DA ANCHORLINE

NEWSLETTER April 10, 2003, Issue 27

Members are encouraged to submit articles, dive plans and dive reports.

Visit club web site at https://www.angelfire.com/nj4/divers/

Photographs can be viewed at the above noted website.

Editor: Tom Gormley

Contents

Next Meeting Notice

Nominations for officers

Peggy’s News

DA Dive Log

DA Dive Plan

Gary Gentile Presentation Invitation

Members Selling Gear

March DA Meeting Minutes, Unapproved

DA Calendar

_____________________________________________________________________

Next Meeting Notice

1) Next club meeting is 730PM, Monday, April 28, 2003.

Annual Elections and $25 Dues is due

2) May 19 meeting, one week early due to Memorial Day Holiday

Featured Speaker: Mike Emmerman

“The Rules of Diving”

This is a must not miss presentation, bring a friend

Divers Anonymous Dive Club Nominations

At our last meeting nominations were opened for club officers.

The following nominations were made, and 2003 members who have paid their dues will elect positions.

Treasurer: Lara Padula nominated

Secretary: Richard Mullen, nominated

Vice President: Al Nesterok, nominated

President: Tom Gormley, nominated

Nominations are still open, and will close before voting at our next meeting.

_______________________________________________________________________

Peggy’s News

A summary of the subway car issue by Tom Gormley

Glenn Arthur, president of NJCDC has indicated to me that our support for the artificial reef subway cars is much appreciated. Although the 250 subway cars were accepted by the DEP, the issue is not over. According to the latest statement by the DEP they are considering an 8-year moratorium on future use of subway cars on the artificial reef so that the deterioration of the cars and the effect on the marine life can be studied.

This moratorium is apparently a continuation of the opposition to the cars in the first place by a small by powerful lobby. Most groups of fishermen and boaters as well as the dive community do not support the 8-year moratorium. Our view is that the sensible public, including the NJCDC, would not allow any refuse dumping on the reef to ever happen again, so a moratorium is just a stall tactic by the power lobby to prohibit further use of subway cars on the reef. We welcome the study, but if there were an opportunity to use more cars during the 8-year study period, we want the cars for the benefit of the reef.

Our support is for subway cars plus a study of effects on marine life and car deterioration, but no moratorium.

Apparently there is supposed to be a provision for public comments, and Glenn intends to let our views be known.

Please be informed and support our view, the divers view.

----------------------

Peggy Bowen, Director, NJ Council of Diving Clubs

E-mail: mailto:pegdiver@monmouth.com

http://www.scubanj.org/

______________________________________________________________________

DA Dive Log

Shore Dive Log

March 16: Tom, Rich, Angela, and Frank dove the Bluffs Wreck this Sunday at 11AM. Tide was going toward low and sea conditions were fairly good with southwest winds of 5 to 10 knots. Water temperature was 39 degrees and visibility was about 4 feet. Both buddy teams had an easy navigation to the wreck and found that about 4 feet of sand had been deposited on the wreck since they had visited it last year. Unless future storms remove the sand, there will be less life on the wreck in its current condition because there will be fewer places for fish and other critters to hide. Tom and Rich found two small crabs on the wreck and saw one tiny fish swimming about. They spent a good 25 minutes exploring before the cold fingers set in and they exited. The exit was hampered by a high step of very soft sand that forced all of the divers to resort to the kneeling exit technique. “It isn’t pretty, but it sure gets you out.” was their comment.

Norva, Edith, and Luke provided shore support, and everyone had a good dive or shore day in mid March.

March 23: Tom, Frank, and Rich dove the Belmar Fishing Pier in the Shark River. Frank completed his NITROX certification, congratulations! Rich and Tom did two tours of the pier and visited Frank and Carl our in front of the marina.

March 27 saw Rich and Tom dive the Shark River Inlet during slack tide in the afternoon. The most remarkable aspect of their dive was that there were no boats or fishermen to contend with. The banks were somewhat sanded in though. The depth was around 22 feet near the bridge but in the mid teens further out along the jetty walls. Marine life is starting to recover after the long hard winter.

