Free BBQ, Free Dive !! Prizes

--by Jerry Kosakowski

When: Saturday, Oct 14, 2017

Who: ADA members, prospective members, family and friends.

Where: Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park (formerly known as John U. Lloyd Beach State Park), Jetty Pavillion, 6503 N. Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, Florida 33004 1.5 miles north of Sheridan St. on A1A

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 October 5th for RSVP. For beach diving, bring all your own gear and a dive flag if you have one. Bring lobster gear as this is a great lobster spot. Bring that license too, the FWC seem to find this as one of their favorite hang outs. Or if you made it to 65+, no license is needed. The reef 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, very nice bathroom, showers, and changing room. We will have the BBQ and raffle, rain or shine, unless a hurricane threatens. 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), free parking at the pavilion. Non-ADA members and non-family members may attend but will be asked to contribute $10 for the BBQ. They may also dive, but are not part of the ADA dive group and not eligible for prizes

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Close Encounters of the First Kind - Marine Edition

Even after 616 logged dives, there are times to this day when I encounter marine life that I've never seen before. And it happened again last Saturday. While diving Boynton Beach, I found a beautiful shell sitting in about 60 feet of water. It looked like a large cowrie with a slimy black resident snail inside.

According to the Humann/Deloach/Wik Reef Creature Identification book (see http://www.fishid.com/), this shell is found in reef recesses occasionally in Southeast Florida in depths from 6 to 35 feet,.

On the same dive in Boynton Beach I also encountered a very interesting coral patch I had never seen before. I learned from my Reef Coral Identification book that Blade Fire Coral, Millepora Complanata, grows in atypical patterns that make visual identification difficult. That is why this coral looks nothing like any other fire coral I have ever seen.

While diving in Grenada in July both the divemaster and I spotted a very unusual creature that neither of us had seen before. It was a tiny fish about one inch long that was barely moving on its own, and appeared to be carried along by the current. But it was clearly alive. I couldn't find this small fish in any book, but upon carefully analyzing the photograph, I concluded that it was a tiny juvenile Nassau Grouper.

Also in Grenada on the Veronica Wreck Night Dive the divemaster pointed out the smallest crab I had ever seen in my life. It was only 3/4 in. long and it was beautiful flourescent orange with white. According to my Reef Creature Identification book was the Cryptic Teardrop Crab, a nocturnal animal which inhabits reefs and man-made structures.

On another ADA night dive last year over Davis Ledge, I encountered numerous beautiful bright red starfishes littered along the top of the ledge. Due to the lack of sunlight, our flashlights brought out the amazing red color of these animals unfiltered by the sea water. I was gazing upon the Red Serpent Star, a brittle star listed in the book as uncommon in South Florida. It was my first time seeing one and I have never seen one since.

So no matter how many dives you've done in your life, keep your eyes peeled for any unforeseen marine life you may encounter along the way. Then take the time to identify them and keep building on your body of knowledge. The variety and abundance of marine life ensures that we can never stop learning about our magnificent ocean environment.

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The Importance of Safety Briefings

Before every dive in ADA there is a safety briefing. This article may seem a bit simplistic, because it seems obvious that we should have a safety briefing before each dive. However, there are some very important reasons that this is a basic and routine part of every dive that we have in ADA.

We all need reminders. We just do. A lot of diving safely is due to hearing the same thing over and over again. We need repetition, because when we find ourselves in a difficult or potentially dangerous situation (and it's going to happen sooner or later if you dive long enough), we will automatically respond in a safe and measured way thereby preventing a tragedy. These ideas, whether they be about hand signals, buddy separation issues, and issues relating to weather and current need to so ingrained in our mind that we will recall them in a stressful situation.

Nobody knows everything about diving. We are all in the process of learning new things about diving. In fact, the more willing we are to admit that we don't know everything, the greater the chance that we will be able to hear that one idea that may just save our lives some day. Every once in a while, I will pick up on a new idea on how to deal with current, or how to stay safe during a thunder storm. Staying open to new ideas makes me safer.

Every dive situation is different. We don't dive with the same considerations when we are diving on a 15 to 20 foot reef in Key Largo as we would when we dive on a sheer wall in the Cayman Islands. Some basic diving elements are always in play, but there are many different challenges that should be evaluated in each situation. It would be dangerous to jump into the ocean having no general idea about the current, depth, or style of diving (drift or coming back to anchored boat). To not know the situation would be extremely foolish. No diver who cares about his/her safety would dive without a through briefing about the landscape of the dive site. So, we talk about current, depth, what type of gauges (air integrated, etc.), nitrox/air issues, type of dive (drift or anchored boat), and whether to do safety stops, controlled emergency ascents or buddy breathing (depending on depth). We must know these things, so that if that emergency occurs we will know exactly how to react in a safe way.

Safety briefings are such an important element of every single dive in ADA. ADA prides itself in it's incredible safety record. This record in large part is due to the importance put on a through safety briefing every single dive. Diving is fun. We must however always put safety first. If it's not safe it will not be fun. Thanks to ADA's safety briefings we will continue to have many more years of enjoyable diving!

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