seaswells november 2011 issue

8/8/2019 SeaSwells November 2011 Issue

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W ith Thanksgiving fastapproaching, I havetime to reflect on all the

events and accomplishmentsthat I am grateful to have

been involved in throughoutthe course of 2010 associated

with The Scuba Sports Club.

From early spring up until lastmonth we were kept busy al-

most every weekend diving

somewhere between the Carib-bean and upstate New York,

some even had a trip to Can-ada. We are fortunate as di-

vers to have the ability andprivilege to explore, up close

and personal, an entire world

that most people only get tosee on film. I feel privileged to

be able to explore our worldunderwater with such good

friends and companions.

There may have been a slowdown with events the past

couple of weeks, but that does-

nt mean we are done for theyear. Before many of us get

ready to leave for the Baha-

mas in a couple of weeks, andfor a couple of weeks in De-

cember, there are a few more

opportunities to get together:

TSSC General Meeting

Wednesday, November

10th LIDA Film Festival Fri-

day, November 12th Explorers Sea Stories,

Saturday, November 20th

ANCHOR LINE 1

DIVE LOG:Pirate Cruise

2

CONTEST:Toms First DiveBobs First Time

4

DIVE IN:2010 Dive Schedule

Local Dive Shops

6

CLUB NEWS:ActivitiesSocial Events & ProgramList of 2010 Directors

7

BTS NEWS:BTS 2011 Scholarships

7

ON-LINE:Vacs From The Sea

8

PROGRAM NOTES:JenFu Cheng

8

ENVIRONMENT:Anti Shark FinningCampaign Continues

5

In This Issue: TSSC Holiday Party at Victors Wednesday, De-cember 8th

Marsh Scuba is running adive trip to Cape AnnDe-

cember 11th and 12th (thewater will be warmer than

in June, so no theres no

need for a dry suit)

Once again this Holiday sea-son, TSSC is planning on

sponsoring a couple of familiesin need for Thanksgiving and

Christmas. Donations, cash orgift cards, will be accepted at

both the November and De-

cember meetings. If you didnot know, TSSC works with

Toys for Tots Program whichprovides Beneath the Sea with

$3000 worth of toys. Thesetoys are given to children who

are hospitalized at the MariaFareri Childrens Hospital.

We also plan to make another

donation to Shark Savers for

their campaign against theconsumption of shark fin soup

in China. I believe they will be

putting up new billboards andcontinue their campaign in

Beijing soon.

If you arent planning on div-

ing over the winter months,

now is a good time to inspectall your scuba equipment.

Contact your local dive shopfor tips on maintaining and

storing your equipment whilenot in use. Be especially care-

November 2010

Welcome to theNovember 2010 issue of

the Sea Swells Log!At the September meeting many

of us came face-to-face with

rebreather technology for the

first time. Expert Joe Radomski

explained the various concepts

behind rebreathers, and the

application of this silent dive

technique.

While we have already experi-

enced chilly nights and the

leaves are falling in heaps, it

does not mean that our diving

season is over yet. Check out

this issue of the TSSC newslet-

ter for information on planned

dives and other activities to

keep you in the diving mood.

And dont forget, at the Novem-

ber meeting we will enjoy a

presentation by JenFu Cheng,

on his dive photography and his

involvement in Stay Focused, a

sports program for people with

disabilities.

We hope you will join us at

the November meeting!

Visit Our Website At: www.thescubasportsclub.org

TSSC NotSlowing Down

ful because there is somedata to suggest that wet-

suits magically shrink from

one dive season to another.

Jim Sacci
http://www.lidaonline.com/filmfestival.phphttp://www.lidaonline.com/filmfestival.phphttp://marshscuba.com/Pages/TRIPS/Cape%20Ann%20May.htmhttp://marshscuba.com/Pages/TRIPS/Cape%20Ann%20May.htmhttp://www.lidaonline.com/filmfestival.phphttp://marshscuba.com/Pages/TRIPS/Cape%20Ann%20May.htm


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Page 2 November 2010 Sea Swells Log

Last year's SCUBAPALOOZA hadmany pleasant features, not theleast of which was a door prize donated

by Blackbeards Cruises

(www.blackbeard-cruises.com). Afteran exciting series of twists and turns

the prize finally was awarded to yours

truly. And what a prize it was.

