the aqua tooter - Aqua Tutus Diving Club

THE AQUA TOOTER
On the web at http://www.aquatutus.com
November 2010
Since 1958... a publication from the Aqua Tutus Diving Club, a non-profit organization established to promote Water Safety
and to further the sport of SCUBA Diving.
December Holiday Party
For December, the club meeting is the Holiday Party at La Cabana restaurant on Saturday, December 11 - complete with a
great Mexican dinner, Santa, piñata, gifts, and dancing … all for
only $5! Come and enjoy!
January Meeting Entertainment
At the January 6 General Meeting, we will have a great program
to start the new year by Mike Boom. Mike is a local underwater
videographer and writer who has
been shooting in the Monterey
Bay area, the Solomon Islands,
Indonesia, Belize, Hawaii, and
Alaska among other locations. He
has won numerous video competitions and been featured in underwater film exhibitions in varicredit Alan
ous venues around the world.
Throop
He's written about underwater
video for Scuba Diving magazine
and helped design underwater control systems for Undersea
Video Housings. He recently worked as the underwater video pro
for the live-aboard dive boat Nai'a in Fiji.
Mike operates his own business: GeekSpeak, a tech writing company in Oakland. Besides contracting for well-known SiliconValley companies, he has written for underwater housing manufacturers Gates and Sea & Sea. Mike understands how to convey
technical information very well. You can check out some of his
video shorts online at Mike’s website www.laughingeel.com.
Mike has presented his high-definition videos at the club before,
and he always presents an entertaining program. In January, he’ll
present a program on
Lynn and Garibaldis, credit Mike Boom
the marine biology of
No. and So. California – with footage
from the Channel
Islands and Monterey.
This should be an
especially-good program for newer divers, but I’ll bet that
even seasoned divers will learn something. And Mike’s videography and story-telling is always entertaining!
THANK YOU NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTORS for
making this month’s AQUATOOTER possible:
Alan Throop, Connie Klein, Neil Benjamin
Aqua Tutus Diving Club's
next regular meeting:
Thursday, January 6th 7:30 p.m.
Location: Round Table Pizza
20920 Redwood Rd.
Castro Valley
510-733-9500
Upcoming Club Activity (local)
Dec 4 Sunol Train of Lights
Dec 11 Holiday Party, La Cabana
Jan 7 Dinner at Banchero’s
Jan 15 Lover’s Cove
Feb 13 Macabee snorkel
check the club calendar
http://www.my.calendars.net/atdc_events
BOD MEETING SCHEDULE
Jan 20, BOD meeting, Don Jose Resturant, CV
http://www.my.calendars.net/atdc_events
For the most current information
Banchero’s BOD Dinner
Friday nite, Jan 7th
6:30pm gather at the bar, dinner at 7:00pm
RSVP to Dennis or Patti
dennis@rxscuba.com scubamom@rxscuba.com
Open to all, Dutch treat
Directions on page 8
What’s Inside
Entertainment Report
HOLIDAY PARTY INFO
November Meeting minutes
November BOD Meeting minutes
IN THE NEWS
Activity Calendar
Page 2-3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 6-8
Page 9
Aqua Tooter Pleasanton, California
Aqua Tutus Entertainment Report,
November, 2010
Reported by Alan Throop
At the November 4 General Meeting, our own Neil Benjamin
presented a great program on
cenote/cave diving on the
“Mayan Riviera” in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. Neil
is a long-time member of Aqua
Tutus, a diving instructor, and
teaches SCUBA classes both
for the club and with Jim Steele
at the “Original Steele’s” dive
At cave entrance, credit Neil’s
shop in Oakland. His interestphotographer
ing background on cave diving
was discussed in the announcement last month. Here, I’ll just note that Neil has been cave diving since 2002 and has received the Abe Davis safety award for
making 100 post training cave dives.
The Quintana Roo region of the Yucatan peninsula, shown here,
is known for its extensive underwater
(UW) cave systems. More about its
formation later, but these cave systems differ somewhat from the other
well-known spring systems in the
Florida panhandle. The Florida systems are deep - often require deep
technical diving – and often have
strong currents. The Mexican systems, by contrast, are typically not
deep, do not present strong currents,
and are warmer (72-80oF). Neil has
dove both types of systems.
