July 2021 Current Bubbles
July 7, 2021 7:00
Board Meeting @ Live Zoom Meeting and at Board Member Ken Takata’s home.
contact a Board member for call in info
July 21, 2021 6:00
General Meeting at Fair Oaks Park
Zoom Meeting (click for call in info)
Adam Adcock 07/01
Sandi Stemple 07/05
Summer Smith 07/06
Sharon Furtak 07/10
Brooke Hudson 07/10
Jessica Lampela 07/13
Atakan Cokgor 07/16
Clayton Lee 07/24
Reis Pebbles 07/24
Jason Moore 07/25
Christina Egan 07/28
Emmanuel Chavez 07/31
Brittania Junes 07/31
No new members this month
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,
Happy 4th of July!
“Barbecues and fireworks, flags and parades, Independence Day evokes so many images of the American summer. Its original purpose to celebrate the birth of the American nation on July 4th, 1776, has given way to festivities that celebrate both America and the lives and freedoms that the accomplishments of American Independence have allowed. The commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is a time not only to reflect on what happened at America’s founding but also to look again at the nation’s values and recommit oneself again to those ideals.” ~ Anonymous
I found this on the internet and was immediately filled with love for this great country, and all that it stands for. We are a young country to the rest of the world, but we have come a long way and have tried to make this country and world a better place. I hope you have a great 4th of July and enjoy time with family and friends during this special occasion.
I am really looking forward to the Channel Islands trip. It will be my third time to the islands, and what a trip it will be; the Pacific Ocean at its best! The trip may be full by now, but if you would like to go you can put your name on the waiting list. Sometimes life happens and a diver that was all packed to go, unfortunately cannot make the trip. You could get the call to join us at the last minute. Please talk to Jack for more information.
Memberships:
ATTENTION RENEWING MEMBERS!! Due to the lack of events in 2020 (thanks COVID!), the Board of Directors has agreed to waive 2021 membership dues for members in good standing who already paid for their 2020 membership (thanks again COVID!). However, you will still need to complete the 2021 membership application and send it in. For your convenience, you can complete the online application or you can download the paper form and mail it in (the P.O. Box address is below). If you have already paid your 2021 dues, you will be refunded. Our Treasurer will be working on that in the coming week.
Please send in your applications and membership dues (if applicable) 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 General Meeting will be held at Fair Oaks Park on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, at 6:00 pm. The theme of this meeting is celebrating diving and getting to see each other again. I look forward to seeing current and future members, in person, at the next meeting!
Hoping to see you in the water in 2021!
Bubbles up!!
Owen Autry
President, Greatest Dive Club Ever!!
Memorial Day Camping Trip
May 28-31, 2021
Albion River Campground
25 DDS campers made the trek to Albion. Although the ocean was too rough for much diving and fishing, a great time was had by all. Some went kayaking, golfing, or just spent time exploring the beautiful Mendocino Coast. On Saturday, we had our usual potluck with way too much good food. On Sunday we had a post dinner campfire cocktail hour. Gordon Kunhle was joined by 6 divers on an urchin mitigation (smashing) event at Caspar Cove. The event was highly successful with many urchins eliminated.
I will lead the event next Memorial Day. Stay tuned.
KEN TAKATA
kennethktakata@gmail.com
July General Meeting in the Park
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Fair Oaks Park
We are starting to return to In-Person Meetings. Beginning in July, the monthly Board meeting as well as the monthly General meeting will be held IN-PERSON!! For those unable to attend or not comfortable attending in person just yet, ZOOM call-in will still be available.
Zoom Meeting (click for call in info)
Inland Lobster Feed & Dive
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Lake Natoma, Negro Bar
Bring your family, bring your friends and join us at Lake Natomas for our “Inland Lobster Feed” dive and potluck on Sunday, July 18at the Negro Bar picnic area. Look for us at the far end of the picnic area. A few of us will put out crawdad traps late Friday to recover for the event
Sunday morning all of the divers will meet at the Negro Bar State Park by 9:00 to boat up past the Rainbow Bridge for a fun drift dive. You should plan on arriving at the Negro Bar picnic area early because we want to be in our boats and ready to dive by 9:00! There are a lot of big crayfish hiding under the rocks so bring a “Goody Bag” to grab the biggest and fastest ones you see. There are also a lot of lost “treasures” that fishermen and swimmers have dropped in the lake so we can also do a lake cleanup and scavenger hunt while we dive. I have found several working watches and a gold ring on previous dives so be sure to keep your eyes open. The deepest you can get is only about 40 feet, and there may be a current to help us drift while we dive. Visibility is typically about 6 to 10 feet and the water temperature has been in the low sixties on previous dives.
Channel Islands Live-Aboard Trip
July 24-28, 2021
Our annual live aboard dive trip will be here soon and there still a couple of open spots! If you were planning on joining us, please let me know now! We have opened the trip to non-members so feel free to invite anyone who you think might be interested. The boat leaves the dock in Santa Barbara about 11:00 Saturday night. Then travels while we try to sleep on the way to Catalina, our dive location for the first 3 days. We should make our first dive at about 9:00 Sunday morning. Four action packed days later we will return to Santa Barbara for the ride home. To avoid the killer drive home late that night, many of us will drive part way home and stay in a Buellton motel.
The cost is $800.00. Make checks out to “Dolphin Dive Club” and either give them to me at the July meeting or mail them to me at: Dolphin Dive Club, PO Box 112, Orangevale, CA 95662. For more information you can contact me at 916-955-8017 or jbmillard@aol.com
Trip Report: Socorro Islands, Mexico
By Brad Freelove
From July 7 to July 16, four Dolphin members took advantage of a Dolphin Scuba live-aboard dive trip to the Socorro Islands. Lead by Mike Johnson, owner of Dolphin Scuba, we took a 4 hour flight from Sacramento to Cabo. Then, a 31 hour boat trip and we arrived at the islands. Our first dive had us interacting with dolphins, sharks, and mantas! And not just on our first dive. Every dive the mantas came out to play and the sharks were kept busy staying out of our way. Dolphins showed up about every third dive. Lots of semi-tropical fish and some cooler water stuff were also around. What a trip! The only thing missing was any garbage on the sea floor. Nothing there to pick up. The charter companies make sure that the area is kept as clean as possible. They do a great job. Something they can be proud of.
Most of the dives were in water around 79 degrees F. with visibility of between 50 and 100 ft. I used a 5 mil suit with no hood and kept very warm on every dive. Diving depths were anywhere from 20 to 90 ft. While the dive boat Valentina has both air and nitrox fills available, everyone was using nitrox. The crew of the Valentina treated us like royalty. Our tanks and weight belts were carried from our locker area to and from the inflatables. Food and drink were ready for us at the end of each dive. I told myself that I would not put on any weight during the trip….but that was a big fat lie! Between the great meals and snacks, I came back 5 pounds heavier. Everyone said the same thing. Each room had its own shower and toilet and AC. With two divers per room, there was plenty of space to relax. The dive masters and crew were very safety conscious , patient when needed, and as helpful as they could be.
This was a trip to remember. Mike Johnson kept us on schedule and made sure that everyone had a flight back to the states. COVID testing was required before we got off the boat and that was a breeze. We had our results within an hour and headed off to the airport. The weather and diving were fantastic and the crew and boat exceeded our expectations. We had a great trip and made new friends both above and below the surface. Thanks Mike for a wonderful experience.
Tired but happy divers!
