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From DJ’s Desk:

UPDATE!!!: Stephen has been doing quite well but will have to be careful about getting infections.  Lawrence can now hear sounds and will turn around if you call loudly to him.  The doctors are waiting to see how the healing goes before deciding on further treatments.  THANK YOU ALL for your donations; you ARE making a difference!!! – D.J. & Edith

    
When we took a great group of friends to dive Zanzibar and to safari in Kenya and Tanzania last February, we visited a couple of the Masai villages.  These people have tried to keep the traditions of their ancestors in a world that is rapidly changing around them.  They are a very intelligent yet simple people who herd cattle and goats and live in small huts without running water or electricity.  Their friendliness is shown by their broad smiles and eagerness to make welcome anyone who comes to their village. 

    
At one of these villages I noticed a very small boy of maybe three sitting all alone on the ground beside a tree.  When I inquired about him, I learned that he had an earache.  After returning to the lodge at Samburu, I could not get this little one off my mind.  More questions gave me the story that the small boy had a brother of about 7 who was totally deaf.  They had no money, nor transportation to travel to a doctor.  I met the brother and, of course, he could not speak and looked totally lost as he had no way of knowing what was happening around him.  

With the help of our driver and a collection from our group of travelers, we were able to get transportation for both boys to a doctor and to procure medicine for their ears.  This, at least, relieved most of the pain.  D. J. and I arranged for our driver to take them to Nairobi to a hospital for examination.  The doctor there has determined that both boys need surgery.  The younger one will need only minor surgery as he has chronic otitis (infection of the middle ear).  The older boy has acoustic neuromas (benign fibrous tissue growths that affect the balance nerve that leads from the brain to the inner ear.)  This requires delicate surgery as the location is near the brain. Left untreated, these fibrous tissues will continue to grow, pressing on the brain and eventually possibly causing terminal results.  The younger boy has not yet reached the point of deafness but will follow his brother if left untreated.  Many children have chronic otitis and it is very treatable in the United States but these boys have an added disadvantage in that they have a hereditary tendency toward developing the fibrous tissue.  

We need to raise the money which will pay for both surgeries and their hospital stay.     D. J. and I will pay for their transportation to and from the hospital from their remote village.  The driver has offered to let them stay at his house and to look after them as they undergo outpatient care after their release from the hospital.  Their community will collect food to send with them.  

     The money is not such a large amount when you consider that it can change years of suffering to none and can possibly actually save their lives…..it doesn’t seem like much  to pay for saving two little boys, does it? 

     If you can help these two little children, please make your donation to American Divers International and mark it for Stephen and Lawrence.  Every cent collected will be sent to Kenya and I hope to have pictures to share with you on our web site later.  We will keep you posted on their progress.

“Mkono mmoja haupigi makofi”  –  Swahili for “one hand alone cannot clap”.

“ Asante Sana”  –  “Thank You” in advance for helping us to make such a difference for these two little ones!

D. J. & Edith

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Why do I dive West Palm Beach/Ft Lauderdale?

As most of you know, I have been diving for several years (45 total) in locations as varied as Mica Mines in Connecticut to Johnston Island in the middle of the Pacific. My Caribbean adventures range from the keys to the Caymans, Bonaire, Dominica, Saba, Roatan, Cuba, and on and on. So why the big pitch for West Palm Beach and Ft Lauderdale?

Each year a half million people will flock to Florida’s Southeast coast to dive. Many travel from as far as Europe to enjoy the reefs and wrecks. Most drive hours coming from all over the southeastern states. In other words, West Palm Beach and Ft Lauderdale are International destinations and we are right next to them.