Neil first gave an introduction
credit Alan Throop
to cave diving, describing
some of the motivation, hazards, and training required.
Why dive in caves? It’s a
whole other world, as different from normal SCUBA
environments as SCUBA
diving is to surface recreations. It’s a technical challenge and presents an opportunity to develop a new range of diving skills. It allows working with an exclusive and expert community of diver. It provides an outlet for exploration – to go where
few people will ever go. Divers can identify and gather data on
the condition of the caves, the water, and other factors that affect
life on the surface. The caves are like coral reefs – fragile UW
environments that represent our “canaries in the coal mine”.
He then spoke about the hazards and training required for cave
diving. In caves, there is no direct access to the surface and errors
are often fatal. Causes of fatalities include: diving beyond the
team’s level of training and experience; not properly laying a
guide line back to the entry or getting lost; exceeding the dive
plan limits or incorrect gas management; inadequate equipment;
or buddy separation/solo diving.
A certified open-water diver may participate in a professionally
guided CAVERN dive (not a CAVE dive), which is distance and
November 2010
Page 2
air limited to <200 ft combined horizontal and vertical ascent distance; where you can always see the light at the entry, is planned
to exit with at least 1/3 of air supply remaining; you do NOT pass
the STOP signs that warn cave training is required to proceed further. Neil described the agencies and levels of training required to
progress from cavern diving and through the intro, apprentice, and
full certification levels of cave diving. See Neil for details if you
are interested.
Neil presented a outstanding Show
& Tell overview on the equipment
and techniques of cave diving. Due
to the depths and long dive times,
large and multiple tanks are required. The equipment is kept simple, with multiple backups in case
of equipment failures. Neil’s tank,
harness, and BC setup for sidemounting the tanks, a back-plate,
strap harness, and independent
wing bladders. Tanks are snapped
to the FRONT of the BC and held
credit Alan Throop
under the arms to avoid disturbing
cave ceilings, which would quickly
silt up the water. Gauges and 1st stage
regulators on the tanks are also more
readily accessible with this setup.
Since the tanks are may be large (up
to 120 Cu Ft) and steel, little or no
extra weight is required. Dual 1st and
2nd stage regs on each tank are fully
independent. A 5’-7’ “long hose” is
typically used as a donor hose in narrow passages and a short spare reg is
hung around the neck on a necklace.
credit Alan Throop
Most valves are DIN, and Neil uses a
yoke adapter if required.
credit Alan Throop
A lot of other gear and extensive
backup equipcredit Alan
ment is reThroop
quired for cave
diving. An important item is
lighting; a
powerful technical dive light
(HID or LED) that is attached to the hand
and powered by a large separate battery
pack is the main light. The cave diver also
carries several line reels, line attachment
arrows, spare lights, a spare mask (no snorkel), cutting tools, a
slate or wet notes with a map, dive comcredit Alan
Throop
puters, compass, … and often Neil brings
his camera too! Where does all this stuff
go? This back-side photo shows that - besides the arm for slates and computers - a
large thigh pocket is hung from the waist
strap of the BC to hold some items and a
“butt clip” on the back-bottom of the butt
plate is used to store gear that needs to be
accessed quickly.
Aqua Tooter Pleasanton, California
Entertainment report continued
Neil demo’d some of the techniques
used for cave diving, for example, how
a “main line” is followed. This line,
laid by previous divers, is usually described by a map (that the diver has
already used to plan the dive and takes
with him/her), and is often gold in
color. Red arrows indicate the direction
to the nearest cave exit. Side lines
might also be present and are indicated
by arrows. Divers can add their own
side lines to the main line to explore,
but circular “cookies” and standard
credit Alan Throop
protocols are used for these connections
to avoid confusion to other divers that might be on the main line
or to the side diver when he returns.
