Scuba News
Official publication of the Kings County Divers Association
September 2008
Last update: 10/1/2008
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Who Knew?
A Monthly Feature of Scuba News
In October we can expect the excellent beach diving to continue throughout our local area.
Ocean temperature changes very slowly. Water temperatures at all of our local dive sites peak during September. That is our warmest water of the year. It has taken months of summer heat for the water to get this warm, and it will take the entire fall season for water temperatures to cool.
During summer months the visibility was limited by the abundant plankton in our oxygen rich local marine environment. But in the fall as the water cools, microscopic sea life population diminishes and visibility increases rapidly. This annual phenomena becomes apparent during mid September when visibility often triples or more, and it continues through October and well into November.
Some of our shore diving sites had anti-scuba restricts during the swimming season, by local laws and parking regulations. Often, these restrictions are removed after Labor Day adding additional diving locations for us during the best time of year for our local scuba diving.
Let the fun continue. Check out The Social Calendar and STAY WET!
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October is another "Try It - Free!" month.
Our special gift is for the "not yet" divers in your life:
Give them the chance to try scuba diving as our guest: absolutely
free and without obligation. They will be given classroom
orientation followed by a scuba diving experience in our
pool.
Try It - FREE
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
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Explore The Historic Wrecks
of
L A K E C H A M P L A I N
October 10, 11, 12 & 13
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Dive Bonaire
Saturday, Nov 8th through Sunday, Nov 16th
"Bonaire - The Diver's Paradise"
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DIVERS NEEDED !
Divers are needed as subjects for a DAN research study
at Duke University Medical Center’s
Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology.
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Give the gift that is forever
You gave them the most comfortable training
You gave them the safest habits
You gave them the best skills
When they became
Kings County Scuba Divers
Customized packages, presentation case & gift certificates are all available.
Small groups start every 2-3 weeks. Private sessions are available.
Training is guaranteed forever.
Prices start at only $99.
Your gift is fully refundable if your recipient elects to not start their training.
718.648.4232
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ON-LINE TRAINING STANDARDS
BASED ON RSTC RECOMMENDATIONS
At a meeting on April 3rd, 2006, the members of the Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC) determined it was important to provide collective clarification regarding agency-neutral on-line training programs.
Over the past two to three years a number of websites not affiliated with a training agency have launched on-line scuba training programs. On these sites, the customer is lead to believe that all training agencies will accept these programs to meet their academic requirements for scuba training.
This is not correct. Because of concerns about the educational validity of these programs and the inability to monitor the quality of education and services, as well as liability and insurance issues, each RSTC member organization has independently determined it cannot accept these non-affiliated training programs to meet its academic requirements.
Before customers sign up for any on-line training program, they should first check with the retail store, instructor or training agency they wish to receive certification through to verify if that on-line program is acceptable for meeting the training agency's certification requirements.
For any questions regarding Kings County Divers' position please contact Mia Interrante, Director of Education, 718-648-4232 or training@kcdivers.net
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It is CENOTES WEEK at Kings County Divers
*** Y o u r W o r l d C l a s s A d v e n t u r e ***
It is CENOTES WEEK at Kings County Divers
*** T r u l y S p e c t a c u l a r D i v i n g ***
It is CENOTES WEEK at Kings County Divers
*** T H E C E N O T E S ***
It is CENOTES WEEK at Kings County Divers
Akumal, Mexico
It is CENOTES WEEK at Kings County Divers
January 3rd through January 11th, 2009
Saturday through Sunday
YOU BECOME ONE PERSON IN A BILLION TO SEE THESE SPECTACULAR GIFTS OF NATURE
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Sounds of Leadership
"I've come here to kill Caribou an' kick butt. And I am all out of Caribou."
(Gov. Palin's inaugural address to the Alaska State Senate)
"When you have integrity, nothing else is more important."
"When you lack integrity, nothing is important."
(KCD Leadership Manual)
"A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary."
(Thomas Carruthers)
"Remember that you are unique, just like everyone else."
