MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING; WEDS. 9 SEPT. 98;

The general meeting was called to order by our president Bill Johns, at 7:15 pm , with nine members present .

OLD BUSINESS - CLUB DIVE

JEFF YOUNG, LARRY KING , BILL JOHNS, Paul Pearah say The trail is clear!!! However LARRY and PAUL contacted poison oak getting it so. Two good dives--30 to 35 feet of visibility. NORTH COAST DIVING with the Steve Lopez GANG on 8/22/98. Viz was up to 25 feet and the water was generally calm and negative surge on Saturday. Sunday had 10 feet of viz water generally rough with swells Scott and Jeff did a tank dive But didn't see any fish. Rahul dropped his weight belt accidentally while getting out of the water, but Steve saw it the next day and has it for Rahul . Steve, Andy, Dave, Scott , Jeff, Larry , and Paul found a pinnacle loaded with abalone and will positively plan some future free diving there. Paul says he ate his first abalone and says he doesn't know what all the fuss is about , it was all right but he wasn't impressed.

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

NEW BUSINESS/ PLANS

1.)TODAY: Paul and friend looked around at Monastery and Butterfly House but found only heavy surf but did get in a 20 foot dive at Breakwaters a few animals but not spectacular.

2.)This weekend is the annual Big Sur Dive and Camp out at Lime Kiln on the south coast as usual lead by dive host Jeff Young. Says there will be a potluck dinner on Saturday night so be sure to bring something for the table The campsites as usual have been paid for by the club and you will find them under the name of the Kelp Kritters and /or Jeff Young. The reservation number is # 1-115774 and 115780. Diving is always great at this site as it is well known to the dive host. HOW TO GET THERE? LAND ROUTE VISTA - Use hwy 1 south out of Monterey last food and gas will be found at the Rio road shopping center. There may be some traffic delays due to road and bridge construction, Expect to drive to be at least one and a halt hours from the shopping center, but its well worth it!

3.)The seventh annual Pumpkin Craving Dive is still on (no bugouts allowed please!!) and will be hosted by Tony Ferrara, more into to follow at the next meeting.

4.) If you were planning on diving the NOV. Night Dive we'll have to find a new dive host as Paul says he won't be there on 11-14-98. So this dive is now open. Any takers, this is a really easy event to do. Remember the dive can be done at any time during the month, the 14th isn't the only time we can go. General meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm. See ya next time.

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, it. Anquilla,Barbados, Cancun, Cozumel, Key West in Vol # 1. 90 mins. , Vol # 2. --Jamaica, 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 AlR RE FILL CARD GOOD AT DIVER DAN'S SHOP AND ALSO A 5% DISCOUNT ON NEW EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. MEETINGS ON 2ND Wednesday EVERY MONTH AT THE STORE.

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

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

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

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

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

CERTIFICATION # ...........

COME AND JOIN OUR CLUB WE'RE IN 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

1998 JAN - PT LOBOS- Richard Logsdon (408) 295-2896

FEB - Monastery Beach -Jim Trayer (408)985-2941

MAR - Choc. Ab Dive - Larry King (408)370-2861

APR - Abalone Cabin -Steve Lopez (408)263-3536

MAY - Coral St.- Dave Sauter (408)378-2323

Jun - Peace Dive Boat -Tony Ferrara (408)395-6998

Jul - Ab Lab I Cal. Fishery-Willis McNeil (408)262-5876

Aug - Ocean Cove - Steve Lopez 8-22-98 (408)263-3536

Sep - Big Sur Camp out-Jeff Young 9-11-98 (408)578-0546

Oct - Pumpkin Dive -Tony Ferrara (408)395-6998

Nov - Night Dive - DIVE HOST BUGOUT

Dec - Dive Site T.B.A. (A REAL VOLUNTEER NEEDED)

BAHAMAS TRIP with Blackbeard Cruises, Aug.22nd & 28th by Thomas Sigruener

Nobody was sure on the Departure Day whether the trip would be canceled or not because of Hurricane Bonnie, We had to stay on Sat. in Miami and left on Sun. for two local dives a few miles off Miami. Both of the dives where good, the first one was a wreck dive on a very old wreck. My first impression was how nice it is to dive without a wet suite and still feel comfortable warm all the time. The water temp. was 85F. It was an easy dive at a max. 37' and perfect for most of the people on the boat to get a "refresher" after the last vacation. We saw a big Stingray and a few tropical fish. The second dive was even better, there was huge concrete tubes at 44', totally covered with beautiful corral and lots of schooling tropical fish. The moderate current made me aware that I am pretty much out of shape. We finally left Miami at 2am Mon. morning, the wind was pretty good so we arrived in Bahamas about 6 hrs. later and jumped right away in the water after a very good briefing. The vis. was approx. 60'. The second dive was one of the highlights of the whole trip. The Shark feeding. We saw 8 GrayReef Sharks and 4 Nurse Sharks, all in a pretty good size and very close. Twice during this dive I wasn't more then 2' away from the sharks, it was impressive. The sharks totally seemed to ignore us. The only bad thing was that the flash of my camera didn't work and the vis. was rather poor. We did the night dive on the same location (Bull Run) and had a great time exploring all the swim throughs. I will just tell you about the really good dives now, all the other dives where good as well, except for one. The vis. ranged from 30' to 70'. The dive site called 'The Sea Garden" really deserved its name. It was the most colorful dive I have ever had on this side of the planet. The wreck dive at the 'Lady Moore" was the best wreck dive I ever had. She is laying upright at 85' max. and you can easily explore the"inside of the whole wreck. To bring a flashlight is strongly recommended if you want to explore everything. There were lots of tropical fish inside and outside the wreck as well as a big lobster and a snapper who just didn't leave the cabin even as there were divers inside. It was just his territory and he did let us know that. Another very good dive was at the "Yellow Bar", that was a night dive. We had seen lots of big groupers, lobsters, crabs and of course very beautiful coral all over the place. The last dive of the trip was in my opinion the best of all. The dive site is called 'Strip", it is not very big but very colorful with healthy coral, tons of schooling tropical fish in almost all sizes. We even saw a sleeping baby Nurse Shark, three spotted ells, a few lobsters and crabs. I dove this dive site three times in 50 min. and discovered every time something gorgeous I hadn't seen before. Besides the diving we also did some fishing from the boat and spear fishing on the shallow wreck, of course only for free divers. I caught a grouper and he tasted great a few hours later. We also visited Captain Morgan's cave, a rather not so comfortable hideout for a pirate. We stayed only 2 hrs. at the Bimini Island because of the delay of the trip, but if you ever go there visit the 'End of the World Bar" and Hemingway Museum. He wrote "The Old Man and the Sea' on Bimini, The food aboard was very good and more then enough all the time, the staff aboard was very friendly. If you want lots of good diving for less money, that's the way to do it, It's a great value.

(ED. note - Thanks Tom for your report, sounds like a great place to go!)