Neil then presented several short slide programs that showed
some of the cenotes that Neil has dived in this area during 2006
through 2009. Many of the dives were suggested by Robbie
Schmittner, a well-known cave explorer who has connected two
systems in the area to make the longest system in the world. The
systems that Neil dove are well-described and each cave has its
own special features.
NaHoch, cave exit, credit Neil BenThis photo shows an UW
view of a typical cave
system entry; it might be a
large opening into a clear
pool or a smaller opening.
There may be a cavern
present initially, but the
main line leads into the
overhead cave environment. As noted above,
signs usually indicate
when you reach the cave
environment, and only trained cave divers should proceed further.
These caves were formed by water flowing through the limestone
substrate, which dissolved the passages. Subsequently, during the
ice ages, ocean levels dropped and the tunnels became dry caves.
Water dripping through the rock above formed stalagmites (from
floor), stalactites (from ceiling), limestone plates, and other beautiful formations. During the warm period following the ice ages,
the ocean levels have again risen and the water now again flows
to the ocean again through these UW passages with their formations.
There are no surface rivers in this region of Mexico – they all
flow through the caves. The fresh water flows over any salt water
that intrudes and does not dissolve the calcium features very rapidly, so the formations have existed for the last several-thousand
years. Bones of mastodons, other creatures, and even humans can
be found inside the UW caves.
The water in the cave systems has filtered from the surface, so the
visibility is usually excellent, unless you stir up the silt that has
built up for millennia – in which case it can drop to zero … not a
good thing. Excellent buoyancy control and sculling kicks are
needed to avoid stirring up the silt.
Neil took us on a photographic tour of about seven different cave
systems. His photographs that follow illustrated the variety,
Aqua Tooter  Pleasanton, California
beauty, and even claustrophobic nature of this environment. Here, a
diver is tying into a main line, as
Neil illustrated above. You need to
understand the particular cave system well or follow a good guide.
Neil mentioned that admission to
dive in these caves costs about 10-30
$US, and it costs about 80 $US to
hire a dive guide .. be sure the guide
Diver arrows, credit Neil Benjamin
is competent.
The first three photos here show typical low passages with their
beautiful formations. In some regions, the passages can get quite
Barb in cave, credit Neil Benjamin
NaHoch, credit Neil Benjamin
Barb in dome, credit Neil Benjamin
Birth Canal, credit Neil Benjamin
narrow; for example a narrow section of the Dos Ojos system
called “the Birth Canal”, on the right, above.
The next two illustrate some of the more-spacious “rooms” that the
passages open up into. So if you suffer from claustrophobia, you
NaHoch diver, credit Neil Benjamin
NaHoch, Barb’s profile line, credit
Neil Benjamin
may want to plan your dive accordingly. The last photo shows an interesting feature, where the
ceiling of the passage or room is only 5-10 feet below the ground
surface above, so that roots
NaHoch, Roots at Cavern, credit Neil
from vegetation (upper left
Benjamin
corner) have grown into the
water system.
Many thanks to Neil for presenting an educational and
entertaining program, and for
sharing with us a world that is
very different from that which
most of us will ever experience.
November 2010Page 3
Aqua Tutus 2010
Holiday Party
The holidays are nearly upon us!! Come join your dive buddies, families and friends as we join
together to kick off the holiday celebration
The evening will be filled with good food, fun events, and the usual surprise visit from Santa.
This year we will again have the party at one of our favorite club restaurants, which we will take
over after 8:00PM. Come at 6:30 for socializing and the great margueritas. We’ll have Holiday
music, a pinata for kids (of all ages), raffle, dancing … and Santa (so bring a small fun or goofy
gift - wrapped and named - for your friends and family if you wish).
The entry price is only $5 per person and will include a Mexican buffet (cheese & chicken enchilada, chili rellenos, carnitas, guacamole, tortillas, rice, beans, etc) and soft-drinks. Children 12
and under are free as usual. Let us know if you have any special dietary needs. No-host bar for
social and dinner.