(Old KCD Proverb)
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Scuba Dive With Dolphins
The Video
The dolphin dive at Freeport, Bahamas is one more of those very special dives for scuba divers. Rather than just swimming with dolphins at the surface of the water, scuba divers can interact with dolphins underwater in this dive and really appreciate how agile these wonderful creatures are in the water.
The video (2 minutes, 37 seconds) is hosted on the Google Video site and set to background music. It comes complete with a T-shirt commercial and is playable using the link below.
A word of caution; This dolphin is a very special lady. You may experience love at first sight.
For those with a slow internet connection, the video might play in staggered pieces. In this case, you should click on the pause button after the video starts and let it completely download. You will see a dark bar go across (left to right) and once the video has been downloaded, click on the play button again.
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Traveler
Alerts
The Latest
Federal Regulations
Permitted and Prohibited
Items
Coming home
without a U.S. passport?
Passport rules changed on 1/8/07
"ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the
United States and
Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and
Bermuda will be
required to present a valid passport . . . "
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The Adventures of
Captain Mike &
Mia
Cave Diving on the
Riviera Maya
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You are invited to join our
on-line discussions, hosted by Yahoo!Groups. Membership is free,
and includes unrestricted access to our Messages, files and photo
areas. We ask that you limit your subjects to KCD activities and
that all messages include your real name.
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We welcome readers' contributions to this monthly feature.
Famous Scuba Myths, Tales & War Stories
From the Kings County Divers Logbook
California SCUBA Diver Vanishes
Long-time KCD senior staff instructor “The Ancient One” (TAO) had taken a week off in September of 1968 to enjoy some kelp diving off the beaches of southern California when he came upon this inspired tidbit of scuba history. Now you should understand that back in those days most of the divers were graduates of the “do it yourself and learn the hard way” school. We call this event the Disappearing Diver trick.
It seems that one of the locals was not happy having to pay for air fills at the corner dive shop. By scouring junk yards and scrounging parts from an abandon locomotive steam engine he managed to reinvent a machine that worked very much like a high pressure scuba air compressor. It was actually a brilliant idea – almost. Unfortunately, this gifted inventor had inadvertently reversed the air pump rotation cycle, so that his “output” hose was, in reality, the input source.
The day finally came when he flipped the switch to “on”. Failing to notice his design glitch, he proudly attached his scuba tank, and proceeded to create a 3000psi vacuum.
TAO happened to be the only witness when the unfortunate lad put the scuba regulator's 2nd stage mouthpiece into his mouth and attempted to draw his first free breath. We are told that there was this brief moment, less than a blink, when his eyes became very large. And then – swoosh – he was gone. Vanished!
No one ever wanted to verify the young man’s whereabouts, but there was a general understanding about where he went. Even today his scuba tank still stands on display in the window of the corner dive shop, with a small sign that announces the current price of scuba air fills.
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NOTICE: 
The New York Aquarium is looking for
volunteer divers to help the aquarium's staff maintain exhibit
tanks and animal enclosures, and eventually to teach the public
about the aquatic environment and the creatures living there. For
information select "Get Involved" at www.nyaquarium.org or pick up
application forms at the dive store.
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* WRECK VALLEY *
World Class Shipwreck Diving
Old Glory
The waters outside New York
Harbor and off of Long Island Sound offer hundreds of sunken shipping boats, submarines,
military boats and more, many of them within the recreational
diving limits and well known among our local community of sport
divers.
The Stolt Dagali, for example, was a
Norwegian tanker that tragically sank in 1964 after being hit by a
cruise ship in deep fog. Today it is a popular dive site renown for
its excellent visibility and marine life.
The Oregon was a Cunard trans-atlantic
luxury liner that sank off Fire Island in 1886. Still full of
salvageable artifacts, it is now also home to thousands of
lobsters.
The Lizzie D was a steel, steam-powered tug that
sunk on October 19, 1922. According to the owner's casualty report,
the 84 foot tug was just on a cruise carrying no cargo, but with
eight crew members on board when she went down due to unknown
reasons. All of her crew were lost. Today, the Rum Runner, as she
is more commonly known, rests in 80 feet of water, eight miles
southeast of Atlantic Beach Inlet.
