Bottom Times – November 2025 Edition

                           By Your President-in-Fins​​

 

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to the November edition of Bottom Times.
I hope you’re all doing well and settling into the fall rain — it feels like it arrived a little early this year. I’m starting to think our club might be a pretty reliable predictor for bad weather: all we have to do is schedule a boat dive and boom… here comes the storm. Rob Marion pointed out that this year, it's happened three times now. Sheesh. We were all set for a fun day on the Spectre, ready for some diving and club camaraderie, and well… you know how that turned out.

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Bonaire Reflections

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I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer to feel the chilling waters of the Pacific after being spoiled by the warm Caribbean. Diving without a wetsuit was amazing. I have never done so much diving in my life and not get tired! A total of 20 dives, all with the convenience of tossing tanks into the back of the truck without needing to ask or wait for fills. Buddy Dive really knows how to cater to divers. The dock was spectacular and full of tanks along with the turquoise water. We were absolutely spoiled over there. The only hard part about this trip was leaving.

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By the way, the food was affordable and really good — buffet-style breakfast every morning, followed by two boat dives, lunch at the resort then beach dives... And while there were no flamingo tacos, we did see plenty of actual flamingos. We also tried the traditional cabrito stew (goat), kind of like birria, and it was delicious. The restaurant was literally in the middle of nowhere — driving down dirt roads, wondering if the GPS was working. Ha ha — it was phenomenal!

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We drove our rental trucks from one end of the island to the other. The locals where friendly. We dove with turtles, saw all kinds of fish, and huge tarpon that loved our lights during the night dives. I can’t express how satisfied I am with this trip. I’m definitely going back someday.

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I really would have loved to see more of you beautiful people in Bonaire, but I completely understand — life gets busy and we all have priorities. If diving brings you joy, then diving abroad will absolutely floor you, especially if you’ve never done it — and even more so in warm water. No wetsuits to deal with. Just tank up and jump in. So cool.

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2026 Trip Planning — Your Vote Matters

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We’re already working on planning our 2026 dive trip, and I’m excited! But where do we go? How do we decide?
Well — that’s up to you. You are the wind in our sails.

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At the November meeting, you’ll have the opportunity to vote on where we head next year. It’s simple: just attend the meeting, fill out the survey, and let us know your top choice. Based on your feedback, we’ll work hard to make it happen.

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Our Dive Coordinator, Dan Purdue, is already researching costs for several destinations, and we’ve completed an internal survey to help narrow things down. The groundwork is already in motion.

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OK, enough about Bonaire — I’ll save the rest for our VP, Rob Marion, and our former editor, Franklin Murphy, who will be presenting the full trip report at this month’s meeting.

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Club Events & Good Vibes

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This month has been full of great energy, and to keep with good vibrations…

• The Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest, hosted by our newest sponsor, SCDiving, had a fun turnout. Congratulations to Connie for taking 1st place and Eduardo for taking 2nd!​ And a big shout-out to our new Dive Coordinator, Divemaster Dan for leading the way.

• Holiday Party — December 6th

Looking ahead, we’ve got a busy start to the holiday season. On December 6th, we’ll be hosting our annual Holiday Party — and you truly don’t want to miss it. I skipped a few my first year as a member, mostly because I didn’t know everyone that well and figured, “Eh… I’ll go next year.” But I wish I hadn’t waited — I liked it so much I ended up becoming President. There’s always plenty of food, everyone is friendly, and the White Elephant / Pirate Snatching gift exchange is an absolute blast. It gets loud, rowdy, and fun… it really is one of the highlights of the year. And of course, we’ll have some great prizes to give away. Our Raffle Coordinator has a solid budget to work with this year, so if you needed one more reason to come — that’s it.

• Beach Dives Nov-Dec

Our beach diving is winding down, as it always does this time of year. I won’t be in town Saturday the 22nd — I’ll be heading to Arizona — but I know there’s interest in getting a dive together. We’ll talk it over at the meeting and see who’s up for it.

We also have our last beach dive of the year on December 20th. Everyone in the club is officially obligated to attend… just kidding. But last year two of us showed up, so this year I’m hoping we can bump that number to four. A 100% increase — now that would be statistically phenomenal. 😁

• See You at the Meeting

I look forward to seeing everyone at the November 19th meeting at Black Bear Diner.
Come hungry, bring your good vibes, and let’s enjoy another evening together.

Until then dive safe, dive often and may your buoyancy always be on point!

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~ Del