Saturday, December 11th, 2010
Social begins @ 6:30PM Dinner 8:00 PM Party to 12:00 PM
La Cabana Restaurant
7163 Rich Avenue, Newark, CA 94560
510-792-2600
Directions: From 880, take Thornton west, to Sycamore St south
(near city center), to Rich Ave
Questions? : Alan Throop 925-455-8895 OR Patti Shannon 510-792-8460
November 2010
Page 4
Aqua Tooter Pleasanton, California
General Meeting Minutes
November 4, 2010
Reported by Connie Klein
Meeting called to order by President Jim Driggers at Round Table
Pizza in Castro Valley, CA at 7:35 pm.
We had two guests , but didn’t get the names recorded.
Entertainment
 Tonight’s program: Neil, on cenotes and cave diving at Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula.
 January – Mike Boom, on marine biology with high-def video.
 February – Larry, on the Atlantis Dive resorts and dive sites of
the Philipines.
 March - Dennis will do an equipment program for us.
Treasurer’s Report (Greg)
Total Funds $8,266.84
Membership (Debbie Driggers)
We have 56 members. One new member tonight. Paul with a new
baby, needs dive buddies.
Training (Dennis Hocker)
 Oliver, was presented with his WAR bonnet; recognition for
exemplary Florida wreck diving with Dennis, Bob Sheridan and
company.
 DAN02 Provider will be scheduled in the near future; going
into Rescue Diver this fall.
 For more information on training
contact Neil Benjamin (510)
673-0073
neil.benjamin@lamrc.com or
Dennis Hocker (510) 792-5606
dennis@rxscuba.com
CenCal No Report
Newsletter (Don Kelsey)
Please have your information for the November Tooter by 23rd,
published by the 29th. There will be no December tutor.
Web Goddess (Patti Shannon)
Both newsletters are up on our site. The wave model stuff will be
up their in November.
Special Committee
Holiday party is on December 11th at La Cabana in Newark.
Old Business
Nominations for Officer Positions were as follows:
 President: Oliver
 Vice President: Fritz, Matt
 Treasurer: Greg
 Secretary: Connie
 Membership chair: Meredith
By Law Change Vote (new language will be):
All officers term out after two years, but if no other candidate is available, they may stand another year.
Motion Carried.
New officer Slate for 2012:
President: Oliver
Vice President: Fritz
Treasurer: Greg
Secretary: Connie
Membership: Meredith
New Business None
Past Dives:
Jeff went to Hawaii with Aloha Joe into the Death Hole. Turns
out the local name is toilet bowl. Water was in high 70s, great
visibility. Lots of red pipe fish. Saw 4 of them.
Bone Award Nominees: None
Raffle Winners were as follows:
Matt – Film Camera complete with strobe
Dave – Regulator
Fritz - Fins
Neil – Small BD for teaching with
Jeff – Light
Greg – Whistle
Dave - Snorkle
Larry – Candy from Hawaii
Greg – Kona Coffee, for Top Dog Coffee (Mark Johnson)
Susan – Tank Carrier
Patti – Chocolates
Greg - …a cookie
Tim is taking Greg’s draw – Kona Coffee
Upcoming Activity and Dives:
2010
Nov 12 NCUPS, will raffle a Maldives trip and presentation of
How to Travel, Where to Dive for What - Rich Wolf
Nov 18 Board of Directors, Greg’s
Nov 20 Pt. Lobos (Debbie is POC) and Sleep Over at Monterey
Bay Aquarium (Connie is point of contact)
Dec 4
Sunol Train
Dec 11 Holiday Party, La Cabana, 6:30 – 7:00, 7163 Rich St.,
Newark, CA, $5/person entry fee
Dec 18 – Jan 2 Cozumel (Patti is point of contact) Neil will be in
Tulum two weeks before that
Jan. 6
General Meeting
BOD to select the Banchero’s board members dinner date
(will be in January)
Jan 15 Lovers, Larry is POC
Jan. 20 BOD, will be at Don Pedro’s restaurant
2011
July 4 - 18
Philippines (Contact Dennis Hocker) Space is still
available. Dennis has been there on a familiarization trip and was
impressed. It will be a great trip.
2012
Chuuk end of September first of October. First two weeks have 4
openings.
