Volume 53, Number 9

September 2011

President’s Message - September 2011

The month of August seems to have flown by. If you haven't been diving yet this year you are missing out. We have had two great presentations this month, and more are scheduled in the future. Mike and Ellen Garvey gave an excellent talk, slide show and video on their recent trip to Sipidan in Malaysia. Seeing pictures of those big-schnozzed monkeys somehow reminded me of Babs Streisand. The slides of the large colorful nudies, tropical fish, and corals were very impressive.

Equally enjoyable was the presentation by Norman "Dugie" Russell on the U.S.S. New Hampshire, and the origins of the Essex County Dive Team. His artifacts, and hand crafted treasures truly are something to see. He has a new part time career as a comedian, which was plain to see with some of his quick one-liners. His mushroom business will be starting in the fall. I for one hope to get a chance to take his course, and learn to pick mushrooms in the wild.

Thanks to member contributions to our bug bag raffle, we were able to purchase at a great price from Bobby Boyle at Undersea Divers, a regulator. Our members should remember to drop in and frequent Bob's shop and thank him for all that he does for us. Bobby's year end sale is about a month away; it’s a perfect time to check out discount gear, close outs, and used rental gear. I've got many great buys at these sales in the past.

I finally got out diving with Jim Durso, and his son Michael this past week. We left from Winter Island, and headed to Tinker's Ledge. The seas were calm, and visibility was excellent with views of Boston's skyline. Jim and Michael were first to head down the anchor line, and I followed them. Visibility was 15-20 feet, the max depth was 74 ft, and bottom temp was a cool 48F. I managed to grab 2 bugs, my first of the year! Jim came back with 1 bug, a crab, and a flounder. We tried a little fishing after the dive, but nothing was biting.

It was nice to see a blast from the past, former president Ted Huemmler, and Keith from the old Northeast Scuba “Scuba Jam” days. Those who attended recall the blowouts we had at Scuba Jams in the past. Keith and I recalled a bus trip I arranged with Barb Crisman to a Patriots game that 27 of us enjoyed. We had all the necessary items: a keg of beer, Mike Denneler's pitchers, and grills for cooking. The only thing the bus didn't have was a bathroom, so we stopped at a rest area. The rest area was closed, so we got to just hang out...

For Divers of the Month I select Mike and Ellen Garvey for their Sipidan presentation. For Member of the Month I choose Norman "Dugie" Russell for his New Hampshire, and Essex Count Dive Team talk. Hope to see more members at our upcoming meetings.

John P. Sears

Coming Club Events

Sept 25: Club Picnic

Oct 6: Bill Buckley presentation, topic TBD.

Oct 20: Jerry Shine presentation, topic TBD.

Date TBD: Susan Copelas speaking about her trip to Socorro Island.

In this Issue:

President’s Message – pg. 1

Meeting Summaries – pg. 2-3

Upcoming Club Events – pg. 4

Picnic & Treasure Hunt – pg. 4

Other Events – pg. 5

Calendar – pg. 6

Dive Patrol – pg. 7

Boston Scuba show – pg. 7

Undersea Divers – pg. 8

The North Shore Frogmen’s Club

PO Box 3604

Peabody, MA 01961

2011 OFFICERS

President: John Sears Tel: 978-750-4745

Email: john.sears@bostik-us.com

Vice President: Lauren Byrne Email: laurenb5635@hotmail.com

Treasurer: Vinny Egizi Tel: (858) 342-3365

Email: vinnymass@yahoo.com

Secretary: Meg Tennissen Tel: (781) 724-0071

Email: macduff18@yahoo.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Membership: Dan Hering membership@northshorefrogmen.com

Newsletter: Mary Howard

Tel: (781) 944-1292

Email: m.m.howard@comcast.net

Webmaster: Markus Diersbock

*Deadline for submissions* to the October 2011 issue

of Air Bubbles is

Thursday, September 22

Please have all articles and information to the

Air Bubbles editor by September 22, 2011.

Meeting Summaries

04-Aug-2011

Meeting called to order: 8:06 PM Attendance: 4 Officers, 19 Members Guest: Steve Levy, prior member

Secretary: Minutes read and accepted as amended.

