KELP KRITTERS DIVE CLUB

NEWSLETTER

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING; WEDS. 10 FEB. 99;

The general meeting was called to order by our president Bill Johns. Recording Secretary could not attend.

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS DISCUSSION OF OLD BUSINESS SAT. 2/6 - PT LOBOS DIVE: Hosted by Willis McNeil and occurred at 10 am with a max depth of 60 ft. Divers stated they froze while they up and exposed to the wind. They were too cold to do a second dive. The surf was up. Report of small fish everywhere. Poor vis. and lots of kelp. Scott__ W. had a free flowing regulator, some sort of grit. Willis brought pictures he took to share them.

NEW UPCOMING DIVE The March dive is schedule for Sat. March 27th. Will be hosted by Jim Trayer and will be a boat dive off his boat at Monterey Harbor- go to municipal pier. North of tunnel not the Breakwater ramp. Time and location will be discussed at next meeting. Tom Sigruener is going on a week vacation to the Bahamas outer islands. I am sure he will give us a good report when he returns. Paul Pearah has a disk regarding his dive in Australia. Unfortunately it is not a format I can open on my computer. Hopefully more to follow.

PEACE DIVE BOAT - Last of the season special. $225.00 - March 16th & 17th. A lobster dive, Has been announced. Larry King reports very good clam hunting behind Taco Bel I in Pacifica.

MEMBER INPUT NEEDED - A general request and solicitation was voiced by the club's secretary for articles and / or short descriptions of dives to add to this newsletter. We should have something of substance that is interesting to the general membership and also prospective new members. -- Thanks for any submissions.

SO WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING OUT THERE IN THE DIVING WORLD? .

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE CLUB HAS A LENDING LIBRARY?

Well, we do. Video tapes on all the known California State Parks, also video diving guide to the Bahamas. -also on the Caribbean island diving, Anquilla, Barbados, Cancun, Cozumel, Key West in Vol # 1. 90 mins. Vol # 2. --Jarnaica, Montego Bay, Oucho Rios, Martinique, St. Barths. St. Johns, St, Maarten, 90 mins. Vol # 3.-Antigua, Dominica, Grand Cayman, 45 mins. , Vol# 4. British Virgins islands, Guadalupe, Montserrat. 45 mins

OUR CLUB MOTTO IS TO DIVE AT LEAST EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR! DUES ARE $30. A YEAR YOU GET AN AIR REFILL CARD GOOD AT DIVER DAN'S SHOP AND ALSO A 5% DISCOUNT ON NEW EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. MEETINGS ON 2 ND WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT THE STORE.

NAME .............................

ADDRESS .......................

CITY, ZIP ........................

HOME/OR/WORK# ......

AGENCY ..........................

CERTIFICATION * ...........

COME AND JOIN OUR CLUB-- WE'RE IN IT FOR THE FUN OF THE SPORT! WE MEET EVERY SECOND Wednesday IN THE UPSTAIRS CLASSROOMS AT DIVER DAN'S IN SANTA CLARA.

Kelp Kritters Dive Calendar 1999

MAR -Monterey Boat dive - JIM Trayer (408)985-2941

APR -Ft. Ross Cabin Ab dive - Steve Lopez (408)263-3536

MAY -Wkend Camp out -Volunteer Needed

Jun /5+6/99 Peace Dive Boat - (open to anyone on a 1st come 1st. served basis!-$195.) Tony Ferrara (408)395-6998

Jul -Altitude Dive - L. Tahoe Volunteer Needed

Aug - Low Tide Ocean Cove -Camp out Volunteer Needed

Sep -Dive Host Choice--Volunteer Needed

Oct / 23/99 - Pumpkin Dive Nov - DIVE HOST CHOICE

Dec -XMASS DINNER SITE T.B.A.

Special Note to all Members: The Peace Dive Boat new owners have contacted me restating the need to reserve our scheduled time slot with a money deposit. Therefore to all those who wish to go on this annual June 6 & 7, 99 trip and made a verbal commitment now is the time to get your guaranteed berth, send in your $50.00 deposit to me right away. There will be a total of 13 spots but several of the bunks are set up for couples or divers who want to share a low cost dive. (Can total 16 spots) The more people who go will reduce the cost to all. Reserve now & Send in your deposit to : Tony Ferrara, 17692 Daves Ave. Monte Sereno, Ca. 95030

MAKE ALL CHECKS PAYABLE TO- KELP KRITTERS DIVE CLUB

After first being offered to our membership I'm once again going to put a notice onto the internet so it should sell out fast. Basic cost right now is $195. but will go down proportionately by the number of members over 13 who sign up.

