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October 2025 Newsletter

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Vol. 53 No. 10

The Wild Dolphin Project: Over 40 Years with Atlantic Spotted Dolphins ***In person Speaker***

*** In Person Speaker ***

A Lake Worth local, Alexandra Rose earned her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Florida State University (2019) and her graduate certificate in Aquatic Animal Care and Conservation through the University of Florida (2023). Her love for the ocean began in childhood, spending countless hours at the beach and on the water, always curious about the animals that lived there and their connection to us. As an undergraduate, Alexandra worked in a deep-sea shark research lab, assisting with gut content analysis, field surveys, and tagging projects. Her career path soon took her abroad to Ireland, where she rehabilitated seals during the pandemic, before returning home to south Florida to focus on native wildlife rehabilitation. Following an internship with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, she became a manatee biologist, spending three years conducting stranding response, photo identification, and carcass salvage. When the opportunity to join the Wild Dolphin Project arose, Alexandra felt she was moving from one dream job to another. After completing her first full field season aboard Stenella, she is eager to continue diving deeper into dolphin research and all that the upcoming seasons have to offer. 

Join us for an updated look at the Wild Dolphin Project and the research we conduct with Atlantic spotted dolphins. We’ll share who we are, what drives our work, and how we study dolphin biology and behavior to better understand and conserve these incredible animals. 



Overseas Diving Update

Trips 2026 and beyond:

These trips have become a little more complicated to arrange post Covid-19: say in 2022 airfare was plentiful. Now airfare - for most trips is the most limiting factor - especially in the Caribbean: the ability to arrange group airfares is going away and we need to rely more on individual airfares - that need to be purchased well in advance - say 10-11 months before the trips. Hence we need to go to an earlier trip announcement structure than we have been used to in the past. Also the weather patterns are changing - the "storm free season" is getting both smaller and more unreliable. Even ABC Islands are now occasionally hurricane prone

I would like to get input from you - where you would like to go [I do not want to hear about where you think the club should go - but without you]. This could be both old and new destinations. Note: always think airfare - on full size planes and/or ferries. The very best option is multiple carriers - as that keeps the prices down.

Exotic Trips:

Mostly the pacific: We can consider going back to the places that are easiest to reach - Fiji and The Philippines (2 or 3 legs by plane) - or we can consider destinations further away - but we have to be careful about destinations too cumbersome to reach...

Please share your interests...

      Nils Jacobsen
      VP Overseas Diving


        Presidents Waves

        REMINDER, our meeting location has changed to the Pompano Beach Elks Lodge. The new room is large and much better acoustics than our previous location. The Lodge opens at 5:00 and they have food available, so please come and learn about our new location. The meeting will start at 7:00 since the Lodge closes at 9:00 and we need to be out of the building. We are required to prepare and clean up the space (part of the savings) so any help is appreciated. There is one aspect that we need to be aware of, because this is a private club only members (Elks) can purchase alcohol. Everybody else will need to pay cash as the bartender is working with us.

        Special thank you to Russ volunteering for adding events to our social activities, including Elks activities.

        It is that time of year again for our club Officer Elections, the following is the slate of electors for this year. Elections will be held in December, dates to be confirmed.

        President – Chris Hardham
        VP of Programs – Rick Dayan
        VP Overseas – Nils Jacobsen
        VP of Local Diving – Ryan Goheen
        Secretary – Amy Welman
        Treasurer – Ronnie Far

        As always, we would love members that are interested in helping or getting to know the club better to join the Board of Directors. We would enjoy some new blood and the perspective of new members.

        Our schedule is filling up with new Local Dives and Social Events, please come out and join your fellow members. We all joined the club for these activities and the friends we have made through the years.

        Happy diving,

        Chris Hardham
        President

        Hospitality Hut


        Greetings From The Hospitality Hut,

        It's always a treat to see family members attend a meeting of our club. That is what happened at the September general meeting.

