Dear Dolphin Divers of Sacramento, April 2024

This is the last month for the current board, and it’s not too late to join the board as our secretary or
as one of our members at large. The board is comprised of great people that are of service to the club
and the diving community. We work hard to keep the board going and keeping you in the water as
much as we can as a club. I would like to extend a big “Thank you!” the current members of the board
for all their hard work and dedication to the club.

April 17th at this general meeting, we will be voting for the new board, and for all the Dolphin Divers of
Sacramento members there will be FREE PIZZA.

If you are not a member, please sign up today
online or at the meeting. It is also time for everyone to renew their membership. Again you can do this
online or in person at the general meeting.

Please note, our next Dolphin Club General Meeting will be held in-person on Wednesday,
April 17 th , 2024, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Round Table Pizza (9500 Greenback Lane in Folsom),
and via Zoom for those who would prefer to attend remotely.

Marilyn will send information on the day of the meeting. You will not want to miss this meeting…everyone is welcome to join!
Hope to see you in the water and bubbles up!!

Owen Autry,
President

Safety Officer’s Message
By: Brad Freelove

Have a Safe Dive

The weather is warming up a bit and many of you are thinking about making a dive.  Maybe at Folsom or Monterey or perhaps a week long trip to Cozumel.  Local or distant, do a little refresher on having a safe and fun dive.

Before you leave home, check out the conditions of the dive location.  Winds, waves, currents, water visibility and temperature are easy to check out.  Windy.com and other websites can help you make a go or no-go decision. 

Check out your equipment before you leave home.  Get repairs made and have any needed servicing done.  Along with your equipment, do you need to hop into a pool and refresh your memory on clearing your mask or how to find your second stage if it falls out of your mouth.  Get with your dive buddy and make sure that both of you have your act together.  Know how to operate your equipment as well as that of your buddy. 

At the dive location, do a final equipment check as well as a briefing on your dive plan.  If you have the servicies of a dive master, pay attention to the pre-dive briefing.   If you are part of a larger group, make sure that you know how to spot your dive master.  Do they have their name on the bottom of their fins or perhaps a special color of tank?  You will feel kind of silly if you end up following the wrong DM.

Entering the water from either shore or boat, make sure that you have all your equipment the way that you want it when you start down.  Weights where they belong?  SMB still there?  A quick check before  you descend is a good idea. 

As soon you start down, start equalizing your ears.  Early and often is best.  Control your breathing.  Slow down and breath easy.  Add a little air to your BCD when necessary.  By maintaining proper breathing and buoyancy, you will extend your dive time and have a more fun.

When you are heading back to the surface, use your BCD to maintain proper buoyancy.  The BCD is not an elevator to the surface.  Maintain a proper speed while heading to the surface.  Your dive computer can help you out with that.  Make a safety stop as you have been trained. 

Once you get back to the shore or your boat, stay warm if necessary and drink some water.  Wipe the snot off your face before someone gets a photo of you!  During your surface interval, plan your next dive, do any equipment maintenance needed, and fill out your log book.  Each dive is an adventure.  Enjoy them all!

QUOTES FROM THE SEA

“The ocean is like a living poem, where every creature is a word, and every wave is a verse.” – Enric Sala

“Scuba diving is like dancing through an underwater symphony, where every movement is graceful and every note is enchanting.” – Tanya Streeter

“The underwater world is like a canvas painted by the ocean, where every color is more vivid and every stroke is more intricate.” – David Doubilet

Please send in your favorite “Quotes from the Sea” if you have not already seen them here. I am always looking for more.

Some Pictures from the Cuba Trip

From Top Left – A fuzzy friend of Mike Johnson’s – A slippery friend of Mike Johnson’s – finally Mike with a fellow diver –
– A shark looking for a new friend – Owen and a sea-puppy (shark)

Proposed New Dolphin Divers Board

Please come to the April 17th general meeting to vote for the new board. We are offering all Members of Dolphin Divers of
Sacramento FREE PIZZA.

The proposed slate of officers is as follows:

PRESIDENT: Owen Autry
VICE PRESIDENT: Ken Takata
TREASURER: Marlyn Sepulveda
SECRETARY: vacant
ACTIVITY CHAIR: David Whiteside
SAFETY OFFICER: Brad Freelove
MEMBER AT LARGE: Lalanyia Little
MEMBER AT LARGE: Ed Hurff
MEMBER AT LARGE: Douglas Hillblom
MEMBER AT LARGE: Sally Walters
MEMBER AT LARGE Tom Mischley
ALTERNATE MEMBER AT LARGE: Corinne Fuerst
WEBMASTER: Renee Viehmann
NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Joe Morgan
PROMOTIONS CHAIR: Tracy Clarke
HISTORIAN: Jack Millard

We still need a few more volunteers. Read below.

A FEW SPOTS STILL REMAINING
Join the Dolphin Divers Board

DOLPHIN DIVERS OF SACRAMENTO BOARD NEEDS YOU!

SECRETARY

Since we are having trouble filling the Secretary position, we are trying to divide the duties of the
position into two separate areas of responsibility. They are: Recording Secretary, and Book-
keeping Secretary.
Duties of the Recording Secretary: Take minutes at the monthly board meeting and distribute
those minutes to the board. Using our Google Sheets minute template makes this job very
simple.
Duties of the Bookkeeping Secretary: Accept membership applications, maintain the club
member roster, issue new membership cards, issue new members a club logbook.
Our hope is that dividing the Secretary duties will entice you to volunteer for some of the
Secretary’s duties. The only way we can keep the club viable is to fill the board positions. So,
if you want to see the club continue, please volunteer.


