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January 2008 Newsletter Volume 36, Number 1 |
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Reminder Don’t forget, your 2008 membership dues are due! Send your check for $40.00 to Mary LePage, 3735 Oaks Clubhouse Drive, Pompano Beach, Fl 33069 or see her at the January General Meeting. Also, if there are any changes in your information (phone numbers, address, e-mail, etc.) please let her know so that she can get the updates into the club directory. Nils will present the Overseas Dive Program for 2008
Ray McAllister
Thank you to the Board of Directors, appointed Members of the Board and all of our general members for a great 2007 and here is looking forward to a great 2008! We had a wonderful holiday party and also honored Dr. Ray McAllister at our December General Meeting. Food was good and plentiful and the camaraderie and good cheer were abundant as well. Thank you VP of Social, Russ Manhold, and the Social Butterfly(fish) for a fun evening. We elected the 2008 Board of Directors: President - Glada Blench Larry Baum, our VP of Local Diving, has us awaiting the Lemon Sharks annual arrival for a local dive which should be the first USA Club Dive of the year with the Narcosis. For those of you who have responded to the request for DUES for 2008, thank you!!! For those of you who have not yet taken care of this please let this serve as a friendly reminder. Mary LePage is waiting to hear from you. Hall of Fame has four new members: Nils Jacobsen, Chary Lynn, Carol Schurtz and Judy Townsend. We all owe a debt of gratitude to these people as earning Hall of Fame status means that they have served on the Board of Directors for 7 years. My hat is off to all of the Hall of Famers and congratulations to these four new members. Our first meeting of the new year will be January 3rd . Our VP of Overseas Diving, Nils Jacobsen will be presenting our Overseas Dive Trips for 2008, so don’t miss this meeting. Our General Meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at the Emma Lou Olson Pompano Beach Civic Center. Social starts around 7 PM with the meeting at 7:30. Before the meeting a group will be gathering at Pat’s Place Sports Bar and Restaurant about 6 PM. Hope to “sea” you soon. Glada Blench
We're waiting to hear back from the Narcosis about scheduling a lemon shark dive. As you all know, once the water starts to cool there's a great chance that the lemon sharks will start to migrate around Palm Beach. And interestingly enough, the chances are better to see the sharks on wrecks like the Mizpah and Amarilys, rather than the reefs. With that in mind, I've been talking to Captain Van of the Narcosis (http://narcosisdivecharters.com) about planning a Club Lemon Shark dive. Captain Van said the problem with scheduling such a dive is that you need to wait until the Sharks actually appear, which may be anytime from mid-December until mid-January, even stretching into February. So.......... I have told him that we'll stay in touch and I'll inform the Club as soon as the window opens. Please let me know if you'd consider such a dive (assuming it fits into your schedule of course, no obligations) so I can get a feel for how many people would be interested. Of course, I'll try to schedule a day that gets most people involved. I'll get back to you with the details once we pick a date (and thanks to the folks who have expressed interest in this dive) but the dive will be about $60 with air tanks available for $7.50 and nitrox tanks for $12.50, plus tax. Note that the Narcosis asks that all divers have a safety sausage as part of their gear. Larry Baum
December 6th, USA's annual Holiday Party and general membership meeting found 70 members and guests enjoying a complimentary dinner, complete with two sumptuous 6-foot deli subs, two spiral-cut honey glazed smoked hams, zesty Italian potato salad, fresh Kaiser rolls, beverages and the long lost dessert from Gilligan's Island. During dinner, President Glada Blench hosted 2007's largest raffle, handing out dozens of donated gifts to lucky members and guests. The evening included a special tribute to long-time USA member Dr. Ray McAllister. A 14-minute DVD portrayed Ray first visited the USA dive club in 1972, was guest speaker in 1973, and has served on USA's Board of Directors for over fifteen years, working as VP of Programs and Hospitality Coordinator. December 8th, seventeen USAers and guests drove from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties to meet at Shark Valley in the Everglades National Park. Outfitted with a wide variety of bicycles, the group followed a 15-mile loop road along an alligator-infested waterway. The relaxed pace allowed plenty of time to capture photos of turtles, purple gallinules, great blue herons, anhingas, water snakes, wood storks and Florida alligators.
Future social events include:
DINNER BEFORE THE MEETING: Pat’s Place Sports Bar & Restaurant
Russ Manhold
The 2007 program is over with 4 successful trips – even though we still have a few trip reports to come. The 2008 program is well underway. The first two trips of the year have been announced a while back. Utila still has one spot open! Fiji is waiting list only. The last two trips of 2008 will be announced and presented at the January meeting. When we travel as a group we get predictable company and better terms and conditions. All the trips have some kind of bonus arrangements, free spots and/ or group discounts. These benefits will be shared with the members upon return. In 2007 all 4 trips paid out refunds to the traveler on return. Also please remember that all our trips are priced “all inclusive” If you try to compare our prices and don’t see the club benefits, please come see me and I will explain. If you plan to travel on your own using one of our tradition vendors please see me first. I will be happy to make the booking for you, that way I keep current contacts with as many vendors as possible. Note that we do require DAN or similar accident insurance on all trips and that we recommend that you do consider other kinds of insurance: cancellation, interruptions, etc. 2008 Program: Utila Aggressor, Bay Islands, Honduras:
Fiji - Nai’a Liveaboard & Dive Kadavu Resort:
San Salvador, Bahamas - Riding Rock Inn:
Dry Tortugas, Playmate Liveaboard:
2009 (partial) Program: Belize Aggressor Exotic 2009/2010 Payment Schedule:
Please make your monthly payment at the meeting, or mail it to: Any questions give me a call. Nils Jacobsen
USA Calendar
Birthday greetings in January to the following club members: Deborah K, Larry L, Danny M, John W HAPPY BIRTHDAY from your friends in diving!!!
Under Sea Adventurers web site: www.usadiveclub.com Meetings: First Thursday of each month at: Board of Directors
Membership Dues - - - $40 Yearly Download the Membership Packet from our website.
All information and images are property of Under Sea Adventurers © 2008 Subscribe - Unsubscribe Information
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Ray's life from early childhood, through his Army years in WW II, to a scuba dive with friends, celebrating his 84th birthday here in South Florida. Several of Ray's friends and associates from Florida Atlantic University joined USAers for the special tribute.
Upon completing the Shark Valley bike ride, our group drove east on Tamiami Trail for a delicious lunch at The Fish House Seafood Raw Bar in Miami. Managers of the colorful restaurant reserved a private room for our thirsty group of outdoor adventurers. There was time to chat with new members and friends; catch up on who saw what; whose muscles were sore and where; all while enjoying great food and drinks. The Shark Valley excursion was USA's last planned social event for 2007. There's plenty more to come in 2008.
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