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Home , Rescue Diver, USS Oriskany (CV-34)

www.aquatutus.org Since 1955; now in our 64th year of & fun May 2019

Since 1958... a publicaon from the Aqua Not getting your club emails or Meet-UP notices ?? Tutus Diving Club, a non-profit organizaon established to promote and to Pay your 2019 membership dues so that you receive further the sport of . all the information on Meet-Up and club emails. MEETING SCHEDULE General Club Meeting: First Thursday Stay current with club activities …. of Every Month at 7:30 p.m. (except December, no meeting) Annual membership dues can be paid at any club meeting to the Board of Directors Meeting: Third Treasurer or Membership chair: $40/member, $10/associate, and $25/ Thursday of Every Month at 7:00 p.m. student. Those joining after Oct 1, 2018 are considered paid through (except December, no meeting) Location: 2019. See benefits here. Ricky’s Sports Theatre & Grill Dues can also be paid online at https://aquatutus.org/membership- 15028 Hesperian Blvd. application/ San Leandro, CA 94578

UPCOMING CLUB HIGHLIGHTS

June 22-July 6 : trip August 17: Club dive. & golf ball JUNE MEETING PROGRAM clean-up August 34-25 : Salt Point Club Dive week- Member’s Photo & Video Share Night end. MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW; see

ad on page 9. Sept 8-10: 3-day Vision trip to Channel Is. Share your own photos, videos, or segments October 12 : Full Moon Club dive at Breakwater. of interest with the club !!

For a complete listing of club activities visit Meetup or ATDC Event Calendar . See more details on page 12.

IN THIS ISSUE Entertainment Report ...... 2-3 General Meeting Minutes …………..…. 4 BOD Meeting Minutes ………………… 5 Other articles ……………….……...… 7 At our June meeting, we will have the first of two general meetings in 2019 Travel, Training, Events ...... 8 - 12 where club members can share their photos and videos. You can also Club contacts & useful links ..…...... …13 present anything that is dive- or marine-related, that you think other mem- bers might enjoy … it doesn’t necessarily have to be your own product. If you wish to share, please contact Jenn at [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS so that we can plan the event. If you can email or otherwise get your im-

Thank you presenters and newsletter con- ages/videos to her, please do so. If not, please come early so that we can tributors for making this Aqua Tooter possi- offload your images/video from a flashdrive onto our laptop. Unless you ble: Kari Klaboe, Alan Throop, Helga Mahl- ask us not to, we may use some images for the report in our newsletter. mann, Gayle Hudson, Debbie Driggers, Lin- da Phillips, Patti Shannon-Hocker, Jenn We ask that you keep your planned segment to less than 7-9 minutes . You Pechacek, Carl Rand, Arnie Warshawsky can narrate your segment if you wish. Segments will be shown by the or-

Thanks to Steele’s Discount Scuba for der of sign-ups to Jenn, so contact her ASAP . If we run out of time at the sending member candidates to Aqua Tutus meeting, we will defer remaining segments to the second member’s Club. Steele’s is located at: in November or so. 5987 Telegraph Avenue Please invite your friends and fellow divers for a program that we will all Oakland, CA 94609 (510) 655-4344 enjoy.

1 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

ENTERTAINMENT REPORT (All photos: by Carl Rand, except where noted ) By Carl Rand

(Editors Note: Thanks to Carl 1984, PGHC upgraded their facility to a much larger for presenting such a good multiplace chamber. This is the chamber in use today and has two sections: larger side for treatment, and a and informative program about smaller side which func- the Chamber, and for writing this excellent report. We also tions as a lock – allowing thank the folks who operate independent diving and ascent for transport of the Chamber for the benefit of food, supplies, medica- all the divers and other users tions, and personnel if on the Central California Coast. Our club donated $691 necessary. In 2014 the chamber was renovated to PGHC this past year, so we recognize that it’s an and recertified. It contin- important asset!) ues to operate as a freestanding facility, housed in the At our May general Pacific Grove fire station. We are staffed by an all- meeting, Carl Rand volunteer crew, including the physicians who are onsite presented a program during the treatment of any case. on the Pacific Grove Due to the unique cir- Hyperbaric Chamber (PGHC) and how hy- cumstances of any perbaric thera- medical treatment facil- ity, there are certain py is used in treating protocols that deter- diving injuries as well mine whether cases as carbon monoxide poisoning cases. Carl has been diving since 1974 and received a degree in marine bi- can be treated. At PGHC we are estab- ology from Occidental College. After working a few lished to treat emer- years as a marine research biologist and science gencies, not to provide teacher he pursued a career in business but remained active in marine science through his scuba diving and routine medical care (e.g. wounds). Although we are on sailing activities. He joined the crew of the PGHC in call 24 x 7, we are not staffed to accept walk in patients; and require medical referral which is typically from the 2013 and has been active as a recorder and operator local Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula on multiple DCS and carbon monoxide (CO) treatment (CHOMP) or . We are able to treat cases. patients within 72 hours of symptom onset; however, we Carl’s program covered a brief history of the hyperbaric do not provide retreatment or handle non-emergency chamber, an explanation of the criteria for the different cases. types of cases that are treated, the benefits of hyper- baric , protocols for receiving and treat- The three types of cases we typically treat are decom- ing patients, recent trends in DCS cases, how divers pression sickness, arterial gas embolism, and carbon monoxide poisoning. illness, comprising can respond in emergency situations where recom- both and AGE, primarily in- pression might be necessary, and safe diving practices volve scuba divers; however, we have treated military we can all follow in order to minimize decompression sickness (DCS), arterial gas embolism (AGE) or car- pilots who have experienced decompression symptoms due to cockpit depressurization. Patients requiring car- bon monoxide (CO) poisoning. bon monoxide poisoning treatment are typically from the The PGHC began general population. These cases often occur in the win- operations with a tertime and are the result of faulty, or poorly maintained, monoplace cham- heating systems. ber in 1966. In When oxygen is provided for treatment at those days, DCS greater than one atmosphere, it is considered a drug cases were treat- ed by recompress- and can only be administered by prescription. Prior to ing to any hyperbaric treatment, medical evaluation is ex- tremely important because certain conditions, such as 165 FSW on air, pneumothorax, are contraindications and would pre- and the cycle clude hyperbaric treatment, even in a diver who has could take up to 12 hours. AGE DCS. So as a diver helping to treat someone suspected Original Single-Person Chamber and cases could run as of DCI be sure to engage EMS and have the patient newer Multiple-Person chamber long as 36 hours. In (continued on page 3 )

