TU UA TU Q S A

D I B V U IN G CL Diving the California Coast since 1955

June 2017

Since 1958... a publication from the Aqua Tutus Diving Club, a non-profit organization established to promote and to further the sport of .

MEETING SCHEDULE

General Club Meeting: First Thursday of Every Month at 7:30 p.m. (except December) Board of Directors Meeting: Third Thursday of Every Month at 7:00 p.m. (except December) Location: Round Table Pizza 20920 Redwood Road Castro Valley, CA 94546

UPCOMING CLUB ACTIVITIES

July 6: ATDC Social July 12: General Club Meeting July 20: BOD Meeting (New Location) JULY MEETING ENTERTAINMENT Club Dive: POC Kat Smith July 29: Larry Muth: Wakatobi Aqua Tutus member Larry Muth will show video he took at the multiple award- For a complete listing of club activities winning Wakatobi Dive Resort in SE Sulawesi, Indonesia. Marine life at this eco- visit Meetup or ATDC Event Calendar. friendly and luxurious resort are known for stunning colors and diversity.

IN THIS ISSUE Due to the 4th of July holiday, the July General Meeting has been changed to Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Entertainment Report ...... 2 National Championship. . 3 AUGUST MEETING ENTERTAINMENT General Meeting Minutes...... 3 Constitution & Bylaws...... 4 Member’s Night Our Annual Members’ Night is a chance to share your photos and videos with BOD Meeting Minutes...... 5 your fellow club members! Each member is allowed up to 7 minutes to make Useful Links...... 6 a presentation. Please assemble all your photos into a single folder so the presentation does not have to be interrupted to locate more photos. Also, carefully ACKNOWLEDGMENTS edit and select your best photos and do not include duplicates. Bring your flash Thank you presenters and newsletter drive to Gayle Hudson before the meeting starts so we can determine the number contributors for making this Aqua Tooter of members who wish to present. If you’d like some advice on how to best present possible: Jim Steele, Larry Ankuda, Helga your photos or video, please ask Jono Dove for guidance. Mahlmann, Alan Throop, Kari Klaboe and Gayle Hudson. If you would like to present photos or video during Member’s Night, please contact Gayle at [email protected] one week in advance of the August meeting. Thanks to Steele’s Discount Scuba for sending member candidates to Aqua Tutus Diving Club. Steele’s is located at 5987 Telegraph Avenue CONGRATULATION NEW BOARD MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Oakland, CA 94609 BMAL elected for the 2017-2018 term are Kat Smith, Jeff Doney and Larry (510) 655-4344 Dimitri. Contact them at [email protected]. ENTERTAINMENT REPORT By Gayle Hudson

Jim Steele: Dive History and the Evolution of Dive Equipment – Part 2

In January, Jim Steele gave members a , the Bay Area’s unique contributions to the sport of and showed us some early SCUBA equipment. Jim started part two of his presentation with a history of the BCD. He showed us a U.S. Divers backpack from 1961-62, a horse collar BC and an inflation vest like the type used on airplanes. Jim claims ‘they’ (or just Jim?) used to steal them off airplanes to use for diving! Next up was the Nemrod BC bailout system, created about 1963-64, with an attached bottle of compressed air. If a diver got low on air, he could reach down, rotate the bottle, fill up the BC and breathe out of the BC. It sold for $125.00 and was considered a high-end unit. Jim also showed us a barebones BC with an oral inflator, which Dennis said a diver had to be proficient with oral inflation to use correctly. It sold for $16.00.

Jim said, at the time, everything was happening in California in terms of dive equipment innovation. The Nemrod bailout system was found to be a hard sell, at a time when a diver could be completely outfitted for $300.00. Ed Brawley, who owned several stores in the Bay Area, asked Nemrod to remove the bottle and add an inflation valve. Ed named it a ‘ compensated device’ and the BCD was born. He paid Nemrod $18.00 per unit and sold them for $60.00. After two years, the technology was opened up to other companies.

More innovation followed with companies like Scubapro, SeaTec, SeaQuet, and Hollis adding their own ideas to the BCD design.

Jim mentioned Bob Hollis has sold his companies (Hollis, Oceanic, Underwater Products) to a company in Salt Lake City called Hirsch Sports. Hirsch has been buying up sport equipment manufacturers like Bare, Zeagle, and Atomic. Bob Hollis sold his Oceanic computer line to Lquid Air and has retired to Monterey.

