Sea Swells May 2011

8/6/2019 Sea Swells May 2011

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sea-swells-may-2011 1/8

As I write this, an intrepid

group of TSSC members

should be returning from the

first Club trip of the year. They

went to Guanaja, one of the

Bay Island off the coast of Hon-

duras. I’m sure there will be

lots of great stories to be told

about their adventures. One by

one, TSSC is knocking off the

Bay Islands, having previously

gone to Roatan and Utila on

Club trips. I myself am looking

forward to revisiting Fantasy

Island in Roatan later this

year. I will be using a trip that

I successfully bid upon in the

silent auction at Beneath the

Sea.

On April 9th, as documented in

the April edition of Sea Swells,

the Club had its Open House at

the North Salem Firehouse

which was secured for our use

by Tom Butcher. THANKS

TOM!

Tabby Constantino and her

team put together a very suc-

cessful event using a pirate

theme. Both existing members

and potential members had agreat time enjoying the endless

supply of food which was pro-

vided by the members them-

selves. I would like to thank

everyone for their generous

participation at the event.

By the time this issue of Sea

Swells is published a few

events should have already

taken place. These include the

Run for the Wild on April 30th

ANCHOR LINE

ENVIRONMENT:Orchard Beach 2011

2

EVENTS:Vintage Dive FilmFestival

3

DIVE LOG:How Sharks Do It

LOOK:Run For The Wild!

LOOK:Scuba Reader

4

4

5

DIVE IN:2011 Dive Schedule

6

CLUB NEWS: ActivitiesSocial Events & ProgramList of Directors

7

SPECIAL EVENT:Whitewater Rafting

7

ON-LINE:UK Diving Record Attempt

8

MAY PROGRAM NOTES:Bernie Chowdhury

8

In This Issue:at the Bronx Zoo and the Or-

chard Beach Clean Up/

Barbeque/Clambake on May

1st.

I look forward to reporting on

the Club’s success at both of

these events at our General

Meeting on May 11th.

Don’t forget our upcoming pic-

nic on May 29. Bring whatever

you want to throw on the bbq.

We have a new location this

year and I’m sure everyone

will have a great time. Stay

tuned for an announcement

with the exact location.

On June 5th, the Club will

have a table set up at the Ma-

maroneck Harbor Fest so drop

by and say hello.

As most of you already know,

one of the Club’s most dedicat-

ed members, Don Reynolds, is

suffering from a severe medi-

cal condition. Bob Bak is coor-

dinating efforts by Club mem-

bers to assist Don with some

property maintenance issues

which he is currently unableto attend to. So if you can

spare any time to help out

with these tasks (painting,

lawn mowing, whatever)

please contact Bob to let him

know when or how you can

help. Don has always given

generously to the Club and the

community and we now have

an opportunity to show him

our appreciation and return

the favor.

May 2011

Welcome to the

May 2011 issue of

the Sea Swells Log!

Daytime temperatures are final-

ly on the rise around here. Some

of our members even braved the

still chilly local waters, like

TSSC president Nick Lappano

who insisted on—briefly—

proving his toughness by diving

the local 50 degree water in his

5 mil wetsuit…. Other members

preferred warmer water and

headed to a Caribbean destina-

tion instead. Warm or cold wa-

ter, club diving has begun in

earnest!

At the April meeting Alan Duck-

worth of the Blue Ocean Insti-

tute awed us with his experienc-

es diving in Australia without

becoming lunch for large fanged

predators.

The excellent program put to-

gether by Allan Rios continues

at the May Membership

Meeting on the second

Wednesday of the month! See

you there!

Visit Our Website At: www.thescubasportsclub.org

Activities Left,Right & Center

Well that’s it for this

month. I look forward to

seeing everyone at our May

Meeting and at one or more

of the upcoming events,

either above or under the

water.

Nick Lappano

President



Page 2 May 2011 Sea Swells Log

On Sunday May 1st, TSSC, togetherwith Captain Mike’s Diving and

Long Island Diver’s Association (LIDA)

participated in the Second Annual Or-

chard Beach Underwater/Shoreline

Clean-up. Afterwards there was a

Barbeque/Clam Bake.]

I arrived (way too) early at 7:30AM to

participate in the set up. Instead I was

greeted by a group pf undisturbed sea-

gulls where we had planned to gather.

I enjoyed a quiet Dunkin’ Donuts

breakfast and coffee with the sound of

gentle breakers heralding the great day

to come.

By 8:15 Captain Mike with his crew as

well as Bill Pheiffer from LIDA had

arrived to start

setting up. Dives

flags were put up at

strategic locations

to guide attendeesto “section one” and

alert any boaters in

the area to the

presence of divers.

