August SeaSwells Newsletter

8/8/2019 August SeaSwells Newsletter

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While on our annual Lake

George dive/campingweekend I was able to fulfill a

dream of mine, which was todive on a radeau constructed

in 1758, called the Land Tor-

toise.

The Land Tortoise was 52 foot

long and 18 foot wide militaryvessel, unique to Lakes George

and Champlain in the 18th

century. The radeau was con-structed in 1758 and was to

serve as a floating artilleryplatform. A flat bottom vessel

propelled by 26 oars, the Land

Tortoise has seven cannonports in her sides. It was con-

structed with angular linesand sloping bulwarks to pro-

tected the crew from enemy

fire.

The scuttling of the radeau tostore it under winter ice had

been described in soldiers'

journals. The Land Tortoisesettled into much deeper wa-

ter than intended and not re-covered the following spring.

After our dive we were toldthat once it hit the silt in the

lake, it may have taken off and

shot down to the center of

Lake George, which has a bot-

tom shaped like a bowl. It nowrests in 100 feet of water that

is 45 degrees. The cold freshwater preserves the vessel

pretty much as it was over 200years ago.

In 1998, the Land Tortoisewas listed as a National His-

ANCHOR LINE

DID YOU KNOW?First U/W Photographer?

2

ENVIRONMENT:Lobster Pot Retrieval

3

CONTEST:Freds First DiveDennis First Dive

4

LOOK!The Next Step

5

DIVE IN:2010 Dive ScheduleLocal Dive Shops

6

CLUB NEWS:ActivitiesSocial Events & ProgramList of 2010 Directors

7

PROGRAM NOTES:August Speaker

7

ON-LINE:

Planting Corals in FL

8

HONORS & AWARDS:BLUE & S ylvia Ea rleHonor Carl Safina

2

In This Issue:toric Landmark, only the sixthshipwreck in the nation withthat designation. The vessel

has also been designated bythe Smithsonian Institution as

"the oldest intact war vessel in

North America."

I had been told by many peo-

ple that the Land Tortoise was

nothing more than a bunch oftimbers on the bottom of the

lake. When I finally de-

scended 100 feet to the bottomI was pleasantly surprised to

see a vessel that was beauti-fully preserved and intact.

There's a chain set up aroundthe radeau as a barrier, re-

minding you to keep your dis-

tance. The force from even afin kick would be enough to

damage this historic vessel. Aswe circled the wreck I could

clearly see the holes in thesides where the oars went

through and the square open-ings that were the cannon

ports. Next year when we re-

turn to lake George I intend ondiving this wreck again better

prepared with photographyequipment to record the dive.

August 2010

Welcome to the August 2010 issue of the

Sea Swells Log!TSSC is making the most of the

summer, from picnics, to wild-

water rafting, camping and

diving, beach and ocean clean-

ups, social events, etc.

The July membership meeting

was themed Member Day with

presentations by members like

Corey Joyner, who entertained

us with a slide show of his dive

travel. Seeing these kinds of

pictures definitely makes you

want to get into your gear and

dive!

At the annual picnic, this year

at 7-Hills Lake, members came

together to enjoy one of the nic-

est days of the summer. Thanks

to Dennis and Bill, who ar-

ranged the spot, and Judy and

her team, who held the organ-

izational reigns!

We hope you will join us at

the August meeting!

Visit Our Website At: www.thescubasportsclub.org

The Scuba Sports ClubDives on a Pre-Revolution

Shipwreck

I made this dive with some

of our newest members to

TSSC; Judy, Dan and Alf.While on her way up Friday

night Judy stopped in RichMorin's Dive Center in

Glens Falls to ask if they

would be able to take us out

diving. There just happenedto be an opening on Sunday

Continued Page 3
http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/


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Page 2 August 2010 Sea Swells Log

Louis Boutan was a lecturer at the

Paris Faculty of Science. At this

time, photographs were taken on glass

plates with wet collodion emulsions.

Boutan acquired a fixed focus camera,

(focusing under water was thought to

be impossible) and fitted a control lever

which opened and closed the shutter.