2 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

Entertainment Report (cont.) Why would a military pilot get DCS? The aviation DCS cases that we have treated involve situations in which the evaluated at a hospital where more advanced diagnos- aircraft cockpit becomes depressurized. This is equiva- tics such as x-rays or CT scans can be performed. If the lent to a scuba diver experiencing a rapid ascent. So pi- physician at the emergency department believes hyper- lots are susceptible to the same conditions as scuba di- baric treatment is warranted, the patient will be trans- vers and are treated in similar fashion. ported to the chamber. Does the military have its own recompression facilities? At the chamber we will perform a secondary evaluation Do they make contributions to the PGHC? Yes, they do of the patient including a rapid field neurological exami- have facilities and the PGHC acts as a secondary facility nation. The patient receives their diagnosis from the for some military operations. We have been on stand-by physician and is oriented to the treatment process. for Navy diving operations in the Monterey Bay area, and Since we are a medical facility, we need to provide all have treated some Navy pilots for DCS. The military does the appropriate informed consent and other medical and not make a direct financial contribution to the chamber; insurance paperwork, such as HIPAA guidelines notifi- however, they do provide their own physician (flight sur- cation, that would be provided in any outpatient facility. geon) when we treat a patient for them. A crew of the least five individuals is required to run a How do you treat divers with carbon monoxide poison- case. There is always a medically trained tender within ing? CO poisoning in divers is treated in the same fashion the chamber with the patient, and an operator, recorder, as it would be for a non-diving patient. Our CO treatment and supervisor working the case from the outside. The tables take the patient to three atmospheres (66 FSW) for role of the recorder is to take detailed notes on all activi- the first phase and then two atmospheres (33 FSW) for ties and medical procedures that happen as part of the the second. This is slightly deeper than the treatment treatment. The operator manipulates the controls and depths for DCS, which are typically 60 FSW for the first ensures the safe operation of the phase, followed by 30 FSW for the second. The ascent chamber. The supervisor over- rates are faster for CO treatments (10 ft./min.) compared sees all activities and coordinates to DCS treatments (1 ft./min.). any specific needs between ten- What was the reason for the spike in DCS cases in 1989? der inside the chamber and the operators and physician outside. During the entire operation, a physician is present and responsible for all medical treatments and decisions. Upon completion of the hy- perbaric treatment cycle, the patient is returned to the Data: 1984-2018 8 emergency department for final discharge. For a decompression sickness treatment we typically begin by taking the patient to a depth of 60 FSW and providing three alternating oxygen - air cycles which can be extended if symptoms are not relieved. After the first phase of treatment at 60 FSW the patient is brought to 30 FSW for an additional cycle of treat- In the graph of DCS trends, you noticed that there was an ments. Ascent rates are extremely slow and controlled increase in cases during this one year. We don’t have a at 1 foot per minute. While in the chamber, the patient specific analysis explaining why the DCS cases spiked at receives their oxygen through a special mask system that time. Our records from that time are paper-based, referred to as the built in breathing system or BIBS. This and we are going to review the data to see if there are allows the patient to receive 100% oxygen during their any discernable patterns that explain the DCS case oxygen treatment cycle while the exhaled oxygen rich spike. We will report any information we find back to the air is vented outside the chamber, thus keeping ambient dive club. chamber oxygen levels at safe .

Is there a tender in the chamber with the patient? Yes, for every treatment a medically trained crew member During the presentation, several questions were raised (tender) is inside the chamber with the patient being treat- and we are providing answers to them here: ed. Working on the outside are the recorder, operator and What is the cost of these treatments? A typical DCS supervisor, who oversees the entire operation. A physi- case costs approximately $2,000 for facility and material cian with hyperbaric specialty training is present at the charges. There is no charge for professional services as chamber throughout every case treatment. all the crew members, including the physicians, are vol- The slides of the presentation have been provided to the unteers. PGHC will bill the patient’s insurance company club for those who are interested. directly or Divers Alert Network if the diver is covered by a DAN accident insurance policy. We highly recommend Editor NOTE: PGHC is a 501 (c )(3) non-profit. You can DAN insurance for all divers. get more information and donate at http:// www.pghyperbaricchamber.org/ . 3 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES MAY 2019 Reported by Debbie Driggers (for Secretary Gayle Hudson) • DATE : May 2, 2019 Facebook: No new report (Aug: 128 Members). Participation is open to the public. Meeting called to order by President Patti Shannon-Hocker at Rickys Sports Bar and Grill in San Leandro, CA at 7:33 pm. 35 Cencal : members present. • No report. See semi-monthly reports in Tooter.