Tables were set up

and all was made

ready to regis-

ter divers and

keep track of

their entry and

exit from the

water,

The first divers entered the waterat about 9:30 to search for under-

water debris and the land crews

started to scour the shoreline to bag

the detritus which had washed up

to the high water line, It’s incredi-

ble how much junk washes ashore and

scary to imagine how much garbage is

floating around in our oceans. The big-

gest item was a large rudder which

must have come from some unfortunate

boat which probably lies some where

beneath the surface of Long Island

Sound. Underwater the scene was not

quite as littered and most divers were

hard pressed to fill their mesh bags alt-hough some did manage to collect some

significant debris.

I dove in my usual 5mm wetsuit with a

“chicken vest” despite the 48 degree

water. Call me hardy or stupid, but it

really wasn’t that bad and I actually

made two dives. Of course the more

“normal (a//ka “sane”) divers were in

drysuits. In total, I believe about twenty

Orchard Beach 2011 divers entered the water

with thirty or more peo-

ple collecting trash along

the shoreline.

After diving we all re-

paired to the picnic area

where we enjoyed all

manner of delicious food

which was cooked on two

grills provided by LIDA.

We continued to stuff our

faces and quench our

thirst while trading tales

with both old and new

acquaintances, At about

3PM it got a little chilly

and the wind started to pick up so

everyone donned sweat shirts

or jackets and continued to

party until 5 PM when wecleaned up our area and head-

ed home.

Everyone had a good time and

we collected a significant

amount of trash to make the

area more enjoyable for the

public to use this summer. All

in all, it was a great day.

Nick Lappano

By

Nick

Lappano

Environment




EVENTS &EVENTS &

CELEBRATIONSCELEBRATIONS

Allan Rios has collected several films for our first ever Vintage Dive Film Festival, to

be held on Saturday, May 14th at 7 pm, at the North Salem Firehouse.

Those of you who attended our Open House Party in April will be familiar with the loca-

tion. If you need directions, please refer to the event website at http://bit.ly/tssc-movies.

The film festival is free of charge, however, advance RSVP is required at

[email protected]!




Ihave been fortunate to witness many

interesting things over the last fewyears, but my first experience with Leop-

ard sharks tops them all!

On a recent trip to the Maldives

(February 9, 2011) our first day of diving

from the live-aboard was the strangest.

Yes, I’ve seen rhinoceros mating at Six

Flags in NY. I’ve seen lions mating in the

Serengeti. But I never dreamed of seeing

Leopard sharks "getting it on"

during my first day of diving in

Maldives.

We were at Huvadhoo Atoll, div-

ing Meadhu Faru Reef. The

deepest I went was 82' down.The water temperature was a

warm 80 degrees. I did not check

the depth when I took the pho-

tos.

I noticed our group ‘gathering’

around what looked like a shark biting

something on the ocean floor. By the

time I got my camera into position, the

shark had moved away, and I saw an-

other shark lying on its back -- it did not

look like it had been eaten by the first

shark. I was surprised there was no

blood. All of a sudden, the bottom shark(female - as I learned later) flipped over

(it was alive after all!) and swam toward

me and away. The male swam off as

well. I had come upon two leopard

sharks as they were concluding their

mating ritual. Never did I imagine any

fish/sea life turning on its back for un-

derwater sex.

How Do Sharks Do It?

This trip was to celebrate my birth-

day which was the day of the leop-

ard sharks. What a surprising way

to celebrate!!!

For camera enthusiasts - I was not

as close as I would have liked. Used

my SeaLife 1200 on automatic.

Flash was really of no use because of

distance. We were at Huvadhoo At-

oll - Meadhu Faru Reef. The deepest

I went was 82' down. Water temper-

ature was 82 degrees. I did not look

at depth when I took the photos.

Martha Weissberg

Run For The Wild!

On April 30th TSSC Ran For The

Wild!!

Seven TSSC members formed a team and

ran/walked 5K to save the penguins. It

was a great day. We started the dat at 7

am at the Bronx Zoo. There were 552

teams, and 8,057 donors. The TSSC team

By

Martha

Weissberg

set a goal of $900 and thanks to all the

members and friends and family we

exceeded that goal and raised a total of

$1,205!!!!