I flew down to Nassau two days in ad-vance and checked out the sights (and

stores). Noon Saturday I finally

boarded PIRATE'S LADY, one ofBlackbeard's small fleet. I was fortu-

nate to have a lower bunk in the salon.(don't know if I could have managed

the other quarters. This was very nice.)

Our first dive was late that afternoon.

Close to shore after a day or two of

wind, the water was a bit cloudy and

cool for a skin. Viz improved after thatand so did the temp although I never

again made a dive without my 3 mil

wetsuit.

As for the only negative part of the

experience, it could probably have beenprevented by wearing a patch behind

my ear. The first full day onboard, get-

ting use to the movement of the boat, I

kept thinking that I was stuck there for afull week and would be doing something

similar again in two months on the Aqua-cat when the water would be colder and

rougher. I even thought of canceling my Aquacat adventure with the club. How-

ever, by the next day I'd acclimatized andthoroughly enjoyed the reminder of the

trip.

You don't want to read a rehash of all mydives. A few, however, were really memo-

rable.

WASHING MACHINE is a drift dive.

One enters the water and quickly iscaught up in the swirl inside a cave-like

space. You are dragged from 15 ft. to 40or 50, around in a circle, and back up

again in the space of only a few seconds.Needless to say, the computers were not

happy. Surprisingly, my ears had no

problem with the experience.Another memorable dive was into THUN-

DERBALL GROTTO. This is the caveJames Bond gets out of by helicopter at

the end of the movie "Thunderball". Actu-ally, everyone else snorkeled it but I had

a new camera to use and thought I might

need some time on the bottom. The caveceiling is high, about 20-30 ft. with an

opening in the center. It could be ac-

Pirate Cruisecessed from the outside which many

adventurous souls did, only to jumpinto the waters below.

The trip wasn't only about SCUBA.We snorkeled, sometimes collecting

conch and lobster. We visited 2 de-

serted islands, one of which had a

large and friendly iguana population.We fished. We ate well. We drank.

We relaxed. And most of all, WEHAD A GOOD TIME.

All in all, I made 18 dives. The only

one I didn't do was the third (last)night dive.

If you're looking for an inexpensiveliveaboard adventure and don't mind

a bit of roughing it, I strongly recom-mend this trip.

Judy Simek

By

Judy

Simek

For those of you who are joining uson the Aquacat trip from Novem-ber 27th to December 4th, and who

have not yet received their boarding

pass package and luggage tag, pleaseget in touch with Joann as soon as pos-

sible ([email protected]), or see her

at the November membership meeting.

Make sure you have filled out and re-turned the flight information sheet tothe trip operator, to ensure that trans-

portation between the airport andAquacat dock is arranged for you. The

cruise boards on November 27th in

Nassau at 6 pmno exceptions!

Please go to www.aquacatcruises.comfor more information about the trip and

diving off the Aquacat.

Several people who have been to the Ba-hamas at this time of the year have men-

tioned that the water can be a bit colder

than in the rest of the Caribbean, so packyour gear accordingly to ensure you have

everything you need. Remember, once weare out on the water, there is no opportu-

nity to get additional gear!

Aquacat Cruise Item Checklist:

Passport (!)

Plane tickets Itinerary Travel insurance

Dive insurance Wallet (bring cash for tips!)

C-card / Nitrox Certification Dive log

Aquacat luggage tag

Camera Prescriptions Non-oil sunscreen

Lip balm Decongestant

Antihistamine Seasickness meds

Mask, snorkel and fins BC and regulator Wetsuit, skin and/or vest

Underwater light

Cyalume sticks Glasses and sunglasses Shorts T-shirts Sun hat or visor Swimsuits

Lightweight jacket Toiletries

See you in

the Bahamas!


