The Florida Skin Divers Association sponsored the 42nd Southern Open State Championships on June 25,26,27. This years event was held at Catches Restaurant on the beautiful Cottee River in New Port Richey. Top divers throughout the state competed under nearly perfect conditions. The prize table was outstanding and the competitors made extra effort to be named “Florida State Champions For 2004”. A total of 15 trophies were awarded, including 5 for the best photography. Paul Renner received top bragging rights in spearfishing with 121 points. Second place went to Richie Zacker, and third place to Albert Sloan. The top youth was Jack Vasilaros. Ruth Kisco was the top female diver. Over 125 divers signed up for the spearfishing competition on June 25. The photography division had 25 divers.

Thank you to all of the 30+ volunteers who made the event a success. A special thanks to Dean Young: For our tournament logo design. John Schmidt: For serving as sponsorship chairperson. Tom Morris, Lisa Tatro Holly Wagner, & Dennie Iwago: For serving as individual chairpersons

Art Pearson, diver and publisher of the FSDA Bulletin was given the States “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his over 35 years of services to the “Florida Skin Divers Association”. It’s people like Art who have kept this organization strong for the past 52 years. We thank Art and his family for his many contributions to the sport of diving and service to the membership of the FSDA. ---Dave---

THANKS FROM ART

Wow!! What an impressive recognition. Especially for a guy who’s best competitive accomplishments over these many years have been “Mystery Ticket” prizes. The award hangs in spot where I can sit back and look at it (We older divers like to sit back). The full meaning of it is still sinking in. I have written a lot of stories about adventurous divers such as Dave Shelton and Tom Morris. When I put them together as a collection I wrote an introduction telling how these adventurous people have an instinctive ability to solve problems. It allows them to venture “closer to the edge” and live a more exciting lifestyle. I have always been proud to be a part of this group. It’s an overwhelming experience to be recognized as having been important to them.
Thanks To All Of You!!!
Art

NOTE: Be sure to review the summary of the Southern Open which includes the final results and photos. To get there, go back to the “Home Page” and click on “Tournaments” then “Southern Open State Championship” then either “Weigh-in & Results” or “Awards Party”.

ROWDIES

NEW TANK, HERE SHE COMES!! Pat Fredette was all excited –she needed a new scuba tank and winning the yearly big July Rowdie drawing filled the bill. And the winner is – Pat. YEA! Congratulations, Pat.

Thanks to all the past year’s officers for accepting the slate again for 2004-5: Pres: Sonia Smith, VP: Ed Zuranski, Secy: Pat Fredette, and Treas: Lori Smith. Every member of the club helps plan an event and keep the action going- give yourselves a pat on the back! Lacy Garno and Joe Pisani are official new Rowdie members – Welcome – we are glad to have you join the fun!

WOW, the prizes were outstanding at the Southern Open Derby 6/19 & 20! Thanks to the great organizers and workers that make this even happen! We all hoped for good weather & good diving and we weren’t disappointed. Congratulation to the Rowdie winners – I know that their prizes have already been put to good use. Did you see the winning fish – whoppers! Did you see the winning pictures – great shots! Fun for all divers! Thanks again!

One great prize was a free trip on the Sea Fox won by Sonia! Ed, Pat, Lori and Sonia had a great dive 8/22. Talk about pampered!! This crew is great!! We were grateful the hurricane passed on by and we were able to dive on a perfect day. You did have to swim through jellyfish soup though. (Lori got some good jelly fish pictures.) This was the first I’ve seen the big “Goliath” grouper in a long time. Unfortunately just when I wanted to take its picture I realized that water in the camera is not a good thing and I am back to supporting the camera fix it store. We not only saw the big ones but Ed was happy as he captured new little tropicals for his aquarium.

The maiden voyage experience though was Pat using her new digital Nikon “Cool Pix” in a “Fantasea” housing for the first time. We are in for some great competition pictures now! She said the close-up’s (zoom) were the best and she is really excited about the camera. It is one that uses two double A batteries which lasted for an hour’s dive – so she will be using up a few batteries. The biggest problem is the viewfinder. “Some things that blend in are very hard to pick out and be able to frame – like a blenny that stuck its head out.” She says it may be she just needs to upgrade her mask’s lens prescription. Big memory cards are the way to go – take lots of shots and delete what you don’t want when you get home! I’m sure Pat will be glad to discuss the camera with you if you are interested.