April 6: Rich and Tom returned to Sandy Hook after a long vacation forced by some unpleasant pipes rupturing upstream. Rich assured Tom that the coliform count was safe, so in they went. No unwanted marine creatures or otherwise were encountered, thankfully. Rich and Tom found very little marine life except for the usual mud crabs and lots of feeding clams unmolested by the clamming ban. The water temperature was a paltry 45 degrees. The team lasted 40 minutes until Tom’s fingers went numb and the dive was called. Tom has switched to gloves and has retired his mitts for the more usable hand protection.

Aside from some previous 2003 mud and snow dives, the group declared that the 2003 dive season has now officially begun. “All are welcome to join us!!!”

Boat Dive Log

Ben, Mike, Gary, and Paul did 19 boat dives in St Thomas off the SS Barefoot. Reports of a giant silt cloud moving north from the Virgin Islands may have originated from this group. The Clean Water Action Association is looking into it.

DA Dive Plan

Shore Dives: Plans are to do another DA warm-up dive on April 13 at a location to be named by Tom and Rich. Those interested should contact Tom or Rich.

Contact Tom or Rich if you are interested in diving any Sunday at various sites throughout the area depending on water and weather conditions.

Boat Dives: Tom and Ben have personally chartered the Spring Tide out of Brielle for 7 dates in 2003. These dates are open to club members as well as Tom’s students so contact Tom or Ben for information about these dives. The dates are posted in our calendar.

Other club members have indicated that they will be arranging charters. As dates are set, they will be added to the calendar.

Boat Diving Requirements

Everyone please be advised that the following are required by Tom and Ben to dive on any of their charters:

1) Standard NAUI Waiver and Release signed before boarding naming Tom Gormley and Ben Gualano as Instructors and Divemasters.

2) Logbook indicating northeast boat diving experience or arrangements to do guided dive with Tom or Ben.

3) Pony bottle and regulator with pressure gauge or other suitable redundant gear.

4) Compass, wreck reel, safety sausage, safety whistle and power surface audible signaling device, cutting device as well as other mandatory scuba gear.

5) DAN or equivalent insurance.

Gary Gentile Presentation

In Too Deep Dive Club of Union is inviting members of Divers Anonymous Dive Club to join them on May 21, 2003 to hear Gary Gentile do a presentation on NJ Wreck Diving.  If anyone is interested, it is important that they contact Tom and RSVP by May 14th as there is limited seating.

________________________________________________________

Members wishing to sell gear can post it here!

(Any sales of gear are subject to terms agreed upon by sellers and buyers.)

E-mail: Al Nesterok 2 aluminum 80 cylinders

E-mail: Rick Farmer stainless steel backplate and OMS back inflation BCD

__________________________________________________________

Divers Anonymous Scuba Dive Club

Mario’s Restaurant / 710 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton, NJ / (973) 777-1559

March 31, 2003 - Monthly Meeting Minutes

Members Present:

Richard Bertoldi

Rick, Edith and Luke Farmer

Ian Fryer

Tom & Norva Gormley

Ben Gualano

Bob Jeffas

Mike Lacatena

Herbert Marvin

Connie & Leo Mazur

Christine Menville

Gary Mullen

Richard Mullen

Al & Christine Nesterok

Charlie & Lara Padula

Chris Rollins

Don Van Dyk

Paul Ward

Guests:

Rose Nesterok

Gary Prystauk

Ted & Sarita Wilson

The meeting began at 7:30 p.m. – 22 of 36 active members were present.

Executive Committee Reports

Treasurer Report / Lara Padula

Clubs dues of $25 are due at next club meeting on April 28^th.

