sea swells may 2011
TRANSCRIPT
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As I write this, an intrepid
group of TSSC members
should be returning from the
first Club trip of the year. They
went to Guanaja, one of the
Bay Island off the coast of Hon-
duras. I’m sure there will be
lots of great stories to be told
about their adventures. One by
one, TSSC is knocking off the
Bay Islands, having previously
gone to Roatan and Utila on
Club trips. I myself am looking
forward to revisiting Fantasy
Island in Roatan later this
year. I will be using a trip that
I successfully bid upon in the
silent auction at Beneath the
Sea.
On April 9th, as documented in
the April edition of Sea Swells,
the Club had its Open House at
the North Salem Firehouse
which was secured for our use
by Tom Butcher. THANKS
TOM!
Tabby Constantino and her
team put together a very suc-
cessful event using a pirate
theme. Both existing members
and potential members had agreat time enjoying the endless
supply of food which was pro-
vided by the members them-
selves. I would like to thank
everyone for their generous
participation at the event.
By the time this issue of Sea
Swells is published a few
events should have already
taken place. These include the
Run for the Wild on April 30th
ANCHOR LINE
ENVIRONMENT:Orchard Beach 2011
2
EVENTS:Vintage Dive FilmFestival
3
DIVE LOG:How Sharks Do It
LOOK:Run For The Wild!
LOOK:Scuba Reader
4
4
5
DIVE IN:2011 Dive Schedule
6
CLUB NEWS: ActivitiesSocial Events & ProgramList of Directors
7
SPECIAL EVENT:Whitewater Rafting
7
ON-LINE:UK Diving Record Attempt
8
MAY PROGRAM NOTES:Bernie Chowdhury
8
In This Issue:at the Bronx Zoo and the Or-
chard Beach Clean Up/
Barbeque/Clambake on May
1st.
I look forward to reporting on
the Club’s success at both of
these events at our General
Meeting on May 11th.
Don’t forget our upcoming pic-
nic on May 29. Bring whatever
you want to throw on the bbq.
We have a new location this
year and I’m sure everyone
will have a great time. Stay
tuned for an announcement
with the exact location.
On June 5th, the Club will
have a table set up at the Ma-
maroneck Harbor Fest so drop
by and say hello.
As most of you already know,
one of the Club’s most dedicat-
ed members, Don Reynolds, is
suffering from a severe medi-
cal condition. Bob Bak is coor-
dinating efforts by Club mem-
bers to assist Don with some
property maintenance issues
which he is currently unableto attend to. So if you can
spare any time to help out
with these tasks (painting,
lawn mowing, whatever)
please contact Bob to let him
know when or how you can
help. Don has always given
generously to the Club and the
community and we now have
an opportunity to show him
our appreciation and return
the favor.
May 2011
Welcome to the
May 2011 issue of
the Sea Swells Log!
Daytime temperatures are final-
ly on the rise around here. Some
of our members even braved the
still chilly local waters, like
TSSC president Nick Lappano
who insisted on—briefly—
proving his toughness by diving
the local 50 degree water in his
5 mil wetsuit…. Other members
preferred warmer water and
headed to a Caribbean destina-
tion instead. Warm or cold wa-
ter, club diving has begun in
earnest!
At the April meeting Alan Duck-
worth of the Blue Ocean Insti-
tute awed us with his experienc-
es diving in Australia without
becoming lunch for large fanged
predators.
The excellent program put to-
gether by Allan Rios continues
at the May Membership
Meeting on the second
Wednesday of the month! See
you there!
Visit Our Website At: www.thescubasportsclub.org
Activities Left,Right & Center
Well that’s it for this
month. I look forward to
seeing everyone at our May
Meeting and at one or more
of the upcoming events,
either above or under the
water.
Nick Lappano
President
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Page 2 May 2011 Sea Swells Log
On Sunday May 1st, TSSC, togetherwith Captain Mike’s Diving and
Long Island Diver’s Association (LIDA)
participated in the Second Annual Or-
chard Beach Underwater/Shoreline
Clean-up. Afterwards there was a
Barbeque/Clam Bake.]
I arrived (way too) early at 7:30AM to
participate in the set up. Instead I was
greeted by a group pf undisturbed sea-
gulls where we had planned to gather.
I enjoyed a quiet Dunkin’ Donuts
breakfast and coffee with the sound of
gentle breakers heralding the great day
to come.
By 8:15 Captain Mike with his crew as
well as Bill Pheiffer from LIDA had
arrived to start
setting up. Dives
flags were put up at
strategic locations
to guide attendeesto “section one” and
alert any boaters in
the area to the
presence of divers.