At the end of the exposure, which

lasted ten minutes to a half hour, he

could move the lever which would then

close the shutter and dropped the ex-

posed plate, leaving a fresh one for the

next picture. He put this device in a

copper, waterproof box with three glass

ports, two for his viewfinder and one

for the lens. The camera was pressur-

ized with an external rubber balloon

which compressed the air in the cam-

era to the same pressure at depth.

The date was 1893. He reported the

apparatus as not very practical.

To eliminate the pressure problem,

his second camera was a wet one,

where water was able to circulate in-

side. (1894). He reported the results

as very mediocre. Invariably there

was some undulation of the shutter

mechanism causing some blur in the

pictured.

His third camera had an astigmatic

lens that could be focused before div-

ing. It took pictures seven by nine and

a half inches. His final accomplish-

ment was underwater lighting. His

light source was a glass balloon with

a spiral magnesium wire and con-

taining oxygen. There was consider-

able difficulty with this, as his bal-

loons tended to explode or burn un-

evenly. I may have rejected it too

soon. With a few modifications it

might be improved. Indeed it was. It

is the principle of contemporary flash

bulbs.

Lada Simek

By

Lada Simek

The First U/W Photographer?

BLUE Ocean Film FestivalNames Carl Safina Winner ofS y l v i a E a r l e A w a r dHonoring the Commitment toOutstanding Ocean Advocacy

MONTEREY, CA, August 3, 2010

BLUE Ocean Film Festival, today named environmental-

ist Dr. Carl Safina the recipient of the 2010 SylviaEarle Award. Dr. Earle will present the award August28 at the festival's BLUE Carpet Awards Ceremony. Dr.

Safina's writing explores the scientific, moral, and socialdimensions of our relationship with nature. His writing

has been awarded such distinctions as New York TimesNotable Book of the Year, Los Angeles Times "Best Non-

fiction," Library Journal's "Best Science Book," Lannan

Literary Award, John Burroughs Medal, the National

Academies' "Year's Best Book for communicating science."

Safina is a recipient of the Pew Scholar's Award in Con-

servation and the Environment, Chicago's BrookfieldZoo's Rabb Medal, and a MacArthur prize, among many

other honors. He is an adjunct professor at Stony Brook

University, and founding president of theBlue Ocean In-

stitute.

Honoring her long legacy of groundbreaking achievements

as a deep-sea explorer, noted marine scientist, accom-plished underwater filmmaker, renowned author and tire-

less ocean advocate, the award was presented to Dr. Earlein 2009 and carries her name. BLUE and Dr. Earle have

joined forces to present this special

achievement award for outstandingocean advocacy.

For a complete list of films, visit:

www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org.
http://www.blueocean.org/http://www.blueocean.org/http://www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org/http://www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org/http://www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org/http://www.blueocean.org/


3/8


for us to dive on the Land Tortoise (only

two dive boats per day are allowed). Thisturned out to be a wise choice for us as

Kurt and Marty (our dive masters) fromMorin's have had a lot of experience div-

ing the radeau. What can be a difficult

dive, 100 feet deep with temperatures in

the mid-forties, went very smoothly. They

use an easy to dive out of Zodiac, thatwas equipped with a DAN oxygen pro-

vider kit and a cell phone just in case of

emergency. There was a descent line in

place going down to the radeau, whichmade for an easy and controlled decent

and ascent, which included three safety

stops on the way up.

For our second dive Kurt and Marty tookus to a secret dive spot where we found

loads of lake George diamonds (sorry Ican't tell you where, I am sworn to se-

crecy).

For more information on the Land Tor-toise and a DVD you can visit the Web

site; http://www.thelostradeau.com/.

There's still time left this year if youwant to visit this underwater historic

wreck. I would recommend using Rich

Morin's Dive Shop because of their pro-

f e s s i o n a l s e r v i c e ; h t t p : / /www.richmorinsproscubacenters.com/

Dive often, dive safe and enjoy the rest of

your summer.