Jim told us a new technology for dive computers is coming out that will look like a smartphone with icons. These computers will have a where the user can add photos and program the computer using their cellphone and Bluetooth. The units are expected to retail around $300.

The presentation continued with a discussion of the first , which were made from gas expanded G231 neoprene. On Wednesday nights, ATDC members would gather at Steele’s dive shop and hold a custom -making night, where they would lay out rubber, cut to size and glue the pieces together. These suits had no zippers and used an attached hood. Divers would powder up, slide in and stay warm because there was no nylon lining the suit. This allowed very little water to enter into the suit, especially at 90 feet. Jim said for warmth, look for neoprene with low compression; test it by squeezing it between your fingers. Jim said only two manufacturers make 98% of the suits, so suits are cheaper when you buy them without recognized logos.

Jim went on to talk about fins, regulators and masks. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the evolution of dive equipment and California’s unique contribution of innovation and technology to the sport of diving.

2 | The Aqua Tooter GENERAL MEETING MINUTES By Helga Mahlmann

Date: June 1, 2017

Meeting called to order by President Jono Dove at Round Table Pizza in Castro Valley, CA at 7:32 pm.

Speaker: Jim Steele – The History of Diving & Evolution of Dive Equipment Part 2

Guests: Chuck Lucas (new member)

Entertainment (Gayle Hudson) 2017 Jul: Wakatobi Resort, Indonesia – Larry Muth Aug: Member’s Night Sep or Oct: Clay Wiseman

2017 US NATIONALS • If you would like to present photos or video during Members Night, please contact Gayle at entertainment@ SCHEDULE OF EVENTS aquatutus.org one week in advance of the August meeting. • If you have any requests or suggestions for future Tuesday August 1, 2017 – Competitors Meeting @ 6pm entertainment, let us know! MANDATORY FOR ALL DIVERS – NO EXCEPTIONS – Meeting shall be hosted at the Little River Inn Treasurer’s Report (Helga Mahlmann) • Account Balance: $5,099.93 Little River Inn 7751 CA-1 Membership (Debbie Muth-Driggers) Little River, CA 95456 • 70 members, including associates and lifetime members. • Roster emailed to club members

Wednesday August 2, 2017 – Off Day Training (Dennis Hocker) • New Advanced Open Water divers – come diving! THE TOURNAMENT ZONE IS CLOSED • On monthly club dives it’s suggested we practice a dive skill. The POC can lead a discussion on the skill to be Thursday August 3, 2017 – US Spearfishing Nationals practiced prior to the dive. 7:30 am to 8:30 am - Sign in, Get Ready & Kayak Check on For more information on training contact Dennis Hocker (510) Beach 792-5606 [email protected] or Neil Benjamin (510) 673- 8:30 am – Competitors Briefing (After briefing, divers may 0073 [email protected] stage at the designated staging area) Newsletter (Lola Johnston) 9:00 am – Travel Time Starts (Official Time is GPS Time) • Lots of content and pictures in the Tooter. 9:30 am – Tournament Starts (All divers may enter water) • If you are not receiving a copy, check your spam or junk folder first and then contact Lola at newsletter@aquatutus. 3:30 pm – Tournament Ends & Travel Time Starts (All divers org for assistance. must be out of water) Web Goddess (Lola Johnston) 4:00 pm – All divers must be back “Inside” the staging area • Looking for a club member who has programming 4:00 pm – Tournament Weigh In begins experience to help develop forms for our website. We would like to integrate payment of club dues on our website, instead of sending members to Square. Please Friday August 4, 2017 – US Spearfishing Nationals contact Lola at [email protected] if you can help. Banquet & Awards Ceremony @ 5pm • A link to Amazon Smile is located on the bottom right of Little River Inn our website. If you click that link and use the Amazon Smile page for AT to make your Amazon purchases, the club will 7751 CA-1 receive a percentage of the purchase as a donation. Little River, CA 95456 Social Media (Gayle Hudson) • Facebook: Participation is open to the public. » Complete details and rules can be found on the CenCal • Meetup: 88 members. Participation is limited to club Spearfishing website. members. • YouTube: We are looking for more video uploads and