Tables were set up
and all was made
ready to regis-
ter divers and
keep track of
their entry and
exit from the
water,
The first divers entered the waterat about 9:30 to search for under-
water debris and the land crews
started to scour the shoreline to bag
the detritus which had washed up
to the high water line, It’s incredi-
ble how much junk washes ashore and
scary to imagine how much garbage is
floating around in our oceans. The big-
gest item was a large rudder which
must have come from some unfortunate
boat which probably lies some where
beneath the surface of Long Island
Sound. Underwater the scene was not
quite as littered and most divers were
hard pressed to fill their mesh bags alt-hough some did manage to collect some
significant debris.
I dove in my usual 5mm wetsuit with a
“chicken vest” despite the 48 degree
water. Call me hardy or stupid, but it
really wasn’t that bad and I actually
made two dives. Of course the more
“normal (a//ka “sane”) divers were in
drysuits. In total, I believe about twenty
Orchard Beach 2011 divers entered the water
with thirty or more peo-
ple collecting trash along
the shoreline.
After diving we all re-
paired to the picnic area
where we enjoyed all
manner of delicious food
which was cooked on two
grills provided by LIDA.
We continued to stuff our
faces and quench our
thirst while trading tales
with both old and new
acquaintances, At about
3PM it got a little chilly
and the wind started to pick up so
everyone donned sweat shirts
or jackets and continued to
party until 5 PM when wecleaned up our area and head-
ed home.
Everyone had a good time and
we collected a significant
amount of trash to make the
area more enjoyable for the
public to use this summer. All
in all, it was a great day.
Nick Lappano
By
Nick
Lappano
Environment
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Page 3 May 2011 Sea Swells Log
EVENTS &EVENTS &
CELEBRATIONSCELEBRATIONS
Allan Rios has collected several films for our first ever Vintage Dive Film Festival, to
be held on Saturday, May 14th at 7 pm, at the North Salem Firehouse.
Those of you who attended our Open House Party in April will be familiar with the loca-
tion. If you need directions, please refer to the event website at http://bit.ly/tssc-movies.
The film festival is free of charge, however, advance RSVP is required at
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Page 4 May 2011 Sea Swells Log
Ihave been fortunate to witness many
interesting things over the last fewyears, but my first experience with Leop-
ard sharks tops them all!
On a recent trip to the Maldives
(February 9, 2011) our first day of diving
from the live-aboard was the strangest.
Yes, I’ve seen rhinoceros mating at Six
Flags in NY. I’ve seen lions mating in the
Serengeti. But I never dreamed of seeing
Leopard sharks "getting it on"
during my first day of diving in
Maldives.
We were at Huvadhoo Atoll, div-
ing Meadhu Faru Reef. The
deepest I went was 82' down.The water temperature was a
warm 80 degrees. I did not check
the depth when I took the pho-
tos.
I noticed our group ‘gathering’
around what looked like a shark biting
something on the ocean floor. By the
time I got my camera into position, the
shark had moved away, and I saw an-
other shark lying on its back -- it did not
look like it had been eaten by the first
shark. I was surprised there was no
blood. All of a sudden, the bottom shark(female - as I learned later) flipped over
(it was alive after all!) and swam toward
me and away. The male swam off as
well. I had come upon two leopard
sharks as they were concluding their
mating ritual. Never did I imagine any
fish/sea life turning on its back for un-
derwater sex.
How Do Sharks Do It?
This trip was to celebrate my birth-
day which was the day of the leop-
ard sharks. What a surprising way
to celebrate!!!
For camera enthusiasts - I was not
as close as I would have liked. Used
my SeaLife 1200 on automatic.
Flash was really of no use because of
distance. We were at Huvadhoo At-
oll - Meadhu Faru Reef. The deepest
I went was 82' down. Water temper-
ature was 82 degrees. I did not look
at depth when I took the photos.
Martha Weissberg
Run For The Wild!
On April 30th TSSC Ran For The
Wild!!
Seven TSSC members formed a team and
ran/walked 5K to save the penguins. It
was a great day. We started the dat at 7
am at the Bronx Zoo. There were 552
teams, and 8,057 donors. The TSSC team
By
Martha
Weissberg
set a goal of $900 and thanks to all the
members and friends and family we
exceeded that goal and raised a total of
$1,205!!!!
