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March 2015 Edition

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In This Issue:
Going, Going, Gone....

It won't be long now before your chance to renew at a reduced rate is gone! Renew before March 31, 2015 and your membership fee is only $35 for a year of discounts and diving news. After March 31, your annual membership renewal fee is $45.

Your membership includes periodic eNews emails about club activities as well as electronic access to The Mouthpiece monthly newsletter. You may pay by check or online. Go to http://activedivers.org/Membership-Renewal.html to renew your membership online. To pay by check, mail a check made out to "Active Divers Association"  with the appropriate amount to:

Dr. Dan Baeza
Membership Chairman
Active Divers Association
7592 Parkview Way
Coral Springs, FL 33065

Be sure to include your snail-mail and email addresses.

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ADA Season Kickoff and BBQ Party Event: Saturday, March 21st

Be There or Be Square

--by Rachel Davis


Join your ADA buddies on Saturday, March 21st at John U Lloyd State Park Jetty Pavilion, located at 6503 North Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, FL 33004. The fun starts at 11 a.m., but come early (the park opens at 8 a.m.) enjoy a free beach dive or swim/snorkel before the food is served. Our own resident beach diver Jerry Kosakowski will be on hand to point out the best spots.

New this year ADA will host its first annual Dive Gear Swap 'n' Shop (See next article for details). Bring all your gently used dive gear including wet suits, accessories, and scuba-related paraphernalia to sell and swap amongst your buddies. It’s like a great garage sale just for divers!

At 12:00 noon we’ll fire up the grill for hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, and all the fixin’s. BBQ is $10 for members who RSVP, free barbecue for new members that join that day at the $35 early booking rate.

Also new this year is our dive Buddy Special: Bring a new member who joins ADA at the event and you dive free with your buddy on his/herfirst ADA dive!

At 1:00 we will have our guest speaker from Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative. Amanda R. Costaregni is a Graduate Research Assistant from the GIS and Spatial Ecology Lab of Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center. Her graduate thesis project is based on an online socioeconomic survey looking at how local residents and guests use the reefs in the southeast Florida region. The survey is being conducted as part of a local initiative for our area, known as Our Florida Reefs. Hosted by the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI), this planning process brings together the community of local residents, reef users, business owners, visitors and the broader public in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties to develop management recommendations that can become part of a comprehensive management strategy to ensure healthy coral reefs in the future. Click here to take the survey: http://ofr-coastal-use.point97.io/respond/register/ofr-mapping

The Kickoff event will conclude with a raffle of fabulous dive-related prizes. The deadline to RSVP for the event is March 18. Please RSVP to Lon at 305-251-4975. Make plans now to join us on March 21st.

Click here to pay online:
 

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ADA members frequently enjoy an optional beach dive during the kickoff event, so feel free to bring your dive gear and buddy-up if you feel like diving. This dive is not an official ADA event and no safety officer will be provided. All divers assume full responsibility their decisions whether to dive and for their own safety during the dive.

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ADA’s First Annual Dive Gear Swap 'n' Shop

--By Rachel Davis

Some serious fun will be exchanged at the Jetty Pavilion during our annual ADA Kickoff event for all you bargain hunters out there. Forget about Black Friday and Cyber Monday – get ready for ADA’s First Annual Dive Gear Swap 'n' Shop!!! How do you participate? First of all, check all your closets, dive gear bags, your garage and any other nooks and crannies where dive gear may be hiding in your home and give yourself the gift of decluttering! In the spirit that one diver’s trash is another’s treasure, bring all your gently used gear to the Kickoff event on March 21st and proudly display it in all its glory for your fellow dive buddies to view and ogle. You can buy, sell, swap or give away at this event. All negotiations are between the seller and the buyer. Any and all dive gear is eligible for this event including regulators, BC’s, tanks, wet suits, gloves, masks, fins, snorkels, accessories, dive flags, computers, etc. It’s like a great big garage sale just for divers!