Speaker: Carl Rand from Pacific Grove Hyperbaric Chamber Special Committees :

• Holiday Party: December 7 at La Cabana. Party planning Guests : Mike. long me diver referred by Jim Steele. And another will begin in August. guest, whose name was missed, diving since the 70’s when Jim was an assistant. Old Business • Treasurer’s Report (Helga Mahlmann) BOD Members at Large: will start accepting nomination in Club Assets: $6,256.38 May. Elections will be in June. Please talk with existing BOD • members if interested or you have questions. This is a good Classes = $2,178.21 way to get involved in the club, Members at Large are ex- • General account = $4,078.17 pected to POC one dive a year, they manage nominations Entertainment (Jenn Pechacek not present, reported by Alan and general elections in November, and participate in BOD Throop meeting. Nominations: Jono, Angie, and Larry the Elder. • May: Meg Donat, Pacific Grove Hyperbaric Chamber See Job Descriptions in this newsletter. • June: Member’s Night #1, 2019 • Ricky’s would like to have a poster or some other imagery of • July 11 **NOTE DATE CHANG**: Josh Russo, Purple Ur- our group in the meeting room. Diving is a sport and Ricky’s chin Removal Project is a sports bar! • • August: Neil Benjamin, Cavern and Members are encouraged to attend BOD meetings.

• September: Chris Eng – Climate Change and the Impact on New Business Marine Ecology. CANCELLED, TBD. • None • October: Alison Young, Cal Academy – Citizen Scientists • November: Member’s Night #2, 2019 General If you have any requests or suggestions for future entertain- • The BOD would like to encourage visiting more different dive ment, let us know at [email protected] sites. If you don’t want to POC a dive but have a new spot

Membership and Meetup (Kat Smith, not present) you’d like to try out, please tell a member of the BOD and they will look into scheduling. • Membership: NO REPORT • • 2019 Dues are due. Anyone who joined in October will be Check will be starting up again soon for the coming year. Talk to Dave Chervin. covered for 2019 dues. • • Meetup : Participation is limited to club members. Meetup Jono brought yummy cupcakes to celebrate Dennis’s (and instructions are available on our website. Kari’s and Debbie’s) birthdays. Thanks Jono!!!!

Dive reports Training (Dennis Hocker) - See ads in this newsletter • Club Dive/snorkel – wonderful but cold. Alan reports he was • AOW: Will be held August. Must do 3-5 club dives prior to diving in new gear and had trouble with . Jen was joining the class. there to save the day. • NAUI Training Assistant program: check with Neil for prereq- • Neil has gotten back into the pool after his hip replacement. uisites. • Dave Chervin and Bill Briscoe received a recerti- • class: this September or October if enough fication. Off of Aquarium Reef they counted 200 purple ur- interest (CPR and O2-Provider required). chins along a five meter line. • If there is interest in any other training, let Dennis know. For more information on training, contact Dennis Hocker at 510- Bone & Good Buddy awards 792-5606 [email protected] or Neil Benjamin at 510- • Dennis left his at home when packing for the snorkel, 673-0073 [email protected] . even after Patti asked him about it a couple of times. • Matt realized during the walk to MacAbee that he didn’t have Newsletter (Alan Throop) his gloves. AND when it’s time for a dive he can’t attach his Contact Alan Throop at [email protected] if you are power inflator and they had to get him a loaner. not receiving the newsletter. Input due by the 20th of the • Bone Winner: Dennis! month. Content on any material of diver interest is always welcome; Upcoming Activity and Dives dive reports and photos are encouraged. 2019 Webmaster (Kari Klaboe, not present) • May 4-5, 2019 - Long Beach Scuba Show The website is up to date and current newsletter posted. Con- • May 18— Club Dive. Copper Roof House at 9am. POC is tent can be sent to [email protected] . Patti. Meet at Black Bear at 7:30am for breakfast. • Social Media (Gayle Hudson) May 18-19 – Purple Urchin Removal at Ocean Cove. DFW (continued on page 6) 4 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES MAY 2019 Reported by Gayle Hudson, Secretary

Date : May 16, 2019 • Jenn reviewed the website and the membership form text Meeting called to order by Vice President Devin Martinez-Shin should be updated. Jenn will also look into the option of hav- at Ricky’s Sports Theater and Grill in San Leandro, CA at 7:03 ing the “submit” button on the website redirect people to the pm ATDC square page. • Kari will be in Chuuk in June, so the June PDF newsletter Present: 8 members present, with 2 guests. will go out at the end of the month, as usual, with Jenn help- ing. The newsletter content will be added to the club website Treasurer’s Report (Helga Mahlmann) in July when Kari returns. Jenn will coordinate the Mailchimp • Club Assets: $6,137.67 distribution for that month and will work with Alan. • CenCal dues ($465) to be paid. • One new member joined in May. Cencal no report Membership & Meetup (Kat Smith, not present) Special Committees • No report • The Holiday Party is December 7, 2019 and work will begin in the • 2019 Dues are due. Anyone who joined in October will be fall to organize all the details. covered for 2019 dues. • Meetup : Participation is limited to club members. Meetup Old Business instructions are available on our website. • The club is working with Ricky’s Sports Theatre and Grill to

