Lessons to Be Learned Thoughts and Comments From the Secretary s Desk

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1 FAIRFIELD COUNTY DIVING ASSOCIATION April 2007 Volume 14 Issue 3 Inside this Issue Lessons To Be Learned From The Secretary s Desk pages 1, 2 Nature is All Powerful pages 2, 3 Lessons to Be Learned Thoughts and Comments From the Secretary s Desk "The mystery is why three experienced New Jersey divers, who died exploring a popular Florida shipwreck on Friday, did so many things carelessly wrong. (CDNN Events of Interest to FCDA Members page 3 FCDA Annual Underwater Easter Egg Hunt/Beach Cleanup page 4 Inaugural Meeting of the New York Underwater Photo Society pages 4, 5 First Phase of Ocean Preserves page 5 FCDA Member Ads page 5 Scuttlebutt page 6 Annual Kickoff the Season Clambake page 6 Just How Are New Wreck Sites Found? page 7 February Meeting Raffle Winners page 8 Chance to Win Free Trip page 8 FCDA Donors pages 8, 9 Dutch Springs - SCUBA Hours- page 9 Next FCDA Meeting page 10 The men were doing what is known as a penetration dive, going into the interior of a sunken vessel. Mark Coleman of the Monroe County Sherrif's Office said that the divers did not use dive reels, spools of line attached to the entrance of the wreck to let them retrace their path.... The victims also did not take enough dive tanks with them to complete the dive he said." (New York Times, Sunday March , Metro section p30) How does this happen? No wreck reels. No dive plan. Not enough air. Was the outcome ever in doubt? I hate reading stories like this as one of my greatest pleasures is exploring ship wrecks. I see this as a case of being your own worst enemy. Hubris is defined as excessive pride or selfconfidence; arrogance. Experienced North Atlantic wreck divers on holiday in Florida may very well have assumed that the diving was so easy that they didn t have to follow even the basic rules. Hell, the Spiegel Grove was sunk on purpose like a Disney Land attraction. How tough can this be with all these want-a-be wreck divers on all the charter boats? Let s take this tragic incident and make something positive out of it. Being keenly aware of and diving within your limits is of primary importance. Knowing that you have the proper equipment for a dive and that it is in working order is right up there in importance. A new dive season is upon us. So, before we get in the water what are the things we should address what is under our control. Gear Tune-Up Annual regulator maintenance Tanks VIP / Hydro BCD exhaust / dump valves BCD power inflator Dry Suit leaks Dry Suit exhaust / dump valves Dry Suit inflator You Tune-Up. Start to swim / exercise SCUBA refresher A day at Brownstone or Dutch U/W Easter Egg Hunt Fort Weatherall Squantz Pond State Park training Nitrox, Wreck, Deep The time to find out that your HP hose is cracked/leaking/split is now not on a dive charter 6 miles off (Continued on page 2)

2 Page 2 Lessons to Be Learned From the Secretary s Desk (continued) (Continued from page 1) shore. Free flowing second stages are not a sign that your regulator is tuned for easy breathing mostly it s a sign that your regulator needs its annual service. This is the time of year that I notice how heavy all my gear is. Getting to the gym on a regular basis isn t just a good idea for diving, it s good for you! But, remember there is no better exercise to get in shape for diving than swimming. Get in the water and swim laps! If you re allowed, swim with your mask, fins, and snorkel. And let s not forget to exercise our brains. If you have been in nondiving status for a year or so, maybe its time for a SCUBA review. Con- tinuing education is a good idea too. Get dry suit certified and learn how to make your dives warmer and more enjoyable. A wreck diving class will introduce you to the techniques used to safely explore shipwrecks. Add a Deep diver certification class this summer and even more shipwrecks will be within your safe diving limits. Nature is All Powerful Ranongga, Solomon Islands (Apr 7, :11 EST) The force of this week's Solomons earthquake has lifted an island in the South Pacific archipelago and pushed out its shoreline by tens of metres, exposing surrounding reefs. The remote island of Ranongga in the western Solomon Islands P.O. Box 3005, Fairfield, CT Internet mail: fcda@aol.com President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer 2007 Board Chris Bradbury Mark Shannon George Sharrard Paul J. Gacek used to have submerged coral reefs that attracted scuba divers from around the world. But since Monday's massive earthquake in the Solomon Islands, the reefs are now exposed above the water and are dying, an AFP reporter and photographer have seen. The AFP team, which travelled to