Jim Sacci

Photos by Judy Droznek

For more photos, see our website at

www.thescubasportsclub.org

TSSCDives...,continued

The Scuba Sports Club of West-chester County and Captain Mikes

Diving Services on City Island, are un-dertaking a major project to retrievelost lobster pots from the Long IslandSound beginning in the City Island area.

The project which has already begun asscuba divers are locating and mapping

the lobster pots to be retrieved on Au-gust 15th.

Environmentally this is a significant steptowards removing years of man-madedebris that has accumulated in the wa-ter. Plus the scuba divers will be identi-fying and/or removing any other debristhat they are able too.

An additional benefit will be the return-ing to the original owners their propertythat was lost either null or through van-dalism. Many of the lobster pots areowned by people who support their

families by being lobstermen, alongwith the individuals who fish recreation-ally.

As each lobster pot is required to have aNYS DEC identification number attachedto it we will be able to with the help ofthe DEC to identify the owners of thelobster pots.

As this project progresses, we will beposting pictures of what we find and insome cases video to show what activityis occurring in these lobster pots as lob-

sters and other sea life were caught andtrapped and unable to be retrieved andset free or used as the food they wereoriginally meant to be caught for.

We consider this project to be a positivestep forward for everyone as it will beimproving the quality of the Long IslandSound at the same time assisting busi-ness owners and others whose equip-ment was lost.

All of this work is being done on avolunteer basis by everyone in-volved so anyone who would like toparticipate by either joining physi-cally with scuba diving or providingtheir time and boat to help thescuba divers in the mapping processor by financially sponsoring to helpunderwrite the costs of the removalof the debris and other equipmentyour assistance would be greatlyappreciated.

Please come to our August meetingto hear more about this undertak-ingor check the websiteswww.thescubasportsclub.org orwww.captainmikesdiving.com fordetails and updates.

If you are on Facebook, please letus know whether you will attend bygoing toh t t p : //www. f a ceb ook . com/

event.php?eid=131207963557621to RSVP.

Lobster Pot RetrievalSet for August 15thEnvironment
http://www.thelostradeau.com/http://www.thelostradeau.com/http://www.thelostradeau.com/http://www.thelostradeau.com/http://www.richmorinsproscubacenter.com/http://www.richmorinsproscubacenter.com/http://www.richmorinsproscubacenter.com/http://www.richmorinsproscubacenter.com/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131207963557621http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131207963557621http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131207963557621http://www.richmorinsproscubacenter.com/http://www.thelostradeau.com/http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131207963557621http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/


4/8


By FRED GAMBINO

As a youngster, I had always been

eager to get into the water at everyopportunity. Then, in 1946 47 (time

approximate) I saw a movie entitled

THE FROGMEN. It was about theU.S. Navys underwater demolitionteams and their fight against the Japa-

nese in the Pacific during World War II.From then one I knew that one day I

would become a diver!

By 1950 I had my first fins, mask and

snorkel and began skin diving.

In 1955 I graduate high school, got a joband was able to buy my first scuba tank

from Kitman Dive Shop, which was lo-

cated on the Post Road in Mamaroneck.

I also purchased a singlestage, two hose Mistral

regulator, made by US Di-

vers, for $65.

I joined a dive club calledthe Westchester Tritons,

also in Mamaroneck, butlong since out of existence.

We were all single and used

to get together to skin diveand spearfish in Long Island

Sound, so we were prettywater-wise in most things

except using compressed air.

In those days there were nocertifying agencies for div-

ing, so we eagerly read, studied and

compared information from any divebooklets we could get our hands on US

Divers, Healthways, E.R. Cross, Master

Navy Diver, etc. We also sent to the Su-perintendent of Documents to obtain

U.S. Navy Diving Manuals. These tookabout three months to arrive. While

eagerly studying all this dive info, I sentto Redondo Beach, CA for a custom

wetsuit, at a cost of $70.

