The Presidents Corner by Matt Rownin

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The Presidents Corner by Matt Rownin"

Gloria Wade
5 years ago
Views:

FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION June 2017 Volume 24 Issue 6 Inside this Issue The Presidents Corner by Matt Rownin page 1 FCDA Donor I page 2 New FCDA Members page 2 May Meeting DAN Raffle

Marlin and Oceanic Whitetip Sharks pages 7 US Navy Recovers Cannon to Identify 200 Year Old Shipwreck page 8 Back by Popular Demand! FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies! pages 9.

1 FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION June 2017 Volume 24 Issue 6 Inside this Issue The Presidents Corner by Matt Rownin page 1 FCDA Donor I page 2 New FCDA Members page 2 May Meeting DAN Raffle Winners page 3 FCDA Member Ads page 3 Events of Interest page 4 Meet the Robot Sucking up Lion Fish pages 5, 6 FCDA Donor II page 6 Divers Encounter Basking Shark in Ireland pages 6 Diving with Blue Marlin and Oceanic Whitetip Sharks pages 7 US Navy Recovers Cannon to Identify 200 Year Old Shipwreck page 8 Back by Popular Demand! FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies! pages Next FCDA Meeting page 11 The Presidents Corner by Matt Rownin Wow, it s time to write another volume of the President s Corner. The time seems to just fly by but what becomes more difficult is thinking of something to write about, that you all want to read. Not an easy task.as I sit here drawing a complete blank. Well, I have made it out diving a couple of times but not as much as I would like to. I was able to travel in April and do some blue water diving but have yet to make it out for a local dive; I have one planned for the weekend yahoo!!! Each year it seems to get tougher and tougher to get out there..life and work seem to get in the way. Oh well.that s Life!!!! The FCDA does have some dive trips planned for the summer the July Cape Ann trip is just around the corner. We are heading up there on Thursday July 6 and will stay and disturb the peace until that Sunday with boat dives with Cape Ann Divers planned for Friday and Saturday morning and maybe a night dive if we haven t dove into the Bourbon yet. Come for as much or as little of the time as you want or can tolerate. There is a guarantee of some good food, good drinks and some great diving. Let me or Mel know (see the Events section for his contact info) if you want to come up. We are also trying to get some dives on Bill Palmers boat, The Thunderfish, this summer and have one planned for July 15 th and have spots open so let us know ASAP. We will also get some others planned for later in the summer. So let me know if you w a n t t o g o matt@cthomesales.com or (203) Remember we have started our pre-meeting BBQs at 7pm so come down early and bring your favorite food to put on the grill. See you all soon. Safe Diving, Matt

New FCDA Members Welcome aboard to the following individual who has recently become a new member of the

2 FCDA Donor Page 2 The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association. New FCDA Members Welcome aboard to the following individual who has recently become a new member of the Fairfield County Diving Association: No new members this month! Feel free to bring a new dive buddy or one you haven t been diving with for a long time! All are welcome!

Page 3 May Meeting DAN Raffle Winners After a presentation on Diving St. Lucia by our own Don Brown the club held its monthly raffle to support our DAN Sponsorship.

England Dive Center - Paul Nonnenmacher; NEDC Dry Box donated by New England Dive Center - Paul Gacek; Suunto Key Ring donated by New England Dive Center - Mark Shannon; Trident O-Ring Kit donated by

3 Page 3 May Meeting DAN Raffle Winners After a presentation on Diving St. Lucia by our own Don Brown the club held its monthly raffle to support our DAN Sponsorship. Winners were: Trident Tang Banger donated by New Enbgland Dive Center - George Da nielczuk; Scubapro Wrist Lanyard donated by New England Dive Center - Jim Purcell; NEDC Dry Box donated by New England Dive Center - Paul Nonnenmacher; NEDC Dry Box donated by New England Dive Center - Paul Gacek; Suunto Key Ring donated by New England Dive Center - Mark Shannon; Trident O-Ring Kit donated by New England Dive Center - Paul Gacek; Trident Ear Drops donated by New England Dive Center - Bob Sawczuk; TUSA Tee Shirt donated by Ski and Scuba Connection - Mark Shannon; Oceanic Hat donated by Ski and Scuba Connection - Paul Gacek, Cosey and PADI Bag donated by Ski and Scuba Connection - Mark Shannon and a Scubapro Dive Mask donated by Orbit Marine Dive Center -- Paul Gacek. Thanks to New England Dive Center Orbit Marine Dive Center and Ski and Scuba Connection for donating tonight s raffle prizes for our DAN raffle. Remember, you can't win if you don't buy tickets and you can't buy tickets if you don't get up and come out to FCDA events and meetings! 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.

