November 2008

Thanks to John Kim for hosting the October potluck. He fixed pork chops three different ways. He also made a succulent rice medley. We had a pretty good crowd, and everyone seemed to enjoy him or herself.

Diving has been fantastic! I have never seen so many fish in Smitty’s Cove. There were over 25 divers enjoying the beautiful visibility (60+ feet) last weekend. Colin Rust, Lisa & I finally had an opportunity to do some fun diving. On the first dive we dropped down to about 100 feet and cruised around the sea pen/sea whip bed. I found a tiny baby tritonia nudibranch, about the size of a silver dollar. It had all of the markings of an adult. A few feet away was a beautiful golden dirona. In addition we saw basket stars, sea peaches, frilled anemones, copper and quillback rockfish and lots of lingcod. The spotted prawns were even up in the shallower areas. Normally we only see them in deep water. There were moon jellies and the occasional lions mane jelly as well.

On our second dive we cruised under the fuel dock and then over to the tanker car. While under the fuel dock we found a school of hundreds of tube snouts. They were silhouetted against the backdrop of ambient light coming from the other side of the dock. Just past the tanker car are several huge white dorids. In addition we saw white knight nudibranchs and opalescent nudibranchs. Suspended in the water column were several iridescent sea gooseberries. We were also fortunate to see wolf eels on both dives.

The previous weekend Tim Gardner and I did a fun dive on Saturday. The visibility for that dive was only about 20 feet. We still saw quite a few critters. We elected not to do a second dive though. Lisa and Colin Rust were doing an advanced class for David Dishman & Carol Gaskins. I went on the night dive and deep dive with them. My neck seal had ripped and I got extremely wet and cold. It was worth it though. I was still able to enjoy the beauty of the night dive. It is great that it is now getting dark at a decent time! Congratulations to Carol and David on completing the class and doing such a great job.

Lisa has ordered me a new dry suit. Once it arrives I will be sending this new one back for a new neck seal. A couple of weeks ago someone’s boat leaked diesel fuel all over the cove while we were underwater. When we surfaced we were drenched in it. As a result the neck seal on my 6-month-old DUI suit rotted. What a bummer. If it can do that damage to a suit think what effect it has on the critters that live there!

Winter is definitely here. That means good diving and great visibility. Come down to Whittier and join us some weekend. We are still doing specialties and advanced certifications if anyone is interested in improving their skills.

Until next time Dive Safe, Dive Often and whatever you do Dive in beautiful Alaska!

Lisa’s

          Corner

Greeting’s fellow divers

Well it has been an exciting month or so in the cove. Lots of teaching and new divers experiencing their first open water dives. Gone are the murky waters of the Alaska Club pool along with hairballs and band-aids, to be replaced with the rich green waters of Alaska and a plethora of critters to amuse and amaze. It is truly wonderful the amount of fish we are seeing these days in Smitty’s Cove. There are times when I can see 5 to six at a time and it is grand to have some wolf eels taking up residence again. They are young ones, which is nice because we will get to watch them grow and should have them around for a good long time. Also the two white dorids on the rope down by the tanker car are a couple of giants. In fact if I did not know better I would say they need to be tested for steroids!! They have been there for a few months now so stop by and check them out.

I just finished up working with a great group of 6 people in my last class and took Karl Bruening, as well as David Dishman and Carol Gaskins to the open water. Then David and Carol followed that up with the Advanced class. On top of that they bought all their own gear (my how I love new gear, just like the smell of a new car, irresistible). Next up: Rescue Diver anyone?

The plan is to start the first week of December with two classroom and pool sessions followed by the open water. First Aid with CPR, AED & Oxygen are also included for those who have not taken a class in the past two years. Total cost is 450.00 or 375.00 if you do not need the first aid/CPR class.

I will be putting out a schedule soon, but would like to hear from any of you who might be considering so we can confer on class dates. You can sign up for the First Aid/CPR class without being in the Rescue diver class or even a certified diver. Cost for it is 75.00 and the date for that will be published along with the recue class.

My next class at Sunshine Sports starts November 8th with the open water Dec. 13 & 14. There are 7 signed up now, but there is still room for more.

We now have our dates for Cozumel set for next August. We leave the night of August 1st and return the 22nd. We will be diving 2 days on and one day off through out the trip. Bill has been very generous to our group again this year and has maintained the condo prices at 97.00 per night. With tax it comes to 107.00. That is for a condo right on the water! Diving has been increased 10.00 per two-tank dive with a 10% discount for our group so that comes to 67.00 per diver per day. Honestly it is hard to beat these prices anywhere in the Caribbean. Add to that the great hospitality of Bill and Sara, fantastic dining and the greatest Dive Master in the world along with incredible diving and what more can you ask for out of a vacation. If you are interested in joining in for any or the entire trip and would like more details just let us know.

With winter setting in there are a lot more divers using the cove and that means everyone needs to be a bit more aware of each other, and the non-divers using the area. Please understand that the user fee that is charged for the area is because the land is privately leased and the owners provide services such as the warming and changing house, port-a-pot and snow removal. While the warming/changing house is fairly roomy it can attract quite a crowd of cold divers seeking heat between dives and those changing into/out of dry suits. Lets all try and be courteous of the room we take up and not leave stuff spread out all over the place and make room for people to be able to sit down and move in and out without tripping over gear and clothing.

Also dive flags are not only for your safety and well being, but now required by the City of Whittier under the rules of the new underwater park. So please don’t head into the water without your own flag or assurance of other divers flags staying on site while you are underwater.

Our next potluck is Wednesday, November 19 at Sean & Natalia Weam’s home. Natalia is making Russian food (her homeland) and it should prove to be a great time with lots of fun munchies. Bring a dish of your choice, it does not have to be Russian, and whatever you are drinking. Stop by anytime after 5:30 for fun, friends and tall diving stories. The directions and phone number to Sean and Natalia’s will be listed in the reminder e-mail that will go out before the dinner.

Decembers Christmas dinner and Chinese Auction will be held at our house this year and will be Wednesday the 10th so mark that down in your day planners too. Hope to see you all there and in the meantime take care and safe diving always.

   Lisa