Hello future dive club gang. We would like to get together for our first meeting, a night dive on Friday, January 5th at 6:30. We plan to meet at OEX in La Jolla. Please use back entrance as the shop closes at 6:00. Tom and I look forward to meeting everyone, and we are excited to have some quality bubble time with our fellow divers.

If you have any questions Tom or myself will be happy to help. Please let us know if you plan to attend the dive on the 5th, you can reach me at karma@oeexpress.com or Tom at tom@oeexpress.com

Happy holiday wishes, and we hope to see you on the fifth.

Karma

Why recycle? Check this out: Recently Greenpeace spotted a swirling vortex of old toothbrushes, beach toys, used condoms and other plastic trash in the ocean. This swirling vortex, located in the Pacific between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland, is the size of Texas. Yes, Texas!

Plastic does not break down the way organic material does. It can drift in the ocean for decades. It can travel thousands of miles on ocean currents and tides. 80% of the debris is from land and 20% dumped from ships at sea. Marine animals, such as seabirds, seals, sea lions, turtles, whales and fish suffer from entanglement or ingestion of these materials.

Marine eco-systems along the world’s coasts also suffer because barnacles and other invasive species hitch a ride on the plastic and can end up anywhere in the world where they interact with native species. Plastic pollution is a serious problem in all of the world’s oceans. The journal Science reported that by 2048 the world’s stock of fish would be depleted if over-fishing and pollution continues. The next time you see plastic in the ocean, pick it up and look it over, it may have come from thousands of miles away.

Humans have been breath-hold diving for thousands of years. We know this through depictions of divers in ancient drawings. But how did we get from there to Scuba?

1535 – What is considered to be a true diving bell is developed.
1650 – The first effective air pump is developed.
1691 – A diving bell connected by a pipe to weighted barrels of air that could be replenished from the surface is patented.
1715 – The first “Diving Engine” is developed. It was an underwater oak cylinder that was surface- supplied with compressed air.
1828 – After years of testing, the first diving helmet and suit combo are marketed.
1843 – The first diving school is established by the Royal Navy.
1865 – An apparatus for underwater breathing is patented consisting of a steel tank of compressed air on a divers back, connected to a valve attached to a mouthpiece. A hose from the surface pumped fresh air into the low-pressure tank.
1876 – The first workable self-contained diving rig that used compressed air is developed.
1912 – The U.S. Navy tests dive tables published by Haldane, Boycott, and Damant.
1924 – The U.S. Navy conducts the first helium- oxygen experimental dives.
1930’s – Rubber goggles with glass lenses are developed. Mask, fins, and snorkels become common.
1930’s – A demand valve combined with a high- pressure air tank to give the diver complete freedom from hoses and lines is developed.
1942-1943 – Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan redesign a car regulator that would automatically provide compressed air to a diver on the slightest intake. The Aqua Lung is born.
1946 – The Aqua Lung is marketed commercially in France.
1950 – The Aqua Lung is marketed commercially in Great Britain
1951 – The Aqua Lung is marketed commercially in Canada
1952 – The Aqua Lung is marketed commercially in U.S.A.
1947 – Record dive to 307 ft. is made in the Mediterranean using the Aqua Lung.
1951 – First issue of Skin Diver magazine (December)
1958 – First segment of “SeaHunt” is aired, introducing the world to Scuba.
1959 – YMCA begins the first nationally organized course for Scuba certification.
1960 – NAUI is founded.
1966 – PADI is founded.
1968 – Record 437 ft. dive on compressed air is made.
1970’s – Important advances to Scuba safety that began in the 60’s are implemented. Certification cards, K-valves, instrument consoles, BCD’s and single-hose regulators become standard.
1980 – D.A.N. is founded.
1983- First dive computer is marketed.
1990’s – 500,000 new scuba divers are certified yearly in the U.S. Scuba travel booms. Non-pro divers start using “tech” gear such as mixed gas, underwater scooters and underwater communications.
1995 – OEX is born in La Jolla Shores, CA.
2007+ - Stay tuned!!!

Thanks to Melissa Rodriguez from Scubadiving.com

November Results: And the winner is Vincent Seguin with photoshop work by Magaly Drant. This image was taken at "the front porch", Bonaire, Caribbean, at the end of November 2005 on the wreck of a small tow boat at 75 feet. The fish are French Grunts (Haemulon flavolineatum).

Vincent used a Minolta Dimage XT in Minolta Marine Case MC-DG 200

Everyone's a winner! Everyone who submits a photo for the contest in December will receive a free air fill card!
December's prize for best photo: Winner will receive a Museum Quality Poster Size Print of the winning photo provided by KB Wideformat.

Jim Metzger, our own underwater photo expert and specialty class instructor judges entries based on beauty, uniqueness of species, lighting, and any other criterion he sees fit.

E-mail your entries in jpeg format to Jim with the following information: your name, where photo was taken, equipment used, depth, species, and any special details about the picture.

Winner will be chosen from all entries received by December 31st.

All entries must be sent by the photographer who took the picture, all divers in the picture must have given permission to use their photograph in the contest.By entering your photo in this contest, you affirm that you hold all copyrights to the image and are giving OEX the rights to use your image on our website and in future newsletters.

San Francisco –Environmentalists are concerned that for-profit enterprises that take customers to look at white sharks are disturbing their natural habitat. Customers pay $775 for a 30-minute turn in a steel cage. The surf community is concerned that all the chumming attracts sharks to their surf spots.

Isle of Guadalupe – Dive operations are reporting the arrival of two new 17-foot female white sharks at Guadalupe Isle located 510 miles southwest of San Diego. The female sharks, weighing in at 2500 pounds each are joining other breeding age sharks that gather this time every year starting between Oct. and Nov.

New Zealand – As of April 2007 it will be illegal to hunt, kill or harm a white pointer shark within New Zealand’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The law will state that the possession or trading of any part of a white shark can result in a $250,000 fine and/or six months in jail.

Monterey, CA – On Aug 31, 2006, a 5’8” great white shark weighing 1041 lbs arrived at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s million-gallon outer bay exhibit. The shark has been feeding on salmon and black cod and is healthy. As it grows it will require more fatty foods like seals, sea lions, and elephant seals. The captive white shark will be returned to the wild at some point when it outgrows it’s home.

Want to have some fun with your Instructor during your Scuba class? Here are some tips I wish I would’ve thought of back then.

1. At the end of the dive, challenge your Instructor to a race to the surface.
2. Spit in your wetsuit and pee in your mask.
3. On your ascent, make sure your entire body clears the surface.
4. Tell your Instructor that being “neutral” means not fighting with your body.
5. If your Instructor asks you about Nitrox, tell him/her you’re not into “pro wrestling”.
6. Tell your Instructor you’re gonna wear a full wetsuit in the tropics so the coral won’t cut you as you drag across the reef.
7. At depth, when your Instructor gives you the “out of air” sign, hand him/her your snorkel.
8. When your Instructor signals “low on air” write on a slate that he/she should wait there, you’re gonna go get more.
9. At depth, when your Instructor gives you the “OK” sign, give him/her the finger.
10. Stare at your reg and ask which one of these “thingys” goes in your mouth.

Good luck, and remember, don’t blame me.
Chris “Dive Pig” Shordon