Possibility of boat trips with Cape Ann Divers, eating, refreshments and relaxing. If you want to come up contact Mel Rich Jr. at (203) 554-1762 or email nutechpest@mac.

4 Page 4 Events of Interest to FCDA Members Friday, June 23, 2017 June Meeting 8:00 PM (7:00 PM Pre-Meeting BBQ (BYOM Meat!) Lisa Jarosik Diving Little Cayman, The Bloody Bay Wall July 7-9, Annual July Cape Ann Trip - Come up any time and camp out and do some diving. Possibility of boat trips with Cape Ann Divers, eating, refreshments and relaxing. If you want to come up contact Mel Rich Jr. at (203) or nutechpest@mac.com for more information or to reserve a spot. Friday, July 28, 2017 July Meeting 8:00 PM (7:00 PM Pre-Meeting BBQ (BYOM Meat!) Speaker TBA Friday, August 25, 2017 August Meeting 8:00 PM (7:00 PM Pre-Meeting BBQ (BYOM Meat!) FCDA at the Movies 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Friday, September 29, 2017 September Meeting 8:00 PM FCDA Members Present Mike Cassetta, MD NUSAR Ice Dive, Matt Rownin Diving Jamaica Diving In Cape Ann Diving with Billy Palmer

Page 5 Meet the Robot that is Sucking Up Lionfish by Sarah Sekula P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT 06824 Internet mail: fcda@

Gacek Watch out lionfish: There s a new predator coming your way. It reaches depths of 400 feet, weighs about 20 pounds and is equipped with a camera.

5 Page 5 Meet the Robot that is Sucking Up Lionfish by Sarah Sekula P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT Internet mail: fcda@aol.com Presidents 2017 Board Matt Rownin & Mike Cassetta Vice-President Mark Shannon Secretary Treasurer Lisa Jarosik Paul J. Gacek Watch out lionfish: There s a new predator coming your way. It reaches depths of 400 feet, weighs about 20 pounds and is equipped with a camera. It s an unmanned, undersea robot dreamed up by nonprofit Robots in Service of the Environment (RSE). The idea for this newfangled technology, which began testing in April, started after a diving session in Bermuda during which Colin Angle and his wife, Erika, had encountered plenty of lionfish. Someone on the boat suggested maybe Colin could invent something that sucks up these pesky prowlers. After all, he s the chief executive officer and co-founder of irobot, makers of the popular Roomba vacuum. From there, Colin teamed up with a whole slew of partners including his wife s company, Science From Scientists. About 18 months later, the Guardian LF1 was born. In a nutshell, here s how it works: The robot, about threeand-a-half feet long, is operated by someone on the surface via a video game controller. With a camera attached, it s easy to spot a lionfish and briefly stun it with two 14- inch, low-voltage electrical probes. Then, it s suctioned into a containment vessel. One robot can snag up to 10 of the invasive critters before returning to the surface. R a p i d l y R e p r o d u c i n g The devastation being caused by lionfish to fisheries and reefs is already severe, but the populations of these invaders are still growing exponentially, says John Rizzi, RSE executive director. It is not unreasonable to anticipate irreparable harm to the Atlantic marine ecosystem if these populations are not brought under control. Lionfish hail from the Indian and Pacific Oceans and are wreaking havoc on reef systems from Rhode Island to Venezuela. The spiny, venomous fish doesn t have any natural predators in this neck of the woods. What s worse is the fact that females can produce up to 30,000 eggs every four days. The next phase will be to bring many devices out to genuine fishing grounds on fishing boats and learn real-world operational (Continued on page 6)

Page 6 Meet the Robot Sucking Up Lionfish by Sarah Sekula (continued) FCDA Donor The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving

With that knowledge, we will build the first commercial version ready to be deployed broadly and used daily to capture a lot of fish and bring them to market.