Ranongga on a chartered outboard after the quake, saw exposed reefs bleaching in the sun, and covered with dead fish, eels, clams and other marine life. The 8.0-magnitude quake, caused by a shift in the Earth's tectonic plates, triggered a tsunami that killed at least 34 people in the remote western Solomons and left 5,500 homeless. Aid agencies have yet to reach Ranongga, but the AFP team saw the devastation that has permanently altered the geography of the island, 32- kilometres long and 8-kilometres wide. Although Ranongga escaped the fury of the tsunami, the seismic upheaval from the quake pushed out the shoreline by up to 70 metres, local resident Hendrik Kegala also said. "Plenty big noise," he told AFP in the local pidgin dialect. "Water go back and not come back again," he added, saying the whooshing sound of the receding water and the shaking Coral Exposed as Solomon Island Lifted Three Meters by Earthquake; 'Water Go Back and Not Come Back Again' from the quake occurred simultaneously. The loss of the reefs was a huge blow for the fishing communities that are dotted along Ranongga's coast, said Jackie Thomas, acting manager for Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the Solomons. "The fish from the reefs are the major source of protein for the villagers," she told AFP from the provincial capital Gizo. "They use shells for tools and rely on the sea for many of their basic needs. "It just shows the incredible force of the earthquake, to move a whole island." She said the reefs around Ranongga were a protected marine environment and locals had worked (Continued on page 3)

3 Page 3 Events of Interest to FCDA Members DATE April 29, 2007 May 26, 2007 June 2, 2007 June 23, 2007 July 14-15, 2007 July 21, 2007 EVENT Underwater Easter Egg Hunt/Beach Cleanup - 10:00 AM Registration, 11:00 AM - Dive/Beach CleanUp, 12:00 Noon - Cookout Fort Wetherill Dive - For more information divermel@optonline.net or call (203) "Kick Off the Season" Clambake - 7:00 PM 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) Nature Is All Powerful (continued) (Continued from page 2) hard with WWF in recent years to ensure that they were managed sustainably. "Now it's another marine environment that has been destroyed," she said. "Who knows if the coral reefs will recover and the fish will come back? Villagers will have to travel further to find the same sort of food and nutrition they've relied on -- the whole food chain has been disrupted." Reprinted from UnderwaterTimes.com

4 Page 4 FCDA Annual Underwater Easter Egg Hunt/ Beach Cleanup Coast Guard Cottage Sunday, April 29, 2007 Registration - 10:00 AM Water - 11:00 AM Cookout - 12:00 Noon Cost: Divers $10.00 (non-members) $8.00 (members) Non-divers $8.00 (non-members) $5.00 (members) Kids under 10 $3.00 Check out your gear for the year in a controlled situation - maximum depth 15 feet. Prizes, Raffle, Cookout with Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Beer, Wine, Soda - Donations of Salads and Desserts welcome - George Sharrard: georges00z@aol.com Inaugural Meeting of the New York Underwater Photo Society The first meeting of NYUPS was held on April 12, 2007 at the Rock Theatre in New York City. Organized by Jason Heller, Pasquale Pascullo, Larry Cohen, and Wendy Heller; NYUPS brings together people focused on Underwater Photography. ( Come meet new friends who share your underwater interests. Participate in monthly meetings, photo & video contests and exhibitions. Whether you are a novice, amateur or professional shoot wide angle or macro film or digital one strobe or two you ll be among friends at NYUPS. Presenting at the first meeting were Ethan Gordon (editor Fathoms magazine) and Doug Sloss (Photoshop guru). Ethan s presentation was centered on how to make your photos more interesting and therefore, more saleable. Using examples of his own work, Ethan illustrated how focal distance could be used to bring out well camouflaged foreground subjects. Additionally, panning with a moving foreground subject would blur the background making the infocus subject stand out. Sharks frozen against a blurred background stood out in frightful detail. Ethan also had an interesting tip on the use of lights. No, not strobes but the lights carried by underwater models. HID lights have the intensity and color to show up and not be washed out by the intense flash of an off camera strobe. Instead of pictures of divers holding lights that look like they are switched off HID lights show up like a Jedi Knight s light saber. The second presenter, Doug Sloss, did a live demonstration of Photoshop techniques useful for the underwater photographer. Personally, I love live demonstrations. I find them much more informative (Continued on page 5)