June 2017 | 3 recommend the video length be five to eight minutes. dive club – contact Alan Throop September 29-October 1: Salt Point – POC Nancy Gearty Old Business November 11-18: Roatan Island, Honduras – contact Nancy Constitution & Bylaws: Gearty • A member noted that Sections 3 & 4 in the revised December 21-January 6: , Mexico trip – contact Patti documents were inconsistent and a quorum was not Shannon defined. Member discussed this issue at length. Motion made by Jim Driggers to accept the revised 2018 • Constitution & Bylaws as is. Seconded by Larry Muth. June 28-July 8: Papua New Guinea – contact Dennis Hocker Motion passed. • Motion made by Larry Dimitri that a quorum is most of the Meetings Aqua Tutus board (plus present club members). Seconded Next Membership meeting: July 12, 2017 by Alan Throop. Motion passed. Next BOD meeting: June 15, 2017 BMALS: • Call for nominations for At-Large members was opened at Meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm. the start of the meeting. No additional nominations were provided. Nominees: Kat Smith, Jeff Doney, Larry Dimitri, and Myran Gist. • BMALS elected: Kat Smith, Jeff Doney, Larry Dimitri AQUA TUTUS DIVING CLUB New Business • June Club Dive: Few people are planning to attend. Some CONSTITUTION UPDATE noted Salt Point is having problems with abalone due to a At the June meeting, Oliver brought up an issue regarding virus and that Mendocino is a better place for abalone right now. BOD quorum. The only change necessary was to strike out • Caribbean Dive Trip: Dennis announced three spots are the word “present” in Article VI, Section 4. This clarifies a still available for the Caribbean dive trip. BOD quorum is a majority of members, and is needed to • New Meeting Location: Rik Cederstrom mentioned that call a special meeting. Ricky’s Sports Bar in San Leandro has a large meeting room and may be a better place to host club meetings. This change has been made and can be viewed here. Special Committee: None

Past Dives • Maui (Nancy and Mike Gearty): Lots of turtles and fish. • Breakwater, Monterey (Larry Muth, Debbie Muth- Driggers, Jim Driggers): Debbie’s BC was under GEAR FOR SALE OR TRADE weighted. 5´ to 7´ visibility along pipeline. 15´ visibility in Looking to advertise your gear for sale or trade? List it on other locations. They saw 2 crabs. our Meetup message board. • Abalone Diving (Susan) • South America (Fritz): Six months in South America. Two dives in Cabo San Lucas — cold. • Breakwater, Monterey (Larry and Jim Steele): Saw octopus. Free flowing regulator during dive — now has a new regulator. • Breakwater, Monterey (Jim Steele): Pipeline – flat with WHAT IS A “POC”? 15´ visibility. The “POC” is a Point of Contact for a club dive. • Check Dives (Dave Chervin): Breakwater and Pt. Lobos. Any member is welcome to plan a dive and put in on our Good Buddy Award: None Meetup calendar. You don’t have to be a dive master, or the Bone Nominations: None director of training, or a board member to do this. Any club Bone Award: None dive is done with the expectation that there will be people Upcoming Activity and Dives there to help. 2017 June 16-18: Salt Point Camping Weekend (Woodside » See our website for other Frequently Asked Questions. Campground) – POC Myran Gist June 24-July 8: Caribbean Explorer II, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Kitts – contact Dennis Hocker BEGINNING PHOTOSHOP FOR July 12: General Meeting date changed to UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHERS Wednesday, July 12 August 18: Silver Prince boat dive in Monterey – POC This and other tutorials can be found on our website’s Kat Smith tutorials page. September 9-12: Channel Islands trip with Vaqueros del Mar

4 | The Aqua Tooter BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES By Kari Klaboe