The Isla Mia Bahamas trip in July was about a perfect as you can get. Pat’s group had a great time. Can you imagine a pod of about 12 dolphin escorting your boat and sticking around while you swim with them? Great diving, good food, and beautiful weather – what more could you ask? (This was were Pat got the bug to try digital with four divers using various digital cameras.) Also in July, Ed and Sonia went to Boynton Beach diving with Tackle Shack Divers. It is always a pleasant realization to see the amount of coral and fish on the other side of Florida. Two great dives. Lots of fun – great group of divers!

If you missed the August meeting, you missed some of Lynn’s great pictures of Galapagos. It makes you really yearn to go diving in a more unusual spot! Thanks Lynn!

Come join the Rowdies and get wet!
Sonia

NOTE: Be sure to review the summary of the “Southern Open”. To get there go back to the “Home Page” and click on “Tournaments” then “Southern Open Florida State Championship” then “Weigh-in & Results” or “Awards Party”.

SEA BUNNIES

Deb H and husband Terry hosted a dive trip to Jupiter on the east coast July 17-18th. Drift diving the gulf stream were Sally and Giovanni, Lisa B and Scott, Rita and John, and Rita’s friend, Brad. The group had nice seas, good vis and warm water. The ledges were fantastic and loaded with fish. One ledge had numerous Jewish (oops! Sorry - Goliath grouper) and they would come out from under the ledge to greet the divers and pose for pictures. What a nice bunch of guys! And don’t forget the Loggerhead & Hawks Bill turtles! One very friendly turtle hung out with each diver on the wreck dive. Some folks even saw sharks, eels and lobster. Jupiter is always great diving!

Adrianne and Dave and Lisa T went to Key West for mini lobster season. They stayed with former SeaBunnie, Camille, and had a really great time.

The Boing Family is went up to Steinhatchee last weekend to go scalloping. The folks up there say the scallops are getting big due to it being later in season. Lisa advised us to stay tuned for the results of this trip. (Does that me we're getting an invite to dinner??)

Lisa T, Betty, Brynn, and Pat cruised the Bahamas once again on their annual live-aboard trip. I haven't got a full report yet, but hopefully, by next bulletin I get the scoop on all!

Rita and John had an impromptu trip to the east coast to go look at a possible sailboat purchase. She, of course, threw her dive gear in the car trunk, just in case they found time to do a dive. Sure enough, they made time for a dive in Pompano Beach. But not having her tanks with her, she would have had to rent them. When the dive shop quoted her $10 per tank rental (!!!) she got mad and only rented one tank for the two dives. Sure enough, she was able to do two 40-minute dives (one wreck and one drift) on that one tank, and still have air left over! You can't price gouge Rita!

The other side of the globe beckoned Rita once again in June, so she went diving in another unheard of place. Palua Redang, a small mountainous island off the east coast of western (peninsular) Malaysia offers wonderful diving. This is a small island, south of the Perhentians, which mainly caters to Malaysian locals on holiday. She and John were one of the few "whities" (as they were affectionately called by the Malaysians) on the island. They stayed in a "chalet" (a single wooden bungalow on stilts) on the sand, overlooking the morning sunrise over the South China sea. All the dive sites were around this island and the little uninhabited out islands, and all within a 10 minute boat ride of the shop. No wall dives, but great reefs and ledges right next to the rocky shore and "bommies" (pinnacles) in the middle of nowhere. The sea was loaded with enormous (4' across) anemones in all colors - blue, green, purple and shocking orange! When the sky was cloudy, these anemones would close up and look like a topless mushroom stump. The poor clown fish were locked out of their home! On the dives, they saw sea snakes, golden eels, honeycomb eels, the walking lemon demon scorpion fish, marble rays, giant clams, two huge bumphead parrotfish, lionfish, turtles, but no sharks! This great diving and an overnight stay at Kuala Lumpur with a visit to their magnificent twin towers (Petronas Towers) made a fantastic vacation!

Competition is heating up with the Seabunnies! Our own Peggy Logan won 1st place open in the Southern Open Photography. GO Girl! Pat F and Lisa S did well too! Many talented photographers in this group!

Lynn J participated in the St Pete Open and took 4th place in the women's division. Lisa B also turned in fish and won some nice prizes. There were 12 women who entered, and we're looking to expand that number next year. Lynn reports that there was a major thermocline in the middle grounds. It was about 75 degrees on the bottom. She's has also been doing a fair amount of diving and getting fish. See our Bunnie Board results below. Lisa B dove in the gulf, but not as far out. She said it was a beautiful day and the gulf was a smooth as glass! We all enjoyed the party at Tierra Verde afterwards and marveled at the huge fish being brought in for weigh in. Get catches everyone!!

