• ADA Season Kickoff
• Coral Restoration DIves for Beginners
• Another ADA Trip of a Lifetime!!
• Scuba Skills Tune-Up Event
• Cook What You Catch
• Dive and Do Good
• New Promo Video
• Bleaching of Coral Reduced Where Daily Temperature Changes Are Large
• Why Are We Drawn to the Water
• Newsletter Delivery Options
• Email or Address Change?
• T-Shirts For Sale
• ADA Guidelines and Policies

--by Jerry Kosakowski

Thirty-five members met on April 14, 2018 at the Jetty Pavilion in Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park (formerly known as John U. Lloyd Beach State Park), for our annual kickoff, gear swap, and raffle. The morning was beautiful, but the winds were a little strong throughout the day. The seas started out rough but calmed down as the day progressed. Rachel took a group out for an advanced open water certification and the slightly rough seas it was a good training) day.

Roy, our resident excellent chef did the BBQ in a professional gourmet manner, along with his chili that he brought. Others brought specialty food also. All members had a good time with plenty of good food. I thought it was a great time.

An informative talk was provided by Professor James Fourqurean, PhD, Founding Director of Florida International University’s Marine Education and Research initiative, and director of the Marine Habitat in the Keys. He described Hurricane Irma’s effects on the Aquarius Program and the ongoing recovery efforts, focusing on finding and rebuilding the life support buoy that broke free of its mooring and floated 15 miles away. His talk was followed by Gabriel Diaz’s discussion on using sonar technology to survey fish populations in the marine environment. Gabriel is a graduate student at FIU, and one of the recipients of our Aquarius Scholarship Program. He works as Lab Technician at the Marine Ecology and Acoustics Lab. Both talks were very informative

Lon awarded appreciation letters to David Goldberg and Roy Wasson for providing funding for the Aquarius scholarship.

As in past picnics, we held our annual raffle. The raffle was conducted as “first number chosen picks from the array of prizes. First, but not least to go, was a Buoyancy Control Device. In all, everyone who attended the picnic received a prize. After all the prizes were distributed, the remaining equipment was auctioned off.

At around 2:00 PM we broke up and headed home, except for my family. Suddenly, snook were everywhere in shallow water and my granddaughter (see photo) caught a nice one with her hands. We continued enjoying the water a little more (maybe too much) until my grandson had an incident in two feet of water. He fell and got bit by an unknown creature. My “kind” requests about how he should “man up” did not go well with the grandson. I don’t think the lady next to us took it well either. She supplied some first aid while I kept repeating, it’s nothing, with her giving me that look women usually use when they are upset with the man. Back home my wife insisted on him going to the ER (the finger was now swollen, and he couldn’t move it) where he got fixed up. There I received that same look, again. Hope to see you all soon on a dive. Caution: don’t rely on my medical advice.

Special Thanks Goes Out To:

• Austin’s Dive Center,who has supported ADA for more than 30 years and donated scuba gear for our free raffle.
• Roy Wasson, our chef who toiled away over hot coals and spiced up our menu with his famous Texas chili.
• Lenora Bach, who provided corn on the cob and a quinoa salad, and
• Jerry Kosakowski, who provided a pasta salad.

Another ADA Trip of a Lifetime!!

Who wants to go to Tahiti in 2019? We have had some great trips to exotic destinations but one that has been on my bucket list is Tahiti- there is just something magical about French Polynesia and Bora Bora. I’ve done a bit of research and it turns out that if you go you really want to dive Rangiroa and Bora Bora. There are a lot of options on how to do this trip so before I invest time into planning this trip I need to get an expression of interest from our members. And there are some options to add on a cruise for those that are interested.

First, airfare will be around $1200 from Florida and you can expect that the lodging and diving will be around $3000 for 8 days. So this trip is for those divers that want to really want to experience some mind blowing experiences like we saw in Fiji, the Maldives and Bali.

Like all trips that we plan we will be looking for adventure, value and comfort in locations that are off the beaten track but will definitely give you some excitement. And there will be two ADA members on the trip to coordinate all of the aspects of the details so that you can enjoy the trip worry free. And as usual, we will match up single divers with a qualified buddy and roommate.

Do you want to get out there and really experience this marvelous trip? If so, send me an email expressing your interest to diverdaryl@bellsouth.net

Return to Index

--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.