6 Page 6 Meet the Robot Sucking Up Lionfish by Sarah Sekula (continued) FCDA Donor The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association. (Continued from page 5) challenges, says Rizzi. With that knowledge, we will build the first commercial version ready to be deployed broadly and used daily to capture a lot of fish and bring them to market. The goal is for these robots to go on sale for around $1,000 each. In a few years, we fully intend to see thousands of our robots in operation predominantly by commercial fishing fleets, but also by smaller local operators who, collectively, will turn the tide on the lionfish populations, says Rizzi. In the meantime, RSE and crew are trying to up the consumption of lionfish with events like 11th Hour Racing s #EatLionfish Chefs Throwdown, during which leading chefs went head-to-head to whip up creative dishes. "If people start asking for lionfish at their local fish markets and restaurants, says Todd McGuire, program director of 11th Hour Racing, many industries will feel incentivized to come up with ways to catch and sell lionfish, cook it, and put it on their menus. Divers Encounter Basking Shark in Ireland By SCUBA Diving Editors Photo by Discovery.com Divers from the UCD Sub-Aqua Club got the surprise of a lifetime on a recent dive in Broadhaven Bay a diving destination on the west coast of Ireland. As divers Gavin Ó Briain and Davy Lynn were nearing the end of their dive, one of them noticed a silhouette of a shark heading their way. According to a report by Coast Monkey, the divers were experienced enough to recognize the figure as a basking shark. One shark quickly became two and these divers were lucky enough to able to capture the once-in-alifetime experience on video. When asked about the experience, Gavin said, It was without a doubt the most amazing thing I ve ever seen underwater and probably in my life.

Page 7 Diving with Blue Marlin and Oceanic Whitetip Sharks Photos and Text by Gerardo del Villar Once we were settled on the island, a boat took us to a certain spot in the open ocean, where the

We could see several recreational fishing boats in the zone, so we didn t have to wait long for the first Oceanic Whitetip shark to arrive since they re attracted to the boat motors.

7 Page 7 Diving with Blue Marlin and Oceanic Whitetip Sharks Photos and Text by Gerardo del Villar Once we were settled on the island, a boat took us to a certain spot in the open ocean, where the bottom of the sea was 2,000 feet under us. We could see several recreational fishing boats in the zone, so we didn t have to wait long for the first Oceanic Whitetip shark to arrive since they re attracted to the boat motors. Once the sharks were surrounding the boat, we equipped ourselves to go into the water. We realized the dives were no more than 40 feet deep, where the Oceanic Whitetips surrounded a small box with dead fish inside. We had to consider that there was no reference for us on the bottom and, as divers, we must maintain good buoyancy to not sink down or float up. Throughout the 5 days, the interaction with the sharks was spectacular and intense. We got to be surrounded by more than 7 sharks at once, always keeping our guard with 360-degree vision. These sharks live in the open sea, and due to the small amount of food and their curiosity, they could seize an opportunity to figure out what we are. Although this makes the experience intense, if handled with care, it becomes an excellent opportunity to take great photographs. We didn t just see Oceanic Whitetip sharks, we also photographed a tiger baby shark that was hovering the docks, which is considered a strange encounter. Without a doubt, however, the best encounter of the expedition and one of the best encounters of my life was with a blue marlin that measured more than 12 feet long. It appeared out of the blue on the last dive, and I felt my heart beating hard when I realized he was hunting and swimming close to us in an aggressive manner. He kept observing us as if we were his competition. I must confess that at first I was a bit scared, but I immediately reacted and started taking pictures and videos. At the same time, I was thinking I could not let this moment of great action pass. It lasted about 5 minutes, making it spectacular and unique. We came back from this expedition feeling grateful with the sea for the unique and incredible experience it offered us and more committed than ever to the long-lasting fight to conserve our seas.

