Safety
Officer training: (from
left) back row: Lee Wood,
Steve McPhillips, Bruce
Garber, Rachel Davis, Dan
Baeza, Jonathan Hilliard,
Shannon O'Boyle. Front
row: Daryl Johnson, Anand
Ranganathan, Rudy
Lopez.
Meet
the New Safety Officer
Candidates
On April 20 the Safety Officer
committee held our annual
training with four new
candidates on deck to help
organize and lead our dives
this year. Conducting the
training and providing
guidance were Safety Officers
Amber Laureano, Dan Baeza,
Daryl Johnson, Lee Wood,
Rachel Davis, Rudy Lopez and
Steve McPhillips.
Active Divers Founder and
Safety Officer Lee Wood was on
hand to provide the history of
the Safety Officer program
since its formation in the
1960's, with safety being at
the heart of our club and
foundational to our mission.
Each Safety Officer took turns
presenting important parts of
the Safety Officer manual
during this session. Our
candidates will now begin
their in-water training when
our dive schedule kicks off
next weekend. Please give a
warm welcome to our new Safety
Officer candidates Anand
Ranganathan, Bruce Garber,
Jonathan Hilliard and Shannon
O'Boyle, and give them a shout
out when you see them on dives
this year.
From
left: Bruce Garber, Jonathan
Hilliard, Anand Ranganathan,
Shannon O'Boyle.
2024
Dive Schedule is Live
and Ready for Booking
The 2024
dive schedule is ready
for action on our
website. Everyone can
now book their
favorite local dives
for another great
dive season.
Based on member
feedback from our
survey, we are
bringing you more
morning dives,
multiple dives on some
weekends and refined
our selection of
operators to those
most highly
rated.
Pleaseclick
hereto
see the schedule and
book your favorite
dives. You can also
add our dive schedule
calendar to yours -here's
how!
There's still time to sign up
to come join your friends and
dive buddies for our season
opener dive and BBQ. This year
we are thrilled to be
returning to the Blue Heron
Bridge at Phil Foster Park –
900 Blue Heron Blvd., Riviera
Beach, FL 33404 for our annual
season opener picnic, BBQ,
Swap Meet and Raffle. We will
meet for diving at 9:00 a.m.
and have the BBQ at noon. This
event is open to all Active
Divers Association members,
prospective members, family,
and friends. New members to
the club can join at the $49
early bird rate.
Members are encouraged bring a
dish, snacks or soft drinks to
share. Please be advised that
no alcoholic beverages are
allowed at the park. Members
must RSVP to John Davis by
email atjohncdavisauthor@gmail.com.
Please also let John know what
you plan to bring for the
potluck. Deadline to RSVP is
April 24.
We will dive the Blue Heron
Bridge, named the Best Shore
Dive in the US. We will meet
at 9:00 a.m. for the dive. Our
Safety Officers will lead the
shore dive in groups to the
best sites at the bridge.
Bring all your own gear, tank,
weights and a dive flag if you
have one. If you need to rent
a tank or any other gear, stop
byForce
Eat
155 Blue Heron Blvd., Riviera
Beach, FL 33404 on your way to
the park. The park has picnic
tables, bathroom, and outdoor
showers. Look for us under the
covered pavilions on the west
side of the park.
Bring your gently used dive
gear for sale or swap at our
annual swap meet!! Please
note: No warranty is implied
or expressed for equipment
acquired at this event. The
Active Divers Association is
not responsible for the safety
of functioning of any
equipment purchased or
acquired during this event.
Get your new shirts at the
picnic! New rash guard shirts
are here and they will be
available for purchase at the
picnic for $25. They are
available in Women’s and Men’s
sizing from S to XL. Get yours
before they’re gone!
We look forward to seeing you
there!
What's
better than a fabulous dive
at the Bridge? The
scrumptious BBQ and potluck
that await you when you get
out!