Treasurer: we have money. Club has lost its tax-exempt status. Vinny will follow up. 101 members 44 non- paying members (ossifers, honorary, associate, life members)

Committees:

-Program: See calendar listing

-Membership: Dan Hering - Link still works, hopefully once we get presentations listed will get more interest. Got application from Ron Baker Saugus, certified in ’88, has 15 y/o son who wants to come diving. Motion made seconded and passed to accept Ron as newest member. A friend of Linda’s also interested. One of Vinny’s new neighbors may be interested in joining.

-Air Bubbles: August issue in progress.

Announcements:

-Need to make sure get info out for

Dougie’s presentation on the 25th. Ellen will make up flyers for FaceBook for both presentations this month if she is sent necessary info.

-Vinny will be updating the buddy list to include newest members.

-PCYC tonight said place almost done, showers are done. If anyone wants to go diving here, we are welcome to use the showers.

-Vinny got an ATM card for the club account.

Correspondence: We received a sympathy card from Old Colony

Amphibians on Paul’s passing. Other stuff in the mailbox includes SSNeptunes newsletter, Stellwagen Banknotes.

Old Business:

-Joe Terra and Steve Levy showed up at the meeting having heard about

Paul’s accident, wondering if there

was any more information. Paul was found at 120’; don’t know what happened. Coast Guard was investigating. Paul’s brother Al is expected to be here on the 25th.

-Laura G has the Froggie Christmas decorations and photo contest boards and wants to give them up.

-Vinny met with Dawn B; she is on board to be DJ for the banquet again this year.

New Business: Mike is selling Froggie wear tonight.

Dive Talk:

-Mary and a bunch of other Froggies dove for the Fish count on Sunday; saw 1 skate, 1 flounder, 1 sea robin, cunner at OGB. There were a lot of people at OGB; seemed the fish were hiding. 3 people didn’t get prizes and Mary was one of them. Pretty good turnout, it was a fun day.

-Jim D at the Cape last Friday; pretty nice 20’vis looking for big fluke, saw one 17 ½ inches, have to be 18.5 inches to keep. Went fishing from here last weekend, off P-town 1.5 hrs, saw about 50 whales off P-town; at one point he was surrounded by 5 whales. Caught 3 stripers, 3 cod and a pollock. (Legislature trying to change ban on spearfishing for stripers since they are so plentiful.)

-John F – dove Sat with Metro west; Sun dove for the fish count; dove with Jeff yesterday at Pebble. Parking is same as it always was, resident only where the road is not paved. Had whole place to themselves. 91 minute dive, got some big bugs – John found a 6” blue – over the gauge, barnacles on it. Kelp was short, only 33’ at high tide, 60F.

-Adam at Pebble 2 weeks ago, got 2 bugs at 18ft. Did 2 dives at Folly, left and right side, saw the torpedo ray on the right, all the sea ravens look big this year.

-Dan went snorkeling off Cocktail Cove on Misery Island, got a bug there. They’re in shallow.

-Vinny talked to Markus who was diving wrecks in Catalina Island with

brother, found octopuses. Some of the wrecks are cut so you enter them.

-Al went diving, found a helicopter and a fire truck, at Dutch Springs.

There were so many divers you’d bump into people. 1 woman there became an instructor without ever diving in the ocean.

General Discussion:

-Mike’s Moments:

-2.5 wks ago, couple of guys in Marshfield, drunk went into the breakwater, 1 was rescued, one not recovered, diver found the body. Survivor being brought up on drunken boating charges

-Diver 27y/o, on the John Jack dove the Doria and didn’t make it, found the body 7hours later

-A woman caught a 500lb mako shark in Scituate

-Rockland’s Morse Diving - the people that make the Mark V diving helmet, oldest manufacturer of diving equipment in the world - is 175 this year

-Century old shipwreck between Sweden and Finland, found large circular thing 60’ diameter, convinced it’s a UFO.

-USCG off Honduras found 2.5 tons of cocaine and a drug sub, flying a C130 and noticed it in the water, 1st time off South America’s west coast

-URL for video in Alaska, some guy saw what looks like a loch ness monster. Mammal or reptile since it oscillates in the vertical plain (fish go horizontal plain).