5 Page 5 Inaugural Meeting of the New York Underwater Photo Society (continued) (Continued from page 4) that a theoretical explanation of what you should do. Doug had four pictures that he used to illustrate problems and how to correct them. By the end of his presentation my head was swimming. Too much information, too fast. But I wasn t worried as Doug has put together a DVD with over 7 hours of Photoshop CS/CS2 tutorials geared to the underwater photographer. I ve ordered mine. Reprinted from ( First Phase of Ocean Preserves by Carolyn Marshall SAN FRANCISCO, April 14 California wildlife regulators adopted a sweeping ocean protection plan on Friday, the first such statewide effort in the country, intended to establish a network of underwater refuges. The plan, unanimously approved by members of the California Fish and Game Commission, will create a statewide system of connected ocean preserves where fishing and other human activities would be limited or banned. The first phase sets aside the waters along a 200-mile stretch of the coast, including tidal areas that fan out three miles from shore, to protect marine habitat between Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, and Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles south of here. Environmental advocates hailed the vote, with the Natural Resources Defense Council calling the approved plan a balanced compromise using high quality science. But commercial fishermen say the plan does little more than further restrict their industry. Just protecting part of the ocean won t work, said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen s Associations. We can t just restrict fishermen. We need to address pollution and acidification of the oceans. The effort to create the preserves stems from legislation passed in 1999, when Gray Davis, then the governor, signed the California Marine Life Protection Act. The new law required the state to establish fully protected ocean areas, ultimately along its entire coast, to help replenish dwindling fisheries, conserve biological diversity and protect habitats that scientists say have been ravaged by over-fishing and chemical contamination. These ocean areas are our underwater Yosemites, said Kate Wing, a policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group that supports the effort. To me, this is saving for our collective retirement, putting aside and investing now so there will be a payoff 20 to 50 years down the road. The first phase of the plan approved Friday designates 29 offshore areas for protection beginning as early as July. The entire protected area between Point Conception and Half Moon Bay would cover 1,150 square miles and offer some type of protective status to nearly 20 percent of the state s waters off the Central Coast. Of the overall area, 8 percent, or 13 of the 29 offshore areas, would be completely protected, forbidding all human activity. The remaining waters would allow limited sport and commercial fishing. Regulators have said the protection plan is scheduled for completion by The next phase sets aside underwater ocean refuges that extend beyond Half Moon Bay and stretch to Point Arena, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. Reprinted from The New York Times, April 15, 2007 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 As reported by the Captain of the Lockness 08April2007: Lockness went to the San Diego this Sat. the water was warmer then the air, water temp was 41 degrees air temp was 33 degrees that's just wrong. The vis was 25 ft. it seems that the top structure is starting to collapse downward remember its upside down. The middle of the hull is about 10 ft. lower then last year, its dropping and will close many openings. We were thinking maybe its the weight of the engines upside down all these years taking its toll? New London dive boat Atlantis is in the water and began its charter schedule April 14 th with a trip to the Volund. Sea Hunter III dive charter boat out of Freeport, NY will not be operating this summer. The boat is for sale. Very cool gear but not yet available in the USA. Scuba Pro s new Galileo SOL dive computer 4 gases, adaptive model based on water temperature, breathing and Heart Rate. That s right. It uses a heart rate monitor with a wireless connection to the wrist mounted computer. No decompression limits are adjusted based on your work load! And it has a built in digital compass. Not so cool gear. I looked at the DataMask HUD at Beneath the Sea. It doesn t really have a Heads Up Display. It s a mask with a small LED screen built in with a wireless connection to display current depth, elapsed dive time, cylinder pressure, and dive time remaining. Recommended web site for wreck diving enthusiast Lots of information and great pictures. 