MEMBER AT LARGE

The club has 6 Member at Large Positions. This position is ideal for newer members since it
allows them to participate in planning club activities, become familiar with the club operations,
and learn from the many experienced divers on the board. The board is a congenial group, and
our meetings are very enjoyable.
Please volunteer.

Contact Ken Takata at kennethktakata@gmail.com if you would like more information or wish to
volunteer.

Just Laugh

Member News

April Birthdays:
NAME – DATE
Rosie Tolley 3rd
Rich Morgan 4th
Raul Valencia 5th
Dave Ford 7th
Brad Freelove 7th
Jennifer Tracy 10th
Milana Clark-Gonzalez 17th
Ben Cortez 17th
James Houston 17th
Fred Knoles 17th
Gail Liu 19th
Rita Talbert 19th
Dennis Gathalian 23rd
Debbie Millard 23rd
Ed Hurff 28th

NEW MEMBERS:

Daryl Sager

Amanda Sager

Sam Shi

Raul Valencia

Lindy Valencia

Are you interested in becoming a Dolphin Divers of Sacramento member?
CLICK HERE TO JOIN

A reminder I received…

So I opened my email the other day and found a very rare thing indeed, amid all the spam and ads was a useful reminder.
So useful I thought I would share, maybe it will remind you that its time for a service or safety check.

Joe Morgan

Hello Diver!

Our records indicate that it has been about a year since your Scuba Gear was last serviced. Remember that even if your gear has not been used much, parts such as o-rings, seals, and springs must be cleaned and/or replaced. Also if your gear has a lifetime service guarantee, you must have it serviced annually to update your warranty. Be sure to bring all of your warranty cards with you when dropping off gear for service. Our normal turn around time for all in-store service of scuba gear is 10 working days.

Current Annual Service flat rate fees: 
Regulators with Alternate Air Sources are – $80
BCD’s with Alternate Air Sources – $50
Performance checks – $35 for Regulators and $25 for BCD’s.
Hydro-Static Testing for Cylinders – starts at $40
Visual Inspections – $15
Service rates listed do NOT include applicable and required parts.

If you can bring your gear to the shop and would like to mail in your gear for service, please print out and follow the instructions on our service request form below.

Glenn Toyota
Dolphin Scuba Center

email: service@dolphinscuba.com
phone: 916-929-8188
http://www.dolphinscuba.com/service

Albion River Camp/Dive/Fish Event
(TIME IS RUNNING OUT)

Dear Dolphin Divers

The Albion River Campground will not “hold” campsites for our group after April 3rd at 5pm. After that deadline, the campsites will be open to the general public and you may not be able to camp with the DDS group. Initially asked the campground to “Hold” the following 10 campsites for our group: D9 thru D18. So far, the following campsites have been reserved by Dolphin Divers: D9 Chris Matthews; D12 Jack Millard; D13 Sam Shi; D16 Hannah Dunham. Brad Freelove and I have rented a trailer at Site A2. You can see the campground layout by going to the campground’s website at albionrivercampground.com clicking on the CAMPING link. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. The flyer for the campout is attached to this email.

Ken Takata
(916) 599-5270
kennethktakata@gmail.com

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

For the full view click here…

April 17, 2024	DDS General Meeting	Round Table Pizza	Owen Autry
April 27, 2024	UW Poker Run	Folsom Lake at Folsom Point	Brad Freelove
May 15, 2024	DDS General Meeting	Round Table Pizza	Owen Autry
May 25, 2024	Monterey Dive	Monterey Breakwater	Brad Freelove
June 19, 2024	DDS General Meeting	Round Table Pizza	Owen Autry
June 21 to 23, 2024	Albion River Campout, Dive, Fishing	Albion River Campground	Ken Takata
July 17, 2024	Picnic in the Park/Gear Swap and Giveaway	Fair Oaks Park (Note: Not at Round Table Pizza)	Owen Autry
July 20, 2024	Inland Lobster Feed	Lake Natoma at Black Miners Bar	Jack Millard

“Underwater Easter Egg Hunt”

Thank you for Cheryl Anderson for sharing these pictures…

EDITOR’S NOTE
By: Joe Morgan

AM LOOKING FOR MEMBERS TO SEND IN PICTURES OF DIVING, DIVING VACATIONS ETC.

• Trip Reviews: Let us know where you have been diving, what operator you used, the hotel you stayed at and how was the diving there. Let us know if the operator was safe and fun. Let us know if the hotel was a good deal, give us as much detail as possible and hopefully more Dolphin Divers will venture there in the future.
  
• Recipes: I was told that in the past Dolphin Divers gave each other SEAFOOD recipes that they loved so that everyone could enjoy the bounty of the sea, I hope to continue that each month with at least one good recipe.
  
• Dive and Camping yard-sale items you wish to include in the newsletter.
  
• Dive Activities: Please let me know if there are any dive-related activities you would like included in the newsletter.
  
• Pictures from your last dive. Please make sure to let me know how you would like the picture credited in the newsletter. -example – Picture by John Member, of a Silky Shark, at Roca Partida Mexico.

PLEASE MAIL ALL SUBMISSIONS TO

Editor@dolphindivers.org

DOLPHIN DIVERS OF SACRAMENTO
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Owen Autry
Vice President: Ken Takata
Treasurer: Marlyn Sepulveda
Secretary: Elizabeth Marchiondo
Safety Officer: Brad Freelove
Activity Chair: David Whiteside
Webmaster: Renee Viehmann
Promotions Chair: Tracy Clarke
Newsletter Editor: Joe Morgan
Historian: Jack Millard
Member at Large: Tom Mischley
Member at Large: Lalanyia Little
Member at Large: Ed Hurff
Member at Large: Sally Walters
Member at Large: Douglas Hillblom
Alternate Member at Large: Corinne Fuerst