FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION

Transcription

1 FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION May 2007 Volume 14 Issue 4 Inside this Issue Dive Computers and Logbooks Dive Computers and Logbooks - The Secretary s Desk pages 1-3 News From DAN: Oxygen Fills Are Now Easier to Obtain through Praxair page 3 Underwater Easter Egg Hunt page 4 National Marine Sanctuaries pages 4, 5 FCDA Member Ads page 5 Scuttlebutt page 6 Quake Raises WWII Ship From Sea Floor page 7 Don t Take Any Notched Lobsters page 7 New Members page 8 FCDA Donors pages 8, 9 Next FCDA Meeting page 10 I started out to write about dive computers and how lately I've heard divers discounting the usefulness of them. The general consensus among these divers is that computers are prone to failure and have become a crutch for inexperienced divers. Lacking an in-depth knowledge of decompression theory newbi divers are far exceeding what they can safely do. Most computer owners only have a vague idea of how different models have different algorithms - in effect they are betting their safety on a black box. These discussions almost always get around to someone saying "All you need is a depth gauge, a bottom timer and a good deco program". That statement certainly seems like a good editorial topic. But, then I got involved in an on-line discussion on whether or not to keep a logbook. As a dive instructor I teach that logbooks are important and need to be scrupulously maintained. A proper entry details what equipment was used, how much weight, how much air, how deep, how long, and general thoughts about the dive site. Your logbook is a reference manual on how you dive. Its also your proof of experience when you want to take more advanced classes or get on charters going to more difficult locations. Then I got to thinking - my dive computers are an integral part of my logbook. Once home after a day of diving, my gear gets rinsed down, dried off and put away. If I'm still awake after dinner, I download my dives into my logbook. I build a list of the gear I used on each dive from a pick list maintained by the software. My SAC rate is calculated for me as is a graph of my dive. Oxygen loading is there too. Under the 'Notes' tab I write short stories or cryptic notes about

2 Page 2 Dive Computers and Logbooks (continued) each dive. One major grievance of the "All you need is a depth gauge, a bottom timer and a good deco program" guys is the lack of dive planning done by computer touting divers. Typical dive plan - go to screen 3 - enter O2% - press the save button. Planning done! OK, so, maybe that does happen. But here's my real life scenario with a bit more planning in it. I'm looking at the charter schedule for the Eagle's Nest and see that on July 18th Howard is making a run out to the R P Resor. I remember liking this wreck but not much more than that. I'm sitting at my computer as I'm reading the Eagle's Nest schedule on-line. A couple of clicks away is my logbook. I pop it open and sort on the 'location' field - scroll down and sure enough I have a 4 entries for Resor dives. My SAC rate varied between.55 and.67 SCFM. Dive times averaged 45 minutes (including safety stop).. The NOTES section reminded me that one of these dives was a special mid-night dive my son and I did together. Night dive on the RP Reson. Left Freeport at 7:00pm on Saturday - ate dinner 'on the water' - slept until 12:30am Sunday. Vis was terrific!!! could read my gauges at 25feet with just the light from the Sea Hunter. Safety stop was interesting with all the jelly fish and eggs floating by. Many glowed in the dark. many lit up if you touched them. Had lots of air at the end of the dive - so - could have extended my bottom time 5 minutes. I've now re-familiarized myself using my own dive experiences on the Resror. I definitely want to be on this charter. As July 18th gets closer - I'll review depth and times, equipment and weights. I'll make a real dive plan. And, the whole process is facilitated because of my dive computer and its P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT Internet mail: fcda@aol.com Board President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Chris Bradbury Mark Shannon George Sharrard Paul J. Gacek

