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How is it possible that Easter is next Sunday???
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YAP TRIP REPORT, PIX, & VIDEO - I
think I'm over the 7-time-zone jetlag by now.
But suffice it to say that we've returned safe
and sound and we had a good to Yap, even if it
wasn't exactly the trip I had hoped we'd have.
(But how can you NOT have a good time in a
tropical location?) You can read all abut it,
see what we saw, and even experience in 90
seconds what our 60-minute shark feed dive was
like:
YAP 2026 TRIP REPORT
YAP 2026 SMUGMUG SLIDESHOW PIX
YAP 2026 SHARK FEED AT VERTIGO
SHARK FEED DISCLAIMER -
First of all, I don't choose where the feed is
done or how the divers are arranged to view the
view. You should know, despite how it may look,
that this is done in an area (Vertigo dive site)
where it's about 50/50 rock and reef and the
rock stuff is fairly big. So what we try to do
is plant divers in the rock areas and reminded
them not to lay on the corals and stuff like
that. I can't say it's a perfect system or that
everyone remembers to comply, but it is what it
is. It's also not the type of thing that Manta
Ray Bay does every day or even every week. But
it's also not like when you visit later, there's
a bunch of decimated coral where the divers
watched the feed. As to whether sharks should be
fed in the first place? Entirely different
discussion. Disclaimer over.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO SHILL FOR SOMEONE ELSE -
(In fact, I've made a career out of it for the
last almost-50 years.) Girl-friend Laurie Powers
found this neat little site for those of you
looking for more marine-themed t-shirts. Prices
seem reasonable and they've got a bunch (39
pages) of designs. Give them a look-see: DOLCE
REVERIE T-SHIRTS.
WARM(ER) WATER BLOB -
Scientists are predicting that this will be an
El Niρo summer, perhaps even a strong one.
They're already pointing to a warm water "blob"
that's off the west coast of the US and which
has been keeping our waters warmer than usual
through the winter. Normally, you'd expect the
lowest temps to be occurring around this time of
the year and for them to be in the mid-to-high
50s. Today at the Avalon UW Park, they were
saying it was "chilly," but that was only 60Ί.
It's been as high as 62Ί to even 65Ί in the last
few months.
WHAT THIS ALL MEANS -
There will be a couple of things to watch out
for through the summer. Warmer water may mean
that the peak water temps could exceed 70Ί and
while that's a boon for divers - nothing like
diving in a 3mm suit in SoCal waters - it's not
good for the kelp as that's pretty much the edge
of kelp's temp tolerance. By the same token,
warmer water means we may see a further northern
migration of animals who usually don't come up
this far. In previous El Niρos, we had sightings
of turtles, pufferfish, seahorses, Arrow Crabs,
Guadalupe Cardinalfish, and Whitetail
Damselfish. Who know what the summer of 2026
will bring? (And all the more reason to take a
Fish ID class so you're know what's unusual and
what's common.)
CHAMBER DAY/EVE 2026 IS A LITTL EMORE THAN A
MONTH AWAY - We're
making good progress but we can always do
better. We really hope that a lot of you sing up
for either the Flying Dutchman or the Chamber
Challenege or both. Reef Seekers divers have
always been the mainstays for those two aspects
of the event, usually far surpassing customers
from other shops. So when you sign up for the
Dutchman, be sure to list you store affiliation
as "Reef Seekers." As for the Challenge, we hope
you'll give whatever you can afford. Our Chamber
stands at the ready 24/7/365 through the
continued generosity of the SoCal diving
community and we hope you'll pitch in to help.
Think of it like an annual subscription. And if
all of us can find it to donate $100 each, that
goes a long way to financial stability for our
Chamber. The big day is Wednesday, May 6, and we
hope to have your support. Sign up here: CHAMBER
DAY/EVE 2026 SIGN-UP FORM.
WORD TO THE WISE -
Wednesday is April 1. If you know, you know.
And thatll do it for now. Have a great week and
let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken |
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