I have never run or walked in a walk-a-
thon and found that it was a lot harder
then I expected, but we (Cindy, Craig,
Allan, and myself) did it in under an
hour. I am not sure how long it took
Joann, Jim and Bianca because they
ran instead of walked (kudos to
them). After crawling though the fin-
ish line we were all greeted with somegood food. There were lots of ven-
dors with all kinds of new "green" prod-
ucts. We were able to spend the rest of
the day wandering the zoo. It really
was a wonderful time and a very re-
warding day.
I hope that next year more people will
join us in raising money for the wild
life.
Tabitha ConstantinoNote: There will be another Run
for The Wild on October 9th at
the New York Aquarium! Vote for
your favorite ocean creature now!
Details at:
www.wcsrunforthewild.
org/nyaquarium/
By
TabithaConstantino
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Page 5 May 2011 Sea Swells Log
Like Allan Rios, who usuallywrites the Scuba Reader column,
I am always on the lookout for interest-
ing publications with ocean– or scuba-
diving related topics. Recently I came
across “My Sunset Rendezvous, Crisis
in Tahiti” by Ila France Porcher, and
because I loved diving in French Poly-
nesia I purchased the book.
Ila France Porcher’s book perfectly ex-
presses her love for wildlife, both in the
oceans and on land, and adds colorful
descriptions of island life. Ila’s illus-
trations are full of imagination and
emphasize her prose. The book is full
of humor and inspiring information,
yet also of heartbreak. The main part
of the book describes the author’s work
with the sharks of the island of Moorea
(one of my personal favorites). Her de-
scriptive writing style evokes the feel-
ing as if you were diving with her,
among the sharks she loves to observe.
The official editorial review says it all:
For years, the misconception has
flourished that sharks are mindless,
vicious creatures that we all should
fear and avoid. My Sunset Rendezvous
illustrates the little
known, intelligent
and kinder nature of
these wondrous ani-
mals. Through years
of studying the local
blackfin reef sharks
in Polynesia, author
Ila France Porcher
has made some intri-
guing discoveries and
has had some strange
and startling experi-
ences. She and a sci-
entific colleague, Ar-
thur A. Myrberg Jr.,
found the first evi-
dence that sharks can
think and the degree
to which they are so-
cial creatures. She also published a
scientific paper on the gestation peri-
od and reproductive cycle of the
sharks. When a company from Sin-
gapore began finning them in August
2003, she witnessed the devastatingresults underwater and sought to
protect her friends from this cruel
and wasteful practice. Through the
hard work and determination of
many wildlife advocates, the sharks
of Polynesia finally found protection
in 2006. I
France Porch
grew up in Bri
ish Columbi
Canada, an
now lives
Tahiti, Frenc
Polynesia. Sh
has spent muc
of her life as
wildlife artis
(under th
name of Ila M
ria), seeking
capture th
beauties of n
ture on pape
The connection
she formed wi
the sharks
Polynesia and the atrocities she w
nessed happening to them, inspire
her to write My Sunset Rendezvou
She is now working on her ne
book about wildlife.
Ila recently also wrote a blog on th
Sharksavers website, which may
found at this
http://tinyurl.com/6g9npxb
Enjoy!
Scuba Reader Foreword
By
Ruth
Emblin
Vintage Dive Film Festival - May 14th, North Salem Firehouse
http://www.thescubasportsclub.org/events/movie-night.html
First Annual Shark Dive Weekend Labor Day Weekend 2011. Fisherman's State
Park Rhode Island, http://www.riparks.com/fisherma.htm
Run for the Wild, October 9th, 2011
www.wcsrunforthewild.org/nyaquarium/
TSSC on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TheScubaSportsClub
TSSC on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/ScubaSportsClub
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2011 Dive Schedule
Date/Time: Location Description Contact/Organization
July 17th Dutch Springs, PA TSSC Day Tom Butcher
July 21st—24th
(3 nights)
Lake Champlain (VT Side) Dive & Camp Camping at Grand Isle State
Park, so far we have reserved site T008.
Tom Butcher
Sept. 2nd—5th Fisherman’s State Park, RI First Annual Shark Dive Weekendwww.thescubasportsclub.org/dives/rhode-island-
shark-dive.html
Allan Rios
Reserve your spot now!
Aug. 14th or 21st Lake Tiarotti, Harriman
State Park
Details to be announced Allan Rios
Sept. 1-10, 2011 Fiji, Beqa Lagoon Resort A Taste of Fabulous Fiji
See details at http://thescubasportsclub.org/dives/
fiji-dive-trip-2011.html
Ski & Scuba Connection *)*) not organized by TSSC, however,
several members are booked on this
trip.
All dates and programs are subject to change without prior notice. For more details and updates, either contact
Tom Butcher 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 shop’s specialty, dive training and trip programs, please call or visit their website.