        Robert Jacobs, son of member Jeff,  attended his first meeting. Bob is not a diver and has recently relocated here from Orlando. Hopefully he will catch the bug, so to speak, and decide to take the plunge and get certified.

        I encourage you to visit our home page usadiveclub.org  Please click on the calendar and keep up to date on all the diving and non-diving scheduled activities. You may also take a look at the photo gallery and take a peek at past events.

        I wish you all Happy Diving.

        Clare Anthon

        Hospitality Coordinator

              

        Educational Blog


        This article represents the views of the author. The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

        Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

        Tips to Calculate Your Scuba Weight

        You Have to Get Wet
        It's no one item that determines your buoyancy, but you plus all your gear together.

        You can "ballpark" guess how much weight you need with experience, but you can only fine tune it by getting in the water.

        Pay Attention to Your Tank
        Cylinder buoyancy characteristics change your buoyancy a lot. So, recheck your 
        weight when changing to a different size and/or different material (steel vs aluminum) tank. Usually, but not always, going from aluminum to steel requires removing weight.

        Air is Air
        A common misconception is that with X cylinder, you don't need to worry about 
        weight change due to air consumption. This is not true. Once you're properly weighted, consuming 70 cubic feet of air reduces your weight exactly the same whether it you breathed it from a steel or aluminum cylinder.

        Build Muscle to Drop Weights
        Muscle is denser than fat, so the more you build, the less weight you need to 
        submerge.

        Recheck
        Any change to your kit affects your buoyancy. This is obvious with a big change ,
        like going from a wetsuit to a drysuit, but lots of little changes like a new knife, different computer and upgrading your regulator can add up

        Check at Your Safety Stop
        With 500 psi at 15 feet, if you vent all the air from your BCD, you should be very 
        close to neutrally buoyant, rising slowly as you inhale, sink slowly as you exhale. If not, adjust your weight afterward -- but if you've followed the other steps, you should be very close and fine adjustments should do it.

         Log It
        Although you might find a scuba diving weight calculator or buoyancy calculator 
        online, in the end they're only going to get you close and you'll still have to get wet to dial it in. A much more useful way is to write down what exposure suit you wore, what equipment you used, how much lead you carried, how much your bodweighs, how much weight you needed etc., after each dive. This gives you a good start point for checking your weight each time, and over time you'll have the start point you want for different exposure suits, salt or fresh, aluminum or steel tank and so on.

        Keep it up until you get your weighting correct. With experience, you'll discover that the best scuba weight calculator is your log book and brain followed by a buoyancy check. Even if you've got a new BCD or wetsuit, you'll be able to estimate the lead you need within a couple of pounds. You'll be your own dive weight calculator.

        Breath Control
        If your weighting is correct, at a given depth you can control your buoyancy with your lungs alone most of the time (unless you're using a rebreather). With practice, you'll do this without thinking instead of grabbing your low-pressure inflator hose every time you need to make a minor adjust

        Be Patient.
        Water is a viscous fluid, more like molasses than air, so buoyancy changes can seem slow or delayed if you're new to diving. When you want to ascend a little, you inhale and it takes a few beats before you start to rise. This is why many divers don't realize how well they can control their buoyancy with breathing. Give it a minute as you breathe in and out (slowly and deeply) to see what adjustment you can achieve naturally.

        For the remainder of this article Use the link below.

        Buoyancy Calculator—How Much You Need in Dive Weights | Scuba Diving

        SOCIAL EVENTS


        On Wednesday,  September 10th, USA members were invited to attend a FREE Fort Lauderdale Symphonic Winds concert at Pompano Elks Lodge #1898 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.  Food and drinks were available for members and guests to enjoy during the concert.  

          

          

        Join USAers and guests for our next FREE Fort Lauderdale Symphonic Winds concert on Sunday, September 28th, at 3:00 pm in the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale.

        Don't miss out on socializing with your fellow USAers at our next social event.  You'll be amazed at how enjoyable it can be.