Payment Options

Workshop $25.00 USD Equipment Rental (tank, BCD, regulator, weights) $44.00 USD Workshop plus Equipment Rental $69.00 USD

 

Return to Index

Cook What You Catch: Easy Sausage and Peppers

--by Daryl Johnson

Ok, so you are not likely to catch some Italian sausage while diving. But, you might want to eat some when you get back home from a day of diving. This slow cooker recipe is simple and easy to prepare, and you can even throw it all together the night before and put it in the crock pot when you leave for the dive.

• 1 package of Publix sweet Italian sausage
• Two 15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with oregano , basil and garlic
• One 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
• 3 cloves chopped garlic or garlic powder equivalent
• 1 bag of Publix frozen tri-color peppers
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano leaves (or more to taste)
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• Optional:
• one medium onion chopped
• 1 bag Publix frozen mushrooms
• Fresh basil

Throw it all in a crock pot on low for 8 hours. Serve over pasta if desired with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Makes a lot, so two meals is easy to do with this recipe.

Return to Index

Dive and Do Good

Supporting Active Divers Association Through Planned Giving

--by Lenora Bach, Esq

Did You Know? With the tax law changes for 2018, giving appreciated property (appreciated stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, etc.) still allows a donor to avoid capital gains taxes on these outright gifts, regardless of whether they itemize deductions. And there are financial benefits for donating through an IRA, or by combining charitable gifts to various organizations to be distributed through a Donor Advised Fund.

Check with your financial advisor for details. Please contact us at ActiveDiversInfo@gmail.com or Lenora Bach, Esq. at 305-586-7793 to discuss your plans

Return to Index

New Promo Video

-- by Rachel Davis

Active Divers has been working hard in the off-season to bring the diving experience to more people. Check out our new promotional video on YouTube by clicking on this link: Active Divers Promo.

Bleaching of Coral Reduced Where Daily Temperature Changes Are Large

-- Reprinted from phys.org, April 26, 2018, University of California, Irvine

Coral reef bleaching is stark evidence of the damage being inflicted by global climate change on marine ecosystems, but a research team led by scientists at the University of California, Irvine has found some cause for hope. While many corals are dying, others are showing resilience to increased sea surface temperatures, pointing to possible clues to the survival and recovery of these vitally important aquatic habitats.

"Field observations have shown a heterogeneity or patchiness of the bleaching process at the reef scale, which means that some corals are responding differently to heat stress," said Aryan Safaie, lead author of a study published today in Nature Communications.

"We know that some species are more thermally tolerant than others," he added. "But our study shows additionally that certain locations within a reef might be more amenable to allowing corals to persist in the face of increasing water temperature."

To reach this conclusion, Safaie, a Ph.D. student in UCI's Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, said it was necessary to examine reefs more closely in terms of both space and time, versus relying solely on satellite remote-sensing products. He and his collaborators analyzed decades' worth of field data collected at 118 locations spanning five coralreef regions around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef near Australia and sites in the Indian Ocean,

Continue Reading - Click Here

Pacific Ocean, Caribbean Sea and the Red Sea.

"Satellite images are indispensable in giving us the big picture and providing tools for long term projections of ocean health," he said. "But, these spacecraft collect data only once or twice weekly, there just isn't enough to provide a clear understanding of the daily and hourly variability of ocean conditions unless you're looking at more frequently reported field observations."

The team found that in reef locations with more high-frequency temperature variability - water temperature spiking during the day and dropping at night, day in and day out - severe bleaching was less likely to occur.

"We think of corals as these thermally sensitive organisms, and that temperature variability would mean they would have a harder time all the time," said coauthor Kristen Davis, UCI assistant professor of civil & environmental engineering and Earth system science. "Instead, what we found is that higher daily temperature variability made corals stronger and more resilient when a thermal stress event came along."

The upshot of this work, according to Davis, is that scientists now have a better way to predict the outcome of coral reef bleaching events, which can lead to better conservation strategies.

"As we move into a time when corals are threatened by global warming, if there are some living corals remaining on a reef after a bleaching event, there will be some genetic material to repopulate the reef with corals that are more thermally resilient," she said.

Davis said further work is needed to identify where these super corals live, so that those areas can be protected from over fishing and development.

Read more at: phys.org.

Shut - Click Here

Return to Index