Dear Dolphin Divers of Sacramento, August 2023

Here we come August. I am leaving on vacation for the next few weeks starting with a wedding in Seattle, then off to Cuba with Aggressor Adventures though Dolphin Scuba and then I get to go see my son and daughter in law for a week in hot, Wichita Falls, Texas

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Be sure to check the cub calendar for upcoming events and please try to get involved. That is what makes a club a fun place to dive and socialize. We will see you soon. Bon voyage!!

As I mentioned in my June letter, we are always looking for leaders that would like to take on an activity. Please reach out to a board member with your idea and plan for the event and we can work with you on getting it organized. It will need to be run by the board and the board meets on the first Wednesday of the month. We ask that you plan the dive then dive the plan. What does this mean for running an activity? You should first contact our Activity Chair, David Whiteside, and give your idea to him. This can be a non-dive event or a scuba/free dive event. Then talk to our safety officer Brad Forelove and get the safety side of your dive or non-dive events worked out. We take safety very seriously and he can work out any concerns about your planned Scuba dive and we can plan safety measures for your event. After you have met with these two board members, it will be presented by the Activity Chair for discussion and approval. We are an all-volunteer club, and it takes all of us to plan fun activities.

Please note, our next Dolphin Club General Meeting will be held in-person on Wednesday,
August 16th, 2023, 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 bubble up!!

Owen Autry,
President

QUOTES FROM THE SEA

“SCUBA diving is sensual. To breathe underwater is one of the most fascinating and peculiar sensations imaginable. Breathing becomes a rhythmic melody of inhalations and exhalations. The cracks and pops of fish and crustaceans harmonize with the rhythmic chiming of the bubbles as you exhale. Soon, lungs act as bellows, controlling your buoyancy as you achieve weightlessness. And, as in your dreams, you are flying. Combine these otherworldly stimuli and you surrender completely to the sanctuary of the underwater world.”
Tec Clark

“We dive not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”
Anonymous 

Safety Officer’s Message
By: Brad Freelove

Keep it Dry and Safe!

Every time I dive in the river, I find something that does not belong there.  Keys, wallets, sunglasses, cell phones, and jewelry are all items that I have come across on the bottom of the water.  I am sure that the owners would love to get their items back, but it is almost impossible for me to do.  No names on most of the stuff and the cell phones are soaked and do not function.  Most of these lost items would have benefited from a dry box or dry bag.  The boxes and bags float if dropped into the water and will keep your valuables dry.  You can attach the box or bag to your raft, SUP, kayak, or whatever mode of transportation that you are using to enjoy the water. 

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I have a great collection of both boxes and bags that keep my car keys safe and my towel and shirt dry while I float down the river or dive from my boat in Monterey.  No need to worry if my diving partner splashes water on the dry box that contains my cell phone.  My towel and sweater will stay dry when stuffed into my dry bag.  If either the bag or box get knocked over the side of the boat, they float and are easily recovered.  There are many different sizes of boxes and bags to choose from.  My favorite box is large enough to hold my wallet, keys, and cell phone and cost less than $25.  Cheap insurance for a $1,200 iPhone 14.  

Dolphin Scuba has a large selection of boxes and bags that come in a variety of sizes and colors.   A box or bag large enough to hold your $1,200 phone, $400 prescription glasses, $200 car key fob and your wallet costs very little and makes your trip on the water much more enjoyable.  Everything will stay dry and safe.  Imagine what your significant other would do to you if you lost your wedding ring!  

LABOR DAY CAMPING
Sept 2023

 Join all your club buddies on our annual Labor Day camping trip at Ocean Cove Campground. This is the weekend of our annual Spear and line fishing contests with LOTS of fun social time spent with other club members and guests.

You must sign up using the club form.

We have two group areas reserved near the beginning of the campground. Look for the Dolphin Banner near the Group entry gate. RV and tent Camping spaces are allotted on a first-come-first-served basis. It will not be possible to save space so please plan on arriving as early as possible. Some of us will be there earlier in the week, before Friday. If you want to come early or stay late, you will need to pay for those days direct to Ocean Cove. Everyone who has signed up in advance will be issued a parking pass so Ocean Cove will know you are part of our group. IF there is space available after the members who signed up in advance have arrived it will be possible to pay the event leader in the campground and select an available space, BUT YOU WILL STILL NEED TO USE THE CLUB SIGNUP FORM! This form will be available on our website, www.dolphindivers.org, and will be included with all messages about the event. I will track all of the early signups to monitor the available space.  If our group areas fill up it might also be possible to pay the Ocean Cove Campground and stay in a space outside of our group area, but ONLY if our group area is filled! I will send a message to everyone using our club e-mail if/when it looks like we might run out of space. If you are not into camping there might be room space available at the Ocean Cove Lodge: https://www.oceancovelodge.com/