-It is Shark Week! A lot of the shows have stuff that’s positive about sharks, Lauren has been pleased with shark week.

-Mike Rowe was testing shark bite suit, best part was watching him get into the suit. Then he had to wait for his buddy to get dressed.

-Guy who originally developed shark suit tested it on his wife.

-Sharks hug with their mouths.

Raffles: Dollars Box: Meg Tennissen

Mystery Prize: Lauren Byrne

Bug Bag: Vinny Egizi

11-Aug-2011

Meeting minutes not available at presstime

18-Aug -2011

Meeting called to order: 8:03 PM Attendance: 4 Officers, 21 Members Guests: 4

Abbreviated meeting for Presentation: Sipidan by Ellen and Mike Garvey

Secretary: Minutes read by VP, Lauren, accepted.

Treasurer: we purchased the grand prize for the banquet at Bob’s last weekend

Committees:

-Program:

-8/25-Dougie Russell next week – talking about his time as a Police Officer and the USS NH.

-10/6-Bill Buckley will give presentation

Dive Talk:

-Lauren and Meg OGB just over an hour 50’; 10-15’ vis. Bugs were everywhere, but neither had bug bags. Got good pictures though

-Lauren with Peter off Nahant, about 35’ about hour, saw two sea ravens, tons of fish, great spot. 15-20’ vis, pain to get in but good site.

-Vinny, Ron, Dan and Adam at Lanes cove, 60’ good vis some places, really bad in other places. Vinny got two big bugs, but both were eggers. 72 degree water. Lots of fish. Vinny got one flounder and ate it.

-Amy, Roslyn and Mary went to Pebble, saw pipefish, rock gunnels, hake and other cool stuff like nudibranchs!

-Adam at Folly Sunday, right side, brought camera, so he didn’t see the torpedo ray. Got a picture of something that looked like an alien on drugs – windowpane flounder according to Andy M.

-Dan was at Eagle Island with Dr Jim, left 6am, fishing was so good, big stripers, fished for a few hours, got 2 big bluefish. Lobsterman had dragged traps through the scallop

bed, bad vis got 1 scallop, hunted for bugs, all were just under the gauge. Saw one monster that almost cut his octo with the cutting claw. Water in the 60s. vis 15’ at best

General Discussion:

-Jesse bought a house.

-Mary saw past president Linda Marshall at Causeway Resturant.

-Dan saw Tom McLaughlin at Lanes

Raffles: Dollars Box: John Marren

Mystery Prize: Ray Porter

Bug Bag: Lauren Byrne

25-Aug -2011

Meeting minutes not available at presstime

Abbreviated meeting for Presenta- tion by Norman “Dugie” Russell

Divers of the Month for September 2011

Mike & Ellen

Garvey

Member of the Month

for September 2011

Dugie Russell

Other Events of interest to SCUBA divers:

The Next BSC Meeting

The next meeting of the Bay State Council of Divers is scheduled for Wednesday September 14, 2011 at the

South Shore Neptunes’ Clubhouse in Quincy at

7:30PM. We’ll be finalizing plans for the Treasure Hunt Event scheduled for September 25.

All are invited to attend the BSC meetings

NEADC Sept 21st General Meeting

Maryhelen Shuman-Groh: ‘Greening’ Your Dive

Travel (from the NEADC program email)

Wherever it is that you decide to travel for SCUBA diving, you are headed to an environmentally sensitive area. The divers’ adage of “Take only photos - Leave only bubbles” is no longer enough to ensure sustainability of our precious water resources. While no one can completely eliminate human impacts on the dive environment, there choices that you make to help reduce negative impacts when traveling.

Starting with a brief overview of ‘sustainability’ and discussion selecting a dive destination, transportation choices, what to pack, how to spend your travel dollars to

‘greenwashing’ and ‘eco-tourism’ along with references for obtaining useful information, this talk will offer helpful suggestions for your dive travel.

