- Highlights From the Annual ADA BBQ
- The Eagle
- Phil Foster Park
- Orientation to Underwater Archaeology for Sport Divers - Part 1
- It's Time To Renew
- The Delayed Surface Marker Buoy
- Dive Gear I Want To See Invented
- Diving with New Divers
- Congrats!
- Newsletter Delivery Options
- Email or Address Change?
- T-Shirts For Sale
- ADA Guidelines and Policies
Highlights From the Annual ADA BBQ
--by Jerry Kosakowski
Thirty members met on October 8, 2016 at
Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park
(formerly known as John U. Lloyd Beach State Park) in
the Jetty Pavilion,, for our annual BBQ, gear swap, and
raffle. This was right after Hurricane Matthew hit the
area and, to my amazement, there was not the anticipated
beach erosion, and the damage was much less than
expected. However, not to my amazement, the visibility
of the water was poor and stilted badly. Dives were made
and lobster caught but it was no highlight dive. It was
more of an exercise in dive navigation. I dove with my
son-in-law and grandson. The grandson got separated from
us, even though we were only five feet apart. We
followed protocol and all gathered at the surface and
continued our navigation dive. We could barely see our
hands in front of us, so we surfaced and swam back to
shore.
Roy, our resident chef, did the
barbequeing and grilled some tasty burgers and hot
dogs, along with his signature homemade chili. Other
participants brought in specialty foods, including
salads and desserts.. All members had an enjoyable time,
and there was plenty of good food to satisfy hungry
divers and picnicers.
The raffle included a scuba tank made into a bell, a bouyancy compensator, an expensive dive mask, gifts and gift certificates for dives and equipment from Slates, Florida Keys Dive Center, and Austin’s. Everyone had a chance to select a gift from our cornicopia of prizes. After the raffle concluded, we held an auction for tfor some additional prizes. When all was said and done, members had multiple opportunities to select prizes. We did really good this year!.
At around 2:00 PM the party broke up and I offered our pavilion to another group, whose pavilion did not have electric power. We are a gracious group, making friends everywhere we go. I also recruited a Ranger and his family to join our group. He indicated he saw us there every year and had stopped by to see what we do. When I explained, he thought it was perfect for him and his family. Can’t wait until the next one. Hope to see you there because the best part was meeting up with the people we haven’t seen in a while.
--by Mo SMith
The
Eagle formerly named the Aron K spent her career carrying
scrap paper between Miami and South America until a fire
at sea destroyed its interior. In 1985, she was
docked at a shipping terminal at the Miami River. The
vessel caught the attention of Curtis Kruer, then
President of the Florida Keys Artificial reef Association,
and Ken Wright of Lady Cyana Divers who were searching for
a ship to serve as the Upper keys first major artificial
reef. Within a few months their combined efforts
with the assistance of the Eagle Tire Company and Joe
Teitelbaum, a private citizen who donated $20,000, raised
the $50,000 needed to purchase, tow, and sink the
ship. After an extensive preparation and ensuring a
safe environment for divers, she was towed to her resting
place with her new name the “Eagle” in honor of the Eagle
Tire Company. On December 19, 1985, the Metro Dade
Police Department Bomb Squad Unit initiated multiple
explosive charges within the hull, sinking the “Eagle” to
her 110-foot depth landing on her starboard side (GPS / 24
52.180N 80 34.210W). The Eagle instantly created a
287-foot artificial reef enjoyed by thousands of yearly
visiting divers. The Eagle had remained generally intact
until 1998 Her position was adjusted by the winds and
waves of Hurricane George, eventually breaking the ship in
half.
I bet you are wondering where the heck this is. Well, if you ever dived one of the premier dive sites in Florida (all the scuba magazines have written articles about it, so have I) you would know where this is. It is the home of the Blue Heron bridge dive site or better said dive sites.
It
is located in Riviera Beach and you exit I95 at Blue Heron
. Go east until you cross the intercostals and the park is
right there. The best or should I say, one of the two best
things are the proximity of parking to the beach dive
site. Sometimes, if you get the right parking spot, the
distance is 15 only feet. That should not tire you out.
Diving the artificial reef so close to shore, will not
either. But if you enter the channel and get caught in the
current, better be ready for a workout. That tide is
ripping. At times, you will have to crawl on the bottom.
The second-best thing about this location is that you can dive it when the ocean is too rough. It is inside the barrier reef so it is always calm. Rachael Davis does her training there just for this reason. It is also ultra-safe for novice divers. Bring those new young scuba divers to this location, for it has lifeguards also. On the other hand, with those guards on duty, you had better be following all the rules. Number one is to display a dive flag. I asked them about this and they sometimes write up 15 people a day. Wow!
After the dive, picnic tables and bathrooms are available for public use, which makes it great for a relaxing aprčs dive interlude. So, go enjoy one of Florida’s premier dive locations: Phil Foster Park. If some of your group doesn’t scuba, have them bring their fishing gear, as there is a fishing pier also. All in all, it’s the complete package.