The USS Algol, a decommissioned Navy
ship, was sunk off the coast of New Jersey in 1991 in order to
create an artificial reef, not too far away from The Iberia.
For SCUBA divers, The USS San Diego is one of the premier
shipwrecks of Wreck Valley. Lying upside down in 110 feet of water,
the wreck provides a fascinating dive to divers interested in
history, wreck diving, lobster hunting and exploration.
Kings County Divers offers their unique, proprietary Northeast Shipwreck Techniques program to sport
divers who seek the adventure and excitement of exploring these
underwater remnants of history.
|
 Stolt Dagali
|
 The Oregon
|
 The Lizzie D
|
 USS Algol
|
 The Iberia
|
 USS San
Diego
|
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We proudly
support the Long Island Divers Association
Thank you L.I.D.A.
for your efforts on behalf of the recreational diving
community.
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* The Social Calendar *
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YOUR HEALTH &
SAFETY
You can breathe easy knowing
that KCD's air fills are processed with the highest standards of
professional care and science. Nowhere else will one find anything
even close to our multi-processes of purity. First, our source is
dehumidified, ionized, pre-filtered and compressed in several
stages. Then it is dehumidified a second time and pre-filtered a
second time using a molecular sieve. Next comes over a dozen stages
of chemical reaction filtration, each targeting a unique
contaminate. Finally individual inline post filters on every fill
whip protect the diver from hydrocarbon molecules as small as 2
microns.
As additional assurance, our high pressure storage supply is
laboratory analyzed using FTIR, electrochemical, microgravimetry,
"sniffing", and spectrographic technology at least 4 times each
year with quantitative test results compared to American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) standards of purity. These test results
are posted publicly at our filling station for all to
inspect.
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OUTSTANDING DEPENDABILITY
& CONVENIENCE
At the heart of the KCD scuba
tank filling station are two, completely independent and totally
redundant high volume, high pressure compressor systems and a
massive series of high pressure breathing gas storage banks.
Licensed high pressure systems engineers inspect and maintain our
systems regularly, 3 to 4 times each year under annual
contracts.
The next time you visit the proshop, please allow us to show off
some of our behind-the-scenes life support facilities. Ask for "The
KCD Tour".
KCD customers expect the best.
They deserve the best.
They get the best.
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PLAN AHEAD
A refreshing checkup for your
equipment? Complete annual inspections and overhaul service can
take a couple of weeks. And wetsuits have been known to shrink as
the diver gets less active.
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FREE FOR ALUMNI
A refreshing checkup for
yourself, perhaps? What could be more refreshing than a KC Divers
Open Water Refresher Course, absolutely free for alumni, a terrific
value for all others, and a whole lot of fun for everyone.
You are still welcome to retake any of your open water courses #1
through #4 for any reason, as many times as you want *forever* and
never pay a second time. If you want a refresher, if you do not
think that you did it right the first time, if a friend or family
member is in the course and you want to be their partner, or even
if you just want to go diving - - for any reason at all: Join in
and stay wet!
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The Social Calendar is updated
weekly and distributed during our 2nd Tuesday get togethers. It is
also available on the CALENDAR page of this site.
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And when your prospective
buddies are curious about all this fun; you can invite them to try
scuba absolutely free as your guest and ours. Call the proshop to
schedule a scuba tryout - no charge, and with absolutely no
obligation.
CLICK
HERE FOR DETAILS
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Underwater
Photography News
Hundreds of photographs of Kings
County Divers' events and activities are available for your viewing
pleasure. New photos are being added every week. Use the "Photo
Album" link on the home page - no password needed.
Please share your photos of KCD activities with the rest of us. We
can digitize your prints and 35mm slides for addition to our public
display. We can watermark professional graphics to discourage
copyright violations.
