You may not have realized it but last week, was the 25th sailing of the Harvest Moon Regatta, a sailing race from Galveston to Port Aransas Texas. The annual event draws sailors from all over the area to compete for the coveted Bacardi Cup and a host of other prizes. This year’s event saw 188 boats start from the Flagship Hotel pier in Galveston begin jockeying for position. Colourful spinnakers flew and the offshore racing club fleet surged off in the moderate winds.
Unfortunately, the winds were destined not to hold and they became progressively lighter. What is normally a beam reach, (c), to broad reach, (d), to Port Aransas, turned out to be a very broad reach, (d), to a run, (e), requiring many boats to sail wing on wing.
While this meant a slow sail to Port Aransas, the night was beautiful. There was a spectacular moon rise and the stars were incredible. It was a beautiful night to be offshore and away from the city lights.
Ashton, Drew Trent, Doug Markem, and I joined another of our clients, Bob Thompson, on his boat Artemis. We finished the race in a flurry of activity but unfortunately, we did not finish fast enough to place in our group but we were there early enough to enjoy the party with all the Bacardi rum you can drink. Of course, in previous years, Bob’s son Steven was heard to comment that at times the party was not “pretty” – too many drunk old people.
The party was fun and then it was back to sailing the next day for the return trip home. It was a fun trip and a great reason to be out on the water! Thank you for the sail Bob! We are ready for next year!!!!
We put a video together highlighting some of the weekend’s events. Please tell us what you think!
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Blog
We are back! Divers Return from Moscow
Keep looking for more stories from both of our trips next week as well as new and exciting things happening here at the dive facility. Come by and see what cool things we brought back with us and ask us to get a sneak preview of some of our photographs.
Have a great day!
David's Annual BarBQ at the Lake
- Chef David In-Between Dives
Last year David celebrated is 100th dive in a year with a BarBQ at the lake. Well as things have a way of doing around here, David decided to make it an annual event! So, on Sunday 25 September from 10:00 to 4:00 David and some friends will be diving and cooking BarBQ at Mammouth Lake. The cost of the event is only $10.00 but here is what you will receive:
- A cylinder of air (must be picked up from Oceanic Ventures)
- Some of David’s famouns grilled treats
- Really cold water (bring your own cup or bottle – we are trying to help reduce the bottle trash in the world)
- Some really fun diving
- Door prizes!
You will still need to pay the admission at the lake but just think of the door prizes you could win. And yes you can bring other beverages of your own, just remember that your last dive is the one before you drank that adult beverage.
Last year we had a great turnout so we would like to make this year’s barBQ even bigger. Come join David and your fellow diver’s for a fun day at the lake!
If you have any questions, please contact David or Ashton.
Please RSVP if you will be attending.
Oceanic Ventures Team Trash – Trashfest Texas 2011
Oceanic Ventures and Club Aquarius are once again a sponsor of Trashfest We are sponsoring TEAM TRASH and we are looking for a few more divers to join our team of 8 divers who will join 400 other divers in scouring the Comal river looking for trash and prizes. If you have an interest in joining TEAM TRASH, please contact Ashton. As a member of TEAM TRASH, you will receive a free Oceanic Ventures t-shirt, specifically made for divers and have your admission to the event paid. Be sure to let Ashton know you want to participate since the team size is limited. The fee to join the team is free to Club Aquarius members and $8.00 for non-members. Remember, space is limited!
TrashFest is the nation’s oldest underwater cleanup campaign bringing together scuba divers to improve the quality of the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas. The Comal River became famous when Ripley’s Believe It or Not featured it as the shortest river in the world. The 2.5-mile Comal River is one of the largest springs in Texas with 8 million gallons of water flowing through every hour. The water is pure, clear, about 73° – 85°F year round, and attracts thousands of tubers and tourists each year. After the tubing season winds down, divers from all over Texas and beyond gather to pull cans, shoes, sunglasses and other assorted trash and debris out of the river.
Since the first clean up in 1974*, more than 10,800 volunteers have removed more than:
- 205,000 pounds of trash
- 310,000 cans and bottles
- 353,400 pop-tops and bottle caps
- 7,200 sunglasses and shoes
- The above numbers include data from 1980-2010. No records available prior to 1980.
While cleaning up the Comal is the events top priority, TrashFest also:
- Raises public awareness of the aquatic environment in Texas
- Educates citizens about the sources of, and impact of, debris and litter in the aquatic environment
- Promotes recycling programs and community involvement
- Serves as a model for other river and aquatic cleanup programs around the country
- Involves young children and educates them about the importance of protecting our environment
This year, TrashFest will be held on Saturday on October 1, 2011.
Registration will be held at the Comal County Fairgrounds, and the trash weigh-in and collection will be at Prince Solms Park in New Braunfels, TX.
Dive Around Texas 2011
The 2011 Dive Around Texas is about to come to an end! However, you still have time to get your dives. The basic rules are simple:
- Dive in 4 different Texas diveing locations
- Log at least 3 dives in each location for a total of 12 locations before September 30, 2011
- Enroll in the Dive Around Texas Program with Oceanic Ventures
- Receive a Dive Around Texas T-Shirt with your paid registration ($25.00)
- Get an invitation to the free Recognition BarBQ in San MArcos Texas on October 2
- Have your dives validated at Oceanic Ventures
- Submitt a spreadsheet with your dives to Oceanic Ventures
- Be eligible for some really great prizes donated by the sponsors
SPECIAL RULE FOR 2011: Because of the current conditons at many of the Texas diving locations as a result of the drought, you can still qualify for the Dive Around Texas if you have at least 12 dives from at least 2 different locations. Please make sure to get your dives validated by Oceanic Ventures.
You still have time to complete the dives. We have 2 upcoming dive dates with Oceanic Ventures staff:
- September 17-18 Blue Lagoon with Wade Sparks and Vernon Dittrich
- September 25 Mammouth Lake at David’s Lake Party and BarBQ
So, you have no excuse to finish your dives and enter the contest.
Send your spreadsheets to Ashton for inclusion in the Oceanic Ventures group submission (we are sending someone to the BarBQ to collect the prizes so even if you cannot attend the BarBQ, you can still win prizes!)
Please RSVP to Ashton if you would like to attend the Bar BQ ASAP.