Here are the ground rules: ·

  • Bring only your gently-used dive gear in good working condition. If an item is in need of repairs, it should be clearly marked or discussed with the buyer.
  • All gear is sold/exchanged AS-IS, with no warranties written, expressed or implied.
  • ADA does not endorse any product or equipment exchanged or sold.
  • Bring (lots of) cash for shopping or a check. The seller chooses the form of payment.
  • The buyer of any piece of equipment at the event expressly assumes the risks from the use thereof.

So get on with your decluttering and bring us lots of treasures to choose from. And for all you bargain hunters out there, bring your wads of cash and best negotiation skills and let’s all have some fun at our first annual ADA Dive Gear Swap ‘n’ Shop!

Event Details: ADA 2015 Annual Season Kick-Off Event on Saturday, March 21st at John U Lloyd State Park Jetty Pavilion - 6503 North Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, FL 33004. The Dive Gear Swap ‘n’ Shop starts at 11:00 a.m. and continues throughout the day. BBQ at 12:00 noon. Expert speaker from Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative at 1:00 p.m. Optional free beach dive and snorkeling throughout the day. Event concludes at 3:00 p.m.

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Dive Barbados July 19 -25th: 4 spots left!!!

--by Daryl Johnson
Sugar Cane Resort

The Active Divers Association is diving Barbados this year, and it's not too late to reserve your spot. Besides the diving, there is a wealth of eco tours and adventures to take in while in Barbados. As the eastern most Island in the Caribbean, it is much more natural than the heavily visited western islands. Take a look at all the activities and sites to visit during this trip at http://barbados.org/index.html for that spare time after a morning of diving with Hightide Watersports. Speaking of diving, here is a list of the dive sites that we may visit: Maycocks Bay, S.S. Stavronikita, Pamir, Silver Bank, Dottin, Carlisle Bay, Bell Buoy, and Cement Factory (Click here for a map and a description of each site).

If you simply want to relax by the pool at the Sugar Cane Club Resort and Spa you can do that too! (Photo from trip advisor, see the rest of the resort at Trip Advisor. )

All this for $989 per diver, double occupancy (plus your airfare). To make a deposit to hold you spot simply go to http://activedivers.org/Barbados2015.html and scroll to the bottom and buy now!

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My Favorite Seafood Recipe - Smoked Salmon 
--by Roy D. Wasson

Here is one of my all-time favorite seafood recipes, created by Alton Brown.  The recipe calls for two large salmon filets. Although it takes longer to prepare the fish for cooking than any recipe I have ever seen, the end result is superb and worth the wait.  The secrets are 1) pressing the seasoning rub into the fish with heavy objects for twenty-four hours, and 2) slow-smoking the seasoned filets in a smoker using real wood chunks or chips.  I prefer Mesquite wood.

First we mix the seasonings of one cup kosher salt, one-half cup sugar, another half cup of dark brown sugar, and one or two tablespoons full of crushed black peppercorns, depending on your pepper preference. Spread extra-wide aluminum foil a little longer than the length of the fish and top with an equally long layer of plastic wrap. Sprinkle one third of the rub onto the plastic. Press one side of the fish skin down onto the rub. Sprinkle one-third of the rub onto the flesh of the salmon. Place second side of salmon, flesh down onto the first side. Use the remaining rub to cover the skin on the top piece. Fold plastic over to cover then close edges of foil together and crimp tightly around the fish.

Place wrapped fish onto a plank or sheet pan and top with another plank or pan. Weigh with a heavy phone book (does anyone still have one of those?) or a brick or two and refrigerate for twelve hours. Flip the fish over, weight it down again, and refrigerate another twelve hours. Some juice will leak out during the process so make sure there's a place for the runoff to gather.

After twenty-four hours of pressing in the rub, unwrap the fish and rinse off the cure with cold water. Pat salmon with paper towels then place in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until the surface of the fish is dry and matte-like, from one to three hours depending on humidity. A fan may be used to speed the process.

Smoke fish over smoldering hardwood chunks or chips, keeping the temperature inside the smoker between 150 degrees F and 160 degrees F until the thickest part of the fish registers 150 degrees. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, wrap tightly and refrigerate for continued enjoyment for up to three days.  It tastes great cooled on a cracker or toasted pita slice, or just by itself.

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Photography, Part 2 - The Mechanics
--by Dan Baeza

Summary:

  • Lens - Optics for focusing reflected light from the subject to the recording media
  • Aperture - Diameter of the lens opening
  • Shutter - Control device to limit the length of time the aperture collects reflected light from the subject
  • Flash - Uncontrolled light source
  • Strobe - Controlled light source
  • The aperture and shutter work together in an inverse relationship. A larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) lets in more light. A faster shutter speed lets in less light. A smaller aperture lets in less light, but increases the depth of field. A slower shutter speed lets in more light, but increases the propensity of the photographer to shake and hence, blur the image.
  • Adding artificial light, a flash or a strobe, reduces the variables the photographer must juggle.

When George Eastman first presented his camera for the masses back in 1900, the world was astounded by the technology. Indeed, some primitive people would not allow themselves to be photographed, reasoning that the camera somehow was capturing their souls. Even today, there are people that have a phobia, or perhaps a need (think: witness protection program) to avoid the camera's lens. After all, not withstanding Photoshop and its numerous clones, the camera is unforgiving and doesn't lie about what it sees.

Some of you are old enough to remember the fixed focus Brownie camera. A true point-and-shoot camera, you shot the roll of twelve black and white photos, and then sent the film off to be processed. A week or so later, you got your photos back: three overexposed, three underexposed, two with the top of the subject's head cut off, three so-so blurry photos, and one beauty. That one special photo is what kept you going.

Photography has come a long way. We still have point-and-shoot cameras, but now sophisticated electronics and sensors make thousands of decisions per second to obtain the right aperture size, shutter speed, focal length, color and tone saturation, and flash duration. Yet, all cameras still have much in common with that simple Brownie.

Let's define the salient parts of a camera. Whether it's a $3,000 Canon EOS, or a $6 throwaway Fuji disposable, all cameras share a few basic requirements. They need a subject, a source of illumination, a mechanism for collecting the light reflected off the subject, a mechanism for limiting the amount of light received, and some kind of recording medium.

The need for a subject is self-evident and will be the topic of a future article on composition. Suffice for now that a subject has presented itself for you to photograph. Illumination is extremely important in photography, and more so in underwater photography. Illumination may be provided by ambient (surrounding) natural light, artificial light, or as is usually the case, some combination of the two. A flash or a strobe is typically used for still photography, while a constant source of white light, a movie light, is used for video. A flash has a fixed duration and intensity, like the old-fashioned flash bulbs. A strobe has more active electronics in that the camera communicates with the strobe to match the duration and light intensity of the illumination with the camera's shutter speed and aperture setting.

Because color tends to be absorbed the deeper you descend, all underwater photography requires the use of a strobe and/or a color-correcting filter to restore the vibrant colors the water's depth takes away. As you descend, first the reds and oranges disappear, then the yellows, blues, indigos, and violets fade away, until you're left with, wait for it, fifty shades of gray. The color-correcting filter complements the ambient colors, albeit at a reduced brightness level.  A strobe or a flash restores those lost colors.

The light reflected off a subject must be collected in order to create a useful image. That task belongs to the camera lens. Built into the lens is a mechanical iris that can be adjusted manually or electronically to vary the amount of light that the lens focuses on the recording medium. Today, even the simplest point-and-shoot camera can vary the lens settings to guarantee perfect exposure every time.

The recording medium consists of two parts, the sensor to detect the light reflected off the subject, and the media for capturing the reflected light, a.k.a., the photograph. The sensor is usually a CCD or Charged Coupled Device, an integrated circuit consisting of a photonic collector, a photon to electrical converter, and a serial output link. The media is a collection of transistors arranged in a matrix. The most popular of these is the SD (Secure Digital) or SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) memory card. To correctly record the image, a class 4 or higher SDHC card is required. The class designation refers to the rate at which the CCD circuitry can record to the SDHC card. A bigger number, class 10 for example, is better.

You've probably heard the term f-stop. F-stop is a dimensionless number and is defined as the ratio of the lens focal length to the aperture diameter. The full range of f-stop values are f-22, f-16, f-8, f-5.6, f-4, f-2.8, f-2.0, and f-1.4, although other values are possible. Each of the f-stops are a rounded power of the square root of two. Squaring 1.4 (actually 1.414235) yields 2. Squaring 2.0 yields 4, or 2 raised to the power of 2. Squaring 2.8 (actually 2.84272) yields 8, and so on. There is an inverse relationship between the f-stop and the aperture size. The larger the f-stop number, the smaller the aperture. So for example, an aperture setting of f-4 is larger and hence, lets in more light, than an f-stop of f-8. How much light? Every doubling of the f-stop reduces the light to one half of the previous setting. Conversely, dividing each f-stop by 2 reduces the light falling on the CCD by half.

Shutter speed is the length of time the aperture is open, letting in light. Shutter speed and f-stop are inversely related. For example, a shutter speed of one five-hundredth of a second, with an aperture set to f-16, lets in the same amount of light as a shutter speed of one one-thousandth of a second and an aperture setting of f-8. So why have multiple shutter speeds and aperture settings? In a word, flexibility. A narrow aperture setting, say f-16, has a longer depth of field, meaning more stuff behind and in front of your subject will be in focus. At f-16, a subject two feet away will sharply focus everything about 52 percent behind the subject and 48 percent in front of the subject. Put another way, everything between 22.4 inches and 25.8 inches will be in focus, and everything outside that range will be out of focus. This is helpful to know if your subject is a head-on shot of a three foot long eel and you want to get the sea fan behind it in sharp focus. Change your aperture setting to f-5.6 to allow more light and your depth of field reduces to a range of 23.4 to 24.6 inches. However, ambient lighting conditions may require the shutter speed to be slowed down to say, one-sixtieth of a second. While that sounds pretty fast, about the blink of an eye, it is slow enough to cause blurring of the image if your hand is not rock steady. So, if you are not employing a strobe, compromises between depth of field, aperture size, and shutter speed will have to be made.

Macro photography, a subject for a future article, has its own challenges. The distances and subject sizes involved are measured in inches and fractions of inches. Therefore, the depth of field of a macro subject could be less than an inch. Not much room for error.

Artificial lighting can reduce much of the uncertainty associated with underwater photography by enabling a more consistent shutter speed/aperture setting. The smart strobe, so-called because it uses a fixed shutter speed and detects the camera's aperture setting, can meter out the appropriate amount of light and shut the strobe off before too much light reaches the subject.

We've only scratched the surface of camera mechanics, but suffice to say, there are only a handful of mechanics that are important to the typical student of photography. Over the next several Newsletter articles, we will introduce more of the mechanics as we build toward the ultimate goal of taking pleasing photos.

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Conservation Project Contest Derelict Trap Retrieval

--by Roy Wasson

One entry in our Conservation Project Contest is the suggestion that the ADA organize a “Derelict Trap Retrieval” project. Mason Smith, a Biological Scientist with the Division of Marine Fisheries Management of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (“FWC”) has provided the information contained in this brief article.

