Greetings from the President February 2023
Jim Driggers | Published on 2/20/2023
Hello Aqua Tutus,
It was a pleasure seeing so many of you in person at the February meeting. I hope in-person attendance will continue to grow as we become accustomed to braving traffic and being physically around others. Thanks to those who attended via Zoom as well. I appreciate your taking the time to support our club by attending the meeting. There is no club if no one comes to meetings.
I also want to thank Dennis for sharing his knowledge and experience of maintaining the life-support equipment we call dive gear. From the time we enter the water until our exit -- and especially during our time underwater -- our lives, our comfort, and our enjoyment of each dive depend on having well-functioning equipment. And on our ability to use that equipment.
The February dive is this coming Saturday at the left side of San Carlos Beach (aka, Breakwater) in Monterey. Conditions permitting, we'll dive the pipeline that leads to the metridium fields. I hope those diving take their time to explore and experience the pipeline itself and the area around it. I hope to also explore the near-shore area to the left of the pipeline when looking seaward.
For the March General Meeting, we'll welcome Dan Abbott, kelp forest program manager from Reef Check California, and Keith Rootsaert, executive director of the California Kelp Restoration Corps. They'll discuss the Giant Kelp Restoration (G2KR) Project at Tanker’s Reef in Monterey, including the reason we need to cull urchins, a summary of efforts by certified kelp restoration divers, and the ecological response of the kelp ecosystem to divers culling an unlimited number of purple and red urchins using small, pointy hammers. Come to the meeting to learn how you can cull urchins with G2KR and how to become a kelp forest monitoring citizen scientist with Reef Check.
Warmly,
Jim Driggers
Club president