Captain Saam’s Scuba
School
863 E Main St., Ste B
Stamford, CT 06902
Tel. 203-32 SCUBA
www.capt-saam.com
The Dive Shop
439 Federal Rd.
Brookfield, CT 06804
Tel. 203-740-9166
www.TheDiveShoponline.com
Pan Aqua Diving (2 locations):
460 W 43rd St., New York, NY 10036
Tel. 212-736-3483
and
461 Federal Rd., Brookfield, CT 06804
Tel. 203-775-3573
www.panaqua.com
Rex Dive Center
144 Water Street
Norwalk, CT 06854
Tel. 203-853-4148
www.rexdive.com
Cougar Sports917 Saw Mill River Rd.
Ardsley, NY 10502
Tel. 914-693-8877
Durland Scuba Committee
& School
Venture Crew #53
35 East Grassy Sprain Rd. Ste 204
Yonkers NY 10710
Tel 914-961-1263
http://www.durlandscuba.org
Page 6 May 2011 Sea Swells Log
Aqua Visions Scuba118 West Boston Post Road
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
Tel. 914-381-1884
www.aquavisions.biz
Ski and Scuba Connection
26 Saint Roch AveGreenwich, CT 06830
Tel. 203-629-4766
www.skiandscubaconnection.com
2037 Central Park Ave
Yonkers, NY 10710
Tel. 914-779-2966
and
2672 Gerritsen Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11229
Tel. 718-769-0099
Captain Mike’s
Diving School530 City Island Ave
City Island, NY 10464
Tel. 718-885-1588
www.captainmikesdiving.com
Abyss Scuba
222 E Main StreetMt. Kisco, NY 10549
914-244-3483
www.abyss-scuba.net
Marsh Scuba Supply93 Lauer Rd.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Tel. 845-452-8994
www.marshscuba.com
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TSSC MembersWe need Your Help!
Page 7 May 2011 Sea Swells Log
Note:
Programs may change without prior notice. Seewww.thescubasportsclub.org for updates.
SOCIAL & EVENTS
2011
For details on individual events,please go to
www.thescubasportsclub.org
Date Description
May 29th ANNUAL MEMORIAL
DAY WEEKEND PICNICLocation to be announced.
June 5th MamaroneckHarbor Fest
June
18th/19th
Clearwater FestivalCroton-on-Hudson
June 24th
-26th
Camping/WW RaftingLehigh Valley, PA
July 17th TSSC Day at Dutch
Springs
Sept International Coastal
Clean-Up Day
Details to be posted shortly
May 14th VINTAGE DIVE FILM
FESTIVALNorth Salem Firehouse
Directors Meeting:
Wed, June 1st, 2011 at 7 pm, directors to
be advised of location
General Meeting:
Wed. June 8th, 2011, at 7.00 pm Victor’s Restaurant, Hawthorne
Program Notes:
Rosanne Masone, author of Chasing the
Shark
June Program
Directors Meeting:
May 4th, 2011 at 7.00 pm, Amore, Ar-
monk
General Meeting:
Wed., May 11th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Victor’s Restaurant, Hawthorne
Program Notes:
Bernie Chowdhury on “ControversialWar Wrecks of Scotland’s Orkney Is-
lands/Scapa Flow”
See page 8 for details!
May Program
PRESIDENT: Nick Lappano
VICE PRESIDENT: Denise Kurz
TREASURER: Cindy Fisher
SECRETARY: Craig Thomae
PAST PRESIDENT: Jim Sacci
NEWSLETTER DIRECTOR: Ruth Emblin
PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Allen Rios
ENVIRO/LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR: Bianca Thomae
EDUCATION/SAFETY DIRECTOR: Ricky Bates
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR: TBA
DIVE PLANNING DIRECTOR: Tom Butcher
SOCIAL DIRECTOR: Tabby Constantino
DIRECTOR AT LARGE: Dan Levin
LEGAL ADVISOR: Robert Schrager
FOUNDER: Armand Zigahn
CO-FOUNDER: Soliman Shenouda
LIST MAINTENANCE: Ann Judge
Join The Scuba Sports Club
On Our Annual Whitewater Rafting & Camping TripLehigh Valley, PAJune 24—26, 2011
Camping at Hickory Run State ParkRafting at Whitewater Adventures
(advance booking required)
For details, please go to
http://bit.ly/tssc-rafting
As you know, your board of directors has been working hard to present you with the
best possible program, information and events all year round. Our primary concern is
keeping you, the membership interested and entertained, and providing you with dives,
outings and events we will all enjoy.