Secretary Report / Rich Mullen

Rich had sore throat and could not talk. Al read letter dated March 11^th from Governor James McGreevy in response to our club sent letter requesting his office consider accept the remaining of 250 New York City retired Red Bird subway cars for use as part of the NJ’s artificial reef program. This matter was turned over to NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Commissioner Bradley Campbell. Due to the many filed comments from various sources, it was later announced that NJ would accept these 250 obsolete subway cars for placement on five NJ artificial reef sites. New York City Transit will pay all costs associated with the cleaning and deployment of subway cars onto the artificial reef sites.

Vice President’s Report / Al Nesterok

No new information to report.

President’s Report / Tom Gormley

· Tom and Al worked the NJ Council of Diving Clubs table during the March 28~30 Beneath-The-Sea trade show giving out club flyer and promoting our club to potential new members.

· Tom suggested club should donate $25 to advertise club within flyer to be handed out at NJHDA’s NJ Shipwreck and Seminar Symposium. This was voted on and accepted by show of hands.

· Tom mentioned about club member Austin Jackson was activated into the Army Reserves and is now stationed somewhere in Iraq. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his loved ones. Tom made a request for a motion that Divers Anonymous pass a resolution that DA is in support of Austin and all of our military now involved with the war in Iraq. A motion was made in that effect and it was voted by a unanimous show of hands that Divers Anonymous is in support of our military men and women in this time of conflict.

· Tom requested all members make an effort to bring new members and guests to our club meetings and social events. It is good for the club to have an influx of new members to share the benefits of our club.

Apr 6: Invite to dive Manasquan River RR Bridge at high slack tide

Apr 7: Invite to attend pool dive for gear checkout and warm-up at Clifton YMYWHA for $10 fee.

Apr 26: NJHDA’s NJ Shipwreck and Seminar Symposium to be held at Sandy Hook. Admission is $15 per person and $10 for NJHDA subscribing members.

Apr 28: Clubs Annual Dues and Election of club officers

Special Committees Reports

Local Dive Committee / Ben and Tom

• Tom reserved Northeast Scuba’s Spring Tide for 3 boat dives on May 11, Jun 8 and Aug 17. Dive designations will be inshore shipwrecks and cost for 2-tank dive remains $60 plus tip.
• Ben reserved Northeast Scuba’s Spring Tide for 5 boat dives on Jun 1, Jul 13, Aug 3, Set 14 and Sep 28. Dive designations will be to local shipwrecks in the 80~100 foot range and cost for 2-tank dive remains $60 plus tip. Requirements for boat diving with Ben or Tom are listed in the newsletter Dive Plan section.
• Chris is looking into putting together 2 special trips this summer. One to Miami, Florida to attend DEMA weeklong trade show and the other to dive St. Lawrence with Kingston Dive Shop. For details contact Chris
• Tom, Ben and Rich are looking to book Dan Berg’s Wreck Valley for a few Thursday dive outings for some NY/Long Island wrecks with artifacts.
• Lakeland’s Sea Lion is now running local weekend dive trips weather permitting.

Membership Committee / Tom Gormley

We are looking forward to getting new members to join us on our weekly dives.

T-Shirt Committee / Ian Fryer & Jamie Cacciatore

No new information to report.

Travel Committee / Norva Gormley

No new information to report.

Web Site Committee / Tom Gormley

Visit club web site at https://www.angelfire.com/nj4/divers/

This web site offers Calendar of Events, Newsletters, Photographs, Scuba Links and other cool stuff. If members want to post timely club or scuba related activities they are encouraged to use email group mailing. If you have any club related photographs you wish to have posted on the web, send Tom electronic copy.

Old Business

· Paul Ward is available to perform professional and inexpensive annual and/or other required servicing on your critical scuba equipment.

· Dutch Springs 2003 Season Passes for Individual and Family price has gone up to $170 and $425. Daily admission price for 2003 will be $22 for diver and $10 for non-diver. (www.dutchsprings.com)

New Business

No new business to report.