The camping cost for this event is $40.00 per night for one camping unit including one vehicle under power. Towed vehicles, including trailer or vehicle towed by a motorhome, are included in the campsite fee. Any extra vehicles, including visitors, must pay an additional fee. The launch fees for all boats used for the event will be paid by the club. On Sunday night, after our potluck dinner and fish fry, all event prizes will be awarded AND there will be a Raffle for many GREAT dive and camping-related items. BRING CASH FOR THIS RAFFLE. If you have anything that you would like to contribute to the raffle please let me know and bring it to the event. Because of the severe drought, Ocean Cove has requested that we bring as much of our own water as possible. If you have any please also bring firewood to contribute to our group campfires! There are a few water faucets available and there will be portable toilets in every camp area that will be frequently pumped. Usually, it is also possible to pay the Portable Toilet service truck to pump out your RV tanks.

YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING YOUR SITE CLEAN AND FOR ANY GUESTS WHO JOIN YOU. PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY. There will be children playing so be careful when driving.

The closest air fill station may be in Santa Rosa, so please bring enough tanks to make all your dives. Diving will only be only allowed if conditions are safe. If it is not safe there will be an alternative method of awarding prizes to paid contest entrants. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions:

Jack Millard, jbmillard@aol.com, 916.955.8017

FOR SALE OR TRADE

Heated Vest
$395 value asking $200
Only used once

CALL DAVE WHITESIDE (916)730-8282

Details Below…

Folsom Lake
Dive Report

Dive Report – Lake Folsom

A group of DDS members are heading off to Cuba for 7 days of diving fun and adventure. Mike
Johnson, owner of Dolphin Scuba, put together a trip that will have us diving with sharks,
turtles and saltwater crocodiles! To make sure that our diving kit was working properly, Jack
Millard, Darin Hunter and I took to Folsom Lake for a pre-Cuba check out dive. Everyone had
their act together and the dive went smoothly. While not the most exciting place to dive,
Folsom is a short drive for most of us and has some easy access to the water. The water
temperature on the surface was 81 degrees F. We were diving in 5 mil suits with no hoods!
When we reached a depth of 50 ft. the temperature was a pleasant 63 degrees.
We did run into a couple schools of bass that were very curious and followed us around for
about 45 minutes as we checked out our equipment and picked up all the cans, bottles, and
fishing lures that we could find. Visibility was anywhere from a couple of feet after we mucked
it up to nearly 15 feet.
You really should consider making a dive in Folsom. Conditions are good and you can be home
by lunchtime. Try Folsom Point as your diving location. Easy to get to, plenty of parking, and
restrooms are clean. Entry fee of $12 for a carload of divers is an inexpensive way to spend a
Saturday morning.

COLUMBUS DAY CAMPING
Oct 2023

An FYI for anyone wondering about the annual Underwater Easter Egg Hunt: The Crazy Horse restaurant, where we held our awards dinner, has gone out of business. I did not find another venue that can accommodate our group of 60+ for a rate that makes sense. Most places charge separately for room rental and food, making them cost prohibitive.

Ken Takata is not hosting the Memorial Weekend camp/dive trip this year because of the historically rough water during most previous events. Instead
I have reserved the meadow campsites at Albion River Campground for Columbus Day weekend, October 6 – 9. Albion River Campground is right on the Albion River where it empties into the ocean. Activities can include kayaking on the river (rentals available) and/or ocean, Diving, visiting Mendocino or Fort Bragg (the ice cream at “Cowlicks” in Fort Bragg is one of the stops I NEVER miss)  or just hanging out around the campfire enjoying each others company. We will also make a couple of motorboat and kayak trips up the river into the redwoods.

If you want to join us contact the campground to make your reservation. You can choose any of our reserved sites from D1 to D25, or one off the rental trailers, B22 – B24,. There are also a few full hookup sites, A2 – A15 with sewer connections, close to the group area. (I am in site A2 because I will be there for 7 nights) When you call for a camping reservation be sure to ask for one of the sites in “D” section, that I reserved for our group. This will be a joint event with the Seahorses dive club. If you camp in a tent bring a heater and extension cord: every site has water and electricity.

Please let me know when you make a reservation so I can keep track of how many, and which, spaces we take. Any spaces not reserved by us will revert back to the Albion CG for renting to non-members.