3/8


By

Ruth

Emblin

At our last Directors Meeting wediscussed the anti-shark finningbillboard campaign, which was launched

in 2009 by WildAid and Sharksavers.

Bus stop billboards, featuring Yao Mingand a message opposing shark fin soup,

were installed in Beijing and China dur-ing December 2009. These billboards are

part of the "Say 'no' to shark fin soup"campaign. Within the last twelve

months hundreds of people contributed

to the campaign to purchase billboardsand related media in China.

Slowly, but surely there has been a

growing indication that people are be-ginning to question the need for shark

fin soup at their traditional events. Edu-cation, and campaigns such as the bill-

boards have helped open peoples eyes to

the inhumane slaughter of sharks justto satisfy the popularity of shark fin

soup, a food which does not even havean especially attractive look or taste.

This is a picture of one of the very large

billboards that have gone up in Beijing.

All of these billboards are in theChaoyang district of Beijing. Accord-

ing to Wikipedia, the Chaoyang dis-trict is one of the fastest growing

parts of Beijing, and is home to manyforeign embassies, the well-known

Sanlitun bar street, as well as Bei-

jing's growing CBD. The OlympicPark, built for the 2008 Summer

Olympics, is also in Chaoyang, as isthe Beijing Capital International

Airport.

Exposure to the public is very high in

these areas, and we hope to drive

home the important message onthese immense displays.

On July 16th, 2010, SharkSaverslaunched its "Say 'no' to shark fin

soup" campaign in Hong Kong at theDiving Resort & Travel Expo. Shark-

Savers, a key participant in theExpo's theme of marine conservation,

encouraged people to stop eating

shark fin soup as a means to protectsharks and improve ocean health.

According to Michael Skoletsky,

Shark Savers' Executive Di-rector, "Shark populations are

being destroyed at a devastat-

ing pace throughout the world,primarily due to high con-

sumption levels of shark finsoup. We are bringing the

message of the protecting

sharks by not eating the soup

to Hong Kong, one of the epi-centers for shark fin trade and

consumption."

Sharks are the apex predators of the

seas and have been shown to play an

Environment

important role in maintaining the healthybalance of other species throughout the

ocean food chain.

Hong Kong has long been the center of theshark fin trade. However, there has been agrowing movement of people rejecting

shark fin soup in this dynamic city. TheShark Savers campaign provides grass-

roots support to this emerging trend byempowering people to take a Pledge to not

eat shark fin soup and to carry the mes-sage to their friends, family, local restau-

rants and businesses and their places of

employment.

Shark Savers encouraged Expo visitors tosign the Pledge at a table at the Expo en-

trance, their booth and continues to do soat its web site. More about shark fin soup,

and the Pledge, may be found atwww.sharksavers.org/sharkfinsoup

Going forward, funds collected for theshark fin soup campaign will be utilized

for other media in addition to bus stopbillboards: television, electronic monitors

showing the Yao Ming message in public

places, online efforts, grassroots cam-paigning, billboards, and other media as

they become available. It is important thatwe sustain the campaign and expand it

over time.

TSSC had decided to continue supportingthis very important conservation effort. To

donate directly to this program, please go

to https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=42094

To see a gallery of billboards please go to:

www.sharksavers.org/blogs/636-anti-

shark-fin-soup-billboards-installed-on-

china-streets-see-the-photos.html

Anti-Shark Finning Billboard Campaignin China Continues

As we have done in prior years, TSSC will once again sponsora Thanksgiving Feast and a Holiday Dinner for a couple ofneedy families.

Joann Bohannon is coordinating the efforts, and will distributethe donations to the people who need it most. Why not sharesome holiday cheer with people who are less fortunate than weare? Please bring your donations to the November or Decembermeetings.