Next BOD meeting: Thursday 11/18/10 (6:30 pm dinner/7:00
meeting)
Next Membership meeting: No Membership meeting in December…see you all at the Holiday Party December 11, 6:30 for early
birds, 7:00 pm. La Cabana in Newark, CA at Rich and Sycamore
Meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.
Election for Vice President Fritz—12 votes , Matt—2 votes.
Aqua Tooter  Pleasanton, California
November 2010Page 5
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Date: November 18, 2010
Reported by Connie Klein
Jim Driggers called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Present were
Connie Klein, Alan Throop, Jim Driggers, Debbie Driggers, Fritz
Wells, Larry Muth, Greg Gleeson, Don Kelsey
Entertainment (Alan Throop)
 Mike Boom in January: program on marine biology and life in a
kelp forest
 Larry Muth in February: the Philippines.
 Dennis in March: Equipment
 Bruce Watkins: a program on Reef and Sharks of Guadalupe
 Call out to Eric Chang and David McGuire and James Mosquito
 Checking to see if Dennis will do his program on Dive sites of
Monterey
Treasury (Greg Gleeson)
General account $8266.84.
Membership (Debbie Driggers)
42 regular, 9 assoc, 8 life, 1 student; total of 60
Director of Training (Dennis Hocker)
No Report. Dennis at DEMA
Newsletter (Don Kelsey)
No newsletter in December. Tooter input by January 24, publish
by the 28th
Webgoddess (Patti Shannon)
No Report. Get well soon, Patti!
Special Committee: Holiday Party
December 11 at La Cabana, 7:00 pm.
Old Business
Newly elected club officers are
President: Oliver Edwards
Vice Pres: Fritz Welss
Secretary: Connie Klein
Tresurer: Greg Gleeson
Membership: Meredith Florian
New Business None
Upcoming Events
2010
Nov 20
Pt. Lobos (Debbie is POC) and Sleep Over at Monterey
Bay Aquarium (Connie is point of contact)
Dec 4
Sunol Train
Dec 11
Holiday Party
Dec 18 – Jan 2 Cozumel (Patti is point of contact)
Jan. 6
General Meeting
Jan 15
Lovers, Larry’s POC
Jan. 20
BOD, Don Jose’s
Jan. 7
Bancheros (San Leandro) Board Meeting Dinner –
Open to all. Meet at 6:30, dinner at 7:00
Feb. 3
General Meeting
Feb . 13 MacAbee to San Carlos Snorkle and kelpless crawl
2011
July 4 - 18 Philippines (Contact Dennis Hocker)
2012
Chuuk end of September first of October. First two weeks have 4
openings, second two weeks have been cancelled.
November 2010
Page 6
Next Membership meeting: Thursday January 6, 7:30 pm,
Round Table, Castro Valley (7 pm social)
Next BOD meeting:
Restaurant
Thursday, January 20th, at Don Jose’s
Meeting adjourned 7:43 pm
IN THE NEWS
Tuter now in the coffee business !
Reported by Alan Throop
Aloha! Lifetime-member Mark Johnson, who lives on Kona, Big
Island, Hawaii, has ventured into a side-business that the club
enjoyed at the last meeting. Mark was club president, and instructor for many years, introducing many of the current members into the fun of SCUBA-diving. Earlier this decade, Mark
moved to Kona, where he now owns a home remodeling business. His wife Joy is a real-estate agent,
and (I’ve been told by members who have
visited) that they own a beautiful home.
Their house sits on a big lot and Joy
thought it would be fun to have a few coffee trees. Well … things grew and expanded, and what started as a hobby is
now a business endeavor called “Top Dog
Coffee”
Kona is well known for producing some
of the world’s best coffee. It’s been grown
on Big Island for over 175 years, and is
grown in the North and South Districts of
Kona, as well as other Districts on the island. Coffee cherries
ripen at different times of the year on the same tree, and Mark
and Joy hand-pick their own beans, so that no green or overripe
cherries make it into their coffee. I’ve brewed some of their coffee, and it’s dark, rich, and fresh – great Kona coffee! Just grind
the beans for the great coffeehouse fragrance, put it in a filter,
drip some hot water through it, sit back, and enjoy … as you can
tell, I really enjoy my coffee!