Our Underwater Photography
specialty course has been updated to include some of the newest
technologies and equipment. Several new digital cameras and strobes
will be available for your use during the pool and open water. This
is still an entry-level course, and it includes entry into the
course's underwater photography contest in which the graduating
class becomes the judges. No prior photography experience is
needed. Tuition $195 includes software CD, tutorials, and the use
of the new uw photography systems during pool sessions. Costs of
the $16 course manual and open water equipment rentals are
additional. Detailed flyers are available at the proshop. Let us
know if you want to be notified of future starting dates.
We have added a great new feature to our online photo album. Every
individual photographer, from pro to newbie is being given his/her
own display page to exhibit up to a dozen examples of their
underwater photo-art. Show us your stuff.
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We get together every month on
the second Tuesday, 8 pm at Jay and Lloyds Deli, just 4 blocks east
of the KCD proshop on Avenue U. We socialize, reminisce, make plans
and discuss. There are no dues, no reports, and no politics. Food
and drink are optional. Friendly and cordial good fellowship is the
only requirement. Join the fun.
Our Commitment
With more than 33 years of history behind us, "Excellence In
Customer Satisfaction" is still the number one priority.
We promise to do our very best to keep it that way.
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Learn in the comfort of your own
living room with the Kings County Divers home study program,
developed using our Home Education System. HES allows for
customized training on an individual basis at costs only slightly
above those following the normal classroom and pool schedule. Best
of all, no sacrifice in quality need be made. The student uses
coordinated home DVD (or video) with manual to learn the material.
(S)he then schedules a private seminar to review and evaluate all
required information, and several private pool sessions to prepare
for open water. Open water courses are conducted on a private,
semi-private or referral basis. Private pre-class counseling is
free of charge to discuss and plan options, costs &
schedules.
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Here are three good reasons to
earn your Nitrox Specialty Certification:
Added safety when using standard time limits.
Longer recreational dive times.
Less time needed between dives.
Tuition is $95 including the cost of your Nitrox certification
card. A major advantage of our program over most others is the use
of the latest Nitrox planning tables. No math is
needed.
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Huh??
(An actual call to 911)
Dispatcher: "911. What is the emergency?"
Caller: "Help! Help! Send the police! I've been shot!"
Dispatcher: "You said you've been shot?"
Caller: "I've been shot!"
Dispatcher: "How many times were you shot?"
Caller: "This is my first time."
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New divers begin their KCD
training on an average of over three each week - new groups of six
to eight start every two weeks. Our introductory course is still
only $99 for two sessions of classroom, pool and fun.
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The KCD Stress & Rescue
Diver specialty certification program is all about preventing
stress and avoiding the need to rescue. This is how you add
relaxation to your diving checklist. It is an entry level specialty
for all KCD trained alumni and for those with equivalent experience
and skills.
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GIVE A GIFT THAT IS
FOREVER
To those important untrained
divers in your life. Give them the very best skills, the safest
habits and the most comfortable training available anywhere.
KCDivers introductory course is still only $99 for two sessions of classroom, pool and fun. 
Reservations: 718-648-4232
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DID YOU
KNOW?
The Kings County Divers Alumni
Association has over 10,000 members throughout the tristate area,
and another several hundred worldwide. We organize dives,
activities, picnics, parties and trips, locally and all over the
world.
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Divers Below
The proshop is open Monday
through Friday from 2pm to 9pm and Saturday from 10am to 6pm.
voice 1718-648-4232
fax 1718-934-4153
email kcdivers@aol.com
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We teach recreational scuba at
all levels, from entry through instructor. There is a selection of
several entry level training programs starting as low as $25 for
our homestudy course.
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Timely updates about activities
and training are sent by email to all those interested. To be
included, make your request on the CONTACT page of this website.
All requested additions and deletions will be honored within 24
hours.
Be well. Be safe. Stay wet.
(:}o
ScubaSmile
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©1997 Kings County Divers
2417 Avenue U, Brooklyn, NY 11229
718-648-4232(voice) - (fax)718-934-4153
KCDivers@aol.com
|
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Excellence In Customer Satisfaction Since 1974
** PARTIAL LISTING OF KINGS COUNTY DIVERS CREDENTIALS, AWARDS, LICENSES, AUTHORIZATIONS &AFFILIATIONS **