Much of the diving equipment in the

mid-50ies was not very reliable.Watches, depth gauges and compasses

would soon flood, lose their bezels orotherwise fail in their functions, so we

did the best we could under the circum-stances, preparing for the BIG ONE!

When we were ableto get the use of apool we practiced

buddy breathing,

proper weight forour suits, exhaling

ascents when risingfrom the bottom,

doff and don, etc.With spring on the

way one of our

members became

acquainted withs o m e o n e w h o

owned a quarry in

Eastchester, and wereceived permission

to dive there.

On a warm, sunny spring day in May

we eagerly assembled at the quarry,buddied up and jumped in. Since we

had no BCs we were weighted just to

float with the water at nose level. This

necessitated bending over and flingingyour legs into the air to gain a down-

ward push, then swimming down a

few feet to get neutral, then continu-ing towards the bottom and gaining

weight as your suit compressed.

The bottom was at 30 feet and thevisibility was very good. At first we

sat there practicing mask clearing and

buddy breathing, then we slowlyswam over the bottom and around the

sides of the quarry. At last I was thor-

oughly enjoying breathing underwater

and the freedom of moving in any di-rection I chose in this watery realm.

We gradually ran out of air and time.

Being about 4 lbs lighter due to loss of

compressed air from our tanks, weslowly rose to the surface following

our smallest bubbles up.

This was a most memorable day forme. I had finally become a diver, al-

though a brand-new one with much to

learn in the coming years.

Fred Gambino

By DENNIS ORLOWSKI

Go! Go Now! Go now! With the cap-

tains command still in my ears I

plunged into the water and there it was,

right below me, a 15 foot whale shark!My first day of diving and Im swimming

with the largest fish in the ocean!!!

I can state with reasonable certainty

that no one has ever taken 40 years tocomplete their diving certification, ex-

cept maybe me. I began in 1969 in a

pool at CCNY and finished last yearafter a great deal of support, prodding

and pushing from TSSC members.

Kicking and screaming I began taking

classes again, determined to overcomemy fears and find out what all the fuss

was about diving. After all, I snorkelevery chance I get in the Caribbean and

have seen some wonderful things. Howmuch better could diving be? The an-

swer came last month in Utila, Hondu-ras.

My first dive of the trip was notSplendor in the Ocean. I was under

weighted and struggled with my buoy-ancy for most of the dive. Fearing an

out of control assent and being underweighted is not a good combination, es-

pecially for a nervous nut like me.Once resolved, I was able to calm

down and begin to look around.

Swimming with the whale sharks be-tween the first and second dive drove

my excitement to get back into waterto see what else I could find. The wa-

ter was crystal clear with viz of about70 feet and virtually no current.

The reef was spectacular, filled with

life and beauty previously unknown to

me. By the third dive of the day, Ididnt want to surface. Parrot fish,

Queen Angels, corals, fans andsponges Oh My! A new world had

Continued Page 5


5/8


opened to me. One in which I was the

alien and the inhabitants were beautifuland willing to share their environment.

It was being in a real life Wonderlandwhere the only sound was my breathing,

the only time was now, and the onlythought was Wow look at that, look at

that and that!

Each of the dives were unique and exhila-rating, but the most thrilling part of the

trip for me was swimming within a pod ofdolphins. They were all around and be-

neath me. When I was literally closeenough to pet one, it turned its head,

looked at me and opened its mouth dis-

playing a huge set of teeth. Not speakingDolphinese, I wasnt sure if he was smil-

ing at my approach or warning me that if

I touched him I would come back with a

stump. Choosing prudence I just waved

to him. This seemed to satisfy him andwe continued swimming together. It

was one of the most exciting 15 min-utes of my life.

I now understand how a diver cannot

help but be an environmentalist. Pro-

tecting these creatures and their homes

is vitally important for them and us.

There are a few things I would recom-mend to those who have yet to take

their first dive. One, dont let anyoneguess at the weight you need. Do it by

the book and check your buoyancy be-

fore diving. Being weighted properlymakes all the difference.

