Bottom Times: June 2026

Greetings and salutations, amigos!

Every year we go through this June Gloom weather. It is like Mother Nature is threatening us with a storm, but zilch... it has not poured yet.

What is pouring is the enthusiasm from your beloved board members. What an amazing group of people we have helping to keep

the good ship Channel Islands Divers afloat.

This club has been active since 1992, and 34 years later, the CID Board gathered once again, just as it has for all those years, to conduct club business. We met at Ann Hoagland's home, which has an amazing view of the Channel Islands from its perch high on a hill. What a view!!

For this meeting, Steve Peterson, the man that lobsters fear, treated us to a lobster feast, and we all brought a side dish to share. There was a fancy charcuterie board loaded with exotic cheeses, meats, and those fancy crackers in all kinds of weird shapes, along with delicious dips, garlic bread, pasta salads, refreshing strawberry lemonade, and for dessert, warm brownies, ice cream, and lemon cake. Ha ha ha... We suffer so much at these meetings, I tell ya.

The first topic on the agenda was elections, and we have a solid crew willing to keep running

the ship next year. However, this wonderful group is going to need a new skipper. I plan to

promote myself back to the membership ranks, which opens an opportunity for one of you to

take the helm. Being a part of this board for the past 4 years have been very rewording and I

take with me lots of great memories. I will speak more about the benefits of this position in a

future newsletter.

So, if you are ready to have a little fun, help guide the future of the club, and work alongside a

fantastic group of people, consider throwing your name into the hat. More on elections on pages 18-19.

Moving on…

This month's presentation features Jaclyn Maan, Southern California Regional Manager for

Reef Check California. Jaclyn will introduce us to Reef Check's kelp forest monitoring program and explain how we can become volunteers. Woohoo!! At this meeting you will learn how to

become a citizen scientist; sounds intriguing…I want to become one: "Delbert Stewart, Reef

Check Citizen Scientist front and center, ma’am!” Who wants to go diving and save the world

with me?!?!😃

The idea that we can go out and enjoy our weekend dives, as we love to do, and combine them

with a mission to help preserve our kelp reefs sounds like a lot of fun and one more reason to

keep diving. Imagine the positive impact we could have on Jaclyn’s research. I can already see us storming the So Cal beaches with our CID flag flying high, waving in the wind, under a

classic SoCal sunny day. Then we would have the rest of the board members on shore beating

their little drums. Like a scene out of Braveheart…CHARGE!!

Let's pack this meeting and show our appreciation to Jaclyn Maan for the work she does. She is

undoubtably a marine biologist with a cape!

Upcoming Events

We have the Hyperbaric Chamber Visit/Club Adventure, an event that Rob Marion has been

working hard to organize and there are 3 spots open! To join up, email Rob M. at vicepresident@channelislandsdivers.org.

Now, why would we as divers want to visit a hyperbaric chamber and do a chamber run down to

165 feet? I would ask, why wouldn't you want to? It sounds exciting. First off, I will probably

never have the opportunity to dive to 165 feet in the ocean, and I am a curious guy. What does it

feel like? How does the body react? Does your voice change? Can you feel the pressure? Will I

experience nitrogen narcosis? How will I react? I have been told it feels blissful. Is that true?

Will I hallucinate? I do not know these things. It affects everyone a little bit differently and I am

determined find out. It sounds thrilling.

Did you know that this fascinating machine that saves divers lives is also a powerful healing

tool? Kind of like something straight out of Star Trek. I can hear Bones talking to Captain Kirk

right about now... He's going to make it, Jim!" I just added more O2... Apparently, that extra

oxygen can help improve blood flow, support tissue repair, and assist the body in fighting

infections and healing wounds that might not otherwise respond to conventional care. I cannot

think of a reason why not to go. Check it out here: Hyperbaric Healing. More on this topic on

pages 11-12.

We have an exciting update on our Santa Cruz Island trip coming up in November. Stormy

Thurston-Keller, our fearless Treasurer, made contact with the Channel Islands National Park

Service, and we are exploring the possibility of collaborating with them on a PADI Dive

Against Debris event. Divemaster Dan Perdue spoke with PADI, and they are interested in

collaborating with – and possibly joining - us as well. Who knows - if goes well and everyone

enjoys it, we might make this an annual event!

Before anyone gets carried away, we are still in the early planning stages, but just think about

the possibilities. Channel Islands Divers helping lead a Dive Against Debris event at Santa Cruz

Island alongside the National Park Service and PADI. Then imagine other dive clubs and dive

shops throughout Southern California joining in. Can you picture it? Divers everywhere,

CID flags flying, everyone working together to make a positive impact on our local marine

environment. It can grow into something really special and attract attention beyond our club,

which is very exciting to think about it. Leading by example!

However, none of this is possible without you. As a first step, we would like to gauge the club's

interest in participating. To get the ball rolling, we will be passing around a sign-up sheet at the

next couple of meetings. If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please add

your name to the list. And more importantly, give Stormy a high five for bringing such an

ambitious idea to the club.

Cozumel: ONE spot has become available!

One of our divers is no longer able to attend. The spot is based on double occupancy, and

Melanie Kemmann will be your roommate. If you prefer, we can turn it into a single occupant.

If you have been kicking yourself for missing out on this trip, here is your second chance. These

do not come often. Let me know as soon as possible before someone else snags it!

And if you are interested, I might even be able to negotiate a little discount on your behalf. 😉

This is an all-inclusive trip! Date: October 17-24 Double occupancy: $1,275 Single: $1,875

Just send me an email at President@channelIslndsdivers.org and I will forward you the trip

details.

I hope to see you all this coming Wednesday, June 17, 2026. We will kick things off at 6:00 PM

with a little socializing and dinner, followed by the meeting at 6:30 PM. Until then, stay safe,

keep diving, and remember to make a few memories along the way.

Del Stewart

President, Channel Islands Divers