Annual Member of the Year and Photo Contest

Member of the Year:

Some years it is so hard to select member of the year because there are so many people who dedicate their time to helping make this club fun for all of us! This year however there was a clear choice… This year one person helped keep us connected and informed during a year of change and transition.  I am honored to call Renèe Viehmann our Webmaster, Newsletter Editor, Board Member and most importantly our 2020 Member of the Year!!

Photo Contest:

Thank you for everyone who participated with the photo contest. Although the process was different the photos did not leave us disappointed. The two categories this year were Any Club Event and Open Category. If you missed the voting here is a peak at what you missed. – Marlyn Sepulveda

Club Event: Above or Below picture from any club event current or past.

Winner: Holly Little – Colt and Summer watching the sunset at Ocean Cove (Labor Day 2020)

Open Category: Your favorite picture (does not have to be club related)

Winner: Owen Autry – Sea Anemone

Check out previous photo contest winners HERE

The California Gull (

The California Gull or seagull can be found from the middle of the U.S., up into Canada almost to the artic circle, and along the western coast of north America from Alaska to southern Mexico. During the summer they inhabit most of the noted area. Wintertime brings them to the coast. As they can, and will, eat most anything, they adapt to where they are living. An example of how adaptable they are is found in the history of Utah. Back in 1848 there was an outbreak of katydids. The little bugs started eating all the crops grown by Mormon settlers. Large flocks of gulls arrived and consumed most of the katydids, saving the settlers from starvation. Salt Lake City has a statue of the gulls and designated the California Gull as the Utah state bird! Several movies have been made covering this historic event.

Gulls can live up to 25 years. Both mom and dad take turns guarding the nest and keeping the eggs warm, feeding chicks, and teaching them to fly. Most nesting and raising of young take place around water. For those of you that have been on our annual Channel Islands trip, you will have visited Ship Rock. There you will find out what happens when thousands of gulls call a small island home. Gulls will eat just about anything. Leave your lunch unattended at the beach and gulls will tear it apart. Garbage dumps, fish cleaning stations, food left behind on the beach or road….well, all will supply a gull with a meal. While they can be a pest at times, they are fun to watch as they fly along rocky shores. Enjoy their beauty.

Dive Report – Costa Rica by Tom Mischley

12/19/20 – Hopefully, the pictures came through on WhatsApp and computer expect that you are, you were able to download them. Edit the article as you deem necessary.

The trip started in Cozumel diving with Aldora Divers. They maintain their standard excellent operation with steel tanks, Nitrox, 3600+ fills, grouping experienced divers together resulting in 80-90 minute dives at the usual plethora of dive sites available in Cozumel. The highlight was Punta Sur, basically diving to a reef at 60′ in the open ocean, heading down and cruzin with the current. Missed out on a north Adventure Dive due to conditions. Due to winds and erratic weather, the port was closed several days, so only got in 10 dives in two weeks. Very much enjoyed bicycling around the island with my daughter, stopping at the Money Bar for happy hour. We actually rented bicycles for the week. As Cozumel now has a bike lane on the south hotel zone, it was totally cool to bike to town for dinner at the excellent cheap restaurants and return along the ocean. New recommendation is AzulMadera *, totally delicious and not expensive.

Second leg of the trip is to Costa Rica, Guanacaste Province, Playa Flamingo where I am enrolled in a Spanish school and staying with a CR family. Pura Vida! and Pico Gallo.

This weekend offered the first opportunity to dive. One of the local operators surviving the pandemic, Pacific Coast Dive Center, has an excellent operation here. A nice full size boat with head. Dive masters have PADI instructor status. The main dive site here is Cataline Island, (fyi catalina is poop in Spanish)! At this time of year, in addition to manta rays the main attractions are white tip reef sharks. Due to the water temperature, it’s a combination of colder Pacific Ocean flora? (Coral) and warm water fauna, i.e. fish you will see in the Caribbean.
Due to winds, the visibility was only 10’…think Monterey, but the plethora of life within our limited vis was rewarding… moray’s, octopus, nudibranchs, rays, tremendous variety of fish. Water temp was 75, but due to dive time of 50 minutes :-(, my 3ml with hood separate hood and vest was totally adequate. Extremely nice was to get on the boat and it was warm!!
C.R. on the coast seems slightly more expense than Cozumel. A beer at a beach bar cost $3.33.Unless you are staying at an all-inclusive, a car is needed to have the freedom to explore the local restaurants, volcanos, mangroves, rivers, etc… Unlike Cozumel, the mountain spring water here is completely safe to drink as are the vegetables to eat.

The beaches and restaurants are empty… South of here is Cano Island and Manuel Antonio national park. So now is an excellent time to plan your trip. Get down here before rainy season starts in May!

12/20/20 – Wanted to follow up with a summary of today’s dives as one was fantastic!
First dive with a female DM, two women and a DM trainee looked promising. I thought, great, DM’s and women, all of whom should consume air very slowly. Initially, saw a white tip reef shark cruising around us. Highlight was some large manta rays flipping there way over our heads. The dive went poorly from then on. The two “Vacation divers” got so excited and erratic they blew through their air. Since the other DM was a trainee, the DM said he could not stay down with me. So, up we went as a group….me still with ample air.

After a “discussion” on the boat, the 2nd dive was reconfigured to the DM, Rachel, Laura, an experienced diver and myself. This turned out great. Saw another white tip, various schools of fish, couple of morays, then were blown away with the manta rays that cruised overhead. They were GIGANTIC! 12′ wing span at least. We basically settled on the sea floor at 40-50′ and enjoyed this unique display of sea life. Closest came to within 6′ feet. Came up to a large comfortable boat, warm blue skies and then a display of devil rays jumping out of the water.
Message to all: Plan that trip now… the airfare is cheap, the resorts are not crowded, the people are very friendly, all areas but especially the tourist areas are very COVID conscious…requiring temperature checks, feet wiping, hand sanitizing, masks. The greatest danger is the Americans that don’t follow the rules, but their easy to spot and avoid!

Regards to all!!
Tom Mischley

DDS Store COMING SOON!!!

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.