Second, be lucky enough to have a

diver with you who can teach you what

you want to be when you grow up as adiver. I was fortunate enough to have

Bob Bak show me what it means to be

a hunter.

Third, go with a bunch of loonies whare a hoot to be with in and out of th

water. TSSC members fit the bill pefectly.

Finally and most importantly, buddwith someone who you trust implicitl

knowing they will be there to prote

you from your ignorance. It was i

credibly reassuring to be able to looup and see my Guardian Angel Fish

in the person of Bill Noel, hoverinabove me for the first two days. Whe

he stopped hovering, I knew I had b

come a diver.

Thanks to all for your help and frienship.

Dennis Orlowski

By

Nick Lappano

Since getting my Advanced Open Water

certification in the Spring of 2005, Ialways intended to go to the next level and

be certified as a Rescue Diver. Its incredi-

ble how quickly time flies, but finally I took

the next major step in my development asa diver and completed my training to be

certified as a PADI Rescue Diver.

I was dropping off my tanks for a fill atScuba NY and noticed that they had a Res-

cue Diver class starting on June 8th. Since Ihad already purchased and reviewed the

training materials and my schedule was

pretty clear, I decided this was the time totake the plunge so I signed up.

We gathered in the classroom at Scuba NYon June 8th. The class consisted of six stu-

dents, including TSSCs Social Director,Judy Simek. Our instructor was John Si-

koryak and he was assisted by Sal Astarita

who is a Divemaster at Scuba NY. Schedul-ing times when all of us could get together

was challenging but we managed by com-pressing what would normally take four

nights of classroom/pool work into threenights. This was made possible because of

the expertise of our instructor and thededication of the students as each of us did

all the studies and knowledge reviews be-

fore the classes so that John was able tocover the classroom portion of the course

quickly yet thoroughly. We took and

passed the final exam on June 16th and

completed the remainder of our poolwork the same night. Next stop: the

training scenarios at Dutch Springs onJune 26th and 27th.

At 10 AM on the 26th John, Sal and four

of the students met for what was to be

an interesting two days. After John

briefed us, the four of us waited forsomething to happen. After a shorttime, we heard the cry of Pizza, Pizza!

(To avoid mistaking the training drillsfor a real emergency, Pizza is used

instead of Help while enacting scenar-

ios.)

Our first exercise did not exactly go aswell as it could have, but afterwards

John told us that it went almost just ashe expected. The scenario involved an

underwater non-responsive diver (Sal).

Among our miscues:

We did not have someone acting as

a manager which caused confusionand a lack of organization.

We thought the person who called

for help (Pizza!) was the victimwhen he was trying to tell us some-

one else was in trouble. We eventossed him a line (by the way the

line throw was excellent). This de-layed our response to the real emer-

gency. We actually rescued a non-

combatant. This was really funny!

The team member who went dowrescued another diver, not from o

group, who was in no need of asstance. Although John was expe

ing us to do many things wrong our first scenario, this surpris

even him.

After this first fiasco the rest of the s

narios played out much better. Each

us got a chance to rescue a non resposive dive on the surface. Poor Judy hto save my fat butt, but she was able

complete the rescue despite the dispity in our sizes.

We completed other scenarios and deonstrated skills, then stopped for t

day at about 2 PM due to PADI trainirestrictions.

That evening several of us went on

recreational (non-training) night difollowed by an hour or two of convers

tion before we retired for the evenin

Some of us slept in trailers, some

cars, some slept outside. I opted fortent. The next morning, as directed, were ready at 9:20 AM.

After about 30 minutes of anticipatiwe heard Pizza, Pizza! John w

about 25 yards away and shouted thhe had a cramp.

Since I was the closest diver and

ready geared up, I headed out rescue him. I was about a third of t

The Next Step

Continued Pag


6/8

Club Dive Schedule

Date/Time: Location Description Contact/Organization

Aug 15 Long Island Sound Lobster Pot Clean-Up Check website for details

Aug 20 to 22 St. Lawrence Seaway Canadian side in Brockville Jack Kurz

Nov. 27 to Dec 4 Exumas, Bahamas Aquacat Liveaboard Jim & Joann Sacci

All dates and programs are subject to change without prior notice. For more details and updates, either contact

Jack Kurz or the dive coordinator shown, or refer to our website atwww.thescubasportsclub.org .