Maryhelen Shuman-Groh has 20+ years dive experience and is a former NEAq Dive Team member and former officer of NEADC. She is currently based in Tampa Bay, Florida, at the University of South Florida and holds a

Master’s degree in Global Sustainability. She has been studying water resources in The Commonwealth of Dominica in conjunction with impacts of growing tourism industry there. Maryhelen has recently been selected as the Tampa Bay Green Living Examiner for Examiner.com.

Tropical Fish Rescue, October 9

I will be having another tropical fish rescue on Sunday, October 9th (Columbus Day weekend) at Ft Wetherill State Park, Jamestown, RI--tropicals are usually more abundant and larger at this time of year. Mark from Biomes of RI and Faith from DUI will be on site as well as other mfg reps-more info on this will follow and be updated as I hear back from reps-- We will have our tropical fish tank display, a nice BBQ, touch tank, music, volleyball and dive mfg's up on the hill--- Down by the coves we will be

seining, snorkeling and diving for the tropicals--we will have collecting nets available as well as instruction, dive buddies and holding tanks for all tropicals caught.

Al Bozza, NEADC Program Director (abozza@aol.com)

The Northeastern University

2011 Marine Science Center House

430 Nahant Rd, Nahant, MA

Please join us on Saturday, October 1, 2011 from 10am to 3pm for our annual Open House.

This exciting day includes:

-Guided Tidepool and Geology walks

-Marine Research Exhibits

-Marine Life Exhibits

-Touch Tanks

-Tours of the Vertebrate Studies Center, WWII Bunker, and Solar Observatory.

-Children's activities

-Beach cleanup as part of Massachusetts Coastsweep

All ages are welcome, and the event is free and open to the public. The MSC is ADA accessible.

(www.northeastern.edu/marinescience/events.html)

Froggy Blankets

Contact John Sears to place your order for a fleece blanket with the Freddy the Frog logo similar to the one pictured below. The projected price is about $30.

He’s asking for a deposit of $10.

Please respond ASAP.

The Bay State Council of Divers

Supporting and promoting the recreational diving community in Massachusetts.

The Bay State Council of Divers (BSC) is a diver’s advocacy group. The BSC monitors local, state and federal regulations that may affect the recreational diving community in Massachusetts. When required, the BSC represents the interests of the diving community in these matters.

The BSC serves as a liaison between dive clubs and dive stores to promote recreational diving activity in Massachusetts. All divers are encouraged to support the BSC with an annual contribution of $5. Your contribution will allow the BSC to continue to be a strong advocate for the recreational diving community in Massachusetts.

See http://www.baystatecouncil.org for more information on

the Bay State Council.

JOIN THE ELITE UNDERWATER TEAM BE A QUALIFIED AND INFORMED MEMBER

OF THE DIVE PATROL

Be part of The Dive Patrol mapping squads. Learn how to reconnoiter dive sites

for future reference and recovery efforts

Your assistance is necessary to our continued access to open water scuba sites.

Be part of the local dive sites assistance patrols also

All the words you’ll need to know to train beginner scuba divers will be licensed to you when you become a successful attendee at

The Dive Patrol Instructor Camp

Learn how to advertise, how to find customers, for your scuba school

contact: Fred Calhoun, Director The Dive Patrol

2 Ocean Ave (1-H)

Gloucester, MA 01930

captaincalhoun@msn.com

Our website is under construction (really)

The Underwater Club of Boston

THE DIVE PATROL present

The 61st Edition of

THE BOSTON SCUBA SHOW

Directed by Alan Budreau

with EMMY AWARD winners Kerry and Linda Hurd

Feb 25, 2012 (10 am to 3 pm)

Marlboro Holiday Inn (jct rtes 20 and 495)

Featuring EMMY Award winner

JONATHAN BIRD

(what more can we say?)

Fred Calhoun

with a new film, and lively commentary

UNDERSTANDING TECHNICAL DIVING

THE GENESIS OF VISUAL INSPECTIONS

Q & A

Tom Huff on Rebreathers

plus

Jerry Shine 2012 PAUL REVERE SPIKE AWARD

This is not the order of presentations

ALWAYS FREE PARKING

Tickets at $20 available at the door, or in advance by writing to Cecile Christensen, 2 Ocean Ave (1-H), Gloucester, MA 01930; Checks payable to The Dive Patrol