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 Just How Are New Wreck Sites Found? NOAA Finds The Volund In 2003 While conducting normal survey operations, with the primary mission of updating NOAA s nautical charts, the NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON discovered an uncharted 75-meter long wreck in 95 feet of water in The Race, Long Island Sound. vide excellent bathymetry (depth), they do not necessarily produce fine resolution imagery. To acquire a detailed image of the wreck, the THOMAS JEFFERSON towed a side scan sonar. Side scan sonars ensonify the ocean bottom at Local historians and archeologists have suggested the wreck may be that of the Norwegian Steamship Volund, a freighter that transported plaster between New York and Nova Scotia during the early 20th century. The Volund sank on September 9th, 1908, around 1:50 am, after colliding with the Fall River Liner Commonwealth in dense fog. All 15 of the Volund s crew were rescued. The wreck was initially located by one of the THOMAS JEFFERSON s two 29-foot survey lunches equipped with a Reson multibeam system. These hull-mounted systems measure depth a slice at a time by emitting a swath of acoustic beams and measuring those beams travel time from the vessel to the bottom and then back to the vessel. Although multibeam systems proan angle and record the strength of the reflected acoustic energy. The strength of a return depends on such factors as an object s roughness and composition. Also important in side scan interpretation are acoustic shadows, which are areas that are blocked from being ensonified (such as behind a shipwreck). Reprinted Courtesy NOAA) Figure 2 Figure 1 Figure 2 shows an image of the wreck acquired by a Klein 5000 side scan sonar towed 20 meters above the bottom. Figure 1 shows sun illuminated digital terrain models (DTM s) of the wreck DTM was created from Reson 8101 and Reson 8125 data.

8 Page 8 February Meeting Raffle Winners After a fascinating presentation by Steve Johnson, the Deputy Director of Tourism for the Island of Dominica, on the Island of Dominica the club held its monthly raffle to support our DAN sponsorship. The winners were: Dive Tee Shirt donated by New England Dive Center - George Krampetz, Wreck Reel donated by New England Dive Center - Dave Heady and our grand prize - a 7-night hotel stay on the European Plan valid from July through September 2007 at the Sunset Bay Club, one of the top beach-front resorts on the island and either a Kayak snorkel for two or kayak dive for two from Al's Dive Center - Mark Shannon. Thanks to New England Dive Center, Sunset Bay Club and Al's Dive Center 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 come out to FCDA events and meetings! Chance to Win Free Trip Scuba Diving Magazine and the Florida Keys are giving away the keys to adventure: a free week of diving in the Florida Keys plus a free set of Scubapro dive gear! Just a short drive from Miami begins some of the best diving on earth in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Discover why the readers of Scuba Diving Magazine continue to name The Florida Keys & Key West one of the top dive destinations in the world! The "Drive & Dive Sweepstakes" is a one-time drawing sponsored by Scuba Diving Magazine through April 30, Just fill out the form here to enter: contests_dd_fla_keys_consumer You can't win if you don't enter! New England's Tech Diving Center! New England Dive Center 476 North Colony Street Wallingford, CT The region's foremost source for scuba and technical diving gear, training and everything for the recreational or serious tech diver. FCDA Donors The business listed on this page has donated dive gear and dive services to help support the Fairfield County Diving Association Fax 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. 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 Dutch Springs SCUBA hours M T W Th F Sa Su April May 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 June no SCUBA 8:00am - 6:00pm 10:00am - 6:00pm 8:00am - 6:pm 10:00am - 6:00pm Capt. Noel s Diventures!! The Spirit of the Good Life! Nassau, Bahamas - May 24-28, Memorial Day Weekend Florida Keys & Key West - June 28-July 2, 2007 Freeport, Bahamas - August 2-6, Captain Noel s Birthday! Bimini, Bahamas - August 30 Sept 3 Labor Day Weekend North Carolina - September 9-15, Graveyard of the Atlantic! Bikini Atoll - Oct 20 - Nov 2, Dive the Nuclear Wrecks! 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, April 27, :00 PM Coast Guard Cottage - South Benson Marina - Fairfield, CT The Life of a Commercial Diver a presentation by Ron Bradley Atlantic Diving & Welding Fairfield County Diving Association P.O. Box 3005 Fairfield, CT Address Service Requested