The reef runs continuously from north of Jupiter to south of Ft Lauderdale. It’s over forty miles long and up to a mile wide with most areas being several hundred yards wide. The top of the reef is 35ft to 65ft deep; you can find up to 75ft off the west side and over 100ft off the east side. So, the drop from the top of the reef to the sand can exceed 20ft – a mini wall running for miles. The physical structure is dramatic and you could dive for years and never see the same place twice. Unfortunately, most people who dive the West Palm Beach area go out of Riviera (Lake Worth Inlet). It has the most boats, thus the bulk of the diving is done within a ten-mile stretch. This leaves the other three-quarters hardy touched.

Below I submit several dives that should tweak your interest in diving the West Palm Beach area over and over:

1. Most people dive the west side along the ledges, it’s great but there’s much more to see: (A) Do several dives on top of the reef where you will see different critters and increase your bottom time. (B) Try diving the “outside”, east side of the reef. It’s totally different and “big critters” hang out there. This is a deeper dive (75ft to 110ft) and should be done on light current days. (C) Dive the sand. Get away from the reef along the west side. You will not believe what is there: Flying Gurnards, Stingrays, Garden Eels, Shells, and many other sand lovers.

2. Go north out of Boynton Inlet. Some of the best dive sites in the West Palm Beach area are there: (A) Fish Bowl: This is a relatively shallow reef and is always covered with clouds of fish. The large ledges and bunches of fish make it my favorite spot for an extended bottom dive. (B) West of the Fish Bowl is the best “sand” dive which is loaded with the critters mentioned above as well as some strange sand formations created, I suspect, by past storms. (C) Just about any spot north or south of the Fish Bowl is yet without name (you name the sites), is great diving, and you will usually have it to yourself to explore.

3. Spend the extra 20 minute drive down to Ft Lauderdale to dive out of Hillsboro Inlet. This inlet boasts some of the shortest boat rides to the dive sites.  Like Boynton, it is littered with wrecks and reefs.  Tenneco Towers, the Mercedes and the Ancient Mariner are just a few of the spectacular sites to visit.  The Sea Emperor wreck, which was sunk as part of Florida’s artificial reef program, is a shallow draft barge that was loaded with concrete pipe and debris to help her sink.  Once submerged, the ship keeled over as she sunk and scattered the cargo around the bottom where she lay upside down.  These concrete pipes are home to a number of critters that have taken up residency on the Sea Emperor. There is a friendly green Morey eel affectionately named “Baby”, puppy-dog-like Sting rays (Ray & Stubby), and a pair of shy, but curious 400lb Goliath Groupers (Fred & Ethel). In addition to the local residents, you can often see turtles, nurse sharks and schools of fish.  This is just one example of the excellent diving to be had out of Hillsboro inlet.

4. Want a real challenge? We have a multiple wreck dive out of Boynton Inlet that will sharpen your navigation and diving skills. The Budweiser Bar (160ft freighter) and the Swordfish (Mel Fishers’ 85ft salvage boat) are about 200ft apart in about 95ft of water. Get your dive boat captain to drop you upstream, and see if you can drift into one and then the other. After you drift along or over the Budweiser (assuming a south to north current) take a 330˚ heading off the stern or follow the rocks and in about 12 minutes you will come to the Capt. Tony. The Tony is another freighter similar to the Bud. We have a couple Jew Fish (newly named Goliath Grouper) hanging out on these wrecks 500 & 300 pounds respectively. It’s exciting and very satisfying to find these ships underwater. If you miss them, it’s a very good sand dive.

We book our West Palm Beach dives with Pelican Dive Charters out of Boynton Inlet and with Parrot Island Scuba Adventures out of Hillsboro Inlet. These are the best dive operations in Florida. This is not just my opinion. If you have dived on these boats, you’ll understand. We have a guided wreck trek twice a month if you’re not ready to strike out across the sand looking for these wrecks. It’s a three-tank dive with lunch.

We are very lucky to have this wonderful dive location so close and we will be glad to help you with any information. Call us at (321) 453 0600.

For those of you who don’t know us, D. J. Morin, along with his wife, Edith, have owned American Divers International for the last twenty-seven of the shop’s forty-nine years of existence.