Hey Scuba club members. We're in the height of summer and that means prime time for diving here in Minnesota. I hope everyone can make it to Wazee on July 10th. We'll be cooking lunch and have some cool prizes for everyone so come on over for some diving.

Also we are placing the order for the new club t shirts. If you haven't seen it yet there is a pic below (You Gotta Wear Something. 3). If you want one let me know asap. Have a great summer and have fun diving!

Just Wacky by anonymous

One day, a diver was enjoying the aquatic world 20 feet below sea level. He noticed a guy at the same depth he was, with no scuba gear on whatsoever.

The diver went below another 10 feet, but the guy joined him a minute later. The diver went below 15 more feet, a minute later, the same guy joined him.

This confused the diver, so he took out a waterproof chalkboard, and wrote, "How the heck are you able to stay under this deep without equipment?"

The guy took the board and chalk, erased what the diver had written, and wrote, "I'm drowning, you moron!"

My Trip to Bohol by Christina Campos

Part 3 of 3 – Diving Bohol

This is the continuation of Christina’s story of her trip to Bohol in the Philippines. If you haven’t already read it, see part 2 from last month.

Finally, at 9AM, Mom, Dad and I boarded the boat with eleven other divers. This boat wasn’t like our other dive boats. It is called a banca and it has bamboo poles on both sides that are called outriggers. They keep the boat stable so it doesn’t rock. When we were in the water, we had to stay away from the outriggers, otherwise they might hit us.

Our first dive was a reef dive on a sandy bottom. For the first time in my life, I saw garden eels and I very slowly got about 1” away from one. I also saw my first ever sea turtle. It was much bigger than I thought it would be. I got about 5’ from one turtle and some of the turtles had remoras. We had one remora guy, two remora guy and three remora guy. That is how we could identify them. I also got to see a purplish nudibranch. I found out my mask was too big so it leaked a lot. I came up to the boat and took a nap while Mom and Dad went back down with the guide again. I loved that dive. It was so much fun.

One hour later we got ready for my first ever wall dive. At the beginning of the dive, I told my mom and the guide that I would only skim the top of the wall. I was scared and didn’t know what it would look like over the wall. Underwater, not even one minute goes by before I signaled to my mom that I wanted to go down over the wall. It wasn’t so scary after all, even though when I went over the side, I couldn’t see the bottom below. It was a little dark where we were. I saw corals, fish, and lots of anemones which look like they are calling you over to them. There were a mixture of little and big caves on the wall dive. Near the end of the end of the dive, Dad swam next to a sea fan that was almost bigger than my dad.

There was a bazillion fish on both dives combined. I saw 26 Moorish idols (Like Scar in Finding Nemo) Some fish I knew were butterfly fish, but I didn’t know which ones. I also saw two big fish that I think were maybe groupers.

We had to leave Bohol the next day which made me sad. I wanted to stay just one more day. Even though I got to do only two dives, I would say they were some of the best dives I’ve ever had. This is a place that I really want to go back to.

How to Celebrate a Perfect Birthday – by Monica Merbach

Have plenty of cake
Dive every day
Eat the best mashed potatoes in the world
Be with fun people
Eat lots of food
Have a lot of fun

Saturday, June 19^th was my 14^th birthday (aka fart-ing birthday). It was also the weekend that DUI Dog Days was being held in Crosby, MN and Tom Connery was teaching classes there. I want to do more diving and was excited to hear about the advanced class and drysuit class. So I signed up for both. Mom decided that I needed company, so she signed up for the advanced class.

Drysuits are a lot better than wetsuits. It was a lot easier to get on and off and more comfortable to wear. It also means that I can dive more than once or twice a year. I’m thrilled to hear about ice diving - how divers ‘ski’ under the ice upside down by being pulled by a line.

For the advanced class we did: dry suit, navigation, peak performance buoyancy and night dives. After all that diving I was too tired for the deep dive, so I will have to wait for another weekend to do that. It also gives me a chance to practice some things in the pool before going so deep.

Diving in Minnesota is a lot harder than diving in the Caribbean. The water is a lot colder and things get hard to do with the drysuit or thick wetsuit and gloves and hood. I also needed more weight and that makes it harder to get around on the surface and makes buoyancy harder. You also can’t see as far and there is the mud to contend with. If you kick up the mud, visibility can be reduced a lot. Plant life is abundant in the lakes, but there is a lot less fish to see than you’d image.