3 Page 3 logbook software. So, do I dive with a computer - You Bet. Do I keep a logbook of all my dives - Sure Do. By using these two tools have I made the dive planning process a lot better - Definitely. R P Resor 2006 Natural Oxygen Fills Are Now Easier to Obtain Through Praxair DAN announces good news about oxygen fills and Praxair, Inc., a global industrial, medical, specialty and diving gas manufacturer. Praxair has developed a process by which DAN providers and trainers can obtain oxygen USP, or medical-grade oxygen. From this point forward, DAN-certified Oxygen Providers can obtain oxygen fills from Praxair throughout the United States and Canada. For many U.S. providers, this is welcome news. Over the past decade, getting fills for oxygen equipment has been challenging at times. In 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued guidelines that prohibited the dispensing of oxygen without a prescription, except in the case of an emergency. These guidelines seem to have caused confusion for the DAN-certified oxygen providers who were seeking to have their oxygen cylinders filled. Since this pronouncement, DAN Training has pursued oxygen fill companiesto reach an agreement on providing fills. As of April 9, 2007, DAN has reached an agreement with Praxair, Inc., headquartered in Danbury, Conn. That agreement will enable DAN-trained and DANcertified Oxygen Providers to obtain oxygen fills through any Praxair retail location in the U.S. and Canada. Events of Interest to FCDA Members DATE May 26, 2007 EVENT Fort Wetherill Dive - For more information divermel@optonline.net or call (203) June 2, 2007 "Kick Off the Season" Clambake - 7:00 PM For reservations see page 6. June 23, 2007 July 14-15, 2007 July 21, 2007 Fort Wetherill Dive - For more information divermel@optonline.net or call (203) Cape Ann Weekend Trip - For more information divermel@optonline.net or call (203) Wreck Dive - Dive the Onondaga aboard the Thunderfish. Departs from Mystic. $100. For more information divermel@optonline.net or call (203) September 14-16, 2007 Cape Ann Weekend - Camp, Whale Watch,Dive, chill out weekend. Reservations please! For more information divermel@optonline.net or call (203)

4 Page 4 Annual FCDA Underwater Easter Egg Hunt/Beach Cleanup (pictures here: ) Sunday dawned as a gray overcast day - a far cry from the forecast of a warm and sunny day! In spite of the weather twentyfour people showed up to attend the festivities. It was the day to begin the 2007 dive season and explore the shallows of Long Island Sound! Three hardy souls went into the drink (one dry suit, one semi-dry suit and one wet suit!). Divers were Tom Provencal, Matt Rownin and Scott Rownin. While the divers searched for refuse underwater our hardy members collected trash on the beach. At the conclusion of the dive/ cleanup we had several bags of trash. Each of the divers was awarded ten tickets for our dive raffle to support our null sponsorship. Of course no FCDA event is complete without food! We had our usual fare of hot dogs, hamburgers and cheese burgers supplemented by Mel s two alarm chili and an host of salads and desserts contributed by our members. After consuming prodigious quantities of food we held an above-water Easter Egg Hunt for some of the attendees who were of pre-dive age. Don't forget to check out the pictures of the event on the FCDA Scrapbook web page! After the second Egg Hunt we held our regular raffle to support out null sponsorship. Winners were: Henderson Beer Coosey donated by New England Dive Center - Scott Rownin; Henderson Beer Coosey donated by New England Dive Center - Chris Bradbury; Uzzi Dive Pants donated by New England Dive Center - George Danielczuk; Oxygen Tank Cover donated by New England Dive Center - Mark Shannon; Folding Dive Gear Hanger donated by New England Dive Center - Matt Kapszukiewicz and a Tilos Dive Knife donated by New England Dive Center - Matt Rownin. Thanks to New England Dive Center for donating today's raffle prizes for our null raffle. Remember, you can't win if you don't buy tickets and you can't buy tickets if you don't come to FCDA events! National Marine Sanctuaries (adapted from ) The mission of NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries is to serve as the trustee for the nation's system of marine protected areas, to conserve, protect, and enhance their biodiversity, ecological integrity and cultural legacy. miles in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the largest marine protected area in the world. In 1972, exactly one hundred years after the first national park was created, the nation made a similar commitment to preserving its marine treasures by establishing the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Since then, thirteen national marine sanctuaries and one marine national monument, representing a wide variety of ocean environments, have been established. Today, our marine sanctuary system encompass deep ocean gardens, nearshore coral reefs, whale migration corridors, deep sea canyons, and even underwater archeological sites. The sites range in size from one-quarter square mile in Fagatele Bay, American Samoa to more than 135,000 square

5 Stellwagen Bank 2007 Condition Report Abstract Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary contains one of the richest and most productive marine habitats in the U.S. It is home to a diverse fish community and serves as one of the most important feeding grounds in the North Atlantic for a number of migratory endangered whale species as well as some apex fish predators such as bluefin tuna and sharks. Located just offshore of the Boston metropolis of 4.8 million people, the sanctuary is subject to intense human use that includes whale watching, commercial and recreational fishing, vessel traffic, and nearby sewage and other material disposal. It may also soon be adjacent to a deepwater port for the transfer of liquefied natural gas, an activity that could pose additional hazards. Despite these activities, most water quality parameters at Stellwagen Bank sanctuary appear to suggest relatively good conditions. For example, Page 5 though numerous contaminants have been identified, they appear at levels that are not likely to affect sanctuary resources. Habitat quality, on the other hand, has deteriorated over many years, primarily as a result of long-term use of bottom dragging gear to catch fish. Fishing restrictions in some areas have led to improvements in habitat quality, and it is hoped that this will continue. Living resource conditions have followed trends similar to those of habitats, and are generally considered to be in fair or fair to poor condition. And while the abundance and diversity of bottom dwelling communities may improve with fishing restrictions, surface dwelling marine mammals are at considerable risk from strikes by increasing vessel traffic in New England and from entanglement from lines attached to fishing gear. The principal threat to maritime archaeological resources in the sanctuary comes from contact by bottom fishing gear. An additional concern regarding these historical sites is the fact that once damaged, there is no potential for recovery, as there is for water, habitat, and living resources. The new management plan for Stellwagen Bank sanctuary is scheduled for release in the summer of It recommends a number of management actions FCDA Member Ads Hey - have you got a non retail-diving business that you d like to share with fellow members of FCDA? Get your business card size ad in the FCDA monthly newsletter Surface Interval for only $50.00 for one year. Give your business a boost and help support the production of our monthly newsletters. For more information, write to FCDA, P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT or to fcda@aol.com.

