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Not dive-related but still . . .
HORROR IN NEPAL - It's
hard to find the words about what happened in
Nepal last Wednesday. (I'll also write about
this a bit in the September Reef Seekers
newsletter.) The videos that are coming out are
simply astonishing at capturing the raw,
destructive power of the flash flood that was
caused by the collapse of a glacier wall many
miles upstream. The numbers are staggering.
Initial reports said a 2,000 foot wall of the
glacier collapsed. Now they're saying it was a
mile wide (over 5,000 feet). Satellite images
estimate an initial wave that was as much as 300
feet high. That's a 30-story building. Because
the area is so steep, the force of that wave was
incredible as it started at almost 17,000 feet
of elevation and then picked up speed as it fell
and started hitting towns at around 6,000 feet
of elevation. And in the videos I've seen, it
look like the debris and the rocks in the wave
are literally exploding as they wipe out and
obliterate everything is their path. Global
warming may not the be the sole factor in this
disaster but may be a contributing factor.
There's a good analysis done by the Weather
Channel which appears on their FaceBook page but
it gives a fairly complete explanation of the
various factors that may have contributed: NEPAL
DISASTER.
ONE PIECE OF GOOD NEWS -
The feel-good news coming out of this is that a
school principal saved the lives of almost 1,700
kids in his school. He got a phone call from a
friend of his who lives upstream warning of what
was coming and he immediately rang an alarm bell
and ordered teachers to immediately take all the
kids in his school - close to 1,700 of them - to
higher ground. A few minutes later, the wave
smashed into his school and swept buildings
away. There's not a trace of the school left.
But all those kids are alive today due to his
quick actions. Here's a news report about it: PRINCIPAL
SAVES LIVES.
Let's get back to diving things . . .
BONAIRE IN 2027 -
Full details will be in the September newsletter
but we're going back to Bonaire next year. The
dates are June 11-19 and we'll be staying at
Buddy Dive as usual. We'll have 11 boat dives
over the course of our time there as well as
"unlimited" shore diving which usually means we
get in another 5-10 dives over the course of our
week there. And the Buddy Dive house reef is a
really good dive in and of itself so you could
even limit your shore diving to that site and
not be disappointed. If you're interested in
joining us, call me at 310/652-4990 or e-mail us
here.
LOCAL CONDITIONS -
Susy Horowitz is out on the 3-day trip on the Cee
Ray with
the Sea Divers. Here's what she had to say: "Navy
closed Clemente, Aimed for Begg Rock but swells
were up, tried to default to Nic but too rough
to get there so spent two days at Barbara. Viz
was okay (30-40'), water temps ranged from 65º
to 73º. Had some incredible Sea lion encounters
and even more incredible Black Sea Bass
encounter. Current and swell not bad day 1,
picked up day 2. Just had an incredible dive at
Ship Rock. Great viz 50-60', water above 35 feet
warm (mid 70s). Major thermocline and much
colder water below 40 feet. It was gorgeous."
We were also getting reports from Avalon that
Saturday was difficult diving but better today
with 20-25 feet visibility. So sounds like it's
a bit hit-and-miss but still with warmer water
all the way around.
MOVIE RECOMMENDATION -
If you're looking for a movie that will help you
escape your everyday toils and troubles, look no
further than "Coyote vs. ACME." The underlying
premise is that Wile E. Coyote is constantly
buying items from ACME to get the Road Runner,
only to have them fail repeatedly. So he decides
to sue ACME for defective products. Especially
if you grew up on Looney Tunes as I did, this
will resonate with you. Wonderful combination of
live-action with animation and all the Looney
Tunes characters you love, especially Wile E.
Coyote and the Road Runner. Plus, it placed 3rd
in the box office tally this week, behind
"Spiderman" and "The Odyssey." But I can promise
you that if you go see it, you'll laugh out loud
a number of times.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND IS NEXT WEEK -
Just a reminder that it's a three-day weekend
September 5-7. Enjoy!!!
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and
let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken |
