Questions? Call 305-251-4975
- Time Won't Let Me
- Fourth Annual International Dive-Cruise
- Sharks in the Movies
- BBQ, Free Dive !! Prizes
- Scuba Skills Tune-up Event
- Interested in a PADI Coral Restoration Specialty Diver Certification?
- ScubaPro Galileo G2 Dive Computer
- I am an OCD Diver
- Florida the Go-To Dive Destination
- Why Dive with ADA?
- Coral Degradation
- Newsletter Delivery Options
- Email or Address Change?
- T-Shirts For Sale
- ADA Guidelines and Policies
In 1966, The Outsiders released the hit song "Time Won't Let Me".
The Smithereens
reprised it in 1994, and it was once again reprised in 2003 by the Blues
Brothers. Heed the message and renew now
while membership is only $35 for a calendar year of
discounted dive trips and diving news. After March 31,
your annual membership renewal fee is $49.
As a member of Active Divers Association, you're never without a buddy and most two-tank dives are only $55. Additionally, your membership includes periodic eNews emails about club activities, as well as electronic access to The Mouthpiece monthly newsletter. You may pay online or by check. Click on http://activedivers.org/Membership-Renewal.html to renew your membership online. You can also pay by check and you'll find instructions for paying by check at the link above.
Please Note: If you think you purchased an extended membership sometime in the past, but unsure when it expires, drop us a note at ActiveDiversInfo@gmail.com, and we will let you know your status by return email. Please include your name and "Membership Expiration Date" in the subject line.
Fourth Annual
International Dive-Cruise
--by Daryl Johnson
Eight (8) cabins have already been booked for the dive cruise for this year since it is such a spectacular itinerary! It's a round trip on the Royal Princess from Fort Lauderdale on November 24, 2018 for seven days and stops at four great dive locations: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize and Costa Maya. It is on sale now for as low as $749! That’s only $107 per day per person for your lodging, transportation, entertainment and all the food you can eat. Try and match that price any other way you can to get to all these dive destinations!!! Also, if we keep at least five cabins booked in our group, each cabin will get an on-board credit for booking through our Princess Cruise Planner.
So how easy is it to book the fourth annual dive cruise in 2018?? All you have to do is call our Cruise Planner, Karen Bradder at 1-800-901-1172, extension 41643 and tell her that you want to book the Active Divers Group cruise (code TPH) and make a deposit. That’s it, no muss, no fuss and you will be ready for an outstanding trip with ADA!!
See you on-board!
Daryl Johnson
The portrayal of sharks as bloodthirsty man-eaters in movies has caused sharks to be hunted to the brink of extinction, and has fueled an irrational fear among non-divers. This misguided hysteria has caused many to avoid participation in the sport of diving due to fear of shark attacks. .
When
I tell non-diver friends and acquaintances that I am a scuba diver and
diving instructor, I am always amazed at how many people mention their
unwillingness to try diving for fear of shark attacks. They are always
surprised when I tell them that shark aggression toward divers is
mostly a myth and that the hundreds of sharks that I've encountered
over my years of diving have mostly ignored me. Even during the two
shark feeding dives I've participated in, the sharks were solely
interested in the fish chum rather than the human spectators.
I recently had the opportunity to watch two movies that portrayed sharks as bloodthirsty man-eaters: 47 Meters Down and Jaws. The premise of 47 Meters Down was flawed on many levels. The film features two sisters who go on a shark cage dive off the coast of Mexico. Their charter boat is rusty and run down with a broken winch which accidentally releases the shark cage, yet the charter provides expensive full diving face masks with a sophisticated underwater communication system. But I guess it would be a pretty boring movie with two hours of hand signals. The drama starts when the boat's winch breaks and sends the shark cage plummeting to the bottom, landing at 47 meters (154 feet) with the sisters in it. Once they land, their instincts are good. The more experienced diver of the two takes off her tank and wiggles through a narrow opening to exit the cage, similar to a cave diving maneuver. After replacing her tank, she then opens the top of the cage so both sisters can escape. Were this a real-life scenario, the women would then immediately make a slow steady ascent to the surface, making a safety stop air permitting, and the story would finish with a happy ending. But then of course there would be no drama, and hence no movie. Instead through the sophisticated underwater communication system, the dive master tells them that they must remain in the cage or get eaten by the sharks swimming around them.
Jaws was the most famous shark movie, and it has done more to spread the irrational fear of sharks as man-eaters than any other. Couple this with other gems such as The Reef, The Shallows, Open Water, and the ridiculous Sharknado, this genre is pervasive and fuels the ongoing myth. As long as this type of sensationalism continues to bring box office dollars, these films will continue to be made, thus perpetuating the myths of sharks as bloodthirsty man-eaters, and pleasure diving and snorkeling as a suicide mission.
It's up to those of us in the diving community to help dispel these myths by educating those around us that diving is a safe sport, and shark encounters are a wonderful and majestic experience. Sharks are not bloodthirsty human predators, and their food source is marine life, not human life. We must emphasize that sharks are now an endangered species due to human impacts, and they play a critically important role in the overall health of the oceans.
- When: Saturday, April 14, 2018
- Who: ADA members, family and friends. The cost of the BBQ is $10.00
- Where: Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park (formerly known as John U. Lloyd Beach State Park), Jetty Pavilion, 6503 N. Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, Florida 33004. 1.5 miles north of Sheridan St. on A1A. It dead ends into the park. Signs are posted with directions.
- Time: Park opens at 8:00 AM. Meet for beach dive at 9:00 AM, BBQ at noon. MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN RAFFLE PRIZES. MUST RSVP TO WIN PRIZES. Bring Your Dive gear for Sale or Swap!!
Call or email Lon at 305-251-4975 or lon@diverlon.com to sign up, deadline April 12 RSVP. FOR NEW MEMBERS THE MEMBERSHIP IS ONLY $10.00 and THE BBQ is FREE. For this special offer you must complete the application on site and present your c-card.
For beach diving, bring all your own gear and a dive flag if you have one. The ledge is about 100 yards off shore. It’s a great surface swim out. That is your warning. Or dive in close and enjoy the reef. The pavilion has covered shelter, nice bathrooms, showers, and changing room. We will have the BBQ and raffle, rain or shine. BBQ will include burgers, dogs, chicken, extras and all drinks. A small fee is charged to enter the park ($4 for single occupancy vehicles, $6 for 2-8 persons per vehicle), parking at the pavilion. Non-ADA members and non-family members may attend. They may also dive, but are not part of the ADA dive group and not eligible for prizes.
--by Rachel Davis
Calling all ADA Members and Prospective Members! Join us on Saturday, May 12th for the 8th annual ADA Scuba Skills Tune-up Event.
This exciting event is
our chance to reach out to the community and provide an opportunity
for lapsed divers to refresh their scuba skills in a relaxed, friendly
environment. It will also provide an opportunity for ADA members to
meet new dive buddies and learn about our upcoming events, with a
special offer to join ADA for new members.
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2018, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location: A.D. Barnes Park Park Pool, 3401 SW 72 Avenue, Miami, FL 33155 (305) 666-5883
Cost: Free to current paid-up ADA members; $25.00 one-day only membership promotion for certified divers wishing to join ADA at the event – offer available to new members only. New membership valid only for 2018. Events and Activities: The day consists of two hours of scuba tune-up clinics taught by ADA Safety Officers, followed by two hours in the water in small groups working on scuba skills with a Safety Officer. Clinic topics include buoyancy, pressure, breathing, the Buddy System, communication, hand signals, the underwater environment, dive planning and safety. The pool session with full scuba gear will cover the typical pool skills taught in the Open Water course. Note: This is not the official PADI scuba refresher course and participants do not receive any certification for this event. Lunch: Poolside lunch served after the pool session compliments of ADA. Equipment Rental: Members and Non-Members may bring their own gear or rent gear at the event for an additional $44 which includes tank, regulator, BCD, belt and weights. Members and Non-members must provide personal mask, fins, snorkel. Spread the Word and Bring Your Friends! We want to use this event to get in as many new members as possible so please spread the word and bring your friends. There will not be another opportunity to join ADA for just $25 for the rest of the year. To RSVP or for more Information, Contact Rachel Davis at rachelhancock7@gmail.com or call 786-316-9852.
To register for the event, fill in the form below and press Submit Form. To prepay for the event, or to rent equipment, complete the PayPal link below. Credit card payments will not be accepted on the day of the event.
Interested in a PADI Coral Restoration Specialty Diver Certification?
Let Us Know!!!
--by Roy D. Wasson
As warmer weather arrives, many of us divers have started planning our dive schedules for the coming months. The ADA needs to plan as well, along with our conservation partners at the Coral Restoration Foundation. Whether or not you have participated in our ADA/CRF dive programs over the last eleven years, I can assure you that you will feel an unparalleled sense of satisfaction when you see tiny coral specimens you transplant onto a barren reef grow and mature.
This year there is an exciting new program
in the planning stages: a two-day PADI Coral Restoration Specialty
certification course. We need our members to let me know ASAP if you
are interested in this intensive program to further your expertise in
restoring coral reef systems. The PADI Coral Restoration Distinctive
Specialty program helps divers develop standardized skill sets and
improve buoyancy skills in a working diving setting. Both days have a
morning of education and hands-on skills, followed by two afternoons
of restoration diving. The first day of education will review coral
biology and general reef ecology, as well as in-depth review of the
underwater tasks; the second day of education will discuss the
different types of restoration that exist, the different types of
methodology that have been tested and where we are planning to go in
the future. The restoration dives will be a mix of nursery work,
monitoring and/or outplanting depending on the general needs of CRF at
the time and the education/experience interests of the dive group.
Because of the intensity of the program, divers not interested in the certification are welcome to join for only the first day, but they will not receive PADI certification. We need to have a sufficient number of divers enroll in the two-day program to make it a reality, so this is a request that you contact me now to express your interest in becoming PADI Coral Restoration Specialty Diver. The planned dates for our 2018 program are May 19-20.
The cost of the one-day and two-day programs have not yet been finalized and will vary depending on the number of divers expressing interest. If you have an interest in either the one-day or two-day CRF program, please email me soon at roy@wassonandassociates.com. Thanks, and stay tuned for more information.
--by Mo Smith
One of the newest dive products out on the market today is the ScubaPro G2 computer. The following are the many features as listed on the Scubapro’s website
- Full-Color 2.2 inch/5.6 cm LCD display screen (320x240p) produces vibrant colors for maximum readability.
- Choice of screen display configurations lets you customize your data presentation
- Multi-Gas ZHL-16 ADT MB algorithm programs up to 8 nitrox/trimix mixes
- Optional integrated heart rate monitor measures heartbeat and skin temperature.
- Optional heart rate monitor also lets you visually track your heart rate in “real time” to ensure you stay in your individual target zone
- Optional hoseless air integration monitors tank pressure plus provides true remaining bottom time and allows air consumption to be factored into the decompression calculation. Provides support for up to 9 transmitters when all features are activated
- Full-tilt digital compass, includes half-compass rose and bearing memory
- Multiple dive modes. Scuba, Freediving, Gauge, CCR and Sidemount. (Freediving, Trimix, CCR and Sidemount modes are disabled from the factory. Activation is easy -- no downloading or upgrading is required.)
- Maximum operating depth is 394ft/120m
- Rechargeable battery provides up to 50 hours of dive time per charge. Battery must be changed by the dealer.
Yes. I will admit it. I am an OCD diver. That stands for Orderly
Controlled and Deliberate. Sometimes my wife will smile at me when I
take everything out of dive bag the night before a 
dive. I
literally will pull everything out of the bag to inspect every
piece. And, yes I have an order in which I do it. The first piece to
go back into the bag is are fins and booties if I'm wearing those.
Then goes my mask and snorkel. I inspect my mask strap to make sure
there are no tears or splits I was not aware of before. Then I will
inspect my fins, and again make sure there are no tears. Then comes
the BCD. I study every hose looking for holes, especially studying
the connections into the main part of the BCD. I manually blow air
into the inflator hose to make sure the bladder is filling with air
properly. I make sure the weight pockets are both there, and that my
knife is attached. Next is the regulator. Again, I will check every
single hose and connection to make sure nothing has cracked. I study
the mouthpiece, and make sure that nothing has torn. Then I will
check my dive computer to make sure that the batteries are ok, and
then it hooks up to my regulator ok. As I use an air integrated
computer I will also check to make sure my backup air indicator is
attached, so that the failure of my computer doesn’t necessarily
have to end my dive. Once I put the regulator in my dive bag, I get
my wetsuit. I will also check that for any hidden rips or tears.
Are you kidding? We are the world’s dive destination. We are home to more divers, stores (it is America), dive boats than any other destination. How does that make you feel? Humm, I wonder about dive clubs? Couldn’t locate info on that but here are some fun facts:
Profile of the most active divers in the US – the divers who spend the most on equipment, certifications and training combined (308,000 divers surveyed: Published 2007 in and affirmed in 2009):
- Age: Between 38 & 53 years old, with the mean at 45years, and the median at 46 76% are male,
- Household Income – 56% make between $75,000 and $100,000,
- Occupation – 80% are White-Collar/ Professional/ Technical/ Management,
- Home ownership – 93% own their own home Mortgage amount – Median of $148,000,
- Marital Status – 71% married, Presence and age of children – 17% have kids under 18.
Additionally, more divers visit Florida than any other dive destination. Most dived site? Guess? Molasses reef. No wonder with those dive boats all over the place all the time. We also have 1,000 miles of coastline, rivers, lakes, and springs which results in Florida having more dive sites than anywhere else.
I guess because it is easy to get to and has year-around diving. Well, for the brave, not me. I am very seasonal, warm water only season.
Wrecks? Yep we have them, in fact if you lined up the dive-friendly wrecks end-to-end, they would run for miles. The six most popular would measure 3,000 feet long. There, take that California, with your cold water.
Why Dive with ADA?
--by Jerry Kosakowski
Why dive with us? The big reason is that there is one important element you automatically eliminate. That is diving with an Insta-Buddy. That can’t happen on our dives. First you provide a copy of your valid Certification card. Then, under club rules, your first club dive is under supervision of the ADA divemaster. Then and only then, are you checked off to dive with other ADA divers. You are now with an elite dive group. Most of our divers have amassed thousands of dives, and many of us have multiple certifications. You can be assured you are diving with a qualified diver.
Thus, you eliminate these awkward questions: How many dives have you made? When was your last dive? Can we make a dive plan? What do you know about gear? The divemaster takes care of all this. It is not jump in the boat and, “Here is your new Insta-Buddy, fresh out of the wrapper. Get to know him.”
Still not sure? Follow Lon and you will never get lost. I think he could dive with the mask blacked out and return to the boat. He has been on these sites so many times, that the fish ask him for directions.
Diving with ADA takes some of the guesswork out of diving, and allows you, the diver, to better concentrate on your goals: having fun in a safe environment!
Want your newsletter delivered via snail-mail? Contact the webmaster and request a printed copy. Be sure to put "ADA Newsletter" in the subject.
If so, please email or call us with your current information. You may send an email to: Dr. Dan Baeza, Membership Chair at ActiveDiversInfo@gmail.com. You can also call Dan at 954-260-8225 and leave a message with your new contact information.
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
We all can see the coral degradation just from our last dive. It appears as we enter the water this season we will be wondering how bad it is. Well the population is up; Miami sewers are overflowing (they pump the water into the oceans to protect property) and that last hurricane blew more debris into our big pool. It isn’t looking good.
For most of us in ADA, the reefs are our special place to get away from it all. But when we cruise over them we note a large difference from the last time. 90 nations actually depend on the reefs to make their livelihood. That includes other activities besides diving. According to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, 27% of ALL reefs have been effectively lost. We can not allow this to continue. Some places like the Persian Gulf have been annihilated. Southeast Asia had local losses of 60 to 90%.
So, I guess we can consider ourselves lucky to still have as much as we do. But all is not lost, there are bright signs to see. Coral restoration is taking on and adding to the reefs. New methods are constantly being discovered to help the coral recover. Some of them, indeed quite a few, are in our backyard. There are more groups now studying how to grow coral than ever before. ADA is not just standing still. Our club is an active participant in coral restoration activities. Let’s all be active and support the endeavor by some participation. If we want our grandkids to enjoy what we have, we better do something about it.
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ADA RULES &
REGULATIONS FOR ALL ADVANCED DIVES
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IMPORTANT WEATHER INFORMATION Before departing for the dive site, confirm weather conditions with Lon at (305) 251-4975 or with the designated Safety Officer It is the responsibility of the member to call. Because of the large numbers of divers involved we are not able call you with weather information. For morning dives, call between 6 and 10 p.m. the night before the dive. For afternoon dives, call between 9 and 10 a.m. the morning of the dive |
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HOW TO MAKE DIVE RESERVATIONS
You may also pay online via PayPal on the "Dive Schedule" page.Jerry Kosakowski |
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ADA GUIDELINES FOR COMPUTER ASSISTED DIVING
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ADA TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE ADA has created a unique concept in local diving: NO FAULT INSURANCE!! For an additional $5.00, per person, per local dive trip, members can eliminate the worry of losing their dive fees because of an unforeseen change of plans. If for any reason you are unable to attend a local dive for which you are scheduled and have paid the insurance, ADA will credit your dive fee to another date. The $5.00 insurance is  non-transferable and non-refundable. When you make a reservation, ask for dive trip cancellation insurance. |
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IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE SAFETY OFFICERS COMMITTEE All members are reminded to read the Rules & Guidelines for Diving Activities you received with your membership package. Number 16 states, All divers must be present for the pre-dive briefing. If the diver is not present for the entire briefing, diving privileges may be revoked for that dive. Please plan to arrive on time - or better yet - a bit early. We thank you and appreciate your cooperation. |
CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY FOR LOCAL DIVE TRIPS Because of our contractual agreements with our service agents - dive shops and boat captains, we must notify them - usually seven days in advance - of the final number of spaces we are paying for. Thus, if our members cancel less than seven days in advance, we regret that NO REFUND OR CREDIT can be given, unless trip cancellation insurance has been purchased at the time of the dive trip payment (see next news article!) |