LOCAL DIVE SHOPS - AT YOUR SERVICEThe listing of local dive shops is provided to you as a reference and public service. For each shops specialty, please call or visit their website.

Captain Saams Scuba

School863 E Main St., Ste B

Stamford, CT 06902

Tel. 203-32 SCUBAwww.capt-saam.com

The Dive Shop439 Federal Rd.

Brookfield, CT 06804Tel. 203-740-9166

www.TheDiveShoponline.com

Pan Aqua Diving (2 locations):

460 W 43rd St., New York, NY 10036Tel. 212-736-3483

and461 Federal Rd., Brookfield, CT 06804

Tel. 203-775-3573www.panaqua.com

Rex Dive Center

144 Water StreetNorwalk, CT 06854

Tel. 203-853-4148

www.rexdive.com

Cougar Sports

917 Saw Mill River Rd.Ardsley, NY 10502Tel. 914-693-8877

Durland Scuba Committee

& School

Venture Crew #53

35 East Grassy Sprain Rd. Ste 204Yonkers NY 10710

Tel 914-961-1263

http://www.durlandscuba.org


Aqua Visions Scuba118 West Boston Post Road

Mamaroneck, NY 10543

Tel. 914-381-1884

www.aquavisions.biz

Ski and Scuba Connection26 Saint Roch Ave

Greenwich, CT 06830

Tel. 203-629-4766www.skiandscubaconnection.com

2037 Central Park Ave

Yonkers, NY 10710

Tel. 914-779-2966

and

2672 Gerritsen Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11229

Tel. 718-769-0099www.scubany.com

Captain Mikes

Diving School530 City Island Ave

City Island, NY 10464

Tel. 718-885-1588

www.captainmikesdiving.com

Abyss Scuba222 E Main Street

Mt. Kisco, NY 10549

914-244-3483www.abyss-scuba.net

Marsh Scuba Supply93 Lauer Rd.

Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Tel. 845-452-8994

www.marshscuba.com
http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.aquavisions.biz/http://www.skiandscubaconnection.com/http://www.skiandscubaconnection.com/http://www.scubany.com/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.abyss-scuba.net/http://www.marshscuba.com/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.marshscuba.com/http://www.scubany.com/http://www.abyss-scuba.net/http://www.skiandscubaconnection.com/http://www.captainmikesdiving.com/http://www.aquavisions.biz/


7/8

Whos Who at TSSCin 2010


Marketing Director: Bill NoelDive Planning: Jack KurzEducation/Safety: Bob BakEnviro/Legislative: Peter Peale

President: Jim Sacci

Vice President: Nick Lappano

Treasurer: Cindy Fisher

Secretary: Joann Bohannon

Director At Large: Michael Noel

Membership: Denise Kurz

Newsletter: Ruth Emblin

Webmaster: Jim Sacci

Program: Allan Rios

Social: Judy Simek

Legal Advisor: Robert Schrager

Founder: Armand Zigahn

Co-Founder: Soliman Shenouda

List Maintenance: Anne Judge

Note: Programs may change without prior notice.

See www.thescubasportsclub.orgfor updates.

SOCIAL &

EVENTS

2010

For details on the individual events,please go to

www.thescubasportsclub.org

and click on Events

Aug.

15th

Lobster Pot Clean-Up -

Long Island SoundCooperation between TSSC

and Captain Mike'sDiving Services

Sept.

25th

International Coastal

Clean-Up DayLocation TBA

Directors Meeting:Wed.Aug. 11th at 6 pm

General Meeting:Wed. Aug. 11th, 2010, at 7.00 pm

Victors Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

Matthew D. Potenski, Shark Research

Institute (see Program Notes below)

August Program

Directors Meeting:Wed. Sept, 1st, 2010 at 7.00 pm

(Location TBA)

General Meeting:

Wed. Sept. 8th, 2010 at 7:00pm

Victors Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

Dr. Richard Cooper on Seabase I

Details to be announced.