create a poster identifying our club. The club will try to Social Media (Gayle Hudson) schedule a group photo for the second members night in • Facebook : W ith approval, is open to public participation. November. • Board Member at Large elections will take place in June, Entertainment (Jenn Pechacek) with the elections in June. • Hyperbaric Chamber. Meg Donat is unable to attend. • Dennis floated the idea of changing the start time of the • June: 2019 Member’s Night #1 General Meeting to 7 pm. The Board decided that this can • July: Josh Russo, Purple Urchin Removal Project be discussed at the July general meeting. • August: Neil Benjamin, Cavern diving • Recommendations for club dives – Linda suggested more • September: TBD boat dives. Devin is going to research a club boat dive. • October: Alison Young, Cal Academy, Citizen Science & Tidepool photography. New Business • November: 2019 Member’s Night #2 • Kari reported that Larry recommended we have a back-up • December: No meeting; holiday party, December 7 date for club dives if conditions aren’t good and we have to cancelled the scheduled dive day. The Board discussed and

Training (Dennis Hocker) all agreed that a back-up date may complicate things too • Advanced Open Water (AOW) class is scheduled for August. much. We do have a platform (Meetup) for club members to Dennis has received payment from two students. The cost find dive buddies, so we will continue to recommend using for ATDC members is $150. All class dates will be posted to that. • the website. The perquisite is three club dives We are in need of club dives for June, July, September, and • Rescue will follow AOW in September. Pre- November. requisites for Rescue Diver are AOW, CPR/AED, and O2 • July and September there will be urchin removal dives. Provider. • Helga will schedule another tour of the hyperbaric chamber. If you have interest in these or any other training classes, please contact Dennis at: [email protected] . Upcoming Activities For more information on training contact Dennis Hocker at • June 22-July 6: Chuuk Lagoon 2019. The waiting list is open (510) 792-5606 [email protected] or Neil Benjamin at as all spots are sold out. (510) 673-0073 [email protected] . • August 17: Club Snorkel & gold ball cleanup in shallow wa- ter. POC is Gayle. Newsletter (Alan Throop, not present) • • August 23-25: Club Dive Weekend – Salt Point No report Campgrounds (reserve your spots!); POC, Debbie Driggers. • Contact Alan at [email protected] if you are not re- • Sept 8-10: 3-day Channel Islands dive trip on live-aboard ceiving the newsletter or to provide reports, photos, etc. In- Vision; POC: Alan Throop put is due by the 20th of the month. • • We’re always looking for input from members on dive re- October 12: Full Moon Club Dive at Breakwater. POC: DL ports, photos, dive safety, marine conservation, ecology/ Popplewell. biology, research, local organizations, travel, etc to share. 2020 • May 8-18: Maumere, Komodo, & Bima, Indonesia - Webmaster (Kari Klaboe) Aboard the Explorer Adventure Blue Manta. POC: Dennis • We’re always looking for content. Content can be sent to Hocker.. Spots are going fast; sign up now. mailto:[email protected] . ( continued on page 6) 5 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

May General Meeting Report (cont.) May BOD Minutes Report ( cont.)

and Reef Check report a noticeable difference in the amount 2021 of kelp and healthy abalone. See DL for info. • July : Dennis is looking into a trip to Bonaire. Let him know if • June 22-July6: Chuuk Lagoon 2019 – The waiting list is open you have any interest – all spots are sold out • August 24-25, 2019 - Salt Point Club Dive weekend: POC Next Meetings Debbie Driggers. Reservations can now be made. Muths • Next General Membership meeting: June 6, 2019 have reserved sites 51 & 53 in Woodside campground, Friday • Next Board of Directors meeting: June 20, 2019. thru Sunday. See ad in this Tooter. • September 8 -12 – VDM Channel Islands Dive aboard the live Meeting Adjourned : 7:46 pm by Devin Martinez-Shinn -aboard boat Vision. POC is Alan Throop. See ad in Tooter. • December 21– January 4: 6th Annual Holiday Trip. Patti will arrange hotels; contact her for space.

2020 • May 8-18: Maumere, Komodo, & Bima, Indonesia - Aboard Bone Award — May meeting the Explorer Adventure Blue Manta. POC: Dennis Hocker.. Spots are going fast; sign up now. The highly-coveted Bone Award is meant in fun, but 2021 also to be a dive-learning ex- • July : Dennis is looking into a trip to Bonaire. Let me know if perience, to remind us of you have any interest See ad in this Tooter. what NOT to do.

Next Meetings The winner this month was • May 16: BOD Dennis Hocker. Dennis left • June 6: Next General Membership meeting. his wetsuit at home when • June 20: BOD packing for the snorkel, even • July 11: General Meeting ***NOTE DATE CHANGE*** after Patti asked him about it a couple of times. Meeting Adjourned : 9:16 pm

Upcoming Board-Member-at-Large Nominations & Election - in June Meeting Aqua Tutus is looking for members who are interested in getting more involved with the club but maybe not to the extent of running meetings, handling membership, taking meeting minutes, or handling the money. Board Member at Large (BMAL) might be what you’re looking for. There are three openings available to replace the current BMALs. The term runs from July 1, 22019 through June 30, 2020. Nominations open at the May 2 general meeting, then again at the June 7 meeting with election following. The duties are minimal but play an important role in our club: • Interface with members and help greet guests at meetings. • Attend club meetings - General Meeting on the 1 st Thursday of every month (except December, no meeting). - Board of Directors meeting on the 3 rd Thursday of every month (except December). • Nomination committee for club elections (BMAL in June / Officers in November) - Compile slate of nominees and present at the general meeting the month prior to elections. - Create ballots and have writing instruments at the meeting for the elections. - Count ballots. • Plan at least one club dive per year. Be point of contact, post dive on MeetUp, provide info to the Entertainment Chair to include in Upcoming Events/Dives. This does not mean one has to lead the dive, set up buddy teams, or even get in the water. The best part is becoming a member of the board of directors of the best dive club in the Bay Area and see- ing what really goes on at BOD meetings!! Seriously, we’d love to get some new members on the board to help bring in new ideas to help the club stay fresh and interesting. So, if you’d like to volunteer, contact any board member (see “contact us” on the website) OR, vol- unteer yourself for nominate someone who you think would like to participate before we vote at the June meeting.

