Happy New Year!!!
The heralded conch shell once again brought the meeting to order.   Donna Bender has become our resident conch shell “blower” although Joe did mention conch shell lessons in Key West.

Joe continues to sit in for President Brad McVicker on an as needed basis due to a family illness

Ron Peterson gave the treasurer’s report.  The club had $164.00 in income, $909.78 in expenses, and a balance of $2875.48, which balanced with the bank as of December 31, 2002.

No new members were announced, as no members have been added since the last meeting.  There was not a board meeting held in December 2002.  As you may recall, Thomas Davis, Jeff Kirsch and Wendy Kirsch were added to the membership at the Christmas party.

Board member elections were announced at the last meeting.   Board members for 2003 will be John Augustine, Denny Beecher, Bert Sharbaugh, and Dan Turcovsky.  Congratulations to all.

Work continues on the 2003 event schedule/calendar.

Joe Gordon reported on an exciting trip to Key West, Florida with Nittany Divers from State College.  Sherwood also went along on this trip.  (Seems we don’t hear much of Sherwood these days)  Joe reported windy conditions and lots of waves that limited diving to one day out of three.  The diving took place on the Adolphus Busch Sr., which was intentionally sunk in 1998 by the Looe Key Artificial Reef Association.  The wreck is a 210-foot freighter lying in 108 feet of water.  The wheelhouse and main deck though are found at 80 feet.  This site lies about six miles off Ramrod Key in Florida.  (A special note of thanks to Sylvia MacKinnon for supplying some additional information about the wreck and its location.)  Joe reports a bigger variety of fish and beautiful coral and then told tales looking for alligators, which he saw lots of, and manatees, which were a little harder to come by.  A trip through a state park (Homosassa) and a glass bottom boat provided some education on manatees.

Lois Keegan and Donna Bender also did some diving in Florida.  Lois reports a trip to Key Largo in December.  They dove on the U.S.S. Spiegel Grove, the largest purposely scuttled ship in the world.  It originally sunk upside-down and is now righted to one side.  Starboard, it sits in 130 feet of water but is accessible at shallower depths of 50 to 80 feet due to its massive size.  Lois and Donna also dove on the Benwood.  Lois and Donna had less luck on the alligator search than did Joe.  They did though get to meet Florida’s most civilized, Larry, Daryl and Daryl at an exotic pet’s shop. For only a dollar, the two got to see what appear to be motionless alligators in a pond.  Lois thinks they were dead, but maybe they were just in awe of the sisters having paid to see them.

Lois reported recent newspaper articles on Nelda Donley who appeared in a local production for the Christmas holiday, and Helen Paige, mother of Rick Paige who was featured in an article chronicling her career as a navy nurse.

Jim and Sandy Smith went to Hawaii in Mid November 2002 and did some awesome diving as well on the West Coast of the Big Island.   Jim reports lots of sunny weather and 100 to 150 visibility, and that was on a bad day!!!  They reported diving on new coral reefs, which are smaller and much less colorful than the traditional reefs.  Jim reported very few soft corals to provide for a more colorful dive, but instead found hard corals of white and tan.  Sounds like it was a wonderful trip with wonderful weather.

Jim also recommends a site, www.scubadiving.com

Jeff and Wendy Kirsch reported on a trip to Belize.  They spent eight days there and did some inland tours of the rainforest.  The country is only 80 miles wide by 200 miles long.  They dove two days, and did some wonderful wall diving with an estimated 100 feet vis.  During the surface interval they were able to do some snorkeling.  The second day of diving was upon the barrier reef.  The couple reports an abundance of marine life, that is, compared to the q*****.  Jeff and Wendy are new divers.

Sylvia reported on Ginny Springs, Florida after the diving with Joe as above.  Report is no lobsters were caught.

Bert Sharbaugh reported on our local diving favorite, Blue Hole, and the annual ice dive.  Bert reported ice between 2 and 3 inches thick, and rain, rain, rain.  Three brave souls went through the hole previously cut in the ice by Harve Montgomery who dove the day before.  Bill Kimmick, Paul Brawley, and John Castle braved the frigid waters for about 40 minutes…in dry suits.