By diving more often and with the many issues of diving up here, I think I am becoming a better diver for when I do hit the tropics.

There was a lot of stuff going on in Crosby that weekend. We went to the Deer Stand in Deerwood for the best mashed potatoes in the world. I even made Dad stop there on Sunday before we left for one more helping. There was also the DUI Dog Days and all of the divers from all over Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Canada. They had hotdogs and burgers for us to eat between dives.

Tom and Marilyn cooked us steaks on the grill and lots of other food, including 2 cakes for dessert. It was hard to go diving for the night dive after all that good food.

There were people from the Minnesota School of Diving that were practicing Hard Hat diving. They didn’t worry too much about buoyancy and sort of walked along the bottom. They had a cool camera that we could watch from their trailer. They were practicing lifting a boat and putting it back down.

John got to try on the helmet but didn’t get to dive under the water with it. He said it was really heavy.

I had a lot of fun in Crosby and love going up there.

MDC Sports Grand Opening – by The Gossip Girls

June 12^th thru the 19^th is a week that will long live in the annals of Scuba Diving. For on this date, in 2010, MDC Sports had its Grand Opening celebration.

The week was jam packed with events and activities. Tuesday was the major event with a ribbon cutting celebration with the Chamber of Commerce. Ambassadors from many key businesses in Rochester were present to formally announce the opening of the store.

While Claudia and Jim were doing the official ceremonies outside, Melissa and her staff were busy inside and out showing off the new store and the latest in dive equipment.

The Scuba Club helped out with the opening celebration on Saturday and there were special opportunities for club members to register for prizes on Tuesday and Thursday.

The club served brats and hotdogs and other refreshments.

The club also served two specially made cakes by Lorri Westgard (joycakes@hotmail.com) that were a big hit.

During the week visitors could register for prizes which were given out at the end of the week. A full list of all the winners can be seen on the MDC Sports web site (www.mdcsports.com). A grand prize drawing for a TV/DVD combo will be held at the end of the summer. Registration is still open for the grand prize so stop in, check out the store and register for the prize.

Featured Fish – Moorish Idol

Zanclus cornutus (‘crowned scythe’) from the Zanclidae family is more commonly referred to as the Moorish Idol. It is common to the tropical and subtropical reefs and lagoons throughout the Indo-Pacific. The fish got its name from the Moors of Africa who believe it to be a bringer of happiness. Although similar in appearance, the Moorish Idol is not a member of the butterflyfish family.

The distinctive compressed disk-like body and contrasting bands of black, white and yellow make them a popular aquarium fish, although they have a short aquarium lifespan. Many aquarium owners substitute similar looking butterflyfish, such as the bannerfish or coralfish, since they are easier to keep and have longer aquarium lifespans. They have small fins except for the dorsal fin which is elongated to form a trailing, sickle shaped crest. They have small mouths at the end of a long, tubular snout with many long bristle-like teeth.

Care must be used when attempting to keep a Moorish Idol in an aquarium since they have been known to organize the other fish into elaborate escape plans as was dramatized by Gill in the movie ‘Finding Nemo’.

Featured Recipe – Charlie’s Corn Salsa

Recipe submitted by Marilyn Connery (Marlin to her friends)

1 can whole kernel corn
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp garlic powder
1 small can green chili (4 oz)
1 tsp chipotle peppers in adobe sauce

Note: use 2 tsp of chipotle peppers if you want to kick it up a bit. It comes in a small can with whole peppers, just use the sauce

Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Top with Fresh diced tomatoes, cilantro and cut green onions, sprinkle down center of dish after baking.

Serve with tortilla chips.

You Gotta Wear Something – by The Gossip Girls

Now that warmer weather is upon us, the Scoober Doers have come up with the perfect summer look for the well dressed diver. Orders are now being taken for the newly redesigned Scuba Club T-Shirt. This classic yet stylish garment will not only let others know that you are part of the exciting world of scoober doers but also that you aren’t afraid to make a statement and be seen.

You can place orders at the Scuba Club meeting or by contacting Dan at:

Rochester Scuba and Snorkel Club

c/0 Dan Lovik

1504 7th St NE

Rochester, MN 55906

Short sleeve shirts are $10.00 and come in standard sizes. Long sleeve and hoodies are also available at $12.50 and $25.00 respectively.