6 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

Technical Diving Fun … Episode 1 monthly pizza and beer. If I was hooked before, now I was by Arnie Warshawsky (photos provided by Arnie) reeled in.

I should point out that taking training with Dennis is very (Editor’s note: Arnie has offered to write a series of articles on different from taking training at a dive shop. It isn’t a business his experience with . Dennis has trained a num- to him. He truly wants to help divers find the skill level with ber of club members and others for this, and has opened up which they are comfortable. When you finish one class with some wonderful experiences that combine both technical and Dennis and ask him to teach the next class in the sequence during his trips abroad. he gently refuses, suggesting instead that you simply go Arnie is part of the Aqua Tutus contingent that now lives in diving to internalize the newly-learned skills. It was an Hawaii. Enjoy his perspective on this! ) example I would never forget.

How It All Began… By this time, I was imagining how cool it would be to dive on shipwrecks in general, and particularly on an aircraft carri- I admit it. I like to dive deep just for the vicarious thrill of it. er, an idea that became a bucket-list entry in my mind. Then, Really, though, that should not be your reason. Much better the only at a reasonable diving depth was the motivation is if there is a wreck that you want to see or a cave USS Saratoga. In 1946, after service in World War II, the Sara you want to explore. The purpose of this periodic (I hope) col- was assigned to the Operations Crossroads nuclear test se- umn is to share some of my thinking about and experiences in ries. She survived the first nuclear test but sunk a month later the world of technical diving. But before I launch into this top- after the second test (an underwater explosion code-named ic, let me briefly tell you how it all began. Baker). Her history presented a coincidental tie-in with my then job at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The My wife and I lived in Monterey during 1971-73; I was go- Sara sits upright at 175 feet to the sand. Way beyond recrea- ing to graduate school at the US Naval Postgraduate School. tional limits. Whenever we drove through Monterey and Pacific Grove we would see all these people (mostly guys) changing into or out of heavy neoprene along the side of the road. I was intrigued, but when I inquired about learning how to dive I was, incor- rectly, told that since I have a hearing loss I would not be ac- cepted for diver training. I chalked that up to a simple case of you can’t always get what you want.

Fast forward 22 years. We were visiting Hawai’i for one of my wife’s projects. I planned to go . Her colleague suggested I take an Intro to Diving experience instead of just snorkeling. I told him what I had been told years earlier. He told me that I had been misinformed and helped me arrange an intro course, which is now known as Discover Scuba Div- ing. So I went on several dives and loved everything about them. My instructor suggested that after I went home I should find a local dive shop and get certified. I completed my Open USS Saratoga (CV-3) enroute in 1945. US Navy photo 1 Water Diver training in March 1996, just a month shy of my 50 th birthday. I was hooked. In rapid succession—maybe too Recall that I mentioned earlier my wife’s insistence on me rapid—I took the Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver doing things safely. This meant I would need to be trained to classes. Down inside I wanted more. My smarter half, who dive deeper than recreational dive limits if I were to check off generally thinks diving is crazy, supported my budding diving that bucket-list entry. By then I knew that Dennis taught tech- addiction but insisted that I do so safely—she didn’t want to nical diving. Well, one thing led to another and I eventually become a widow. Her attitude propelled me to seek out more found myself in Dennis’ living room as a half of an intimate scuba training. I became a scuba class junkie. dive training class—Mark Johnson and I—beginning the tech- nical diver training sequence. So that is why, in 1997, John Woodworth, a dive buddy of mine and a member of Aqua Tutus, introduced me to Dennis Hocker, who reportedly taught some of the more advanced 1The USS Saratoga (CV-3), a Lexington-class ship, was built diving classes. After talking with Dennis a bit, he, not willing to during the 1920s. Originally designed as a battlecruiser, she take on an unknown quantity as a student, invited me to go on was converted into an aircraft carrier during construction to a dive with him at the Breakwater. After passing muster with comply with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. She was Dennis, he agreed to take me on as a student. I took IANTD commissioned in 1928, one month before her sister ship, the USS Lexington, and thus became the first ship built to be an Enriched Air Diver and Deep Diver training with him. While aircraft carrier to enter the US Navy active fleet. The HMS Her- these are not technical diving classes, they do set the stage mes (R-12), a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier, was sunk by for for more advanced training, plus your instructor gets to Japanese off Sri Lanka in April 1942. She sits on her evaluate your water skills to decide if you make a good candi- side at about 180 feet. The Hermes was not located until 2002 date for technical diving before hand. Technical diving is not and not dived on until after the civil war in Sri Lanka ended in for everyone! 2009. The USS Oriskany (CV-34), at 911 feet long, is currently the world’s largest . Put down in 2006 the ‘Mighty I also joined Aqua Tutus. Wow! Lots of people who liked O’ sits upright in 212 feet of water 25 miles off Pensacola. to go diving and sharing all kinds of stuff about diving. Plus Continued on page 8