Mark was good enough to send a couple of bags for the raffle at
the last meeting. Fritz Welss is
shown posing “Vanna-style”
with the bag from the meeting.
Many thanks to Mark for sending the coffee to us for the raffle.
By the way, the label was
painted by Joy; this is her first
acrylic painting. The inspiration
for the label is their Shetland
Sheep Dog, Topper. Kind of
cool, eh! You can have fun
when it’s your own business.
If you want more information
or to order, e-mail Topper@TopDogCoffee.com or you can call
Mark & Joy at 808-960-1924. Mahalo!
See the Top Dog Flyer on the next page
Aqua Tooter Pleasanton, California
Aloha
Top Dog Coffee is our Hawaiian coffee adventure. We
have a small farm in Kona, and do grow our own
beans as well as utilizing other green coffee beans
from other high quality farms. We started our farm
about 5 years ago when Joy thought it would be fun
to have a few coffee trees. Little did we know how
wonderful fresh, Kona Coffee would taste. So what
started out as a hobby, is now a business endeavor
for us.
Kona Coffee is well known as being one of the
World’s Best Coffee, if not the best! Coffee has
been grown on the Big Island of Hawaii, for over 175
years. Hawaii is the only state in the US that commercially grows coffee. Kona Coffee is grown in the
North and South Districts of Kona. There are other coffee areas on the islands and each area coffee will
carry identification on the label from these Districts.
Our Current Coffee Pricing:
100% Kona Medium Roast, Whole Bean
$12.00 per 1/2 pound
$20.00 per pound
100% Kona Dark Roast, Whole Bean
$14.00 per 1/2 pound
$22.00 per pound
(Dark Roast contains more beans per pound)
Current Shipping Cost:
(USPS Priority Mail)
1/2-1
2 -4
5-7
8-14
pounds
pounds
pounds
pounds
$4.95
$10.95
$14.95
$29.00
The coffee cherry ripens at different times of the
year on the same tree, and is handpicked when ripe.
Because our coffee is handpicked we are very careful
not include green or overripe cherry in our picking,
which can occur in machine-picked cherry. We work
hard to make sure that Top Dog Coffee will be the best
coffee you will ever enjoy!
Topper, our Shetland Sheep Dog, is the inspiration for
our brand name and Logo. Joy is delighted to have
her first acrylic painting on our label.
To Order contact us:
Email Topper@TopDogCoffee.com or
Call (808) 960-1924
Hurry, as there is a limited amount of coffee to
sell, and once it is gone, you will need to wait until the next harvest and roasting.
Mahalo for your business!
Pricing good through 12/31/2010
Top Dog Coffee, Mark & Joy Johnson, Proprietors, 73-1397 Hamiha Street, Kailua Kona, HI 96740
Email: Topper@TopDogCoffee.com, Phone (808) 960-1924
Aqua Tooter  Pleasanton, California
November 2010Page 7
IN THE NEWS
Tutors elect Club Officers for 2011
President
Vice Pres
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership
A message from
Take Action for Ocean Wildlife
We have an incredible opportunity to help save sea otters, sharks, sea turtles and other ocean wildlife this
year. With your help today legislation to protect ocean
animals could become law in 2010.
You've already made a difference with your overwhelming
response to our earlier Action Alerts supporting important
bills to help sea otters and save sharks: you now have an
opportunity to move this legislation forward.
Right now, Congress is working on a single package of
ocean bills that
will give much-needed protection to sea otters, sharks, sea
turtles and coral reefs.
Your help now is urgently needed. Please take action today (go to http://www.capwiz.com/mbayaq/issues/alert/?
alertid=19237626&type=CO )and send a quick and simple
online letter to let your Senators know you support this important ocean protection package.
By speaking out now, you can help the ocean wildlife you
care about—and make a real difference for the future of the
oceans.
Oliver Edwards
Fritz Welss
Connie Klein
Greg Gleeson
Meredith Florian
Thanks to retiring President Jim Driggers, Vice President Chris Stensager and Membership-chair Debbie
Driggers for their service, and to continuing and new
officers for their willingness to serve.