Point Lobos Dive by Willis M.

By Thur. night I was able to confirm all team members were still planning on attending except no contact with Dan S. I appreciated that everyone was willing to hang in there with rain predicted for Sat. Teams: Willis M., Byron C., Dan S. , and Jim T., Scott K., Scott W. Fri. night Tom S. called and asked if the dive was still on, He was told that the dive was still on, but that I did not have him registered with Pt. Lobos. Most club dives just registering with the Trip Leader is sufficient, but Pt.Lobos is a state park and requires advanced registration with a fee of $7. for each 2/3 man team. Only 15 teams are allowed to dive on any one day, Rangers check certification cards of each diver. Tom agreed to come and we would try to get him on our team if someone did not show. I headed out Sat. a.m. with low expectations. The Fri. report from the dive shop was that Thur. had been cruddy, high surf warnings were being broadcast and sprinkles were already falling in Santa Clara valley. I picked up Jim and was relieved to hear that the early Pebble Beach TV coverage was showing a calm ocean. The only way to know for sure is to go. So off we went. The clouds lightened-up as we drove south but were building. The first view of Monterey Bay showed a calm ocean, Monastery was a walk-in surf level. Clouds and wind continued to build, but we were going to get a dive and only need to get blessed with some vis. At 8:45 am Scott K. was 2nd in line at the gate and we were 4th. Byron & Scott W. pulled up shortly later. No sign of Dan or Tom as the ranger let us in at 9:00, As the little blond sweetheart in the booth checked our c-cards I asked her if Tom could be added instead of Dan. She added Tom's name, no problem. The group assembled at Whaler's cove parking lot. Made a swift decision to go to Cannery Pt (rocky point north of parking lot) before conditions deteriorated any further. Tom showed up and two man buddy teams were formed. The 6 of us suited up and headed out. As we started to kick out Scott W. was plagued by a free flowing regulator and Byron & Scott returned to the parking lot. The other two teams headed out as planned, followed by two gray harbor seals. The kelp is coming back as we had more of it to contend with then when I was here about a year ago. Being able to see the kelp stalks trailing down into the ocean as we headed out I concluded that vis was going to be ok. We kicked out adjacent to the 2nd outcropping of rocks and planned to descend, then in to the rocks then out and then back along the rocks. We actually came down in the rocks, not the sand, at about a 60 ft depth. Vis was good at 25 ft or so. The four of us headed west a little and then north. I immediately started to take pictures of big beautiful anemone (Urticina Piscivora). Tom & Jim were quickly out of sight as I doodled taking pictures, Scott K. waited patiently by as I indulged myself. We worked out the reef at the 40 to 60 ft depth as I flashed away at the rich ocean life hoping to get lucky. A big blue sunflower star fish with tentacles up in the surge was one of my best hopes. I came across a cabezon sitting and waiting. Click, but no flash. I fiddled with strobe and camera settings but the strobe gone dead. Then I thought our vis was going bad, but it was a school of 1/2 in fry. Quickly we were surrounded by fish. I tried to take a natural light shoot, but the overcast made light scares. Next we happened upon a yellow nudibranch, and then a white one. I took shots but no flash, low probability. With Willis at 1000 lbs we turned back towards the cove. At this time I switched the camera to the internal flash instead of strobe. I flashed a black body & white stalked nudibranch or was it Ida's Miter snail? Maybe the picture will tell. With Willis at 500 we came up a little east of where we had gone down. The wind had kicked up and was blowing directly out of the cove against us as we kicked in. A bit of swell was forming. Back on land, Scott W. had been unable to fix his regulator. Tools were provided, but the problem appeared to be beyond the first level of disassembly and the attempt was abandoned. Byron had tested his dry suit and his new spare regulator in the cove. Tom was already dressed and ready for the warmth of Bahamas diving. A discussion of water temp ranged from 47 to 54 with 50 being the consensus. El Nino is gone, all the wet suiters reported being cold. With weather continuing to deteriorate the enthusiasm for a second dive dwindled. By the time we pulled away little wind driven white caps were forming inside the cove, but four of us were quite satisfied having had a good dive. Rain fell as we headed home and flood warnings were being issued for he Russian River, but we didn't care. We had gotten a good dive in before the storm.