8 Page 8 US Navy Recovers Cannon to Identify 200 Year Old Shipwreck By Associated Press PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Now that a cannon that rested in waters off Rhode Island's shore for two centuries has been raised, U.S. Navy archaeologists are hoping to confirm that the ship that sank at the site was a schooner commanded by a War of 1812 hero. In thick fog and heavy swells, the USS Revenge became ensnared in a reef off Watch Hill in Westerly in Oliver Hazard Perry ordered his men to jettison guns, masts and the anchor, but lightening the vessel didn't free it. It sank. The treacherous reefs, rocks and poor visibility kept the cannon and other artifacts hidden until That year, recreational divers from Connecticut, Charlie Buffum and Craig Harger, found what's believed to be the naval schooner's wreck site. Navy divers recovered the cannon May 24. It's the first artifact the Navy has raised from the site. Buffum said it was exhilarating to see the cannon brought ashore. "To see it finally break the surface after being down there for 206 years, it was just really, really cool," said Buffum, a brewery owner from Stonington, Connecticut. The cannon was taken to a conservation lab at the Washington Navy Yard to be desalinated and stabilized. It's encrusted with bits of sea life and calcium carbonate from the interaction between the iron it's made of and salt water. There are not many examples of early naval guns of this type, said George Schwarz, an underwater archaeologist with the Naval History and Heritage Command. The command oversees the identification and management of sunken naval vessels. "It's a tangible reach back through naval history," he said. Schwarz said he has a high level of confidence that the cannon is from the Revenge. Perry's career languished after the wreck until he was sent to the Great Lakes during the War of He's remembered as the Hero of Lake Erie for defeating the British navy. He was famous for reporting simply, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," after the decisive battle in Archaeologists will look for foundry marks on the cannon that could identify it. Even if there are none, Schwarz said they could corroborate the identity using historical documents. "There aren't any other U.S. Navy vessels lost, as far as we know, right in this area, and there aren't too many other armed vessels, as far as we know, lost here," Schwarz said. The cannon is 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) long and weighs over 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). Schwarz estimates the conservation process will take about two years. It could eventually be displayed in a museum. The Navy plans to continue mapping the site, but it hasn't yet determined whether any other artifacts will be recovered. The site is protected from any unauthorized disturbance under the Sunken Military Craft Act. Schwarz said he's grateful for the help of Buffum and Harger, who led the Navy to the site. Buffum said he'll keep looking for other shipwrecks, though he doubts he'll ever find something quite like this one. He's working on a new beer to celebrate the cannon's recovery. Harger, a retired industrial gas salesman from Colchester, Connecticut, said it still gives him chills thinking about the moment he and Buffum saw the cannon surface.

Back by Popular Demand! FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies!

100% polyester performance fleece - Quarter zip

front pockets - Rib knit hem and cuffs / Draw string

$35.00 Graphite grey shown - Cotton/Polyester blend -

00 Also available with long sleeves (not shown) $30.

9 Back by Popular Demand! FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies! Page 9 Get your FCDA Tee Shirts and Hoodies with a high quality embroidered FCDA logo on the front and an embroidered dive flag on the back. Available in sizes from Small to 3XL. Gildan Heavy Cotton T-Shirt The Endurance Poly Hoodie 100% polyester performance fleece - Quarter zip pullover for easy on and off - Mesh lined hood and front pockets - Rib knit hem and cuffs / Draw string in hood- Grey/Black or Grey/Red Adult Sizes SM - 3XL $35.00 Graphite grey shown - Cotton/Polyester blend - Adult Sizes SM - 3XL $25.00 Also available with long sleeves (not shown) $30.00 Both available in choice of ten colors Hoodie also available in Grey with Red Insets. High quality embroidered FCDA logo on the front and an embroidered dive flag logo on the back. Available Colors for Tee Shirts and Long Sleeve Shirts

10 Page 10 FCDA Shirt/Hoodie Order Form Please note that all items are custom made and must be prepaid. Items will be ordered as soon as we have the minimum quantity for an order and will generally be available at the next scheduled meeting. Name FCDA Tee Shirt with Logo and Dive Flag No. Size $25.00 = $ No. Size $25.00 = $ FCDA Long Sleeve Shirt with Logo and Dive Flag No. Size $30.00 = $ No. Size $30.00 = $ FCDA Hoodie with Logo and Dive Flag No. Size Black $35.00 = $ or No. Size Red $35.00 = $ No. Size Black $35.00 = $ or No. Size Red $35.00 = $ Make your check payable to FCDA and mail to: TOTAL $ FCDA, P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT 06824

11 Page 11 Next FCDA Meeting Friday, June 23, :00 PM Coast Guard Cottage, South Benson Marina, Fairfield, CT Pre-Meeting Barbeque (BYOM - Meat!) 7:00 PM "Diving the Bloody Bay Wall" a presentation by Lisa Shark Girl Jarosik

M 2 The Presidents Corner

M 2 The Presidents Corner FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION June 2011 Volume 18 Issue 6 Inside this Issue Presidents Corner page 1 New FCDA Members page 2 FCDA Donors I page 2 Events of Interest page 3 FCDA Donors II page 3 Clambake