Thanks to Steele’s Discount Scuba
5987 Telegraph Ave
Oakland CA 94609
(510)655-4344
for donated and discounted merchandise for the Aquatutus Diving Club
monthly raffles.
Kona Condo for Rent
June 15 to June 29, 2011
Only $$450 per week
Contact Don Kelsey
925-820-8362
Dwk.kelsey@gmail.com
Thank you.
Directions to
Regards,
Julie Packard
Executive Director
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Banchero's Italian Dinners,
20102 Mission Blvd, Hayward, CA
510-276-7355
Off I-238 on Mission Blvd.
Advertise in the TOOTER
Club members may advertise “dive
equipment for sale” at no cost. Just
send your requirements to the editor
for listing
dwk.kelsey@gmail.com
Ads must be renewed (just email Don
to advise) each month or will not appear the following month
November 2010
Page 8
Aqua Tooter Pleasanton, California
Check
Calendar of Events
http://www.aquatutus.com/activities.htm
for the latest calendar
2010
Dec 4
Sunol Train of Lights
Dec 11
Holiday Party at LaCabana
Dec 18 – Jan 2 Cozumel (Patti is point of contact) scubamom@rxscuba.com
2011
Jan. 6
Jan 7
Jan 15
Jan. 20
Feb 13
Jul 4-18
General Meeting
Banchero’s BOD dinner, RSVP Dennis dennis@rxscuba.com or Patti scubamom@rxscuba.com
Lovers, Contact Larry Muth
Board of Directors, Don Jose Resturant, Castro Valley
Macabee snorkel
Phillipines, Contact Dennis Hocker dennis@rxscuba.com
2012
Chuuk; end of September, early October. dennis@rxscuba.com
http://reefcheck.org/rcca/rcca_home.php
Thanks to all the contributors to this month’s
Tooter; Neil Benjamin, Alan Throop, Connie
Klein, Debbie Driggers, Jeff Tindall and any
others I may have failed to mention. The monthly
Tooter is not possible without your contributions.
ATDC Dive Training
Check
http://www.aquatutus.com/activities.htm
 Dates are tentative and depend on participation.
 Classroom sessions held at 38962 Larkspur Street,
Newark, CA
 For more information contact
 Neil Benjamin: (510) 673-0073
neil.benjamin@lamrc.com
 Dennis Hocker: (510) 792-5606 dennis@ rxscuba.com
Keep up with California Diving, read
California Diving News
http://www.cadivingnews.com/
Aqua Tooter  Pleasanton, California
2009 Club Officers/Volunteers
President
Jim Driggers
jdriggers@astound.net
Vice President
Chris Stensager
cdelaine@pacbell.net
Secretary
Connie Klein
connieklein@astound.net
Treasurer
Greg Gleeson
gag1234@sbcglobal.net
Membership Chair
Debbie Driggers
driggers@astound.net
Training Director
Dennis Hocker
dennis@rxscuba.com
Cen Cal Representative:
Entertainment Chair
Alan Throop
althroop@comcast.net
Newsletter Publisher
Don Kelsey
dwk.kelsey@gmail.com
Board Members @ Large:
Fritz Welss
fawelss@sbcglobal.net
Matt Warren
matt@oaktownboardz.com
Larry Muth
lnmuth@comcast.net
Past President
Greg Gleeson
gag1234@sbcglobal.net
Web “Goddess”
Patti Shannon Hocker scubamom@rxscuba.com
ATDC Web page:
www.aquatutus.com
November 2010Page 9
For quick access to Chuck Tribolet’s
Internet Resources
for the Bay Area Diver
http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/swell/
News from the Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuary
Keep in touch by surfing over to:
http://www.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov
For updates on the Joint Management
Plan review process, surf over to:
http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/jointplan/
For Cencal updates and calendar
http://www.cencal.org/
Aqua Tutus Diving Club
P.O. Box 11952
Pleasanton, CA 94588
North Coast Diving since 1958
Aqua Tooter Pleasanton, California