Photos by Rachel Davis
On the weekend of September 9-11 several ADA divers met with the Coordinating Center of the University of West Florida. This was a collaboration of two very special programs:
- The Florida Public Archaeology Network , FPAN, and the
- Submerged Sites Education and Archaelogical Stewardship (SSEAS). SSEAS is a program developed in the United Kingdom and is in the process of being adopted by NOAA.
Our
Board Member, John Davis coordinated the program. He
has a personal interest in underwater archaeology and the
educational aspect fits in perfectly with ADA’s
mission. Two new members, Dennis and Jason Fiehler
came all the way from St. Louis, MO for the course. Also,
in attendance was Lon Von Lintel, Lee Woods, Connie
Crowther, Janet Talbot, Rachel and John Davis, Lenora and
Juliana Bach. We met at the home of Board
member, Lee Wood, and his wife Rosy for a 2 hour
educational seminar.
The Underwater Archaeology and Marine Heritage Awareness presentation covered several topics including shipwrecks, ship construction, maritime artifacts and laws protecting submerged cultural resources.
The
second classroom session on Saturday focused on
observation, surveying and recording. First, we
learned how to place a base line on a shipwreck and how to
survey and measure the site.
We were give a tape measure with both inches and tenth of inches, slate, pencil and Mylar waterproof paper all designed to go underwater. We learned several mapping methods such as finding the baseline, datum points, and triangulation. All of this was done on dry land in Lee Wood’s garage and followed by a simulated ocean dive at Jacob’s Aquatic Center in Tavernier. PVC was scattered on the bottom of the pool to look like a shipwreck along with objects resembling ballast.
Finally, the third classroom session covered the actual site we were to visit on Sunday. The El Infante was part of the Spanish Galleon Expedition of 1733. Most of the fleet was lost that year in the Florida Straits. These were “plata” ships; meaning they were carrying silver back to the Spanish Empire. El Infante wrecked on the reef just off Tavernier. Today, there are visible timbers and ballast stones remaining. We were excited to participate and help the FPAN divers survey the site since it was last done in 2004.
It's Time To Renew For Discounted Rates
--by Dr. Dan Baeza
The clock is counting down and we are nearing the last chance to renew at a reduced rate. Renew before March 31, 2017 and your membership fee is only $35 for a calendar 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
With all the advances in automotive technology in recent years—from back-up cameras, to all-electric cars in both luxury and economical models, to driverless cars that can navigate entire trips without driver input, it occurred to me that it might not be long until we see a truly amphibious automobile that can handle both city streets and aquatic travel. Wouldn’t it be great if drivers could traverse river crossings without bridges and operate like submarines in the open water? The idea got me started researching whether inventors have made any progress toward such a passenger vehicle. I was surprised to learn that my imaginary invention already has progressed from beyond the drawing board to an operating prototype that has been driving both on land and under water for more than eight years. It is called the sQuba and was designed and built by the Rinspeed company, founded by Frank Rinderknecht.
Inspired by the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, which featured a modified Lotus Espirit that operated both on land and undersea, Mr. Rinderknecht used the chassis from a Lotus Elise to serve as the base for the sCuba. Three zero-emission electric motors power the machine, one of which drives the wheels on dry land and two for underwater travel: powering twin props augmented by Seabob water jets. Those electric motors use rechargeable lithion-ion batteries. It is a two-seater (get this) convertible that has no watertight passenger compartment. That’s right, the sQuba floods the interior when submerged, requiring the driver and passenger to put on their masks and breathe through regulators when underwater.
The Delayed Surface Marker Buoy or DSMB is usually used near the end of the dive to indicate to the boat the location of the divers and that they are ascending. Some divers deploy it while making a safety stop. The DSMB consists of an inflatable tube and an attached line. There are at least three different types to consider. Open-ended tubes require divers to inflate orally or by purging the octopus into the open end. Sealed tubes are inflated either by the low-
It was my pleasure having my son-in-law (Rob) get certified. My daughter Vicky has been certified for several years and we have made quite a few dives together. She always accuses me of pushing the envelope. Yes, I admit to that. But doesn’t she realize she’s a doctor because of doing that herself?
Well, a few days ago, Rob called me and asked me to lead him and Kelly, Vicky’s former college roommate, on a dive, along with Kelly’s husband Chris. I gladly accepted. I thought it would be an easy dive and they would want to go slow. My daughter couldn’t make the dive.
Congratulations to Gerry Callis for earning his PADI Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certifications!
Nitrox is such a gas!
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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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
Beavers and sea otters lack the thick layer of blubber that insulates walruses and whales. And yet these small, semiaquatic mammals can keep warm and even dry while diving, by trapping warm pockets of air in dense layers of fur.
Inspired by these fuzzy swimmers, MIT engineers have now fabricated fur-like, rubbery pelts and used them to identify a mechanism by which air is trapped between individual hairs when the pelts are plunged into liquid.
The results, published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, provide a detailed mechanical understanding for how mammals such as beavers insulate themselves while diving underwater. The findings may also serve as a guide for designing bioinspired materials — most notably, warm, furry wetsuits.
Click here to see the entire article at ECN Magazine.