7 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

Technical Diving Fun … Episode 1 (cont.) Training & Growth Opportunities !! So what does ‘technical diving’ mean? Technical diving is an offshoot of normal recreational diving where the recreational limits of maximum dive depth and dive time are eliminated, freeing you dive as deep as like and as long as you like consistent with your training, equipment, and experience. But, as they say, there is no free lunch. To safely discard the recreational constraints, you have to do significant plus have the discipline to follow the plan. Shooting from the hip is not allowed. You also give up the ability to safely ascend to the surface at any point in the dive, which is a defining aspect of recreational diving. One important implication of this latter point is that you have to minimize the If interested in training classes (, DPR, DAN chance for equipment failures forcing you to the surface. O2 Provider, Enriched Air, Deep Air, other specialty), So the aspiring technical diver has to learn how to plan dives please Contact Director of Training, Dennis Hocker at carefully a topic that is only superficially covered during recreation- [email protected] al diver training, and be sufficiently mature to follow rigorously the • For more information on training, contact Dennis dive plan. Good technical divers approach their dives with the re- Hocker at (510)792-5606 [email protected] or spect that the dives deserve. In addition, since the ocean is a Neil Benjamin at (510)673-0073 harsh, demanding, and unforgiving mistress, the wise technical [email protected] . diver invests in enough redundant equipment to eliminate as many single points of failure as possible. Upcoming Diver Training Wow! Sounds hard. Actually it is not as hard as it sounds. With a good attitude and a good instructor, if you want to learn how to Club members are always welcome & encouraged go technical diving you can. In the next column, I plan to address to attend any classes or dives. technical . • There is potential interest in a skin diving class on the

North Coast. Contact Dennis if interested. • An Advanced Open Water (AOW) is planned for Sep- tember. Must do 3-5 club dives prior to class. See ad

in this Tooter . Contact Dennis if interested. PADI Advanced Open Water Certification class • Rescue Diver class will be held after AOW class if there is interest. CPR and O2 provider required. Cost

to club members will be $150. See Dennis. • NAUI Training Assistant classes in May & June. See ad in this Tooter and contact Neil Benjamin if interest- ed 510-673-0073. Cost to club members is $100.

Upcoming Open Water Classes

Available from “Original Steele’s” Dive Shop

Dennis & Neil will be offering an Advanced Open Water (AOW) certification class this Fall. “Jim wants to train competent di- vers who will become a part of the The current class schedule is: local dive community” … YELP • Wed Sep 4 Registration and academics 7 – 10pm • Tue Sep 10 academics 7 – 10pm 5 week class Tuesday & Wednesday nights, 14 hours in • Thu Sep 12 academics 7 – 10pm a pool, 5 dives in Monterey… a class that trains you for • Sat Sep 14 class dives diving in more-challenging California coastline. Divers • Sun Sep 15 class dives say if you can dive here, you can dive anywhere in the • Sat Sep 22 any make up dives world !

Upcoming OW classes for May & June are: Cost for club members: $150 for manual and certification fee.

• Classroom: May 21 & 22; June 19 Cost for non-members: $225 • Pool: May 28 & 29; June 4 & 5, 11 & 12, 18 If you are interested, please contact Dennis Hocker at (510) • Checkout Dives: June 23 & 30 792-5606 [email protected] or Neil Benjamin at (510)673 5987 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609 -0073 [email protected] . 510-655-4344 8 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019

Birthdays Galore !! We had three birthdays that we celebrated at the May 2 General Meeting. Dennis, Debbie, and Kari all celebrated their birthdays within just a few days of each other [though separated by a few years :-) ]. Jono was nice enough to bring some delightful cupcakes for everyone … THANKS, JONO. NAUI Training Assistant training Kari was traveling for work and was unfortunately not able to attend her party, so we had Neil stand in for her in the photo be- Training Assistant is a NAUI certification that allows low … it seems that Neil expected to get some extra cupcakes holders to legitimately participate in class situations to for doing that ! assist the Instructor(s), under supervision, but without Anyway, lots of fun and great cupcakes … and best wishes to requiring professional membership in NAUI, or the pur- Dennis, Debbie, and Kari !! chase of professional liability insurance, both of which are expensive and required for professional qualifica- tions such as Assistant Instructor, Dive Master, In- structor etc. However it does provide an opportunity to give back and help new students, and provides a first limited stepping stone for those who may eventually wish to enter the professional ranks.

Prerequisites (contact us if you have not completed these certifications as we may offer them in conjunc- tion with the TA class): You must be over 18 and hold the following certifications from NAUI (or equivalents from another agency). You must be a certified SCU- BA diver at the Advanced level, and also be certified as a Rescue Diver. CPR - First Aid / EFR is required Make your reservations for campsites and Oxygen provider is highly recommended. at our Salt Point Club Dive Weekend August 23-25 This is not an official Aqua Tutus class and is associat-

ed with Steele’s, but club members are welcome to attend, practice, serve as victims, etc.