        Russ Manhold, Event Coordinator


        Membership


        Remembering Larry LePage


        I am saddened to report that USA Hall of Fame member Larry LePage passed away on Sunday evening, September 14, 2025.  He had been living close to his family in Saint Louis.

        Larry and his wife, Mary, became part of the USA Dive Club family in 2001 and quickly became treasured members.  Larry loved everything about the Club, jumping right in to contribute.  He served on the Board of Directors and excelled in many roles, including Audio Visual, Newsletter, and Vice President of Programs.  In 2010, he was honored with a Hall of Fame membership and a lifetime spot in the Club.  Larry was always by Mary’s side as she took on responsibilities as Vice President of Social Events, President, and Membership Coordinator.

        Over the years, Larry and Mary explored many dive destinations with the Club, both exotic and local, and were famous for their fun costumes at Club events.  Mary passed away in March 2024, and their close friend Linda Ianiello recently wrote:

        “We will all remember the many dive trips with both of them, the Super Bowl parties, and the Tuesday pizzas and Friday night dinners.  The good part is that he and his beloved Mary will be reunited.”

        In honor of Larry's memory, we have created a photo album that showcases his fond memories.  Please click the link below to look back on all the wonderful times we shared with Larry and Mary.

        Remembering Larry LePage

        If you would like to send a note of condolence to Larry's family, you may send it to his daughter:  Lori Love,  309 Landor Ct.,  Saint Louis, MO.  63125-1122.

        Julie Manhold, Membership Coordinator


        Halloween is just around the corner!  While you’re handing out treats to little trick-or-treaters, why not have some fun exploring the mysterious creatures swimming in our oceans?


        Want to discover “9 Scary Fish to Haunt Your Dreams”? Click on the link: 9 Scary Fish.

        Or are you curious about the “25 Creepiest Deep Sea Creatures You’ve Never Heard Of”? Click on the link to check them out: 25 Creepy Deep Sea Creatures.

        No matter how you celebrate, have a safe and very happy Halloween!

        We’d love for you to check out our extensive Photo Gallery, where you can dive into all the fun from our social events and diving adventures.  We update the albums regularly, so there’s always something fresh for you to enjoy. 

        Happy diving, everyone.  Let’s keep the good vibes going!

        Local Diving

        Overseas Dive Trips

        • No upcoming overseas dive trips

        TRIP REPORT

        There was 12 USA Divers on this trip. One lady from the NW was on the prior trip and liked it so much she decided to stay another week…  We flew out of Miami directly to Roatan (Honduras).

        The water temperature was 84-86F. Visibility was 75-100’ (until silted up). I was in heaven. It was windy every day so donning your gear was not hot at all.  Most days there were chopping waves with a surface current.  Strange, once you reached the dive spots - no currents at all. The dive guides took our fins off in the water and several of us took off all our gear off before climbing back on the boat.  They were helpful; we dove off the boat - from the dive deck.

        Most days we had 5 dives which included night dives. One time we lost a night dive due to traveling and one day dive lost due to travel.  We dove all the expected sites: Roatan, Utila and Cayos Cochinos; To all divers except me, there was a dive with chumming the sharks.

        Laura and Rick were IRON DIVERS. Total of 25 dives.

        Aggressor boats are known for excellent Chefs. Our Lady Chef, Jana was without a doubt the best we have ever had.  She had amazing desserts all made from scratch. So much food that myself and others were asking for half portions.

        Friday afternoon all but 3 of us went to see Monkey, Sloths (in Danish they are called “lazy animals”), Parrots and Guinea Pigs.

        Thank you all for a memorable diving trip.  See you all soon

        Ronnie Farr

        Trip Leader

        PS – we are slowly adding all our trip photos to: https://usadiveclub.org/Photos (2025)



        LOBSTER POT

        USA's Lobster Pot drawings Include CASH prizes, and a variety of PRIZES donated by Sponsors or Club Members.

        Funds from ticket donations help to support our many club activities. Congratulations to all our Lobster Pot participants. Be sure to visit our Local dive shops who support us and say 'Thanks'.


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