Lost and abandoned spiny lobster, stone crab and blue crab traps have been identified as a problem in Florida's marine environment by various stakeholders, including the commercial fishing industry. Once traps become lost or abandoned, they may spark user conflicts, "ghost fish" (continue to trap marine organisms until traps degrade enough to allow escape), visually pollute, cause damage to sensitive habitats, and also become hazards to navigation.  Traps may remain in the water during a closed season for many reasons. They can move during storms, making them difficult to locate; they may be snagged by passing vessels and dragged to another area, or they are illegally abandoned by their owners for various reasons.

Volunteer groups may remove derelict traps and trap debris from state waters when they organize a cleanup event and obtain authorization from the FWC. These volunteer cleanup events may take place during the open or closed seasons, and must adhere to guidelines established in Rule 68B-55, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.).

Individuals are not permitted to remove derelict traps without a permit from FWC.  Anyone touching a trap that does not belong to him or her must be participating in an organized group event that has authorization from the FWC to remove derelict traps. Tampering with a trap, trap contents, line or buoy without a permit or written permission from the trap owner is a felony and may result in fines and the revocation of fishing privileges.

A trap is considered to be derelict if: 1.)  It is in the water during the closed season for that fishery; 2)  It is a “fishable trap” in the water during the open season for that fishery that lacks more than two of the following: Buoy, Line, Current Trap Tag, Current License.

Derelict traps and trap debris must be disposed of on the same day they are collected, or stored securely until they can be taken to the nearest landfill or waste transfer station. Traps may not be left unattended or in an unsecure area overnight.

It is the responsibility of the event coordinator to train volunteers on how to identify and remove derelict traps and trap debris during an event. It is important that volunteers understand the difference between types of traps (blue crab, stone crab, spiny lobster, etc.), what is considered to be a derelict trap by law, and what they are allowed to remove during the event.

The first step in deciding whether to apply for the necessary FWC permit to set up such a Derelict Trap Retrieval program is to identify potential locations where such traps are known to be located.  If you know of such a site where abandoned traps are present, contact me at roy@wassonandassociates.com with the best possible description of the location and conditions, such as number of traps.  The ADA board will then decide whether to sponsor such a program and start the decision-making process on where and how to implement the project as part of our Underwater Conservation Program.

For more information visit: http://www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/trap-debris/volunteer-program/

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If the Weather Outside is Frightful, Try Cavern Diving
--by Daryl Johnson

Cavern diving in Florida, when the winter seas are rough and cold! If you want smooth water with 100 foot visibility in the winter, diving Florida springs and caverns may be something for you to consider. At left is what you might see as you look upward from a cavern. Note that there is a clear source of light from the surface, which is a key factor in this kind of diving. Usually, divers don’t get trained to dive in caverns. Most of us are “open water” divers, meaning that there is nothing between you and the surface. In caverns, caves, and ship wrecks this is not the case and it is a game changer. The training to become cavern certified is among the most intense I have ever experienced and it dwells heavily on knowing when you are leaving a cavern and going into a cave. This is very important, as cave diving is one of the most dangerous and challenging forms of the sport and requires a significant investment in equipment and training to perform safely. For all of theseforms of “overhead environment diving “ three sources of light are a required minimum, and in the case of a cavern the light coming from the entrance is one of the three. It is easy to lose this source of light if you venture to far from the entrance or “silt up” the water and reduce the visibility. There are operators of commercial caverns such as Devils Den (http://www.devilsden.com/ ) and the Blue Grotto (http://www.divebluegrotto.com/ ) that are well marked and cave entrances are blocked where you can get a sample of cavern diving without a cavern diving certification. All Florida state parks that have caverns in them such as Blue Springs State Park (https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Blue-Spring ) will require you to show a cavern diving certification to take lights with you on your dive. Speaking of state parks, camping and cavern diving are a great combination. If cavern diving seems too intense for you, diving in the springs of Crystal River or Weeki Watchee can be a really interesting experience, and there are also parks such as Alexander Springs with a very nice spring that is only 27 feet deep and free to dive. So have fun and get wet in the winter in Florida’s freshwater diving!