The TA class consists of:- 1) a single 4 hour academic session covering the to students, "the loved one" concept, Standards and Policies and Risks as they apply to a T-A, the various skills required for presentations in class, in confined water and in open water, the things a T-A can do (under super- vision) and must not do. We will also discuss the path POC: Debbie Driggers. Reservations can now be made. onward to the professional ranks if so inclined. The aca- Muths have reserved sites 51 & 53 in Woodside demic session will conclude with a 20 question ex- campground, Friday thru Sunday. Make your reservations am. There is also an associated training booklet to read. near theirs now at https://www.reservecalifornia.com/ 2) a single evening pool session learning about student care CaliforniaWebHome/ and assistance under instructor supervision, skills practice and supervised demonstrations. 3) a single day at the ocean demonstrating skills in >>> SUPPORT AQUA TUTUS DIVING CLUB <<< "realistic" scenarios, and supporting students while assist- ing instructors. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible - zon Smile purchases to our dive club. Just sign up for the The timings are based upon satisfactory completion of all club at www.smile.amazon.com parts of the class, but there is no guarantee of success, fur- ther practice may be required in individual cases.

Academics and pool work are planned for April 10 (you can You just shop and our merchants give up to 5% back to catch up) and May 22,28,29. Ocean work on June 2, July our club !! Shop online, buy groceries, or dine out to sup- 21 . Pool makeup times are available July and July. Costs to port Aqua Tutus Diving Club … at no cost to you !! Just club members is $100 (excluding gear and gas, but includ- sign up at www.escrip.com ing certification). Club members are always welcome to at- tend academics, pool work, & ocean dives,

For further information, Neil Benjamin at (510)673-0073 [email protected] . NOTE: SaveMart is no longer on the eScrip list

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Interested in dive travel ? Sign-up NOW !! … let us know !! limited load … bunks assigned by date of signup Folks in the club are planning some interesting dive trips in the near future and need to hear from you if you CHANNEL ISLANDS LIVE-AOARD DIVE TRIP might be interested. SEPTEMBER 8 - 10, 2019

Dennis is looking into a dive trip to Bonaire in 2021 … a premiere Caribbean dive destination … easy diving, a marine sanctuary since 1972, so great marine life, and many topside activities. Contact Dennis if you are inter- ested at [email protected] . See www.infobonaire.com/scuba-diving

(photos: Bonaire website)

Join Vaqueros Del Mar Dive Club and other Toot- ers for three days of fun diving the Channel Islands aboard Truth Aquatics’ 80’ flagship Vision . A great short vacation and way to experience live- aboard diving in our beauti- ful west-coast ocean.

Send check (payable to “VDM”) to Bill Delameter 864 Alden Lane, Livermore, CA 94550

(or give to Alan at meeting)

DIVE CHUUK LAGOON in 2019 !! Questions? June 21—July 6, 2019 $Bill Delameter, VDM

Aboard the Odyssey, on Rodale's “the best live [email protected] 925-455-6834 … or -aboard in the World”. Alan Throop, Aqua Tutus

[email protected] 925-577-7876

• Limited load (< 32 divers; capacity 46 divers)

• Kelp Forests, So. Cal marine species • Fall conditions… warm(er) water • Great food, crew, & dive buddies • available (O2-clean tanks NOT required)

• Northern or Southern Islands TBD

2018 is the 75th anniversary of Operation Hailstorm • $600 per diver (non-diver: 10% discount) that sunk the famous WWII fleet. This trip has been sold out, but Dennis has a wait-

ing list. For more information contact Dennis via email [email protected] or 510-RxSCUBA (797- 2822 ).

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DIVE INDONESIA in 2020 !! Vol 25 May 8-18, 2020 April, 2019 Maumere-Komodo-Bima … and visit the Dragons of Komodo … ( Excerpt from April 15, 2019 email newsletter ) https://montereybay.noaa.gov/sac/advisory.html

Golf-ball pollution and clean-up at Pebble Beach

On board the Explorer Ventures Blue Manta...see https://www.explorerventures.com/indonesia- -diving/blue-manta-explorer-komodo- itinerary/

Package price $4,700 (based on payment by check)

• 10 nights twin share accommodations • 9 ½ days of diving • meals & snacks, park fees, • Port & Hotel taxes and transfers.

Airfare to Maumere (MOP) or from Bima (BMU) is ex- tra. Space is limited to 12. Booking deposit $1,000. As always will be filled on an as-deposit-received ba- See an interesting You-Tube video and read about the sis. science, political work, and clean-up that 18-year old Alex Webber from Carmel, California has done to address the There will be an option to add some pre trip / post trip problem of finding over 50,000 decaying golf balls off of extra days of Land Based Diving. Pebble Beach. She, along with her family, has brought this general problem, that was previously unknown, to For more information contact Dennis via email den- national attention and has worked with Pebble Beach to [email protected] or 510-RxSCUBA (797-2822 ). address it. See email link to MBNMS diver newsletter above and at the following links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch? Increased whale deaths this year v=EdW0ONqc8WQ&feature=youtu.be in Bay

https://www.treehugger.com/ocean-conservation/ (Excerpt from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/15/us/gray-whale- california-teen-collects-50000-rotting-golf-balls-coastal- deaths-trnd-sci/index.html , May 15, 2019) waters.html

https://www.theplasticpick-up.org/ Scientists are working to find out what killed a gray whale that washed up on Tuesday © Alex Weber, near Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, California. It is the The club needs your help ! 10th gray whale to die in the Bay Area since March. Join our Entertainment Committee and help by oc- The center found that found that four of the whales died from malnutrition and four others died from ship strikes -- including casionally writing reports for one whale that washed up on Ocean Beach in San Francisco the Tooter, controlling the last week. The cause of death is not yet known for a whale that laptop during programs, washed ashore on April 30. Experts have seen an increased contacting interesting peo- number of whales in the San Francisco Bay this spring. Biolo- ple, or in other ways that gists have observed that some were in "poor body condition," suit your interests. No long- possibly "due to anomalous oceanic conditions" which have term commitment required contributed to "shifting food sources." and a great way to get involved and help the club. The whales can grow up to 45-feet long and weigh as much as 90,000 pounds. They were once in danger of extinction. The Interested? Contact Jenn Pechacek at entertain- population has grown to about 26,000 and they were taken off [email protected] . of the Endangered Species List in 1994.