Please donate the following: Cash, or Gift cards to local stores (chains like Walmart, Kmart,

Kohls, ShopRite, A&P, C-Town, etc.please avoid high-end department stores)

If you are unsure about what to donate, or would like tooffer something different, please contact Joann [email protected] to discuss your donation item(s).
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=42094https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=42094https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=42094https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=42094


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By Tom Cascione

I completed my open water training inthe dark and chilly waters of LI Soundback in the dirty old 1970s when 2-foot

viz was a good day. Emerging from the

soup of floating debris under the watchfuleye of the famed Buster Crabbe I received

his congratulatory handshake (should

have asked for an autograph too) andpromised myself that there had to be bet-

ter diving out there someplace.

Fortunately the Durland Boy ScoutScuba volunteer cadre had planned a trip

to the Florida Keys for later that Spring.

My Dad was going and so (temporaryNAUI cert in hand) was I. We had an

interesting assortment of volunteers back

then including Father Jim, a Salesian

priest who learned to dive with Cousteaubefore being transferred by his order to

the U.S.A., and Stan Perdue, a tough oldex-Navy guy with two smoking hot teen-

age daughters he was bringing along (out

of my league but you always need a goal).It was bound to be a good trip.

We rented one of those classic pontoon

boats they used to have at Pennekampthat were fantastic dive platforms until

you hit 1-foot seas or somebodys wake.

Our group headed out to our first desti-

nation, Christ of the Deep. Back then thestatue was only just starting to pick up a

encrustation but it was still a cool dive,

30 feet deep with 40-50 foot visibility andsurrounded by a pretty patch reef. I was

really excited and threw my gear to-gether quickly. Weight belt and Mae

West on, J-Valve up, test breath from the

Calypso, tighten the straps on the steel

72 and ready to go. I was the first one inthe water.

I was hanging off the line and trying to

get a look below. Back in those pre-BC

days you went in negative and eitherhung onto something or sunk. Experi-encing my first real visibility was an

immediate thrill. I could see the big

bronze Christ figure raising his handsup below me. Then I saw IT. Its hard to

imagine the level of general ignoranceregarding marine life in those days. This

was before Jaws, before Blue Water

White Death, way before the DiscoveryChannel. To my knowledge there were

three kinds of sharks. Sand sharksthe

ones folks said you didnt have to worry

about, which were sometimes hooked bysurf casters and beaten senseless on the

jetty, Whale Sharksthe gentle giants I

read about once in National Geographic,and then the rest were just Sharks.

Gray toothy monsters that fed on deadthings, surfers and downed airmen. My

NAUI handbook had briefly cautioned

that sharks would generally approach

and attack only if there were spearedfish in the water or if the diver made

erratic movements. It failed to advisewhat happened if the shark ap-

proached anyway, however it did in-

struct something about giving the

shark a strong blow to the snout.

Only a few feet beneath me, an 8-foot

leviathan was cruising by, no doubtpleased that his lunch had just been

laid out. It was a deep tan rather thanthe Nazi helmet gray I would have

expected but it was clearly a shark. Idoubted my ability to land the pre-

scribed snout blow so I performed a

feat that I have never since dupli-cated. I propelled myself up out of the

water to my knees and yelled SHARK!

This had an effect upon the seasoneddivers still on the boat; however to my

surprise they just jumped in all thefaster. A couple of them swam over to

calm me down. This was the first time

in my life I had ever heard the wordsNurse and Shark used in the same

sentence. Unfortunately my acrobaticshad so shocked the creature that it

fled the reef precluding a closer ex-amination. For a new diver though it

was all exciting and there was plenty

of other fish and coral to see. The rest

of the dive was pleasant if uneventfulhowever that day gave me a lifelong

fascination with sharks.