Date: June 15, 2017 members to review officer duties, set goals for the coming year for the club, etc. The board will try to hold the retreat Present: Kari Klaboe, Gayle Hudson, Don Kelsey, Jono Dove, the second weekend of November. Seconded by Helga. Dennis Hocker, Myran Gist, Debbie Muth-Driggers, Larry Muth, Motion passed. Jeff Doney, Sheila Doney, Kat Smith, Helga Mahlmann, Mike • Lifetime Member: Jono suggested nominating Apple of Barrett, Lola Johnston, Mike Barrett, Patti Shannon, Lee Smith Dive Paradise as a Lifetime Member and the board agreed. Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by Vice President – Patti Dennis will introduce Apple and the suggestion for the Shannon. lifetime nomination and the next general meeting. Kari to help coordinate nomination and biographical writeup. Upcoming Entertainment (Gayle Hudson) 2017 New Business July: Wakatobi – Larry Muth • New General Meeting Location: Rik Cederstrom scoped August: Member’s Night Sept or Oct: Clay Wiseman out Ricky’s Sports Bar near the Bayfair BART station and November: [TBD] he asked the board to check it out. The board decided to December: No General Meeting hold the next two board meetings (July and August) at the restaurant to check it out. A small subcommittee will also Possible Presentations: schedule a social the first Thursday of July to check out the Deep Reef Diving by California Academy of Science restaurant. Amos Nahcoum to present about his nonprofit Ocean Geographic would like to present on Arctic diving (contact David Buros) Upcoming Events 2017 Monterey Shootout Winners (Helga to provide contact) 2017 June 16-18: Salt Point camping weekend – POC Myran Please contact Gayle at [email protected] if you Gist; Myran will host a free diving pool have any requests or suggestions for future entertainment. practice in a 13 ft. deep pool at Oakland High (Park and 580). It will be held on Treasurer’s Report (Helga Mahlmann) a Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm. • $4,529.04 Account Balance: Contact Myran for details. Caribbean Explorer II, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Membership (Debbie Muth-Driggers) June 24-July 8: • 55 regular members, 7 associate members, and 9 lifetime Kitts – POC Dennis Hocker members July 12: General Meeting date changed to Wednesday, July 12 Director of Training (Dennis Hocker) July 29: Club Dive [location TBD] – POC Kat Smith Open to suggestions for dive topics for upcoming dives. August 18: Silver Prince boat dive in Monterey – POC Kat Smith Web Goddess (Lola Johnston) Channel Islands with VDM – POC Alan Website is ! September 9-12: Throop Newsletter (Lola Johnston) November 11-18: Roatan Island, Honduras – Contact Nancy Members Night announcement to be included in the next Gearty newsletter. December 9: Club Holiday Party Content is due by the 20th, email [email protected]. December 21-Jan 6: 14th consecutive Cozumel Christmas in Mexico trip – POC Dennis Hocker – Divers Social Media (Gayle Hudson) are welcome to stay for part or all of the Meetup: 54 members trip. Facebook: 88 members 2018 Special Committee June 28 – July 8: Papua New Guinea – POC Dennis Hocker • Holiday Party: Date for the 2017 holiday party is set: December 9, 2017. La Cabana is tentatively confirmed. Meetings • Constitution & Bylaws: Membership voted to accept Next Membership meeting: July 6, 2017 revised documents at June meeting. Next BOD meeting: July 20, 2017 CenCal The General meeting in July will be held on Wednesday, the No Update 12th, with the Board meeting the following week on Thursday, Old Business July 20. • Board Retreat: Motion by Jono that the board will hold an annual board retreat for the incoming and outgoing board Meeting adjourned at 8:14 pm.

June 2017 | 5 BIG ISLAND, HAWAII 2017 OFFICERS/BOD/VOLUNTEERS KONA CONDO FOR RENT President Book now at this low price! Jono Dove...... [email protected] June 15 - July 13, 2018 $450 per week + $14 tax Vice President One-time $50 registry fee Patti Shannon-Hocker . . . . [email protected] covers one or all weeks. Weeks run Thursday to Secretary Thursday. Kari Klaboe...... [email protected]

Contact Don Kelsey Treasurer 925-820-8362 Helga Mahlmann...... [email protected] [email protected] Membership Coordinator » Resort info can be found on The Kona Billfisher website. Debbie Driggers ...... [email protected]

Training Director USEFUL LINKS Dennis Hocker ...... [email protected]

Internet Resources for the Bay Area Diver http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/swell/ Entertainment Coordinator Gayle Hudson...... [email protected] Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary http://www.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov Newsletter Editor https://www.facebook.com/MBNMS Lola Johnston...... [email protected]

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Social Media Coordinator http://www.mbari.org/ Gayle Hudson...... [email protected] https://www.facebook.com/MBARInews?fref=ts Board Members at Large: California Marine Sanctuary Foundation Jeff Doney...... [email protected] http://californiamsf.org/index.html Larry Dimitri...... [email protected] Kat Smith...... [email protected] Pacific Grove Hyperbaric Chamber https://www.facebook.com/PGHyperbaricChamber Past President http://californiamsf.org/pages/donate-pgh.html Mike Barrett...... [email protected]

Web “Goddess” Lola Johnston...... [email protected]

SUBMISSIONS NEEDED

Dive pictures, stories and videos needed for the website, Tooter, YouTube channel and social media sites. Visit our photo submissions page for details.

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

Submissions due by the 20th of each month. The Tooter is published by the end of each month. No publication for December.

6 | The Aqua Tooter