I have never run or walked in a walk-a-

thon and found that it was a lot harder

then I expected, but we (Cindy, Craig,

Allan, and myself) did it in under an

hour. I am not sure how long it took

Joann, Jim and Bianca because they

ran instead of walked (kudos to

them). After crawling though the fin-

ish line we were all greeted with somegood food. There were lots of ven-

dors with all kinds of new "green" prod-

ucts. We were able to spend the rest of

the day wandering the zoo. It really

was a wonderful time and a very re-

warding day.

I hope that next year more people will

join us in raising money for the wild

life.

Tabitha ConstantinoNote: There will be another Run

for The Wild on October 9th at

the New York Aquarium! Vote for

your favorite ocean creature now!

Details at:

www.wcsrunforthewild.

org/nyaquarium/

By

TabithaConstantino

http://www.wcsrunforthewild.org/nyaquarium/






Like Allan Rios, who usuallywrites the Scuba Reader column,

I am always on the lookout for interest-

ing publications with ocean– or scuba-

diving related topics. Recently I came

across “My Sunset Rendezvous, Crisis

in Tahiti” by Ila France Porcher, and

because I loved diving in French Poly-

nesia I purchased the book.

Ila France Porcher’s book perfectly ex-

presses her love for wildlife, both in the

oceans and on land, and adds colorful

descriptions of island life. Ila’s illus-

trations are full of imagination and

emphasize her prose. The book is full

of humor and inspiring information,

yet also of heartbreak. The main part

of the book describes the author’s work

with the sharks of the island of Moorea

(one of my personal favorites). Her de-

scriptive writing style evokes the feel-

ing as if you were diving with her,

among the sharks she loves to observe.

The official editorial review says it all:

For years, the misconception has

flourished that sharks are mindless,

vicious creatures that we all should

fear and avoid. My Sunset Rendezvous

illustrates the little

known, intelligent

and kinder nature of

these wondrous ani-

mals. Through years

of studying the local

blackfin reef sharks

in Polynesia, author

Ila France Porcher

has made some intri-

guing discoveries and

has had some strange

and startling experi-

ences. She and a sci-

entific colleague, Ar-

thur A. Myrberg Jr.,

found the first evi-

dence that sharks can

think and the degree

to which they are so-

cial creatures. She also published a

scientific paper on the gestation peri-

od and reproductive cycle of the

sharks. When a company from Sin-

gapore began finning them in August

2003, she witnessed the devastatingresults underwater and sought to

protect her friends from this cruel

and wasteful practice. Through the

hard work and determination of

many wildlife advocates, the sharks

of Polynesia finally found protection

in 2006. I

France Porch

grew up in Bri

ish Columbi

Canada, an

now lives

Tahiti, Frenc

Polynesia. Sh

has spent muc

of her life as

wildlife artis

(under th

name of Ila M

ria), seeking

capture th

beauties of n

ture on pape

The connection

she formed wi

the sharks

Polynesia and the atrocities she w

nessed happening to them, inspire

her to write My Sunset Rendezvou

She is now working on her ne

book about wildlife.

Ila recently also wrote a blog on th

Sharksavers website, which may

found at this

http://tinyurl.com/6g9npxb

Enjoy!

Scuba Reader Foreword

By

Ruth

Emblin

Vintage Dive Film Festival - May 14th, North Salem Firehouse

http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/events/movie-night.html

First Annual Shark Dive Weekend Labor Day Weekend 2011. Fisherman's State

Park Rhode Island, http://www.riparks.com/fisherma.htm

Run for the Wild, October 9th, 2011

www.wcsrunforthewild.org/nyaquarium/

TSSC on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TheScubaSportsClub

TSSC on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/ScubaSportsClub



2011 Dive Schedule

Date/Time: Location Description Contact/Organization

July 17th Dutch Springs, PA TSSC Day Tom Butcher

July 21st—24th

(3 nights)

Lake Champlain (VT Side) Dive & Camp Camping at Grand Isle State

Park, so far we have reserved site T008.

Tom Butcher

Sept. 2nd—5th Fisherman’s State Park, RI First Annual Shark Dive Weekendwww.thescubasportsclub.org/dives/rhode-island-

shark-dive.html

Allan Rios

Reserve your spot now!

Aug. 14th or 21st Lake Tiarotti, Harriman

State Park

Details to be announced Allan Rios

Sept. 1-10, 2011 Fiji, Beqa Lagoon Resort A Taste of Fabulous Fiji

See details at http://thescubasportsclub.org/dives/

fiji-dive-trip-2011.html

Ski & Scuba Connection *)*) not organized by TSSC, however,

several members are booked on this

trip.

All dates and programs are subject to change without prior notice. For more details and updates, either contact

Tom Butcher or the dive coordinator shown, or refer to our website atwww.thescubasportsclub.org.