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Fish Identification Series - Tarpon
--by Jerry Kosakowski

I believe we all got this one from the picture. The Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers. Tarpons feed almost exclusively on schooling fish and occasionally crabs. Tarpons are capable of filling their swim bladder with air, like a primitive lung. This gives the tarpon a predatory advantage when oxygen levels in the water are low. Tarpons have been recorded at up to 8 feet  in length and weighing up to 355 pounds. The Atlantic tarpon is also known as the silver king.

In appearance, tarpons are greenish or bluish on top and silver on the sides. The large mouth is turned upwards and the lower jaw contains an elongated, bony plate. The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, reaching nearly to the tail.

The Atlantic tarpon is found in the Atlantic Ocean, typically in tropical and subtropical regions, though it has been reported as far north as Nova Scotia and the Atlantic coast of southern France, and as far south as Argentina. It is found in coastal areas and spawns at sea. Its diet includes small fish and crustaceans. The tarpon is the official state saltwater fish of Alabama

Tarpons are considered one of the great saltwater game fishes, not only because of their size and their accessible haunts, but also because of their fighting spirit when hooked; they are very strong, making spectacular leaps into the air. The flesh is undesirable and bony.  In Florida and Alabama, a special permit is required to kill and keep a tarpon, so most tarpon fishing there is catch-and-release.

Although a variety of methods are used to fish for tarpons (bait, lure and fly on spinning, conventional or fly rod), the method that has garnered the most acclaim is flats-fishing with a fly rod. It is a sport akin to hunting, combining the best elements of hunting with fishing. A normal tarpon fly rod outfit uses 10 to 12 weight rods and reels, spooled with appropriate line and using a class leader tippet of 12–20 pounds, truly light tackle fishing where the fish may weigh 10 times or more than the breaking strength of the leader. Typically, an angler stations himself on the bow of a shallow-water boat known as a 'flats skiff', and with the aid of a guide, searches for incoming tarpon on the flats (inshore shallow areas of the ocean, typically no more than 3 to 4 feet deep.  When a school of tarpons are sighted, the guide positions the boat to intercept the fish. The angler usually has no more than six to 10 seconds to false cast out enough flyline and make an accurate cast to these fast-moving fish. Accuracy and speed are paramount, but the task is compounded by the inevitable excitement and nervousness of seeing a school of fish that may top 180 pounds bearing down on the angler. Once the cast is made, the fly is retrieved and hopefully a tarpon inhales the fly. The hookset is difficult due to the hard mouth of the fish, which has been likened to the hardness of concrete, so many tarpons throw the hook on the first few jumps. Many times an angler is asked, "how many tarpons did you jump?" rather than how many they caught. If the hook stays secure, then the fight is on.

Tarpons have tremendous endurance and are one of the most exciting gamefish to fight, with frequent spectacular jumps, long runs, and stubborn bulldogging are all part of the game. Although an experienced and skillful tarpon angler can usually land a tarpon in less than an hour, the average angler usually takes longer, from one to more than three hours.

Another popular method is using lures or bait on heavy spinning or conventional gear. Many anglers prefer this as a more surefire method to catch tarpons. Usually, the reels are filled with line from 30- to 80-lb test although 50-lb test line seems to be the most popular. Although a great deal of fun, the outcome is less often in doubt, unlike fly fishing with light (20-lb test) line, and getting a tarpon to take a crab, mullet or pinfish is easier than an artificial fly.

Despite its namesake, the Atlantic tarpon is not limited to one body of water or exclusive to the East Coast. In their northern migration, tarpons range through the Florida Keys and gradually make their way up the west coast of Florida and on to the Texas coast. Of all the places where tarpons are found and fished, the one location most noted for easy access to large numbers of tarpons concentrated in a central location is Boca Grande Pass, on Florida's west coast. The attraction for the tarpons is the plentiful crabs and baitfish washed through the pass on an outgoing tide. The tarpon only need to position themselves along the bottom and gorge themselves as they attempt to avoid anglers. Numerous tournaments throughout the season, running from May through early August, attracts anglers from throughout the world.