September Program

Official Dive

Club

of

BENEATH THE SEA

Matthew D.Potenski

is a marine biologist and underwater pho-tographer specializing in the study andimage capture of sharks and rays. Hisresearch projects have taken him to loca-tions including the Bahamas, Cocos Island(Costa Rica), the Galapagos, Grand Cay-man, the Netherlands Antilles, SouthAfrica, and Tanzania. He has workedwith a variety of elasmobranch species,but currently is focused on his PhD stud-ies of whale sharks in Mafia Island, Tan-

zania. Matthew is the Director of FieldOperations for The Shark Research Insti-tute (www.sharks.org) and a consultantwith WWF-Tanzania program Of-fice. Matthew has also worked with theBimini Biological Field Station Sharklabfor the last 10 years, working on researchprojects on lemon sharks in both Floridaand the Bahamas. Additionally, he hasworked for the Guy Harvey Research In-stitute of Nova Southeastern UniversitysOceanographic Center.Matt completed his dive certification inthe cold, murky waters of New Jer-sey. Matthew started working on sharkresearch projects in the Caribbean andwas enchanted by the clear blue watersso different from his native New Jer-sey. After completing his B.S. degreefrom Rutgers University, he moved to Ft.Lauderdale to pursue his MSc degreeworking with southern stingrays in GrandCayman. Matt has furthered his divetraining with several mixed-gas, deep-water, and rebreather certifications ashe looks to push his observations and

images to more habitats underwater.His work and travel has fueled hispassion for photography.Matt founded MDP Photography in2007 and has worked part time as anunderwater photographer. His imageshave graced the pages of books bymarine authors Richard Ellis and Syl-via Earle, as well as magazines includ-ing Beyond, Blue, Divestyle Magazine,Natures Best Photography, and Na-tional Geographic Extreme Ex-plorer. He has written scientific arti-cles as well as popular articles on

shark ecology and conservation. Mat-thew has given lectures in many ven-ues including the Beneath the Sea andDEMA dive shows, and has been aguest expert to the Sea & Learnprogram on Saba, Netherlands Antilleson three occasions. To see more ofMatts work please see his website atwww.matthewdpotenskiphoto.com.

August Program Notes
http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.beneaththesea.org/http://www.sharks.org/http://www.sharks.org/http://www.sharks.org/http://www.matthewdpotenskiphoto.com/http://www.matthewdpotenskiphoto.com/http://www.beneaththesea.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/http://www.matthewdpotenskiphoto.com/http://www.sharks.org/


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EDITORS NOTE:

This newsletter is a publication of The Scuba Sports Club of Westchester, NYIssue 08/2010 Material may not be reprinted without explicit permission by TSSC.

way there when John disappeared belowthe surface. I kicked into overdrive and

descended when I reached the spot wherehis bubbles were breaking the surface. I

descended as quickly as safely possible,

taking care to equalize along the way andreached the victim at a depth of 37 feet. I

helped John relieve his cramp as we weretrained and gave him the OK? signal to

see if he was feeling better.

Instead of responding affirmatively, John

gave me a devilish grin (I could see it in hiseyes) and a little wave. He then started to

rapidly ascend. Great He was now a pan-icked diver in danger of making a rapid

ascent. I grabbed his fin and proceeded tocrawl up Johns leg in an attempt to slow

his ascent. It worked to a degree and we

broke the surface, having ascended from

Sea Swells Log, 20 Tinker Hl, Putnam Valley NY 10579 OfficialDive Club

It has come to my attention that cer-

tain club members are enjoyingthemselves way too much. Well, good

for...us! It seems that there is something

going on every weekend at TSSC, be itan informal get-together, camping, div-

ing, finding ways to help our environ-

ment, and more. It has been a very busysummer so far, and I am very glad to

see even a number of new members get-ting in on all the excitement.