Jack Millard 916.955.8017
https://albionrivercampground.com/
(707) 937-0606

DDS Membership Presentation Help

Dolphin Divers of Sacramento (DDS) have been giving short ten minute presentations to Open Water Classes at Dolphin SCUBA. The purpose of these presentations is to inform newly certified divers about the DDS and to encourage them to join our club. Over the years, this effort has been highly successful in recruiting new members. Only a few volunteer DDS members have been giving these presentations and we would like to encourage more of our members to volunteer for this worthwhile effort.

If you’d like to give it a try, please sign on for a time and date on the Google Sheet titled “2023 DDS PRESENTATION SIGN-UP” The sheet can be accessed by clicking on this link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14dfhsb-RXnr8dPRX7XR9SB4TTpOKuUT32leTKSF4Ngs/edit#gid=0

Please be sure to read the “Read Me Before Presentation” and the “Suggested Script” pages of the Google Sheet.

If you have any questions, please contact
Ken Takata: kennethktakata@gmail.com
Brad Freelove: bradlinda@frontiernet.net
Dave Whiteside: dwhite9581@hotmail.com

Thank You for Helping, Ken Takata, Vice President

St Kitts, Saba, and St Martin

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Member News

AUGUST Birthdays:

COMING SOON

New Members:
COMING SOON

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

Great American River Clean Up

Great American River Clean Up

For over 30 years, DDS members have been participating in the Great American River Clean Up (GARCU).
On September 23, 2023, divers and boat handlers will meet at the Lower Sunrise parking on the
American River to float and dive their way to River Bend Park. Along the way, we will pull out of the
water all the cans, plastic, bottles AND wallets, sunglasses, GoPro cameras, and other valuables that we
can find. GARCU is sponsored by the American River Parkway Foundation. There will be several
hundred volunteers walking along the banks of the river collecting trash. We will be in the water doing
the same. Boats are donated by the American River Raft Rental company so no cost to our members.
Along with needing divers, we need boat handlers. We will have about 10 large rafts to dive from, and
volunteers are needed to keep the boats going in the correct direction. As we get closer to the
September date, I will send out more information. If you have any interest in joining us, keep
September 23 open. We start around 9 am and should be done by 2 pm.
Got a question about this event? bradlinda@frontiernet.net

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE PLEASE CLICK HERE

August 2, 2023	DDS Board At Jack Millard’s	Owen Autry	(916) 955-8017 jbmillard@aol.com
August 16, 2023	DDS General Meeting	Ken Takata	(916) 599-5270 kennethktakata@gmail.com	River City Waterway Alliance
Sept. 1-4, 2023	Spearfishing Contest	Jack Millard	(916) 955-8017 jbmillard@aol.com	Camping, Diving & Spearfishing event, Prizes for event winners
Sept 6, 2023	DDS Board	Owen Autry	(916) 955-9105 ocautry@gmail.com
Sept. 9, 2023	Inland Lobster Feed	Jack Millard	jbmillard@aol.com (916) 955-9105	Combined Seahorses and Dolphin Divers	New as of 04/10/2023	Application due on June 12. Corinne and Brad to handle.
Sept 23, 2023	Great American River Cleanup, American River Parkway Event	Brad Freelove	(916) 879-3853 bradlinda@frontiernet.com	DDS diving, snorkeling, and general river cleanup in partnership with the American River Parkway Foundation
Sept. 20, 2023	DDS General Meeting	Owen Autry	(916) 955-9105 ocautry@gmail.com	John Steenkolk Video on Secorro–Giant Manta Rays & Hammerhead Sharks
October 4, 2023	DDS Board Meeting	Owen Autry	(916) 955-9105 ocautry@gmail.com
October 7, 8, 9, 2023	Albion River, Camping/Diving/Fishing	Jack Millard	(916) 955-8017 jbmillard@aol.com	Combined Dolphin Divers and Seahorses Event
October 18, 2023	DDS General Meeting	Owen Autry		John Steenkolk presentation on Socorro Islands
October 22, 2023	Pumpkin Carving Contest	Brad Freelove	(916) 879-3853 bradlinda@frontiernet.com	Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest. Prizes awarded
Nov. 1, 2023	DDS Board	Owen Autry	(916) 955-9105 ocautry@gmail.com
Nov. 15, 2023	DDS General Meeting	Owen Autry	(916) 955-9105 ocautry@gmail.com	Presenter to be determined
Nov. 24, 2023	Swap meet	Brad Freelove	(916) 879-3853 bradlinda@frontiernet.com
Dec. 6, 2023	DDS Board	Owen Autry	(916) 955-9105 ocautry@gmail.com
Dec. 9, 2023	Christmas Party	Event Leader Needed
Dec. 13, 2023	DDS Gen Meeting	NO MEETING	NO MEETING	General Meeting Not Held in December

EDITOR’S NOTE
By: Joe Morgan

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

Each month I will be looking for submissions in the following categories:

• 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