In order to better manage these events we need your help. In the future we will ask you to
send us an advance RSVP to let us know whether you will attend an event or not. This willhelp us gauge interest in our events as well as plan ahead in terms of food and drinks and
other elements. With your help we can avoid waste of food and materials, and make our
events and outings even better! So please look out for invitations on Facebook and via
email—and please RSVP! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
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British Army set out to find and divethe World War I British destroyer
H.M.S. Pheasant, which sank myste-
riously in 1917. This project was the
first of its kind approved by the Brit-
ish military and is noteworthy be-
cause it employed technical, rather
than commercial or military, tech-
niques. The team found what it be-
lieves to be H.M.S. Pheasant in 280
feet. Some of Bernie’s underwater
video taken on this project was
shown on BBC Scotland news. Other
dives in the Orkney Islands include
the controversial war grave H.M.S.Hampshire, which took British Sec-
retary for War Lord Kitchener and
his general staff to their graves in
June, 1916, at the height of World
War I. Recent British Parliamentary
action has now officially restricted
these sites. Video and slides selected
from Bernie’s fourteen
trips to Orkney will be
shown.
Page 8 May 2011 Sea Swells Log
EDITOR’S NOTE:
This newsletter is a publication of The Scuba Sports Club of Westchester, NY—Issue 05/2011 Material may not be reprinted without explicit permission by TSSC.
Bernie Chowdhury is best known for
his critically acclaimed, international
top-selling book, The Last Dive, (non-
fiction, HarperCollins, 2000) which has
been published in eleven lan-
guages, plus audio and e-book
versions. Bernie is a popular
and engaging speaker who haspresented worldwide at dive
shows, shops and clubs. He
has worn many hats during his
27 years in the diving industry:
recreational and technical in-
structor, expedition organizer,
industry consultant, documen-
tary co-producer, and author,
to name a few. Bernie has
been a Fellow of the Explorers Club since
1995. He has been a board-certified hy-
perbaric medical technologist (CHT) since
Sea Swells Log, 20 Tinker Hl, Putnam Valley NY 10579 Official
Dive Club
Soon I will have a few days off and
the first chance this year to go div-
ing. I can’t wait. My freshly serviced
gear is packed, I threw in a few bathing
suits, shorts and t-shirts, and my trusty
flip flops, and I am ready to go. And
yes, I will take a few pictures as well so
I can write a Dive Log article when I
return, I promise! Though I do hope
that some of you who just returned from
Guanaja or any other dive destination
will put pen to paper and write some-
thing for the SeaSwells Log. It has been
just a little too quiet around here for my
taste… articles are sorely needed for thenext few issues of our monthly newslet-
ter! So don’t let this publication “dry
up”, tell us something about one of your
dives! Looking forward to hearing from
you soon!
Ruth Editor
UK Divers Plan To Break Guinness World Record
Adive organization in Dorset,
England, is planning an at-
tempt on the Guinness World Record
for the Most People Scuba Diving
Simultaneously.
Diver and organizer Jason Haiselden
plans to hold the event off Swanage
beach on 24 September, weather per-
mitting. Permission to run it has
been granted by Swanage Town
Council. In the process, Haiselden
aims to raise money for Heroes Ha-
ven Swanage, which wants to build a
holiday cabin for disabled service
personnel; the Scuba Trust, which
provides dive training for the disa-
bled; and the RNLI.
The attempt has the backing both of
the Council and of the Swanage and
Purbeck Hospitality Association,
which represents many local busi-
nesses. The Guinness record to beat
is the figure of 2486 divers who de-
scended together off Indonesia in
2009, in a stunt organized by the coun-try’s navy (see image below).
Haiselden hopes to get as many as
3000 divers under water together for,
as required by Guinness, at least oneminute. Observers and a Guinness ad-
judicator will decide whether or not
this has been achieved.
For the full article and registration
information for those of you who’d like
to travel to England to partic-
ipate, please click on
http://tinyurl.com/6y6u2ve
2004. Bernie was named Beneath the
Sea’s Diver of the Year for Education in
2001. He is an active technical diving
instructor, teaching courses up to and
including Advanced Trimix;
and also Advanced Wreck
(Penetration).
Scapa Flow, in Scotland’s
Orkney Islands, is Europe’s
wreck diving Mecca. The
main attraction for divers
continues to be the rem-
nants of the German World
War I High Seas Fleet,
which fought in the Battle
of Jutland. These wrecks
include three dreadnought class battle-
ships and four light cruisers. In May,
1996, a team of technical divers from the
May Program Notes:
Bernie Chowdhury