February 2021 Current Bubbles Newsleter

February 3, 2021 7:00
Board Meeting @ Live Zoom Meeting
contact a Board member for call in info
February 17, 2021 7:00
General Meeting @ Live
Zoom Meeting (click for call in info)

1st Tracy Gensch
3rd Mitch Evensen
11th Liz Mojica
13th Mark Oliver
14th Natalie Clark
14th Liz Gilmore
17th Gordon Kuhnle
22nd Barry Hurff
23rd Zoe Teague
24th Owen Autry
26th Luci Oja

Sailesh Pallapothu

Are you interested in becoming a Dolphin Divers of Sacramento member? Check out our Membership page for more information and to complete your application.
https://www.dolphindivers.org/membership/

Message from the President – Owen Autry

Click Here to Print Your Newsletter

Dear Dolphin Divers of Sacramento,

It is with a sad and a broken heart that we have lost a beautiful soul, Lisa Marie Lemus, to COVID-19; she leaves behind a 17-year-old daughter, Izabella, who is also a dive club member. She will be missed by her family, friends, and dive community.

As we approach Valentine’s Day, I thought I would share some facts about Kissing… Some Kissing statistics that are interesting to know.
• Kissing uses 30 facial muscles and it helps keep the facial muscles tight, preventing baggy cheeks! The tension in the muscles caused by a passionate kiss helps smooth the skin and increases the circulation.
• Passionate kissing relieves tension, reduces negative energy, and produces a sense of well-being, lowering your cortisol ‘stress’ hormone.
• Those who Kiss their partner goodbye each morning lives five years longer than those who do not. So, kiss more, live longer!
• Kissing makes you feel appreciated and helps improve your state of mind.
• Kissing is good for the heart, as it creates an adrenaline which causes your heart to pump more blood around your body. Frequent kissing has been scientifically proven to stabilize cardiovascular activity, decrease blood pressure and cholesterol.
• Those who Kiss quite frequently are less likely to suffer from stomach, bladder, and blood infections.
• During a Kiss, natural antibiotics are secreted in the saliva. Also, the saliva contains a type of anesthetic that helps relieve pain.
• Kissing reduces anxiety and stops the ‘noise’ in your mind. It increases the levels of oxytocin, an extremely calming hormone that produces a feeling of peace.
• The endorphins produced by Kissing are 200 times more powerful than morphine.
Enjoy Kissing this February, and remember, it is good for you…so Kiss every day and live a Happy Healthy Life.

As your current president, I am going to push to make diving a top priority and send out emails to give you the information you will need to join me and others in the club to explore more diving in 2021.
Memberships:

Please send in your applications and membership dues as soon as possible. You can sign up on the website, https://www.dolphindivers.org or you can print an application and send it, along with the dues to: Dolphin Divers of Sacramento P.O. Box 112 Orangevale, California 95662.

Our next Dolphin Club Meeting will be held via Zoom on February 17th, 2021 at 7:00 pm. I look forward to seeing more members, and future members, at the next meeting.

Hoping we can all get into the water in 2021!

Bubbles up!!
Owen Autry
President, Greatest Dive Club Ever!!

We want to hear from you! Do you have something to share? A favorite dive site or story? Do you have a video slideshow or movie of a recent trip? Send it to me and I can share it with other members via our monthly newsletter. YouTube videos embed nicely into this new newsletter format.

Thanks for the continued opportunity to serve you. I hope you like it!!
-Renee

We have a full calendar of events that we hope to be able to put on this year. Stay tuned for updates based on COVID restrictions.
In the meantime, be sure to join us for our next General Meeting via Zoom!

California Hydrocoral

California hydrocoral is not a true stony coral, but they are related. They are also distant cousins to sea anemones, jelly fish, sea pens and some other invertebrates. California hydrocoral (“CaH”) come in several different hues such as purple, pink, red, blue and orange. Unlike most stony corals, CaH retains its color when it dies. CaH is part of a group of critters with some 10,000 different species of which about 100 can hurt or kill humans. CaH do possess stinging nematocysts but they are not large enough to bother us.