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The Final Frontier - Bouyancy Control
--by Lon Von Lintel

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Caution- never breath-hold and avoid extreme breathing exercises while scuba diving

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Ever wonder why/how some divers seem to float in mid-water without any effort? This is a skill anyone can perfect with practice... and the know how. This should be practiced in the pool and then in open water. Step one- add or subtract weights until you can rest on the bottom with no motion of arms or fins. As you take a breath you should slowly rise off the bottom. As you exhale you should slowly sink. Now your weights are just right. Step two- the volume of air in you lungs is the secret to floating in mid-water like a jellyfish. First, understand these definitions- Vital capacity, the maximum amount of air that can be forcible exhaled. Residual volume, the amount still in the lungs after a forceful exhalation. Tidal volume, the amount of air that is exchanged with each breath. Now, try adding to the residual volume if you want to float a bit higher in the water column and increase the amount of the tidal volume. In other words, a slightly bigger breath with slightly less exhalation. If you want to float a bit lower, the opposite.

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2015 Diving Almanac

The 2015 Diving Almanac & Book of Records is available now as a 100% free digital download in a super simple PDF format. PC users, Mac users, iPad and iPhone users, and Android users can all download the PDF to their device of choice. Another feature is the option to submit an email address and automatically be told of any new updates – which you can also download for free! For your free copy, go to: http://www.divingalmanac.com/

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Diving Tips and Tricks - Diving With a Fog-Free Mask
-- by Carol Cox

A fogged mask can ruin any dive. Fogging occurs because of the residue left from manufacturing of the lens and the warm air between the lens and the divers face.  Always breathe through your mouth when you have your dive mask on to prevent fogging.  Here are some other tips to prevent mask fogging:

  • Spit on the inside of the mask then rub it around with your finger. Dunk the mask briefly in fresh water immediately before diving.
  • Commercial Defog:  more effective than spit. Put a few drops of the defogging liquid in the mask, rub it around with a finger, and rinse briefly with fresh water.
  • Baby Shampoo: watered down baby shampoo can be used just like commercial defogging solution.
  • Dish Washing Detergents:  be sure to rinse mask before diving as dish washing detergents can really burn the eyes.
  • Toothpaste: Rub some non-abrasive toothpaste on the inside of the mask lens until it coats the glass completely. Rinse the mask gently with fresh water until the lens is clear.  Especially helpful on a new mask to remove all remaining manufacturing residue.
  • Potato:  Rub some cut potato on the glass, rinse briefly, and dive.
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Shore Diving in South Florida - Dania Beach
--by Jerry Kosakowski

This location is at Dania Beach. Park at the northernmost location (near the pier) that you can. Walk north 50 to 100 yards. Enter anywhere along this stretch. Swim out on the surface at least half the pier length. From there swim directly east until you hit the ledge. It is well-defined at this location and there are interesting spots on the way out. Swim south along the ledge until you pass the pier by at least 25 yards. Swim at a southwesterly angle and you should run into a great nook and cranny spot. You can explore this for quite a while. Then, when your air dictates, swim towards the shore. The return trip is also an interesting swim as there is much to see. Enjoy.

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2nd Most Sharks Seen in a Single Dive

--by Lon Von Lintel

Location:  Walkers Cay, Bahamas

Date:  July 1984

Estimated shark count- 30 to 40.