Tom Cascione

Continued Page 5

By Bob Bak

Though it was many years ago I

will never forget my FIRSTTIME and the woman who I sharedthis experience with. It was a cool sum-

m e r m o r n i n g u p i n t h e

Gunks Mountains where my partner

Regina and I planned to do it the firsttime. It was early morning. We rendez-

voused at Minnewaska State Parkwhere we planned to consummate

months of early Sunday morning meet-

ings. I will say that I was a little nerv-

ous unlike most men I was going to be

judged on my performance by anotherwoman! We sat in the parking lot sipping

hot coffee when SHE arrived. She had alook as only could be described as 'Don't

talk to me until I have had a second cup

of black coffee and you best not make any

mistakes. Talk about performance anxi-

ety. It was bad enough that I had to passa written test on the subject - now I was

going to have someone there critiquingme. My mind was racing, did I bring eve-

rything? A tarp so we would not get allmuddy? Belts with good buckles that

would not come loose during our

main descent? Did I size my bodyprotection correctly? After all I only

tried it on briefly in the store. I hadput it on behind the rack fearing

that someone may walk in at anytime and see me. I hope she ap-

proved. The only color they had it inwas black. Did I bring the, well you

know, that cylindrical thing and thatrestraint device you put it in?

The teacher woman then spoke. "Getyour toys together and we are going


5/8


down the trail to the water." As I walkeddown the path I could hear voices. When

we reached the shore I could see many

other people there. My g__, where am I?What have I gotten myself into? Were

we going to have a crowd watchingus? Well the look on my face must have

said it all. Miss C came over and said,"Relax and set up over there. Most of

these people have done it hundreds oftimes before and are not Interested In

the newbie. They already have multiplepartners that they are interested in doing

it with. I can tell this from personal ex-

perience. I quit counting after a thousandtimes. A thousand times! I hoped

to make it through this one time.

I glanced around. No one was looking.

They were all to busy stripping down and

putting on their protection. After all, they

were going to do it in the water wherethere were little water bugs. I have heard

about the little Amazonian fish and won-dered if these bugs were similar. So I

quickly put on my black protection, too.No way was I going in there with out it. I

then grabbed the cylinder but must havetwisted it wrong because at that very

moment it started chattering EVERY-

ONE JUST LOOKED AT ME. I could seeit in their eyes, just shouting at me,

Newbie! Talk about embarrassing. I

tried to just hurry and get into the water

and melt away but things only got worse.

I stumbled over my two big feet. My g__,I never noticed how big they were before,and yellow, too.

Regina and I made it into the water. MissC gave the signal and Regina put the

watchamacallit in her mouth. I recipro-cated and put the watchamacallit she

had her hand on and put it in my

mouth. We had been instructed previ-ously that when you are in the water

sometimes you may need help and thatit was perfectly normal for your part-

ner to help and guide you. After all youshould not do it alone. Especially in a

cave, where, if you were to stir it up ina frenzy, you might go, so to speak

blind and possibly die. I did not want todie doing it. You should always have a

buddy when doing it. I went down with

Regina. I started to get a little lightheaded. Things started to close in. A

little voice in the back of my head said,don't task overload and concentrate on

just one thing... I tried to wet my lips,calm my breathing and continued

down. It was all coming back to me.

There I was. I had hit bottom. I know

this because Miss C said it would have

a soft and jello-like consistency. Thenin a panic I said to myself "Bob get out

of this or you may never come up." So Iwiggled out of the "MUD" and rose up.

My vision started to clear only to seeMiss C with her hands out and up as if

to say "what are you doing?" She in-

structed me to kneel down before herwhile she held onto that harness sys-

tem on me and made me take it off. Iclosed my eyes. Then she a hand on my

head and I put it back on. Then shemade Regina and I kneel facing each

other. While holding each othershands Miss C gave the signal and Re-

gina put my watchamacallit in hermouth. I reciprocated and put her

thingamajig in my mouth. We kept

doing this rhythmically until we weretold to stop. Miss C then shook our

hands. We then proceeded to get out ofthe water. We stripped off our protec-

tion and sat on the tarp. I asked Re-

gina "Was it what you expected?" She

replied "I didn't feel a thing I was

numb". I knew what she meant. It wa day of a lot of firsts for me. I wa

grateful that she did not say I a

never doing that again with you."