6 Page 6 Scuttlebutt Two excellent videos of the Onondaga. Video 1 was shot April 1, Video 2 was shot April 28, Next meeting of the NYUPS (New York Underwater Photographic Society) May 17 Lobster Permits for CT Waters License to take lobsters for personal use (not for sale) by the use of not more than 10 lobster pots or traps, by hand, by skin diving, or by SCUBA diving. Application Fee (Fixed): $60.00; Phone: Mail Address: Marine Fisheries Division, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 333 Ferry Road, P.O. Box 719, Old Lyme, CT Website Information: In 1950 Maine Lobstermen reported a catch of 18,325,600 $.35 / lbs. for a total value of $6,412,311. In 2005 the reported lobster catch was 67,348,674 $4.63 / lbs for a total value of $311,574,974. CT issues Revised 2007 Guidelines for the Commercial Hand-Harvest of Horseshoe Crabs New regulations that became effective March 1, 2007 implemented significant changes to the Connecticut horseshoe crab hand-harvest fishery Annual Kickoff the Season Clambake Saturday, June 2, :00 pm Coast Guard Cottage catered by Swanson s Fish Market Clams on the half shell Steamers Lobster Potato Corn on the cob Cole slaw Dinner roll Dessert Beer Wine Soda (Also available by special order - Chicken or Steak - prepayment required!) Early Bird Special by Mail - Pay by May 26th (Postmark on envelope) - $30.00 each After May 26th - George georges00z@aol.com for reservations - $35.00 each Name No. x $ = $ Special Order(s): Mail to: FCDA, P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT 06824

7 Page 7 Quake Raises WWII Ship From Sea Floor Last month the story was of an earthquake lifting a coral reef 3 feet and leaving it high and dry. This month the same earthquake is credited with leaving a ship wreck on the beach. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (April 28) - Wreckage from a World War II torpedo boat was tossed up from the sea in the Solomon Islands after a powerful 8.1 earthquake hit the area in early April, an official said Friday. Solomons' Graveyard Jay Waura of the National Disaster Management Office said the explosiveladen boat was exposed when reefs were pushed up 10 feet above sea level by the April 2 quake, which caused a devastating tsunami in the western Solomon Islands that killed 52 people. The Solomons' coastline is still littered with decaying military wrecks from World War II, including the torpedo patrol boat commanded by U.S. President John F. Kennedy. "My team members believe that this boat could have been one of those U.S. torpedo boats such as the famous PT-109, which the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy had served aboard during the war," said Waura. Kennedy's boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Blackett Strait in August 1943 off Gizo, the main town of western Solomon Islands. The Solomons' main island, Guadalcanal, was the scene of fierce World War II fighting. Waura said people on Rannonga island showed his team the wreckage sitting on dry ground. "We were amazed by this finding, as previously this wreckage had long been sitting under the sea and rusting in peace without anyone knowing about it," New Zealand Press Association quoted Waura as saying. Only the boat's hull with its deadly cargo of explosives remained intact, he said. Waura said a Solomon Islands Police Force bomb disposal unit would be sent to the island to safely detonate the explosives. Kennedy was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy serving in the Pacific when his PT-109 was cut in two by the Japanese destroyer. Two crew were killed, but Kennedy and the vessel's other survivors clung to the wreckage before swimming to a nearby island. The experience earned Kennedy the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. Wreckage from PT-109 was found in 2002 by shipwreck hunter Robert Ballard, who also found the Titanic as well as other notable sunken ships. Don t Take Any Notched Lobsters!!! STAMFORD, CT (AP) -- A voluntary state conservation program intended to save female lobsters also is seen as a way to replenish Long Island Sound's lobster fishery that was decimated by a massive die-off seven years ago. The so-called ``V-notch'' program, which is set to begin in the next few weeks, requires cutting a notch threeeighths of an inch deep into a tail fin of female lobsters 3 inches and longer. The crustaceans will be thrown back into the Sound and fishermen will be prohibited from landing them until the notch, after about two annual molts,