Above water, the summer social season has been busy! Patti B and husband Lowell had a fabulous party in July for celebrating his birthday and her retirement. Everyone came, saw their new yacht, and had a great time! Now - Pattie, Lowell and Connie are planning a month long trip south near Key West soon. Doesn't a month long holiday sound great to you?? Enjoy!

Eileen had the BEST birthday of her whole life! About 140 people came to her house for sunset, singing, dancing, food and libations. The theme was "wear something fishy - but no mermaids!" She unveiled a beautiful mermaid tattoo - which is the talk of the town! As always, everyone really enjoyed themselves and wish her "Happy Birthday!"

The SeaBunnies are enjoying a new twist on our old meetings. We do a "social" for the second meeting of the month and it's been fun! Our own Club Chef, Eileen hosted a cooking class at her house and Bunnies and Friends cooked an eight-course meal, from soup to dessert. All the while, enjoying fine libations! The meal was delicious and the company was fantastic!

We've also had an evening stroll and sunset at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and a Friday night at the movies watching "Open Water," a sensationalized movie capitalizing on an unfortunate incident wherein two divers were left behind at sea. (Just a simple reminder - three things you must keep in your BC jacket: a inflatable sausage, a whistle and a signaling mirror. You know those free CDs you get in the mail? They made a great signaling device! The next one that comes to your house - stick it in your BC!)

ST. PETERSBURG UNDERWATER CLUB

Submitted By: Bill Hardman
The 2004 St. Pete Open
“The World’s Largest Spearfishing Tournament”

Congratulations to all the participants of the 2004 St. Pete Open. We had just under 300 shooters and participants who came from as far away as Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, and all over Florida. The following is a list of the First Place winners:
 

Freediver Division First Place    Chad Palan
Women's Division First Place     Angela Emmanuel
Junior's Division First Place       Ryan Dyer

The 2004 St. Pete Open went off without any problems! Yeah Right! Well it did go pretty smooth thanks to proper preparation and a good volunteer crew. There were many who went beyond the scope of volunteering and we want to say THANKS:

Bic Benedict and Scott Hooker the new SPUC Apparel Co-Chairman and Scott’s lovely wife, Charlene, did a great job selling our T-shirts. Ken Jones stepped up and ran the sodas, coffee & donuts station. Also a big thanks for the Jones Bros. for donating two big A.J.s for the fish fry. Gerry Rice and Kissin Cuzzins donated the coffee and did the brewing of the hot bev. Paul Renner and Kissin Cuzzins donated the ice and helped get all the volunteer’s foods set up. Gerry and Paul also did a bang up job filleting all the fish fry fish. Dennis O’Hern did a lot! I couldn’t have done it without him. He definitely deserved the “Jim Zumwalt Award.” Speaking of Jim Zumwalt, thanks to Jim Zumwalt for getting all the advertisers that he usually does. We really appreciate Jim’s hard work in that effort.

Diane Gardinal got everyone and everything covered with her new digital camera. Frank McCallister, did a great job on our computer work. Joan Browder, not only does she do almost everything in the registration arena, but she starts organizing our registration weeks before the Open. Rich Taylor, thanks for being there and for taking me diving. Seriously though, your friendship and support helped get me through it! Kip Ransom and his tireless crew did a great job of weighing in fish and running the weigh-in. Isaac Lathrop, Carl Johnson and Kevin Schriver worked hard to get jello & beer and other refreshments to the volunteers and the participants. Many members got new advertisers this year and kept many of our original advertisers. Good Job To Those Who Got New Advertisers: G.R. Tarr, Dennis O’Hearn, Scott Hooker and of course – Jim Zumwalt!

Many others helped out and we all appreciate everyone’s efforts.

Next Island Party- ?
This party is free food and beverages to all 2004 St. Pete Open participants, advertisers, volunteers and helpers. Check out our site at: www.spearfishingspuc.org. for date and time. P.S. You don’t need a boat to get to the Island. We will have a water taxi service.

New SPUC Officers for 2004 and 2005

President:            Charlie Hogge
Vice-President:    Dennis O’Hern
Secretary:            Scott Hooker

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