This was not the end. We repeated th

same procedure three more times ov

the two days. Each time there was

slight variation. On the last two timwe drove to Rhode Island because thpark in the Gunks was getting a litt

crowded and Miss C thought we needea change of scenery. The difference w

that I found it to be a little more inte

esting and everything seemed cleareAt times it seemed as if I were floati

on air. Things got easier and becammore natural. Regina thought th

same. The one comment she made wthat it tasted a little saltier today.

guess that made sense since we were the ocean. At the end of the day w

stood in front of Miss C where she prsented us with a blue card, a type

license so we could do it again and wi

different people. No longer was shgoing to stand over us and grade us.

was more than a learners permit. Wethat day changed my life and the

days I try to do it as many times a

possible. I dont have people standin

over me now knocking off points fpoor performance. Unfortunately I ca

not do it every day but I guess that

what keeps it fresh and exciting. I wnever forget that FIRST TIME. Aft

all, even a bad time doing that is bettthan my best day at work. I hope that

will be able to do it with some of you the near future. But it will never b

like that FIRST TIME!

Your Buddy,

Rum BobThe two stories you just read are the last submissions to our FIRST DIVE

STORY TELLING CONTEST 2010! Thank you to all of you who virtually(and literally) put pen to paper!

Now it is up to you to decide who will receive the 2010 SeaSwells Award. Please review the following entries and select your

favorite. Prizes will be awarded for the story with the most votes, followed by second and third place!

May/June 2010: Nick Lappano www.thescubasportsclub.org/seaswells/SeaSwells_2010-05-06.pdf

July 2010: Jack & Denise Kurz, Bernie Schmidt www.thescubasportsclub.org/seaswells/SeaSwells_2010-07.pdf August 2010: Fred Gambino, Dennis Orlowski www.thescubasportsclub.org/seaswells/SeaSwells_2010-08.pdf

September 2010: Corey Joyner, Judy Simek www.thescubasportsclub.org/seaswells/SeaSwells_2010-09.pdfOctober 2010: Vreni Roduner www.thescubasportsclub.org/seaswells/SeaSwells_2010-10.pdf

November: Tom Cascione, Bob Bak www.thescubasportsclub.org/seaswells/SeaSwells_2010-11.pdf

Please look for an email with a link to a voting site, where you can make your selectionor if you are computer-less,please snail-mail your choice to me by November 24th to Ruth Emblin, 20 Tinker Hl, Putnam Valley NY 10579.


6/8

Club Dive Schedule

Date/Time: Location Description Contact/Organization

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 at www.thescubasportsclub.org .

LOCAL DIVE SHOPS - AT YOUR SERVICE

The listing of local dive shops is provided to you as a reference and public service.For each shops specialty, dive training and trip programs, please call or visit their website.

Captain Saams Scuba

School863 E Main St., Ste B

Stamford, CT 06902Tel. 203-32 SCUBA

www.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. 203-853-4148www.rexdive.com

Cougar Sports

917 Saw Mill River Rd.Ardsley, NY 10502

Tel. 914-693-8877

Durland Scuba Committee

& SchoolVenture 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. 203-629-4766

www.skiandscubaconnection.com

2037 Central Park Ave

Yonkers, NY 10710

Tel. 914-779-2966

and

2672 Gerritsen Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11229

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

Captain MikesDiving School530 City Island Ave

City Island, NY 10464

Tel. 718-885-1588

www.captainmikesdiving.com

Abyss Scuba222 E Main Street

Mt. Kisco, NY 10549

914-244-3483

www.abyss-scuba.net

Marsh Scuba Supply93 Lauer Rd.

Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Tel. 845-452-8994

www.marshscuba.com


7/8

Whos Who at TSSCin 2010


Executive 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. Seewww.thescubasportsclub.orgfor updates.