LAST
CHANCE FOR LITTLE CAYMAN
TRIP
If you are a single male or
single female willing to share
a room, there are still two
spots available for the
7/20-7/27/24 trip. Experience
valet diving at its best while
diving on the spectacular
world acclaimed Bloody Bay
Wall. Weather permitting, you
will also be able to
experience one morning of
diving at nearby Cayman Brac.
Pleaseclick
herefor
more details and e-mail Daryl
Johnson at
diverdaryl@bellsouth.net if
you are interested. Deadline
for signing up is5/18/24.
Active
Divers will remove marine
debris from the Blue Heron
Bridge dive site on
Saturday, June 8 during our
Dive Against Debris.
Dive
Against Debris on
Saturday, June 8
Be part of the world’s largest
underwater community science
movement by joining us forDive
Against Debris, a
program from the PADI AWARE
Foundation. Your participation
will help the organization
create a blueprint to achieve
their critical conservation
goal to reduce marine debris
by 50% in targeted countries
by 2030. Our Dive Against
Debris will take place at the
Blue Heron Bridge in which you
will learn tips for debris
collection and collect debris
at the Bridge dive site. After
the dive all participants will
bring their debris to our
pavilion where it will be
weighed, surveyed and
discarded. Our marine debris
survey will be added toPADI’s
databaseof
over 2.3 million pieces of
marine debris already removed
from the ocean, contributing
to their critical scientific
research that advances the
PADI Blueprint for Ocean
Action.
Participation in this fun
event is free of charge and
will be followed by a BBQ.
There will be prizes awarded
for largest item, heaviest
item, most unusual item and
more. All you need to
participate is your gear, air
tank, and a mesh bag to
collect debris. You can also
earn the PADI Dive Against
Debris Diver Specialty
Certification for an
additional fee which counts
toward the Advanced Open Water
and Master Scuba Diver
Certifications. RSVP to Rachel
at 786-316-9852 or simply
reply to this email to sign up
or for more information on
this fun and rewarding
experience.
Our
New Shirts Have Arrived!!!
Like what you
see? You can now order shirts
online for home delivery. Due
to popular demand they're
going fast, so get yours
before they're sold out! Click
here >>
Lost
Reef Adventures Dream Cat
dive boat sits in Stock
Island Marina just steps
from the beautiful Perry
Hotel where we'll be staying
in Key West.
Join
Us for Key West Weekend
August 23-25
We’ve got a great weekend in
Key West planned this year
including three consecutive
days of fantastic diving in
Islamorada and Key West capped
off by the Vandenburg wreck.
Active Divers member Lisa
Littleton of Unicorns Travel
has put together a spectacular
lodging package for us for two
nights at the new luxurious
Perry Hotel located on Stock
Island marina just steps from
our dive boat. The hotel
offers free shuttle service
from the hotel to all the
nightlife and action in Key
West. In addition to a great
rate, this package offers free
onsite parking and reduced
resort fee. Join us for this
unforgettable weekend by
reserving the dives through
our dive schedule and using
the button below to reserve
your room. It’s the best
weekend of the year, so don’t
miss out!
I.CARE
Coral Restoration
Experience Scheduled for
Saturday, October 12
We have teamed up withCNN
Hero Mike Goldbergof
Key Dives to participate in a
full-day coral restoration
experience this year. The
I.CARE program starts with a
morning coral workshop. Here
all participants will learn
about the history of our reef,
coral morphology, the science
of our corals and hands-on
demonstration on how to put
down coral. In the afternoon
we will make two dives
outplanting coral in the
turquoise clear waters on the
reefs of Islamorada. Divers
meet atKey
Divesat
8:30 a.m. The cost for this
full-day experience is $110
and can be booked through thedive
schedule.
Thanks to our Conservation
Chair Lisa Littleton for
organizing this event and to
Active Divers Founder and
Safety Officer Lee Wood who
will be onsite for the event
greeting members and serving
as Safety Officer for the
dives. If you have any
questions about this event or
ideas for future conservation
activities, please contact
Lisa at Lisa@UnicornsTravel.comor 740-503-9589.
