportunities to interact with the marine creatures on our collection dives at Camp Casey and Richmond Beach. We justify these special collections because they enlighten non-divers, teaching them to respect the life below the waves, and because we take care that the animals come to no harm.

These notes are my personal observations and are intended for our many new members, and for everyone else who needs them.

1. When you remove a creature from its home you are responsible for its well-being during the collection and on the return to shore. At Richmond Beach we are collectively responsible for the creatures on shore and during their return to their homes.
2. Critters collected at Camp Casey are in good hands with Keith Ludeman, the resident marine biologist. At Richmond Beach it is we who have to take care of them after they are brought ashore.
3. Handle the creature very gently. If you can’t get it into your bag or jar without harming it, just leave it alone.
4. If you have to uproot it or forcibly pry it off a rock, you may hurt it. Just leave it. At Richmond Beach visitors will be able to look at critters such as limpets, chitons, and anemones in the tidal pools.
5. California sea cucumbers (the big orange-brown ones) do not fare well in the Richmond Beach touch pools. Aquarium volunteers have reported them washing ashore dead after we leave. I no longer bring these poor guys in.
6. Grabbing fish is great fun for us but bad for the fish. You can trap or net a fish, but if you have to seize it with your hands and grip it, you are probably hurting it. Their bones and organs are no match for your strength. Just because it swims away doesn’t mean it isn’t mortally wounded.
7. Large crabs are not suitable for kiddies’ touch pools. Think little fingers and big pinchers.
8. Think about the mix you are creating in your bag. If you want to bring in a Pycnipodia (sunflower star) leave it for last to collect. There are plenty of them. If you put it in your bag at the beginning of the dive it might eat some of your other catches. Same for other large starfish. (If you have any crabs in your bag, the stars will often willingly cling to the outside for the swim in.)
9. The water in the touch pools at Richmond Beach warms up quickly. Cold sea water has to be added frequently. These critters cannot tolerate warm water. At the end of your dive, instead of stripping off your gear and heading for the food, take a turn hauling in buckets of cold water. The beach volunteers try, but it is much easier for someone wearing an exposure suit. Also, someone in a suit needs to take the animals back to their home.
10. Your first concern is, of course, your personal safety, and your buddy’s safety. But beyond that, your primary consideration as a collector must be the life and well-being of each creature you take. You volunteered—they didn’t!

DAN´s Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries Provider Course was designed to fill the void in oxygen first aid training available for the general diving public.

This course represents entry level training designed to educate the general diving (and qualified non-diving) public in recognizing possible dive related injuries and providing emergency oxygen first aid while activating the local emergency medical services (EMS) and/or arranging for evacuation to the nearest available medical facility.

In DAN´s most recent dive accident record, less than 33% of injured divers received emergency oxygen in the field. Few of those received oxygen concentrations approaching the recommended 100%. DAN and all major diving instructional agencies recommend that all divers be qualified to provide 100% oxygen in the field to those injured in a dive accident.

Jim King

The Senate International Trade and Economic Development committee voted unanimously to move Substitute Senate Bill 6610 (SSB 6610), the dive tourism/underwater viewing bill, out of committee and on to the Senate Ways and Means committee.  We've successfully reached the first marker on the trail!

What next?  Early next week (Monday or Tuesday), Ways and Means will hear and then vote on SSB 6610.  The hearing will be on short notice and will be to address the fiscal impact (how much money will this cost and is it worth it?) only.  We will NOT need people available for the hearing- we WILL need people making contact with the senators who sit on Ways and Means.

There are seventeen members of Ways and Means.  Two of them (Senators Rockefeller and Pflug) are cosponsors of the bill.  Three more of them (Senators Doumit, Zarelli, and Roach) just voted for the bill in the policy committee.  That gives us a good starting block of votes on the Ways
and Means committee.

Anybody can use the toll-free hotline (1-800-562-6000) to call their OWN legislators.  You are urged to begin calling and leaving messages for YOUR senator- "Please support SSB 6610, the underwater viewing/dive tourism bill."  And if you live in the districts listed below (or own a business there) it is ESPECIALLY important that you call and leave a message for your senator- YOUR senator is a member of Ways and Means.

To see what district you live in, go to http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx
This will also give you additional contact information for your legislators.

Members of Ways and Means:
District 02 Marilyn Rasmussen
District 05 Cheryl Pflug
District 09 Mark Schoesler
District 11 Margarita Prentice (Chair)
District 12 Linda vans Parlette
District 16 Mike Hewitt
District 18 Joe Zarelli
District 19 Mark Doumit
District 22 Karen Fraser
District 23 Phil Rockefeller
District 27 Debbie Regala
District 31 Pam Roach
District 32 Darlene Fairley
District 36 Jeanne Kohl-Welles
District 42 Dale Brandland
District 43 Pat Thibadeau
District 49 Craig Pridemore

Let's keep up the good work the dive community is doing on this bill!

Citizens for Parks and Recreation
James L. King, Jr., Coordinator
120 State Ave NE #199
Olympia, WA  98501-8212
Office Phone (360)753-3602
Digital Page (360)534-5655
Lobbyist Message Center-
during session (360)754-3290

Here is your opportunity to enjoy a weekend of diving at its best in
beautiful Campbell River, BC. If you have not yet had the experience of
diving in Canadian waters, then join in for a great weekend of diving, eating and relaxing at the beautiful Abyssal Lodge on Quadra Island.

The adventure begins on Thursday, April 13th.  We will travel by ferry to
Vancouver Island. We will arrive at Abyssal Lodge after dinner on Thursday and settle in for the weekend. 

The weekend includes lodging, meals on Friday, and Saturday and breakfast on Sunday, and 6 dives.  Additional dives can be arranged for a small additional fee of about $35.00/dive. Nitrox is also available.  There is a large screen TV to enjoy DVDs or videos as well as a hot tub.

The cost for the weekend is $433.00 (CND).   It will be a very fun weekend. For more information see Loogpla at the meeting or call 206-399-5682

1.  Port Authority Fleece Vest R-TEK - #JP79

2.  Port Authority Polo Shirt KP 60? 

3.  Jackets: black – 754-BK  gold –754-GD

4.  Jackets: All Season, men’s & women’s – black 779-BK

5.  Full Fleece Zip Jacket – available in black – 77-BK, midnight heather 77-MH

Available both men’s & women’s styles

Members can order directly from Dan Singley at www.thelogopress.com

FREEDOM ORDER – Have the ESDC logo embroidered on blankets or any article of clothing.

Personally customized by Rodney Windhorst: lsvision@earthlink.net

rmigas@cbrichardellis.com if interested.

Ronald Migas
Facility Manager
C.B. Richard Ellis
4111 Adlerwood Mall Blvd.
Lynnwood, Wash.  98036

Telephone: 425-640-2701
FAX:  425-640-2501
E-Mail:  rmigas@cbrichardellis.com

Be sure you have your ESDC membership card with you when you go shopping at dive shops—you just never know.

If you find a dive shop that offers you a discount for being an ESDC member 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 Skip Stacy, 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, February 1 at Alfy’s Pizza

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 Rich Carton addcorich@verizon.net

Secretary/historian Mary Lou Hernandez hmarylou@hotmail.com

Treasurer Willow Moore Mukherjee dr.moore@verizon.net

Activities Coordinator Skip Stacy skipstacy@aol.com

Newsletter Editor David Ripley esdcnewsletter@mindspring.com

Big Buddy Coordinator Greg Becvar tridoxia@yahoo.com

Greeter Shawn Miller shawnm1833@yahoo.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.