SOCIAL &

EVENTS

2010

Date Description

Dec. 8th TSSC Holiday Party& General Meeting

Victors Restaurant

6.00 pm

Directors Meeting:Wed, Dec. 1st, 2010 on the Aquacat

General Meeting:

Wed. Dec. 8th, 2010, at 6.00 pm

Victors Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

TSSC Holiday Party &Dennis ChamberlandAtlantica Expedi-

tions Leader, www.UnderseaColony.com

December Program

Directors Meeting:Tue. Nov. 2nd, 2010 at 7.00 pm

General Meeting:Wed. Nov. 10th, 2010 at 7:00pm

Victors Restaurant, Hawthorne

Program Notes:

Dr. JenFu Cheng

on diving with disabilitieswww.stayfocused.org,jenfucheng.com

November Program

Sea of Tomorrow Scholarship$1,000

To be awarded to an individual six-teen years or older to participate ina recognized or accredited programin the fields of marine environmentalconservation, biology, ecology, re-search, or training in a diving relatedprogram necessary for participation

in these field of endeavor. Applica-tion deadline: February 13, 2011

New in 2011!Marine Careers Scholarship

$1000To be awarded to an individual six-teen to twenty two years old to par-ticipate in a recognized scuba divingtraining program. The $1000 awardmay be used for learn to dive oradvanced diving training. Up to $500of the award may be used for dive

equipment purchase. Applicationdeadline: February 13, 2011

New in 2011!Parsons The New School For Design

Photography Scholarship$1500

To be awarded to a Parsons studentto demonstrate photography as a me-dium for expressing an understandingof science, art and the ocean and the

environment. The award may beused for education, project re-search and equipment (up to $750of the award for equipment.)

New for 2011!Discovery Scholarship

$1,500The Board of Trustees of Beneath

the Sea has endowed this Discov-ery Scholarship to encourageyoung adults, searching for a lifefocus, to consider a marine ca-reer. This scholarship may be ap-plied to any recognized programin the field of marine study orits many support services

For details on the various scholar-ships and application forms,please go to the Beneath The Sea2011 website at

www.beneaththesea.org

Beneath The Sea will be held fromMarch 25th to 27th, 2011, at theMeadowlands Expo Center in Se-caucus, New Jersey.

See you in March2011!

35th Anniversary

ScholarshipsBeneath The Sea 2011

We will have our annual holiday party on

December 8th at Victors Restaurant.

We will have a few contests to makethings a bit more interesting!

Come dressed up to win a prize for

The Wildest Holiday Costume

The Best Dive-Related Holiday

Costume

The Best Santa Outfit!

A prize will also be awarded for the

Most Creative Holiday Dessert (thatsactual food to be EATEN, not WORN!!!).
http://www.jenfucheng.com/http://www.jenfucheng.com/http://www.jenfucheng.com/


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EDITORS NOTE:

This newsletter is a publication of The Scuba Sports Club of Westchester, NYIssue 11/2010 Material may not be reprinted without explicit permission by TSSC.

JenFu Cheng is an East Coast-based pho-tographer who travels the World with

the goal of capturing in photographs theessence of his passions. He learned the

technical aspects of photography through avoracious appetite for books

and magazines on the sub-

ject. However, being an

avid climber, hiker andSCUBA diver, his inspira-

tion has come from a close

connection with his subjectmatter and those individu-

als who share in these pas-sions. Over the past decade, JenFu has

created a collection of photographs from hisvarious pilgrimages under the sur-

face. They are the products of the synergis-

tic combination of JenFus passion for

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

T

he year is almost over, and the

Board of Directors is looking for

new blood. Many of the current directorshave served for a long time and are hop-

ing to take a little break. Of course, they

will always be at hand to offer advice

when needed. It would be great if a few

members stepped up to the plate and took

over some of the open positions. Our cur-

rent president, Jim Sacci, will be discuss-

ing the open positions at the November

membership meeting. Not only is becom-

ing a board member an exciting chal-

lenge, it is also very gratifying, as new

friendships are formed or existing rela-

tionships deepened, while we work to-

gether on moving TSSC another notch forward. Contrary to popular opinion

serving on the board is not some type of

forced servitude; all of us work to the best

of our abilities and available time. It can

also be a lot of fun to be involved in the

creative process driving an association

like ours. Come join us and see what you

can do for our club as a new member of

the board!