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Upcoming Club Events !!

.. See Meetup or call POC for CURRENT information ..

• May 4-5: Scuba Show in Long Beach. See ad. • May 18 : Club Dive at Copper Roof, POC: Patti Shannon-Hocker. 9am; meet at Black Bear at 7:30 for breakfast. • May 18-19 : Purple Urchin Removal at Ocean Cove. See DL for information. • June 22–July 6 : Chuuk Lagoon 2019: All spots are sold out. • August 17 : Club Snorkel & Golf Ball Cleanup in shallow water. POC is Gayle Hudson. • August 23-25 : Club Dive Weekend at Salt Point. POC: Debbie Driggers. Make your reservations now near Muths who have reserved sites 51 & 53 in Woodside campground, Fri thru Sun. See ad page 11. • Sept 8-10 : 3-day Channel Islands dive trip on live- aboard Vision; POC: Alan Throop. See ad. • October 12 : Full Moon Club Dive at Breakwater; POC is DL Popplewell. • December 7 : Club Holiday Party at La Cabana. 6:30-11:00pm. Mark your caladners! • December 21—January 4 : 6th Annual Cozumel Holiday Trip. Join us anytime during that period. Patti will arrange hotels; contact her for space. Cav- ern diving opportunities may also be available.

Whale Watching in MBNMS Club meeting dates for 2019 The sanctuary offers some of the world's best General Meetings Board of Directors Meeting

year-round whale watching! st rd (typically 1 Thursday) (Typically 3 Thursday) st hps://montereybay.noaa.gov/visitor/ (*not 1 Thursday) (from: MBNMS website whalewatching/ ) June 6 June 20 During the spring and *July 11 July 18 summer, n orthwest winds push the surface water August 1 August 15 offshore, replacing it with September 5 September 19 cold water from greater October 3 October 17 depths. These waters are rich in nutrients, fueling the November 7 November 21 growth of plankton—the December … No meetings. Holiday Party , December 7 basis for the sanctuary's rich marine food chain. Whales, dolphins, and seabirds con- centrate in the sanctuary to feed on an abundance of krill, fish, and squid supported by these intense plankton blooms. These SAVE THE DATE extremely rich waters are centered along the submarine can- yons that come close to shore—the perfect place for whales FOR THE CLUB HOLIDAY PARTY and dolphins to feed. That means you don't have to go out very far to see them. In fact, it's not even uncommon to spot whales Saturday, December 7 and dolphins from shore. Some species come here seasonally, La Cabana Mexican Restaurant such as grays, humpbacks and blue whales. Other species can be seen year-round, such as minke whales, killer whales 7163 Rich Ave, Newark and a variety of dolphins and porpoises. Overall 27 species can be seen in the sanctuary. Want to help this year? Com- mittee work will begin in Sep- Checkout: hp://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/ and tember. See Alan Throop. hp://www.gowhales.com/slstcurr.htm

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BIG ISLAND, HAWAII CLUB OFFICERS & CHAIRPERSONS KONA CONDO FOR RENT President Book now at this low price! Patti Shannon-Hocker ….………… [email protected]

June 29 - July 13, 2019 Vice-President Devin Martinez ………..……. [email protected] $500 per week + $14 tax One-time $50 registry Secretary fee covers one or all Gayle Hudson …………….……… [email protected] weeks. Weeks run Satur- day to Saturday. Treasurer Helga Mahlmann…………...………. [email protected] Contact Don Kel- sey 925-820-8362 Membership Coordinator [email protected] Kat Smith ………...……….…… [email protected]

Director of Training » Resort info can be found on The Kona Billfisher website . Dennis Hocker ………………...... …. [email protected]

Entertainment Coordinator Jenn Pechacek …….…..… [email protected] Internet Resources for the Bay Area Diver http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/swell/ Newsletter Editor Alan Throop ……………….…. .…. [email protected] Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary https://montereybay.noaa.gov/ Social Media Coordinator https://www.facebook.com/MBNMS Gayle Hudson……………… .…. [email protected]

Board Members at Large (BML) Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Myran Gist…………………… ……..…. [email protected] http://www.mbari.org/ https://www.facebook.com/ MBARInews?fref=ts Chuck Harlins …………………… …… [email protected]

“DL” Debra Popplewell … …………...… [email protected]

California Marine Sanctuary Foundation Webmaster http://californiamsf.org/index.html Kari Klaboe ………….……...…. [email protected]

Past President Pacific Grove Hyperbaric Chamber Kari Klaboe ……………...…. [email protected] https://www.facebook.com/PGHyperbaricChamber

http://californiamsf.org/pages/donate-pgh.html

SUBMISSIONS TO NEWSLETTER & WEBSITE NEEDED

Dive pictures, videos, reports, article, stories, envi- ronmental, and all things diving- and marine-related are needed for the website, the Tooter newsletter, YouTube, and social media sites. Visit our photo submissions page, send to the club contacts listed above, OR send to [email protected] .

NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

Submissions for the “Tooter”, both web- and emailed/pdf-newsletters, are due by the 20 th of each month. The Tooter is published by the end of the month. No publications in December.

13 | The Aqua Tooter May, 2019