Mind you, the summer isnt over yet; thepesky Going Back To School commer-

cials on TV dont mean we have to stop

enjoying the warm weather we are cer-tain to have for quite some time. And

there is always something to look for-ward to, like our trip to the Bahamas at

the end of year. There is nothing better

than a journey into warmer climesand waterswhen the summer and fall

seasons have ended in our area. I forone cant wait to have some more fun!

RuthEditor

Scuba Divers To Plant Corals in the Florida Keys

KEY LARGO, Florida Keys

Scuba divers can work side-by-side with

marine scientists to aid in reef restoration

during a series of coral restoration dives

set for August 11-13, Oct. 19-22 and Nov.

1-3 with Amoray Dive Resort in Key

Largo. The events are scheduled to corre-

spond with the annual coral spawn.

Focused on environmental education, the

group advocacy trips are to include educa-

tional lectures and dive programs to re-

store endangered staghorn and elkhorn

corals. Hands-on activities are planned

for both on land and offshore at Key

Largo's Coral Restoration Foundationnursery and surrounding reefs.

Leading the education and dive trips is

coral restoration expert Ken Nedimyer,

president of CRF, as part of the nonprofit

organization's mission. Staghorn and

elkhorn are both listed on the endangered

species list and Nedimyer's goal is to turn

that around.

Class sessions precede dive trips and

focus on coral health, corals' function in

marine ecosystems, identification of natu-

ral and manmade threats to coral and

means to protect the resource in the Flor-

ida Keys. Program participants receive

hands-on experience in coral restoration andpropagation, and learn directly about the

impacts on Florida's reefs and how individ-

ual citizens can help. Participants go on

working dives that consist of a trip to the

coral nursery to clean and prepare corals for

planting, and an orientation dive at one of

the restoration sites.

At the nursery, corals are started from a

clipping about the length of a knuckle, and

grow to 30 or 40 centimeters. After a year on

the reef, corals grow several inches tall with

multiple branches and in five years they are

strong, independent structures serving as

habitat to a variety of tropical fish.

"Participants in the coral nursery work-shops get to see what can happen in a year

and five years," Nedimyer said.

In August 2009 the first cultured corals

were discovered spawning after only two

years -- the first time it had been observed

in the wild.

"The goal is to get them to reproduce suc-

cessfully so the corals that have spawned

here can settle 10 miles or 50 miles from

here," Nedimyer said. "What we're trying to

do is put the girls and the boys back

together in the same room so that they'll

make babies."

More info: www.coralrestoration.org

gen to John as a safety precaution

since he had made a rapid ascent. Thvictim did not show any ill effects, s

no further action was required an

the scenario was terminated.

John then informed us that this con

cluded our training and high five

were exchanged all around to celebrate our new status as PADI Rescu

Divers.

Conclusion As anticipated, this course was bot

fun and challenging. We were forceto extend ourselves beyond our previous limits and I believe it made me a

better diver. I am now more able to da self rescue as well as assisting othe

divers if they have a problem. I can

also recognize and handle a potentia

problem to nip it in the bud therebpreventing it from becoming a seriou

situation which would require assis

tance and/or a rescue.

the aforementioned depth in about 30

seconds. Although this is definitelyfaster than recommended it was better

than letting an out of control diver reach

the surface in even less time.

I was hoping (foolish me) that the

victim would calm down at the surface.

Againno such luck. John now assumedthe role of a panicked diver at the sur-

face. When I approached him heclimbed on top of me, forcing my head

under the water. (By the way, John is a

pretty big dude,) As I was trained, I sub-merged, pushing John up and away

from me. I then circled behind him andclimbed up his back/tank and got in the

knee cradle position. I cradled his tankbetween my knees and reached over his

left shoulder to inflate his BCD.

At this point, the victim, having be-

come positively buoyant, calmed downand I assisted him toward shore using

an underarm tow. Another member ofour team administered emergency oxy-

The NextStep,

continued

Nick Lappano
http://www.coralrestoration.org/http://www.coralrestoration.org/