RuthEditor

Vacuums Made From Ocean Debris

Here is a cool concept: collect plasticdebris from the Pacific, Atlantic andIndian Oceans, the Mediterranean Sea,and the Baltic and North Seas, and turn

them into vacuums. That is what Elec-

trolux Group, a Swedish manufacturer of

cleaning and cooking appliances,

recently decided to do. The project

called "Vac from the Sea" was

initiated in spring of 2010 to raise

awareness about plastic garbage

floating in the oceans and help to

clean up the environment.

Each of the five unique vacuum

cleaners presents the ocean or sea

from which the plastic originates.

All models are fully functional and havebeen built using the same core structure

as a current production model, Electrolux

says. However, the quality and the logis-

tics needed for cleaning and sorting ocean

plastic makes it difficult to use in mass

production.

"Our oceans are filled with plastic waste,"

says Hans Strberg, President and CEO

of Electrolux. "Yet on land, there is a

shortage of recycled plastic for making

sustainable appliances."

Drifting plastic grain that has been

bleached by the sun and corroded by salt

water makes up the Pacific Edition vac-

uum cleaner. Plastic for the North Sea

addition was collected on beaches in westernSweden. The garbage consists largely of

rinse aid and detergent bottles, cans, plastic

buckets, and all kinds of plastic packaging.

Since it has not been bleached by the sun or

touched by saltwater, the material is still

very colorful. Most plastic collected for theMediterranean Edition comes from an area

west of the French town of St Cyr-sur-Mer

and contains PET-bottles, food containers,

beverage cans and beach toys. Garbage col-

lected from coral reefs and beaches in Thai-

land makes up the Indian Ocean Edition.

Divers had to cut the nets and plastic bags

from coral reefs in the area. The vacuum

also contains chunks of Styrofoam and

household garbage that drifted in the water.

To read the article in its entirety, go to

h t t p : / / w w w . g l o b a l -

a d v e n t u r e s . u s / 2 0 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 7 /

electrolux-vacuum-ocean-debris/

disabilities through these activi-

ties. He founded Peak Potential,

Inc., an entirely volunteer-run, non-profit organization that provides

free, adaptive rock climbing pro-grams for children with disabili-

ties. JenFu also volunteers as Medi-

cal Advisor, Divemaster, and photog-

rapher forStay-Focused,

Inc., a non-

profit organi-zation that

p r o v i d e sa d a p t i v e

SCUBA div-ing programs

for teenagers

with mobility challenges. Being in-

volved with Stay-Focused, Inc. hascultivated a strong interest in hyper-

baric medicine and a com-

mitment to improving thesafety of diving for indi-

viduals with disabilities.

SCUBA diving and photography. These

include images of creaturesboth tiny and grand, captured

in diverse locations such as theMaldives, Galapagos Islands,

Cocos Island, Raja Ampat,

Cayman Islands, Turks & Cai-

cos, Bonaire, Curacao, SocorroIsland, Saba and Cozumel.

JenFu Cheng is also a physi-

cian practicing in New Jersey

and an assistant professor at the Uni-versity of Medicine and Dentistry of

New Jersey-New Jersey Medical Schoolwho specializes in Pediatric Rehabilita-

tion Medicine. He has a passion for out-door adventure sports and is dedicated

to improving the lives of children with

October Program Notes:JenFu Cheng
http://www.global-adventures.us/2010/10/27/electrolux-vacuum-ocean-debris/http://www.global-adventures.us/2010/10/27/electrolux-vacuum-ocean-debris/http://www.global-adventures.us/2010/10/27/electrolux-vacuum-ocean-debris/http://www.global-adventures.us/2010/10/27/electrolux-vacuum-ocean-debris/http://www.global-adventures.us/2010/10/27/electrolux-vacuum-ocean-debris/

seaswells november 2011 issue

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