The dive shop prepares the "chumsicle", a 50 gallon drum filled with fish parts and blood.  It is frozen solid with a line attached. On the morning of the dive, the chumcicle is extracted from the

drum and an anchor is attached.  Our group is transported to the reef, where we descend to a sandy bottom at about 40'.  We assemble in the prescribed semi-circle and wait.  A splash above and an anchor sails to the bottom pulling the chumcicle down with it, dead center in our laps.   The chumcicle floats

and is held in place by the anchor, about 20' off the bottom.  Milliseconds later THEY arrive in mass- dozens of sharks!  Accompanied by yellowtail, barracuda, grouper, and assorted reef fish, the entire conglomerate dives and swirls attacking the chumcicle.  The larger more aggressive sharks take the lion's share, with the smaller guys waiting their turn and picking up scraps where they can.  Freezing the bait seems to work well, and no large chunks come off easily so the chumcicle is slowly picked apart, rather than gulped is a few bites.  The action is fast and furious for about 30 minutes, with the "divebombers"  hitting and retreating, usually just above our heads. As the last few scraps are snapped up and bellies filled, we count our body parts and conclude all is well.

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Have You Moved or Changed Email Addresses Lately?

If so, please email or call us with your current information. you may send an email to: Dr. Dan Baeza, Membership Chair at dmbaeza@bellsouth.net. You can also call Dan at 954-260-8225 and leave a message with your new contact information.

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Newsletter Delivery

Want your newsletter delivered via snail-mail? Contact Carol Cox at ccox911@att.netand request a printed copy. Be sure to put "ADA Newsletter" in the subject.

 

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ADA T-Shirts For Sale

Show your pride in the best dive club anywhere! Sizes small, medium, large, xlarge, xxlarge. Some tank tops available also. All shirts are $10 each. CALL LON AT 305-251-4975 AND PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!. Lon will deliver it to you on your next dive

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Basket star vs Star fish
--by Carol Cox

Figure 1: Basket Star

Diving during the day, you may see a clump attached to sea fans or corals that looks like a ball of string.  Come back that night and you'll find a basket star, unfurled like a spider web while it picks pieces of food from the water with its branches.  Basket stars differ from star fish in that they have a central disc that its arms are attached to while a star fish arms are attached to each other.  Basket stars have 5 jaws on the underside of the central disc that are fed by its plant like branches.  Starfish (not really a fish since they do not have gills, scales or fins) feed by moving over its prey and can extend its stomach outside its body to devour whatever it finds.

Starfish
Figure 2: Starfish
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New Lionfish Program 
--by Lon Von Lintel

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has announced several strategies to remove lionfish from our waters. It will designate the first Sat. after Mothers Day as the Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day.  May 16 will be the first annual event. It is encouraging all divers to catch and report at MyFWC.com/lionfish Several sponsors will host lionfish derbies around the state.  The FWC also announced that on May 16 and 17 it will kickoff the Reef Rangers Lionfish Control Program and is asking divers to select a reef and pledge removal several times a year. For more info go to MyFWC.com/Lionfish.

-- Fishing Wire, Feb. 6, 2015

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Crabby Corn Chowder

--by Carol Cox

This recipe for crab & corn chowder is similar to the Bonefish Grill's chowder (which is the BEST I've ever had).Ingredients:

Several slices bacon
2 celery ribs – diced into small pieces
1 small bell pepper – diced into small pieces
1 small red onion – diced into small pieces
32 oz chicken broth
3 tbsp flour
3 cups whole kernal corn
3 cups diced peeled potato
1 lb lump crabmeat, picked through to remove shells
1 cup whipping cream
½ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
½ tsp Old Bay spice

Cook bacon in Dutch oven until crisp. Remove bacon, sauté bell pepper, onion and celery in drippings. Whisk together broth and flour, then add to the veggies in the pot. Add potato, then simmer about 15 minutes before adding the corn. Cook another 15 minutes.  Add crab meat, whipping cream, salt, pepper, and spices. Crumble up one strip of the bacon into the pot. Heat until hot, then serve with oyster crackers. Can also be made in a crock pot on high heat for 3 to 4 hours (cook the bacon first then put in crock pot).  Add all the ingredients except the crab. Add the crab meat in last hour to prevent it from falling apart.

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