Guest Speakers

Dan Lieb of the New Jersey Historical Divers Association gave a presentation about this non-profit organization. Also, he promoted the Shipwreck and Seminar Symposium to be held on April 26, 2003 from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. at the Post Theater in Sandy Hook State Park. Admission is $15 per person and $10 for NJHDA subscribing members. Events will include a film by F. Allan Vogel, Dan Lieb’s Identifying the Cecilia M. Dunlap, Donna L Blaszcak Visit to a few of New Jerseys Shipwrecks and their Residents, Peter Hess’s Wrecked Diving - The Bureaucrats' Claims On Shipwrecks and Danny Crowell’s U.S.S. Murphy Project. The offered seminars are: (1) Basic Artifact Preservation by Captain Steve Nagiewicz; (2) Shipwreck Identification by Dan Lieb; (3) Marine Life Identification by Donna Blaszcak; and (4) Tricks of the Trade by Captain Danny Crowell.

Gary Prystauk gave comprehensive presentation on artifact preservation. Not only did he give great details and show and tell, he offered to give assistance to anyone who requested his help in preserving any found artifact. One important item to remember, don’t take an artifact unless you intend to preserve it.

Next club meeting is Monday, April 28^th. Minutes submitted by Secretary, Richard Mullen

_____________________________________________________________

2003 Calendar

2003 Divers Anonymous Calendar 2003

Updated 04-10-03

Jan 2003 · 01/03: DA Planning meeting 6 p.m. at 6 Bros Diner Rt. 46 · 01/11: DA Holiday Party 7:30 p.m. San Carlos Rest 620 Stuyvesant Ave, Lyndhurst · 01/27: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. “ Marine History Presentation” by Lada	Feb 2003 · 02/02: Bottle Show, South River · 02/15: 4^th Annual DA Ski Day · 02/23: Toms River Flea Market · 02/24: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. Presentation: “How We Shore Dive” by Tom Gormley and Rich Mullen	Mar 2003 03/07 thru 12 St Thomas with Mr Ben 03/23: South Jersey Shore Dive (?) 03/28~30: Beneath-The-Sea 03/31: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. Presentation: “Artifact Restoration” by Gary Prystauk 03/??: Winter Field Trip - TBA
Apr 2003 · 04/06: Manasquan RR Bridge Dive, 12 noon · 04/07: Pool Dive for gear check and warm-up 9:15 p.m. Clifton YMYWHA · Sunday shore dives · 04/28: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. Annual Dues and Officer Elections	May 2003 05/11: Tom – Spring Tide Boat Dive Sunday shore dives 05/17: Pre-Memorial Day Picnic 05/19: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. Presentation: “The Rules of Diving” by Mike Emmerman Local Shore Dives TBA	June 2003 Local Shore Dives TBA 06/01: Ben Boat Dive on Spring Tide 06/08: Tom – Spring Tide Boat Dive 06/30: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. “Boat Diving Safety Issues” by DA Members
Jul 2003 · Local Shore Dives TBA · 07/13 Ben Boat Dive on Spring Tide · 7/19 & 20 DA Weekend at Dutch Springs · 07/28: DA Club Meeting, Diving Galapagos by Ian Fryer, 7:30 p.m.	Aug 2003 Local Shore Dives TBA 08/03 Ben Boat Dive on Spring Tide 08/17: Tom – Spring Tide Boat Dive 08/25: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. 08/31: Labor Day Delaware Picnic	Sep 2003 · Local Shore Dives TBA · 09/14 Ben Boat Dive on Spring Tide · 09/28 Ben Boat Dive on Spring Tide · 09/29: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m.
Oct 2003 Local Shore Dives TBA Ben, Chris and Ian Boat Dives TBA 10/27: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m.	Nov 2003 · Local Shore Dives TBA · Annual gear maintenance workshop TBA · 11/24: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m.	Dec 2003 · 12/15: DA Club Meeting 7:30 p.m. 4th Annual Artifact & Photo Contest · 12/28: Winter Shore Dive

Pink highlighted events are subsidized by DA dues