Birthday wishes to Bob Maurer, January 17, 2003.

Sherwood is now a master diver, with TEDDY, Technical Experimental Decompression Diving Yikes! Association.  Sherwood does have his master card and is now ready to accompany any members on upcoming trips.

Anyone interested in a Laurel Diver’s T-shirt should contact Maurer’s Dive Shop at 344-6641.  The shirt is currently half price due to some faded printing.  It is a size large.

Sylvia MacKinnon also reports that there will be a speaker at Penn State on Wednesday January 29, 2003, at 7:30 p.m.  For further information, please contact Sylvia at (814) 237-3261 or Sylviam@psu.edu.

Plans are in the works for Underwater Olympics at St. Francis University, Loretto for February 2003.  More details to follow in subsequent newsletters.

In April, we will be having an amateur underwater video contest.  The footage must be 75% under water, of course, with sound, and you must have made the video yourself.  Timing for the video is limited to 10 minutes, maximum.  More details to follow, as information becomes available.

Joe Gordon invited all to a cross country ski and festivities on the Ghost Town Trail, originally slated for February 1, 2003 but recent email from Joe notes a mix up on dates and availability.  This will be discussed at the Board meeting and new information to follow in next month’s newsletter.

Donna Bender is planning a Nekton trip dated February 22, 2003 through March 3, 2003 to the South Bahamas.  Cost is now 1195 PP plus airfare from Pittsburgh.  That’s a discount of $200.  There will be a 10% discount on the cruise fare if 10 people book. Only the first ten persons booking receive the discount. $280 for charter flight Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown, Bahamian Govt. charter fee of $50.22, and a $20 Bahamian departure tax payable at the airport.  Grand total is $1545.22.  You must tell them you are with the Bender group to get the discount. Also, if you have dove with Nekton before, there is a frequent diver discount of 10%.  Total payment is now due.  Airfare from Pitt or BWI to Ft. Lauderdale is running around $225. To call and book the trip, remember to mention the “Bender group”, call 1-800-899-6753, or log onto http://nektoncruises.com.  For more information, contact Donna Bender at Donna@Bender.net or (814) 472-9796.

Donna Bender is planning an outing to play racquetball, February 8, 2003.  For more information, please contact Donna at donna@bender.net or call (814) 472-9796.

Donna also commented on the Beneath the Sea dive expo in New Jersey, March 29 and 30.  The days are packed with seminars, speakers, dealers, exhibits and much more.  If interested, please let Donna know.

De Montgomery is planning a Cozumel trip dated April 5, 2003 through April 12, 2003.  Details to follow in subsequent newsletters.  For more information, contact De Montgomery at dishjug@charter.net or (814) 944-8521.

Jim Smith is planning a trip for June 27 through June 29, 2003 to Morehead City.  For more information, contact Jim at jcsdmd1@hotmail.com or (814) 696-1938.  Further info will follow in subsequent newsletters.
A second trip is also in the works by Jim Smith and Tim Laurito., May 9 through May 11, 2003 (Mother’s Day weekend) The trip has room for 18 divers and is not yet full.

A trip is in the works to Thousand Islands for 2003.  Tentative dates are July 26 and 27, 2003 with Bottom Time Charters.  More information to follow in subsequent newsletters.

***Please be sure to check the club calendar for other upcoming trips and events.

The daybook was $126.00.  Winner would have been Heather Augusta, but she was not present, so the monies will be carried over to next month.
New member Wendy Kirsch won the door prize, a mask strap.

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The next Board Meeting will be Thursday, January 30, 2003- 7:30pm at Maurer Dive Shop.
This date has been changed to accommodate a speaker at Penn State University on January 29, 2003.
Next regular club meeting will be Thursday, February 6, 2003-firstThursday of the month, 7:30 p.m. at the Penn Gables.
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Maurer Dive Shop will be closing at 5pm due to weather conditions.  If you need to be at the shop after that time, please let Bob know as he will “leave the lights on” for you.

Jim Smith followed the meeting with footage from his Hawaii trip.  This video is excellent, as some of you may have seen it at the Christmas party.