8 Page 8 FCDA Donors (Continued from page 5) that will address these concerns. The plan stresses an ecosystem-based approach to management that requires consideration of ecological interrelationships not only within the sanctuary, but within the larger context of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. It also points to the need for an increased level of cooperation with other management agencies in the region. Specific management recommendations include an improved water quality monitoring program; actions to reduce vessel discharges; actions to reduce the number of vessel strikes on whales and the number of entangled whales; investigations of noise sources and impacts; and management of maritime archaeological resources. New FCDA Members The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association. New England's Tech Diving Center! New England Dive Center 476 North Colony Street Wallingford, CT Fax Welcome aboard to the following individuals who have recently become a new members of the Fairfield County Diving Association: David B Heady 4539 Black Rock Tpke Fairfield, CT H: W: dheady@sbcglobal.net Ian Lander 130 Fillow St Unit 10 Norwalk, CT ialander@go.com The region's foremost source for scuba and technical diving gear, training and everything for the recreational or serious tech diver. Dealer for OMS, UWATEC, Oceanic, Mares, Dacor, Cressi-Sub, P o s e i d o n, Scubapro, Bare, O'Neill and Henderson. Draeger Atlantis I Rebreather training, certification and rental. Scott D Rownin 137 Hollow Tree Ridge Rd Darien, CT H: W: sdrownin@yahoo.com New England Dive Center offers complete training for all levels of diving, from Open Water through the most advanced technical courses. Our instruction provides certification through SSI, PDIC, TDI and IANTD. Visit us on the Web:

9 Page 9 shrinks to an eighth of an inch deep or less. The $1 million initiative funded earlier this year by the General Assembly will pay lobstermen the wholesale market price for each lobster notched and released. The market price is now about $5 a pound. Lance Stewart, chairman of the state Lobster Restoration Advisory Committee, said that by saving more females the fishery will produce more lobsters. The program could keep 40,000 to 50,000 females alive to release eggs for an additional two years or more. Because lobsters become more susceptible to infection in warm water, the program will be discontinued in July when water temperatures reach 68 degrees. The program will resume in October when water temperature drops. Nick Crismale, president of the Connecticut Commercial Lobstermen's Association, which represents lobstermen from Norwalk to Stonington, said the program gives fishermen an opportunity to help the fishery. FCDA Donors The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association. Orbit Marine Sports Center, Inc 3273 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT (203) 333-DIVE (800) 395-DIVE Capt. Noel s Diventures!! The Spirit of the Good Life! Nassau, Bah May (Memorial Day Weekend) South Florida & Keys June 28 July 2 Freeport, Bah Aug 5 9 (Sharks and Dolphins) Bimini, Bah Aug 30 Sep 3 (Labor Day) North Carolina Sep 9 15 (Wreck Week) Bikini Atoll Oct 20 Nov 2 (Nuke Wreck Week) Cozumel Nov 29 Dec 3 (Pre Holiday Trip) Curacao Jan (Post New Years) PLEASE BUY LOCAL! Mail order/internet sales hurt all local retailers. We re the ones who fill your tanks, service your gear, train you to dive, take you out diving and REALLY CARE ABOUT YOU! SUPPORT US SO WE CAN SUPPORT YOU! Orbit Marine is 34 Years Old! Orbit Scuba Courses listing Open Water Advanced Open Water Rescue Diver Underwater Photography Wreck Diver Divemaster Assistant Instructor Instructor, Nitrox Advanced Nitrox Cylinder Inspector DAN O2 Provider Deep Diver Night diver Underwater Navigation Visit Orbit Marine on the Web -

10 Page 10 Next FCDA Meeting Next FCDA Meeting - Friday, May 18, :00 PM Coast Guard Cottage - South Benson Marina - Fairfield, CT The RMS Republic a presentation by Glenn Butler The RMS Republic sank after a collision in it was the most luxurious ship in the White Star line before the Titanic. The sinking occurred with no real loss of life and J.P. Morgan was able to use this example of his crew's ability and the first use of the Marconi Radio for rescue to convince Congress that the US Navy was unreasonable in its demand that all passengers have a lifeboat seat. Morgan was making big $$$ taking people in "Steerage". The Republic was why the Titanic was such a disaster. Fairfield County Diving Association P.O. Box 3005 Fairfield, CT Address Service Requested