LOCAL DIVE SHOPS - AT YOUR SERVICEThe listing of local dive shops is provided to you as a reference and public service. For each shop’s specialty, dive training and trip programs, please call or visit their website.

Captain Saam’s Scuba

School

863 E Main St., Ste B

Stamford, CT 06902

Tel. 203-32 SCUBA

www.capt-saam.com

The Dive Shop

439 Federal Rd.

Brookfield, CT 06804

Tel. 203-740-9166

www.TheDiveShoponline.com

Pan Aqua Diving (2 locations):

460 W 43rd St., New York, NY 10036

Tel. 212-736-3483

and

461 Federal Rd., Brookfield, CT 06804

Tel. 203-775-3573

www.panaqua.com

Rex Dive Center

144 Water Street

Norwalk, CT 06854

Tel. 203-853-4148

www.rexdive.com

Cougar Sports917 Saw Mill River Rd.

Ardsley, NY 10502

Tel. 914-693-8877

Durland Scuba Committee

& School

Venture Crew #53

35 East Grassy Sprain Rd. Ste 204

Yonkers NY 10710

Tel 914-961-1263

http://www.durlandscuba.org


Aqua Visions Scuba118 West Boston Post Road

Mamaroneck, NY 10543

Tel. 914-381-1884

www.aquavisions.biz

Ski and Scuba Connection

26 Saint Roch AveGreenwich, CT 06830

Tel. 203-629-4766

www.skiandscubaconnection.com

2037 Central Park Ave

Yonkers, NY 10710

Tel. 914-779-2966

and

2672 Gerritsen Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11229

Tel. 718-769-0099

Captain Mike’s

Diving School530 City Island Ave

City Island, NY 10464

Tel. 718-885-1588

www.captainmikesdiving.com

Abyss Scuba

222 E Main StreetMt. Kisco, NY 10549

914-244-3483

www.abyss-scuba.net

Marsh Scuba Supply93 Lauer Rd.

Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Tel. 845-452-8994

www.marshscuba.com



TSSC MembersWe need Your Help!


Note:

Programs may change without prior notice. Seewww.thescubasportsclub.org for updates.

SOCIAL & EVENTS

2011

For details on individual events,please go to

www.thescubasportsclub.org

Date Description

May 29th ANNUAL MEMORIAL

DAY WEEKEND PICNICLocation to be announced.

June 5th MamaroneckHarbor Fest

June

18th/19th

Clearwater FestivalCroton-on-Hudson

June 24th

-26th

Camping/WW RaftingLehigh Valley, PA

July 17th TSSC Day at Dutch

Springs

Sept International Coastal

Clean-Up Day

Details to be posted shortly

May 14th VINTAGE DIVE FILM

FESTIVALNorth Salem Firehouse

Directors Meeting:

Wed, June 1st, 2011 at 7 pm, directors to

be advised of location

General Meeting:

Wed. June 8th, 2011, at 7.00 pm Victor’s Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

Rosanne Masone, author of Chasing the

Shark

June Program

Directors Meeting:

May 4th, 2011 at 7.00 pm, Amore, Ar-

monk

General Meeting:

Wed., May 11th, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Victor’s Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

Bernie Chowdhury on “ControversialWar Wrecks of Scotland’s Orkney Is-

lands/Scapa Flow”

See page 8 for details!

May Program

PRESIDENT: Nick Lappano

VICE PRESIDENT: Denise Kurz

TREASURER: Cindy Fisher

SECRETARY: Craig Thomae

PAST PRESIDENT: Jim Sacci

NEWSLETTER DIRECTOR: Ruth Emblin

PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Allen Rios

ENVIRO/LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR: Bianca Thomae

EDUCATION/SAFETY DIRECTOR: Ricky Bates

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR: TBA

DIVE PLANNING DIRECTOR: Tom Butcher

SOCIAL DIRECTOR: Tabby Constantino

DIRECTOR AT LARGE: Dan Levin

LEGAL ADVISOR: Robert Schrager

FOUNDER: Armand Zigahn

CO-FOUNDER: Soliman Shenouda

LIST MAINTENANCE: Ann Judge

Join The Scuba Sports Club

On Our Annual Whitewater Rafting & Camping TripLehigh Valley, PAJune 24—26, 2011

Camping at Hickory Run State ParkRafting at Whitewater Adventures

(advance booking required)

For details, please go to

http://bit.ly/tssc-rafting

As you know, your board of directors has been working hard to present you with the

best possible program, information and events all year round. Our primary concern is

keeping you, the membership interested and entertained, and providing you with dives,

outings and events we will all enjoy.

