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I think the rain has abated for a while . . .
THINGS TO CONSIDER WITH POST-RAIN DIVING -
Especially when we get some heavy and prolonged
rain like we just had, your instinct may be to
go, "Whew! Time to go diving." But there are
some things to consider in L.A. before you jump
back in the water. This can be especially
important for those of you who beach/shore dive.
Probably the most important consideration is
whether or not the water where you'll be taking
the plunge is affected by runoff or not. Because
this can also lead to water contamination.
Granted, that may be more of a factor for
swimmers since the contaminated water is likely
confined to the surface areas or first few feet
of water. But we're got to interact in that
water zone as well, even if we spend most of the
dive submerged. And especially with beach dives
where you have to traverse a surf zone, you
might be spending more time in that surface area
than you think. Fortunately, there's a resource
you can use.
HEAL THE BAY BEACH REPORT CARD -
Heal the Bay hosts on their website a "Beach
Report Card" that is updated daily. This report
covers all of the California coastline but more
germane to us as divers, it has 118 sample spots
from Leo Carillo State Beach down to Huntington
Beach. Each sampling area is given a grade of A
to F plus a smiley face graphic which is
blue/yellow/orange/red depending on water
quality. There's also one specifically for
Veterans Park in Redondo, probably one of the
more heavily-dived beach spots around. If you
look at that one for today (Sunday, November
23), it's given a grade of F plus a graphic that
a red frowny face with two X's for eyes. (In
other words, don't go in the water.) The report
card also has five sampling spots in Avalon but
sadly or interestingly, they're all inside of
Avalon Harbor. The Underwater Park is not one of
those sites. But this is still a good resource
to have available to you anytime you want to go
beach dive, not just after a period of rain. You
can access the website here (and then zoom in to
the specific area you're interested in): BEACH
REPORT CARD.
SEA UCHINS ARE SMARTER THAN WE THINK -
Maybe that statement is a bit of a stretch. But
for a long time, we've though that sea urchins
didn't really have a brain and simply "existed"
and only had a primitive nervous system. But new
research says that we've been wrong about that -
big surprise - and that their entire body has
neurons that function together as a brain. On
top of that, they have light-sensitive cells as
well, so they can "see" even though they don't
have eyes. You can read more about this here: CLEVER
URCHINS.
(Maybe the most amazing thing about this story
is that it appeared in Popular
Mechanics.)
TABLES & COMPUTERS CLASS ON DECEMBER 3 -
We've got about 15 people signed up for this
free and informal Zoom class as of now. I'll
send the link out to everyone around December 1.
It's designed to give you a better idea of what
you're being told decompression-wise. If you're
not already on the list, shoot us an e-mail or
call 310/652-4990. Class will run roughly
7-9:30PM.
CLASS & LOCAL DIVE SKED FOR 2026 -
I'm putting the finishing touches on that sked
and will have it as part of the December
newsletter, which will go out next Sunday
evening. I also design these so it's a full page
that you can just print out and post on your
refrigerator. (Yes, I'm a dinosaur about those
things.) It'll also be on the Reef Seekers
website.
STARTING HOLIDAY SHOPPING???? -
Just a reminder that we can still do gift
certificates for your beloved. Give them a
foreign vacation, trip, or a local dive, or even
an after-you're-certified class. Give us a call
and we'll work out the details. (And yes, we
have a certificate to give you so there's
something physical to present.)
SHARK AT THE PARK??? -
First of all, it's fake an AI-generated by
Michael Francisco (and clearly labelled as
such). Mark Guccione posted it on FaceBook over
the weekend. But it deserves literally six
seconds of your time. Looks like a Great
Hammerhead to me based on the dorsal and I not
only didn't think we'd get those in CA waters,
but I'm surprised it's so close to the stairs
because it's so shallow there: SHARK
AT THE PARK.
:-)
And thatll do it for now. Have a great week, a
happy Thanksgiving on Thursday, a successful
Black Friday the day after, and let's go diving
soon!!!
- Ken |
