reefrocket - 8-2-2003 at 09:38 PM
Just checking in to see how Your daughters lesson are comming. Do we have an other Aqua-nut yet.
My personal moto is 'Enjoy Genetic Regression - the return to first home - the Sea'
!
David K - 8-3-2003 at 12:18 AM
One lesson is never get near a mother sea lion and her cub (eh, Stephanie?)! Is that story archived somewhere or can you repost it?
Yep, Reefrocket, Hannah's an addict...
Stephanie Jackter - 8-4-2003 at 10:34 PM
...and the other two children are chomping at the bit to take the course now too. It turned out to be a two week course. Very intensive for an
eleven year old, but she squeeked by and really enjoyed it. She's going for another dive this weekend with the kids she took the class with and the
teacher.
How long does the Open Water Diver class usually take?
They went to see the wreck of the Salvatierra last week, but Hannah said they only saw ti from the front and it's become so compressed after 30 years
of decomposition that it didn't even look like a boat to her. They did another dive out in the channel that she reall loved though - lots of fishies.
We all like to snorkel a lot too. I putz around on the surface, but all of the children have become super snorkelers from summer camp classes they've
taken from the same teacher. It's marvelous to see how good they've gotten at holding their breath and diving down to the bottom.
We just got back from three days camping in Cabo Pulmo. Boy is that environment degraded completely since I was last there. We went to El
Arbolito. When I was there 6 or 7 years ago, there were still a few colorful corals left and lots of space to camp in solitude with tons of marine
life. This time was just miserable.
The entry way to the beach was so covered with human waste, you almost had to hold your nose just to get to the campsites. And of course, when the
rainy season comes, you know where all of that will go. Palapas are now all over the place and every idiot that wants to have a pachanga comes and
keeps the rest of the campers up till two or three in the morning. The coral is decimated -only brain corral left in a few areas with the rest of the
prettier corals chopped off and taken away. We saw a couple of big schools of small moharra, but nothing like the quantity of marine life of years
past. There weren't even any starfish! The place has just been raped. I did see a small sea turtle, but the signs on the beach asking people to be
careful and not drive vehicles on their egglaying habitat were completely ignored by every four wheeler that arrived. I'm afraid the Baja that I've
known and loved is fast disappearing.
How are the scuba areas faring? I'd imagine that at least being off shore and down deeper, most of the real idiots can't get to them as easily.-
Stephanie
[Edited on 8-5-2003 by Stephanie Jackter]
reefrocket - 8-5-2003 at 08:14 AM
Thanks for the great report. I really can't answer the OPEN WATER question because it's been a long time and they have changed things. Also it
depends on whether NAUI or PADI. But what I do recall it was only like two days of in the water training -- navigation, a little on recovery
(instruction on retrieving big stuff from under water (like a boat motor), night diving. Luckly for me I was instructed in an area that that had a
STRONG current in one area, so I learned something on its effect on a diver.
I was watching a PBS program the other night [3:45 am](got awakened by a large storm moving through) {the lighting kept triggering my wakeup protocol
in my head} - with Allen Alda investigating the death of a lot of coral very interesting --- possible cause --- dust blown there from the African farm
land containing bacteria!!! So many intericate threads that hold our world to gether.
There was a post I saw that there is a big ship they are going to or has been sunk in the Loreto area very recently for the purpose of a MAN made reef
--- it will be with in the park zone and in a short time should be a great dive ( the PROTECTED park zone is the reason I love diving that area).