In order to better manage these events we need your help. In the future we will ask you to

send us an advance RSVP to let us know whether you will attend an event or not. This willhelp us gauge interest in our events as well as plan ahead in terms of food and drinks and

other elements. With your help we can avoid waste of food and materials, and make our

events and outings even better! So please look out for invitations on Facebook and via

email—and please RSVP! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!



British Army set out to find and divethe World War I British destroyer

H.M.S. Pheasant, which sank myste-

riously in 1917. This project was the

first of its kind approved by the Brit-

ish military and is noteworthy be-

cause it employed technical, rather

than commercial or military, tech-

niques. The team found what it be-

lieves to be H.M.S. Pheasant in 280

feet. Some of Bernie’s underwater

video taken on this project was

shown on BBC Scotland news. Other

dives in the Orkney Islands include

the controversial war grave H.M.S.Hampshire, which took British Sec-

retary for War Lord Kitchener and

his general staff to their graves in

June, 1916, at the height of World

War I. Recent British Parliamentary

action has now officially restricted

these sites. Video and slides selected

from Bernie’s fourteen

trips to Orkney will be

shown.


EDITOR’S NOTE:

This newsletter is a publication of The Scuba Sports Club of Westchester, NY—Issue 05/2011 Material may not be reprinted without explicit permission by TSSC.

Bernie Chowdhury is best known for

his critically acclaimed, international

top-selling book, The Last Dive, (non-

fiction, HarperCollins, 2000) which has

been published in eleven lan-

guages, plus audio and e-book

versions. Bernie is a popular

and engaging speaker who haspresented worldwide at dive

shows, shops and clubs. He

has worn many hats during his

27 years in the diving industry:

recreational and technical in-

structor, expedition organizer,

industry consultant, documen-

tary co-producer, and author,

to name a few. Bernie has

been a Fellow of the Explorers Club since

1995. He has been a board-certified hy-

perbaric medical technologist (CHT) since

Sea Swells Log, 20 Tinker Hl, Putnam Valley NY 10579 Official

Dive Club

Soon I will have a few days off and

the first chance this year to go div-

ing. I can’t wait. My freshly serviced

gear is packed, I threw in a few bathing

suits, shorts and t-shirts, and my trusty

flip flops, and I am ready to go. And

yes, I will take a few pictures as well so

I can write a Dive Log article when I

return, I promise! Though I do hope

that some of you who just returned from

Guanaja or any other dive destination

will put pen to paper and write some-

thing for the SeaSwells Log. It has been

just a little too quiet around here for my

taste… articles are sorely needed for thenext few issues of our monthly newslet-

ter! So don’t let this publication “dry

up”, tell us something about one of your

dives! Looking forward to hearing from

you soon!

Ruth Editor

UK Divers Plan To Break Guinness World Record

Adive organization in Dorset,

England, is planning an at-

tempt on the Guinness World Record

for the Most People Scuba Diving

Simultaneously.

Diver and organizer Jason Haiselden

plans to hold the event off Swanage

beach on 24 September, weather per-

mitting. Permission to run it has

been granted by Swanage Town

Council. In the process, Haiselden

aims to raise money for Heroes Ha-

ven Swanage, which wants to build a

holiday cabin for disabled service

personnel; the Scuba Trust, which

provides dive training for the disa-

bled; and the RNLI.

The attempt has the backing both of

the Council and of the Swanage and

Purbeck Hospitality Association,

which represents many local busi-

nesses. The Guinness record to beat

is the figure of 2486 divers who de-

scended together off Indonesia in

2009, in a stunt organized by the coun-try’s navy (see image below).

Haiselden hopes to get as many as

3000 divers under water together for,

as required by Guinness, at least oneminute. Observers and a Guinness ad-

judicator will decide whether or not

this has been achieved.

For the full article and registration

information for those of you who’d like

to travel to England to partic-

ipate, please click on

http://tinyurl.com/6y6u2ve

2004. Bernie was named Beneath the

Sea’s Diver of the Year for Education in

2001. He is an active technical diving

instructor, teaching courses up to and

including Advanced Trimix;

and also Advanced Wreck

(Penetration).

Scapa Flow, in Scotland’s

Orkney Islands, is Europe’s

wreck diving Mecca. The

main attraction for divers

continues to be the rem-

nants of the German World

War I High Seas Fleet,

which fought in the Battle

of Jutland. These wrecks

include three dreadnought class battle-

ships and four light cruisers. In May,

1996, a team of technical divers from the

May Program Notes:

Bernie Chowdhury

Documents

Sea Swells May 2011