CaH can grow up to a foot high and have a base almost 2 feet long. They can reproduce either sexually or asexually. There are reports of CaH being found just south of San Francisco but I have never seen them north of Monterey….and rarely there. Tag along with us on our Channel Islands trip and jump in at Farnsworth Bank. The colony of CaH there is a massive one! You will often have a hard time finding a place that is not covered with hydrocoral. CaH does love deeper waters with currents. The currents provide a steady source of food. Our hydrocoral is a slow grower and takes a long time to recover from damage. A quarter of an inch per year growth is average.

CaH is quite brittle and the limbs are easy to damage. Divers, dive clubs, and other conservation groups and individuals have tried to get the state of California to install mooring buoys at Farnsworth. The money is available, but no one wants to take on the commitment to work with 5 or more state agencies to get the process started. Farnsworth is a protected area for most of its inhabitants but dropping an anchor can destroy a hundred years of growth in just an hour.

California hydrocoral sometimes have a small parasitic snail that lives on the branches. I have been told that the snails are quite common, but I have spent entire dives looking for them and have never found one.

So, SoCal is the place to find California hydrocoral. Farnsworth Bank is a great dive and you will find CaH there. The top of the pinnacles starts about 65 ft. down from the surface. From there you can get deeper than 165 ft. Vis. Is usually great with all kinds of critters to watch and take photos of.

Photos courtesy of Mr. Jack Millard.

*Have a favorite seafood or abalone recipe? Submit your recipe (and a photo would be great) to the newsletter editor for inclusion in a future newsletters.*

Did you like a previously submitted recipe? Tell us what you thought!

The purpose of this column is to share the experiences and opinions of your fellow divers on dive equipment. Your board believed that this information might help you make informed decisions on your next equipment acquisition. Be aware that this review is only a personal opinion and that all divers vary in their physical size, type of diving activities, experience, abilities, and personal preferences.

If you have recommendations for equipment, please share them by submitting a “GEAR REVIEW” article in the Bubbles. If your experience differs from a reviewer’s, please share that too. Other perspectives can give us a better view of what will or won’t work for us.

The purpose of this column is to share the experiences and opinions of your fellow divers on the dive equipment they have owned. Your board believes this information might help you make informed decisions on your next equipment acquisition. Be aware that this review is only a personal opinion of the reviewer and that all divers differ in their personal preferences.

Undercurrent Survey Shows
Good News for Dive Operators:
A Preponderance of Traveling Divers
Will Be Heading Out Before Year’s End

Check out the article here: Article

DDS Store COMING SOON!!!

Current Promotion: Lot Models on Sale - Showcase Homes of Malta - Malta, NY

With the lack of General Meetings due to COVID-19, there has been no opportunity for you our members to buy DDS clothing swag. Coming in the new year, we will have an online store so you can get your DDS swag! In the meantime here are a few examples of what is available. In addition, is our current inventory. If you’re interested in purchasing any items, contact Tracy Clarke at tracycdiver77 at yahoo.com.

Women’s T-shirts
1-Yellow medium
1-yellow large
1-pink large
1-Black large
1-Lt blue
1-Lt pink
2- pink XL

T-Shirts
1- Lt blue small
3-yellow medium
2-Army green medium
1-Cream medium
1- Lt blue medium
1-dark blue large
1-Lt green large
2-Black XL
1-red XL
1-burg XL
1-teal XL
1-Lt green 2X

Cool 32° t-shirts
1-Gray large
1-Blue 2XL
4-Black 2XL

Polo shirts/ 32°
1-Black XL
1-Black 2X
2-Blue 2X

Long sleeve T-shirts
1-dark gray large
2-ash gray XL
1-ash gray 2X
1-ash gray 3XL

Long sleeve sport
1-Blue XL
1-Blue 2XL

Sweatshirt hoodie
1-ash gray medium
1-Lt Blue XL

Sweatshirt hoodie /zipper
2-dark blue large
1-Black XL
1-Burgundy XL
1-Dark blue 3XL