Hello my fellow bubble heads. We would like to announce a dive club meeting on Tuesday, January 30th. We will be meeting at 6:00 at OEX dive shop in La Jolla. Please use the alley entrance as the shop closes at 6:00. Conditions for this time of year can vary as most of you know so we were unable to meet for our first dive club gathering earlier this month. The weather has improved greatly and the diving is back to awesome status! So please join us for our official first meet on Tuesday.

Tom and I will be happy to answer any questions. you can reach me at karma@oeexpress.com or Tom at tom@oeexpress.com. We will also be happy to provide any other needs such as air fills, gear etc.

We look foward to seeing many happy faces, until then have a great week and we'll see you soon.

Sincerely Karma Jewell Crampton.

Here’s a killer deal from the folks at Sherwood. Bring into OEX your old computer, working or not, old or not, ugly or not, and you’ll get a brand-new, top-of- the-line Sherwood Wisdom, with quick disconnect and compass for a measly $525! Retail on this computer package is $890 Also receive a free Wisdom computer bag with purchase of Wisdom. Most of the Instructors and Divemasters at OEX are currently using the Wisdom computer. This deal expires at the end of the month. Here are the specs:

USER OPTIONS:

• Safety Stop Reminder - Alarm: off/on.
• PO2 - Adjustable 1.2 - 1.6 ATA.
• Ascent Rate - Alarm: off/on.
• Depth -Adjustable 30 - 399 ft. with Alarm: off/on.
• Turn Around Pressure - Adjustable 1000 - 3000 psi with Alarm: off/on.
• End Pressure - Adjustable 300 - 1500 psi with Alarm: off/on.
• Dive Time Reserve (DTR) - Adjustable 1 - 30 minutes with Alarm: off/on.
• DECO - Alarm: off/on.
• PO2 - Alarm: off/on.

WISDOM FEATURES:

• Dive simulator: Walk yourself through any dive beforehand, and see your limits without getting wet. Repetitive dive planning: Use information from previous dives to see limitations of your next dive.
• Dive log: Stores profiles for later recall and viewing.
• Deco calculation: Calculates decompression stops to 60 feet. Button or water activation Audible and visual alarms. Seven optional and adjustable choices.
• HydroGlow Screen illumination, with large screen and numerals for easy reading.
• Air, nitrox, or gauge modes: 21% to 50% FO2 N2 and O2 absorption bar graphs for instant recognition.
• Time to fly/desaturation timers.
• Automatic altitude adjustment to 14,000 feet.
• Date and time-of-day records.
• User replaceable battery: Extended life battery and low battery indicator.
• Adjustable data sampling rate.
• Imperial or metric units.

Rare White Dolphin Declared Extinct

A rare, nearly blind white dolphin that has survived for millions of years is effectively extinct, an international expedition declared after ending a six- week search in its Yangtze habitat. The ‘Baigi’ would be the first aquatic mammal driven to extinction since hunting and over-fishing killed off the Caribbean Monk Seal in the 1950s. For the ‘Baigi’, the culprit was a degraded habitat, busy ship traffic, which confuses the dolphin’s sonar, over-fishing and pollution in Yangtze waters of eastern China. The ‘Baiji’ dates back 20 million years. The Chinese called it the “goddess of the Yangtze.” Chinese locals say the extinction of this animal symbolizes how uncontrolled economic growth is eroding the country’s environment.

Here’s a look at our boat, the Humboldt, being built in Louisiana. Ain’t she pretty? Official trips to begin Memorial Day weekend, 2007. Book early and enjoy!

I knew if I wrote enough of these articles for the newsletter, sooner or later this subject would come up. As a dive Instructor I am frequently asked: “What about sharks?” or “Do we need to worry about sharks?” I usually respond reassuredly. Then comes the pyroclastic cloud of questions.
Q: “Are they at the dive site?” A:Yes, No, Maybe.
Q: “Will they bite me?” A: Only if you bite them.
Q: “What do I do to avoid them?” A:Don’t bleed.
Q: “What should I do if I see one?” A:Introduce yourself.
Q: “Should I bring a knife if there are sharks?” A:In case you want to stab yourself?

These are natural questions any smart person would ask. Especially if you are unfamiliar with the ocean world. Remember, scuba diving is fun but you can’t have fun if you are not relaxed. And you can’t relax if you’re worried about sharks “eating you”.

There are two steps (in my opinion) on how to achieve a calm state of mind in the ocean.
Education
Perception

Education: yes, there are sharks in the ocean, yes there are sharks in this part of the ocean. But what kind of shark is the question. Out of 350 shark species in the world, 80% are literally unable to hurt humans. For example, you could encounter a leopard shark, horn shark, soup fin shark, angel shark, and nurse shark at night and none of these pose any kind of threat to humans. The great white shark is the only shark in California that poses a threat to us. White sharks are rarely sighted in Southern California waters (once every 2-3 years) and only in deep water, 1-2 miles off shore. So there is really no reason to be concerned about them. Educating oneself on the marine life typical in the area will go a long way towards alleviating a lot of anxiety.

Perception: for most of us, perception is king. The “shark thing” is so blown out of reason because you only hear about sharks when it involves a human and an attack. We never hear about all the commercial airliners that make successful landings at the airport. My all-time favorite shark fact relating to sharks: More people (20-30) are killed annually in this country by soda machines than sharks (5-10). Soda machines? How is that possible? The poor human deposits a buck in a soda machine for a cool refreshing drink only to be denied by the machine. The human shakes the machine trying to dislodge the soda. The machine retaliates by falling over and crushing it’s tormentor.

Diving is fun. Relax. If you feel anxiety in the water, stop and look around. There are no soda machines hunting you. Have fun.

Scuba diving is an international sport. One of the great things about dealing with international tourists is when they come into our shop and make us smirk with their well-intentioned attempts at communicating with us about diving. Example: “Never lick a gift horse in the mouth.”

Here are some actual things said and overheard at OEX:

1. “I would like to sky dive in the ocean.”
2. “You have to put big bottles on your back so you can have good breath.”
3. “To scuba dive, you need big rubber feet.”
4. “I like to jump on the ocean.”
5. “On the surface, try not to get water in your snozzle.”
6. “I got certified so I can drown in the water without being dangerous.”
7. “Last year I tripped all the way to Hawaii.”
8. “I like to visit small American tongues.”
9. “How far should I tip the Divemaster?”
10. “My Divemaster was so kind, after the dive she rode me all the way to the airport.”
11. “I had to buy a new wetsuit before defarting on my trip.”
12. “I think every hotel in America has a big swimming pool.”
13. “I like America, but it is hard to adjust myself.”
14. “If you do not take care of your dive gear, it will lust. Once it starts to lust, there is no stopping it.”
15. “I heard California is full of nude peaches.”

And so on. Good diving!
Chris “Dive Pig” Shordon